Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what future meetings are planned of the National Taskforce for Thomas Cook; and what funding will be allocated to that task force from the public purse.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The fourth meeting of the National Taskforce for Thomas Cook will be held on 23 October 2019. The taskforce aims to ensure existing mechanisms offer support for employees and for the local economies most affected by the liquidation of Thomas Cook.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support she plans to provide to businesses in Peterborough that were in the supply chain for Thomas Cook.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Business Secretary has convened a special cross-government taskforce alongside local stakeholders to support employees, local stakeholders and supply chains. The taskforce is considering existing support schemes available and will monitor local business impacts.
The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will provide former employees of Thomas Cook with (a) retraining opportunities and (b) loans to start new businesses.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Business Secretary has convened a special cross-government taskforce alongside local stakeholders to support employees, local stakeholders and supply chains. The taskforce is considering existing support schemes available and will also monitor local business impacts.
The Rapid Response Service is already helping people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support. This includes training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised certification that will improve employability.
The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees. It will also provide advice and funding for businesses affected in the supply chain.
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 her Department is taking to support people seeking to retrieve financial earnings from (a) Thomas Cook and (b) other organisations that have gone into compulsory liquidation.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
In an insolvent situation, the Government steps in to offer a level of protection to employees who would otherwise receive nothing from their insolvent employer. Payments are made by the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service within certain statutory limits.
a) A specialist team was set up to process the high volume of redundancy claims from former Thomas Cook employees to ensure payments were received as quickly as possible.
b) Where claims are received from former employees of companies in compulsory liquidation, the Redundancy Payments Service pays on average within 14 days of receipt of information from the employee.
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 her Department has taken to ensure that people who have (a) uncollected holiday pay and (b) uncollected time off in lieu can access their earnings from (a) Thomas Cook and (b) other organisations that have gone into compulsory liquidation.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
In the event an employer becomes insolvent, the Government steps in to offer a level of protection to employees who would otherwise receive nothing from their former employer. Payments, including holiday pay and pay in lieu of notice, are made by the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service subject to conditions and statutory limits.
a) In respect of Thomas Cook employees, a specialist team was set up to process the high volume of redundancy related claims from former employees to ensure payments were received as quickly as possible.
b) Where claims are received from former employees of companies in compulsory liquidation, the Redundancy Payments Service pays on average within 14 days of receipt of information.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will request that the liquidator of Thomas Cook does not contest protective award claims from employees of the company.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Official Receiver was appointed as liquidator of the Thomas Cook group of companies by the court and, as liquidator, the Official Receiver acts as an officer of the court. It will be for the Official Receiver to determine his response to any claims for protective awards from former employees made to an Employment Tribunal, taking account of the particular circumstances of the claims.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the SSI Taskforce established following the closure of SSI, if she will establish (a) a safety net fund for areas where large numbers of Thomas Cook employees are being made redundant and (b) a business growth zone for Peterborough following the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Established in 2015, the SSI Taskforce has been responsible for delivering a range of support initiatives following the closure of the SSI steelworks in Redcar. The National Taskforce for Thomas Cook is bringing together key partners to support former employees in all parts of the UK, with regional focus at Manchester and Peterborough where many employees were based.
The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees of Thomas Cook have received assistance from JobCentre Plus in Peterborough following the collapse of that company; and what support her Department is providing for that JobCentre to deal with additional workload following the collapse of that company.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our local team in Peterborough are monitoring all new claims to benefits to identify where the claimant is a former employee of Thomas Cook so that they quickly receive the right level of support. We estimate that as of 15th October, 159 former Thomas Cook employees have visited Peterborough Jobcentre, of which 120 have made a claim to benefits and 39 have made a general enquiry about the support available. Additional staff from neighbouring offices are working from Peterborough Jobcentre on a temporary basis to meet any increased demand on our services.
We are working with a wide range of employers to provide support to former employees of Thomas Cook. As they are part of our national portfolio we do not readily hold details on those that are operating in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost. The Department is offering a range of support to anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, through our Rapid Response Service and wider DWP services. For example, a local provider is offering a series of workshops for former Thomas Cook employees to explain the range of support available to help them find a job.
Rather than providing direct financial support, our team in Peterborough have provided staff to support with the organisation and delivery of two local jobs fairs, arranged by Thomas Cook and Opportunity Peterborough. The Thomas Cook event was attended by around 850 former employees and over 100 former employees visited the DWP stand at the Opportunity Peterborough event.
Please note that the data supplied are derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations she has received from Peterborough City Council for financial support following the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Business Board of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, in partnership with Peterborough City Council, has developed a package of support for those affected locally which includes a dedicated advice service. This will support former employees with re-employment or with advice on starting a business of their own, and support businesses in a position to take on redundant employees.
Asked by: Lisa Forbes (Labour - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 1 October to Question 290912, which of the 100 employers her Department is working with to find jobs for former Thomas Cook employees are operating in (a) Peterborough and (b) Cambridgeshire; what specific support the rapid response service is providing in Peterborough following the collapse of Thomas Cook; and what financial support her Department has provided for jobs fairs in Peterborough.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our local team in Peterborough are monitoring all new claims to benefits to identify where the claimant is a former employee of Thomas Cook so that they quickly receive the right level of support. We estimate that as of 15th October, 159 former Thomas Cook employees have visited Peterborough Jobcentre, of which 120 have made a claim to benefits and 39 have made a general enquiry about the support available. Additional staff from neighbouring offices are working from Peterborough Jobcentre on a temporary basis to meet any increased demand on our services.
We are working with a wide range of employers to provide support to former employees of Thomas Cook. As they are part of our national portfolio we do not readily hold details on those that are operating in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire and to provide this information would incur disproportionate cost. The Department is offering a range of support to anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, through our Rapid Response Service and wider DWP services. For example, a local provider is offering a series of workshops for former Thomas Cook employees to explain the range of support available to help them find a job.
Rather than providing direct financial support, our team in Peterborough have provided staff to support with the organisation and delivery of two local jobs fairs, arranged by Thomas Cook and Opportunity Peterborough. The Thomas Cook event was attended by around 850 former employees and over 100 former employees visited the DWP stand at the Opportunity Peterborough event.
Please note that the data supplied are derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.