Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department’s process is for (a) recording and (b) keeping minutes of all meetings relating to Government business.
Answered by George Freeman
Any information concerning the core business of the Department or which has a continuing value should be retained as a record. Typically records will be submissions, contract documents, minutes and agendas of important meetings, letters, emails, working papers, discussion documents and reports that contribute to decision making and activity in pursuit of the Department’s business objectives. It is the responsibility of anyone that creates such information to ensure it is retained as part of the official record, by saving it in our shared system.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the Government plans to account for future potential losses from Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Bounce Back Loan Scheme defaults according to his Department's default estimates for those schemes.
Answered by Paul Scully
Accounting provision for losses and potential future losses for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme will be made in the Department’s 2020-21 Accounts, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 estimate of the cost of converting (a) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (b) Bounce Back Loan Scheme repayments into a student loan style repayment scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government recognises that a diverse range of businesses took out loans under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and some of those will benefit from more flexibility in making their repayments. That is why the Government introduced the “Pay as You Grow” (PAYG) measures, which allow borrowers to tailor their repayments to their individual circumstances. PAYG provides borrowers with the option to:
Borrowers can use these options either individually or in combination with each other. If borrowers want to take advantage of these options, they should notify their lender when they are contacted about their repayments.
For those who borrowed under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Government has taken action to allow lenders to extend the term of CBILS loans up to a maximum of ten years where they assess that borrowers are in difficulty and will benefit from the extension. Given loans under CBILS are more varied than the standardised BBLS and resemble more traditional commercial lending, CBILS borrowers are likely to benefit from engagement with their lender if they have concerns about repayments. Lenders have an ongoing relationship with CBILS borrowers and will be best placed to provide support tailored to the circumstances of each individual business.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to introduce an equivalent level of consumer protection to online purchases.
Answered by Paul Scully
There is already robust legislation in place that protects consumers when purchasing goods and services online. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out the rights consumers enjoy while shopping online and instore.
The Department recently consulted on advancing online consumer rights in its “Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy” consultation. A copy of the consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-competition-and-consumer-policy. The consultation closed on 1 October and the department will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse in the event that (a) 10 to 25 per cent of Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (b) 35 to 60 per cent of Bounce Back Loan Scheme borrowers default, in line with his Department's estimates.
Answered by Paul Scully
The information requested is currently being updated as part of the Department’s 2020-21 Annual Report and Accounts, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what methodology his Department used to calculate the default estimates for the (a) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (b) Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The BEIS 2019-20 Annual Report and Accounts published on 30 September 2020 contained initial estimates of expected credit losses across the Covid-19 loan schemes. These initial indicative loss ranges were based on historic losses observed in prior programmes which most closely resemble the current Covid-19 interventions.
Since these estimates were reported, the Department has been working with the British Business Bank to develop analytical and forward-looking expected credit loss models that are compliant with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS 9) and will provide a more sophisticated approach to forecasting future expected credit losses.
Revised estimates of expected credit losses will be included in the Department’s 2020-21 Annual Report and Accounts, to be published in due course.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government is taking steps to support Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme lenders to provide borrowers with more time to make their repayments where they assess that borrowers (a) are in difficulty and (b) would benefit from such an extension.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has taken action to allow lenders to extend the term of Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) facilities up to a maximum of ten years where they assess that borrowers are in difficulty and will benefit from the extension.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish its annual reports and accounts for 2020-21.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, plans to publish its annual report and accounts for 2020-21 in due course.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 13 July 2021 to Question 29853, on Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, when he plans to publish the Government’s evaluation of the covid-19 loan guarantee schemes.
Answered by Paul Scully
The British Business Bank has commissioned a multi-year evaluation of the Covid-19 loan schemes, comprising process, impact and economic evaluations.
Reports will be published in due course in line with usual government guidelines. The exact timings will depend on how the evaluation progresses. It is expected that results will be published early in each year from 2022 to 2024.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 reduce the cost of household insulation in the context of rising energy prices and the climate emergency.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Energy Company Obligation has already installed 3.3 million measures in 2.3 million homes. Government is increasing the amount energy suppliers invest in energy efficiency measures for low-income households and recently consulted on a successor scheme ECO until 2026, boosting its value from £640 million to £1 billion a year. This will help an extra 305,000 families with green measures such as insulation, with average energy bill savings of around £300 a year.
The Government is also working to catalyse attractive and affordable green home finance to support homeowners to improve the energy performance of their homes. Government has consulted on proposals for mortgage lenders to improve the energy performance of homes they lend to and will publish a Government Response in due course.
The Government is also expanding its funding commitment for both the Home Upgrade Grant scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund with up to £950m and £800m respectively over the next three years.