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63554

registered interest
date	24/06/2014
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	Performance Appraisal
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2013-14.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	202047
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2014 answer text <p>In common with most other Government Departments, BIS currently has three performance categories; category 1 (top), category 2 and category 3. The following table sets out the percentage of employees who have declared a disability within each performance category, and the percentage of all other staff in each performance category for the 2013-14 reporting year. The percentage of all other staff includes those who have either declared that they do not have a disability, have chosen the option of ‘prefer not to say' or have not made a declaration. 6.5% of staff BIS have currently declared that they have a disability.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Percentage</p></td><td><p>Category 1</p></td><td><p>Category 2</p></td><td><p>Category 3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Those who have declared a disability</p></td><td><p>16%</p></td><td><p>54%</p></td><td><p>30%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>All other staff</p></td><td><p>23%</p></td><td><p>59%</p></td><td><p>18%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>BIS undertakes a number of activities to mitigate against the risk of discriminatory performance markings including training for managers and staff on unconscious bias and specific guidance on making reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 01/07/2014 14:16:54 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

178057

registered interest
date	05/02/2015
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	Tax Avoidance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many umbrella payroll companies have been subject to enforcement action by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	223607
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2015 answer text <p>The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) enforce the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (both as amended).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>These regulations apply only to employment agencies which place people permanently with employers, and employment businesses who place people temporarily with hirers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If an umbrella company is providing payroll services they would not fall within the definition of either an employment agency or employment business and EAS would not have vires to take enforcement action.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If, however, they were providing work-finding services in addition to payroll services they could be investigated by EAS, but would be recorded in the investigation as either an employment agency or employment business.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Umbrella companies acting as employers are still required to comply with employment law and where individuals feel that their statutory employment protections have been breached, they are able to seek redress through the normal routes. However, it can be difficult for individuals to be sure of whether they are “employees” or “workers” and which employment protections they have. That is why, in October, the Business Secretary announced a review of employment status aimed at identifying options that provide more clarity and transparency up front.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson grouped question UIN 223605 223606 question first answered 12/02/2015 16:55:08 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

178062

registered interest
date	05/02/2015
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	Tax Avoidance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many complaints the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has received about umbrella payroll companies in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	223605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2015 answer text <p>The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) enforce the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (both as amended).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>These regulations apply only to employment agencies which place people permanently with employers, and employment businesses who place people temporarily with hirers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If an umbrella company is providing payroll services they would not fall within the definition of either an employment agency or employment business and EAS would not have vires to take enforcement action.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If, however, they were providing work-finding services in addition to payroll services they could be investigated by EAS, but would be recorded in the investigation as either an employment agency or employment business.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Umbrella companies acting as employers are still required to comply with employment law and where individuals feel that their statutory employment protections have been breached, they are able to seek redress through the normal routes. However, it can be difficult for individuals to be sure of whether they are “employees” or “workers” and which employment protections they have. That is why, in October, the Business Secretary announced a review of employment status aimed at identifying options that provide more clarity and transparency up front.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson grouped question UIN 223606 223607 question first answered 12/02/2015 16:55:08 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

178063

registered interest
date	05/02/2015
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	Tax Avoidance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many umbrella payroll companies have been investigated by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	223606
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2015 answer text <p>The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) enforce the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (both as amended).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>These regulations apply only to employment agencies which place people permanently with employers, and employment businesses who place people temporarily with hirers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If an umbrella company is providing payroll services they would not fall within the definition of either an employment agency or employment business and EAS would not have vires to take enforcement action.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If, however, they were providing work-finding services in addition to payroll services they could be investigated by EAS, but would be recorded in the investigation as either an employment agency or employment business.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Umbrella companies acting as employers are still required to comply with employment law and where individuals feel that their statutory employment protections have been breached, they are able to seek redress through the normal routes. However, it can be difficult for individuals to be sure of whether they are “employees” or “workers” and which employment protections they have. That is why, in October, the Business Secretary announced a review of employment status aimed at identifying options that provide more clarity and transparency up front.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson grouped question UIN 223605 223607 question first answered 12/02/2015 16:55:08 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

226215

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
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	Surveys
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in his Department responded that they were treated fairly at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	226957
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2015 answer text <p>In the 2014 People Survey, 71% of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) respondents declaring a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability responded that they were treated fairly at work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>80% of BIS respondents declaring that they did not have a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability responded that they were treated fairly at work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Overall, the BIS score for the ‘Inclusion and fair treatment’ survey theme were in line with the Civil Service benchmark (75% positive). 78% of all BIS respondents reported that they had been treated fairly at work in the past 12 months, compared to 79% of respondents in the Civil Service.</p><p> </p><p><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Actions to improve results include:</strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Delivering the Civil Service Talent Action Plan and the BIS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&amp;I) Strategy to continue to build an increasingly inclusive Department where everyone is treated fairly. This includes actions relating to disability, which is identified as a priority demographic within the Department. Examples of deliverables under the Plan and Strategy include:</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>o The appointment of disability, race and gender champions at Director level to work with our Board level ED&amp;I Champion and the Diversity Networks to support and highlight barriers so they can be addressed at an early stage.</p><p> </p><p>o Professor Binna Kandola ran 3 unconscious bias sessions for managers last autumn to raise greater diversity awareness and address issues across BIS.</p><p> </p><p>o Mandated unconscious bias e-learning for all line managers to ensure that we attain a baseline of awareness across all BIS managers.</p><p> </p><p>o Piloting non-executive board members’ providing coaching and mentoring to under-represented SCS staff.</p><p> </p><p>o Launched a Reverse Mentoring programme where 2 Directors General and 6 Directors receive mentoring from a junior BME and/or disabled member of staff. The programme aims to lead to more inclusive decision making and a better understanding of perceptions and behaviour.</p><p> </p><ul><li>Providing further guidance and information to staff and managers on our approach to performance management to mitigate against a more robust system potentially being misinterpreted as unfair treatment, bullying or harassment.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Engaging staff in Groups through e.g. surveys and conversations, to identify particular areas of concern, causes, and potential actions to take forward locally.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Points to note: </strong> <strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The Civil Service People Survey asks the question “Do you have any long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability?” The survey does not include a question that specifically identifies disability status.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 17/03/2015 16:20:01 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

226565

registered interest
date	11/03/2015
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	Surveys
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in his Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	227146
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2015 answer text <p>In the 2014 People Survey, 15% of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) respondents declaring a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability reported that they had personally experienced bullying or harassment at work in the past 12 months.</p><p>5% of BIS respondents declaring that they did not have a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability reported that they had personally experienced bullying or harassment at work in the past 12 months.</p><p>Overall, the BIS scores for bullying or harassment at work in the past 12 months are better than the Civil Service benchmark. 7% of all BIS respondents reported that they had personally experienced bullying or harassment at work in the past 12 months. This is 3 points lower than the Civil Service benchmark (10%).</p><p><strong>Actions to improve results include:</strong></p><ul><li>Delivering the Civil Service Talent Action Plan and the BIS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&amp;I) Strategy to continue to build an increasingly inclusive Department where everyone is treated fairly. This includes actions relating to disability, which is identified as a priority demographic within the Department. Examples of deliverables under the Plan and Strategy include:</li></ul><p> </p><ol><li>The appointment of disability, race and gender champions at Director level to work with our Board level ED&amp;I Champion and the Diversity Networks to support and highlight barriers so they can be addressed at an early stage.</li><li>Professor Binna Kandola ran 3 unconscious bias sessions for managers last autumn to raise greater diversity awareness and address issues across BIS.</li><li>Mandated unconscious bias e-learning for all line managers to ensure that we attain a baseline of awareness across all BIS managers.</li><li>Piloting non-executive board members’ providing coaching and mentoring to under-represented SCS staff.</li><li>Launched a Reverse Mentoring programme where 2 Directors General and 6 Directors receive mentoring from a junior BME and/or disabled member of staff. The programme aims to lead to more inclusive decision making and a better understanding of perceptions and behaviour.</li></ol><p> </p><ul><li>Providing further guidance and information to staff and managers on our approach to performance management to mitigate against a more robust system potentially being misinterpreted as unfair treatment, bullying or harassment.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Engaging staff in groups through e.g. surveys and conversations, to identify particular areas of concern, causes, and potential actions to take forward locally.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Points to note: </strong></p><p>The Civil Service People Survey asks the question “Do you have any long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability?” The survey does not include a question that specifically identifies disability status.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 18/03/2015 09:25:29 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck