Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the ability of councils to provide (a) regular refuse collections and (b) other core services.
Answered by Justin Madders
The delivery of the Plan to Make Work Pay is a manifesto commitment. We will be engaging closely with local authorities as the policy develops and further detail on funding models will be provided in due course. We will consult extensively on the implementation of the legislation to ensure it works for workers and employers alike.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment with local authorities of the potential merits of introducing a unified regime for the (a) licences, (b) permits and (c) certificates needed to operate (i) restaurants and (ii) pubs.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
Pubs and hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK.
We are constantly testing our planning, regulatory and licensing regimes to ensure they remain proportionate and don’t unnecessarily burden hospitality businesses.
Our forthcoming Small Business Strategy will set out our plan for further supporting small businesses on the high street and beyond.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Deputy Prime Minister has a role in the development of his Department’s employment law reforms.
Answered by Justin Madders
Making work pay is a priority for delivering the Government's Plan for Change.
As Chair of the Future of Work Cabinet Committee, the Deputy Prime Minister oversees the Committee which considers and takes decisions on matters related to the Make Work Pay package of reforms to the employment law framework. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets work very closely with the Deputy Prime Minister and have responsibility for all policy development which falls within the responsibility of the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to paragraph 94 of his Department's final stage impact assessment entitled Strengthening workers’ rights to trade union access, recognition and representation, published on 21 October 2024, whether he has made an estimate of the cost of the statutory right of facility time for trade union equality activities to (a) local government and (b) the civil service.
Answered by Justin Madders
Equality representatives play a key role in raising awareness and promoting equal rights, as well as developing collective policies and practices that will enable organisations to realise the benefits of being an equal opportunities employer.
As the impact assessment notes the cost of equality representatives taking facility time is not likely to be significant for individual employers and could benefit business performance and worker retention. The impact assessment also identified a £0.33m benefit to public sector employers from not having to provide information on facility time.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment has been made of the cost of the Employment Rights reforms on local authorities, including the indirect cost through outsourced social care services.
Answered by Justin Madders
On Monday 21 October, the Government published 24 Impact Assessments, providing a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill.
This analysis includes consideration of impacts on the public sector, particularly where proposed legislative reforms are expected to affect local authorities. We will engage closely with local authorities as policy develops.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 16140 on Nightclubs: Closures, what steps his Department plans to take to measure the effectiveness of the five point plan for high streets.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
Kickstarting economic growth is the number one mission for this government and thriving high streets are essential to supporting this.
We have launched a new package to tackle late payments, backing small businesses and the self-employed, alongside measures to tackle retail crime and address the disproportionate business rates burden faced by high street businesses.
The 100th banking hub has just been opened in Darwen, Lancashire, and High Street Rental Auctions, a new permissive power for local authorities to auction rental rights of commercial high street property that has been vacant for longer than 12 months in a 24-month period, came into effect on 2 December 2024. However, there is more to be done, and we are working across Whitehall to deliver a cross-government approach for revitalising high streets. We will set out more information in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with participants at the UK Investment Summit 2024 on the status of their planned investments in the context of the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The International Investment Summit brought together the world’s most important companies and investors to showcase the UK’s strengths and opportunities. Since it took place, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade has been working closely with the Chancellor and the Minister for Investment to follow up with participants, unlock new investment commitments, and ensure that planned investments are supported, including through the Office for Investment.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of nightclub closures.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
We recognise the important role night-time economy business plays in supporting local economies and communities. Healthy night-time economy businesses not only support our creative industries, including musicians, DJs and performance artists, but also support tourism and bolster day economy businesses.
The Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities. All of these measures have been consistently demanded by the sector.
This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to classify new measures in the Employment Rights Bill as a burden via the New burdens doctrine.
Answered by Justin Madders
Our Impact Assessments provide an initial, indicative assessment of the impacts that could result from primary legislation. This represents the best estimate for the likely impacts given the current stage of policy development. We intend to refine our analysis and conduct further assessment as the Bill progresses, in line with Better Regulation requirements.
The New Burdens Doctrine does not apply to policies which apply the same rules to local authorities and to private sector bodies, such as employment legislation that applies to all organisations, unless these have a disproportionate effect on local government.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with which businesses the Minister for Industry had meetings on 30 October 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published routinely on Gov.uk as part of the Government’s transparency agenda.