Tag: business

Bishop of Durham asks about efforts to encourage volunteering opportunities

The Bishop of Durham received the following written answer on 26th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Durham asked His Majesty’s Government what encouragement they are providing to businesses to promote and encourage volunteering amongst employees.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con): His Majesty’s Government recognises how vital volunteering is for society, reaping benefits for those who volunteer as well as the organisations they assist. The Government aims to remove barriers which prevent people from getting involved.

Continue reading “Bishop of Durham asks about efforts to encourage volunteering opportunities”

Bishop of St Albans asks about energy relief for businesses

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to provide energy bill relief for businesses.

Lord Callanan (Con): The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS), worth £7.3billion, provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible businesses are protected from high energy costs this winter period.

Following a review of the EBRS, a new Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) starts on 1 April 2023, and all eligible non-domestic customers, except for those experiencing low energy costs, will automatically receive a per unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.

Hansard

Bishop of Exeter asks about relationship between food suppliers and retailers

The Bishop of Exeter received the following written answer on 8th November 2022:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the annual survey conducted by the Grocery Code Adjudicator which identified a deteriorating relationship between food suppliers and retailers; and what steps they will take to improve that relationship.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about broadband access in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 27th April 2022:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of rural communities’ access to reliable broadband on the fiscal wellbeing of businesses in those areas.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about monitoring of property owned by businesses suspected of human rights abuses

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 14th December 2021:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked Her Majesty’s Government whether they (1) audit, and (2) monitor, the commercial UK real estate holdings of companies directly associated with regimes with poor human rights records.

Lord Callanan (Con): Monitoring of individuals, and any companies they may be associated with, for human rights abuses overseas is a matter for FCDO and HM Treasury, under the recently introduced Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.

Hansard

Bishop of St Albans asks about monetary policy, car finance schemes

On 30th December the Bishop of St Albans received written answers to questions on monetary policy, and care finance schemes:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 3 December (HL10488) and the exchange of letters between the Bank of England and HM Treasury on the Asset Purchase Facility on 29 January 2009, whether the Monetary Policy Committee still requires the consent of HM Treasury to engage in quantitative easing through the Asset Purchase Facility. [HL11242]

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 3 December (HL10488) and the exchange of letters between the Bank of England and HM Treasury on the Asset Purchase Facility on 29 January 2009, what assessment they have made of the implications of the confirmation in these letters that the financing of the Asset Purchase Facility by central bank money would require HM Treasury consent for the question of whether it is appropriate for the Government to comment on the effectiveness of quantitative easing; and what assessment they have made of the effects of quantitative easing on the increase in house prices compared to increases in wages. [HL11243] Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks about monetary policy, car finance schemes”

Bishop of Salisbury asks Government to encourage fossil fuel intensive businesses to accelerate move to net zero carbon emissions

On 19th November the Bishop of Salisbury asked a question he had tabled to Government, on fuel intensive businesses  moving to net zero carbon emission. The exchanges are below, along with the follow-up questions from other Members:

Fossil Fuels: Business

The Lord Bishop of Salisbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the report by the Transition Pathway Initiative Management Quality and Carbon Performance of Energy Companies: September 2020, published on 7 October, what steps they plan to take to encourage fossil fuel intensive businesses to accelerate their move to net zero carbon emissions.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lord Callanan) (Con): My Lords, the Government have schemes worth nearly £2 billion operating or in development to support our vital energy-intensive industries to decarbonise. These schemes include the industrial energy transformation fund to help companies to reduce their fuel bills and transition to low-carbon technologies, and the industrial decarbonisation challenge to support industry with the development of low-carbon technologies in industrial clusters.

The Lord Bishop of Salisbury: I thank the Minister for his Answer. There have been some welcome and notable commitments, particularly by European oil and gas companies, but overall, the sector is not moving fast enough to align with the Paris agreement. How does the Minister see the Government supporting companies to move faster and have consistent standards for reporting all emissions from scopes 1, 2 and 3 so companies demonstrate alignment clearly in their reporting?

I commend to the Minister the work of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change working with TPI to establish a net-zero standard. It would be marvellous if the Government supported these endeavours in the context of their presidency of COP. Continue reading “Bishop of Salisbury asks Government to encourage fossil fuel intensive businesses to accelerate move to net zero carbon emissions”

Bishop of Oxford calls on Government to publish reforms to prevent “predatory and harmful treatment” by Amazon of consumers and third-party sellers

On 12th October 2020 Lord Leigh of Hurley asked the Government “what steps they are planning to take (1) to protect third party sellers from the dominance of Amazon, and (2) to ensure that Amazon does not benefit from passing on the costs of the Digital Services Tax to sellers.” The Bishop of Oxford asked a further question:

The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, the Minister will be aware that last week the United States Congress published a 449-page report, after reviewing millions ​of documents and taking testimony from hundreds of witnesses, including Amazon’s CEO. The report concluded that

“the totality of the evidence produced during this investigation demonstrates the pressing need for legislative action and reform.”

Does she agree with or dispute the findings of the report? How soon will the Government introduce their own draft reforms to stop these predatory and harmful treatments of third-party sellers and consumers? Continue reading “Bishop of Oxford calls on Government to publish reforms to prevent “predatory and harmful treatment” by Amazon of consumers and third-party sellers”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government for sufficient resources for small businesses needing help with Brexit transition

On 15th July 2020 a Government statement was repeated in the House of Lords on preparations for the end of the Brexit transition period. The Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, asked a follow-up question:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans [V]: My Lords, most larger businesses will have the personnel and resources to advise and steer them through the transition period. However, some SMEs are very worried about how they will navigate complex regulations with little support. One feature of the lockdown is that it has often been impossible to speak to an adviser on a helpline and people have been directed to websites that are difficult to use. Can the Minister assure the House that there will be sufficient resources, including helplines staffed by knowledgeable people who can help SMEs as they go through this process? Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government for sufficient resources for small businesses needing help with Brexit transition”

Bishop of St Albans asks Government about a review of business rates

On 9th June Baroness Quin asked Her Majesty’s Government “what discussions they have had with the Local Government Association on how national and local government can work together to promote economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic”. The Rt Revd Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans, asked a follow up question, focusing on business rates for large online retail companies and small high street shops.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: I declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association. What discussions have taken place about reviewing business rates, so that large online retail companies, which perhaps have no actual shops and many of which pay relatively small amounts of tax, do not have an unfair advantage over our small shops in our high streets which are under threat at the moment?

Continue reading “Bishop of St Albans asks Government about a review of business rates”