Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

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

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