Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What recent progress his Department has made on the Government's levelling-up agenda.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have a clear commitment to level up all areas of the country. The recent announcement of our 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution to support green jobs, and a forthcoming Industrial Strategy refresh, are a critical part of this.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
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 bring forward proposals to tackle fuel poverty.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Improving energy efficiency is the best long-term solution to tackle fuel poverty and at the Summer Economic Update we announced more than £2 billion of funding for upgrading the energy efficiency of homes. The Green Homes Grant is a £2 billion programme which will help improve the energy efficiency of homes in England. Low-income homeowners in receipt of certain benefits may be eligible for a grant covering up to 100% of the cost of installation. The 2020 Spending Review committed a further £320 million in funding for the Green Homes Grant for 2021-22 and £150 million to help some of the poorest homes become more energy efficient and cheaper to heat with low-carbon energy.
The Energy Company Obligation scheme requires energy companies to deliver energy efficiency and heating measures to low income, vulnerable and fuel poor households. The current scheme is worth £640m per year and ends in March 2022. The Prime Minister announced an extension to this scheme until 2026 in his Ten Point Plan. We also recently closed our consultation on the extension of the Warm Home Discount until March 2022. This will continue to provide a £140 energy bill rebate to over 2 million low income and vulnerable households, and vital projects helping fuel poor households throughout the country through Industry Initiatives.
We are currently consulting on improving the standard of privately rented homes in England and Wales through a minimum energy efficiency performance standard of Band C, helping to tackle fuel poverty in that tenure.
An updated fuel poverty strategy for England will also be released in the coming months, outlining our commitments to delivering against our statutory target to ensure that as many fuel poor homes as is reasonably practicable achieve a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C, by 2030.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
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 effect on local economies in West Yorkshire of young people moving to urban centres for work.
Answered by Paul Scully
We are investing over £695m in towns and cities across Leeds city region to provide the infrastructure and business support needed to grow the economy and jobs. In addition, investment of £30m per year will be made until 2035 for transport schemes to improve the connection between local areas and urban centres. The spatial concentration of jobs in the area has shifted over the last decade, and local priorities for investment are based on improving the local economy including increasing opportunities for work for young people.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many business have submitted HR1 forms to the Insolvency Service's Redundancy Payments Service since April 2020.
Answered by Paul Scully
Employers are required to file an HR1 Form with the Redundancy Payments Service where they are proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees at a single establishment. Between 1st April 2020 and 30th September 2020 HR1 forms were received from 4,112 businesses.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate the Insolvency Service has made of the number of employees notified in HR1 forms as being at risk of redundancy in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber since March 2020.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service collects HR1 data and shares it with Government Departments and Agencies which provide support for redundant employees and the unemployed. HR1s are submitted by employers where there is a proposal to make 20 or more redundancies at an establishment. HR1s may include proposed dismissals due to changes to terms and conditions or a proposed relocation of employees which may not necessarily result in any redundancies.
The HR1s received detail a maximum number of potentially affected employees and the Insolvency Service makes no estimations from the HR1 returns of the number of employees that may be at risk in any particular location.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when staff of his Department will be required to return to their workplace as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Since 23 March 2020, the Department has applied the Government’s Safer Working Guidance (for England, Scotland and Wales) to ensure the safety of our staff.
In line with the Government’s latest guidance from 1 August 2020, we are gradually increasing the number of staff working in the office whilst also continuing to enable working from home. This follows a programme of ongoing activity across all our sites to complete COVID-19 Risk Assessments, prepare our buildings, and consult with staff.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when a covid-19 risk assessment was undertaken for his Department's office in Victoria Street; who carried out those risk assessments; what proportion of staff will be able to return to work in that office; what reduction in workplace capacity that risk assessment identified; how decisions on which staff will be required to return to his Department's offices are made; and if he will place a copy of the risk assessment in the Library.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The COVID-19 Risk Assessment for 1 Victoria Street was undertaken on 12 May 2020. The risk assessment was subsequently reviewed and updated on 2, 3, 4 and 11 June 2020. Prior to this, individual risk assessments were carried out for departmental staff needing to work in the building since the advent of COVID-19.
The risk assessment was undertaken by the Department’s Health, Safety & Wellbeing team in consultation with the Departmental Trade Union Side, with engagement from the Government Property Agency and ISS (our facilities contractor).
Based on current social distancing measures and maintaining a COVID-19 Secure building, 84% reduction in workplace capacity was identified resulting in 13% of the Department’s staff being able to work in the 1 Victoria Street office at any one time, when compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.
In line with the “Working Safely during Coronavirus guidance on office working”, the majority of staff are working from home. When deciding on whether staff can return to the workplace, the Department considers whether staff perform a critical role which cannot be performed remotely, or if there are personal circumstances which mean an individual is unable to work from home. This may include a lack of a safe, suitable working environment or a wellbeing concern.
The risk assessment results for 1 Victoria Street follow the Results summary of COVID-19 Risk Assessment for Civil Service Departments, which was published on GOV.UK by the Cabinet Office on 3 August 2020. A copy of the Results summary of COVID-19 Risk Assessment for Civil Service Departments has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
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 ensure the consistent application of Business Support Grants for organisations in receipt of Small Business Rates relief across local government; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government has put forward a package support for businesses to help with their ongoing business costs in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. This includes the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF). Businesses in scope of this scheme are those with a property that, on 11 March 2020, were in receipt of either Small Business Rates Relief (including those with a Rateable Value between £12,000 and £15,000 which received tapered relief) or Rural Rates Relief.
Local authorities are responsible for delivering grants to eligible businesses and we have provided detailed Grant Funding Schemes guidance for local authorities on the eligibility for, and provision of, this fund: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding. We are also working closely with local authorities to ensure the appropriate assurance checks are made before grants are paid out and to promote and share best practice, including providing supplementary guidance and FAQs.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what day he held discussions with representative from AirBus on safeguarding jobs in that company; and what support the Government has provided to that company during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government regular meets with Airbus to discuss a wide range of business issues. Details of meetings held by Ministers in the Department are recorded in our transparency data, which is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
Airbus is benefiting from the Government’s £300 billion Covid-19 business support package, which includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Aerospace companies, such as Airbus, are also benefiting from over £6.25 billion of through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, as well as our grants for research and development, and through UK Export Finance over the next 18 months.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which public appointments she is responsible for.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The public appointments that the Department is responsible for making are set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019: