Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 potential merits of creating a fashion watchdog to ensure that workers in overseas supply chains for fashion manufacturers operating in the UK are treated fairly and ethically.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government continues to engage with the enforcement bodies and industry partners to strengthen our understanding of levels of non-compliance across the garment trade. We will continue to review this issue and consider options to drive up standards across the sector.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will require fashion manufacturers operating in the UK to ensure high ethical and workplace standards for overseas garment workers.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government continues to engage with the enforcement bodies and industry partners to strengthen our understanding of levels of non-compliance across the garment trade. We will continue to review this issue and consider options to drive up standards across the sector.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 Answers of 25 April to Question 156512 and to Question 156513 and with reference to (a) the trend of growth in domestic meter points and (b) the proposal to recover payments from meter points rather than individual accounts or households, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that energy companies do not ultimately profit from the repayment of the £200 loan under the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) will work within the existing energy system, regulated by Ofgem.
The Government recently closed a technical consultation on the Scheme and will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions has he had with his EU counterparts on progressing the ratification of the UK’s association with the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.
Answered by George Freeman
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have recently raised the ongoing delays by the EU to the UK’s association to Horizon Europe in discussions with our counterparts across Europe. In the last few months, I have spoken directly with colleagues in Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. The UK also raised the ongoing delays at the EU-UK Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes in December - the minutes from this meeting can be found on gov.uk.
In order to provide reassurance, the UK Government has guaranteed funding for the first and second waves of eligible successful applicants to Horizon Europe. If the UK is unable to associate to Horizon Europe we will be ready to introduce a comprehensive alternative programme of international science, research and innovation collaborations.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what forecasts his Department has made for the total number of domestic electricity consumers in each of the next five years.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
BEIS does not publish formal forecasts on future electricity customer numbers. However, as part of the supporting analysis for the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) consultation[1] an estimated profile of future domestic electricity meter points in Great Britain was included.
The Department does not hold an estimate on the number of future domestic electricity customers in Northern Ireland.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/technical-proposals-for-the-energy-bills-support-scheme
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total number of domestic electricity consumers was in the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
BEIS publishes statistics on the number of domestic electricity customers in Great Britain and also Northern Ireland. These statistics were last updated on the 31st of March 2022.[1],[2] [3]
A summary of the historic number of meter points from these published statistics is provided in table 1. (Figures are only available up to 2020 for Northern Ireland).
Table 1 - Total number of domestic electricity customers 2017 -2021
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
GB | 28,217,000 | 28,439,000 | 28,663,000 | 28,831,000 | 29,082,000 |
Northern Ireland | 886,000 | 895,000 | 904,000 | 907,000 | - |
Total | 29,103,000 | 29,334,000 | 29,567,000 | 29,738,000 | N/A |
Note: the GB figures are taken from the December total for each year. Also, the total number of customers reported in the above statistics is based on the number of electricity meter points. As a result, these values are higher than from the total number of households in the UK, owing to some household having multiple meters.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quarterly-domestic-energy-switching-statistics
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the energy industry on allowing customers to opt-out of receiving the £200 loan under the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Energy Bills Support Scheme, as announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February, is currently the subject of a government consultation issued on 11 April. The implementation of the policy will be reviewed following the conclusion of the consultation. Allowing consumers to opt out of receiving the reduction on their bills would likely increase the administrative costs and complexities of the scheme.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what consideration he has given to the potential of merits of obligating sellers to ensure that any electrical products reported as unsafe by purchasers can be removed from the site within 24 hours.
Answered by Paul Scully
Existing product safety legislation places obligations on manufacturers, importers, and distributors to ensure that consumer products, including electrical goods, are safe before being placed on the UK market. This applies to products sold online and offline.
The Government recognises that the growth of e-commerce, and particularly the sale of products by third-party sellers on marketplaces, presents a significant challenge. This challenge is a key aspect of a review of the Product Safety framework being conducted by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). A call for evidence to inform the review was carried out last year: (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-product-safety-review-call-for-evidence). Following on from this, a consultation, including proposals to further tackle the sale of unsafe goods online, will be published later this year.
Alongside the Product Safety Review, OPSS is leading a national programme of regulatory action to tackle the risks from unsafe and non-compliant goods sold on online marketplaces, including those sold by third party sellers. In 2021, 12,500 products were removed from supply due to OPSS interventions. OPSS has also expanded its test purchase programme, targeting, and assessing the compliance of products sold online by third parties, and continues to raise consumer awareness about the product safety risks when buying online.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to what steps his Department is taking to ensure that electrical goods offered for sale on online marketplaces by third party sellers are safe for use in the UK.
Answered by Paul Scully
Existing product safety legislation places obligations on manufacturers, importers, and distributors to ensure that consumer products, including electrical goods, are safe before being placed on the UK market. This applies to products sold online and offline.
The Government recognises that the growth of e-commerce, and particularly the sale of products by third-party sellers on marketplaces, presents a significant challenge. This challenge is a key aspect of a review of the Product Safety framework being conducted by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). A call for evidence to inform the review was carried out last year: (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-product-safety-review-call-for-evidence). Following on from this, a consultation, including proposals to further tackle the sale of unsafe goods online, will be published later this year.
Alongside the Product Safety Review, OPSS is leading a national programme of regulatory action to tackle the risks from unsafe and non-compliant goods sold on online marketplaces, including those sold by third party sellers. In 2021, 12,500 products were removed from supply due to OPSS interventions. OPSS has also expanded its test purchase programme, targeting, and assessing the compliance of products sold online by third parties, and continues to raise consumer awareness about the product safety risks when buying online.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 online marketplaces follow the same safety regulations as other UK retailers.
Answered by Paul Scully
Existing product safety legislation places obligations on manufacturers, importers, and distributors to ensure that consumer products, including electrical goods, are safe before being placed on the UK market. This applies to products sold online and offline.
The Government recognises that the growth of e-commerce, and particularly the sale of products by third-party sellers on marketplaces, presents a significant challenge. This challenge is a key aspect of a review of the Product Safety framework being conducted by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). A call for evidence to inform the review was carried out last year: (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-product-safety-review-call-for-evidence). Following on from this, a consultation, including proposals to further tackle the sale of unsafe goods online, will be published later this year.
Alongside the Product Safety Review, OPSS is leading a national programme of regulatory action to tackle the risks from unsafe and non-compliant goods sold on online marketplaces, including those sold by third party sellers. In 2021, 12,500 products were removed from supply due to OPSS interventions. OPSS has also expanded its test purchase programme, targeting, and assessing the compliance of products sold online by third parties, and continues to raise consumer awareness about the product safety risks when buying online.