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 Friends have been trained through the National Trading Standards' Friends Against Scams initiative in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in 2019.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Friends Against Scams initiative protects and prevents people from becoming victims of scams. In 2019, 208,158 people joined the scheme, bringing the total number to over 412,800. Regional figures are not available to National Trading Standards.
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, when he plans to make a decision on the UK's association with Horizon Europe.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Government will continue to collaborate with Europe on scientific research, and the UK’s negotiating approach states that the UK is ready to consider participation in certain EU programmes, including Horizon Europe.
The shape and content of EU Programmes post-2020, including Horizon Europe, are currently being negotiated in the EU Institutions and have not yet been finalised. These EU Programmes must be adopted by the EU before arrangements for potential UK participation could be finalised.
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 steps to ensure that the forthcoming oil and gas sector deal has the potential to provide benefits for energy sector companies across the UK.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
We know that the offshore oil and gas sector has a key role to play as we move to a Net Zero economy. We have committed to supporting this transition with a transformational Sector Deal. The oil and gas sector, including its supply chain, has a UK-wide footprint and as such we envisage that any Sector Deal should benefit companies across the whole of the UK. This will ensure they benefit from the opportunities of a Net Zero economy thereby anchoring them to the UK and retaining the high skilled jobs in the sector.
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 she is taking to ensure employees in receipt of salary levels below statutory minimum levels are given the appropriate salary increases.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone entitled to National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it. This is why we have more than doubled the compliance and enforcement budget for the NMW and NLW to £27.4 million for 2019/20, up from £13.2 million in 2015/16.
In 2018/19, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) identified a record £24.4 million in minimum wage arrears for over 220,000 workers and issued over £17 million in penalties to non-compliant employers.
HMRC use a range of techniques ranging from ‘nudge’ letters in low risk cases to criminal prosecution in the most egregious cases of underpayment. Without fail, HMRC investigate where they believe an employer is not paying the minimum wage, which includes following up every worker complaint they receive.
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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to enterprise zones.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Enterprise Zones act as a driving force for growth in local economies as they unlock key development sites, consolidate infrastructure, attract business and create jobs across 48 locations within England.
Government has provided a range of funding and other incentives for Enterprise Zones, including a £120 million ‘Building Foundations for Growth’ grant fund to accelerate development in Enterprise Zones, a five year tax relief for businesses and simplified planning processes.
LEPs have utilised proportions of their Growth Deal programmes to support development in their Enterprise Zones.
The ability to retain business rates locally for 25 years allows LEPs to borrow against predicted income which provides a sustainable funding model to support improvements required in the Enterprise Zone as well as in the wider local economy.
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, with reference to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in April 2018 in Belfast, what progress he has made in developing a business strategy for Northern Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is supporting Northern Ireland business to develop and thrive. The British Business Bank has issued 1,009 loans in Northern Ireland since 2012, to an average value of £7,217 and £7,285,132 in total and we announced in May a £105 million economic package for the Derry/Londonderry region.
BEIS officials have an ongoing working relationship with officials in the Northern Ireland Civil Service. However, it is essential that devolved government is restored in Northern Ireland to allow for local decision-making and to continue to strengthen the economy.