Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
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 support contracting and the flexible economy.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Through our Good Work Plan reforms this Government is delivering the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, and working to ensure that the UK labour market strikes the balance between flexibility and worker protections.
We have already taken significant steps to ensure that the UK's flexible economy works for all, We have passed legislation that means almost 300,000 workers, including people on casual or flexible hours contracts, will have a right to a payslip for the first time. This helps workers in the flexible economy to better understand their pay and identify if their employer is not meeting their minimum pay obligations.
We have quadrupled the penalty that Employment Tribunals can use where employers have shown malice, spite or gross oversight. This reform acts as an important deterrent against poor employment practices and is an important measure to protect the rights of those working in our flexible economy.
We have also helped agency workers by abolishing the Swedish Derogation, removing a legal loophole to secure equal pay for up to 120,000 agency workers.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
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 provide a list of all publicly-owned testing centres for innovation.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
We want the UK to be the world’s most innovative economy and through the Industrial Strategy we have an ambition to raise total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, and 3% in the longer term.
There is no single definition or list of government supported testing centres for innovation. However, the government supports innovation through a number of mechanisms including:
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether a guarantor or bond has been offered by or sought from York Energy (UK) Holdings or Alpha Energy (UK) or its investors to underwrite the proposed transfer of petroleum assets to the newly incorporated limited company York Energy (UK) Holdings Ltd.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The potential sale of Third Energy to York Energy (UK) Holdings Ltd is a commercial agreement between the relevant parties. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for Government to comment.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether regulatory approval has been granted for the transfer of onshore licences held by Third Energy Onshore Limited to York Energy (UK) Holdings.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The potential sale of Third Energy to York Energy (UK) Holdings Ltd is a commercial agreement between the relevant parties. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for Government to comment.
Further information relating to the Oil and Gas Authority’s role with regard to licence change of control can be found here: https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/licensing-consents/licensing-system/change-of-control/.