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1058707

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what gender awareness training staff at the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate have undertaken in relation to their inspections of employment agencies’ practices; and whether the inspectorate has a gender awareness strategy in place for those inspections.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Yardley
tabling member printed	Jess Phillips
uin	219467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>All staff in the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate have to undertake mandatory training on diversity and inclusion, including unconscious bias training. The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has a published enforcement policy statement which details their approach to conducting inspections:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/615442/employment-agency-standards-inspectorate-enforcement-statement.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/615442/employment-agency-standards-inspectorate-enforcement-statement.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 19/02/2019 16:26:57 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4370 label Biography information for Jess Phillips

1058742

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Brexit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is drawing up plans for specific sectors to boost the UK economy in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
tabling member constituency	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
tabling member printed	Jonathan Edwards
uin	219385
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government continues to work towards a deal with the EU. This is very much in the interest of the EU as well as the UK.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to supporting vital industries in any EU exit scenario. Extensive engagement has taken, and is taking, place between Government and industry to communicate actions businesses can take in preparation and to explore the implications of different scenarios on sectors.</p><p> </p><p>Our modern Industrial Strategy has set out a long-term approach to ensure that we’re building an economy fit for the future and will help us make the best of our relations with Europe and beyond. This includes a range of measures aimed at increasing investment from the private and public sector, from cutting business taxes, slashing red tape to investing in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 19/02/2019 16:27:58 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	3943 label Biography information for Jonathan Edwards

1058868

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Business: Underpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many businesses his Department has investigated for underpaying staff in the last year.
tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
uin	219501
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>Enforcement of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NMW) is a priority for this Government. HMRC enforce the NMW on behalf of BEIS; in 2018/19 we increased HMRC’s enforcement budget to a record high of £26.3 million. HMRC responds to 100% of worker complaints.</p><p> </p><p>In the financial year 2017/18, HMRC closed 2,402 cases and identified £15.6 million in arrears of wages for over 200,000 workers. This is the largest amount of money recovered for the highest number of workers since the NMW came into force. HMRC issued financial penalties in 810 of these cases, with a record total value of just under £14.1 million.</p><p> </p><p>Further details are available in the published document below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/742668/nmw-nlw-enforcement-compliance-report-2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/742668/nmw-nlw-enforcement-compliance-report-2018.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 219502 question first answered 19/02/2019 16:24:52 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1058871

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Business: Underpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many businesses have been fined for underpaying staff in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
uin	219502
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>Enforcement of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NMW) is a priority for this Government. HMRC enforce the NMW on behalf of BEIS; in 2018/19 we increased HMRC’s enforcement budget to a record high of £26.3 million. HMRC responds to 100% of worker complaints.</p><p> </p><p>In the financial year 2017/18, HMRC closed 2,402 cases and identified £15.6 million in arrears of wages for over 200,000 workers. This is the largest amount of money recovered for the highest number of workers since the NMW came into force. HMRC issued financial penalties in 810 of these cases, with a record total value of just under £14.1 million.</p><p> </p><p>Further details are available in the published document below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/742668/nmw-nlw-enforcement-compliance-report-2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/742668/nmw-nlw-enforcement-compliance-report-2018.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 219501 question first answered 19/02/2019 16:24:52 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1058904

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Armed Conflict: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, what programmes his Department (a) promotes and (b) funds to rehabilitate and reintegrate former child soldiers into their communities.
tabling member constituency	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
tabling member printed	John Lamont
uin	219527
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>​The UK is firmly committed to ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to protecting all children affected by armed conflict.</p><p>The UK is an active member of the United Nations Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), which leads the international response to the issue of child soldiers and child protection. This includes pressing those parties to conflict listed in the UN Secretary-General's annual report on CAAC to enter into concrete action plans with the UN to verify and release any child soldiers associated with armed groups and forces and to prevent re-recruitment. We apply diplomatic pressure to listed governments and armed groups, and fund projects to help protect and rehabilitate vulnerable children. We also press for the inclusion of child protection in peacekeeping responses through UN mandate renewals and resolutions.</p><p>The UK is the largest single financial contributor to the office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for CAAC contributing £800,000 in the last five years. We have shown our support for the SRSG's recently launched Global Coalition for Reintegration (GCR) by joining the 'Friends of Reintegration' group, a forum to generate new ideas for supporting reintegration programmes for children formerly associated with armed groups. The GCR is working to provide more reliable funding to ensure higher quality, longer-term reintegration programming and prevention of re-recruitment for all children formerly recruited and used by armed groups and forces. The UK has confirmed that it will be increasing its funding to the office of the SRSG for CAAC to £450,000 for the FY19/20 to continue assisting the SRSG with her current mandate, and will be giving an additional £50,000 to fund extended activities pertaining to the GCR.</p><p>In 2018, the UK endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration, a political commitment to reduce the impact of conflict on education, and the Vancouver Principles, a political commitment to ensure that child protection and preventing the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups are operational priorities during the conduct of United Nations peace operations. As a member of the Group of Friends of CAAC in Geneva, we also participated in a joint statement to the 37th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2018, in which we reiterated our strong support for the mandate of the SRSG for CAAC. We worked very closely with Sweden and others to agree Resolution 2427 adopted by the UN Security Council in July 2018, to strengthen protection mechanisms for children in armed conflict.</p> answering member constituency Cities of London and Westminster answering member printed Mark Field grouped question UIN 219529 question first answered 19/02/2019 16:24:51 answering member 1405 label Biography information for Mark Field
tabling member	4608 label Biography information for John Lamont

1058906

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Armed Conflict: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office , what funding his Department has allocated to programmes to prevent the recruitment of children by armed forces and groups.
tabling member constituency	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
tabling member printed	John Lamont
uin	219529
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>​The UK is firmly committed to ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to protecting all children affected by armed conflict.</p><p>The UK is an active member of the United Nations Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), which leads the international response to the issue of child soldiers and child protection. This includes pressing those parties to conflict listed in the UN Secretary-General's annual report on CAAC to enter into concrete action plans with the UN to verify and release any child soldiers associated with armed groups and forces and to prevent re-recruitment. We apply diplomatic pressure to listed governments and armed groups, and fund projects to help protect and rehabilitate vulnerable children. We also press for the inclusion of child protection in peacekeeping responses through UN mandate renewals and resolutions.</p><p>The UK is the largest single financial contributor to the office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for CAAC contributing £800,000 in the last five years. We have shown our support for the SRSG's recently launched Global Coalition for Reintegration (GCR) by joining the 'Friends of Reintegration' group, a forum to generate new ideas for supporting reintegration programmes for children formerly associated with armed groups. The GCR is working to provide more reliable funding to ensure higher quality, longer-term reintegration programming and prevention of re-recruitment for all children formerly recruited and used by armed groups and forces. The UK has confirmed that it will be increasing its funding to the office of the SRSG for CAAC to £450,000 for the FY19/20 to continue assisting the SRSG with her current mandate, and will be giving an additional £50,000 to fund extended activities pertaining to the GCR.</p><p>In 2018, the UK endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration, a political commitment to reduce the impact of conflict on education, and the Vancouver Principles, a political commitment to ensure that child protection and preventing the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups are operational priorities during the conduct of United Nations peace operations. As a member of the Group of Friends of CAAC in Geneva, we also participated in a joint statement to the 37th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2018, in which we reiterated our strong support for the mandate of the SRSG for CAAC. We worked very closely with Sweden and others to agree Resolution 2427 adopted by the UN Security Council in July 2018, to strengthen protection mechanisms for children in armed conflict.</p> answering member constituency Cities of London and Westminster answering member printed Mark Field grouped question UIN 219527 question first answered 19/02/2019 16:24:52 answering member 1405 label Biography information for Mark Field
tabling member	4608 label Biography information for John Lamont

1058965

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	5G
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on opening up access to undeployed 5G 3.6GHz radio spectrum for use by independent and community networks.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	219543
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>The Government’s key objectives in relation to spectrum are ensuring the efficient and effective use, improving mobile coverage and encouraging innovation and investment in new 5G services to meet future demand. In the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, the Government set out how the 3.6 GHz band could facilitate access to spectrum to support 5G services, thus promoting dynamic efficiency and innovation through more flexible approaches to spectrum licensing.</p><p> </p><p>We welcome Ofcom’s consultation document on the 700 MHz and 3.6-3.8 GHz release for 5G services. Whilst Ofcom have provisionally stated that these bands will be auctioned on a national basis, the Government continues to explore spectrum sharing models which would allow community or small provider solutions to meet the needs of local areas.</p><p> </p><p>DCMS meets regularly with Ofcom to discuss these issues and consider future use cases for 5G technologies. However as Ofcom is the national regulatory authority, they are responsible for managing spectrum and ensuring that spectrum is used in the most effective way to facilitate such growth.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, the Government believes that there should be greater liquidity in the spectrum market and barriers to spectrum trading should be removed. The Government would like Ofcom to clarify, through amendments to its Spectrum Trading Guidance Notes, that leasing or pooling of spectrum is not prohibited under the Wireless Telegraphy (Mobile Spectrum Trading) Regulations 2011 (as amended).</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 19/02/2019 16:27:46 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1058966

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	5G
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential coverage benefits to rural communities of adopting a dynamic spectrum access model for the allocation of 5G radio spectrum.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	219544
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>We are committed to ensuring that people enjoy world-class digital connectivity wherever they live, work and travel and that every part of the UK is able to benefit from the advantages that digital connectivity brings. The Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review set out the potential benefits of a dynamic spectrum access model for rural areas that are less likely to be covered by 5G mobile networks.</p><p> </p><p>Fast, reliable connectivity can deliver economic, social and well-being benefits for both rural businesses and residents, creating opportunities for businesses to tap into a global customer base and for people to work more efficiently.</p><p> </p><p>Government continues to explore this and other spectrum sharing models and therefore welcomes Ofcom’s recent consultation documents on spectrum sharing and their proposals toward flexible licensing practices. Ofcom, as the national regulatory authority, is responsible for managing spectrum and ensuring that radio spectrum is used in the most effective way for all sectors, including those most relevant to rural areas, such as agriculture.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 19/02/2019 16:25:23 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1059000

registered interest
date	11/02/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Channel Tunnel and Port of Dover: Customs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment has he made of the effect on businesses using the (a) Port of Dover and (b) Channel Tunnel of the reintroduction of customs procedures between the EU and the UK; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Hemel Hempstead
tabling member printed	Sir Mike Penning
uin	219342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>Delivering a negotiated deal with the EU remains the Government's top priority, but it is the job of a responsible government to ensure we are prepared for all scenarios, including no-deal.</p><p>The Government aims to ensure that movement through ports will continue to be as frictionless as possible in a no-deal scenario, so that the effects on businesses using the Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel are minimised. To achieve this, the Government’s no deal <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/moving-goods-to-and-from-the-eu-through-roll-on-roll-off-locations-including-eurotunnel" target="_blank">roll on-roll off model</a> (which applies at these ports) moves customs processes away from the border. Furthermore, HMRC on 4 February <a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fnews%2Fhm-revenue-and-customs-simplifies-importing-from-the-eu-as-part-of-no-deal-preparation&amp;data=02%7C01%7Cmicah.coleman%40beis.gov.uk%7Cc4eb8b82cf5242eb8a3408d690e57033%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C636855712437110562&amp;sdata=OLj6Zl4T3MmwqZpFyOX011p1wVy01LeOkZxKS0iq634%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">announced transitional simplified procedures</a> (TSP) which will aid businesses using these ports, and the Border Delivery Group is actively engaging with prospective declarants on both sides of the Channel.</p><p>As the application of additional customs checks by the EU is outside of our control, the Government has undertaken a range of preparatory measures to mitigate potential impacts and ensure that goods can continue to flow into and out of the UK as freely as possible. These include Operation Brock and other traffic management measures in order to manage HGV flows effectively.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 19/02/2019 16:22:04 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning