Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
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 effect on competitive advantage for companies in the energy-intensive industry sector of differences in eligibility thresholds for access to relief; and if he will meet representatives of that sector to discuss those differences in thresholds.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Government has targeted its relief at the most electricity intensive industries operating in international markets, in line with the European Commission’s published Aid guidelines.
We recognise that in setting an eligibility threshold, there will be some companies that will not receive the relief while their direct competitors do. We have sought to address this by notifying the European Commission that we intend to provide relief to direct competitors who do not pass the eligibility threshold. We have had a number of discussions with the Commission on this proposal, although this has not been approved to date. We are keen to resolve how best to address the issues faced by direct competitors. We are therefore investigating options that may be available to us within the scope of EU State Aid guidelines.
BEIS officials are happy to meet with representatives to discuss this matter in further detail.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, (a) how much has been paid to officials of his Department as an additional incentive for working overtime on top of their normal overtime payments, (b) how much has been offered to any individual staff member for a one-off occurrence, (c) how many staff received such incentivised additional payments, (d) from which budgets such payments were made and (e) at which Ministerial or official level the business cases or payment approval for such payments was made in (i) each of the last five years and (ii) 2016 to date.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not paid officials an incentive for working overtime on top of their normal overtime payments over the last five years.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, (a) how much has been paid to officials of her Department as an additional incentive for working overtime on top of their normal overtime payments, (b) how much has been offered to any individual staff member for a one-off occurrence, (c) how many staff received such incentivised additional payments, (d) from which budgets such payments were made and (e) at which Ministerial or official level the business cases or payment approval for such payments was made in (i) each of the last five years and (ii) 2016 to date.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not pay an additional incentive for working overtime in addition to normal overtime payments.