Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 take steps with his Cabinet colleagues to develop a road map to support the trading of the hospitality and tourism sectors in 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has worked closely with the hospitality and tourism sectors to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses. In 2021 we will continue to provide a package of support including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, government-backed loans, Local Restrictions Support Grants, additional funding provided to Local Authorities to support businesses and the Cultural Relief Fund. We keep all support under review.
In the Global Travel Taskforce Review, the Government committed to producing a Tourism Recovery Plan. This is being led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 merits of creating a Hospitality and Tourism Recovery Fund to help support the recovery of those sectors after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has worked closely with the hospitality and tourism sector to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.
Hospitality and tourism businesses have been able to benefit from Government support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Government-backed loans, Local Restrictions Support Grants, additional funding provided to Local Authorities to support businesses and the Cultural Relief Fund.
On 5 January, when the new National Lockdown began, the Chancellor announced a one-off top up grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring. A £594 million discretionary fund has also been made available to support other impacted businesses.
The Government has announced that it intends to publish a Tourism Recovery Plan, and we will bring forward further details in due course.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 effect of covid-19 outbreak and national lockdowns on the length of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending that scheme until December 2022.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Green Homes Grant installers may continue to carry out installations in people’s homes during the national lockdown provided they follow the government guidance for working safely in other people’s homes.[1]
We understand that some customers may not feel comfortable having an installer visit their home during a period of national lockdown. To reduce risk, installers can provide a quote remotely using a video call or detailed photographs, rather than physically attending a customer’s home.
In November, the scheme was extended from March 2021 to March 2022 to give customers longer to complete home improvements under the grant. We do not currently have plans to extend the scheme beyond this date but keep the scheme under continual review.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/homes#national-lockdown
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
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 level of take up of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme in (a) Leicestershire and (b) Bosworth.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme launched for applications on 30 September and as announced on 18 November, will run until 31 March 2022. As of 13 January, the number of grant applications within (a) and (b) are as follows:
(a) Leicestershire County - 1,641
(b) Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council - 94
The value presented in (a) Leicestershire County is inclusive of (b) Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support retail workers encourage public compliance of covid-19 restrictions in retail premises.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Safer Workplaces guidance includes robust health and safety measures to ensure businesses are supported or, where required, challenged. Alongside legal requirements covered in the guides, they outline the enforcement powers held by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking with Ofgem to help consumers save money on their energy bills.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
In October we extended the Energy Price Cap until at least the end of 2021, which means that 15 million households across the UK will continue to be protected from overcharging on their energy bills. Since its introduction in January 2019, the Cap has saved customers around £1 billion a year.
We have also introduced energy efficiency measures to further reduce bills and tackle fuel poverty. The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme, which opened in September 2020, provides low income homeowners in England up to £10,000 each to install energy efficiency and low-carbon heating measures in their homes. An additional £640m per year is available through the Energy Company Obligation scheme to help fuel poor and low-income households stay warm while reducing their energy bills.
In addition, the Warm Home Discount provides over 2 million low-income and vulnerable households with a £140 rebate off their winter energy bill.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage consumers to support local businesses during the Christmas 2020 trading period.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is committed to supporting local businesses during this crucial trading period. BEIS and MHCLG have been working closely with retailers and Local Authorities for a safe and successful reopening of non-essential retail on 2 December.
In order to further support retailers, planning rules limiting opening hours will be eased to allow shops to be open for longer Monday to Saturday from 2 December, giving consumers greater flexibility to choose when they shop. These measures will run through the January sales.
We have modified the closing time for hospitality to last orders at 10pm and closing time at 11pm. This allows customers to depart gradually and provides greater flexibility.
The excellent Small Business Saturday UK event took place on the 5 December and was a great way to celebrate small and micro businesses across the UK, raise awareness of the importance of SME’s to our local communities and help them get back on their feet.
My ministerial colleagues across Government and I were delighted to be able to take part on the day itself to champion our small businesses and draw attention to the brilliant campaign.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the ability of the electricity network to support the mass charging of electric vehicles.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government is investing more than £1.3bn to support new EV charging infrastructure, including £950m on future proofing electricity network capacity along the Strategic Road Network.
Electricity network operators at both the distribution and transmission levels are responsible for assessing the need for new investment to support electric vehicle charging as part of their business plans, which are then approved by Ofgem, the independent regulator. My officials regularly meet with network operators across Great Britain to discuss the impacts of the electric vehicle transition, including how the increasing demand will be managed.
Electric vehicles also present an opportunity for consumers to contribute to the efficient management of electricity supply and demand and share the benefits of doing so through smart technologies.
The necessary investment in infrastructure and the adoption of smart charging will ensure that the electricity network is able to support the mass charging of electric vehicles.