We are building an economy that works for everyone, so that there are great places in every part of the UK for people to work and for businesses to invest, innovate and grow.
Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
NAO Department Guides: A Short Guide to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Sept 2017)
Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs
Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue
Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.
| Date | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Sep. 29 | Oral Questions | Oral Answers to Questions |
| Oct. 05 | Urgent Questions | CCRC Decision on 44 Post Office Prosecutions |
| Oct. 06 | Westminster Hall | Alternative Fuelled Vehicles: Energy Provision |
| Oct. 23 | Adjournment Debate | London’s Economic Recovery: Covid-19 |
| Title | Last Event | Next Event Date | Last Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 | Royal Assent (Minutes of Proceedings) 25 June, 2020 | 22 Jul 2020, 3:45 p.m. | ||
| A Bill to make provision about companies and other entities in financial difficulty; and to make temporary changes to the law relating to the governance and regulation of companies and other entities. | ||||
| Business and Planning Act 2020 | Royal Assent (Minutes of Proceedings) 22 July, 2020 | 10 Aug 2020, 10:50 a.m. | ||
| A Bill to make provision relating to the promotion of economic recovery and growth. | ||||
| United Kingdom Internal Market Bill 2019-21 | 2nd reading (Minutes of Proceedings): House of Lords 20 October, 2020 |
Committee stage: House of Lords 26 Oct 2020 |
23 Oct 2020, 7:35 p.m. | |
| To make provision in connection with the internal market for goods and services in the United Kingdom (including provision about the recognition of professional and other qualifications); to make provision in connection with provisions of the Northern Ireland Protocol relating to trade and state aid; to authorise the provision of financial assistance by Ministers of the Crown in connection with economic development, infrastructure, culture, sport and educational or training activities and exchanges; to make regulation of the provision of distortive or harmful subsidies a reserved or excepted matter; and for connected purposes. | ||||
| Dates | Department | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Published 16 Mar 2020, 5:55 p.m. |
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | The Weights and Measures Act 1985 (Definitions of “Metre” and “Kilogram”) (Amendment) Order 2020 | |
| This Order amends the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (“the Act”). It partly implements Commission Directive 2019/1258 amending, for the purpose of its adaptation to technical progress, the Annex to Council Directive 80/181/EEC as regards the definitions of SI base units (OJ L 196, 24.7.2019, p. 6). Other aspects of the Commission Directive are implemented in the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (Amendment) and Units of Measurement Regulations 1986 (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1211). The amendments in the Commission Directive update European law to reflect certain new definitions of expressions of measurement and indications of quantity of the International System of Units (SI) adopted by the General Conference on Weights and Measures at its 26th meeting which took place from 13th to 16th November 2018 (see The International System of Units (9th edition (2019)) edited by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, Pavillon de Breteuil, F-92312 Sèvres Cedex France, ISBN 978-92-822-2272-0). The amendments do not alter the value of those units of measurement, but substitute new definitions expressed in terms of natural constants. | |||
| Dates | Department | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
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Laid 14 Oct 2020 In Force Not stated |
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | Transfrontier Shipment of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 Parliamentary Status - Text of Legislation | Made negative procedure |
| Explanatory text not available | |||
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Laid 14 Oct 2020 In Force Not stated |
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | Supplementary Protection Certificates (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 Parliamentary Status - Text of Legislation | Draft affirmative procedure |
| These Regulations deal with matters arising out of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (“Protocol”) in the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 19 October 2019. Union law which applies to the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland under Article 5(4) of the Protocol includes the following EU Directives and Regulations on medicinal products and plant protection products in paragraphs 20 and 24 of Annex 2 to the Protocol: | |||
| Current Signatures | Final Signatures | Title | Petition Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
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307,897 Petition Closed |
Ban the sale of fireworks to the public. Displays for licenced venues only. Gov Responded - 21 Nov 2018 Debated on - 26 Nov 2018 |
30 Apr 2019 closed 1 year, 5 months ago |
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Every year fireworks are set off unnecessarily. |
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238,884 Petition Closed |
Extend maternity leave by 3 months with pay in light of COVID-19 Gov Responded - 14 May 2020 Debated on - 5 Oct 2020 |
20 Oct 2020 closed 5 days, 7 hours ago |
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In light of the recent outbreak and lock down, those on maternity leave should be given 3 extra months paid leave, at least. This time is for bonding and social engaging with other parents and babies through baby groups which are vital for development and now everything has been cancelled. |
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126,934 Petition Closed |
Encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown Gov Responded - 5 Jun 2020 |
19 Sep 2020 closed 1 month ago |
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If the country is locked down during a pandemic, the government should work with mortgage providers, landlords and utility companies to freeze rent, mortgage and utility bill payments. |
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Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee Home Page
Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.
At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries, and the Select Committee will occasionally publish formal reports of their findings.
| Date | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 23 | Wales’s most promising scientists awarded £3.5m in UK Government Funding to bring pioneering ideas to market | News and Communications |
| Oct. 22 | BEIS: prompt payment data, July to September 2020 | Transparency |
| Oct. 22 | BEIS: prompt payment data, April to June 2020 | Transparency |
Written Questions are submitted by Members of Parliament and the House of Lords to receive information or updates from a Department.
Departments are required to respond in a timely fashion and provide a response or requested information. Written Questions can compel detailed and specific information to be produced, and are frequently used as the source of news stories about the work of a Department.
| Date | Title | Questioner |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Oct 2020, 1:17 p.m. | Sir Mark Hendrick MP (Labour (Co-op) - Preston) | Sir Mark Hendrick MP (Labour (Co-op) - Preston) |
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Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure people who work remotely are not being required to accept a loss in (a) pay, (b) job stability, and (c) opportunities for promotion. Answered by Paul Scully - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) ACAS has produced comprehensive guidance on the key employment issues for when people are working at home during the pandemic. This covers practical issues such as pay and insurance, as well as offering training on managing people who work remotely – the link to the relevant section of the ACAS site can be found here https://www.acas.org.uk/working-from-home.
There is also a legal framework in place that grants all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer the statutory Right to Request Flexible Working, where employees can request a change to their hours, working patterns or to work from home. There is supporting guidance currently available online which explains both eligibility and the process for making a request to work flexibly on GOV.UK – this can be found here https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working.
Employers should not dismiss or treat staff unfairly because they have made a flexible working request or intend to make a flexible working request, which can include working remotely. To treat staff unfairly means to cause them detriment such that they are worse off than they were previously. Examples of unfair treatment include employers reducing the hours of staff, overlooking individuals for promotions or development opportunities, and saying no to training requests without good reason.
If an employee feels they have experienced detriment because of a flexible working request, they may qualify to make a claim to an employment tribunal. |
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