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1141792

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Insolvency
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will make an assessment of the potential for pre-packaged administrations to be open to abuse as a way of passing on pension liabilities to the Pension Protection Fund.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	281706
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>A pre-packaged sale in administration, whereby the sale of all or part of the business is arranged prior to the company entering formal insolvency and realised on or immediately after the appointment of the administrator, is a valuable business rescue tool. Pre-pack sales help to avoid a deterioration of the value of the company’s business between appointment of the administrator and sale, meaning there is more money available for creditors, including the pension scheme. In most cases where pre-packs are used, the only alternative would be the collapse of the business and the loss of all employees’ jobs.</p><p> </p><p>The government is aware of concerns about the transparency of pre-pack sales, particularly where a business is sold to a person connected with the old company. It is currently evaluating whether legislative measures are necessary to regulate pre-pack sales to a connected person, following a review of a package of voluntary industry measures implemented in 2015 to improve creditor confidence in pre-packs. As part of the review the government liaised with the Pension Protection Fund, which made clear in its response to concerns raised by the Chair of the Department of Work and Pensions Select Committee, that it does not fundamentally take issue with pre-packs but where there are concerns, these are referred to the Pensions Regulator for investigation.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/09/2019 15:19:42 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1141793

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Johnston Press: Insolvency
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if she will make an assessment of (a) the reasons for the collapse of Johnston Press and (b) whether additional powers for the Pension Regulator would help to safeguard pension funds and mitigate the potential financial loss to employees.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	281707
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Johnston Press Group entered administration on 17 November 2018 and its business and assets were sold to a company owned by the Group’s bondholders (JPI Media Group) under a pre-pack arrangement. The government cannot comment on individual insolvency cases. However, the Pensions Regulator in its report of March 2019 found no evidence that the insolvency of Johnston Press was avoidable and had no reason to use its anti-avoidance powers.</p><p> </p><p>The government’s White Paper 2018 “Protecting Defined Benefit Pension Schemes” proposed a number of new measures to provide better protection for scheme members’ benefits, including giving the Pensions Regulator additional powers to enable it to be more proactive with tougher penalties to deter wrongdoing.</p><p> </p><p>A response to the consultation was published on 11 February 2019.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/09/2019 15:18:13 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1141396

registered interest
date	23/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Consumer Goods: Electrical Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals (a) to improve and regulate qualifications for PAT testing and (b) to ensure those qualifications cannot be gained through online only courses.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	281004
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive enforces the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. This legislation requires that any electrical equipment in the workplace has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition and anyone carrying out work on any electrical equipment to be competent for the work they are doing.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/09/2019 15:28:04 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1141397

registered interest
date	23/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Electricians: Qualifications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals for the certification of electricians with a specialism in the repair of white goods and small appliances.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	281005
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive enforces the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. This legislation requires that any electrical equipment in the workplace has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition and anyone carrying out work on any electrical equipment to be competent for the work they are doing.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/09/2019 15:25:53 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris