Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to assess the possibility of criminal proceedings being brought against directors of companies that are subject to compulsory strike-off.
Answered by Paul Scully
Where a Company has been subject to a compulsory strike off and there is a suspected breach of the Companies Act 2006 by a Director, Companies House may make a Criminal Referral to the Insolvency Service to consider whether to commence a criminal investigation.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
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 amount of public money expected to be paid out under the Historical Shortfall Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether money paid out under the Historical Shortfall Scheme comes directly from his Departmental budget.
Answered by Paul Scully
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
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 Historical Shortfall Scheme: Information on Progress published by the Post Office, what assessment he has made of the reasons that 44 applications to the Historical Shortfall Scheme remain in the dispute process.
Answered by Paul Scully
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money from the public purse has been paid out by the Historical Shortfall Scheme to date.
Answered by Paul Scully
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the entire cost to the public purse has been for the establishment of the Historical Shortfall Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to respond to the consultation on Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government committed in the Clean Growth Strategy to improve as many private rental homes as possible to EPC band C by 2030 where practical, affordable and cost effective and consulted on this commitment in the winter of 2020/2021. A response to this consultation will be published in due course.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Minister for the Post Office last met with the Justice For Sub-postmasters Alliance.
Answered by Paul Scully
I am in regular email contact with Mr Alan Bates, founder of the Justice For Sub-postmasters Alliance (JFSA). The most recent exchange was on the 8 February 2022.
Officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) met with the JFSA on 26 January 2022.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
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 20 January 2022 to Question 105377 on Northern Powergrid: Storms, how many compensation payments (a) have and (b) have not been processed by Northern Powergrid in relation to Storm Arwen and Storm Barra.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has been informed that a significant proportion of compensation cases have been paid by Northern Powergrid. Any remaining cases remain under investigation or in progress.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many compensation payments (a) have been and (b) are yet to be processed by Northern Powergrid in relation to Storm Arwen and Storm Barra.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under Ofgem’s rules, Northern Power Grid must compensate customers for the inconvenience caused by loss of supply if the level of required service is not met.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to Ofgem and network operators, including Northern Powergrid, on the 6th December 2021, setting out his expectations that Distribution Network Operators make every effort to deliver compensation to affected customers swiftly and without delay, considering the burden making a detailed application might place on impacted customers, and in line with the Guaranteed Standards expectations.
Northern Powergrid had paid a significant proportion of compensation cases by Christmas 2021. Any cases remaining unpaid to this date are still under investigation or in progress as required by Ofgem’s regulation.