Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy how many loans have been granted to fishing and aquaculture companies under the Government's Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
As of 22 April, over £2.8bn worth of loans have been issued under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme across all sectors, to over 16,600 businesses. At this time we cannot provide a breakdown of funding by sector, as we have given lenders a temporary dispensation from uploading their data to the British Business Bank’s system in order to let them focus on issuing new loans. This is a pragmatic step that reflects the urgency of getting loans issued. We are working with the British Business Bank, HM Treasury and lenders on regular and transparent data publication going forward.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy how many fishing and aquaculture businesses have applied to the (a) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (b) Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme in England.
Answered by Paul Scully
As of 22 April, over £2.8bn worth of loans have been issued under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme across all sectors, to over 16,600 businesses. At this time we cannot provide a breakdown of funding by sector, as we have given lenders a temporary dispensation from uploading their data to the British Business Bank’s system in order to let them focus on issuing new loans. This is a pragmatic step that reflects the urgency of getting loans issued. We are working with the British Business Bank, HM Treasury and lenders on regular and transparent data publication going forward.
Applications for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) opened on Monday 20th April. As of Thursday 23rd April HMRC had received about 512,000 claims with a total value of about £4.5bn. This is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they will be able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will make the timescales for publication and the types of data available in due course.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional paid family leave to help working parents cope with school closures.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is committed to supporting individuals through this difficult time, that is why the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a substantial package of measures to support businesses and individuals as part of the national effort in response to coronavirus.
Employees are entitled to time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependent, This would apply to situations related to coronavirus (COVID-19), including if they have children they need to look after or arrange childcare for because their school has closed. We encourage employers to support parents who choose to take leave, and those who choose to work flexibly. Parents’ employment rights are protected whilst taking existing leave entitlements or sick pay.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timeframe is for the implementation of the long-term protection of pension bonuses for members for the Mineworkers' Pensions Scheme.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent on 15 January 2020 to Question 1709.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress her Department has made on reviewing the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme; and when she plans to resume naming employers under that scheme.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to taking tough action against employers who underpay the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage (NMW). Our budget for enforcement and compliance stands at a record high and last year HM Revenue and Customs issued a record £17 million in penalties to employers who broke the rules.
We are in the process of concluding the evaluation of the NMW Naming Scheme. Any changes made to the Scheme will be made through an updated version of our published enforcement policy in due course, following which regular naming of employers who have breached NMW rules will resume.