Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 ban fire and rehire practices.
Answered by Paul Scully
We have been very clear that using threats about firing and re-hiring simply as a negotiating tactic is completely unacceptable. We continue to emphasise that we always expect employers to treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership.
As we have been concerned by reports of inappropriate use of fire and rehire during negotiations, we engaged Acas to conduct a fact-finding exercise about how fire and rehire has been used in practice. We are now giving this evidence full consideration.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to better understand the changing risks from the expansion of small satellite constellations that use cheaper commercial components and the increased reliance on space-enabled technologies, to allow the Government to better plan for and mitigate the impact of severe space weather.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) works closely across Government and other infrastructure operators to ensure that the impacts of a severe space weather event are well understood, and the appropriate steps are taken to ensure Great Britain’s preparedness for major space weather events.
BEIS is due to publish a new space weather strategy later this year, which proposes undertaking targeted work to better understand the impact of space weather on space-enabled technologies.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on which date the Government last undertook a cross-departmental exercise on responding to a simulated severe space weather event; and what lessons were learnt from that exercise.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government last held a cross-departmental exercise on responding to a simulated severe space weather event on 23rd July 2015. This exercise was held by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and was hosted by the Government Chief Scientific Advisor.
The key lessons learnt include the need for more coordinated work in understanding and planning for impacts to passengers and operators across a range of transport sectors; the need for a clear narrative on secondary impacts; and the need to define the role of a Lead Government Department during a space weather emergency. Following this exercise, it was determined BEIS to be designated the Lead Government Department for a severe space weather event.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to conduct a cross-government exercise to respond to a simulated severe space weather event.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
BEIS is due to publish a new space weather strategy later this year, which will set out a five-year road map for how we intend to boost resilience and continue to increase our preparedness for a severe space weather event.
The space weather strategy will set out further details on assurance of resilience to a severe space weather event, including appropriate exercising.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 the covid-19 pandemic on the travel photography industry.
Answered by Paul Scully
Throughout the pandemic, the Government has sought to keep as many business sectors open as we can to protect the economy, whilst delicately balancing the need to protect the NHS and save lives. The Department engages regularly with business representatives, stakeholders and local partners to understand the impact of Covid-19 across all sectors of the economy.
In addition, the Government has provided an unprecedented package of support to businesses and individuals affected by the pandemic, including those in the travel photography industry. This support includes grants, loans, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self Employment Income Support Scheme, the trade credit insurance guarantee and tax deferrals.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 adequacy of financial support available to serviced office providers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has introduced an unprecedented package of support for businesses including grants for those businesses that are required to close or which are severely affected by the restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19.
For those businesses who have not been mandated to close under the National Restrictions, support may be available through the discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant. Local Authorities are encouraged to support businesses from all sectors that may have been severely impacted by restrictions but are not eligible for the Restart Grant scheme. Local Authorities can use their local expertise to target businesses to support in their local area. Local Authorities are responsible for the administration for the Grant Scheme.
My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced an additional £425m will be made available via the Additional Restrictions Grant meaning that more than £2bn has been made available to Local Authorities since November 2020.
Businesses and entrepreneurs that have not been able to access support, or who are unsure about the support that may be available, can also contact their nearest Business Growth Hub. Government has supported the establishment of a network of 38 of these hubs, led by each Local Enterprise Partnership area in England. Expert advisers can offer businesses of all sizes free, tailored 1-1 guidance on areas such as planning, building resilience, and funding. The hubs can also signpost further resources such as webinars and networking opportunities. LEP and Growth Hub contact details are listed online: www.lepnetwork.net/local-growth-hub-contacts/. Firms based in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales can access similar business support through the devolved governments.
The Government’s free Business Support Helpline FREEPHONE 0800 998 1098 also provides impartial advice and can often signpost firms to further specialised sources of information. The Government publishes online all information detailing the support available to businesses who have been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. This can be found online: www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 proportion of coal from the proposed coal mine in Cumbria which will be (a) burned for energy, (b) exported, and (c) used in domestic steel production.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In their planning application to Cumbria County Council (https://planning.cumbria.gov.uk/Planning/Display/4/17/9007), West Cumbria Mining have stated that at full annual production the Whitehaven Mine will produce and sell 2.78 mega tonnes per annum of premium metallurgical coal for the use in steel making. Of this, 360,000 tonnes per annum is destined for use in the UK steel industry and the remaining 2.42 mega tonnes per annum is destined for European steel makers.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 adequacy of financial support available to businesses affected by the covid-19 outbreak that are not eligible for an Additional Restrictions Grant.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government understands the considerable difficulties faced by UK businesses that have been adversely affected by a drop in business or closure due the coronavirus pandemic.
In November, at the beginning of the second national lockdown, the Government made available £1.1bn in discretionary funding allocated to each local authority to support businesses via the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). This was topped up with a further £500m in January 2021. Local authorities have significant discretion in the businesses they support and the amount of grant funding per business based on local priorities.
Since March 2020, we have made available a range of business support measures including loans, small business grants through local authorities, mortgage holidays and VAT deferral.
We have also updated the support available to fit the restrictions necessary: we have increased the overall level of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme grant to 80% of trading profits covering November to January for all parts of the UK.
We have also extended the Bounce Back Loan Scheme application deadline to the end of March 2021, to further support eligible firms who need it during this ongoing period of difficulty.
We would always encourage businesses that have not been able to access support, or who are unsure about what support is available, to contact their nearest Business Growth Hub for advice. Government has established a network of 38 of these hubs, one in each Local Enterprise Partnership area in England. Businesses of all sizes are able to access free, tailored guidance from expert advisers who make up the Hub teams. All contact details are online at www.lepnetwork.net/local-growth-hub-contacts/.
The free Business Support Helpline offers impartial advice to businesses across England (FREEPHONE 0800 998 1098) provides with free, impartial business support.
Firms based in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales can access business support through their devolved Governments.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of the vehicles used by his Department on Government business are electric vehicles.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
BEIS currently contracts with the Government Car Service, which is a division within the Department for Transport, for the provision of two cars.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-car-service.
The vehicle fuel type can vary depending on which car has been allocated to cover on that day. Generally, the cars are electric or hybrid
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 the level of support available to small businesses in Slough during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is making substantial business grants available through Local Authorities to support businesses that have been mandated to close or had their trade affected by national or local Covid-19 restrictions.
The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) will offer grants of up to £1,500 per two-week period, available to all businesses in England that have been required to close due to local and national restrictions.
The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) is a discretionary fund designed to support those businesses that whilst not mandated to close, are severely impacted by restrictions.
On top of the support being provided centrally, the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership has committed £11.3 million of capital to create a funding escalator of loans and equity. This will support expansion plans and help with short-term cash flow issues. In addition, Thames Valley Berkshire Business Growth Hub Recovery and Growth Programme is supporting businesses to help them plan their recovery, build resilience and maximise opportunities to grow.