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1126962

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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	Construction: Trading Standards
	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 he has made of the effectiveness of Trading Standards in protecting consumers from rogue and incompetent builders in the construction industry.
	tabling member constituency	Morecambe and Lunesdale
	tabling member printed	David Morris
	uin	254821
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made, but the Government is considering options to ensure that our system of consumer protection provides a robust response to both local and national threats for the Consumer White Paper.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has endorsed the TrustMark scheme to reduce the number of rogue and incompetent builders; and to identify local traders who have undergone independent checks for both trade competence and good trading practice. This scheme gives consumers increased confidence and ability to choose registered businesses including builders who adhere to and maintain high standards.</p><p> </p><p>TrustMark is actively involved with Trading Standards to provide further protection to consumers affected by rogue builders.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 22/05/2019 16:20:22 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 119032 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4135 label Biography information for David Morris

1127147

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2019
	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	Females: Directors
	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 estimate his Department has made of the number of women in senior roles at UK energy companies.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	255270
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Government does not make assessments of the number of women in senior roles at UK energy companies, but alongside sponsoring the Hampton-Alexander Review on FTSE Women Leaders and promoting diversity in the energy sector, we support the work of POWERful Women which collates data on gender diversity in senior and middle management levels in the energy sector - which can be found at: <a href="http://powerfulwomen.org.uk/board-statistics-by-company/" target="_blank">http://powerfulwomen.org.uk/board-statistics-by-company/</a></p><p>Strong progress has been made in that the representation of women on FTSE 100 boards has increased from 12.5% in 2011 to 31.6% in May 2019 and among executive directors has doubled from 5.5% to 10.3% in the same period.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 22/05/2019 16:20:15 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 119452 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1124381

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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	Government Equalities Office: Secondment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many civil servants in the Government Equalities Office have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	249913
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government Equalities Office (GEO) confirms no GEO civil servants have been seconded to either the Department for Exiting the European Union or the Department for International Trade in the last three years.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 22/05/2019 15:13:56 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1124692

	registered interest
	date	03/05/2019
	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	Employment: Disability
	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 help ensure that employers provide reasonable adjustments to the workplace so that people with hidden or invisible conditions are able to (a) access and (b) stay in employment.
	tabling member constituency	Bury South
	tabling member printed	Mr Ivan Lewis
	uin	250748
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The law is very clear that employers must make reasonable adjustments for employees and job applicants who meet the Equality Act 2010’s definition of disability, namely having a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on the person’s ability to do normal daily activities. Where a disability is not obvious, it will be necessary for the employee or job applicant to declare their condition, but at that point the onus passes to the employer to meet its legal obligations.</p><p> </p><p>To help employers comply with the law, the Government has issued guidance on the duty to make reasonable adjustments, here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-workers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-workers</a></p><p> </p><p>In addition, guidance on this subject has been issued by Acas and by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has also published a statutory code of practice for employers. Where employers fall short on their obligations, legal remedies exist for employees and job applicants, together with Acas’s early conciliation service, which aims to settle disputes before they reach the employment tribunal.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 22/05/2019 15:13:27 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	441 label Biography information for Mr Ivan Lewis

1126503

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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	Internet: Offensive Weapons
	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 steps is he taking to ensure that social media companies tackle the advertising of online sales of knives and other weapons used in violent crime.
	tabling member constituency	Stevenage
	tabling member printed	Stephen McPartland
	uin	254190
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Tackling serious violence is a top priority for the government through measures set out in the Serious Violence Strategy and further initiatives to tackle knife crime and serious violence more generally, including the Offensive Weapons Act which received Royal Assent on 16 May.</p><p> </p><p>The Online Harms White Paper, published in April, sets out plans for a regulatory framework to further ensure companies take action to address online harmful behaviour, including the sale of weapons and other illegal goods and services. A new statutory duty of care will require companies to take more responsibility for harm caused by content or activity on their services. Compliance with this duty of care will be overseen and enforced by an independent regulator. The regulator will issue codes of practice on what companies need to do to fulfil their duty of care, working with law enforcement for codes of practice on illegal harms to ensure they adequately keep pace with the threat.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 22/05/2019 15:52:08 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
	tabling member	4093 label Biography information for Stephen McPartland

1126512

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Veterinary Medicine: Migrant Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of additional accredited vets that will be required in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Ashford
	tabling member printed	Damian Green
	uin	254054
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>In the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, all animals, products of animal origin (POAO), fish, shellfish, crustaceans, germplasm or fishery products exported from the UK to the EU will require an export health certificate (EHC). EHCs have to be certified by either a suitably accredited Official Veterinarian (OV) or, in the case of fish and fish products, either an OV or an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) employed by a local authority.</p><p> </p><p>Defra does not employ OVs or EHOs so we have engaged with the private sector and local government to identify means of increasing the number of authorised signatories available. From February we have provided free training for vets to become accredited to sign EHCs. Over 300 vets have completed the training, an increase of just under 50% in the total number of suitably qualified OVs.</p><p> </p><p>To support OVs we also created a new role of Certification Support Officer (CSO). A CSO can handle preparatory and administrative aspects of EHCs (checking documents, identifying products or sealing containers). This will free up OV time and capacity to provide the final assurance required. The number of qualified CSOs stands at 84.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 22/05/2019 16:28:47 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	76 label Biography information for Damian Green

1126531

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	CCTV: Biometrics
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of facial recognition in CCTV.
	tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
	tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
	uin	254130
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Facial recognition is a fast evolving area of technology with the potential to streamline identity verification and authentication processes across Government and the private sector.</p><p>Its performance is dependent on a number of variables, from the quality of the images, environmental factors, the specific algorithm used, the thresholds or risk profile applied and many other factors. Possible matches produced by LFR systems are always checked by a human operator before deciding what, if any, action to take.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 22/05/2019 16:11:43 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
	tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1126555

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Sick Leave
	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 and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	254064
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The number of employees in the Department for Business, Energy &amp; Industrial Strategy (BEIS) during the calendar year of 2018 who were absent due to mental health reasons, including stress was 59, this represented 1.5% of the total workforce. The proportion of sickness absence related to mental health reasons, including stress, was 23% of the overall sickness absence for the department for the same time period.</p><p> </p><p>The estimated cost to the department over this period for employees taking sickness absence, is estimated at £1,421,738.30.</p><p> </p><p>BEIS is committed to supporting the wellbeing of its staff, including helping them to manage stress in the workplace, and has a Wellbeing Strategy that includes a specific focus on supporting good mental health in its employees. This strategy is based in part on the Civil Service Health and Wellbeing Strategy that also includes the promotion of good mental health for all as one of its five priorities. Through a programme of wellbeing events and speakers, a growing cohort of mental health first aiders, promotion and signposting of the employee assistance programme, and e-learning packages for staff on stress, resilience and wellbeing, the Department has seen continued awareness and engagement on wellbeing and good mental health.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Pendle answering member printed Andrew Stephenson question first answered 22/05/2019 16:20:29 answering member 4044 label Biography information for Andrew Stephenson
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126569

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Cabinet Office: Sick Leave
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	254078
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The number of employees in Cabinet Office from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 who were<br>absent for stress related reasons was 48. This represented 0.64% of the total workforce</p><p>The proportion of sickness absence related to stress related reasons was 11.35% of the<br>overall sickness absence for the department for the same time period</p><p>The estimated cost to the department from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 for employees<br>taking stress related reasons, is estimated at £199,634</p><p>Cabinet Office sickness absence data is published regularly, and is available up to<br>December 2018 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-absence-<br>data</p><p> </p><p>The Cabinet Office wellbeing action plan enables support for all staff’s health and<br>wellbeing. Key initiatives include: running leadership wellbeing training for all Senior Civil<br>Servants, updating line manager training to ensure wellbeing is included in all<br>conversations, embedding wellbeing into the Senior Civil Service leadership objective and<br>including wellbeing in performance management monthly conversation tools</p><p>There are a number of support services available in Cabinet Office that provide support or<br>advice to all employees. These include the Cabinet Office alumni network, the Cabinet<br>Office listening service and the employee assistance programme.</p> answering member constituency Hertsmere answering member printed Oliver Dowden question first answered 22/05/2019 15:15:46 answering member 4441 label Biography information for Oliver Dowden
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126573

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Sick Leave
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of officials in her Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in her Department; and what the cost was to her Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	254082
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department recognises its legal duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of our employees; this includes identifying and reducing workplace stressors. Our approach is a holistic one that utilises the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Management Standards for work related stress and follows key principles to help identify and reduce work place stressors.</p><p> </p><p>2,473 employees took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months which represents 3% of our paid staff. As a percentage, such absences equated to 10.7% of all Working Days Lost due to sickness absence. However, as the Department continues to pay salaries during sickness absence there is no direct financial cost.</p><p> </p><p>Our approach to absence is fair but robust with the emphasis on health promotion and absence prevention. The Department has a range of support from mental health toolkits, stress reduction plans plus tailored support for people who do go off sick or need support through our Employee Assistance Programme which includes counselling.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has 965 Mental Health First Aiders, who provide acute, short-term and structured support to individuals, provide reassurance and signpost colleagues to both DWP and external sources of support as appropriate. Mental Health First Aiders are also provided with continuous professional development and support for their own mental wellbeing.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/05/2019 16:17:12 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake