Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 of national covid-19 lockdown’s on the pub and brewery sector; what plans he has to support the recovery of that sector from those lockdowns; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has brought forward a substantial package of financial support for the hospitality sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £65 billion plan to provide support for jobs and businesses (including the hospitality sector), with extensions to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, self-employed support, business grants, loans and VAT cuts – bringing total fiscal support to over £352 billion.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 his decision on the Aquind Interconnector project.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Following the close of the examination in respect of the application for development consent for the Aquind Interconnector project on 8 March 2021, the examining authority is currently writing its report for my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State which will contain its conclusions and recommendation on the project. Once he has received the report, which is expected no later than the 8 June 2021, the Secretary of State will have three months to take his decision to grant or refuse development consent.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the covid-19 outbreak on job losses in the wedding industry in which 80 per cent of workers are women.
Answered by Paul Scully
I meet regularly with the industry-led Weddings Taskforce, established to represent all parts of the UK Weddings sector, to understand the impact of COVID-19 on wedding businesses and jobs in the sector.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 the adequacy of financial support available to hairdressers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
I understand these are extremely challenging circumstances for businesses. That is why we have put in place one of the most generous packages of business support in the world, worth £285 billion. This includes a business rates holiday, various loan schemes and the extended furlough scheme. Closed businesses such as hairdressers can also receive a grant of up to £3,000 per month and a one-off payment of up to a maximum £9,000. Government continues to keep under review all the measures needed to control the virus, as well as the appropriate business support.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 ensure that independent bookshops receive the support they need to help them to reopen in areas under tier 3 covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has published clear COVID-Secure guidance which outlines the measures which need to be put in place for shops to open safely in all tiers. We continue to review this guidance as the situation evolves.
Following the introduction of national restrictions, independent book shops must close. All shops can continue to offer click and collect, and delivery services which will help businesses keep trading.
The Government continues to offer a comprehensive support package for small businesses which independent bookshops can access, including one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring, an extension to the Coronavirus Job retention Scheme to the end of April 2021, extension to the existing Loan Schemes to the end of March 2021, and cash grants of up to £1,500 per 2-week closure period, for businesses which are closed during local or national restrictions.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 potential merits of providing urgent support to independent book shops that have not been able to re-open after the first and second covid-19 lockdowns to ensure their survival.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government continues to offer a comprehensive support package for small businesses which independent bookshops can access, including the extension to the Coronavirus Job retention Scheme to the end of April 2021, extension to the existing Loan Schemes to the end of March 2021, and cash grants of up to £1,500 per 2-week closure period, for businesses which are closed during local or national restrictions.
Independent book shops can continue benefitting from 100% business rates relief for the financial year 2020/21.
Following the introduction of new national restrictions, independent book shops can continue to offer click and collect, and delivery services which will help businesses keep trading.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 contribution of local independent book shops to local knowledge and culture within communities; and what steps he is taking to support that contribution during and after the imposition of tier 3 local covid alert level restrictions.
Answered by Paul Scully
Independent retailers, including book shops, play a valuable role in our communities.
The Government continues to offer a comprehensive support package for small businesses which independent bookshops can access, including the extension to the Coronavirus Job retention Scheme to the end of April 2021, extension to the existing Loan Schemes to the end of March 2021, and cash grants of up to £3,000 per month for businesses which are closed.
Following the introduction of new national restrictions, independent book shops can continue to offer click and collect, and delivery services which will help businesses keep trading.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
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 increase the number of suitably qualified and experienced personnel (SQEP) in the UK space sector.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The UK Space Agency is working closely with organisations across the sector to understand their varied requirements for SQEP. We are undertaking a nationwide Space Skills Survey to map the current learning landscape and identify gaps in provision of support. A Space Skills Advisory Panel, including expertise from across government, academia and industry, will then prioritise new training opportunities to ensure we can deliver a skilled and enthusiastic workforce for the space sector.
The UKSA has worked with the Space Engineering Trailblazer group to develop a new apprenticeship standard at level 4, and continues to work with industry to finalise the standards for a level 6 apprenticeship in Space Systems Engineering. Work also continues with other Trailblazer Groups to address other space skills issues such as data applications.
The UKSA also continues to raise awareness in the student body of the career opportunities presented by the space sector. This is delivered through country-wide careers engagements as well as through the Space Placements in Industry (SPIN) scheme. This successful scheme provides small grants to enable SMEs in particular to employ university students for short placements within their business, providing both meaningful work experience and developing skills in the interns to improve their employability. This year we received a record number of applications for the programme which was able to proceed with many projects being offered remotely, a threefold increase over previous years.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what date he plans to publish the national space strategy.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
We are committed to making the UK a world leader in space and other high-tech industries. The UK’s first comprehensive national space strategy is therefore being developed under the direction of the National Space Council.