Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) places of worship were registered for solemnising opposite-sex marriages, and (2) denominations those registered places of worship belonged to, in each of the years from 2013 to present.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
A total of 1311 Places of Worship were registered for solemnising opposite-sex marriages since 2013.
Further details can be found in the attached table in relation to the numbers and denominations in each year. None in 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend legal recognition to humanist marriages.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government announced in June 2019 that the Law Commission will conduct a fundamental review of the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. As part of that review, the Government invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how marriage by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent. The Government will decide on provision on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.
The Law Commission has now published a consultation paper as part of its review and will welcome responses from all.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to extend their financial support for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic to small businesses that do not have their own premises.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A discretionary fund has been set up to accommodate eligible small businesses previously outside the scope of the business grant funds scheme. The Business Secretary and Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government spoke to local authorities in England on 1 May to set out that up to £617 million would be made available. This is in addition to the £12.33 billion funding previously announced for the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF) and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF), meaning an amount of up to £617 million.
Government has introduced legislation helping tenants who are facing difficulties paying rent by implementing a pause on commercial forfeitures and we will review this. Government is urgently investigating what other support may be provided to commercial property owners as they seek to recover from the current crisis.
We have been working quickly to support the UK’s businesses and commercial real estate sector through the crisis. This has included support through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Corporate Financing Facility - support which is available to both tenants and landlords. The Small Business Grant Fund is designed for eligible small businesses with relatively high fixed costs and experiencing reduced trade as a result of social distancing and closures policies.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to providing ‘top up’ income support for employees who are unable to work their full hours due to childcare commitments arising from school and nursery closures.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government recognises it is a challenge for parents to balance paid work and childcare while schools and nurseries are closed. Schools remain open for children of key workers and the most vulnerable children, and the Government has put in place a national voucher scheme to provide free school meals for children while at home.
Families who see a fall in earnings may become eligible for support through the welfare system, including through Universal Credit (UC). Existing UC claimants are likely to receive a higher award as a result of a fall in earnings. For employed claimants this will be updated automatically using information from the PAYE system. In response to the crisis, the Government has strengthened the welfare system, including by increasing the UC standard allowance and the Working Tax Credit basic element by £20 per week. In addition, to protect people’s jobs and incomes as far as possible during the crisis, the Government has announced a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential economic benefit of parents being allowed to undertake reduced hours on full pay rather than being furloughed whilst balancing work and care commitments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is designed to help those who otherwise would have been made unemployed and to provide support to businesses as quickly as possible. Allowing employers to move staff to part-time and claim the difference would have substantially increased the risk of fraud. However, there is flexibility in the scheme as employers can decide how many staff to furlough, and staff can be furloughed multiple times while the scheme is in operation, provided they are furloughed for a minimum of three weeks.
The Government recognises that it is challenging for parents to balance paid work and childcare while schools and nurseries are closed. Schools remain open for children of key workers and the most vulnerable children, and the Government has put in place a national voucher scheme to provide free school meals for children while at home. Families who see a fall in earnings may become eligible for support through the welfare system, including through Universal Credit (UC).
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that pregnant employees do not suffer detriment at work, including dismissal or less favourable treatment, as a result of following public health guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government is determined to ensure that pregnant women do not suffer detriment at work in any circumstances, including where they have followed public heath guidance.
The Coronavirus outbreak has not changed the law on pregnancy and maternity discrimination. There is no place for it under any circumstances. If a pregnant woman is dismissed or made redundant on the grounds of her pregnancy, this is automatically unfair dismissal.
Under Health and Safety legislation, it remains the employer’s responsibility to put in place arrangements to control health and safety risks. There are already specific requirements in place for pregnant workers and guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sets out the expectations around risk assessments, finding alternative work and medical suspension, where necessary.
In terms of new specific coronavirus interventions, HSE will consider taking a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks where it is clear an employer is not following Public Health England guidance properly (eg not taking appropriate action on social distancing or ensuring workers in the shielded category can follow advice to self-isolate). Government guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme also makes it clear that pregnant women can be furloughed if they and their employer agree, and provided they meet the normal eligibility requirements.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether employees who cannot practically work because they are shielding themselves in line with the current public health guidance, or because of childcare commitments, can be furloughed. [T]
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
To be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, employees must have been on their employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and HMRC must have received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020. Employees who cannot work due to shielding or because of childcare commitments should speak to their employer about whether they plan to place staff on furlough. The grant will start on the day they were placed on furlough, and this can be backdated to 1 March 2020.
The Government recognises it is a challenge for parents to balance paid work and childcare while schools and nurseries are closed. Schools remain open for children of critical workers and the most vulnerable children, and the Government has put in place a national voucher scheme to provide free school meals for children while at home. Families who see a fall in earnings may become eligible for support through the welfare system, in particular Universal Credit (UC).
For shielding employees, if a firm chooses not to furlough shielding staff, they are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay as a statutory minimum, although many employers will pay more than that in occupational sick pay.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why HM Treasury has decided that existing lending will not be exempted from their policy of making HMRC a secondary preferential creditor in insolvencies; and what assessment they have made of the impact of this decision on the continued availability of existing business lending.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
This reform is designed to ensure that when a business becomes insolvent, more of the taxes paid in good faith by that business’s employees and customers will go to fund public services as intended, rather than being distributed to other creditors such as financial institutions.
This measure does not include a cap on the age of tax debts which will be eligible for secondary preferential status, nor an exemption for existing lending. Either proposal would introduce potential distortions into the lending market which the Government does not consider to be either fair or proportionate.
The Government does not expect this reform to have a significant impact on access to finance, the cost of borrowing, business rescue support in the UK or the UK’s ranking in the World Bank’s annual “Doing Business” report.
Consistent with the Government’s impact assessment, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) did not make any adjustments to their economic forecast in response to this measure.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why HM Treasury has decided to not introduce a cap on the age of tax debts which will be eligible for secondary preferential status in insolvencies from April 2020; and what assessment they have made of the impact of this decision on the costs of insolvency procedures and business lending.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
This reform is designed to ensure that when a business becomes insolvent, more of the taxes paid in good faith by that business’s employees and customers will go to fund public services as intended, rather than being distributed to other creditors such as financial institutions.
This measure does not include a cap on the age of tax debts which will be eligible for secondary preferential status, nor an exemption for existing lending. Either proposal would introduce potential distortions into the lending market which the Government does not consider to be either fair or proportionate.
The Government does not expect this reform to have a significant impact on access to finance, the cost of borrowing, business rescue support in the UK or the UK’s ranking in the World Bank’s annual “Doing Business” report.
Consistent with the Government’s impact assessment, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) did not make any adjustments to their economic forecast in response to this measure.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that their proposal to make HMRC a secondary preferential creditor in insolvencies will have on the UK’s ranking in the World Bank’s annual "Doing Business" report.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
This reform is designed to ensure that when a business becomes insolvent, more of the taxes paid in good faith by that business’s employees and customers will go to fund public services as intended, rather than being distributed to other creditors such as financial institutions.
This measure does not include a cap on the age of tax debts which will be eligible for secondary preferential status, nor an exemption for existing lending. Either proposal would introduce potential distortions into the lending market which the Government does not consider to be either fair or proportionate.
The Government does not expect this reform to have a significant impact on access to finance, the cost of borrowing, business rescue support in the UK or the UK’s ranking in the World Bank’s annual “Doing Business” report.
Consistent with the Government’s impact assessment, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) did not make any adjustments to their economic forecast in response to this measure.