Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 publish guidance on the rights of disabled workers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has published extensive guidance on employment and safer working throughout the Covid-19 outbreak. This can be found on GOV.UK and through the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Further guidance on employment rights and aspects of good practice has been published by other bodies such as ACAS and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Government has also produced guidance around some new situations which have arisen from the Covid-19 outbreak, for example for those identified as clinically extremely vulnerable and in self-isolation. This suite of guidance covers the employment rights of disabled people alongside other groups in the workforce.
Officials are discussing this employment rights guidance with disability groups to ensure the published material continues to meet the needs of disabled workers and their employers.
The Government continues to support disabled employees to access assistive technology and other forms of support they need to remain in work, including during the Covid-19 outbreak. Through the Disability Confident scheme, we are engaging employers and providing them with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace.? Our new Employer Help site provides advice on recruitment and employment of disabled people, explaining how Disability Confident and Access to Work can help businesses to ensure their practices are fair and inclusive.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with the British Retail Consortium on introducing a fit to trade licensing scheme to tackle labour exploitation in garment factories.
Answered by Paul Scully
BEIS and Home Office officials have had two meetings with representatives from the British Retail Consortium to understand more about their proposal to introduce a fit to trade licensing scheme for garment factories, and what action brands are taking to ensure compliance throughout their supply chain. I also regularly meet with the British Retail Consortium as part of his frequent engagement with the retail sector.
BEIS and the Home Office are also working in partnership with the industry through the Apparel and General Merchandise Public and Private Protocol, a partnership between enforcement bodies and industry partners, including, the British Retail Consortium, UK Fashion and the Textile Association. This is aimed at tackling all forms of labour exploitation in the garment industry.
The Government will continue to work closely with the multi-agency Taskforce, which has been established in Leicester to tackle allegations of exploitation in the sector, to consider the most appropriate measures to tackle labour exploitation.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 potential effect of the Government's bilateral deals with pharmaceutical companies for covid-19 vaccine candidates on (a) the quantity of vaccine candidates that the Covid-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility can procure for low and middle income countries and (b) the availability of covid-19 vaccine candidates for healthcare workers and vulnerable groups globally.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The UK’s bilateral deals with pharmaceutical companies for Covid-19 vaccines include funding for research and development, investment in manufacturing and vaccine trials. This investment supports the global scale up of vaccine production and therefore the quantity of vaccines available for low and middle-income countries as well as for healthcare workers and vulnerable groups globally. The UK is a strong supporter of the multilateral Covid-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility (COVAX) initiative as a means to both get vaccines for the UK population and ensure equitable global access. The UK has contributed £48 million to COVAX already to help ensure vaccines are available in lower income countries.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 27 May 2020 to Question HL4482 on Construction: Mental Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Chartered Institute of Building's report entitled Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The health and wellbeing of our construction workforce is of the utmost importance. The Government welcomes the Chartered Institute of Building's report on mental health in the sector, as well as other initiatives that are being undertaken by the industry to improve mental health among construction workers.
The Government will continue to work with the industry on these issues through the Health and Safety Executive’s Construction Industry Advisory Committee and Construction Industry Advisory Network.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will (a) develop and (b) publish a hydrogen strategy.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government is committed to the development of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier for the UK. We are currently developing our strategic approach to hydrogen and its potential to deliver against our net zero goals.
In order to inform our approach, we are undertaking extensive stakeholder engagement, including through the launch of our Hydrogen Advisory Council enabling government to work in partnership with industry, as we develop new policy to help bring forward the technologies and supply chain we will need to grow the UK hydrogen economy. This includes developing business models to support the deployment of, and investment in, low carbon hydrogen production and a £100m Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund to stimulate capital investment.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to make a decision on whether to fund a clean fuels metrology centre.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The UK is committed to tackling climate change and achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It is also committed to backing business and unleashing innovation through a doubling of R&D investment. A clean fuels metrology centre, based in Scotland, would provide UK industry with the measurement tools to support decarbonised fuel supply chains, which are themselves critical to achieving these goals. A decision on whether to fund a clean fuels metrology centre will be taken in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what measurement traceability the UK uses for dispensed quantity at hydrogen refuelling stations.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Measuring equipment used for trade in hydrogen is regulated under the Weights and Measures Act 1985. It is an offence to use any measuring equipment for trade purposes which is false or unjust or to commit any fraud using it.
Each Local Authority Trading Standards Department has a legal duty to enforce the Act and to ensure it has the capacity necessary for carrying out its functions in its local area. Where required, trading standards would test fuel dispensers in use for trade using instruments whose calibration or test is traceable to the national measurement standards. The Office for Product Safety and Standards provides central advice and technical support to Local Authority Trading Standards on metrology issues.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what capability Trading Standards has to investigate disputes on dispensed quantity at hydrogen refuelling stations.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Measuring equipment used for trade in hydrogen is regulated under the Weights and Measures Act 1985. It is an offence to use any measuring equipment for trade purposes which is false or unjust or to commit any fraud using it.
Each Local Authority Trading Standards Department has a legal duty to enforce the Act and to ensure it has the capacity necessary for carrying out its functions in its local area. Where required, trading standards would test fuel dispensers in use for trade using instruments whose calibration or test is traceable to the national measurement standards. The Office for Product Safety and Standards provides central advice and technical support to Local Authority Trading Standards on metrology issues.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
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 (a) support retailers that have sought to close stores during the covid-19 outbreak in (i) East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow constituency and (ii) other areas of the UK and (b) enable anchor stores to remain open.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK Government has provided unprecedented support to retail businesses across the UK, with generous income support schemes, loans and grants, and tax deferrals. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been instrumental in protecting jobs, including 779,500 Scottish employments furloughed.
Additionally, we have extended the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to businesses in deep debt, which will allow small and independent retailers that are not insolvent to access the scheme.
The Scottish Government has put a comprehensive package of measures worth £2.3 billion to help sustain Scottish businesses, including 100% rates relief for properties in the retail, hospitality, leisure and airport sectors, and a local authority-delivered Business Support Fund worth over £1 billion, which includes Small Business Grants to the ratepayers of properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.
Public health is a devolved matter and therefore business closures may differ between devolved nations. Details of business restrictions and closures are set out in The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Health and Social Care and (b) Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the suitability of existing Government support packages for medical research charities in light of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Ministers and officials in BEIS have maintained regular contact with other departments throughout the pandemic, including DHSC and DCMS, as we develop our response. BEIS and the Department of Health and Social Care have been closely liaising with the Association of Medical Research Charities, as well as individual charities, to understand the impact of the pandemic on this sector and identify how best Government and charities can work together to ensure that patients continue benefiting from charity funded research.
This is in addition to the £750 million package announced by DCMS to ensure Voluntary, Community and social Enterprises can continue their vital work supporting the country during the coronavirus outbreak.