Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the hospitality sector of ending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in October 2020.
Answered by Paul Scully
We have engaged closely with representatives from the hospitality sector to discuss i the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and other issues. The Government will continue to work with the hospitality sector to ensure it is supported through the reopening period and its longer-term recovery following the Covid-19 outbreak. Recent announcements such as the Job Retention Bonus, the six-month temporary VAT reduction from 20% to 5% for the hospitality sector and the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme that is running during August will all provide additional support for the sector.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from different industries and sectors on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on those industries and sectors.
Answered by Paul Scully
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and other ministers at BEIS hold regular sector calls with all the industries that BEIS covers, including but not limited to sectors within manufacturing, energy, construction, life sciences, professional services, retail and hospitality. The industry representatives range from large to small businesses and trade associations. Additionally, since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Secretary of State has held frequent group calls with the major business representative organisations that represent a wide range of businesses in sectors and regions. All these engagements have provided information on the impact of Covid-19 on industries and sectors, and have informed the response from BEIS and other Government departments. The BEIS ministerial team continues to use these on-going engagements to ensure the effectiveness of the Government’s responses to the Covid-19 outbreak and, as demonstrated by the Secretary of State’s recent industry roundtables on Economic Recovery, to ensure a safe return to work across the whole UK economy as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to promote green jobs and investment as part of the economic recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
In his speech of June 30, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear that in recovering from COVID-19, we must build back greener. This year alone, the government has set out billions in ambitious support for our low-carbon economy and green jobs. In the Chancellor’s economic update on July 8, over £3 billion investment was announced to decarbonise the UK’s buildings and transform energy efficiency in homes. This investment could support up to 140,000 green jobs.
In addition, on 30 June, the Prime Minister announced the £40m Green Recovery Challenge Fund. This will help to restore nature and tackle climate change while also creating up to 3,000 jobs and safeguarding up to 2,000 others in conservation organisations and suppliers.
These recent announcements build on investments outlined in the Spring Budget to support our low-carbon economy and green jobs including £1 billion for ultra-low emission vehicles including for charging infrastructure and plug-in grants and £800 million to capture carbon from power stations and industry.