Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to provide additional financial support to (a) beauty and (b) hair salons during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on businesses and workers in the beauty industry across the UK.
We are providing additional funding worth £4.6 billion across the UK to support businesses during the new national lockdown. All businesses in England which are legally required to close as a result of this lockdown will receive one-off grants of up to £9,000. We are also providing all English local authorities with an additional £500m of discretionary business grant funding. This extra support comes on top of existing monthly grant support for closed businesses.
We have taken additional steps to support businesses requiring access to finance by extending four of the temporary government-backed loan schemes to 31st January and introducing flexibility on some of their repayments. To protect jobs and businesses, including those in the beauty sector, we have also extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for all parts of the UK until the end of April 2021.
As measures to control the virus change, it is right that government support should also evolve. Because of this, we continue to take a flexible approach and keep all impacts and policies under review.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 20 November (HL10315), what steps they have taken to put in place measures that specifically benefit young people leaving the care system in overcoming digital exclusion.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We are aware that care leavers are less likely to have access to a device and internet package than their peers in the general population and that, consequently, they were likely to be at higher risk of loneliness and isolation during the COVID-19 outbreak. That is why, in April 2020, we prioritised care leavers for receipt of laptops and 4G wireless routers that the department distributed to local authorities as part of a £100 million investment in technology access for vulnerable children and young people.
Of the 220,000 laptops and tablets, and over 50,000 routers that have been distributed, 148,000 have been provided specifically to children with a social worker and care leavers. This has meant that thousands of care leavers have digital access to allow them to participate in learning online and to maintain contact with their Personal Advisers and with other support networks and access support services online. A copy of the guidance issued to local authorities is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-provided-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
Since these devices were distributed, we have extended the data packages provided, with all current SIM card contracts remaining active until July 2021. A copy of these details is available at: https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk/devices/preparing-4g-wireless-routers#contract-length.
All local authorities have a duty to consult on and publish a local offer for their care leavers. This includes care leavers’ statutory entitlements, as well as any discretionary support and services that the local authority chooses to provide. Some local authorities have included supplying mobile phones, data packages or other forms of digital access for their care leavers during COVID-19 and may consider making this part of their local offer going forward.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the barriers facing care leavers in being approved for contracts with broadband providers.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We are aware that care leavers are less likely to have access to a device and internet package than their peers in the general population and that, consequently, they were likely to be at higher risk of loneliness and isolation during the COVID-19 outbreak. That is why, in April 2020, we prioritised care leavers for receipt of laptops and 4G wireless routers that the department distributed to local authorities as part of a £100 million investment in technology access for vulnerable children and young people.
Of the 220,000 laptops and tablets, and over 50,000 routers that have been distributed, 148,000 have been provided specifically to children with a social worker and care leavers. This has meant that thousands of care leavers have digital access to allow them to participate in learning online and to maintain contact with their Personal Advisers and with other support networks and access support services online. A copy of the guidance issued to local authorities is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-provided-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
Since these devices were distributed, we have extended the data packages provided, with all current SIM card contracts remaining active until July 2021. A copy of these details is available at: https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk/devices/preparing-4g-wireless-routers#contract-length.
All local authorities have a duty to consult on and publish a local offer for their care leavers. This includes care leavers’ statutory entitlements, as well as any discretionary support and services that the local authority chooses to provide. Some local authorities have included supplying mobile phones, data packages or other forms of digital access for their care leavers during COVID-19 and may consider making this part of their local offer going forward.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support he plans to provide for hairdressers who have had to pay national insurance, pension contributions and other additional furlough costs on top of rent for several months without income and who face losing their businesses as a result of further lockdowns.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on businesses and workers in the beauty industry across the UK.
In response to the new restrictions, the Chancellor announced further support to businesses on top of the support already announced in the Winter Economy Plan and our previous economic responses. These support measures are carefully designed to complement each other to ensure we protect jobs and livelihoods.
This support includes a new one-off grant of up to £9,000 to support businesses in England which are legally required to close. This comes in addition to the existing monthly grants for closed businesses of up to £3,000 per month. Local authorities will also receive an additional £500m, to a total of £1.6bn, of discretionary funding to allow them to support their local businesses.
As measures to control the virus change, it is right that government support should also evolve. Because of this, we continue to take a flexible approach and keep all impacts and policies under review.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the (a) safety of student nurses on coronavirus wards and (b) effect on the personal finances of those nurses of being at a high risk of having to isolate and lose the ability to do other part-time work.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is clear that it is the responsibility of Health Education England (HEE), clinical placement providers and higher education institutions to undertake assessments at a local level to ensure the safety of student nurses in all placement settings. HEE has also led national level work to minimise the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on students on healthcare courses, including ensuring students have appropriate access to personal protective equipment, testing and wellbeing support whilst on placement. The detail of the support available was outlined in a letter sent by the Chief Nursing Officer for England and the Chief Nurse for Health Education England to all nursing students on 13 November 2020.
In terms of financial support, all eligible nursing students will continue to receive payments from the student loans company and also access the Learning Support Fund from the NHS Business Services Authority, which includes a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 for eligible students, travel and dual accommodation expenses and parental support. In exceptional circumstances, whereby a student is required to self-isolate due to COVID-19, the NHS Business Services Authority is able to use discretion on a case by case basis to decide whether the student is eligible to additional support through the exceptional hardship grant.
Clinical placements provide supervised training. Student nurses are not paid but receive financial support to train. In March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, temporary opt-in paid student nursing placements were arranged to help with the COVID-19 pandemic response. Since the initiation of the opt-in paid placements, the Government was clear that this was a temporary arrangement, and that at the appropriate time, normal placements would resume.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
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 implications for its policies of the National Hair and Beauty Federation's December 2020 State of Industry survey; and what plans the Government has for specific support for that sector.
Answered by Paul Scully
From 2 December, close contact services have been allowed to open in Tiers 1-3. Unfortunately, due to the very rapid rise of infections in Tier 4 areas, close contact services are closed. The Government has put in place a wide-ranging package of financial support for sectors impacted by Covid-19, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Kickstart Scheme grants.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 and at what time hairdressing salons in tier 2 covid-19 areas are allowed to re-open after the November 2020 lockdown restrictions come to an end.
Answered by Paul Scully
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister addressed the nation on Monday 23 November setting out Government’s COVID-19 Winter Plan. The COVID-19 Winter Plan sets out that the current national restrictions will be lifted on 2 December. Close Contact Services, including hairdressing salons, can open in all tiers from 2 December at 00:01.
Our Safer Working guidance has been updated ahead of the new tiering regime.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether hair, beauty and wellness services in (a) salon and (b) mobile settings will be allowed to reopen in Tier 3 areas after the national lockdown ends on 2 December.
Answered by Paul Scully
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister addressed the nation on Monday 23 November setting out Government’s COVID-19 Winter Plan. The COVID-19 Winter Plan sets out that the current national restrictions will be lifted on 2 December. Close Contact Services can open in all tiers.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of the extended closure of hair, beauty and wellness services beyond the end of the national lockdown on 2 December would have on (a) businesses and (b) jobs in that sector.
Answered by Paul Scully
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister addressed the nation on Monday 23 November setting out Government’s COVID-19 Winter Plan. The COVID-19 Winter Plan sets out that the current national restrictions will be lifted on 2 December. Close Contact Services can open in all tiers.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 made of the potential effect of an extension of the autumn 2020 covid-19 lockdown on (a) businesses and (b) jobs in the hair, beauty and wellness services sector.
Answered by Paul Scully
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister addressed the nation on Monday 23 November setting out Government’s COVID-19 Winter Plan. The COVID-19 Winter Plan ensures the current national restrictions can be lifted on 2 December. Close Contact Services will be able to open in all tiers.