Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 tackle the impact of rising energy prices for consumers.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is committed to protecting customers, especially the most vulnerable. Despite the rising cost of wholesale energy, the price cap still saves 15 million households up to £100 a year. Low income and fuel poor households will continue to be supported with their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount, which provides eligible households with a £140 discount. Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments will also ensure that the most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes over the colder months.
Additionally, the Government has announced an extra £500 million for local authorities through the new Household Support Fund to help those most in need over winter.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to tackle the delays in Government redundancy payments for ex-Flybe staff in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Paul Scully
The payment of redundancy claims to employees who were employed in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive. Redundancy claims are processed by the NI Redundancy Payments Service in Belfast under the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment she has made of the potential economic effect of the development of gigafactories.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
This Government recognises the economic benefits that securing a UK gigafactory could bring and made this a manifesto commitment. That is why last autumn we announced up to £1 billion of additional funding to develop UK electric vehicle supply chains, and for further electric vehicles research and development.
This builds on the £274 million Government has already invested in the Faraday Battery Challenge through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Faraday is a cutting-edge programme, helping businesses in the UK to lead the world in the design, development, and manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre is on course to open for business in spring 2020 with the first industry-led projects to scale-up battery technology fully underway by the summer.
The Faraday Institution commissioned a study which showed that by 2040, an estimated eight gigafactories (of 15GWh per year capacity) will be needed in the UK and consequently employment in the automotive industry and battery supply chain could increase to 246,000 jobs.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information her Department holds on the number of instances that businesses have been (a) warned and (b) fined for charging fees for the use of credit or debit cards since January 2018.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
No such information is held by the Department.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect of banning the geographical restriction by sellers on deliveries to parts of the UK.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is clear that information about costs and restrictions must be transparent at the point of purchase, and this is set out in legislation. Enforcement bodies such as the Competition and Markets Authority and the Advertising Standards Authority take action where retailers fail to comply.
The aim of Government in relation to postal services is to secure a sustainable, efficient and affordable universal postal service in the UK. It is a matter for retailers and any private delivery partners they use to determine whether it is within their commercial interests to deliver to a particular location. Parties must be able to cover their costs in delivering to consumers which may be higher or prohibitive in some areas due to varying factors including volume.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
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 introducing a mandatory membership group for car hire companies to (a) better protect consumers and (b) ensure adequate standards in the industry.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government has not made any assessment of introducing a mandatory membership group for car hire companies.
There is strong consumer protection legislation in place that protects consumers when dealing with traders, including car hire companies, namely the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. In addition, the Competition and Markets Authority has considered and carried out enforcement action against certain car hire companies for breaches of consumer protection legislation and has produced guidance for businesses and consumers. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-leads-europe-wide-action-on-car-hire.
For further information on their rights, consumers should contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 (www.citizensadvice.org.uk/). The helpline offers free advice to consumers on their rights and how to take their complaint forward. The helpline will also refer on complaints to the relevant authority for further enforcement action where appropriate.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on the number of people forced to retire since the abolition of the compulsory retirement age.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We will publish a Post Implementation Review of the removal of the Default Retirement Age in due course.
The Post Implementation Review will assess the extent to which the aims of the policy have been met five years from policy implementation. The Review will also cover the extent to which employers utilise an Employer-Justified Retirement Age and the number of age discrimination complaints raised to Acas and Employment Tribunal.
Asked by: Paul Girvan (Democratic Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to establish a statutory period of parental leave for bereaved parents whose children have experienced birth complications or post-natal incidents.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Government is supporting the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill introduced by the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton. The Bill provides for a new legal minimum period of two weeks’ leave, which will be a day one right, to enable bereaved parents to take time away from work to grieve if that is what they need. The Bill successfully completed its House of Commons stages on 11 May and was introduced to the House of Lords on 14 May.
Parents who lose their child in circumstances such as these would still remain entitled to their full Maternity and Paternity Leave and Pay.
The UK has one of the most generous maternity leave entitlements in the world. We believe it is able to cater for a variety of circumstances, including situations where there are birth complications or post-natal incidents.
Government would expect employers to treat their employees with compassion and flexibility during these difficult times.