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100088

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	ACAS
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to evaluate the effect of the ACAS early conciliation service on keeping workplace disputes out of court.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	211244
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>Early Conciliation was introduced in April 2014 and it is too early to make any meaningful assessment on the effect of Early Conciliation on Employment Tribunal cases at this stage. However, officials in the Department and Acas are already monitoring the impact of Early Conciliation and I will make an announcement on evaluation in due course, once we have a sufficient evidence base to do so.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 24/10/2014 11:30:02 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

100103

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Minimum Wage
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2014 to Question 201383, how much was spent on national minimum wage enforcement in 2013-14.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	211245
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>£7.5m was spent by HM Revenue and Customs on the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage in 2013/14.</p><p>We have increased the budget allocation for National Minimum Wage enforcement in 2014/15 to £9.2m. This extra funding will enable HMRC to increase the number of compliance officers working in this area who, as well as continuing to respond to every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline, will also undertake targeted enforcement, focusing on the worst offending employers in the highest-risk sectors.</p><p>Anyone who believes they are entitled to the National Minimum Wage and has not received it should contact this free and confidential helpline on 0800 917 2368.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 24/10/2014 11:29:09 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

93750

	registered interest
	date	16/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Working Conditions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that companies are held responsible for labour conditions throughout their supply chains.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
	tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
	uin	210900
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2014 answer text <p>Companies are held accountable by investors, consumers and civil society as well as governments for the way in which they conduct their operations, including labour conditions, and how they report on their actions in this regard.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Since October 2013, quoted companies have been required to provide information in their Annual Report about social, community and human rights issues, including information about any policies of the company in relation to those matters and the effectiveness of those policies.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department has negotiated at the European level to strengthen current human rights disclosure requirements and make them more specific. Provisions have now been agreed that will apply across all EU Member States from 2017 to large quoted companies and Public Interest Entities. My Department will shortly be consulting on the transposition of these measures into UK law.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Additional disclosure requirements will be introduced in the Modern Slavery Bill. Big businesses will have to publicly state each year what action they have taken to ensure their supply chains are slavery free. This requirement goes further than any similar legislation in the world by applying to businesses regardless of the nature of a company or what it supplies, whether goods or services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In September 2013, the UK was the first country to publish a National Action Plan implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Action Plan underlines the duty of businesses to respect the human rights of their employees and those in their supply chains. My Department is taking action to develop guidance for businesses reporting on this obligation, beginning with the retail sector.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In order to toughen up our enforcement of the National Minimum Wage my Department has made it simpler to name and shame employers that break the law on the National Minimum Wage and has increased the financial penalty that employers pay for breaking the law from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of the unpaid wages owed to workers. The maximum penalty has also increased from £5,000 to £20,000 and will be applied per worker not per firm.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 23/10/2014 16:23:04 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

93867

	registered interest
	date	16/10/2014
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Public Appointments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what public appointments her Department has made in each of the last five years; and what payments each person so appointed is entitled to claim.
	tabling member constituency	Ashfield
	tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
	uin	210952
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>Public appointments made by the Government Equalities Office in the last five years have been to the Equality and Human Rights Commission:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p><strong>2009</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>EHRC public appointments</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>For the last five years EHRC Commissioners have received fees at a rate of £400 per day (except for the Chair and Deputy Chair who are salaried). Commissioners also receive expenses for travel and subsistence in the course of their EHRC duties. Payments made vary considerably depending on each Commissioner’s role and the amount of time that each contributes. The table shows the range of remuneration paid to Commissioners during the period:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Range of EHRC Commissioner salary or fees paid</p></td><td><p>£2,366 to £124,000</p></td><td><p>£7,000 to £124,000</p></td><td><p>£10,808 to £147,000</p></td><td><p>£2,167 to £65,000</p></td><td><p>£10,000 to £55,838</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Range of EHRC Commissioner expenses paid</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£2 to £1,574</p></td><td><p>£1 to £1,580</p></td><td><p>£1 to £1,260</p></td><td><p>0 to £1,718</p></td><td><p>0 to £7,679</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 21/10/2014 11:03:47 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

93868

	registered interest
	date	16/10/2014
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, how many disabled candidates have been supported by the Access to Elected Office fund since that fund was introduced; what the cost is of an average support package provided by that fund for a candidate; what amount the Government Equalities Office plans to spend in total on disabled candidates; what assessment has been made of that fund's effectiveness; and what plans the Government has for that fund after 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
	tabling member printed	Kate Green
	uin	210908
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2014 answer text <p>The pilot Access to Elected Office fund has approved 57 grants for 50 disabled applicants; the average value of claims from the fund has been £4,289. £88,260 was claimed in grants over 2012-14 and £156,215 has been approved for drawdown since the fund was extended from 1 July 2014. Total expenditure will depend on the number of successful applications to the fund.</p><p> </p><p>An assessment of the fund’s effectiveness is planned for 2015 to inform a decision by the next Government on whether the fund should continue.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 22/10/2014 10:56:39 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

93869

	registered interest
	date	16/10/2014
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what information the Government Equalities Office holds on the number of sub-contracted staff servicing that Office who were not paid at or above the rate of the London Living Wage in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Ashfield
	tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
	uin	210949
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p><strong>The Government Equalities Office has not been serviced by any sub-contracted staff over the last five years. </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 21/10/2014 11:04:31 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

93450

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Ferries: Minimum Wage
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy that the National Minimum Wage should apply to seafarers working on ferry services from (a) Portsmouth to the Channel Islands, (b) Weymouth to the Channel Islands, (c) Poole to the Channel Islands and (d) Portsmouth to Cherbourg.
	tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
	tabling member printed	Mr Mike Hancock
	uin	210660
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government is examining the application of the legislation to seafarers, in particular those seafarers working on ferry services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Officials have been working closely with the Department for Transport, unions and stakeholders to fully understand pay practices in the maritime industry.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Seafarers who ordinarily work in the UK are entitled to the National Minimum Wages (NMW). Seafarers who believe they are entitled to the NMW and have not received it should contact the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights helpline on 0800 917 2368.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 extend certain equality rights, including pay, to all seafarers serving on UK or EEA registered vessels operating wholly or partly in Great Britain and its territorial waters. Seafarers from the EEA or designated States, whose legal relationship in regard to their employment is located within Great Britain, are also covered to the same extent. Outside our territorial waters the same level of protection is afforded to the same category of seafarers on UK registered vessels.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department for Transport is currently reviewing the application of the Equality Act Regulations with the social partners, this Department and other Departments.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>However, the UK must give due consideration to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that states that a vessel is entitled to the right of innocent passage when in the territorial waters of another State. The majority of ferries operating out of Great Britain are not flagged with the UK register and the Channel Islands and Cherbourg are beyond our territorial waters.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 21/10/2014 13:49:05 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	59 label Biography information for Mr Mike Hancock

93452

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Phones 4u
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the progress being made to offset job losses and the cost to the economy resulting from the collapse of mobile telephone retailer Phones 4U.
	tabling member constituency	Belfast North
	tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
	uin	210713
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>The administration of Phones4U was disappointing news and is obviously a worrying time for the workforce, but this continues to be a matter for the Administrators, PWC.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government, through its Rapid Response Service has supported the Taskforce established by local partners in Newcastle under Lyme and Stoke in September</p><p> </p><p>The Taskforce has been able to offer direct and indirect support through an Employee Support Event on 7 October which is part of a larger support programme for those looking for work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I was pleased to see media reports that more than 2,000 staff working in 198 stores and 160 concessions have been transferred to buyers of parts of the business including Vodafone and EE.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 21/10/2014 13:44:52 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

93453

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Business: Equality
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that a conscience clause is included within equality legislation affecting UK businesses.
	tabling member constituency	Belfast North
	tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
	uin	210714
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that people are protected against discrimination because of religion or belief, and that they are able to exercise the right to hold and manifest their beliefs in a reasonable manner. We believe that the Equality Act 2010 strikes the right balance between the rights of people to manifest their religion or beliefs and the rights of others not to be discriminated against or harassed due to other protected characteristics, such as gender or sexual orientation, in areas such as employment and the provision of goods and services.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 21/10/2014 13:47:52 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

93454

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Publishing: Competition
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations his Department has received on large publishing firms coercing smaller publishing houses to sign contracts with anti-competitive clauses.
	tabling member constituency	Belfast North
	tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
	uin	210716
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>The Department has received correspondence from members of the public and publishing firms raising competition concerns about the application of certain types of contract in the publishing sector generally, for example most favoured nation or price-parity clauses. However, there has not been a concerted campaign asking for action.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government has given the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) strong powers to tackle anti-competitive behaviour. I would encourage anyone that is aware of large publishing firms engaging in such anti-competitive practices to provide that evidence to the CMA.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 21/10/2014 13:50:38 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn