Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral contribution of The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of 12 February 2019, Official Report, column 724, on Small Businesses, for what reason he is not bringing forward legislative proposals on tipping, gratuities and service charges until the next Session.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government has announced its intention to legislate to ensure that all tips left to workers are kept by them in full. In some sectors, tips are a significant part of staff income. It is only right that workers keep the full value of tips left in recognition of good service and hard work.
This commitment was published as part of the Government’s Good Work Plan, which represents the largest upgrade to workplace rights in a generation. Full details of legislation on tips and a response to the 2016 consultation on tips, gratuities, cover and service charges will be published in due course.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his oral contribution of 17 December 2018, Official Report,column 573, when the the repeal of the Swedish Derogation will be implemented.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to upholding and extending workers’ rights. We laid the statutory instrument to repeal the Swedish derogation on 17 December 2018 and, subject to parliamentary approval, it will come into force from 6 April 2020.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings he has had with trustees of the mineworkers' pension scheme in the last two years.
Answered by Claire Perry
I met the Trustees of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme in June 2018 and our dialogue on potential scheme improvements continues. BEIS officials continue to meet the Trustees on a regular basis.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish a response to submissions received in his Department's consultation on the recommendations made in the Matthew Taylor Review of modern employment practices regarding agency workers which closed on 9 May 2018.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is carefully considering the responses to all four consultations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October to Question 176550 on Gratuities, whether the Government plans to publish (a) a response to the consultation on tips, gratuities, cover and service charges which closed on 27 June 2016 and (b) a draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
On 1 October 2018, the Government announced its intention to legislate to ensure employers do not retain tips.
The 2016 consultation on tips, gratuities cover and service charges gave clear support for Government action on this issue. We will publish full details of this legislation and a response to the consultation in due course.
The measure proposed extends to England, Wales and Scotland. Employment rights are devolved to Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October to Question 176550 on Gratuities, whether he plans to legislate to ban employers from making any deductions from tips through tronc systems; and what the planned territorial extent of the primary legislation referenced in that Answer is.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
On 1 October 2018, the Government announced its intention to legislate to ensure employers do not retain tips.
The 2016 consultation on tips, gratuities cover and service charges gave clear support for Government action on this issue. We will publish full details of this legislation and a response to the consultation in due course.
The measure proposed extends to England, Wales and Scotland. Employment rights are devolved to Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what legislative steps he intends to take on tips, gratuities, cover and service charges; and if he will he make a statement.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
On 1 October 2018, the Government announced its intention to legislate to ban employers from making deductions from tips. This will ensure a better deal for workers, but also for consumers who will have the confidence that their tips go to workers as they intended.
These new rules will require primary legislation and will be introduced in due course.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
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 proposed closure of Eggborough Power Station; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The proposed closure of Eggborough Power Station is a commercial decision and as such the Department holds limited information on this matter.
The information we do hold is that Eggborough Power Limited has confirmed that it will continue to meet its obligations under its current Capacity Market Agreement, which runs through to the end of September 2018. The timeframe for closing, decommissioning and demolishing the power station beyond this date is a commercial decision for the company.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of staff morale in the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not undertaken an assessment of staff morale in the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).
Acas staff complete the annual Civil Service People Survey and the 2017 survey provides the latest indicator of staff morale. Acas maintained an overall engagement score equal to the median score for the Civil Service.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, (a) how many calls the ACAS helpline received and (b) what the budget was for ACAS Helpline Services in 2017-18.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
a) The Acas Helpline received 755,755 calls in 2017/18.
b) The Acas Helpline is not managed through a separately allocated budget. In 2017/18 the estimated cost of the Helpline was £6.3m in terms of Salaries and General Admin Expenditure.