Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to safeguard firms from the effects of rising prices and supply chain disruptions.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government is committed to ensuring that the UK is a reliable, supportive place to do business where firms can import the goods they need efficiently. At Spring Budget 2024 the government announced measures that continue to support business, including increasing the VAT registration threshold and extending the Recovery Loan Scheme (now named the Growth Guarantee Scheme).
Mitigating supply chain disruptions remains a priority for government. In January 2024, the government published the Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy, which will help UK businesses build secure and reliable supply chains and access the goods they need.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential role of technology in tackling theft and violence in convenience stores across the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting and violence towards shopworkers has on businesses, communities, and consumers, and supports the use of emerging technologies to prevent and detect crime where it is necessary, proportionate, and fair.
In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel.
The plan encourages the use of technology; where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this as standard through the Police National Database using facial recognition technology to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
Innovative technologies have huge potential to cut crime and reduce the cost of crime to businesses, as well as making workplaces and communities safer. The Government is keen to support increased adoption of these technologies, to prevent crime, recognising this must be done in a lawful and proportionate way with due consideration given to privacy. We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group to discuss how technology can be used to tackle retail crime.
The National Business Crime Centre has been running workshops with retailers and Digital Evidence Management System (DEMS) providers to support the use of DEMS to help assist in sharing evidence with the police.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the risks posed by the use of artificial intelligence in the gambling industry, particularly (1) problem gambling, (2) addiction, and (3) mental health issues.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Gambling Commission, Great Britain’s statutory regulator, continues to monitor industry developments in artificial intelligence, informed by the expertise of its Digital Advisory Panel. This includes the exploration and consideration of the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning by gambling operators, and engagement with the industry better to understand their uses of AI. The Gambling Commission will continue to increase its capacity and capability to deploy data science in its regulation through the formation of a new Data Innovation Hub.
All gambling operators which provide gambling services to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission, and must comply with its codes of practice. The social responsibility code requires them to have and to put into effect policies and procedures to promote socially responsible gambling. These should reduce the risk of, and seek to identify those struggling with, problem gambling. The Gambling Commission has the power to remove an operating licence where a gambling business is deploying AI in a manner that undermines the statutory licensing objectives and duties.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the fall in the UK goods trade on national productivity, particularly in sectors affected by any barriers to trade resulting from Brexit.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since leaving the EU, the Department for Business and Trade has secured free trade deals with 73 countries in addition to our EU partners, which accounted for £1.1 trillion UK trade in 2022, and simplified import tariffs to lower costs for businesses and households.
The UK’s total trade with the world (including goods and services) increased by £36bn (inflation adjusted) in 2023 compared to 2018. Productivity in the UK's Manufacturing sector grew by 10% between 2016 and 2022, the highest manufacturing productivity growth in the G7.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to reports that retail sales and consumer spending rose at the slowest pace in February since 2022, what steps they are taking to address any challenges resulting from slow growth.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is delivering its plan for growth and is backing British businesses.
The IMF forecasts that the UK will have the third fastest cumulative growth in the G7 during 2024-2028.Therefore, with the economy beginning to turn a corner, we are now able to make responsible tax cuts to boost growth while meeting the fiscal rules to ensure sustainable public finances. This includes cutting the employee main rate of National Insurance to 8% which, will make an average worker on £35,400 over £900 a year better off than before. This means more money in people’s pockets, helping to increase disposable income and consumer confidence.
Government continues to back retailers. At Autumn Statement 2023 we extended Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief for 2024-5, a tax cut worth £2.4 billion, and froze the small business multiplier for a fourth consecutive year. At Spring Budget 2024, the government went further still by supporting small retailers by increasing the VAT registration threshold to £90,000 and extending the Recovery Loan Scheme, now the Growth Guarantee Scheme.
Combined, these measures will place more money in people’s pockets, boost consumer confidence, and help strengthen the UK’s retail sector.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support people at risk of homelessness due to 'no fault' evictions.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is investing over £1.2 billion in the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years, including a £109 million top-up for 2024/25, which gives councils the funding they need to prevent homelessness and support those at risk.
Local authorities can use the funding flexibly to work with landlords to prevent evictions.
Through our Renters (Reform) Bill, we will abolish ‘no fault’ evictions (Section 21), giving tenants greater security of tenure and thus reducing the risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support exporters affected by delays and higher shipping costs as a result of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department of Business and Trade is closely monitoring the Red Sea situation and we are proactively engaging with key businesses to identify trade issues, offer support on the crisis and updating businesses on the latest supply chain information. More broadly, our membership in Operation Prosperity Guardian demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring the Red Sea is safe for seafarers and traders to use. Our Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy will help UK business build the secure and reliable supply chains vital to the UK’s economic prosperity, national security and essential services.
UK businesses can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises a digital self-serve offer and our wider network of support, including trade advisors, export champions, the Export Academy, International Markets network, and UK Export Finance.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the National Housing Federation report The economic impact of building social housing, published in February, what assessment they have made of the economic benefits gained by investing in social housing.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Government’s £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) for 2021-26 funds the construction of tens of thousands of homes across the country. These include homes for rent, for low-cost home ownership, and specialist and supported housing. It offers strong value for money. The National Audit Offices estimates that for every £1 the programme spent, the programme provides £2.70 in economic and societal benefits.
Since 2010, Government has delivered over 696,100 new affordable homes, including over 482,000 affordable homes for rent, of which over 172,600 were homes for social rent.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Migration Advisory Committee's report Rapid review of the Immigration Salary List, published in February, what assessment they have made of the impact of the increased salary threshold for the Skilled Workers Visa on the ability of UK employers to fill jobs in key shortage areas.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making on the increases to the salary threshold for Skilled Workers, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the recent survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group, what steps they are taking to address the chief concerns identified by businesses, such as (1) high energy prices, and (2) taxation.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is backing British business, pursuing an ambitious policy agenda to boost growth and productivity. The OBR expects that policies announced at Spring Budget 2024 and in the previous two fiscal events will increase the size of the economy by 0.7% by 2028-29. This is through increasing total hours worked by the equivalent of more than 300,000 full-time workers and boosting business investment by £14 billion.
The Government provided an unprecedented package of support for businesses with energy costs through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) and the Energy Bill Discount Scheme. Together these schemes have provided around £7.5 billion to businesses for energy costs. In addition, the British Industry Supercharger, announced in February 2023, will significantly reduce electricity costs for key energy intensive industries such as steel, mining, batteries, and critical minerals.
On taxation, at Autumn Statement 2023 the Government made full expensing permanent, representing a tax cut to companies of over £10bn a year, and ensuring the UK has one of the most generous capital allowances regimes in the world. The Government also abolished the obligation to pay Class 2 self-employed NICs. Both announcements demonstrate the Government’s ongoing commitment to tax simplification.
In addition, the Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. This is why we announced at Spring Budget 2024 that the VAT threshold will be raised from £85,000 to £90,000 from 1 April 2024. At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the joint highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority UK businesses out of VAT altogether.