Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 create a single, independent regulatory body for insolvency practitioners before his power to do so expires in 2022 in accordance with the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has conducted a call for evidence on Insolvency Practitioner regulation, which included seeking evidence and views on possible reforms of the regulatory framework. The Government will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent improvements he has made to the whistleblowing regime; when he plans to begin his review of whistleblowing legislation; and what plans he has for a public consultation once that review has been completed.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government remains committed to reviewing the UK whistleblowing framework and will carry this out once sufficient time has passed for there to be the necessary evidence available to assess the impact of the most recent reforms. The scope and timing of such a review will be confirmed in due course.
The most recent change introduced in 2017 was a new legislative requirement for most prescribed persons to produce an annual report on whistleblowing disclosures made to them by workers.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What steps his Department is taking to increase renewable energy production.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government aims to deliver up to double the renewable electricity capacity at the next Contracts for Difference round at end of this year compared to AR3, while spending an estimated £1billion in 2020/21 to encourage the deployment of low carbon heating in homes and businesses through the Renewable Heat Incentive. We have also announced the Clean Heat Grant, the Green Heat Network Fund and will launch the Green Gas Support Scheme later this year.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the increase in (a) temporary closures and (b) part-time opening of post offices on communities and community access to essential services across the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
While the Post Office is publicly owned, it is a commercial business that operates independently of the Government. With a network of over 11,500 branches across the UK, it is inevitable there will be variations in the number of branches open at any one time. Where branches do temporarily close, the Post Office strives to find solutions, like mobile vans and other types of outreach services, before reinstating a bricks-and-mortar service offer.
I am committed to ensuring that everyone in the country can access essential services via the Post Office conveniently and locally. That is why Post Office Limited must ensure Network Access Criteria are met. These ensure that 99% of the population are within three miles of their nearest post office and 90% are within one mile, with additional requirements set for rural, urban and deprived urban customers.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 an assessment of the effectiveness of UK whistleblowing legislation to (a) ensure that it keeps pace with international developments and (b) maintain the UK’s position on worker rights.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government recognises how valuable it is that whistleblowers are prepared to shine a light on wrongdoing and believes that they should be able to do so without fear of recrimination. We have also been clear that there will be no reduction in workers’ rights.
The Government remains committed to reviewing the UK whistleblowing framework and will carry this out once sufficient time has passed for there to be the necessary evidence available to assess the impact of reforms. The most recent change introduced in 2017 was a new legislative requirement for most prescribed persons to produce an annual report on whistleblowing disclosures made to them by workers.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which businesses are on track to meet the Government’s 2050 net zero target.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This year, the eyes of the world will be on the UK as we host the G7 and COP26. Business action on climate is vitally important to achieving a successful summit and presidency and meeting net zero emissions by 2050. Together these provide an excellent opportunity to showcase businesses as global leaders in tackling climate change in the year leading up to COP26.
The Government has appointed my Hon. Friend the Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) as the UK Net Zero Business Champion for COP26. Andrew will drive the action needed to encourage UK businesses to sign up to the Race to Zero. This sends the strongest signal to markets, supply chains, governments and consumers that businesses are committed to the Net Zero transition.
We have met our emissions reductions targets to date, and to monitor emissions across all sectors of the economy, BEIS publishes an annual assessment of projected emissions, including those from business and industry, as part of the department’s Energy and Emissions Projections (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-and-emissions-projections).
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will work with regulators to expand the definition of microbusiness in the (a) energy and (b) communications sectors to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises have access to redress.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The independent GB regulator, Ofgem, defines a microbusiness as - employing 10 or fewer full-time employees with an annual turnover of 2m Euros or less OR typically spending £10,000-£12,000 per year on gas or electricity.
An energy supply licence obligates suppliers to proactively identify their microbusiness customers and provide information on their formal complaints process. If microbusinesses cannot resolve their complaints in this way, they can complain to the Energy Ombudsman.
Ofcom, the independent UK telecommunications services regulator, has put in place general conditions, which all communication providers must follow, that offer protections to businesses of any size relating to specific provisions on contracting, tariff information, billing procedures and number porting. Ofcom's rules also provide additional protections to businesses with fewer than 10 employees, including access to alternative dispute resolution and protections against mis-selling. All providers must be registered with either the Consumer Ombudsman or the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.
The Government takes the view that larger businesses are better able to represent their interests by negotiating contracts for supply, and to make use of approved dispute resolution procedures where necessary.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 ensure that the successor loan scheme to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will continue the distinct individual guarantee cover and portfolio cap level for charities and social enterprises.
Answered by Paul Scully
Details on the terms of the successor loan scheme will be announced in due course.
The Government takes very seriously the economic impact of Covid-19 on charities and social enterprises.
However, I can confirm that the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme does not feature different guarantee levels (either for individual loans or at the portfolio level) for charities and social enterprises.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 ensure that the successor loan scheme to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will continue the exemption of creditworthy charities and social enterprises from the over 50 per cent trading criteria.
Answered by Paul Scully
Details on the terms of the successor loan scheme will be announced in due course.
The Government takes very seriously the economic impact of Covid-19 on charities and social enterprises.
However, I can confirm that the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme does not feature different guarantee levels (either for individual loans or at the portfolio level) for charities and social enterprises.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 ensure that the successor scheme to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme takes into account the specific needs of charities and social enterprises.
Answered by Paul Scully
Details on the terms of the successor loan scheme will be announced in due course.
The Government takes very seriously the economic impact of Covid-19 on charities and social enterprises.
However, I can confirm that the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme does not feature different guarantee levels (either for individual loans or at the portfolio level) for charities and social enterprises.