The Department recently received correspondence from Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (dated 22 January) regarding the presence of RAAC at the Forum Theatre in Romiley.

The Government’s approach to RAAC has been informed by experts, encouraging owners to identify any RAAC present and to assess the structural adequacy of their buildings. In cases of suspected or confirmed RAAC, theatres should continue using the Institute of Structural Engineers’ (IStructE) guidance to assess what action is necessary. Where appropriate, theatres with RAAC should have mitigation and management action plans in place.

We will provide a response to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in due course.

The Government’s response to its White Paper consultation on its reform proposals was published on 31 May 2022. The Government has committed to legislating when Parliamentary time allows.

Prior to issuing its response to the White Paper consultation, the Government consulted extensively on its proposals to reform the oversight and regulation of the actuarial profession, including holding discussions with a range of actuarial stakeholders. The Government will continue to engage with actuarial stakeholders.

The Government is absolutely committed to supporting disabled people and is determined that support should be focused on people who need it most. Individuals in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance and its successor, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), qualify for a full exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). A fifty per cent reduction in VED is available to those in receipt of the PIP standard rate mobility component.

More information can be found on the Gov.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/financial-help-disabled/vehicles-and-transport.

As with all taxes, VED remains under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.

The Government plans to publish proposals related to low carbon labelling (such as kite marks) for manufactured products in the autumn. The supporting call for evidence Towards a market for low emissions industrial products is open for responses until 28 February[1].

The UK leads the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative with India, which is a global coalition of public and private organisations working to standardise carbon assessments and design industry guidelines.

[1] Gov.uk. Towards a market for low emissions industrial products: call for evidence.

The HadCRUT5[1] global temperature series, produced by the Met Office, University of East Anglia and UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science, is the primary data set BEIS uses to assess the rate of climate change.

[1] https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcrut5/

The House of Commons officials and external members who sit on the Commission do not have voting rights. However, their views are sought in respect of any Commission decision. This is in line with the recommendations of the Report of the House of Commons Governance Committee, House of Commons Governance, Session 2014–15, HC 692, paragraph 141, which was endorsed by the House on 22 January 2015.

Schedule 1 (Paragraph 6(2)) of the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 empowers the House of Commons Commission to determine its own procedure. The Commission has an established practice of making decisions by correspondence outside of its formal meetings. Such decisions usually relate to matters that are considered either uncontroversial or time-critical.

The urgent request for approval for the revised guidance on covid-19 was sent to all members of the Commission on 1 November, following advice from the UK Health Security Agency earlier that day. The revised guidance was agreed by a majority of the parliamentarian members of the Commission before it was issued.

No redundancies have been made, or are expected, consequential to (a) the closure of catering and hospitality venues and (b) restrictions placed on the number of visitors to the parliamentary estate.

The House of Commons Commission has implemented relevant Government guidance which at times required individuals to work from home. Since legal restrictions were lifted no member of House staff has been required to work from home where this would have an impact on their health.

Arrangements for their staff are a matter for the Member as the employer, who likewise have been able to allow their staff to work on the estate once legal restrictions were lifted where there was a health need.

The health and wellbeing of all on the estate remains the highest priority for the Commission. A range of services are offered by the House to support the wellbeing of Members and staff, including:

• Mental Health Guidance, including Mental Health: A Guide for Managers
• Wellness Action Plans
• In partnership with Mind – a number of additional resources recognising the impact of Coronavirus on individuals
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Occupational Health, Wellbeing & Medical Services

Through the use of these tools suitable arrangements for an individual can be put in place based on their specific circumstances.

This Department is taking many steps to encourage SMEs to transition to Net Zero and to support SMEs through the barriers which prevent the transition. These steps are detailed below.

Information and engagement

Ahead of COP26, BEIS has launched the Together for Our Planet Business Climate Leaders’ campaign, which has encouraged over 1,900 small and micro businesses across the UK to join the Race to Zero by making the SME Climate Commitment.

Addressing energy efficiency

In order to help SMEs overcome barriers to investing in energy efficiency we launched the Boosting Access for SMEs to Energy Efficiency innovation competition. The competition offered up to £6m to fund the development of new, innovative market solutions that can provide businesses with tailored energy efficiency advice, as well as simplifying the energy efficiency investment processes through the creation of one-stop-shop platforms.

Access to Finance

I have recently given the British Business Bank a new mission to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by supporting access to finance for smaller businesses. Between 2014 and the third quarter of 2020 a total of £160m has been invested into clean technology businesses by equity funds backed by the British Business Bank.

Small businesses can access the government grants available for plug-in vehicles which help reduce the up-front purchase price of electric vehicles. Eligible cars, costing less than £35,000, can receive a grant of £2,500. Small vans can receive up to £3,000 and large vans up to £6,000.

The Government is currently reviewing the arrangements for regulation of the insolvency profession and will shortly publish proposals for consultation.

The British Business Bank’s Regional Angels Programme provides early-stage equity capital to smaller businesses with high growth potential across the UK. The British Business Bank’s funding for the next three years will be set out at the Spending Review.

The Term Funding Scheme (TFS) is a monetary policy tool of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. Therefore, it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on its conduct or effectiveness.

The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, and essential for the effective delivery of monetary policy.

We will continue to work with non-bank lenders to support their participation in the new Recovery Loan scheme following the closure of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).

The Government welcomes the efforts to establish regional mutual banks in the UK. The Government is also committed to seeing a highly competitive banking sector, working in the interests of all consumers and businesses across the country, and recognises the potential of regional mutual banks in achieving this goal. HM Treasury officials have been engaging with prospective mutual banks over challenges to their establishment.

The Government has the power to relax competition rules where there are exceptional and compelling reasons of public policy to do so. The Government does not use these powers lightly as under normal circumstances, a sector should be able to operate in a way that is compatible with competition law. We will consider requests for public policy exclusion orders where the exceptional and compelling reasons of public policy have been demonstrated.