Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications for Innovate UK Smart Grants for businesses in Weaver Vale constituency have been rejected since August 2020; and what the primary reason was for each of those rejections.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Innovate UK Smart grants are an opportunity for UK registered organisations to apply for a share of up to £25 million from Innovate UK (part of UK Research and Innovation, UKRI) to deliver disruptive R&D innovations that can significantly impact the UK economy.
The August 2020 competition for Innovate UK Smart Grants opened to applications on 28th August and closed to applications on 25th November.
Applicants are not required to include their postcode until after an offer is made. Identification of applications from the Weaver Vale has been undertaken based on postcode information voluntarily provided by applicants for the organisations’ registered addresses and/or the work location addresses. 17 applications involving one or more applicants in the Weaver Vale constituency have been identified.
Applications that do not fulfil the competition criteria are classed as ineligible and many applicants with ineligible applications will have been informed of this already. As of 30th November, 3 of these applications are ineligible. Two of the applications exceed the allowed project costs for the project duration and the other is a project over 18 months in duration that does not fulfil the need to be a collaborative project. These eligibility criteria are applied transparently and equally to all applications.
This competition will go into the assessment phase shortly with the funding decisions expected in February 2021.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications for Innovate UK Smart Grants were received from businesses in Weaver Vale constituency since 28 August 2020; and how many of those applications were successful in receiving grant money.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Innovate UK Smart grants are an opportunity for UK registered organisations to apply for a share of up to £25 million from Innovate UK (part of UK Research and Innovation, UKRI) to deliver disruptive R&D innovations that can significantly impact the UK economy.
The August 2020 competition for Innovate UK Smart Grants opened to applications on 28th August and closed to applications on 25th November.
Applicants are not required to include their postcode until after an offer is made. Identification of applications from the Weaver Vale has been undertaken based on postcode information voluntarily provided by applicants for the organisations’ registered addresses and/or the work location addresses. 17 applications involving one or more applicants in the Weaver Vale constituency have been identified.
Applications that do not fulfil the competition criteria are classed as ineligible and many applicants with ineligible applications will have been informed of this already. As of 30th November, 3 of these applications are ineligible. Two of the applications exceed the allowed project costs for the project duration and the other is a project over 18 months in duration that does not fulfil the need to be a collaborative project. These eligibility criteria are applied transparently and equally to all applications.
This competition will go into the assessment phase shortly with the funding decisions expected in February 2021.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has for the long-term recovery of the wedding sector from the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
We are providing businesses, including those in the wedding industry, with a wide package of support to help them through the current crisis. This includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, government-backed loans, the Local Restrictions Support Grants and additional funding provided to Local Authorities to support businesses. We are continuing to engage with representatives from the wedding industry to discuss the longer-term reopening of the sector.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what additional steps the Government has taken to support the wedding and events industry during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is providing an unprecedented package of support for businesses including an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until 31 March 2021 and grants of up to £3000 per month. We have also extended the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and the November-January grant will now provide 80% of average trading profits capped at £7,500 in total.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the need to legislate to protect workers in workplaces in regions placed in (a) Tier 2 and (b) Tier 3 where (i) an employee could reasonably work from home but is prevented from doing so because of their employer and (ii) working from home is not an option.
Answered by Paul Scully
As our Working Safely guidance states, which applies for all tiers: to help contain the virus, workers who can work effectively from home should do so over the winter. Where an employer, in consultation with their employee, judges an employee can carry out their normal duties from home they should do so.
Employers already have a legal obligation to protect the health and safety of not just their workers but also of the other people who may be affected by their business.
The decision to return to the workplace must be made in meaningful consultation with workers (including through trade unions or employee representative groups where they exist). It is vital employers engage with workers to ensure they feel safe returning to work, and they should not force anyone into an unsafe workplace.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the need to educate consumers of the financial risks when booking travel that is not covered by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is committed to ensuring consumers are able to make well-informed decisions. Package travel providers are required by law to provide consumers with clear information upfront about their booking, including details of any associated financial protection. Consumers can obtain advice about general consumer rights from the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 113, which is funded by the Department.
There are six categories governing the circumstances in which travel services are classified as a package falling under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (PTRs). The PTRs have a broad scope intended to cover modern methods of booking package holidays. Further guidance on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/package-holidays-complying-with-regulations-guidance-for-businesses.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
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 Covid-19 outbreak, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing greater clarity to consumers of the financial risks entailed with booking DIY travel outside of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is committed to ensuring consumers are able to make well-informed decisions. Package travel providers are required by law to provide consumers with clear information upfront about their booking, including details of any associated financial protection. Consumers can obtain advice about general consumer rights from the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 113, which is funded by the Department.
There are six categories governing the circumstances in which travel services are classified as a package falling under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (PTRs). The PTRs have a broad scope intended to cover modern methods of booking package holidays. Further guidance on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/package-holidays-complying-with-regulations-guidance-for-businesses.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timeframe is for the reopening of complementary therapy businesses that provide (a) reflexology, (b) aromatherapy, (c) reiki and (d) massage therapy.
Answered by Paul Scully
We have now provided close contact services like reflexology, aromatherapy, reiki and massage therapy in England, with the certainty they need to reopen from Monday 13 July, subject to them following the COVID-secure guidelines.
We appreciate that this is difficult for some businesses. Our approach is guided by the scientific and medical advice, and every step is weighed against the evidence, remembering that the more we open up, the more vigilant we will need to be.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
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 earliest date on which tattoo and piercing businesses will be permitted to reopen; and whether those businesses will need to put in place additional safeguards to operate safely.
Answered by Paul Scully
As stated in the Roadmap for Recovery the Government anticipates that they will be opened as part of Phase 3 in July, should the science confirm that it is safe to do so. This area’s taskforce is producing guidance, which will be released prior to reopening.
This guidance will apply to England only, but will be useful to businesses across the UK. People in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should refer to equivalent guidance issued by devolved administrations.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
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 ensure that companies whose workers are capable of working remotely during the covid-19 outbreak are implementing such policies.
Answered by Paul Scully
Government has advised that people should be working from home where it is possible to do so.
Government is clear that we must support people in work to do the right thing during a Covid-19 outbreak. Businesses and employees can get advice on individual employment issues by visiting the Acas website and the latest advice on homeworking is published there. Businesses can also ring the BEIS Business Support Line for further advice on support for business.