Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations his Department has received from consumers on the sale of Green Deal services by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department is aware that some customers of the Green Deal Provider, Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS), have made allegations that they were mis-sold their Green Deal plans by HELMS. In November 2015, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State imposed sanctions on HELMS for breaches of the Green Deal Code of Practice. HELMS has since gone into liquidation. It would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases at this stage. However, customers who have complaints about their plans should raise these with the Green Deal Ombudsman or Financial Ombudsman Service as appropriate.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support the Government provides to people who received Green Deal finance from a company that has since gone into liquidation.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Consumers who have entered Green Deal Plans will continue to be covered by the Green Deal Framework even if their Green Deal Provider has gone into liquidation. This means that the plan repayments will continue as normal, with no disruption in service.
Where consumers have a concern, they can still make any complaints to the Green Deal Ombudsman or the Financial Services Ombudsman (FOS) as appropriate, even though the Green Deal Provider is in liquidation.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average proportion of household expenditure on energy bills was in Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The proportion of household expenditure spent on energy bills is not available at a regional level. On average, in the UK in 2014, 4.9% of all household expenditure was spent on energy bills. This data is from the Living Costs and Food Survey by ONS and has been calculated by summing the domestic household expenditure on gas, electricity and other household fuels, divided by the total household expenditure.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to encourage retailers to stock more Fairtrade products and adopt Fairtrade principles.
Answered by Margot James
The stocking of Fairtrade products and the adoption of Fairtrade principles by retailers are commercial matters for the companies concerned.
The Government is committed to supporting Fairtrade around the world. Over the last six years, the Department for International Development (DFID) has provided £18m to Fairtrade International to support their work and strengthen the global Fairtrade system. This includes Fairtrade producer and worker organizations that are the drivers of inclusive economic, environmental and social development in their communities around the world. DFID continues to actively engage with Fairtrade on a variety of projects and campaigns, such as the upcoming Fairtrade Fortnight.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
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 commission research on the reasons for the unseasonably high temperatures being recorded in the Arctic.
Answered by Nick Hurd
HMG funds a number of organisations, including NERC funded centres and the Met Office Hadley Centre, which are world-leaders in climate research and are active in Arctic research; this includes the monitoring of Arctic temperatures and understanding the reasons for observed changes in temperature.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
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 to support micro enterprises in Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.
Answered by Margot James
The British Business Bank currently facilitates around £310m of finance in Scotland. This includes over £300,000 in loans to 54 start-up businesses in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency. Since it was established in 2007, Innovate UK has supported 5 Small & Medium sized Enterprises in the constituency with more than £2.5m in grants. This includes funding two micro enterprises with innovation vouchers in 2013 and 2014. In 2015/16, Innovate UK committed to invest £58.3m in 291 innovation projects in Scotland.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
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 implications for his Department's policies in England of the conclusions of the report of Health Protection Scotland, entitled A Health Impact Assessment of Unconventional Oil and Gas in Scotland, published on 8 November 2016.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Health Protection Scotland’s report[1] highlights some of the potential hazards associated with unconventional gas and oil extraction but, in line with Public Health England’s report in 2014[2], it finds that risks can be mitigated by adopting a range of precautionary measures involving operational best practice, regulatory frameworks and community engagement.
[1] http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/enviro/unconventionalgas.aspx
[2] http://www.hpa.org.uk/Publications/Environment/PHECRCEReportSeries/PHECRCE009/
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 20 October 2015 to Question 11541, whether the Department for Energy and Climate Change completed its assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions related to underground coal gasification.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department recognises a need to understand the risks and benefits associated with underground coal gasification better. It commissioned a report from the consultancy WS Atkins Plc into the greenhouse gas implications of underground coal gasification. This report will be received in due course.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to raise the rate of the national minimum wage for people under 25 to the rate of the national living wage.
Answered by Nick Boles
The priority for younger workers is to secure work and gain experience so that they can compete in the labour market.
The wages of younger workers will continue to be underpinned by the National Minimum Wage as recommended by the Low Pay Commission at the highest possible level without costing jobs.
Earlier this year the Government accepted the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to increase rate for 21-24 year olds to £6.95 per hour - the largest single increase in the main rate of the NMW since 2008 in cash terms.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to raise the national living wage to the same rate as the living wage set by the Living Wage Foundation.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Government’s ambition is for the National Living Wage to reach 60% of median earnings by 2020 – which would currently be around £9 per hour. The Government has asked the Low Pay Commission to recommend the National Living Wage rate going forward.