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 proportion of contracts issued by his Department and contractors include provisions to impose, as between parties to the subcontract, that any payment due from the contractor to a subcontractor under the contract is to be made no later than the end of a period of 30 days from the date on which the relevant invoice is regarded as valid and undisputed, as required by the Public Contract Regulations 2015.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
All contracts formed by Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy contain an obligation on the contractor to pay all valid and undisputed subcontractor invoices issued under the contract within 30 days. This includes contracts created using BEIS standard terms and conditions and those created using Crown Commercial Service standard framework terms and conditions.
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, whether her Cabinet have had discussions on the potential suspension of protections of workers' rights in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
This government has committed not to roll back workers’ rights when we leave the European Union. This commitment stands regardless of whether there is a Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU or not.
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, whether the Cabinet has held discussions on removing worker's rights that derive from EU law after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
This Government has committed not to roll back workers’ rights when we leave the European Union (EU). This commitment stands regardless of whether there is a Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU or not, and irrespective of where the rights originated. The EU (Withdrawal) Act ensures that existing rights are retained in UK law when the UK leaves the EU.
We are committed to ensuring everyone is treated fairly at work. In order to ensure our legal framework keeps pace with the changing world of work, and workers have access to the rights they deserve, the Prime Minister commissioned Matthew Taylor to carry out an independent review of modern working practices in the UK. We responded to the review in February 2018, committing to firm action and future legislation and launched four consultations on the detail. We are currently considering the responses and will respond in due course.
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 staff in his Department are classified as contingent labour.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy publishes this information on an annual basis in the Annual Report and Accounts as part of the Staff Report. Contingent labour is disclosed as “Other”. This is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beis-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018
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 make it his policy to undertake an assessment of the effectiveness of the Prompt Payment Code.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is clear that large companies should lead by example in paying their suppliers promptly and fairly. The best practice principles set out in the Prompt Payment Code have an important role to play in encouraging this culture change.
At Spring Statement, my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that a call for evidence will be published on eliminating unfair payment practices. This will be launched by the Department later this year and will seek views on how the Government could go further to deliver a responsible payment culture.
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 the timeframe is for the publication of the investigation into the collapse of Carillon by the Official Receiver.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Statute allows the Insolvency Service up to three years, following a company’s insolvency, in which to bring disqualification proceedings against its directors. Typically investigations are concluded in less time, however because of the uncertainty that attaches to any large, complex, investigation it is not possible at present to offer a more precise estimate.
If any directors are disqualified the Insolvency Service will publish the details of the disqualification on its website (for three months) and will notify Companies House, which maintains the statutory register of disqualifications.
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 much his Department has spent with the Big Four accountancy firms in the last twelve months.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spent a combined total of £3.5m on services from the accountancy firms Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Pricewaterhouse Coopers in the last twelve months, from July 2017 to June 2018.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July to Question 158694 on Carillion: contracts, if his Department will publish the recommendations of the Government taskforce on how best to mitigate the impact of Carillion’s insolvency.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Taskforce has a key role in informing and shaping the Government’s response to the company’s liquidation, but it is not a review group and will not publish recommendations. The Taskforce has been focused on taking swift action to mitigate the impacts on the small business supply chain, to support employees and apprenticeships find new employment and for the Taskforce members to help disseminate useful information to their respective shareholders. This has already led to useful collaborations, particularly in relation to work to ensure a swift transaction of construction contracts from Carillion to new contractors to minimise disruptions.
The Taskforce has delivered a range of supportive measures, which include provision made by the Banks of nearly £1bn of support to those affected; Government has made available through the British Business Bank support of up to £100 million to small businesses, through their delivery partners, using the Enterprise Finance Guarantee. HMRC are also helping businesses facing genuine difficulty paying their tax bills through the Business Payment Support Service (BPSS) by offering a range of practical advice and guidance.
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 he has made of the number of sub-contractors who worked directly for Carillion that have been declared bankrupt in the last six months.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Government does not have a record of the number of sub-contractors who worked directly for Carillion that have been declared bankrupt in the last six months. We established a Government Taskforce with representatives from the construction sector, small business, trade unions and the banks to look at how best to mitigate the impact of Carillion’s insolvency. This has enabled the production of targeted advice to Carillion employees, suppliers and those working the supply chain.
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 how many occasions his Department has been unable to notify Parliament of the particulars of a liability and thus fulfil the required 14 days’ notice prior to that liability going live in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has had no instances of contingent liabilities created over the last 12 months where the Department has failed to follow the process set out in Managing Public Money, for contingent liabilities created outside the course of normal business.
During this period, the Department did lay a parliamentary minute for a Contingent Liability relating to Mercator, and whilst the full 14 sitting day notice was not followed in this instance, Parliament was notified and the processes for late notification followed.