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1331051

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Evictions: Families
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of families at risk of eviction; and what steps they are taking to support them.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL901
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>The Government does not publish data on the number of families who are at risk of eviction.</p><p>The Government continues to provide support for all tenants, including families. A significant package of financial support is available to tenants to help them pay their rent. Local Housing Allowance rates were increased in April 2020 to the 30th percentile of market rents. In 2020/21 rates have been frozen in cash terms meaning claimants renting in the private rented sector will continue to benefit from the significant increase applied in April 2020. We have also made £140 million in Discretionary Housing Payments funding available, for local authorities to distribute to renters who require additional support. This is in addition to the wider support available through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and £20 weekly uplift to Universal Credit, which are in place until the end of September.</p><p>Tenants continue to benefit from longer notice periods of four months in most cases, giving them more time to make alternative arrangements where needed. New arrangements have also been introduced to protect tenants where a possession claim is made to the court. These include requiring landlords to provide information about how their tenant and their dependents have been affected by the pandemic, and a review stage to enable tenants to access legal advice. A new mediation pilot integrated into the court process is supporting landlords and renters who face court procedures and potential eviction to resolve issues and to help sustain tenancies where possible.</p><p>Evictions must be scheduled with a minimum of 14 days’ notice and will not be carried out if bailiffs are made aware that a member of the household has Covid-19 symptoms or is self-isolating. In certain circumstances, tenants are able to apply to suspend an eviction, for example if a tenant missed the court hearing for a good reason and there would have had a good case for the possession order not to have been granted had they attended.</p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 21/06/2021 15:33:18 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1331052

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Business: Government Assistance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support businesses that have lost revenue from cross-border card payments because of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL902
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>With the UK no longer part of the EU single market, any changes in cross-border interchange fees between the UK and EU, as between the UK and third countries, are a result of commercial decisions by card schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has legislated to ensure that card payment interchange fees remain capped for UK domestic card transactions, where both the card issuer and acquirer are located in the UK, through the Interchange Fee (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 made under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The levels of UK interchange fee caps are at the same levels as before the end of the Transition Period.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Regarding the cost of card payments more widely, the Payment Systems Regulator is currently carrying out a market review into card acquiring services. Its review is examining how effectively competition is working in the provision of these services, including looking at the fees businesses pay for card payments and the quality of service they receive. The interim findings were published on the 15th September 2020, and the final report and remedies are due to be published later this year.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 21/06/2021 10:46:37 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1331053

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Small Businesses: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reassure small businesses that financial support will be made available in the case of future COVID-19 restrictions being introduced.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL903
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>Throughout this pandemic, our Plan For Jobs has supported jobs and businesses with over £400 billion of economic support – one of the most generous and comprehensive packages in the world.</p><p> </p><p>At Budget the Government deliberately went long and erred on the side of generosity – specifically to accommodate short delays to the roadmap. Most of the Government’s Covid support schemes do not end until September or after, in order to provide continuity and certainty for businesses and families.</p><p> </p><p>The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) announced at Budget 2021 ensures lenders continue to have the confidence to lend, ensuring viable businesses, including small businesses, continue to have access to Government-backed finance needed throughout 2021. The scheme launched on 6 April 2021, following the closure of the emergency schemes to new loan applications on 31 March 2021, and will run until 31 December 2021. The scheme operates UK-wide, providing an 80% guarantee to lenders for term loans, overdrafts, and invoice and asset finance.</p><p> </p><p>The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was introduced to help employers whose operations have been severely affected by coronavirus to retain their employees and protect the UK economy. All businesses across the UK can access the scheme, with employees receiving 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. At Budget the government extended the CJRS until the end of September 2021, to support businesses and employees through the next stage of the pandemic. The economy now is in a stronger position than it was last autumn, when businesses also contributed up to 20 per cent of wage costs.</p><p> </p><p>In line with the extension to the CJRS, the government announced at Budget 2021 that the SEISS will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant. This provides certainty to business as the economy reopens and means the SEISS will continue to be one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.</p><p> </p><p>As restrictions have been lifted, it is right that we ask employers to contribute more to strike the balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring incentives are in place to get people back to work.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 21/06/2021 10:49:42 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1330313

registered interest
date	07/06/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Cryptocurrencies: Regulation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a report by TheCityUK Cryptoassets: Shaping UK regulation for innovation and global leadership', published on 25 May; and what steps they are taking to encourage crypto-based innovation in the UK.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL821
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2021 answer text <p>The Government welcomes TheCityUK’s contribution on the regulatory treatment of cryptoassets, including their view that the Government should take a proportionate, risk-based approach to regulation, and foster innovation.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has taken a number of actions to mitigate risks and foster innovation in the cryptoasset industry.</p><p> </p><p>The Government established a Cryptoassets Taskforce in 2018, consisting of HM Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Taskforce’s objectives include exploring the risks and opportunities of cryptoassets, the potential benefits and challenges of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in financial services; as well as assessing what, if any, regulation is required in response.</p><p> </p><p>Last year, the Government issued a consultation on a proposal to bring certain cryptoassets, including Bitcoin, into the scope of financial promotions regulation. This would ensure that relevant cryptoasset promotions are held to the same high standards for fairness, clarity, and accuracy that pertain in the financial services industry. The Government will be publishing its response in due course.</p><p> </p><p>The Government launched a consultation on its regulatory approach to cryptoassets and stablecoins on 7 January. This set out the Government’s position that new innovations in the sector could deliver substantial benefits, but also present new challenges and risks.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is considering responses and will outline next steps in due course. Any steps taken in light of this consultation will aim to balance the potential risk to consumers with the ambition to foster competition and innovation in the sector.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 16/06/2021 10:47:17 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1330314

registered interest
date	07/06/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Financial Services: Technology
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist financial technology companies in pursuing environmentally sustainable technology.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2021 answer text <p>The Government set out via a Written Statement to Parliament on 26<sup>th</sup> April the actions being taken in response to the Kalifa Review of UK Fintech.</p><p> </p><p>This Statement included confirmation that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will be taking forward various initiatives as part of a ‘Regulatory Scalebox, including to build on its existing Regulatory and Digital Sandboxes, which enable firms to test innovative products and services. As part of these initiatives, the FCA will soon launch the second phase of its Digital Sandbox pilot, inviting applications from industry to test proof of concepts to solve sustainability and climate change financial challenges. This in line with the Government’s wider vision for an increasingly green financial services sector.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, the UK is leading by example in both climate-related financial disclosures and environmental impact reporting. In November 2020 we became the first country in the world to announce our intention to make Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD)- aligned disclosures fully mandatory across the UK economy, and urge others to follow suit. Concurrently, the Chancellor announced the creation of a UK green taxonomy to help companies and investors determine which activities are sustainable. Both policies will facilitate transition finance and prevent greenwashing.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 16/06/2021 10:52:30 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1330316

registered interest
date	07/06/2021
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Night-time Economy: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prepare further financial support packages for the night-time entertainment industry affected by COVID-19 restrictions.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL823
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises the severe impact the pandemic has had on the night-time entertainment industry.</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor announced in the 2021 Budget an additional £300 million to support cultural organisations, including businesses in the night industry such as theatres, music venues and nightclubs in England through the Culture Recovery Fund. Nightclubs were eligible for the first and second rounds of Culture Recovery Funding and many organisations were funded, for example, the Ministry of Sound received a grant of almost £1m. To date, over £1.2 billion has been allocated from the Culture Recovery Fund, reaching over 5000 individual organisations and sites.This extra funding means that our total support package for culture during the pandemic is now approaching £2bn.</p><p> </p><p>More generally, the Government will spend over £33 billion supporting those in self-employment during this crisis, among the most generous anywhere in the world. The Government has also provided economic wide support packages which the sector has been able to access including extensions to the furlough scheme, SEISS, and additional business support.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 14/06/2021 11:37:20 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1330317

registered interest
date	07/06/2021
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	Hospitality Industry: Small Businesses
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional steps they are taking to support small businesses in filling job vacancies in the hospitality sector.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL824
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>The Department regularly meets with representatives from across the sector to discuss how it can recover and build back from the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>We are doing everything we can to support hospitality on its road to recovery. This includes offering generous incentives to employers to recruit staff, with hundreds of young people starting work every day through the Kickstart Scheme. We are providing employers with a hiring incentive for each new apprentice they hire, helping more people across a broad range of industries. We are also investing £126 million in additional support to help create 40,000 more traineeships in England, funding high-quality work placements and training for 16-24-year olds in 2021-22.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 21/06/2021 15:20:21 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1328413

registered interest
date	26/05/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Graduates: Employment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with universities in England about the support they can provide to improve the employment prospects of graduates.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL639
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2021 answer text <p>The government understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on students graduating this year, and we recognise that a number of graduates face particular challenges gaining employment due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the UK labour market and economy.</p><p>The government is doing all it can to help people who are at the start of their career journey. As part of the government’s Skills Recovery Package Plan for Jobs, we are investing an additional £32 million in the National Careers Service up to March 2022. This investment will support delivery of individual careers advice for over 500,000 people whose jobs or learning have been affected by the pandemic (by the end of the 2021/22 financial year). This represents an increase of 22%.</p><p>To provide additional support, we have developed the Graduate Employment and Skills Guide, which was published on 10 May on the Office for Students (OfS) website. The guide directs graduates to public, private, and voluntary sector opportunities to help them build employability skills, gain work experience, or enter the labour market, as well as providing links to further study options and resources on graduate mental health and wellbeing. The guide will also help graduates to recognise the valuable skills they have developed at university.</p><p>We have also engaged with Higher Education providers to produce a collection of Graduate Employability Case Studies. These case studies are published on the OfS website and demonstrate the breadth of innovative work and range of new measures university and college careers services have introduced to support final-year students and recent graduates as they move from university to graduate life.</p><p>Content on the National Careers Service website to support graduates includes information on graduate schemes and internships, sector-specific work experience, virtual work experience, virtual recruitment fairs, volunteering, developing soft skills, finding job vacancies, writing a CV and application form, telephone and video interviews, psychometric testing, using LinkedIn, gap years, and considering further study. On 29 September 2020, we added additional courses to the Skills Toolkit covering digital, numeracy, and employability skills. The new content includes a range of courses to develop ‘work readiness’ skills that employers value in their new recruits.</p><p>Where securing work is challenging, graduates may be able to access financial support. Graduates can apply for Universal Credit immediately after finishing a degree and can check their eligibility at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/eligibility" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/eligibility</a>.</p><p>We have worked with a range of institutions across the sector to understand what more we can do to support graduates who are looking to secure employment at this challenging time and ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value and reflect their hard work.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 08/06/2021 11:45:26 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1328414

registered interest
date	26/05/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Small Businesses: VAT Exemptions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposed removal of EU VAT exemptions on small e-commerce businesses based in the UK which trade in the EU.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL640
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2021 answer text <p>The Government does not provide an impact assessment of policy measures that are introduced outside of the UK by jurisdictions.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has carried out an impact assessment for the removal of low value consignment relief for all imports into the UK from 1 January 2021. It published a Tax Impact and Information Note which forecasts the removal of the relief to raise approximately £300 million per year.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 08/06/2021 11:43:18 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1328415

registered interest
date	26/05/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Vacancies
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on labour shortages in the agricultural and food processing sectors; and what steps they are taking to reduce any such shortages.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL641
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2021 answer text <p>Defra is working closely with industry to help our world-leading farmers and food businesses access the labour they need, and to ensure that our sectors are appropriately supported both this year and in the future.</p><p>On 22 December 2020, the government extended the Seasonal Workers Pilot into 2021, with up to 30,000 visas available, granted for workers to come to the UK, from EU or non-EU countries, for a period of up to 6 months to pick and package fruit and vegetables on our farms.</p><p>Defra is leading on a review of automation in horticulture, which will cover both the edible and ornamental sectors in England. The review will work alongside the newly extended and expanded Seasonal Workers Pilot - and Defra’s efforts to attract more UK residents into agricultural work – to support the overall aim of reducing the sector’s dependency on seasonal migrant labour.</p><p>On 1 January 2021 free movement ended and was replaced with the UK's points- based immigration system. Alongside this, agri-food businesses will also be able to recruit those who come to the UK through our youth mobility schemes, dependents of skilled workers, plus those who arrive through other routes, such as our humanitarian protection ones, who have free access to the UK labour market.</p><p>Some of the measures in our new points-based immigration system represent a significant change for some businesses.</p><p>Defra is working with industry and the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of career opportunities within the food and farming sectors among UK workers. We will also explore the potential for automation to meet future labour demands of the sector.</p><p>In 2021 and beyond, agricultural and food businesses will continue to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. Over 4.9 million EU citizens and their families have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and the application deadline is 30 June 2021.</p><p>For the longer term, the Government is encouraging all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.</p> answering member printed Lord Benyon question first answered 10/06/2021 16:16:37 answering member 1547 label Biography information for Lord Benyon
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick