Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-05-01
Topic: Labor
Questions: Will the Secretary of State make an assessment of the potential merits of placing a requirement on private businesses seeking the long-term lease of roofs for solar panel fittings to inform their potential customers of their mortgage providers’ policies on such fittings before the lease is agreed?; Drax power station received £2 million a day last year to burn 13 million tonnes of imported wood, emitting more carbon dioxide per unit of energy generated than the coal burning that it replaces. Will the Minister commit to looking at this and ensuring that the renewables obligation goes towards no-burn renewables and energy efficiency?; The proposals announced at the weekend regarding a merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda will result—along with Tesco—in the most powerful duopoly in the UK grocery sector, accounting for 60% of the market. The Secretary of State will know that the likes of Terry Leahy, Justin King and Stuart Rose adopted the mantra that the consumer wants more choice, not less. Does the Secretary of State agree that this merger is not in the interests of producers, farmers and especially consumers?; The subsidy available to energy plant for burning wood is causing distortions in demand for virgin and recycled wood, which is constricting supply and increasing input costs for businesses such as Norbord in Cowie. Will the Minister meet me and representatives of the wood panel industry to hear at first hand about the issues that they are facing and the consequences?; May I congratulate the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the hon. Member for Burton (Andrew Griffiths), on the recent birth of his daughter? In doing so, I remind the House that, as an office holder, he was unfortunately unable to take up shared parental leave—at least, that is certainly what he told the media. Does he have any empathy with people who cannot take up shared parental leave, and will he extend the provision to allow families who are working freelance, particularly in the creative industries, to get the flexibility they need to maintain their careers?; Businesses in my constituency are extremely concerned that they will see more bureaucracy when we move out of the European Union. What is the Department doing to make sure that the UK will continue to be part of the single euro payments area, and also the VAT information exchange system, which my local businesses say is absolutely vital to keep them being able to pay and do business?; Post Brexit, if the European Union restricts access to the Galileo satellite project, will the Minister undertake for us to restrict its access to the communications infrastructure of the Falklands and Ascension Island?
Joanne Kate Swinson (Liberal Democrats, Centre to centre-left): The industrial strategy rightly sets out opportunities arising from the new technology and STEM—science, technology, engineering and maths—sectors but says little about the increasing importance of skills that are unique to human beings, such as care. Does the Secretary of State recognise that part of our answer to increasing automation should be expanding employment in the care sector and the value we attach to it? If so, will he start treating this as a strategic priority?