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49014

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2014
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what meetings he has had with (a) representatives of the Colombian government, (b) Colombian civil society and (c) Colombian businesses to discuss his Department's Action Plan on Business and Human Rights since its launch in September 2013.
	tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire South
	tabling member printed	Mr Douglas Alexander
	uin	107176
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/05/2014 answer text <p>I visited Colombia in February this year and discussed business and human rights in my meetings with President Santos, and in meetings with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Trade, and with civil society. I welcomed the development of the Colombian national policy on business and human rights during these meetings and raised the importance of protecting Trade Unionists and human rights defenders. We have a strong partnership with the government of Colombia on implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in the context of the November 2011 Joint Declaration on Human Rights by the Prime Minister and President Santos.</p><p>In addition, British Embassy officials in Bogota have had several meetings with the Colombian government, civil society and businesses in Colombia to discuss the UK Action plan on business and human rights in line with our commitment to working for widespread international uptake of the UN Guiding Principles and to developing partnerships with other countries to progress this.</p><p>Last year, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded a project to assist Colombia in drafting its national policy. The Colombian public policy on business and human rights has been formed as a result of consultation across 33 regions and involving over 19,000 people.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Mr William Hague question first answered 06/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 379 label Biography information for Lord Hague of Richmond
	tabling member	632 label Biography information for Mr Douglas Alexander

48992

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK Border Agency staff in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the UK were (i) on zero-hours contracts and (ii) temporary staff in each of the last two years up to the most recent period for which records are available.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	107179
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/05/2014 answer text <p>The UK Border Agency was absorbed into the Home Office on 1 April 2013; its <br>successor business areas are UK Visas &amp; Immigration and Immigration Enforcement.<br><br>(i) The Home Office and its Agencies do not employ and have not employed staff <br>on zero-hours contracts. <br><br>(ii) A geographical breakdown of temporary staff employed in UK Border Agency <br>successor business areas in each of the last two years is shown at Table 1.</p><p>[ATTACH TABLE]</p><p><br>NOTE: Office for National Statistics defines temporary staff as those civil <br>servants with contracts of employment of less than one year; staff with Fixed <br>Term Appointments and Permanent staff are reported separately by all government <br>departments, as are Agency and Contingent Workers.</p> answering member constituency Staffordshire Moorlands answering member printed Karen Bradley question first answered 06/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4110 label Biography information for Dame Karen Bradley attachment 1 file name PQ 107079 Table 1 V1.xlsx title TABLE 1
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

48991

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2014
	answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
	answering dept id	10
	answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
	answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials in his Department are employed on zero-hours contracts.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	107180
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2014 answer text <p>The Department has no employees with a zero hours contract.</p> answering member constituency Maidstone and The Weald answering member printed Mrs Helen Grant question first answered 07/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4018 label Biography information for Mrs Helen Grant
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

5741

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2013
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department scrutinises the Fundraising Standards Board; when a review was last conducted; and what the outcome was of this review.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Glamorgan
	tabling member printed	Alun Cairns
	uin	153902
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2014 answer text <p>Lord Hodgson assessed the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) as part of his review of the Charities Act 2006 and concluded in his report &lsquo;Trusted and Independent: Giving charity back to charities&rsquo; that it had broadly met 10 of the 12 success criteria set out when it was established in 2006. The FRSB and Cabinet Office are members of the Steering Committee established in response to Lord Hodgson's recommendations to drive forward further progress in strengthening self-regulation.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 25/02/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
	tabling member	4086 label Biography information for Alun Cairns

11895

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2013
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to consult on eligibility for free school meals ahead of the introduction of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield South East
	tabling member printed	Mr Clive Betts
	uin	153906
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2014 answer text <p>We are working very closely with other departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Department for Work and Pensions, to simplify free school meals criteria under universal credit, while ensuring that free lunches continue to be available to the families who need them most. These discussions, which include consideration of a phased implementation timetable, are in recognition of the significant number and complexity of passported benefits across Government, most of which have different eligibility criteria.</p><p>We will allow good time to enable schools, local authorities and children's charities to comment on our proposals before we introduce new entitlement criteria for free school meals under universal credit.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Yeovil answering member printed Mr David Laws question first answered 26/02/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1473 label Biography information for Mr David Laws
	tabling member	394 label Biography information for Mr Clive Betts

5107

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2013
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the rate of underemployment in each UK parliamentary constituency in Scotland in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow East
	tabling member printed	Margaret Curran
	uin	153939
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2014 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 25/02/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd attachment 1 file name Letter from ONS for uin 153939.docx title Letter from Office for National Statistics
	tabling member	3982 label Biography information for Margaret Curran

5108

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2013
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the total loss to the economy as a result of underemployment in Scotland.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow East
	tabling member printed	Margaret Curran
	uin	153940
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2014 answer text <p>This is not a matter for Cabinet Office Ministers.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 25/02/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	3982 label Biography information for Margaret Curran

7952

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2013
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people employed on zero-hours contracts in each government office region.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	154029
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2014 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 25/02/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd attachment 1 file name Letter from Glen Watson.docx title Letter from ONS
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

9

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2013
	answering body	Deputy Prime Minister
	answering dept id	58
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the outcome of his Department's matching of the electoral register with Department for Work and Pensions data in communities with (a) seaside towns and (b) towns with high student populations; and what effect this work will have on the size of electorates in these constituencies.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	154454
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2014 answer text <p>As part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER), entries on the electoral register will be matched against data held by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the purposes of confirming existing electors, a process which will simplify the transition for the majority of existing electors. Last year the Cabinet Office undertook pilots to test this process and we published our evaluation of these pilots earlier this year which is available to download from:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplifying-the-transition-to-individual-electoral-registration</p><p> </p><p>The evaluation report includes an analysis of match rates by population groups and while no specific analysis was undertaken of seaside towns, the results did suggest that match rates were lower in areas with high student populations. However, anyone who cannot be confirmed will still be invited to register individually and will retain their ability to vote in the 2015 general election. By using confirmation to simplify the process for the majority of electors it means resources can be focused on maximising registration among those people who cannot be confirmed, including individuals who are not currently registered. We are also currently running a separate set of pilots exploring whether data matching against DWP and other trusted national data sets can be used to find potential electors who are not currently registered but may be eligible to do so, in order to invite them to register. The results of the pilots, which are specifically targeted at boosting registrations among students, attainers and home-movers, will be published in the summer.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 25/02/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

447

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2013
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what powers and freedoms relating to (a) skills and employment, (b) housing and (c) economic development have been devolved since May 2010 to (i) local government and (ii) local enterprise partnerships.
	tabling member constituency	Congleton
	tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
	uin	162343
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p><em>[Holding Reply: Monday 1 July 2013]</em></p><p>The Government is taking considerable steps to devolve power and freedom to local government and Local Enterprise Partnerships.</p><p>Through the Localism Act, councils now have the general power of competence that enables them to do anything that an individual might do, apart from that which is specifically prohibited. In addition we have radically reformed the local government finance system putting levers and incentives in the hands of local authorities, for instance:</p><p>· The removal of ring-fencing from local government grants has given councils the freedom and flexibility over the money they receive and allows them to work with their residents to decide how best to make their spending decisions to fit their local priority needs.</p><p>· rewarded places that deliver growth, through the New Homes Bonus and Business Rate Retention.</p><p>· Local authorities now directly retain 50% of business rates locally which amounts to nearly £11 billion, instead of returning it to Whitehall.</p><p>· We established five pilot Rural Growth Networks aimed at tackling the barriers to economic growth in rural areas, such as a shortage of work premises, slow internet connectivity and fragmented business networks. These pilots expect to create up to 3,000 new jobs and support up to 700 new businesses, offering a local approach to local problems. We will share the lessons they learn with other Local Enterprise Partnerships and Local Authorities to help them promote growth in other rural areas.</p><p>We have also given councils the ability to borrow against their Housing Revenue Account.</p><p>Through the city deals programme we have devolved powers and responsibilities to 26 cities. For example we have:</p><p>•provided levers to deliver the skills and jobs that local businesses and people need;</p><p>•created joint investment programmes; and</p><p>• devolved greater financial powers and incentives to invest in growth to all cities.</p><p>As we made clear in our response to Lord Heseltine's review of Growth, we intend to go further. We have committed to negotiating Growth Deals with every Local Enterprise Partnership through which we will allocate the Local Growth Fund and negotiate broader powers, freedoms and flexibilities where a strong case for decentralisation can be made. The Local Growth Fund brings together funding from skills, housing and transport and we have committed £2 billion in 2015/16 and it will continue to be at least £2 billion a year up to 2021. The Local Growth Fund includes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>over £6 billion of transport funding;</li><li>£300 million of additional Housing Revenue Account borrowing;</li><li>£50 million of Local Infrastructure Funding for housing developers; and</li><li>£300 million skills capital funding.</li></ul><p>We are also for the first time putting £5 billion of European Structural Investment Funds for the 2014-20 period under the strategic direction of Local Enterprise Partnerships, bringing the total resource (including the Local Growth Fund) under the control of Local Enterprise Partnerships to over £17 billion up until 2020.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 13/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce