Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department has taken in response to the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices to review working practices for (a) taxis and (b) private hire vehicle.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Taylor Review was published in 2017 and while it continues to be a valuable contribution to the debate on working practices, this Government is focused on delivering our plan to Make Work Pay.
Once implemented, our Plan to Make Work Pay will represent the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation. It will raise the minimum floor of employment rights, raise living standards across the country and level the playing field for those businesses that are already engaged in good practices.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support (a) small and (b) medium-sized businesses on the high street in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Small businesses across the UK including in Harpenden and Berkhamsted are the beating heart of our high streets and communities. This Government is committed to supporting them through a fairer business rate system.
From 2026-27, we’ll introduce lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values under £500,000. RHL relief will be extended for 2025-26 at 40%, and the small business multiplier will be frozen for the same period.
The Business Secretary has also announced a new Business Growth Service to help businesses access more easily the support they need to thrive and grow and we will publish our strategy to support small businesses later this year.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses in Harpenden and Berkhamsted, in the context of US tariffs.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses. That’s why the government has been focused on negotiating an economic deal with the US.
We will continue to engage with businesses to assess and understand the impact of these tariffs. On 3 April the government launched a Request for Input from businesses to help inform the UK’s response to US tariffs.
We continue to support businesses to grow and export across the world, including to the United States. Through the recently announced Business Growth Service, businesses can access export support via Great.gov.uk. including the Export Academy, International Markets Network, Growth Hubs and Help to Grow: Management scheme.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to ensure that energy meter reading technology is being upgraded in line with the latest technological developments.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The accuracy of energy meters is of benefit to both energy providers and consumers and is a requirement of the Electricity and Gas Act legislation covering energy meters. To ensure the UK is taking account of the latest technological innovations the Government participates on relevant international committees that develop internationally recognised standards for ensuring consumption via energy meters is recorded accurately. Following those standards helps industry ensure they are also meeting their legal requirements.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people claimed statutory paternity pay in each of the last five years.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Information provided by employers to HMRC show the number of individuals in receipt of Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP). This data provides a broad indication of Paternity Leave take-up but does not include those that take unpaid paternity leave. The Parental Rights Survey found that 70% of all employee fathers took Paternity Leave.
Table 1: Individuals in receipt of SPP, 2019/20 to 2023/24 (the latest year for which full year data is available)
Year (April to March) | Total |
2019-20 | 208,000 |
2020-21 | 176,400 |
2021-22 | 204,200 |
2022-23 | 195,300 |
2023-24 | 207,600 |
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to speed up compensation payments for sub-postmasters impacted by the Horizon IT System.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government is committed to providing redress to individuals affected by the Horizon scandal as quickly as possible. Real progress is being made; as of 30 September 2024, approximately £363 million has been paid to over 2,900 claimants across the available schemes.
We however continue to seek options to speed up redress, in discussion with the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board. For example, we have recently committed to providing offers in response to fully completed claims to the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme within 40 working days in 90% of cases, in line with the commitment on the GLO scheme which we are currently meeting.