Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Frost on 27 May (HL Deb, cols 1103–6), which EU countries were involved in bi-lateral discussions with the UK Government about touring visas for workers in the cultural sector; and whether the Home Office was party to these discussions.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As the Secretary of State has said, we have moved at pace and with urgency on plans to support the creative sectors to tour in Europe. We are engaging on a bilateral basis with all 27 EU Member States, and through this engagement we have established that in at least 17 out of 27 Member States some touring activities are possible without visas or work-permits. The UK has significantly more generous arrangements for touring professionals than many Member States. We are now working closely with individual Member States to encourage them to adopt a more flexible approach, in line with the UK’s own rules which allow creative professionals to tour easily here. We are working with a number of departments on this engagement strategy, including the Home Office.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the responses by Lord Benyon on 25 May (HL Deb, cols 890–3), whether the evidence they used to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides in 2018 has changed; and, if so, (1) whether this has led to a change of policy, and (2) what plans they have to make any such evidence available as soon as practicable.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The 2018 restrictions on neonicotinoids were justified by the growing weight of scientific evidence that they are harmful to bees and other pollinators. The Government supported these restrictions because we were not prepared to put our pollinator populations at risk.
Our position on these pesticides remains the same. We support the restrictions on neonicotinoids but can consider applications for emergency authorisations.
We will only grant an emergency authorisation where the relevant statutory requirements are met. They will only be granted for limited and controlled use where the product is necessary because of a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means. We will carefully consider any potential risks to humans, animals and the environment, including pollinators.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why non-professional music activity in England has not been permitted to resume indoors without limits on numbers.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Non-professional activities are permitted indoors within the legal gathering limits in a group of up to 6 people, or as a group of 2 households/bubbles. Activities can take place with multiple permitted groups, provided the groups are kept separate throughout the activity, and the event is organised in line with the organised events guidance for local authorities. However, non-professional singing indoors should only take place in a single group of up to 6 people. Activities should be organised to allow for social distancing to be maintained.
We have followed the views of public health experts on singing. We are aware that singing can increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission through the spread of aerosol droplets. We will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review, in line with the changing situation. Further detail on step 4 will be set out as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Prompt Payment Code on SMEs in the construction sector, given that only a small minority of construction businesses are signatories to the Code.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to fulfilling its manifesto commitment to clamp down on non-payment and late payment to support small businesses in the UK.
We have introduced a number of measures to tackle late payment. These include the Payment Practices Reporting Duty which creates transparency in payment behaviour, and the Prompt Payment Code which sets standards and best practice in payment culture. Both measures are applicable in the construction sector.
Since September 2019, suppliers also risk being excluded from winning large Government contracts if they cannot demonstrate prompt payment. This policy applies to Central Government contracts valued above £5m per annum, subject to the Public Contracts Regulations.
In addition, in May 2020 the Government issued a Guidance Note on responsible contractual behaviour in the performance and enforcement of contracts impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government will continue to review behaviours in contracting, including public sector procurement, prompt payment and contract management arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to assist the Construction Leadership Council in achieving zero retentions within the construction sector by the target date of 2025.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government, in conjunction with the Construction Leadership Council, is working to identify a sustainable strategy on retentions for the whole construction sector.
Through the Business Models workstream of the Council, the practice of cash retentions and route to achieving zero retentions is being taken forward. This includes the options available, or could be developed, to provide an alternative to cash retentions and for the industry to reduce or eliminate defective construction work and having a procurement and delivery model that recognises, incentivises and rewards good quality work.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to communicate with (1) the public, (2) businesses, and (3) charities, about the forthcoming switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network; and what assessment they have made of the impact the switch-off will have for (a) alarm manufacturers, and (b) vulnerable users of analogue technology enabled care products.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The retirement of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and its replacement with Internet Protocol technology, is being led by Openreach and Virgin Media, as the relevant infrastructure owners. Openreach and Virgin Media have publicly set out their plans to withdraw these services by the end of 2025. The migration is likely to affect all fixed exchange lines, of which there are 31.3 million in the UK.
In June 2020, the Broadband Stakeholder Group, a Government advisory forum on telecoms policy, launched the ‘Future of Voice’ website. This consumer-facing website is designed to inform the public and businesses of the PSTN switchover process and was developed with the support of telecoms companies, Ofcom and DCMS. The website will also be a useful resource for charities, trade associations and public sector bodies to inform their members of the change.
Ofcom estimates that 81% of UK households have a landline service, with 4% of UK adults living in a home with a landline and no mobile phone, while 3% of UK households have only a landline without any broadband.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies Who is excluded from the government's Self Employment Income Support Scheme and what could the government do about it?, published on 27 January; and what plans they have to introduce targeted support to freelance workers in the creative industries who do not qualify for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (1) who became self-employed after 2019, and (2) who are on zero-hour contracts.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has provided and will continue to provide generous support to self-employed people who meet the eligibility criteria.
The Government has recognised taxpayers have faced immense challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has prioritised delivering support to as many people as possible while guarding against the risk of fraud or abuse.
The design of the SEISS, including the eligibility requirement that an individual’s trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to their non-trading income, means it is targeted at those who most need it, and who are most reliant on their self-employment income.
The SEISS is among the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world. The claims window for the third grant closed on 29 January 2021. As of 31 December, it received claims from 1.9 million individuals so far, amounting to £5.4bn.
The fourth grant will cover February to April 2021. The Government will set out further details at the Budget in March.
The SEISS continues to be just one element of a substantial package of support for the self-employed which includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.
The Government recognises the value of the cultural sector and creative professionals and has announced a £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to protect the cultural sectors through the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, more than £790m of grants and loans have been allocated to over 3,000 cultural organisations in England. Organisations supported include galleries, theatres, museums, orchestras, music venues, comedy clubs and festivals. This funding will help to support jobs and organisations across the country.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many applications were approved for, and (2) what was the total amount awarded through, the Green Homes Grant scheme in 2020
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As of 31 December 2020:
(1) 11,298 applications were approved, corresponding to 12,849 vouchers issued;
(2) The vouchers issued represents £52.1 million of approved funding. This will not be awarded until the scheduled works are completed and vouchers are redeemed.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many vouchers were sent out by email to successful applicants to the Green Homes Grant scheme in 2020.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As of 31 December 2020, 11,298 applications were approved, with 12,849 vouchers issued by email to successful applicants.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to review the effectiveness of the Electronic Communications Code contained within the Digital Economy Act 2017, and (2) to revise that code in order to address any barriers identified.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are committed to consulting on whether further reforms to the Electronic Communications Code are necessary to support the delivery of digital connectivity. Timings for this consultation are still to be finalised, and we will confirm this as soon as possible.