Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-07-17
Topic: Energy
Questions: With the construction sector deal setting out several options to tackle poor payment practices, can the Secretary of State assure me that retention deposit schemes, as proposed in my private Member’s Bill, which has significant industry and cross-party support, will be given full consideration and, hopefully, Government backing?; Last night the House of Commons voted to enshrine it in law that if under a facilitated customs arrangement we collect tariffs on behalf of the EU, that should be done on a reciprocal basis. Is it really practical to expect a Croatian border guard to start levying tariffs on our behalf on bottles of wine? Is there the remotest chance that the EU will ever agree to this reciprocal arrangement? Is it not time to return to a free trade deal?; Earlier this year Health and Safety Executive figures showed that there has been a rise in work-related deaths—up to 144 between 2017 and 2018—and that that is more prevalent among those on bogus self-employment contracts. People have lost their lives; what more will it take for this Government to take some real action against the scourge of bogus self-employment?; In this glorious summer weather, it is easy to forget that this winter our constituents who still use heating oil saw very sharp price rises. Does the Minister therefore agree that not only should our constituents take advantage of this weather to fill up their tanks for what is likely to be a lower price, but we should encourage initiatives like community buying which can also help villages and other communities to buy their heating oil at a lower price?; Participants in multi-level marketing schemes, 75% of whom are women, sign up to the opportunity to earn income flexibly from home, often attracted by outlandish lifestyle claims made on social media. In reality many participants earn no income and many end up in debt. Will the Secretary of State introduce a requirement on MLMs to publish an independently audited annual statement of net average earnings that takes into account the cost of participating as well as income earned, and will he regulate the lifestyle claims made on social media to stop the exploitation of vulnerable people?; The national living wage has given millions of workers up and down our country a pay rise, but there are still some rogue employers who deliberately seek to underpay staff in order to maximise their own profits. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that full and fair enforcement of the living wage is taking place?; A survey of London businesses by London Councils and the London chamber of commerce has found that a third of apprenticeship levy payers do not expect to use any of their funds over the next 12 months. Does the Minister agree with the all-party parliamentary group on London that unspent funds should be devolved and used to support job skills in London rather than being returned to the Treasury?; Will the Secretary of State update my constituents on the ongoing discussions with his Department to transfer full responsibility for the former SSI steelworks site to the South Tees Development Corporation? Will he also pledge to commit the £200 million needed to regenerate the site, which would bring in 20,000 jobs and enable the Tees Valley to embark on its industrial renaissance?
Andrew Campbell Bowie (Conservative, Centre-right): Two weeks ago, I and colleagues from across the House, along with hundreds of others, attended a poignant service of remembrance at the Piper Alpha memorial in Aberdeen to mark 30 years since the worst tragedy in offshore oil and gas production. That tragedy claimed 167 lives, and many of those people were from Aberdeenshire. What are the Government doing, along with the industry, to ensure that UK oil and gas remains the world leader in health and safety practices offshore, so that we can avoid another tragedy such as this?