Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what level of evidence on the safety of modified tumble dryers would be required to prompt a full recall of all modified machines.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
A recall notice under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 may be issued for a dangerous product where other action that the regulator may require, either of the producer or distributor, is not sufficient to prevent the risks to health and safety. Any enforcement action, including a recall notice should be proportionate to the seriousness of the risk.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is closely monitoring the response of Whirlpool and further steps will be taken if the response is not satisfactory. Consumer safety is a key priority and the Government will hold the company to account.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support increased (a) home and flexible working and (b) provision of co-working spaces.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Government is actively supporting good quality flexible working, of which home working can be part, and the provision of co-working spaces.
We have set up, with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the Flexible Working Taskforce to promote wider understanding and implementation of inclusive flexible work and working practices. In January this year the Taskforce published a business case, supporting guidance and its members committed to support and promote the “Happy to Talk Flexible Working” campaign.
We have committed to consult on a new duty on employers to consider when a job can be done flexibly, and make that clear when advertising.
We have also committed to review the statutory right to request flexible working in 2020 and have commissioned some of the surveys to gather data for that work.
Through the Local Enterprise Partnership we promote economic growth and jobs in local areas. In order to deliver this objective, some LEPs have supported the creation of co-working spaces alongside advice and other support for business start-ups. This is being done in a number of ways, including through Growth Hubs and innovation centres.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the contribution to the economy of home and flexible working.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We carried out an impact assessment in 2014 on the extension of the statutory right to request flexible working, estimating a total benefit (net present value) of £474.9 million. This figure incorporates monetised benefits relating to the extension of the right to request to all employees with 26 weeks continuous service and therefore does not take into account the flexible working among parents and carers that was already taking place prior to the extension.
We are currently reviewing the 2014 extension of the right to request Flexible working to all eligible employees. The review will test the economic assumptions underpinning the cost-benefit analysis in the original impact assessment.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many instances the Office for Product Safety and Standards found of Whirlpool’s tumble dryer modification being applied incorrectly (a) in the machines it has tested and (b) in the tumble dryers of Whirlpool customers it assessed as part of its inquiry into that company’s modification programme.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) published the findings of its review of Whirlpool’s tumble dryer modification programme on 4 April.
The review explored whether Whirlpool’s technical modification, designed to further reduce the risk of lint fires arising from its tumble dryers, was effective in both design and installation. The review concluded that there is a low risk of harm or injury from lint fires in modified machines and that the modification reduced the level of risk.
As part of the review OPSS considered the quality assurance used by Whirlpool when undertaking the modifications in consumers’ homes and OPSS purchased 20 used tumble dryers from online sales sites that appeared to have been modified at some point. Examination of these machines revealed variations from Whirlpool’s specifications for the modifications. It was not possible to establish the history of individual machines including whether, when and how the machine had been modified. It was not therefore possible to draw firm conclusions regarding the cause of these variations. OPSS has therefore written to Whirlpool requiring them to set up a more rigorous system of quality assurance, including a programme of examinations of dryers that have been used by consumers, to ensure modifications are correctly installed. OPSS will scrutinise Whirlpool’s actions against these requirements.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of the modified Whirlpool tumble dryers tested by the Office for Product Safety and Standards as part of its review of Whirlpool’s modification programme displayed, as stated under the terms of that review, discrepancies between Whirlpool’s specifications for the modifications and the condition of the machines as found.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) published the findings of its review of Whirlpool’s tumble dryer modification programme on 4 April.
The review explored whether Whirlpool’s technical modification, designed to further reduce the risk of lint fires arising from its tumble dryers, was effective in both design and installation. The review concluded that there is a low risk of harm or injury from lint fires in modified machines and that the modification reduced the level of risk.
As part of the review OPSS considered the quality assurance used by Whirlpool when undertaking the modifications in consumers’ homes and OPSS purchased 20 used tumble dryers from online sales sites that appeared to have been modified at some point. Examination of these machines revealed variations from Whirlpool’s specifications for the modifications. It was not possible to establish the history of individual machines including whether, when and how the machine had been modified. It was not therefore possible to draw firm conclusions regarding the cause of these variations. OPSS has therefore written to Whirlpool requiring them to set up a more rigorous system of quality assurance, including a programme of examinations of dryers that have been used by consumers, to ensure modifications are correctly installed. OPSS will scrutinise Whirlpool’s actions against these requirements.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2019 to Question 207549 on Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit, how much of the £375 million allocated to his Department for Brexit preparations in 2018-19 and 2019-20 has been allocated to preparing for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
HM Treasury has allocated over £4.2 billion of additional funding to departments and the Devolved Administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This breaks down as:
In the financial year 2018/19, BEIS was allocated an additional £185.1m for EU exit work by HM Treasury. The equivalent figure for 2019/20 is £190m. No-deal funding is aggregated as part of the Department’s overall spend and therefore cannot be reported separately.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money his Department has allocated for preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal to date; how much of that funding has been made by way of ministerial direction; and for what functions that funding has been allocated.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
This information is available publicly online and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-exit-preparations-beis-ministerial-direction.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the definition of worker in employment law to clarify and strengthen the rights of off-payroll workers, dependent contractors and participants in the gig economy.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to providing clarity for businesses and individuals on employment status. As Matthew Taylor identified in his review, this is a complex issue and is one of the major challenges for public policy.
We therefore need to take time to consider how best to achieve change that works for all. We received over 160 detailed responses to the Employment Status Consultation. We are currently analysing the responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support British manufacturing firms to diversify into new (a) consumer and (b) overseas markets.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Government’s Industrial Strategy has set out a long-term approach to boost the UK’s productivity growth and ensure that we’re building an economy fit for the future. Our White Paper has set out a range of measures aimed at increasing investment from the private and public sector and includes a commitment to increase total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. The Government will support UK priorities in key areas of innovation through investing in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, with over £1.7bn committed so far through the first two waves. One example is the £246m Faraday Battery Challenge to position the UK to be at the cutting edge of battery technology. We have also just held an open Expressions of Interest process for potential programmes for a third wave of the Challenge Fund.
As we leave the EU we remain committed to making the UK the best place in Europe to own and grow a business. The Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have dedicated teams who promote the UK as a destination for investment into manufacturing and to boost trade from UK manufacturing companies abroad. In 2016/17, on marine, for example, the DIT High Value Campaign programme secured around £214 million of UK Exports; the Aerospace team supported over £7 billion of aerospace exports; and the DIT rail team recorded overseas export wins to the value of £323million, including manufactured goods.
Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of potential restrictions on national economic activity that will be needed in order to meet targets set in the Climate Change Act 2008 should the expansion at Heathrow Airport proceed.
Answered by Claire Perry
As noted in the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement, the Government agrees with the Airports Commission’s assessment that a new runway at Heathrow can be delivered within the UK’s climate change obligations.
We are a world leader in clean growth. Between 1990 and 2016, the UK reduced its emissions by over 40 per cent while growing the economy by more than two thirds – the best performance in the G7 on a per person basis. The Government has put clean growth at the heart of its Industrial Strategy, in order to drive economic growth while meeting our emission reduction targets.