Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Data Communications Company has contracts in place for the provision of communications coverage to enable smart meter technology to be installed on the Isle of Arran.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Data Communications Company (DCC), the organisation responsible for the national smart metering infrastructure, has contracts in place for the provision of communications coverage to at least 99.5% of premises across its ‘North Region’, which covers Scotland.
The DCC is also required by licence conditions to seek to provide communications services to all premises where it is practicable and cost proportionate and is also required to assess opportunities to increase the overall level of communications coverage.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK Government's single market proposals on the movement of agricultural goods.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK Internal Market Bill ensures the UK can operate as a coherent internal market, guaranteeing UK companies can trade unhindered in every part of the UK while maintaining world-leading standards for consumers, workers, food and the environment.
The UK has some of the highest standards in the world on goods and some of the most robust standards on foods, with world-leading food, animal and plant health and animal welfare standards.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
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 converting loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme into grants for small businesses in the event that the money is used to rehire staff or pay commercial rent.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is part of a broad package of support for SMEs, including rates relief, grants and support for wage packages.
Businesses are not permitted to access more than one of either the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, CBILS, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme or the Covid Corporate Financing Facility Scheme at the same time. However, the eligibility criteria for the CBILS does not require lenders to take into account other forms of government support that SMEs may be benefitting from, e.g. business rate reliefs or grants unrelated to the CBILS.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of converting loans secured via the Coronavirus Bounce Back Loans scheme into grants for small businesses.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) is part of a broad package of support for SMEs, including rates relief, grants and support for wage packages.
Businesses are not permitted to access more than one of either the BBLS, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme or the Covid Corporate Financing Facility Scheme at the same time. The eligibility criteria for BBLS do not require lenders to take into account the other forms of government support that SMEs may be benefitting from, e.g. business rate reliefs or grants unrelated to the CBILS.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to publish guidelines on how to observe public health and safety in hair salons when they re-open following the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Paul Scully
As stated in the Roadmap for Recovery, the Government anticipates that hair salons will be opened as part of Phase 3 in July, should the science confirm that it is safe to do so.
Hairdressers and other beauty businesses still remain closed in the current phase because the risk of transmission in these environments is higher due to the indoor environment and closer physical contact. This applies also to mobile hairdressers.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy leads the non-essential Retail Taskforce. Part of this taskforce is focussed on salons and non-clinical therapy. We are working with the sector to develop guidance on safe ways for them to open at the earliest point at which it is safe to do so. The guidance will be published in due course.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending maternity leave by three months to allow time for bonding and socially engaging with other parents and babies and wider family members for mothers of babies born during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
We understand the impacts that the pandemic and social distancing have on new parents, such as not being able to introduce their new baby to family and friends or attend parent and baby groups. While this is of course extremely difficult for all those affected, we believe these measures are necessary to protect lives.
During this difficult time mothers retain their generous entitlement to 52 weeks of Maternity Leave, allowing them to bond and care for their new child and to recover from birth. We have no plans to extend Maternity Leave at this stage.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
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 consumers who are unlawfully refused refunds from travel companies.
Answered by Paul Scully
Package travel agencies are required to comply with The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a refund?if forced to cancel a package holiday due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued?within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. BEIS officials have held regular discussions with travel and tourism sector representatives, travel businesses and consumer advocacy bodies to assess the impact of cancellations made in light of the covid-19 outbreak. Further information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses was published on 30 April by the Competition and Markets Authority who have also set up a covid-19 taskforce for consumers to register complaints.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department is having with travel companies which are unlawfully refusing to refund the cost of holidays to consumers.
Answered by Paul Scully
Package travel agencies are required to comply with The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a refund?if forced to cancel a package holiday due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued?within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Businesses are undoubtedly facing a significant and complex operational task in engaging with all their customers on refunds. The Government is working to find a balanced and a coordinated solution to the difficulties that have arisen as a result of covid-19 that supports the sector while protecting consumer rights.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to provide support postmasters whose average income is below the minimum wage.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Remuneration arrangements with operators of post office branches is a matter for Post Office Ltd. These operators are not employees of Post Office Ltd but generally provide services on behalf of Post Office Ltd as part of a wider retail offering, such as a convenience store or a newsagent. This allows the operator to generate income from all aspects of their business through the sharing of footfall and cross-selling to customers between the retail and post office offerings.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timetable is for the completion of his Departments equality analysis commissioned in June 2017 of raising the retirement age for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary in line with the Public Service Pensions Act 2013.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Over the course of the last year I have had a number of productive meetings with the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Civil Nuclear Police Federation on the issue of raising the CNC pension age. These have been of assistance in helping me exercise my statutory duty to understand the full equality impact of such an increase. I expect to be able to review the findings of the completed Equality Analysis during the summer. Subsequently I will discuss the way forward with interested parties.