Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2024 to Question 2408 on Department for Business and Trade: Ministers, whether he plans to appoint an adviser for business engagement and trade strategy.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are no current plans to appoint a specific adviser for business engagement and trade strategy.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of business relief for Inheritance Tax in supporting family owned businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes data regularly about the number of claims and the cost of non-structural tax reliefs, such as agricultural property relief and business property relief. The information can be found at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of agricultural relief for Inheritance Tax in supporting farming businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes data regularly about the number of claims and the cost of non-structural tax reliefs, such as agricultural property relief and business property relief. The information can be found at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will have discussions with (a) Citizens Advice and (b) other stakeholders on the safety of battery-operated products imported from China.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK product safety law requires that all products must be safe before being placed on the market and enforcement authorities have powers to take appropriate action where unsafe or non-compliant products are identified. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) works with stakeholders to ensure the safety of products on the UK Market regardless of their origins.
This Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will ensure the UK is better placed to address product safety issues we face today and in the future. It will allow for agile and robust regulatory measures for products, including lithium-ion and button batteries, placed on the UK market.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to include in the Product Safety and Metrology Bill (a) changes to safety standards for and (b) measures to help prevent ingestion of button batteries.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK product safety law requires that all products must be safe before being placed on the market and enforcement authorities have powers to take appropriate action where unsafe or non-compliant products are identified. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) works with stakeholders to ensure the safety of products on the UK Market regardless of their origins.
This Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will ensure the UK is better placed to address product safety issues we face today and in the future. It will allow for agile and robust regulatory measures for products, including lithium-ion and button batteries, placed on the UK market.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 to introduce new metrics on retentions; and whether he plans to bring into force new metrics on the value of invoices paid and disputed invoices from 1 January 2025.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Legislation is expected to be laid before Parliament in 2024 to amend the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 to require new retention reporting requirements.
Amendments were made to the Payment Practices and Performance Regulations which introduced two new reporting metrics which will cover the value of payments, and the level of invoices not paid because of disputes. Businesses will be required to collect data and report on these new metrics from January 2025 as planned.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he expects to bring forward the Product Safety and Metrology Bill.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill was introduced into the House of Lords on 4 September 2024.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what underspends there have been in (a) his Department and (b) each of its arms length bodies in (i) this financial year and (ii) the Spending Review period.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the Chancellor set out in her statement on July 29, the government’s spending audit has identified a forecast Resource DEL overspend of £21.9 billion against the plans set out for departments at Spring Budget 2024. This already factors in the Treasury’s assessment of a £7.1bn fallaway over the course of the year, as set out in Table 1 of Fixing the foundations: public spending audit 2024-25.
The government has announced £5.5 billion of savings in 2024-25, bringing the in-year pressures down to £16.4 billion.
The Department for Business and Trade was created in February 2023 and is therefore the current financial year represents the departments second full financial year of operation. For the financial year 2023-24 the financial outturn, including details of any underspends, is still being finalised. The final numbers will be published in the Annual Report and Accounts in the Autumn 2024.
The extent of any underspends in this financial year will be confirmed only when the financial year has concluded.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has for new efficiency savings in (a) his Department and (b) each of its arms length bodies.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is taking action to make efficiency savings across back-office functions and communications and stopping non-essential spending on consultants. Further details are set out in Fixing the foundations: public spending audit 2-24-25.
To support the government’s ambition of making efficiency savings my department is working with the Treasury to identify opportunities to deliver the necessary saving.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many postmasters have been notified that their convictions have been quashed by the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As of 26 July 2024, we have issued 10 letters confirming to postmasters that their convictions have been quashed by the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024.
The Ministry of Justice, Northern Irish Executive and Scottish Government are taking all reasonable steps and are working at pace to identify those within scope of the legislation. To do this, the Government is examining data spanning multiple decades and from multiple sources, including but not limited to the Post Office, the Police National Record, and court files. It is necessary that this process is undertaken carefully.
The previous Government said publicly that most letters confirming to individuals that their convictions have been quashed would be sent by the end of July. However, since then inconsistencies have been identified between the different datasets and the Government has therefore decided to conduct extra checks to ensure that all decisions on scope are correct.