Lord Rose of Monewden: Maiden Speech: My Lords, I speak, for the first time in this House, with both nervousness and trepidation. Before addressing the House from the perspective of a lifetime in shopkeeping, I offer heartfelt thanks to everyone for the very warm welcome that I have received in the few weeks since my introduction. Like many newcomers to this House, I, too, have found myself on more than one...
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the tariff rate quotas outlined in the UK goods schedule submitted to the World Trade Organization on 24 July 2018; and if they have any such plans, which categories of goods are expected to be affected.
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership; and if they have such plans, when they plan to join.
Lord Rose of Monewden: I thank the Minister for his Answer. Can he tell the House when he expects CPTPP members Australia, New Zealand and Canada, which are also our Five Eyes partners, to support our membership and sign trade deals with us? Also, I welcome the deal with Japan. There is a chapter on SMEs, an ambition I understand the UK has for all other FTAs negotiated. This will help our innovative small...
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to widen the membership of the Trade and Agriculture Commission to include representatives from (1) animal welfare groups, and (2) environmental groups.
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to provide additional resources to the Future High Streets Fund, and (2) to increase the current cap of £25 million per applicant to this fund.
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the remit of the new expert panel established to support UK trade negotiations includes the assessment of the impact of a policy change by leading emerging markets to reduce their dependence on imports; and if so, when the panel is expected to report the results of this assessment.
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what additional financial support they plan to provide to high street retailers affected by the restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lord Rose of Monewden: I thank the Minister for his reply and, of course, I welcome the additional support the Chancellor announced last week and the business rates holiday, which has been a lifeline for so many businesses. However, that holiday is due to come to an end in April and without it, I fear more retailers will go under, resulting in yet more store closures and job losses. We have already lost 14,000...
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the business rates holiday beyond April 2021 for (1) retail, and (2) hospitality and leisure, businesses.
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the withdrawal of the VAT retail export scheme from 1 January 2021 on levels of employment in (1) the retail sector, (2) the hospitality and leisure sector, (3) the creative sector, and (4) across all sectors.
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on unemployment of any decision by the administrators of (1) Debenhams, and (2) Arcadia, not to seek deals which (a) retain staff, and (b) keep stores open; and what steps they are taking to support jobs in the retail sector.
Lord Rose of Monewden: My Lords, the Fashion Retail Academy works with employers to provide young people skills and practical experience to meet the evolving needs of the industry. In normal circumstances, 96% of its students—more than 1,000 a year—go into permanent jobs. Does the Minister agree that the FRA and other national academies play a vital role in supporting youth employment and that the Government...
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment of young people; and what steps they are taking to address youth unemployment.
Lord Rose of Monewden: I thank the Minister for her reply. The unemployment rate for young people aged between 16 and 24 is, at 14.2%, almost three times higher than the general rate of 5%. I applaud the Government for their Kickstart and apprenticeship programmes, which will, I hope, supported by industry, provide work-based learning and experience to give our young people the skills and confidence necessary to be...
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Office for National Statistics’ Employment in the UK data, published on 23 March, which showed that 63 per cent of payroll jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic had been held by workers under the age of 25, what steps they will take to ensure that young people have access to education and training that is focussed on the skills and...
Lord Rose of Monewden: I thank the Minister for her reply. Sadly, the reality is different from the Government’s rhetoric. Employers and the Fashion Retail Academy have done what the Government have asked of them: they have worked together to design courses that will equip young people with the skills that this hard-hit retail industry needs as it adapts to the changes in the way people are shopping—changes...
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the benefits, and (2) the disadvantages, of the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s lagged funding mechanism in assisting businesses to have a pipeline of employees with the skills they need to help the economy to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to change policy so that funding for further education follows the learner, and (2) to scrap the lagged funding mechanism used by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
