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 to justice in cases of wrongful 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: 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: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish an itemised table of the primary imports from the Republic of North Macedonia.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade publish trade and investment factsheets summarising statistics on trade and investment between the UK and individual overseas partners, including North Macedonia. A table of the top goods imported from North Macedonia are provided on page 6 of the factsheet. More detailed statistics on UK imports from North Macedonia are published by the ONS.
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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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.