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1174300

registered interest
date	29/01/2020
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	Fireworks: Animal Welfare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2020 to Question 3877 on Fireworks: Animal Welfare, what the time frame is for the Office for Product Safety and Standards' review on the effect on humans and animals of the use of fireworks.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Mr Stephen Morgan
uin	9767
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The work that the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is conducting to develop an evidence base is ongoing. It is continuing to assess new and emerging data and will report in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/02/2020 14:53:54 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1173945

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	Carers: Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to introduce an entitlement to leave for unpaid carers.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	8945
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>This Government is determined to make Britain the best place in the world to work. As announced in the Queens’ Speech, we will be bringing forward an Employment Rights Bill to deliver the greatest reform of workers’ rights in over 20 years. This will include measures to introduce an entitlement to leave for unpaid carers.</p><p>The Government’s proposal is to introduce a week of unpaid Carer’s Leave. This will be in addition to existing employment rights, such as the right to request flexible working, annual leave and the right to time off for family and dependants which help employees balance work with caring responsibilities. In taking this forward, the Department will continue to engage widely to understand how carers’ needs can best be met.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 8946 8947 question first answered 03/02/2020 14:53:18 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1173947

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	Carers: Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2019 to Question 262229 on Compassionate Leave, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing statutory long-term leave for unpaid carers alongside the planned introduction of one weeks' additional leave.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	8946
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>This Government is determined to make Britain the best place in the world to work. As announced in the Queens’ Speech, we will be bringing forward an Employment Rights Bill to deliver the greatest reform of workers’ rights in over 20 years. This will include measures to introduce an entitlement to leave for unpaid carers.</p><p>The Government’s proposal is to introduce a week of unpaid Carer’s Leave. This will be in addition to existing employment rights, such as the right to request flexible working, annual leave and the right to time off for family and dependants which help employees balance work with caring responsibilities. In taking this forward, the Department will continue to engage widely to understand how carers’ needs can best be met.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 8945 8947 question first answered 03/02/2020 14:53:18 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1173949

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	Carers: Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government’s plans to extend the entitlement to leave for unpaid carers to one week will be in the form of paid leave.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	8947
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>This Government is determined to make Britain the best place in the world to work. As announced in the Queens’ Speech, we will be bringing forward an Employment Rights Bill to deliver the greatest reform of workers’ rights in over 20 years. This will include measures to introduce an entitlement to leave for unpaid carers.</p><p>The Government’s proposal is to introduce a week of unpaid Carer’s Leave. This will be in addition to existing employment rights, such as the right to request flexible working, annual leave and the right to time off for family and dependants which help employees balance work with caring responsibilities. In taking this forward, the Department will continue to engage widely to understand how carers’ needs can best be met.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 8945 8946 question first answered 03/02/2020 14:53:18 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1173993

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	Small Businesses: Government Assistance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department is taking to support small business growth in (a) Bexley Borough, (b) London and (c) the UK.
tabling member constituency	Bexleyheath and Crayford
tabling member printed	Sir David Evennett
uin	8964
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>We want to make sure that the UK is the best place in the world to work and grow a business. That’s why we are backing businesses right across the country, with 381,000 new businesses starting last year, and the government-owned British Business Bank currently supports more than £7bn to over 91,000 smaller businesses.</p><p>The British Business Bank’s Start-Up Loans programme provides loans to entrepreneurs seeking to start and grow their own businesses. Since 2012 the programme has delivered more than 69,000 Start-Up Loans, providing more than £558m of funding, in every part of the United Kingdom. Since 2012:</p><ul><li>The constituency of Bexleyheath and Crayford received 72 loans worth over £661,000;</li><li>In London 15,642 loans were issued worth over £126m.</li></ul><p>In addition to its lending and investment activity, the British Business Bank’s online Finance Hub helps business owners to find the right finance options for their needs.</p><p>Government has also taken a number of steps in recent years to support the growth of small businesses across the UK, including cutting corporation tax to 19 per cent and increasing the employment allowance from £2,000 to £3,000 to benefit around 1m businesses. Reforms and reliefs to business rates, since Budget 2016, are worth £13 billion over the next five years.</p><p>All businesses in England including your constituency and London, can access support through our Gov.uk website, the Business Support Helpline (0300 456 3565) and through their Local Growth Hubs.</p><p>As well as an online support, London has recently opened five main physical sites (that will be staffed) in Vauxhall, Woolwich, Tottenham, Hammersmith and Corydon, and 4 satellite sites (to ensure a wide coverage of the sub regions) in Harrow, Wood Green, Brixton and Ilford to deliver surgeries and workshops. These are led and governed by London’s Local Enterprise Partnership, LEAP. Growth Hubs provide a free, impartial, ‘single point of contact’ to help businesses in these areas identify and access the right support for them at the right time no matter their size or sector. In 2018-2019 the London Growth Hub supported 4,651 businesses.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 04/02/2020 11:24:30 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1198 label Biography information for Sir David Evennett

1174035

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	Employment: Endometriosis
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department is taking to support women with endometriosis in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
uin	9088
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>It is our priority to make the UK the best place in the world to work. The Government is determined to ensure employers are fully equipped to support those who are experiencing long term health conditions. We consulted for employees with long term health conditions last year on a range of measures to encourage early and supportive action by employers and on how to boost the support that Government provides. We will publish our response to that consultation in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Flexible working can be key in helping people to manage long term health conditions and work. Subject to consultation, the Government will be bringing forward measures in an Employment Bill to make flexible working the default.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 04/02/2020 11:24:39 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft

1174039

registered interest
date	28/01/2020
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	New Businesses: Government Assistance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps she is taking to ensure that Government grants for start-up companies are not fraudulently obtained.
tabling member constituency	New Forest West
tabling member printed	Sir Desmond Swayne
uin	8935
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>Government has robust checks in place and carries out due diligence through its Delivery Partners when issuing grants to both start-ups and established businesses. Where recipients have been found to act fraudulently serious action will be taken.</p><p> </p><p>Through Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) competitive funding is provided to businesses, including start-ups. UKRI have a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and there are stringent controls and checks in place to stop fraud from happening throughout the lifetime of a project. These include:</p><p> </p><ul><li>A rigorous assessment of the project costs a company submits as part of its application. If an applicant’s bid is successful, further due diligence checks on the viability of a company and the eligibility of the costs it has submitted are carried out, before the project is allowed to start and the company is able to start claiming any grant.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Quarterly meetings between the project team and a dedicated Monitoring Officer, who helps ensure the project complies with the terms and conditions of the grant and is delivering it to plan.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Participants providing evidence to support each claim made. This will include the mandatory submission of a report produced by an independent accountant alongside specific claims certifying that the costs incurred on the project are legitimate and directly attributable to the project. Grants will only be paid once audits and reports are completed, and UKRI are satisfied of their validity. Claims may be subject to an independent audit.</li></ul><p> </p><p>In addition, UKRI have a dedicated investigations team tasked with identifying individuals and companies who submit false information in order to obtain funding. Relevant information and intelligence is shared with Action Fraud and CIFAS, and where appropriate UKRI will apply as many sanctions as possible, including criminal prosecution and civil recovery. UKRI take all reasonable steps to prevent any organisation found to have acted fraudulently from accessing future funding, on behalf of the whole of Government.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/02/2020 14:53:02 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	55 label Biography information for Sir Desmond Swayne

1173565

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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	Fireworks
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2020 to Question 4707, when the Office for Product Safety and Standards will publish the findings of its fact-based evidence base on the key issues that have been raised around fireworks.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	8137
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The work that the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is conducting to develop an evidence base is ongoing. It is continuing to review new and emerging data and will report in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/02/2020 14:54:07 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 4123 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1173585

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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	Thomas Cook: 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, whether it is the Government's policy to introduce a statutory compensation scheme for customers facing serious hardship as a result of injuries or loss of life suffered while on a Thomas Cook holiday.
tabling member constituency	North Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
uin	8162
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>As announced to the House by my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 5 November, the Government intends to introduce a scheme to assist those facing serious hardship as a result of a life-changing injury, illness or loss of life for which UK-based Thomas Cook companies would have been liable, but for insolvency.</p><p>While the government cannot and will not step into the shoes of Thomas Cook, we are developing proposals to make payments to those in need, and who otherwise will receive nothing. Any scheme must strike a responsible balance between supporting those in the most serious financial need and our responsibility to the taxpayer. Accordingly, it will be a capped fund, sufficient to ensure there is support for those customers facing the most serious hardship.</p><p>Legislation to deliver the scheme will be introduced in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/02/2020 14:54:43 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 4124 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

1173605

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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	Conditions of Employment: Pregnancy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department is taking to help safeguard pregnant women from (a) workplace discrimination and (b) unfair dismissal.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Mr Stephen Morgan
uin	8449
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of tackling pregnancy and maternity discrimination.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s manifesto committed to reform the law so that women returning from maternity leave receive additional protection from redundancy.</p><p> </p><p>We will extend the redundancy protection period for six months once a new mother has returned to work and provide similar protections for those parents taking adoption leave and shared parental leave. This will be part of an Employment Rights Bill to deliver the greatest reform of workers’ rights in over 20 years.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/02/2020 14:54:53 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 4125 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan