Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions the Government has had with representatives of the fashion industry on tackling the issues that sector has been experiencing at UK borders since 1 January 2021.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The government recognises the significant contribution of the UK’s world-leading fashion and textiles sector to the UK economy, and is committed to supporting it. The sector delivered £35bn in GVA and 890,000 jobs in 2019, and is an important contributor to the UK’s soft power via events such as London Fashion Week.
We are aware of the challenges the fashion and textiles industry has raised around specific aspects of our new trading relationship with the EU, and we are working closely with the sector to ensure businesses get the support they need.
Officials in my department recently hosted a webinar with the fashion industry to provide guidance and clarity on the new rules for trading with the EU. In addition, my colleague the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has created a DCMS-led working group, which brings together creative sectors’ representatives, including the British Fashion Council, and other key government departments, to look at the issues facing the creative and cultural sectors when working and touring the EU. It will provide clarity regarding the practical steps that need to be taken and will seek to ease movement and facilitate touring as far as circumstances allow.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to support the UK's fashion and textile industry to rebuild following the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government continues to offer a comprehensive support package for businesses including loan schemes, grant funding, tax deferrals, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all of which have been designed to be accessible to businesses in most sectors and across the UK.
On 5 January, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £594 million discretionary fund to support other impacted businesses outside of the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, which is in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities and Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month.
Ministers and officials in the Department and across Government continue to regularly engage with the fashion and textiles industry to explore ways in which Government can support long term recovery in the sector.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the fashion industry to improve the clarity of information and labelling on the sustainability of clothing.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Resources and Waste Strategy the Government committed to providing consumers with better information on the sustainability of their purchases, including through better product labelling. In the Environment Bill, currently being taken through Parliament, we are seeking powers that will enable us to introduce labelling and information requirements for clothing, as well as eco-design requirements and producer responsibility schemes.
We have also worked closely with WRAP to develop the new voluntary agreement on textiles to succeed the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP 2020) from next year. Textiles 2030 was announced on 10 November and has ambitious targets, aligning with global goals on carbon, water and circularity and aims to drive the shift to a more resource-efficient textiles sector in the UK. Signatories will take action to improve the sustainability of their products in line with the ambitions of the new agreement.
We plan to publish our draft Waste Prevention Programme for consultation in the new year which will set out this Government’s approach to improving resource efficiency and reduce waste in a number of key sectors including textiles.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when she plans to answer the letter of 23 September 2020 from Adam Mansell of UK Fashion and Textiles.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The response to this letter was sent to UK Fashion and Textiles on Tuesday 27 October.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the environmental damage caused by fast fashion; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with the Resources and Waste Strategy for England (2018) we are taking a range of actions to tackle environmental damage and promote greater circularity in the fashion and textiles sector.
Through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) we are supporting an industry-led voluntary agreement - the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) 2020. This has seen SCAP signatories reduce their water and carbon footprints by 18.1% and 13.4% respectively per tonne of clothing between 2012 and 2018. Work is currently underway to develop an ambitious new phase of the voluntary agreement for the future, focussed on enhancing the circularity of the sector.
We have committed to consult on extended producer responsibility and other policy measures for five priority waste streams, including textiles, by 2025, with two of these to be completed by 2022. We are also exploring regulatory requirements on product design and consumer information in order to support durable, repairable, and recyclable clothing and textiles. The Environment Bill includes clauses that will enable resource efficient product design and information requirements to be set through secondary legislation.
In addition, we are supporting the textiles reuse and recycling sector, which has experienced particular challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, through the WRAP-administered Resource Action Fund.
Our detailed plans to promote sustainable practices in the textiles sector will be included in a new Waste Prevention Programme, to be published for comment in the next few months.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage a more circular fashion and textile industry; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In line with the Resources and Waste Strategy for England (2018) we are taking a range of actions to tackle environmental damage and promote greater circularity in the fashion and textiles sector.
Through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) we are supporting an industry-led voluntary agreement - the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) 2020. This has seen SCAP signatories reduce their water and carbon footprints by 18.1% and 13.4% respectively per tonne of clothing between 2012 and 2018. Work is currently underway to develop an ambitious new phase of the voluntary agreement for the future, focussed on enhancing the circularity of the sector.
We have committed to consult on extended producer responsibility and other policy measures for five priority waste streams, including textiles, by 2025, with two of these to be completed by 2022. We are also exploring regulatory requirements on product design and consumer information in order to support durable, repairable, and recyclable clothing and textiles. The Environment Bill includes clauses that will enable resource efficient product design and information requirements to be set through secondary legislation.
In addition, we are supporting the textiles reuse and recycling sector, which has experienced particular challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, through the WRAP-administered Resource Action Fund.
Our detailed plans to promote sustainable practices in the textiles sector will be included in a new Waste Prevention Programme, to be published for comment in the next few months.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the level of labour exploitation in garment factories in the UK; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to tackling labour exploitation and protecting workers’ rights. We have taken a number of steps to deal with the issues in the textiles sector and take this issue very seriously. In light of the very concerning recent allegations of illegal and unsafe working conditions for garment workers in Leicester, a multi-agency Taskforce, led by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has been established to enable the relevant enforcement bodies to work together at pace, to take appropriate action against unscrupulous employers and individuals who exploit workers.
We are also working in partnership with the industry through the Apparel and General Merchandise Public and Private Protocol, a partnership between enforcement bodies and industry partners - including, the British Retail Consortium, UK Fashion and the Textile Association – aimed at tackling all forms of labour exploitation in the garment industry. Given the serious nature of the allegations in Leicester and the spectrum of labour market non-compliance issues that have been raised, it is imperative that we have a strong evidence base to inform the options we are considering to protect vulnerable workers and drive up standards. The Government will continue to work closely with the taskforce to consider the most appropriate measures to tackle labour exploitation in this sector.
The Government is committed to improving enforcement of employment rights. We have announced the intention to introduce a Single Enforcement Body, which will provide a clearer route for workers to raise a complaint and get support, enabling more coordinated enforcement action and the use of pooled intelligence to better target proactive enforcement. The public consultation on the establishment of the new Single Enforcement Body included questions on extending licensing to other high-risk sectors. We will publish a response to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce a fit to trade licensing scheme to tackle labour exploitation in garment factories.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to tackling labour exploitation and protecting workers’ rights. We have taken a number of steps to deal with the issues in the textiles sector and take this issue very seriously. In light of the very concerning recent allegations of illegal and unsafe working conditions for garment workers in Leicester, a multi-agency Taskforce, led by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has been established to enable the relevant enforcement bodies to work together at pace, to take appropriate action against unscrupulous employers and individuals who exploit workers.
We are also working in partnership with the industry through the Apparel and General Merchandise Public and Private Protocol, a partnership between enforcement bodies and industry partners - including, the British Retail Consortium, UK Fashion and the Textile Association – aimed at tackling all forms of labour exploitation in the garment industry. Given the serious nature of the allegations in Leicester and the spectrum of labour market non-compliance issues that have been raised, it is imperative that we have a strong evidence base to inform the options we are considering to protect vulnerable workers and drive up standards. The Government will continue to work closely with the taskforce to consider the most appropriate measures to tackle labour exploitation in this sector.
The Government is committed to improving enforcement of employment rights. We have announced the intention to introduce a Single Enforcement Body, which will provide a clearer route for workers to raise a complaint and get support, enabling more coordinated enforcement action and the use of pooled intelligence to better target proactive enforcement. The public consultation on the establishment of the new Single Enforcement Body included questions on extending licensing to other high-risk sectors. We will publish a response to this consultation in due course.
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recommendations set out in the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion's report, Making the UK a Global Leader in Sustainable Fashion, published in September 2020.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have noted the report published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion on 15 September, and we are considering its recommendations carefully in line with our Resources and Waste Strategy.
Our existing plans for textiles were outlined in the answer I gave my hon. Friend on 17 June 2020 [PQ UIN 58081]. We intend to set out our detailed plans in a new Waste Prevention Programme to be published for comment later this year.
[https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-06-10/58081]
Asked by: Anthony Mangnall (Conservative - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support environmental sustainability in the fashion and textile industries.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the landmark Resources and Waste Strategy for England (2018), the Government committed to develop policy measures to promote sustainable practices in the clothing and textiles industries. We are continuing to work with industry through WRAP on the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP), and are currently engaged in developing an ambitious new phase of the voluntary agreement for 2021-2030. The most recent figures show that between 2012 and 2018 signatories to the SCAP reduced their water and carbon footprints by 18.1% and 13.4% respectively.
We are seeking enabling powers in the Environment Bill to introduce ecodesign and product information requirements, subject to consultation. Through secondary legislation these requirements could be applied to support durable, repairable, and recyclable textiles. We also identified textiles in the Resources and Waste Strategy as a priority area on which to consult for an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.
We are supporting the textiles reuse and recycling sector, which has experienced particular challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, through the WRAP-administered Resource Action Fund. The textiles fund makes a total of £1.5 million available, for small grants of £20 000 to £170 000. Our plans to promote sustainable practices in the textiles sector will be built on and enhanced in a new Waste Prevention Programme, which is currently in development.