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170297

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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	Scottish Power
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he received reports from the MacDonald Partnership in relation to mis-sold Scottish Power Power Plan warranties; what the titles of such reports were; and when he plans to respond to those reports.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Walton
tabling member printed	Steve Rotheram
uin	218595
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The initial report from Mr MacDonald was received on 17 July 2014 for review by the Insolvency Service. Further information including another more detailed report was received from him during September and October 2014, and these again have been reviewed by the Insolvency Service. The reports are confidential.</p><p> </p><p>The reports themselves do not require a direct response but I can confirm that the Insolvency Service has completed its review of this material and is in communication with Mr MacDonald.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 17/12/2014 11:11:20 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4035 label Biography information for Steve Rotheram

223396

registered interest
date	23/02/2015
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	Crimes of Violence: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent progress has been made on reducing violence against women.
tabling member constituency	Hereford and South Herefordshire
tabling member printed	Jesse Norman
uin	907732
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2015 answer text <p>The Coalition Government ring-fenced £40m as part of our strategy to end violence against women and girls. We have criminalised forced marriage, introduced new stalking offences and announced a new offence of coercive and controlling behaviour in relation to domestic abuse. The prevalence of sexual assault against women has fallen to a new low of 2.2%, the reporting of these hidden crimes has increased and prosecutions for domestic and sexual violence are rising.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 26/02/2015 16:36:55 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman

178797

registered interest
date	09/02/2015
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	Job Security
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will make an assessment of the main causes of insecurity in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Wansbeck
tabling member printed	Ian Lavery
uin	907611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2015 answer text <p>The latest Workplace Employment Relations Study shows that employees’ views on job security are related to their individual circumstances and to underlying economic conditions. Job satisfaction increased from 2004 to 2011, but unsurprisingly insecurity rose during the recession. However, 1.4 million more people in employment since 2010 will have reduced this. The latest statistics show that 30.8 million people aged 16 and above are in employment, the highest number since records began.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is also funding research into what works in driving workplace wellbeing further. On 29 October we published original research which tells us more about how improved staff well-being can have a positive effect on business performance. This analysis can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/worker-wellbeing-and-workplace-performance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/worker-wellbeing-and-workplace-performance</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 12/02/2015 16:35:32 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4139 label Biography information for Ian Lavery

179263

registered interest
date	09/02/2015
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	Zero Hours Contracts
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 employees working on zero-hours contracts, who are in practice working regular hours over an extended period, have the right to a fixed-term contract.
tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent South
tabling member printed	Robert Flello
uin	907603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2015 answer text <p>All employees on zero hours contracts can already, after 26 weeks, request a move to fixed hours contracts under flexible working legislation, brought in on 30 June 2014. We are also currently banning exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts and the employment status review currently taking place is looking further at the employment rights zero hours workers have.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 12/02/2015 16:28:53 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1569 label Biography information for Robert Flello

173484

registered interest
date	12/01/2015
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	Homophobia
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to tackle homophobic bullying.
tabling member constituency	Oxford West and Abingdon
tabling member printed	Nicola Blackwood
uin	907021
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2015 answer text <p>This Government has made tackling bullying in schools, including homophobic bullying, a top priority. It is unacceptable for anyone to be victimised, harmed or bullied in any way.</p><p>All schools must have a behaviour policy which includes measures to prevent and tackle all forms of bullying and the Government has provided schools with advice which sets out the steps that schools can take to identify and prevent bullying effectively. We also recently announced a new £2million fund to support projects which specifically tackle homophobic bullying in schools.</p><p>Discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation is unlawful in the workplace and in the provision of services. The Government has continued to highlight the benefits of a diverse workforce, and how employees can be supported, by publishing research ‘<em>Barriers to employers in developing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender friendly workplaces’</em> and<em> ‘The Business Case for Equality and Diversity’.</em></p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 15/01/2015 14:02:50 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford

172430

registered interest
date	05/01/2015
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	Estate Agents: Fees and Charges
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 protect consumers from double charging by estate agents.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	906866
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/01/2015 answer text <p>We have worked closely with the Property Ombudsman on this matter. Last month he published specific guidance to estate agents underlining their obligations under the Ombudsman’s Code of Practice which is available at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.tpos.co.uk/members_index.htm" target="_blank">http://www.tpos.co.uk/members_index.htm</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>These obligations include requirements for transparency of information, avoidance of conflicts of interest and fairness to ensure both buyer and seller have the information necessary at the earliest point possible to make the right decisions. Failure to adhere to the Code risks agents being removed from the redress scheme which would result in an estate agent not being legally able to operate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 08/01/2015 16:13:01 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

93660

registered interest
date	13/10/2014
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	Human Rights: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on protecting the rights of women and girls overseas.
tabling member constituency	City of Chester
tabling member printed	Stephen Mosley
uin	905451
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2014 answer text <p>I regularly discuss with ministerial colleagues the Government’s commitment to the protection and advancement of women’s rights both domestically and overseas. In the summer we hosted two global events – a summit with a focus on preventing sexual violence in conflict which generated strong international support; and a girl summit. The Girl Summit brought together a range of international stakeholders to accelerate momentum in tackling child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation and to rally a global movement to end the practices everywhere within a generation.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are also strong supporters of a stand-alone goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the post-2015 development framework.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 16/10/2014 15:44:24 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3954 label Biography information for Stephen Mosley

229060

registered interest
date	23/03/2015
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	Public Houses
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 he is taking to support pubs.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	228768
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>This Government is committed to supporting a fair and flourishing pubs sector. We have scrapped the beer duty escalator, and in Budget 2015 we cut beer duty for the third year in a row.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Through the Community Right to Bid, we are giving community organisations in England a better chance to save their local pub by listing it as an Asset of Community Value (ACV). And, from 6 April, we will strengthen the hands of communities whose pub is listed as an ACV still further by removing permitted development rights from those pubs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Through the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, we are introducing a Statutory Code of Practice and an independent Adjudicator to govern the relationship between large pub-owning companies and the thousands of tenants that run tied pubs across England and Wales. These measures will help to ensure the pubs industry continues to flourish, to the benefit of all those who work so hard to make the pub the mainstay of our communities.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 26/03/2015 14:16:56 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

229056

registered interest
date	23/03/2015
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	Entertainments: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 5.27 of the Low Pay Commission Report 2015, if he will take steps alongside stakeholders in the entertainment industry to produce and publish national minimum wage guidance for that sector.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	228763
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>We are committed to improving compliance with the National Minimum Wage. We do not currently have plans to publish guidance for individual sectors; however we will carefully consider the Low Pay Commissions (LPC) recommendations.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We continue to work with the LPC and HMRC to ensure we provide clear and comprehensive information on the minimum wage rules, particularly in those sectors with complex ways of working. We will work with our stakeholders, including the entertainment industry, to make further improvements to the clarity of National Minimum Wage guidance and consider whether sector-specific guidance is necessary.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To date, we have improved the clarity of the National Minimum Wage regulations by consolidating the numerous amendments made since 1999 and making it easier for employers to understand the rules. These will come into force on 6 April.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have listened to stakeholders and have recognised that employers and workers also value official guidance. We have published detailed guidance on calculating the National Minimum Wage which is available on Gov.uk. This guidance aims to equip employers with the information they need to ensure they pay their workers the statutory minimum.</p><p> </p><p>We have also improved the information available on gov.uk on the National Minimum Wage rules, including:</p><p> </p><p>· The current and future National Minimum Wage rates</p><p> </p><p>· The Worker checklist</p><p> </p><p>· Work experience and internships</p><p> </p><p>· The increased penalty for breaching National Minimum Wage</p><p> </p><p>· The revised Criteria for Naming and shaming employers who breach National Minimum Wage legislation.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Employers and workers can access further guidance by contacting the Acas Helpline online at: <a href="http://www.acas.org.uk/helplineonline" target="_blank">www.acas.org.uk/helplineonline</a> or by phone on 0300 123 1100.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 26/03/2015 14:41:40 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

229054

registered interest
date	23/03/2015
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	EU Law
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had on the EU Accounting and Transparency Directives; and what steps he is taking to ensure compliance with those Directives.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Mr Chuka Umunna
uin	228761
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>Since making the Reports on Payments to Government Regulations and the introduction of the Financial Conduct Authority rules in December 2014 the government has continued to have discussions with all stakeholders. The most recent meeting between the department, civil society and industry representatives was held in February 2015. I have since spoken to representatives from the Publish What You Pay coalition.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government takes extractive transparency very seriously. To support compliance the department has made information available on the gov.uk website. This includes a schema for delivering reports and step by step guidance on how to fill in the report format, both agreed with industry and civil society.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government expects companies to comply with the requirements of the Regulations, which set out the enforcement and penalty regime for any company that fails to comply in part or in full.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Reports will be published on the Companies House website in 2016, when all interested parties will be able to consider the reports and their accuracy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </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 26/03/2015 14:19:32 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna