Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of young people who will benefit from the increase in the national minimum wage announced in April 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
Through the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage, the Government protects the lowest paid within our society. On 1 April 2021, the Government increased the minimum wage rates for all age groups. Young people and apprentices saw above inflation increases in the National Minimum Wage rates of between 1.5% and 3.6% on 1 April 2021. In addition, the reduction in the National Living Wage age threshold from 25+ to 23+ gave an extra 71p per hour to those aged 23 and 24 – the largest individual increase for this group ever.
Our best estimates suggest that over 300,000 workers aged 16-24 benefitted from the rise in the National Minimum Wage. This consists of under 100,000 23-24 year olds, over 100,000 21-22 year olds, approximately 90,000 18-20 year olds and around 20,000 16-17 year olds. Furthermore, around 30,000 Apprentices of all ages also received a pay rise as a result of the April 2021 uprating.
Further details on the impact of the rate increases on young people are contained in the 2021 Impact Assessment here.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding from the public purse the Government plans to disburse in Northern Ireland through the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio in each of the next three years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) is open to all regions of the UK, including Northern Ireland. The Government’s £1bn investment in innovation through the NZIP will support levelling-up and will support the best ideas and organisations, wherever they are based.
All grants through the programme will be awarded on the basis of fair and open competition. As a result, we cannot determine how much grant funding will go to any particular region.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many loans have been issued under the Bounce Back Loan scheme and to what value in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Paul Scully
A breakdown on the number of loans issued through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme as of 10 January 2021 is in the table below.
| Value of Loans Offered (£) | Number of Loans Offered |
England | 38,387,275,292 | 1,253,376 |
Scotland | 2,496,404,756 | 86,062 |
Wales | 1,524,813,850 | 55,094 |
Northern Ireland | 1,172,538,374 | 38,181 |
Updated figures will be published in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 further steps to support the travel agency sector in the context of the continuing uncertainty for airline travel as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Paul Scully
We recognise that these are very challenging conditions for businesses in the travel sector, including travel agents, which is why we have provided a range of measures to support the sector.
In total, over £25bn has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks. On top of the Government’s wider economic support package, we have extended business rates relief and introduced new Restart Grants of up to £18,000 for many in the sector.
We have also extended the cut in VAT for tourism and hospitality activities to 5% until the end of September. To help businesses manage the transition back to the standard rate, a 12.5% rate will then apply for a further six months.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if will make an assessment of the potential merits of including Solar PV and Battery Storage in the Green Homes Grant scheme.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
We are listening to feedback on the Green Homes Grant, including on the type of technologies included in the scheme. The list of technologies currently included in the scheme reflects our assessment of the best balance between economic stimulus and maximising value for householders and taxpayers. We will assess potential technologies under consideration against the following broad policy criteria - job creation, carbon savings, fuel poverty, delivery confidence, value for money, along with BEIS’ wider departmental objectives.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 effectiveness of the operation of Enterprise Zones to help those zones that have been less successful.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Enterprise Zones programme has supported the design of the Freeports model. A consultation was run earlier in the year and the Government response has recently been published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878352/Freeports_Consultation_Extension.pdf.
We are committed to continuing to work with local places to deliver economic growth across the country.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 assess the (a) scale and (b) cost of potential fraud in the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
As part of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme application process lenders undertake fraud checks, including Know Your Customer and Anti Money Laundering checks as required. In addition, the application form is clear – any individual who knowingly provides false information is at risk of criminal prosecution. We are working across Departments, and with lenders and law enforcement agencies, to tackle fraudulent abuse of the scheme.
Further details of how we expect the Bounce Back Loan Scheme to perform are set out in our accounts for 2019-20, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of the House. At this early stage, such estimates are naturally highly uncertain as reflected in the explanatory notes of the Accounts.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 include (a) the self employed and (b) non-business rate businesses in the coronavirus business interruption scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme supports small and medium-sized businesses with access to working capital (including loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance) of up to £5 million and for up to 6 years.
The Scheme is available to self-employed individuals with an eligible business entity. This includes sole traders, freelancers, bodies corporate, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships or any other legal entity carrying out a business activity in the United Kingdom, with a turnover of less than £45m, operating in most sectors.
Whether or not a business is liable for Business Rates, or occupies business premises, is not a consideration under the Scheme.