Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 it his policy to extend the Warm Home Discount scheme to include carers on the lowest incomes.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is reforming the Warm Home Discount to better focus support towards households on the lowest incomes who are struggling to heat their homes, as outlined in the Government Response to the consultation published on 1st April. Eligibility will therefore be linked to receipt of a qualifying means-tested benefit and having high energy costs. Carers on the lowest incomes in receipt of one of the qualifying means-tested benefits and with high energy costs, or in receipt of the Guarantee Credit element of the Pension Credit, would therefore be eligible for a rebate.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what financial steps he will take to ensure that energy efficient heat pumps can be installed in all households the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands
The forthcoming Boiler Upgrade Scheme will provide financial support for the installation of low carbon heat technologies in homes and small non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme will provide grants of £5,000 towards for the installation of air source heat pumps and £6,000 for ground source heat pumps.
As part of the 2021 Spending Review process, the Government announced that £800 million has been committed for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund over 2022/23 to 2024/25, and that a further £950 million has been committed for the Home Upgrade Grant over the same period. These schemes operate in England and support the installation of measures which improve the energy efficiency of homes as well as heat pumps.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage major multinational companies to become more sustainable.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government continues to encourage and support UK businesses to set net zero commitments and deliver on them, including through the UN’s Race to Zero, reflected in the fact that 60 FTSE100 companies have signed up. This represents more than tripled a quadrupling in the 12 months up to COP26, as well as over £1.2 trillion in market capitalisation and over £700 billion in annual turnover. High-quality, independently verified net zero plans – not just pledges – are now becoming the norm due to the Race to Zero campaign.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that music makers receive equitable remuneration when contracting their product to streaming platforms.
Answered by George Freeman
A comprehensive programme of work is underway to investigate the issues raised by the Digital, Media, Culture and Sport Select Committee’s inquiry into the economics of music streaming. This includes Government-funded research and extensive stakeholder engagement to strengthen the evidence base needed to determine whether intervention is warranted.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 take steps to ensure that wages within the security industry rise above the rate of inflation.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government announced that on 1 April 2022, the National Living Wage (for workers aged 23 and over) will rise by 6.6% to £9.50. The independent Low Pay Commission recommended this rate and concluded that workers should see their pay rise faster than inflation.
The minimum wage applies to all sectors of the UK economy, including the security industry.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 merits of extending entitlement to parental bereavement leave and pay to parents of babies miscarried or stillborn during early pregnancy.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government recognises that losing a child at any age is deeply upsetting, and in April 2020 we legislated to give parents who lose a child under the age of 18 a right to take up to two weeks off work in the 56 weeks following the death of their child. This right extends to parents of babies stillborn after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy. In the Explanatory Memorandum published alongside the legislation, we committed to taking forward a review of the scheme’s impact in 2025.
Individuals who do not feel able to return to work following a miscarriage before 24 weeks may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay while off work. All employees are also entitled to 5.6 weeks of Annual Leave a year and many employers also offer ‘Compassionate Leave’. We encourage employers to respond sensitively to each individual’s specific needs.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that carbon emissions produced by public and private entities are audited by local authorities.
Answered by Greg Hands
Whilst the Government recognises that Local Authorities have an important role to play in delivering net zero, they are not responsible for auditing the emissions produced by public and private entities.