Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to help potential claimants to obtain access for justice in cases of unfair dismissal.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Employment Tribunals are responsible for hearing employment related disputes, including those related to unfair and wrongful dismissal. They provide an accessible and low-cost avenue for claimants, designed to be navigated without requiring legal representation.
Working with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), we have taken a number of steps to improve the capacity and efficiency of the Employment Tribunals, including the deployment of legal caseworkers, the recruitment of additional judges, and the establishment, by the judiciary, of an Employment Tribunal virtual region. Last month, we also made a small number of changes to the Employment Tribunal procedure rules which will support the implementation of a new reformed digital system, currently being developed and tested in four early adopter sites ahead of national rollout during the course of this year. Following these rule changes, we transferred the Employment Tribunal rule-making power to the Tribunal Procedure Committee (TPC) - an independent rule-making committee. Given the TPC’s expertise and experience, this transfer will improve efficiency in the making and amending of Employment Tribunal rules, to further enhance access to justice for all claimants. We continue to work with DBT and HMCTS on further measures to support the Employment Tribunals.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help (a) prevent job losses and (b) create new employment in the biodiesel industry, in the context of the closure of Argent Energy in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government has supported the uptake of low carbon fuels including biodiesel for 15 years through its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The RTFO sets targets for the supply of low carbon fuels and sustainability criteria, which these fuels must meet. Targets under the RTFO have increased year on year since 2018, providing a market for biodiesel producers.
In support of UK exports, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) offers services to advise, support and promote British businesses to grow and export. DBT also provides services to secure inward investment into the UK for a variety of low carbon fuel technologies, supporting businesses throughout their investment journey.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps their Department is taking to support the Disability Confident scheme; how many officials in their Department work directly on supporting that scheme; what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of that work in supporting the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of disabled people in their Department; and what further steps they are taking to support their Department’s recruitment and retention of disabled people.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) holds Disability Confident Leader Level 3 accreditation (the highest possible level). One official works directly on supporting the Disability Confident Scheme as part of their role. DBT monitors the impact of the scheme using recruitment and retention data, among other data sources.
DBT has a staff Disability Network and has committed to delivering optional Disability Confident learning for staff each quarter. DBT is doing work to eliminate biased language in our job adverts and reviewing its employer brand to ensure we continue to attract a high performing and diverse workforce through open and fair competition.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she or Ministers in her Department have met representatives of Shein in the last three years.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Department for Business and Trade publishes details of Ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel, and meetings on the transparency pages of gov.uk as part of the Government's transparency agenda.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its canteens and restaurants.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
This information is not centrally held. The Government Property Agency are responsible for the procurement of food and drink for the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Lord Tyrie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they have of the power to disclose the identity of persons under investigation being exercised by UK regulators where the disclosure has not been in the public interest.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade does not hold centrally evidence on whether regulators have disclosed identities of a person under investigation when it has not been in the public interest.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to ensure that Trading Standards have adequate resources to investigate all reports it is provided on the alleged operation of rogue traders.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales are independent from central government and are responsible for determining their resourcing priorities in accordance with the needs of the local electorate.
The majority of Government funding is not ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities including those relating to rogue traders.
The Department for Business and Trade provides additional funding through the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) to prioritise and coordinate national and regional consumer enforcement in England, Wales and Scotland respectively.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the additional administrative burdens and costs imposed on farmers and producers due to the new import and export regulations being introduced on 30 April; and how they will ensure that international competitiveness is maintained.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Border Target Operating Model strikes an appropriate balance between supporting business, by avoiding unnecessary regulatory burdens in the process of moving goods into Great Britain, while focusing controls on consignments proven to cause the most significant biosecurity risk.
The implementation of controls on EU goods reduces the risk of plant and animal pests and diseases reaching GB and potentially causing significant disruption to domestic production, as well as assuring the safety of all imported food.
No new export controls were introduced on 30 April.
To support British exporters, the Department for Business and Trade will continue our engagement with the 27 EU Member-States as well as the Rest-of-World to smooth trade flow and open new markets.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the guidance by the Central Digital and Data Office entitled Guidance on the Legacy IT Risk Assessment Framework, published on 29 September 2023, how many red-rated IT systems are used by her Department; and how many red-rated IT systems have been identified since 4 December 2023.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, has established a programme to support departments managing legacy IT. CDDO has agreed a framework to identify ‘red-rated’ systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding certain assets within the IT estate. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by next year (2025).
It is not appropriate to release sensitive information held about specific red-rated systems or more detailed plans for remediation within the Department for Business and Trade’s IT estate, as this information could indicate which systems are at risk, and may highlight potential security vulnerabilities.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to small and medium-sized enterprises to help them adapt to new import and export regulations.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government published the final Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) on 29 August 2023. It outlines new policies and processes that importers, the border industry and wider stakeholders including EU exporters will need to go through in order to import goods. We are implementing the BTOM in stages throughout 2024 to help industry get accustomed to the changes.
We have worked extensively with small and medium enterprises to help us define and help them adapt to new controls and requirements. Since publishing the final BTOM, Defra’s ongoing engagement has included regularly contacting 30,000 importers with up-to-date information, delivering over 50 webinars to thousands of businesses, providing bespoke training and working with HMRC to issue communication to 150,000 businesses in the UK.
The risk-based model outlined in the BTOM supports businesses of all sizes by minimising costs and burdens for traders and consumers. For example, low-risk products of animal origin will not require an Export Health Certificate or routine border checks and medium risk goods will undergo reduced intervention at the border. We are also piloting new Trusted Trader schemes that will support groupage loads, which is how SMEs often transport their goods.
All businesses will benefit from using the Single Trade Window, saving time and cost for traders. When fully operational, it will make better use of data and remove duplication to make it easier to trade internationally. This can also limit the requirement to use intermediaries and helps to support small businesses through the user interface on the platform. As the Single Trade Window develops, more information will be provided as to how SMEs can be involved and utilise the service.
The Department for Business and Trade supports small and medium enterprises with national programmes such as the Growth Hub network and through schemes such as Help to Grow. The new Help to Grow Campaign includes a dedicated website, acting as a resourcing hub for business support and advice, as well as SME leadership training schemes, Help to Grow Management and Help to Grow: Management Essentials. UK businesses can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises a digital self-serve offer and our wider network of support including trade advisers, Export Champions, the Export Academy, our International Markets network and UK Export Finance.
Furthermore, since its launch in October 2021, to February 2024, the Export Support Service (ESS) Export Digital Enquiry Service has supported over 16,800 enquiries. The ESS International Markets (IM) service has been live in all nine HMTC regions since April 2022 and has received 23,500 market enquiries from 10,700 businesses (up to February 2024).