Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes had been retrofitted through the Local Authority Delivery Scheme in Wirral South on 21 November 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As of 21 November 2022, according to official figures, 28 homes have been retrofitted in Wirral South under the Local Authority Delivery Scheme.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people have received the Warm Homes Discount in Wirral South as of 24 November 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Energy suppliers are responsible for providing rebates to eligible households and are only required to report on the number of rebates provided in England, Scotland and Wales. The Government does not hold data on the number of rebate recipients by constituency.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the number of green jobs in Wirral South.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is supporting green jobs at a national level with the Green Jobs Delivery Group. This group has already supported 68,000 jobs nationally within the green economy. The Government is also working with the Green Jobs Delivery Group to explore how central Government, local Government and businesses can further support local areas to deliver a successful net zero labour market transition. Alongside this, BEIS is working with DfE and local partners to ensure green skills are considered through Local Skills Improvement Plans.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Wirral South have had ECO scheme measures installed as of 24 November 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
BEIS publishes information on the number of households in receipt of ECO measures by Parliamentary Constituency in Table 4.5 accompanying the latest Household Energy Efficiency Statistics release.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the rate of energy efficiency measure installations in homes in Wirral South.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including in Wirral South.
The Government is already investing £6.6 billion over this parliament on decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures.
The additional £6 billion of new Government funding, announced in the Autumn Statement, will be made available from 2025 to 2028.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of employment (a) legislation and (b) guidance in ensuring that employees on zero-hour contracts receive sufficient notice of their shift hours.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, for both employers to manage changing demand and for individuals who may need to balance work around other commitments such as childcare and study.
We have made good progress in bringing forward measures that add flexibility for workers while ensuring the protection of employment rights including banning exclusivity clauses in Zero Hours Contracts in 2015. In 2020, the Government introduced the right for all workers to receive a day one written statement of rights, setting out leave entitlements and pay. This ensures all workers have transparent information about their employment relationship.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with businesses in Wirral South on the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on those businesses.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Wirral South, and is engaging with businesses across the UK to understand these challenges and explore ways to mitigate them.
The Government has reversed the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs £4,200 on average, cut fuel duty for 12 months and brought in the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which is shielding businesses across the country from soaring energy prices, saving some around half of their wholesale energy costs.
We have also announced £13.6 billion of support for businesses over the next five years, reducing the burden of business rates for SMEs.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with (a) the Minister for Women and Equalities and (b) Cabinet colleagues on improving (i) access to entrepreneurial career pathways and (ii) business ownership for people with protected characteristics in Wirral South.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is fully committed to supporting businesses and creating the best conditions for enterprise so that everyone, whatever their background, has the means and know-how to start and grow a business.
We are supporting early-stage entrepreneurs from all backgrounds through the Start-Up Loans Company which provides funding and intensive support to new entrepreneurs. Since 2012, 40% of Start Up Loans have gone to women, worth over £341m and 20% of loans worth 183m have gone to Black, Asian, and Ethnic-minority business. (as at October 2022). 106 SMEs in Wirral South have received loans to the value of £1,014,500 as of October 2022.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of businesses are owned by women in Wirral South.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the UK in 2021, 19% of SMEs with employees (a three-percentage point increase on 2020) and 20% of firms with no employees (21% in 2020) were female-led. The government does not hold regional data relating to the proportion of female-led business.
The Rose Review is supported by the industry-led ‘Rose Review Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs’ that aims to coordinate industry-led action to increase investment into female-led businesses.
The Government has set an ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by half by 2030, equivalent to 600,000 new entrepreneurs.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many SMEs in Wirral South have received Government funding for support during the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Wirral South.
Businesses in Wirral South will have benefitted from the Government’s reversal of the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs on average £4,200, cut fuel duty for 12 months and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, to protect SMEs from high energy costs over the winter. The Employment Allowance was increased to £5,000 from April and we have continued to provide business rate relief worth over £7bn, freezing the business rates multiplier for a further year.
The Government is providing financial support - 106 SMEs in Wirral South have received Start Up Loans to the value of £1,014,500 as of October 2022.