The Government has put forward an unprecedented package of support for business in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19, including loans, tax relief and cash grants, as well as financial support for employers and self-employed people. In November, the Government announced plans to extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until March 2021, confirmed an extension to the existing loan schemes to the end of January 2021 and an ability to top up Bounce Back Loans, as well as an increase to self-employed support and over £200 billion in VAT relief, business rate relief, tax deferral, loans and support for individuals. Further grant support totalling £2.2 billion has also been made available to support businesses impacted by the 5 November to 2 December national lockdown and localised restrictions. This is in addition to the £11.86 billion in cash grants already delivered to almost a million businesses in England between March and September.<\/p>
In September, the Government extended its moratorium on the landlord's right of forfeiture for non-payment of rent introduced through the Coronavirus Act 2020 until the end of this year. We recognise the impact that this extension has on landlords, lenders and investors; therefore, we expect all sides of the sector to use this time to negotiate on outstanding unpaid rents.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-25T17:42:26.19Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Housing, Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Business: Coronavirus"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will (a) make an assessment of the effect on solvency of lost revenue for closed businesses during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown and (b) extend eviction protection for businesses beyond 31 December 2020.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4480", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Carolyn Harris"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Swansea East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Carolyn Harris"} ], "uin" : "116576"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168394", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168394/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government is committed to protecting consumers from unsafe products. Legislation is in place to ensure that manufacturers only place safe products on the market and take action where they identify a safety issue with products already on the market.<\/p>
<\/p>
Therefore Whirlpool is responsible for the safety of the products it supplies and for taking effective action when unsafe products are discovered. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is the national regulator for product safety. It assessed the company\u2019s proposal for a recall against regulatory standards and best practice to ensure the proposed action was sufficient to address the risk and provided timely notification of consumers as to the action they need to take.<\/p>
<\/p>
OPSS is now monitoring the recall closely and will hold the company to account if the recall is not effective.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-01-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-01-13T16:34:45.4Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-12-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Whirlpool Corporation: Washing Machines"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the recall of washing machines by Whirlpool on Tuesday 17 December 2019 is being carried out at the request of the Office for Product Safety and Standards.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4480", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Carolyn Harris"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Swansea East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Carolyn Harris"} ], "uin" : "160"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168395", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168395/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government is committed to protecting consumers from unsafe products. The Chief Executive of the Office for Product Safety and Standards, wrote to online platforms when the recall was announced by Whirlpool to ensure affected washing machines and other recalled items were not available on their platforms to protect public safety. OPSS is closely monitoring the situation.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-01-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-01-13T16:34:51.27Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-12-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Whirlpool Corporation: Washing Machines"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what contact her Department has had with online marketplaces on the recall of washing machines issued by Whirlpool on Tuesday 17 December 2019.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4480", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Carolyn Harris"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Swansea East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Carolyn Harris"} ], "uin" : "161"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168396", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168396/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government is committed to protecting consumers from unsafe products. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) assessed Whirlpool\u2019s proposal for a recall of affected washing machines and served statutory notices requiring information from Whirlpool. This will enable OPSS to monitor the progress of the recall and assess whether further action is necessary to protect public safety and to hold the company to account.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-01-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-01-13T16:34:56.78Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-12-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Whirlpool Corporation: Washing Machines"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the recall of washing machines by Whirlpool on Tuesday 17 December 2019 is effective.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4480", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Carolyn Harris"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Swansea East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Carolyn Harris"} ], "uin" : "162"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168398", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168398/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
It is important that consumers can access safety information about the products in their homes so they can take appropriate action when necessary. The Government encourages consumers to register their domestic appliances and works with consumer organisations and business groups to promote this. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is conducting extensive research with 4,000 consumers to understand their attitudes to product registration and trial different approaches. Officials are developing proposals to increase registration, including mandatory registration for electrical products as part of this work.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-01-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "164"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-01-13T16:35:05.187Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-12-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Consumer Goods: Registration"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of product registration of electrical products.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4480", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Carolyn Harris"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Swansea East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Carolyn Harris"} ], "uin" : "163"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168399", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168399/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
It is important that consumers can access safety information about the products in their homes so they can take appropriate action when necessary. The Government encourages consumers to register their domestic appliances and works with consumer organisations and business groups to promote this. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is conducting extensive research with 4,000 consumers to understand their attitudes to product registration and trial different approaches. Officials are developing proposals to increase registration, including mandatory registration for electrical products as part of this work.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4487", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rochester and Strood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Kelly Tolhurst"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-01-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "163"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-01-13T16:35:05.22Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-12-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Consumer Goods: Registration"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of mandatory registration of electrical products.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4480", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Carolyn Harris"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Swansea East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Carolyn Harris"} ], "uin" : "164"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168400", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1168400/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "