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100092

	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	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, what steps he is taking to help workers on zero hours contracts who desire regular, contracted employment.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	211362
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>Under the Flexible Working Regulations, brought in on 30 June, all employees with 26 continuous weeks of service have the right to request flexible working from their employer. Individuals on zero hours contracts, who are employees, can request a change in their contracts, which could also include a request to move to a fixed hours contract.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 27/10/2014 14:48:39 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

90809

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2014
	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	Written Questions
	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 named day written questions were answered by his Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	208416
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2014 answer text <p>Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee and will show that, for this Department, 938 of the 982 named day Parliamentary Questions (96%) received a substantive reply on the date stipulated by the Member.</p><p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills received 172 named day questions of which 151 (88%) were answered within the prescribed period during June – July 2014.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 11/09/2014 16:14:51 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

99773

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2014
	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	Written Questions
	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 place in the Library a copy of his Department's latest internal guidance for officials on the drafting of answers to parliamentary questions.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	211071
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>A copy of the Department’s internal guidance will be placed in the Libraries of the House.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Office of the Leader of the House also provides guidance to all Departments on the practice of answering Parliamentary Questions.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The full Guide is available on the gov.uk website at: http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A copy of this guidance has already been placed in the libraries of the House. The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons intends to review the Guide to Parliamentary Work in the coming months.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 27/10/2014 14:36:52 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson attachment 1 file name mpst-WrittenPQs - 211071 attachment.doc title Parliamentary Unit Process and Guidance
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

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

92196

	registered interest
	date	26/09/2014
	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	Vocational Training
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the budget of the employer ownership fund has been in each year since 2011; what proportion of that budget has been spent in each such year; and how many apprenticeship starts have been created in each such year.
	tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
	tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
	uin	209719
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2014 answer text <p><strong>Final Approved answer to 21955</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Since 2011 the budget and spend for the employer ownership fund has been:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>12-13 13-14 14-15</p><p> </p><p>Budget £2.2m £16.7m £27.7m</p><p> </p><p>Spend £1.5m £11.4m £22.3m (forecast)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Since 2011 Employer Ownership Pilot Apprenticeship starts have been:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>12-13 13-14</p><p> </p><p>1200 1,500 (**provisional)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>** Full figures for 2013/14 academic year not published until November 2014 – this figure covers the first 9 months of the year academic (August – April).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 16/10/2014 12:18:47 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles previous answer version 22168 answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

100102

	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	Video Games
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what funds distributed by the Technology Strategy Board were allocated to the video games sector in each of the last three years; and what proportion of the total funding from that Board this represented in each such year.
	tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Wavertree
	tabling member printed	Luciana Berger
	uin	211397
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2014 answer text <p>Innovate UK is the new name for the Technology Strategy Board.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In 2011/12 Innovate UK did not provide any funds to organisations in the video games sector. In 2012/13, it provided £277k (0.06% of its core budget) to organisations in the video games sector and in 2013/14 it provided £1.9m (0.4% of its core budget).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The figures above do not include any awards made under Innovate UK’s Smart or Knowledge Transfer Partnership programmes, as this information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed Mr Edward Vaizey question first answered 24/10/2014 06:55:43 answering member 1580 label Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot
	tabling member	4036 label Biography information for Luciana Berger

100089

	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	Venture Capital
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of a potential equity gap in UK venture capital sector.
	tabling member constituency	Stratford-on-Avon
	tabling member printed	Nadhim Zahawi
	uin	211212
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>I have asked the British Business Bank to publish its analysis of equity finance available to UK small business before the end of the year, which will include analysis on UK venture capital. The Department also published an economics paper in January 2012 on SME access to finance, which summarized the evidence at that time about the equity gap in UK venture capital. The paper is available at the following web address: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32263/12-539-sme-access-external-finance.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32263/12-539-sme-access-external-finance.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 28/10/2014 11:00:19 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi

100004

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2014
	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	Unpaid Work
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent proposal by the Child Poverty and Social Justice Commission that unpaid internships should be illegal.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Berridge
	uin	HL2219
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>This Government is absolutely clear: exploitation of interns is unacceptable and we don’t hesitate to act where we find that employment law has been broken and someone who is entitled to the minimum wage hasn’t been paid it.</p><p> </p><p>Complaints from interns about non-payment of the minimum wage are prioritised by HMRC for investigation and HMRC will investigate every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline.</p><p> </p><p>Research shows that internships and work experience programmes can be valuable opportunities for young people taking their first steps in the labour market. Our work on interns and the National Minimum Wage aims to achieve the right balance between ensuring that opportunities for young people are not cut off and minimising the risk of exploitation.</p><p> </p><p>Our concern, if we were to prohibit unpaid internships, is that this may lead to employers recruiting interns through informal and privileged networks with adverse effects on social mobility or have adverse consequences on the number of available opportunities.</p><p> </p><p>There is no definition of an internship in minimum wage legislation and interns are considered in the same way as everyone else with regards to whether the minimum wage is due. The key issue is whether or not they are workers as defined by minimum wage legislation. If they are, then they are eligible for the minimum wage unless a specific exemption applies. Volunteers are not workers and are not eligible for the minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 29/10/2014 16:15:22 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge

100082

	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	UK Export Finance
	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 successful applicants to the UK Export Finance direct lending facility have been small and medium-sized enterprises in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow North
	tabling member printed	Ann McKechin
	uin	211319
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>UK Export Finance’s direct lending facility was launched in 2013-14. It was recently amended to make it more readily accessible, and has recently completed its first deal.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 28/10/2014 16:01:54 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	1419 label Biography information for Ann McKechin

100307

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2014
	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	Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what work his Department has conducted on identifying specific policy areas and sectors for which the UK will seek exemptions from the scope of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what representations the UK has made to the EU on exemption of such policy areas or sectors.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
	tabling member printed	Ian Murray
	uin	211430
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government has consistently pushed for an ambitious agreement under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations in line with the recently published mandate.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The European Commission has explicitly ruled out public services from the scope of any market liberalisation in TTIP, and it has therefore not been necessary to discuss any exclusions related to specific public services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Commission has provided further details on the treatment of public services, available online at: <a href="http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2014/may/tradoc_152462.pdf" target="_blank">http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2014/may/tradoc_152462.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 28/10/2014 16:04:43 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock previous answer version 24563 answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray