Tag: Bill Esterson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department has given to micro-businesses in adapting to new automatic enrolment pension schemes.

Justin Tomlinson

We are committed to supporting small and micro-businesses to adapt to their new automatic enrolment duties. Together with The Pensions Regulator, we have launched a new broadcast-led communications campaign to raise awareness of automatic enrolment amongst small employers.

The Pensions Regulator has also recently launched a new interactive and simplified online step by step guide to automatic enrolment, designed to meet the specific needs of employers who may not have pensions experience, including those with just one or two staff. Employers using the website can access tailored information relevant to their circumstances. The Pensions Regulator also provides online content for business advisers who play an important role in supporting smaller employers to meet their legal duties. To raise awareness and understanding, the Regulator has had over 500 meetings with intermediary firms and spoken at over 300 events around the UK during the last year

The Regulator sends a series of letters to every employer starting at least 12 months before their staging date, which is the date that the law applies to them. These letters set out what an employer needs to do and by when to comply with the law and signposts to the relevant information on the Regulator’s website.

To help employers adjust to the costs of automatic enrolment the minimum employer contribution level starts at 1% and increases gradually to 3% by October 2018. In addition, to ensure that all firms have access to quality, low-cost pension provision, The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was established by the Government and has a public service obligation to accept any employer that chooses NEST for automatic enrolment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) private sector companies, (b) public sector bodies went beyond the maximum 60-day period to repay debt covered by the Late Payment Directive in the last 12 months.

Anna Soubry

The Department does not hold the information required. However, BACS data shows that small and medium businesses are owed a total of £26.8 billion, and the average small business is waiting for £31,900 in overdue payments.[1]

The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors.

The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 legislated for new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies and Regulations will be introduced this year which will compel larger companies to report on payment practices and performance. This information will be published on a six-monthly basis and will be made publicly available.

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 introduced a requirement for all public-sector buyers to publish annually, from 2017, their liability to debt interest payments. In central government we have gone further and faster. We will be publishing against these requirements quarterly from April this year. This will allow full public scrutiny of payment performance.

Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.

Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. Once implemented, the Government is confident that these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.

[1] BACS Data June 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of his proposals for automatic enrolment of employees in pension schemes on businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

Justin Tomlinson

In 2010 the independent Making Automatic Enrolment Work (MAEW) review considered the impact of automatic enrolment on small and micro businesses. DWP’s impact assessments and on-going evaluation of Automatic Enrolment continue to monitor the costs and benefits of automatic enrolment on small businesses, including those with fewer than 10 employees.

DWP’s evaluation reports and impact assessments are all available online.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an estimate of the collective cost to small and medium-sized enterprises to recover overdue payments in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry

We know that the collective cost of late payment has been, and remains, a significant burden for small and medium sized businesses. Small businesses spend too much valuable time and resource chasing late payments, which impacts on their ability to invest in growth.

The Department does not hold the information required to make an estimate of the collective cost to small and medium-sized businesses to recover overdue payments in each of the last five years. As late payment affects so many different types of business in different ways, no single survey gives a full picture of the impact of late payment on small and medium-sized businesses. The three sources that we look to as an indicator of late payment are the SME finance monitor, the regular BACs survey and Experian’s late payment index.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent progress he has made on publishing a statutory code for pub companies; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

The Government published the first part of a two-part consultation on the statutory Pubs Code on 29 October 2015 at the GOV.UK website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to improve the monitoring of late payments by insurance companies to claims made by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government recognises the importance of prompt payment by insurers and has taken steps in the Enterprise Bill to introduce a requirement for insurers to pay all claims within a reasonable time and entitle policyholders, including small and medium sized enterprises, to damages where claims are paid late.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent representations she has received on the potential effect on jobs and investment in the solar industry of reductions in feed-in tariff subsidies.

Andrea Leadsom

We ran a consultation on the feed-in tariff review from 27 August to 23 October. We strongly welcomed evidence from the sector during this review consultation, and we will set out our response in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what financial and other assistance his Department is giving to suppliers of SSI in Redcar.

Anna Soubry

The Government has announced a support package, worth up to £80m, to support workers affected by SSI’s closure and invest in the future of the Tees Valley economy. This will include support for local businesses and the supply chain working closely with the Government appointed local taskforce on how best to target money and resources.

In addition, HMRC has a track record of helping individuals and business which are experiencing a genuine short term difficulty in paying their tax liabilities. Where appropriate HMRC will agree a payment arrangement to allow the customer some breathing space to get their tax affairs back up to date. Details are available on the websiteProblems Payingor affected customers should ring theBusiness Payment Support Service (BPSS) on0300 200 3835.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs at risk in the supply chain and wider economy of Redcar as a result of the closure of the SSI steelworks.

Anna Soubry

There will undoubtedly be a significant impact on SSI’s supply chain and the local economy following its closure. That is why the Government has announced a package, worth up to £80m, to support the individuals affected and invest in the future of the Tees Valley economy.

We are working with the local Task Force that Government established to understand the impacts of SSI’s closure, including on its supply chain and the Tees Valley economy, and develop tailored proposals to mitigate this.

For example, a specific supply chain event has been organised by the Teesside Engineering Network (TEN) is being held on Friday 23^rd October at Redcar and Cleveland Leisure and Community Heart.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission a study of the prevalence of births of children damaged as a result of alcohol consumed by their mothers during pregnancy.

Jane Ellison

We recognise the fact that too many women may be unaware of the health risks and possible harmful fetal effects associated with drinking during pregnancy. The Chief Medical Officer’s review of the alcohol guidelines will include consideration to the current Government’s advice on drinking during pregnancy.

Whilst we have no current plans to commission a study of the prevalence of births of children damaged as a result of alcohol consumed by their mothers during pregnancy the World Health Organization is starting a global prevalence study on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, recognising that this information is lacking in many countries. There are a number of challenges on the feasibility of estimating prevalence, which should be addressed in this study. We welcome this study and will consider participating.