Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
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 the Green Homes Grant is spent effectively.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
We are continually evaluating the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme against broad policy criteria (including value for money, job creation and carbon savings) and will make improvements to the scheme on an ongoing basis.
The Scheme also has robust measures in place against fraud, as well as requiring installers to be Trustmark registered and carry the appropriate (PAS/MCS) certification, ensuring work is done to a high-quality standard.
There will be an evaluation of the processes and outcomes of the Voucher Scheme. An independent research organisation, Ipsos MORI, was contracted in December 2020 to undertake the evaluation. This will run until 2023, with interim publications released prior to the final evaluation report.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of (a) fuel poor, (b) social rented and (c) private rented homes that will reach EPC Band C by (i) 2025 and (ii) 2030.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
As of the most recent fuel poverty statistics, 10% of fuel poor, 56% of social rented and 33% of private rented homes are EPC Band C or above. As set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, the Government remains committed to fuel poor homes being upgraded to energy efficiency Band C by 2030, and our aspiration is that as many homes as possible are EPC Band C by 2035, where practical, cost effective and affordable.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer to Question 39781 on Construction: Coronavirus, how the Health and Safety Executive will be made aware of whether construction sites have considered introducing staggered start and finish times.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for ensuring that Public Health England (PHE) social distancing guidance is implemented on construction sites. It is not the role of the HSE to seek information about whether sites have considered staggered start times. The Site Operating Procedures recommend that the firms responsible for managing sites should consider staggering start and finish times to reduce pressure on public transport. However, this is not mandated by Government guidance.
The HSE has powers to take enforcement action if a site is not consistently implementing PHE guidance. Individuals can report problems to the HSE via an online form, or by telephone.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason (a) version 2 of the Construction Leadership Council’s guidance stated that no construction work should be carried out on site if social distancing could not be enforced and (b) that guidance was relaxed in version 3 of that publication.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Construction Leadership Council has developed Site Operating Procedures (SOP), which align with Public Health England (PHE) guidance on social distancing. The SOP provides practical advice to those seeking to implement the guidance on construction sites.
Following consultation with the industry, Version 3 was published to better align with PHE guidance. Version 3 provides more detailed advice on safe working, based on the latest guidance and incorporating an approach based on the Health and Safety Executive Hierarchy of Controls for work planning to mitigate risks.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to enforce staggered start times for construction sites to enable social distancing for construction workers on public transport during rush hour.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The health and safety of construction workers is a priority for the Government. To help ensure that it is safe for construction workers to operate in their workplace, the Government has worked with Public Health England to develop sector-specific guidance on social distancing, and has also worked with the Construction Leadership Council to develop Site Operating Procedures (SOP) which provide practical advice to those seeking to implement the guidance.
The SOP set out that sites should consider introducing staggered start and finish times to reduce congestion and contact, and plan site access and egress points to enable social distancing. The Government has asked the Health and Safety Executive to consider enforcement action if a site is not consistently implementing the measures set out by PHE.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to protect construction workers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The health and safety of construction workers is a priority for the Government. To help ensure that it is safe for construction workers to operate in their workplace, the Government has worked with Public Health England to develop sector-specific guidance on social distancing, and has also worked with the Construction Leadership Council to develop Site Operating Procedures (SOP) which provide practical advice to those seeking to implement the guidance.
The SOP set out that sites should consider introducing staggered start and finish times to reduce congestion and contact, and plan site access and egress points to enable social distancing. The Government has asked the Health and Safety Executive to consider enforcement action if a site is not consistently implementing the measures set out by PHE.
Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, under what conditions registered (a) charities and (b) societies will be able to apply for support through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme .
Answered by Paul Scully
Both registered charities and societies are able to apply for support through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme so long as more than 50% of their income comes from trading.
The scheme was made live on 23rd March and all details can be found on the British Business Bank website at www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils/