Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
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 support deregulation on food manufacturing businesses specialising in products high in fat, salt and sugar, to encourage investment from those businesses in the UK.
Answered by Dean Russell
This is not a matter for BEIS, it is for individual departments to assess the merits of deregulation in their own sectors.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the evolving security situation between the Ukraine and Russia, what steps he has taken to ensure the security of the UK's domestic (a) oil and (b) gas supply.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK has strong oil and gas security of supply.
The UK participates in a global market for crude oil and petroleum products and is a significant producer of both. UK demand is met by a combination of domestic production and imports from a diverse range of reliable suppliers led by North America and Norway.
The UK’s gas system has delivered securely to date and is expected to continue to function well. We meet around half of our supply from the UK Continental Shelf and the vast majority of our imports come from reliable suppliers such as Norway. Less than 3% of our gas supply in 2020 was sourced from Russia via Liquified Natural Gas. There is no direct pipeline between the UK and Russia.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
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 (a) tackle the disparity in the proportion of the weekly budget a household in the East Midlands spends on heating their home compared to London and (b) support affordable domestic production of oil and gas.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is seeking to reduce the energy bills of low income and vulnerable households across England through energy efficiency measures. Schemes such as the Sustainable Warmth Competition and the Energy Company Obligation are delivering such measures through engagement with local authorities to ensure targeted delivery.
The upstream oil and gas production sector is well placed to deliver as much domestic production as possible during the winter period. There has been strong resilience in production and most of the maintenance delayed due to COVID-19 has now been completed.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2021 to Question 11649 and with reference to the advice given to the Government by the SAGE Environmental and Modelling Group of 4 November 2020, what steps his Department has taken to develop impartial guidance for consumers to allow them to identify appropriate air cleaning devices and technologies to combat SARS-CoV-2.
Answered by Paul Scully
All products, including air cleaning devices, placed on the market must be safe and must not make untrue or misleading statements about their properties and performance. Consumer law requires traders to provide consumers with information on the main characteristics of goods and it must be accurate and not misleading. Consumers may also request information from the retailer when making a purchase and the retailer would be required to provide this accurately under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Consumers can seek free information and advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 (www.citizensadvice.org.uk/).
The Government publishes a wide range of information for businesses about product regulation and complying with product safety legislation on its GOV.UK website (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/product-safety-for-businesses-a-to-z-of-industry-guidance). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued guidance on keeping workplaces safe and disinfecting premises (https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/disinfecting-premises-during-coronavirus-outbreak.htm).
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has previously published consumer survey data outlining attitudes and behaviours to products related to COVID-19, including air cleaning technologies:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opss-covid-19-consumer-survey.
After the SAGE paper publication (4 November 2020), the OPSS collaborated with the SAGE Environmental and Modelling Group to review evidence gaps associated with consumer knowledge. The OPSS has since commissioned further consumer surveys and the findings will be published in due course.
Public Health England is responsible for providing advice on public health matters to the general public.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2021 to Question 11648 and with reference to the advice given to the Government by the SAGE Environmental and Modelling Group of 4 November 2020, what research is being undertaken to evaluate likely consumer response to the use of air cleaning technologies and understand their level of knowledge and potential behavioural actions.
Answered by Paul Scully
All products, including air cleaning devices, placed on the market must be safe and must not make untrue or misleading statements about their properties and performance. Consumer law requires traders to provide consumers with information on the main characteristics of goods and it must be accurate and not misleading. Consumers may also request information from the retailer when making a purchase and the retailer would be required to provide this accurately under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Consumers can seek free information and advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 (www.citizensadvice.org.uk/).
The Government publishes a wide range of information for businesses about product regulation and complying with product safety legislation on its GOV.UK website (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/product-safety-for-businesses-a-to-z-of-industry-guidance). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued guidance on keeping workplaces safe and disinfecting premises (https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/disinfecting-premises-during-coronavirus-outbreak.htm).
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has previously published consumer survey data outlining attitudes and behaviours to products related to COVID-19, including air cleaning technologies:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opss-covid-19-consumer-survey.
After the SAGE paper publication (4 November 2020), the OPSS collaborated with the SAGE Environmental and Modelling Group to review evidence gaps associated with consumer knowledge. The OPSS has since commissioned further consumer surveys and the findings will be published in due course.
Public Health England is responsible for providing advice on public health matters to the general public.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2021 to Question 11649 and with reference to the advice given to the Government by the SAGE Environmental and Modelling Group of 4 November 2020, what steps he is taking to support industry and consumers to ensure that they are selecting and using air cleaning technologies safely and effectively.
Answered by Paul Scully
All products, including air cleaning devices, placed on the market must be safe and must not make untrue or misleading statements about their properties and performance. Consumer law requires traders to provide consumers with information on the main characteristics of goods and it must be accurate and not misleading. Consumers may also request information from the retailer when making a purchase and the retailer would be required to provide this accurately under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Consumers can seek free information and advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 (www.citizensadvice.org.uk/).
The Government publishes a wide range of information for businesses about product regulation and complying with product safety legislation on its GOV.UK website (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/product-safety-for-businesses-a-to-z-of-industry-guidance). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued guidance on keeping workplaces safe and disinfecting premises (https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/disinfecting-premises-during-coronavirus-outbreak.htm).
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has previously published consumer survey data outlining attitudes and behaviours to products related to COVID-19, including air cleaning technologies:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opss-covid-19-consumer-survey.
After the SAGE paper publication (4 November 2020), the OPSS collaborated with the SAGE Environmental and Modelling Group to review evidence gaps associated with consumer knowledge. The OPSS has since commissioned further consumer surveys and the findings will be published in due course.
Public Health England is responsible for providing advice on public health matters to the general public.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps the Government has taken to boost the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises in the East Midlands.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Small and medium sized enterprises in the East Midlands can access business advice through their local Growth Hubs. Led and governed by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP), Growth Hubs provide a free, impartial, ‘single point of contact’ to help businesses in the area identify and access the right support for them at the right time no matter their size or sector. The LEPs which cover the East Midlands have self-reported that in FY2017-2018 their Growth Hubs supported over 12,000 businesses and helped over 300 individuals start a business
Since its creation in 2012, the Government-backed Start Up Loans company has made 3,573 loans worth over £25.5m to the East Midlands region. In the Mansfield constituency, 66 loans have been made worth £503,200[1].
April 2019’s increase in the National Living Wage (NLW) means that 157,000 workers in the East Midlands have received an inflation-beating pay rise of 4.9%. The latest estimates suggest that 5,000 workers in Mansfield are receiving the NLW and National Minimum Wage.
The Industrial Strategy is creating an economy that works for everyone; setting out a long-term plan to boost productivity by backing businesses to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people throughout the United Kingdom. Nationally, the Government is providing up to £18.6 million to Be the Business to increase firm level productivity by supporting SMEs to make simple changes and learn from each other.
And the £9 million Business Basics Programme is testing innovative ways of encouraging SMEs to take-up proven technology and business practices that can boost productivity. A total of £2 million has been allocated to projects from the first round of the Business Basics Fund and we are expecting to allocate a further £2 million of funding in Autumn 2019.
[1] At May 2019
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to help businesses to create more highly skilled jobs in the East Midlands.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Industrial Strategy is our long-term plan to boost productivity by backing businesses to create high-quality, well paid jobs throughout the United Kingdom, with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure. The Government is supporting businesses in the East Midlands through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which brings together world-class UK research with business investment to develop the technologies that will transform existing industries and create entirely new ones. We have to date allocated £6m of ISCF grant funding to projects in the East Midlands and already support a wider range of projects in the East Midlands. For example, we support a robotics project based with the University of Nottingham, in partnership with businesses based at the National Space Centre in Leicester, which is dedicated to investigating the potential of manufacturing in space; which could enable the in-orbit manufacture of replacement parts and tools.
Also, since its launch in 2012, the Start-Up Loans programme, part of the British Business Bank, has delivered more than 59,000 loans, totalling over £450m. 65 Start-Up Loans have been provided to the Mansfield constituency with a total value of £488,200.
Another example of our help to local businesses to create more highly skilled jobs in East Midlands, is through the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). They are developing Local Industrial Strategies setting out how they will support the growth in their local economies.Through the Midlands Engine Strategy, we are investing in skills, industries, and infrastructure to boost productivity and create highly skilled jobs. One such instrument is the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, which provides over £250 million to support small businesses to grow. Examples of investments made by LEPs across the East Midlands that are designed to support businesses to create more highly skilled jobs include:
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
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 prevent pub closures.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Several measures have been introduced across Government to support pubs, including a freeze on beer duty announced at Budget 2018. This means that the price of a typical pint of beer in 2019 will be 2p lower than it would have been had duty increased with inflation and 14p lower than it otherwise would have been since ending the beer duty escalator in 2013.
Many small pubs will benefit from the business rates retail discount announced at Budget 2018, which cuts bills by one third from April 2019 for two years. It is available to pubs with a rateable value below £51,000 and is worth almost £900 million to businesses over two years. The Government estimates up to 75% of pubs in England could be eligible for the discount, subject to state aid limits and eligibility for other reliefs.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
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 support the self-employed in Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Our Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. To support this, we have a network of 38 Growth Hubs across the UK. The D2N2 Growth Hub, which serves the Nottinghamshire area is led and governed by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
D2N2 Growth Hub provides a local single point of contact for all businesses, no matter their size or sector, to access business advice from across the public and private sectors, at a local and national level. In October 2018, the D2N2 LEP self-reported that the D2N2 Growth Hub has supported 6,770 businesses and helped 1,231 individuals start a business since its launch in 2014, of those individuals 281 were from Nottinghamshire and 350 from Nottingham City.
The Government-owned British Business Bank offers start-up loans to entrepreneurs wishing to start a business. From launch of the programme in 2012 to 30 September 2018, a total of 361 start-up loans with a value of £2 million were advanced to businesses in
Nottingham City. The equivalent figures for Nottinghamshire are 457 loans with a value of £3.5 million.