Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department carried out impact assessments prior to its decision to delay the implementation of the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act, which became law in May 2023, will require employers to pass all tips on to workers, without deductions.
The accompanying statutory Code of Practice laid before Parliament on 22nd April 2024, and the other measures in the Act, will be effective from 1st October 2024.
The implementation date for the Act was revised from 1st July 2024 to 1st October 2024 to ensure sufficient time for those affected by the changes to prepare.
The impacts of the new requirements were considered in the impact assessment prepared for the Act: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3197/publications.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled UK and Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership arrangement, published on 14 November 2023, whether she plans to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty with Taiwan.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK’s longstanding policy on Taiwan has not changed: the UK has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan but a strong, unofficial relationship based on dynamic commercial, educational and cultural ties.
The Department for Business and Trade is currently working on an Enhanced Trade Partnership with Taiwan; currently there are no plans to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty with Taiwan.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data his Department holds on the number of subpostmasters in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Greater Manchester who (i) were wrongfully convicted and (ii) left their jobs as a result of the flawed Horizon accounting system.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold the data requested.
95 postmasters in England have had their convictions overturned to date. The Government will fast-track legislation to overturn the convictions of all those convicted in England or Wales.
Our focus is on ensuring that all those who lost their Post Office roles or experienced other losses as a result of the Horizon scandal receive the compensation they deserve.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has an industrial strategy for the retail sector.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The industry led Retail Sector Council is the key forum to address significant sector issues and define a strategic future for the retail sector. It aims to accelerate positive change, increase productivity, and ensure it remains robust and sustainable, continuing to provide good jobs and a beneficial service to consumers, communities, the economy.
In July 2023 the Council published a discussion paper ‘Retail – The Great Enabler’ exploring the value of and pressures on the sector. The Council is developing a strategic approach for retail that embraces several key areas including sustainability, labour and retail careers, cost of living pressures and impact on supply chains and high street regeneration and investment.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff from her Department are based in India.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 31 October 2023 there were 13 UK Based Staff and 90 Country Based Staff working for the Department for Business and Trade located in India.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support pubs.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We understand the many challenges pubs are facing. The Government is supporting pubs with business rates relief, the Brexit Pubs Guarantee, and help with energy costs. We are also working across Government to identify opportunities to ease regulatory and licensing burdens.
We continue to work with businesses, including members of the Hospitality Sector Council, to deliver our 2021 Hospitality Strategy, which aims to support the sector's recovery from COVID-19 and improve longer term resilience.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2023 to Question 197616 on Post Offices, whether her Department has (a) made an assessment of and (b) had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the future of the Crown Post Office branch in Great Underbank Stockport.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government sets the parameters for Post Office to operate in and asks its management to be responsible for running the company day-to-day. Post Office therefore has the freedom to make commercial decisions regarding the composition of its network, providing it fulfils the Government-set access criteria, which ensure that, for example, 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a post office.
Matters relating to individual post office branches are the responsibility of Post Office, not the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she plans to issue a waiver to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in the context of the negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with the Republic of India.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
In negotiations with India, as with all our trading partners, the UK’s approach to intellectual property (IP) is to strike a balance between rewarding research, innovation and creativity, which can benefit all countries, whilst ensuring that medicines remain affordable and reflecting wider public interests, such as access to and use of IP on reasonable terms.
The UK considers the TRIPS Agreement as an essential tool to achieve this balance, including our support for flexibilities enshrined in the Agreement.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent progress her Department has made in negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the Republic of India.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are continuing to negotiate with India to secure a comprehensive and ambitious trade deal.
Round 12 of negotiations concluded on 31 August. While visiting India for the G20 Trade Ministers meeting on 24-26 August, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade met with India’s Ministers for Commerce and Finance. They discussed how to make meaningful progress in this complex next phase of talks, which is focused on goods, services, and investment.
The Prime Minister also met with Prime Minister Modi on 9 September while at the G20 Summit. They reaffirmed their joint commitment to work at pace towards an ambitious deal.
The next round will be later this month.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans she has for the future of the Crown Post Office estate.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government sets the parameters for Post Office to operate in and asks its management to be responsible for running the company day-to-day. Post Office therefore has the freedom to make commercial decisions regarding the composition of its network, providing it fulfils the Government-set access criteria, which ensure that, for example, 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a post office.
Post Office CEO, Nick Read, has been clear that it’s the business’ ambition to operate the network on a fully franchised basis in time. Directly Managed Branches (also known as Crown branches) represent around 1% of the Post Office network.