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1166778

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
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	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, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of restricting firework use to (a) licensed public displays at certain times of year and (b) organised events.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	6253
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2019 answer text <p>I have asked the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) to compile a fact-based evidence base on the key issues that have been raised around fireworks. This includes looking at data around noise and disturbance, anti-social behaviour, non-compliance, environmental impact, and the impact on humans and animals.</p><p> </p><p>The aim of the evidence base is to build a full picture of the data around fireworks in order to identify the key issues and what action - if any - is appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 31/10/2019 09:40:30 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1147159

registered interest
date	30/09/2019
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	Employment: Domestic Abuse
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 he plans to require employers to provide domestic abuse survivors with (a) flexible working arrangements and (b) a period of paid leave.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	292139
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>Domestic abuse is a devastating crime which shatters the lives of victims and their families, and this Government remains committed to transforming the response to this abuse. That is why we have introduced the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill, which had its Second Reading on 2 October and will be carried over to the next Parliamentary session.</p><p>Employers should take all steps which are reasonably possible to ensure their health, safety and wellbeing of their employees.</p><p>We know that 97% of employers offer some form of flexible working. Many employers also offer compassionate leave or special leave to employees to enable them to take time to deal with a wide range of circumstances. This type of leave is agreed between the employer and the employee, either as a contractual entitlement or on a discretionary basis.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 07/10/2019 16:38:15 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 137145 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1143098

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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	Parental 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, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the parental leave system supports men and women equally to take time out of the workplace to care for children.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	284772
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Shared Parental Leave &amp; Pay scheme was introduced in 2015. This scheme gives eligible working parents more choice and flexibility around which of them cares for their child in the first year and when they do this.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently consulting on high-level options for how we can better balance the gender division of the parental leave and pay system. Responses to the consultation will be considered alongside our evaluation of the Shared Parental Leave &amp; Pay scheme which is already underway.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 09/09/2019 09:49:14 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1136741

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
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	Business: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the report entitled, The state of the nation: The UK Family Business Sector 2018-19 by Oxford Economics, published in July 2019, what steps his Department is taking to make it easier for family businesses to access external finance.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	272777
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>As the report notes, the family business sector is vital to the UK economy, employing over 13 million people and generating more than a quarter of the nation’s GDP. In May this year, I attended the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Family Business and discussed a range of issues including access to external finance. The authors of the Report, The Institute for Family Business, are also a member of the BEIS SME Advisory Board, who last met on 24 June.</p><p>As part of the modern Industrial Strategy, this Department’s aim is to improve access to finance for all UK businesses, including family-owned businesses. The Government-backed British Business Bank supports more than £6.4bn of finance to over 85,000 SMEs. The Bank’s online Finance Hub also helps small business owners identify potential sources of finance via the finance finder web tool.</p><p>The Business Bank has also established a UK Network, with team members based within each of the English regions and the three Devolved Nations. The UK Network works with small business finance intermediaries to enhance business finance ecosystems across the UK, so smaller businesses, wherever they are, can grow and prosper.</p><p>In addition, Government has actively supported and invested in the creation of 38 Growth Hubs (one in each Local Enterprise Partnership area), providing businesses across England support and advice via a free and impartial, local single point of contact. At the end of FY18/19, Government had invested £56.4 million in Growth Hubs.</p><p>The Government provides support and advice to all types of businesses through our core services including GOV.UK, the Business Support Helpline and Growth Hubs operating in England.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 16/07/2019 15:34:53 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1131851

registered interest
date	12/06/2019
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	Employment: Disability
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 recent discussions he has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities on compulsory disability awareness training for all employers and employees.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	263750
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>BEIS Ministers and Officials talk regularly with OGD colleagues and disability and employment is part of those discussions. BEIS Ministers sit on the Inter-Ministerial Group on Disability which is chaired by the Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 18/06/2019 16:25:41 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1128871

registered interest
date	03/06/2019
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	Short Time Working: Climate Change
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 assessment he has made of the merits of working shorter hours to tackle climate change.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	259032
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>The UK is a world leader in cutting emissions while creating wealth. Between 1990 and 2017, the UK reduced its emissions by over 40 per cent while growing the economy by more than two thirds. The Clean Growth Strategy sets out our plans to build on our progress in decarbonising the power sector, while looking further across the whole of the economy and the country. It includes ambitious proposals on housing, business, transport, the natural environment and green finance. We have not made any assessment of the impact of working shorter hours on climate change.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does, though, continue to support flexible working practices, as part of our commitment to ensuring that everyone can access fair and decent work as set out in the Good Work Plan. For example, all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer have the right to request Flexible Working. We have also committed to consult on a new duty on employers to consider when a job can be done flexibly, and make that clear when advertising.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 06/06/2019 15:49:59 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1127650

registered interest
date	20/05/2019
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	Unpaid Work
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 recent steps he has taken to ensure that interns are paid at least (a) the national minimum wage and (b) the national living wage.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	256245
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2019 answer text <p>The law is clear that any individual performing work is entitled to receive the National Minimum and National Living Wage (NMW). The Government is committed to enforcing this right. In 2018/19 HM Revenue &amp; Customs (HMRC) identified a record £24.4 million in arrears for over 220,000 workers and issued over £17 million in penalties to non-compliant employers. The budget to enforce the NMW stands at its highest ever.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have contacted over 2,000 employers found to be advertising unpaid internships online to ensure they are compliant with the law. They have also issued over 15,000 letters to employers in industries where internships are common to remind them of their responsibilities.</p><p> </p><p>Earlier this month my hon Friend the Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) (Digital Policy) (Margot James) and I co-hosted a roundtable on internships with employers and organisations in the creative industries. Discussion focused on how Government can work better with employers to raise the profile of existing rules and ensure that interns are paid in accordance with NMW law. The event provided important insight which will be used to improve compliance with the law across all sectors.</p><p> </p><p>Anyone who feels they are being underpaid the NMW should contact Acas for free impartial advice or make a complaint directly to HMRC through their online form. HMRC follow up on every worker complaint received, even those which are anonymous.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 23/05/2019 13:54:49 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly