Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support is available to people who are dismissed from companies that later enter insolvency in submitting claims to the National Insurance Fund.
Answered by Justin Madders
Where a dismissal occurs prior to an insolvency event the individual should contact the relevant officer appointed in the insolvency as a claim can still be made for payment from the National Insurance Fund. If the details of that officer are not known, the Redundancy Payments Service can provide these. Some elements of the claim may be affected by the time lapse between date of dismissal and the insolvency event.
Help on how to claim is available from the ACAS, Citizens Advice Bureau or the RPS. There is also guidance on GOV.UK: Your rights if your employer is insolvent: Overview - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to amend the six-month limitation period for claiming payments from the National Insurance Fund in order that it begins from the date a company is confirmed as insolvent, rather than the date of dismissal, in cases where an employee is unable to submit a timely claim due to delays in (a) insolvency confirmation and (b) receiving the appropriate reference number.
Answered by Justin Madders
The legal requirement to claim payment for redundancy in writing from the employer within six months of dismissal only applies to the redundancy element of the monies claimed from the National Insurance Fund. It does not apply to elements such as unpaid wages, holiday or notice pay.
Applications can be submitted after 6 months if the claimant can provide evidence, such as any correspondence sent to the employer or relevant officer holder seeking payment. ACAS can provide advice in situations such as this.
There are no plans to amend the 6-month time period.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the requirement in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 that micro-entities publicly file their profit and loss accounts on small businesses.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Department is currently engaging with stakeholders on proposed changes in filing requirements at Companies House, to ensure they strike the right balance between tackling economic crime and avoiding undue burden on business. In 2022, the department estimated that proposed changes to the small accounts regime, which included among other policies the requirement for small and micro-entities to file profit and loss accounts, would result in one-off familiarisation costs to business of £3.2 million in the first year, or £0.4m annual net direct costs to business over 10 years. Recurrent costs from profit and loss account filing were estimated to be negligible.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to (a) promote respect in workplaces across the UK and (b) support people who have been the victims of bullying at work.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Government is promoting fairness, equality and wellbeing in the workplace through a range of measures in its Employment Rights Bill. For example, the Bill would require employers to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of their employees and strengthen protections for whistleblowers by making it explicit that sexual harassment can be the basis for a protected disclosure. While there is no legal definition of 'bullying' in the UK, a range of existing laws protect workers from unwanted behaviour in the workplace. The Government supports these protections by providing guidance for workers, businesses, and funding the Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service (Acas).
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has plans to extend consumer rights to cash refunds following a customer complaint.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 has provisions for consumers to be able to obtain refunds where a product is not as described or fit for the declared purpose. In addition, consumers can seek redress where a trader has breached obligations under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The government has no plans to add cash refunds for general complaints to these rights at present.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment his Department has made of Royal Mail’s compliance with its Universal Service Obligation in areas experiencing delivery delays of 7 to 10 days between mail deliveries.
Answered by Justin Madders
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards, and to decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action.
In December 2024, following its investigation of Royal Mail’s performance in the 2023-24 financial year, Ofcom fined the company £10.5m because of its failure to significantly improve service levels. The government expects that Ofcom will continue to closely monitor Royal Mail’s performance and its action plan to improve its quality of service.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he has taken to hold Royal Mail accountable when local delivery services fall below the standard expected under its regulatory obligations.
Answered by Justin Madders
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards, and to decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action.
In December 2024, following its investigation of Royal Mail’s performance in the 2023-24 financial year, Ofcom fined the company £10.5m because of its failure to significantly improve service levels. The government expects that Ofcom will continue to closely monitor Royal Mail’s performance and its action plan to improve its quality of service.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the economic impact of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) implementation on (a) small manufacturers and (b) regional producers.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Government has listened to feedback from small businesses and introduced support measures to help compliance with EPR, including: exemptions from fee obligations for producers with annual turnover below £2 million and packaging tonnage below 50 tonnes; exemptions from reporting for businesses with turnover below £1 million and packaging tonnage below 25 tonnes; and flexibility for those with obligations to pay in quarterly instalments.
Both Secretaries of State will shortly be meeting representatives from across the impacted sectors, from Small and Medium Enterprises to larger companies alike, to discuss the economic impact of EPR in more detail.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of four-day working weeks.
Answered by Justin Madders
While the government continues to monitor the impact of flexible working, it has made no assessment of the four-day week specifically. Additionally, the government has no plans to mandate a four-day week, however, through the Employment Rights Bill we are giving employees better access to flexible working arrangements, where reasonably feasible. Not all businesses will be able to offer all forms of flexible working, and not all arrangements will suit all employees equally. We want to create a framework that encourages employers and employees to explore options for flexible working arrangements that suit both parties.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of companies closing and subsequently setting up a new similar company, with the result of (a) job losses, (b) workplace bullying and (c) changes to working conditions on employees’ rights.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduced new measures to help combat ‘phoenixing’ - when a director dissolves a company to avoid debts or other responsibilities, to then set up another similar company. The accompanying impact assessment provides the government’s assessment of the evidence relating to this practice. Alongside this, the Employment Rights Bill is delivering the biggest upgrade to workers rights and protections in a generation, including strengthening collective redundancy rights and ending unscrupulous practices of fire and rehire.