Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance the Government has provided on what employees should do if their employer is asking them to continue going to work and (a) their job role could be completed at home or (b) social distancing is not adhered to.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government has been clear that employers should carefully consider Public Health England’s social distancing guidance. The guidance sets out that employers should help their staff to find alternative arrangements to support them to work from home, , including providing suitable IT and equipment to enable remote working.
Where people cannot work from home, they can continue going into their place of work as long as Public Health England’s guidance is closely followed. This is consistent with the Chief Medical Officer’s advice.
Where a worker has a concern about health and safety which cannot be resolved through speaking with their employer or trade union, they can contact the relevant enforcement agency – either their local authority or the Health and Safety Executive. Where the Health and Safety Executive are made aware of an employer not complying with the relevant Public Health England guidance (including enabling social distancing where it is practical to do so), the Health and Safety Executive will consider a range of actions, from providing specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 publish (a) a comprehensive list of what is deemed essential domestic utility work, (b) instructions on whether utility workers should engage in non-essential work and (c) his plans to ensure that employers (i) obey those instructions and (ii) support their workers to do so.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Based on current medical advice, the Government has stated that workers can continue to work when they cannot work from home, show no symptoms of Covid-19, and live in a household where no person is self-isolating.
We encourage households to engage with tradespeople on this basis, so urgent health and safety issues within homes can be inspected or remedied. Where such work takes place, Public Health England’s social distancing guidelines should be followed, which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/social-distancing-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus-covid-19-sector-guidance#tradespeople-and-working-in-peoples-homes.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
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 clarify the guidance on work that is (a) prohibited and (b) regarded as essential in the (i) construction and (ii) utility industries during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Construction and utility workers play a crucial role in supporting our public services, maintaining the nation’s infrastructure and providing and maintaining safe, decent homes for people to live in. The Government has stated that construction and utilities work should continue where it can take place in line with the guidance provided by Public Health England.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to introduce further restrictions to the work of (a) construction workers, (b) electricians and (c) plumbers in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Construction and utility workers play a crucial role in supporting our public services, maintaining the nation’s infrastructure and providing and maintaining safe, decent homes for people to live in. The Government has stated that construction and utilities work should continue where it can take place in line with the guidance provided by Public Health England.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has for the provision of postal services in Oxenholme and Allithwaite in response to the closure of their Post Offices.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. As such, provision of postal services in Oxenholme and Allithwaite is operational to Post Office Limited. I have asked Nick Read, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the Hon Member about this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether she has plans to bring all houses in multiple occupation within the scope of the minimum energy efficiency standard for the domestic private rented sector.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard regulations require rented properties that are legally required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to meet a minimum standard of EPC band E, except where an exemption applies. There are no blanket exemptions in the PRS regulations for Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) however, where rooms are let individually, there is currently no requirement for an EPC to be issued. Government launched a Call for Evidence on EPCs in July last year where we outlined suggestions for improvement. We welcomed views on whether a HMO without an EPC should be legally required to have one when a room in that property is marketed for rent. We are currently analysing EPC Call for Evidence responses and intend to publish a summary of responses to the Call for Evidence in due course.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of the February 2019 Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit Zero Carbon Homes report that had the Zero Carbon Homes policy not been cancelled, occupants of new homes built since the intended policy start date of 2016 would be saving more than £200 per year on their energy bills, and that the total extra cumulative energy costs paid by those homeowners to date is more than £120 million.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government has noted the findings presented in the Zero Carbon Homes report and is preparing to consult on options to deliver the Government’s ambitious commitments for future housing.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the North West Nuclear Arc on innovation and future growth in new nuclear in the North West.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Last year, the North West Nuclear Arc completed a Science and Innovation Audit (SIA), a BEIS sponsored project, that mapped the strengths and opportunities in their area. This will be published, with the other eleven Wave 3 SIAs, by BEIS in due course.
Proposals for a £30 million national and regional nuclear supply chain and productivity improvement programme, developed with participation from Local Enterprise Partnerships in the North-West in conjunction with other parties, are currently being considered by BEIS as part of the commitments within the Nuclear Sector Deal.
The Government welcomes the initiative of nuclear businesses, supply chain clusters, universities and innovators across Cumbria, the wider North West, and North Wales to work together through the North West Nuclear Arc.
We believe our policies through the Nuclear Sector Deal and Nuclear Innovation Programme will support the North West Nuclear Arc to capitalise on the regions historic strengths in the nuclear sector.
It was this Government that agreed a landmark Nuclear Sector Deal worth over £200m, as well as giving the go-ahead to Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear power station in a generation.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to work with the North West Nuclear Arc to develop innovation and future growth in new nuclear in the North West.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Last year, the North West Nuclear Arc completed a Science and Innovation Audit (SIA), a BEIS sponsored project, that mapped the strengths and opportunities in their area. This will be published, with the other eleven Wave 3 SIAs, by BEIS in due course.
Proposals for a £30 million national and regional nuclear supply chain and productivity improvement programme, developed with participation from Local Enterprise Partnerships in the North-West in conjunction with other parties, are currently being considered by BEIS as part of the commitments within the Nuclear Sector Deal.
The £180m Nuclear Innovation Programme which is part of the 2016-21, £505m BEIS Energy Innovation Programme is part of the Nuclear Sector Deal. The Programme covers the whole of the UK Nuclear Research and Development community in order to develop and promote innovation and future growth in the nuclear sector in the UK in conjunction with the Nuclear Sector Deal.
The Government welcomes the initiative of nuclear businesses, supply chain clusters, universities and innovators across Cumbria, the wider North West, and North Wales to work together through the North West Nuclear Arc.
We believe our policies through the Nuclear Sector Deal and Nuclear Innovation Programme will support the North West Nuclear Arc to capitalise on the regions historic strengths in the nuclear sector.
It was this Government that agreed a landmark Nuclear Sector Deal worth over £200m, as well as giving the go-ahead to Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear power station in a generation.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to support North West Nuclear Arc innovation partnerships in enabling the next phase of nuclear generation development in (a) Cumbria and (b) North Wales.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Last year, the North West Nuclear Arc completed a Science and Innovation Audit (SIA), a BEIS sponsored project, that mapped the strengths and opportunities in their area. This will be published, with the other eleven Wave 3 SIAs, by BEIS in due course.
Proposals for a £30 million national and regional nuclear supply chain and productivity improvement programme, developed with participation from Local Enterprise Partnerships in the North-West in conjunction with other parties, are currently being considered by BEIS as part of the commitments within the Nuclear Sector Deal.
The £180m Nuclear Innovation Programme which is part of the 2016-21, £505m BEIS Energy Innovation Programme is part of the Nuclear Sector Deal. The Programme covers the whole of the UK Nuclear Research and Development community in order to develop and promote innovation and future growth in the nuclear sector in the UK in conjunction with the Nuclear Sector Deal.
The Government welcomes the initiative of nuclear businesses, supply chain clusters, universities and innovators across Cumbria, the wider North West, and North Wales to work together through the North West Nuclear Arc.
We believe our policies through the Nuclear Sector Deal and Nuclear Innovation Programme will support the North West Nuclear Arc to capitalise on the regions historic strengths in the nuclear sector.
It was this Government that agreed a landmark Nuclear Sector Deal worth over £200m, as well as giving the go-ahead to Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear power station in a generation.