Speech in Commons Chamber - Fri 22 Oct 2021
Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill
"I absolutely agree with my fellow Luton MP. We are talking about how we cannot go back to where we were, and about building back better. I think all of us represent constituents whose priorities are different from their priorities before the pandemic. What we hold dear and take for …..."Sarah Owen - View Speech
View all Sarah Owen (Lab - Luton North) contributions to the debate on: Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-engagement) Bill
Written Question
Monday 7th June 2021
Asked by:
Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to ensure covid-19 booster vaccinations keep up with potential new variants.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government is taking a number of steps to ensure the UK is prepared to respond to current and emerging COVID-19 variants as quickly as possible. This includes:
- Working closely with vaccine manufacturers and Public Health England (PHE) to understand the efficacy of our current vaccine portfolio against new variants. In order to support this, in May 2021 the Government announced £29.3 million funding to boost PHE/Porton Down’s vaccine efficacy testing capability, including against different virus variants;
- Supporting vaccine manufacturers who have decided to develop variant vaccines; and
- Commissioning the Centre for Process Innovation’s National Biologics Manufacturing Centre to create a ‘variant mRNA library’ to shorten the pathway to deployment of a licensed vaccine. In order to support this, at Budget 2021 the Government announced funding of an additional £5 million on top of a previous £9 million
The Government has confirmed we are planning for a booster programme to take place this autumn. The Vaccine Taskforce is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care and the National Health Service on this booster programme. The Government will publish further details on the booster programme in due course and the final policy will be informed by advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
Written Question
Thursday 27th May 2021
Asked by:
Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton 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 he is taking to strengthen legislation to protect (a) pregnant women and (b) women on maternity leave from redundancy.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 currently give women on maternity leave priority over other employees who are also at risk of redundancy. Employers have an obligation to offer women on maternity leave a suitable alternative vacancy where one is available.
The Government has committed to extending this protection from redundancy so that it will start at the point the employee informs the employer that she is pregnant and will continue for six months after she has returned to work.
We have been clear that we will introduce these measures as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Written Question
Monday 24th May 2021
Asked by:
Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many times (a) he and (b) Cabinet colleagues met business leaders in Luton in (i) 2020 and (ii) 2021 to discuss plans to support Luton businesses through the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
Departments publish quarterly details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations on GOV.UK. Details for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
The latest published data covers October to December 2020. Data for January to March 2021 will be published in due course.
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 14 Apr 2021
Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (Second sitting)
"Q It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Cummins. Anne, you talked about citizen buy-in. That would take an element of trust, so my two questions are around that. What could or would good transparency look like without stifling innovation, in both of your opinions? Secondly, …..."Sarah Owen - View Speech
View all Sarah Owen (Lab - Luton North) contributions to the debate on: Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (Second sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 14 Apr 2021
Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (Second sitting)
"Q Bob, you mentioned engagement and trust. We have heard a lot today about accountability and trust. How do you feel that we can get that trust without stifling innovation, and do you think FOIs are the best way to do that?
Bob Sorrell: If you are to get …..."Sarah Owen - View Speech
View all Sarah Owen (Lab - Luton North) contributions to the debate on: Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (Second sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 14 Apr 2021
Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (Second sitting)
"Q Do you think it would be useful to have that built into ARIA from its inception?
David Cleevely: I think it is essential. I would be very uncomfortable if you had an agency that did not have some degree of—accountability is not exactly the way to describe it, …..."Sarah Owen - View Speech
View all Sarah Owen (Lab - Luton North) contributions to the debate on: Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (Second sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 14 Apr 2021
Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (First sitting)
"Q It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey, especially in my first Bill Committee.
We have heard a lot of evidence in the two sessions about the need for ARIA to identify what it is for. We should also be clear about what it is …..."Sarah Owen - View Speech
View all Sarah Owen (Lab - Luton North) contributions to the debate on: Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (First sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Wed 14 Apr 2021
Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (First sitting)
"Yes.
Professor Wilsdon: I am not sure whether one would need to legislate for that. I would expect that most provisions in those areas would apply, but it is a good question and one that bears more thought. It links a bit to my point about accountability mechanisms. As I …..."Sarah Owen - View Speech
View all Sarah Owen (Lab - Luton North) contributions to the debate on: Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill (First sitting)
Written Question
Tuesday 23rd March 2021
Asked by:
Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question
to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Supreme Court's ruling of February 2021 on the employment status of Uber drivers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Supreme Court Judgment upheld Employment Status law as it stands. It is now for Uber and other gig economy businesses to ensure that they are fulfilling their legal responsibilities. The Government is considering options to further clarify the law.