Chair of the Business, Energy
and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Committee has written to
Alok Sharma, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy [letter available via link] to press
the Government to respond to a series of concerns around safety
in shops and workplaces and to outline the powers it intends to
introduce to stop profiteering during the COVID-19
pandemic.
, Chair of the Business, Energy
and Industrial Strategy
Committee, said: “Many
businesses are struggling to buy the right protective kit to make
their workplaces COVID-19 secure. Immediate action is needed from
Government to help small-and-medium sized businesses, in
particular, to access the protection kit they need to get their
businesses moving.
“I hope the Government will come forward with more detail on
what they are doing to help businesses ensure their workplaces
are Covid-19 secure and the action they are taking to help shops
and other high-street business operate safely and restore
consumer confidence.
“As a Committee, we heard from Which? about the ridiculous
price hikes on products that are essential to consumers. Amid the
rising number of complaints of coronavirus profiteering and
examples of price-gouging, the Government should explain what
emergency action it will take to ensure consumers are protected
and that these sellers of products at over-inflated prices are
penalised.
“Workers must be supported in these difficult times too. Many
workers will be facing pressures to return to work while having
concerns about the safety measures in place. To help reassure
workers, I hope the Secretary of State will outline what support
his Department is providing to ensure workplace disputes related
to Covid-19 secure health and safety issues are resolved
quickly.
“In our recent evidence session for our coronavirus inquiry,
a series of business, worker, and consumer voices made the case
for the Government to begin the thinking now on the levels of
support which will be needed as the country moves out of lockdown
and seeks to recover from this crisis. These issues around the
next phases of support for businesses, workers, and consumers
will be a focus for the BEIS Committee over the coming
months.”
The correspondence follows the latest evidence session of
the BEIS Committee’s on the impact of the coronavirus on
businesses and workers (on Thursday
14th May) where the Committee
heard evidence from witnesses including
representatives from TUC, the IoD and Which?
Impact of coronavirus on businesses and workers – terms of
reference
The BEIS Committee’s inquiry initially focussed on the
immediate impact and support offered to workers and businesses
during the coronavirus crisis. Over the coming months, the
inquiry will continue to keep a close eye on Government policy
and its impact on businesses and workers, including the following
key areas:
· How
different sectors and those in different forms of employment are
affected by coronavirus;
· The
impact of support schemes and policies announced by the
Government, including the Business Interruption Loan Scheme,
Bounce Back Loan Scheme and Job Retention Scheme;
· The
likely needs of different sectors over the coming weeks and
months, and at each alert level of the pandemic.
The Committee has held sessions
on Thursday 14
May with Which?, TUC, and IoD, and a
panel of international experts, and also
with business
representatives (on 17
March) and on the impact
on small businesses and the
retail sector (30
April). The Committee took evidence from
the Secretary of
State on 23
April on the Department's response
to coronavirus.
