Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to the public purse was of the Business Connect event held on 23 April 2023.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The delivery of Business Connect in April 2023 cost the Department for Business and Trade £260,551.32.
Business Connect was funded by the Department for Business and Trade’s Resource DEL budget for priority events for financial year 2023-24.
No further funding has been specifically allocated within the Department for Business and Trade for future Business Connect events in financial year 2023-24.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority on a potential merger between ASDA and EG Group.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Under competition law, the independent Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is responsible for investigating the impact of mergers and acquisitions on competition. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade is therefore not involved with specific cases. The Government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers and expertise to investigate the benefits and risks of mergers in relation to competition within the UK.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent progress her Department has made on establishing tariff-free trade with the USA.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We already have a strong trading relationship with the United States worth £279 billion in 2022, and we are working to further improve the trading landscape and open market access. Over the past year we’ve removed US tariffs on UK steel and aluminium and removed the US ban on UK lamb. We’ve also been working closely on shared priorities identified at the 2022 UK-US Trade Dialogues – including digital trade and support for SMEs.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what benefit joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership will have for the economy.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
CPTPP will act as a gateway to the Indo-Pacific, one of the most dynamic and fastest growing regions on earth.
The Indo Pacific is expected to account for the majority of global growth by 2050.
CPTPP will grow almost 40% faster than the EU, over the next three decades.
And membership of the bloc will enhance access to a market of over 500m consumers for the UK's goods and services.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her department has made on the potential impact of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
As a free trade area connecting a wide group of economies, CPTPP creates opportunities to deepen our trading links across the Americas and Asia-Pacific region.
It does not require us to cede sovereignty over our laws, borders, trade policy or money and as a sovereign nation we have the right to regulate as we see fit and in the best interests of the UK.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to increase the period of eligibility for Statutory Paternity Leave.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Employed fathers and partners can take two weeks of paternity leave and pay following their child’s birth or adoption, if they meet certain eligibility criteria. As outlined in our Manifesto, the Government is committed to making it easier for fathers and partners to take Paternity Leave. The Government consulted on parental leave and pay reform, including Paternity Leave and Pay in 2019. We are considering responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with industry stakeholders on taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint of steel manufacturing.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government recognises the vital role that the steel sector plays in our economy. The 2021 Net Zero Strategy reaffirms our commitment to a sustainable steel sector and to continue working with the steel industry on decarbonisation.
Whilst decarbonisation pathways for specific sites will be a commercial decision for individual companies, we are working closely with industry stakeholders to support decarbonisation options and reduce the carbon footprint of steel manufacturing.
We regularly engage with industry stakeholders to ensure advances towards our Net Zero obligations and to help inform progress to reducing our carbon footprint.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with British Steel on the closure of the coking plant in Scunthorpe.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The previous Business Secretary had discussions with British Steel which covered the potential closure of the coking ovens, amongst broader matters. He urged British Steel not to make any irreversible decisions whilst negotiations were ongoing, but this was ultimately a commercial decision.
I am in regular contact with the company, unions and other partners, as are Government officials. The Government stands ready to support employees affected by British Steel’s decision, and we continue working with British Steel on a plan for a long-term, sustainable future.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require every employer to have a recognised trade union in the workplace.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Collective bargaining in the UK is largely a matter for individual employers, their employees and their trade unions. Many employers recognise a union voluntarily. Where an employer refuses to recognise a union, our trade union law provides for a statutory recognition procedure. This allows independent unions to apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) to be statutorily recognised for collective bargaining purposes.
Unions that can demonstrate that they have majority support for recognition in the workplace will secure statutory recognition from the CAC. The UK’s system is based therefore on the democratic wishes of workers in the workplace.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban zero-hours contracts.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, for both employers where there is not a constant demand for staff and for individuals who may need to balance work around other commitments such as childcare and study.
The Government is determined to tackle unfair working practices. For example, we have extended the existing ban on exclusivity clauses, which restrict staff from working for multiple employers, to contracts where the guaranteed weekly income is equivalent to or below the Lower Earnings Limit of £123 a week.
We are also supporting my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool South's Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill, to ensure that workers have the right to request a more predictable working pattern. Qualifying workers would be able to make an application to change their existing contract if it lacks predictability in terms of the hours they are required to work, the times they are required to work, and/or the duration of their contract.