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1130745

	registered interest
	date	07/06/2019
	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	Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pusuant to the Answers of 5 June 2019 to Questions 257798 and 257799, and in the format of the Answer of 11 April 2019 to Question 241458, what proportion of jobs in (a) the UK, (b) Yorkshire, (c) South Yorkshire and (c) Barnsley are paid the (i) National Living Wage and (ii) National Minimum Wage.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
	tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
	uin	261537
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>Through the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW), the Government ensures that the lowest paid in our society are fairly rewarded for their work. April 2019’s increase to the NLW will see nearly 1.8 million workers in the UK receive a 4.9% pay rise. A full-time worker on the NLW will now be more than £2,750 better off over the year compared to when it was first announced in 2015.</p><p> </p><p>The table below provides estimates for the number and proportion of jobs in the UK and Yorkshire and the Humber on the NLW and NMW in 2019. The most recent available data for Barnsley, and South Yorkshire, shows that there were an estimated 5,500 workers and 47,200 workers respectively who were on the NLW or NMW.</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong>National Living Wage</strong></ins></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong>National Minimum Wage</strong></ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><em>Number of jobs</em></ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><em>% of jobs</em></ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><em>Number of jobs</em></ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial"><em>% of jobs</em></ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">UK</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1,762,000</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">7.2%</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">341,000</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">9.8%</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">Yorkshire and the Humber</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">172,000</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">8.8%</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">36,000</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">12.0%</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 13/06/2019 16:04:20 question first ministerially corrected 20/06/2019 15:16:09 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 122690 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1146014

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	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	Business
	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 recent meetings (a) Ministers and (b) Officials in her Department have had with businesses in the (i) automotive (ii) pharmaceutical (iii) retail and food sector businesses about the impact of leaving the EU without a deal on their businesses; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Garston and Halewood
	tabling member printed	Maria Eagle
	uin	290689
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/10/2019 answer text <p>Ministers and officials have regular engagement with a large number of businesses across all sectors, including from the automotive, pharmaceutical and retail and food sectors, to ensure they are prepared for the UK leaving the EU on the 31st October.</p><p>Ministers have hosted a regular series of roundtables both in Westminster and around the UK in recent months, where they have had the chance to speak to and hear directly from a wide range of businesses both large and small.</p><p>In order to help business prepare for exiting the EU on 31 October, the Government have come together to deliver a new series of 'One HMG' events, starting from Monday 16 September to 18 October. These roadshows will bring together expertise from across departments including BEIS, the Home Office, HMRC, DIT, DEFRA and DCMS, and combine interactive support and in-depth advice sessions to help business from all sectors and of all sizes get ready for Brexit. ​In addition to this, on 11<sup>th</sup> September, officials held an EU Exit Readiness forum with over 250 companies participating many of which were retailers.</p><p>A <del class="ministerial">£10m</del> <ins class="ministerial">£15m</ins> Business Readiness Fund for business organisations and trade associations will support businesses in preparing for a ‘No Deal’ Brexit ahead of 31 October 2019.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 04/10/2019 11:33:39 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 20:32:09 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 137224 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	483 label Biography information for Maria Eagle

1148768

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2019
	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	Business: Crawley
	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 recent steps her Department has taken to support businesses in Crawley.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	165
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to making the UK the best place to start and grow a business, ensuring all businesses have access to the advice and support they need<del class="ministerial"> to succeed to start, grow, and scale up their businesses</del>.</p><p> </p><p>All businesses can access core services, information and guidance on starting up and running a business, as well as their statutory rights and obligations, on our GOV.UK sites and <a href="http://www.gov.uk/browse/business" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/browse/business</a>. The Business Finance and Support Finder tool on the website provides information on how to access a wide range of Government-backed financial support for start-up businesses, such as funding and grant schemes. The Government backed British Business Bank (BBB), as of July 2019, has provided funding of £6.6bn to over 89,000 businesses. In addition, since 2012, the Start-Up Loans Company (now part of BBB) has delivered over 67,000 loans worth over £534m. In Crawley they have issued 99 loans since 2012, worth over £680,000.</p><p> </p><p>This Government continues to work with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to drive forward local growth. Through three rounds of competitive Growth Deals, Government has invested over £9 billion of funding, including £304.3 million to Coast to Capital LEP, which covers Crawley, to empower local areas to reach their potential, boosting national productivity and growth.</p><p> </p><p>We have also supported and invested in the creation of a network of 38 Growth Hubs. Businesses in the Crawley constituency can access business advice through the Coast to Capital Growth Hub. Led and governed by the Coast to Capital LEP, the Growth Hub provides a free, impartial, ‘single point of contact’ to help businesses in the area identify and access the right support for them at the right time no matter their size or sector. This support includes helping businesses prepare for Brexit. In 2018-19 the Coast to Capital Growth Hub supported over 1,503 businesses and helped more than 313 individuals start a business.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 21/10/2019 16:11:37 question first ministerially corrected 22/10/2019 15:30:10 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 620 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1183263

	registered interest
	date	06/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Heathrow Airport: Construction
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that funding from the public purse for Heathrow airport expansion is allocated in line with the recent judgment on that expansion.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	26174
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The sale of nut-based products on board aircrafts is a commercial decision for individual airlines. However, the Government is pleased to note that a number of UK airlines have taken positive steps to ban nuts and nut products from their aircraft. We continue to encourage industry to take appropriate measures. Government also wants to see improved clarity and consistency in how airlines operating in the UK assist nut allergy sufferers.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have always been clear that Heathrow expansion is a private sector project which must meet strict criteria on air quality, noise and climate change, as well as being privately financed, affordable, and delivered in the best interest of consumers. It will receive no public funds. </ins></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 11/03/2020 16:05:02 question first ministerially corrected 13/03/2020 09:04:11 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 11819 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1505553

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Languages: Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on teaching (a) Punjabi, (b) Bengali, (c) Hindi, (d) Gujarati, (e) Urdu, (f) Sinhalese, (g) Tamil, (h) Pashto and (i) Dari in schools in England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	48198
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>Awarding organisations offering GCSEs and A levels are independent, <ins class="ministerial">and mostly</ins> not-for-profit organisations<ins class="ministerial">, with the exception of Pearson Edexcel which is profit making</ins>. They are not contracted to provide assessments for pupils in particular subjects. AQA offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Punjabi and Bengali, as well as a GCSE in Urdu. Pearson Edexcel offer a GCSE and A level qualification in Gujarati and Urdu and International GCSEs (IGCSEs) in Bengali, Hindi, Sinhalese, and Tamil. Cambridge International offer an A level in Hindi, Urdu, and Tamil. There are no qualifications available in Pashto or Dari. Awarding organisations are free to introduce qualifications in any GCSE or A level subject where they consider there to be a case to do so.</p><p>It is up to schools to decide which languages are taught as part of their curriculum, both at primary and secondary school, and the government does not specify which languages should be taught or how to teach them.</p><p>There has been no funding provided directly for the teaching of Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Sinhalese, Tamil, Pashto and Dari within the previous five years. However, the department has committed to establishing a network of language hubs, as per the Schools White Paper, and are considering ways in which we can support home, heritage and community languages as part of this.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 21/09/2022 17:23:22 question first ministerially corrected 17/10/2022 09:03:46 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 18097 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1128267

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Post Offices: Rural Areas
	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 steps the Government is taking to support rural post office branches.
	tabling member constituency	Totnes
	tabling member printed	Dr Sarah Wollaston
	uin	257530
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. Thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010 the overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 06/06/2019 09:33:46 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4073 label Biography information for Dr Sarah Wollaston

1128429

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Shares: Sales
	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 his Department has made of recent trends in the use of share buybacks.
	tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
	tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
	uin	257440
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department has noted several significant share buyback announcements in recent months. These can be undertaken for a variety of reasons such as providing a flexible tool for returning excess cash to shareholders and offsetting dilution arising from the issue of new shares such as those issued to employees under employee share ownership schemes. Buyback activity tends to fluctuate, responding to company-specific and wider economic conditions such as the interest rate environment.</p><p> </p><p>The Department commissioned research to further its understanding of longer-term trends in share buybacks, how and why companies make use of them and whether they are being misused to hit performance targets and inflate executive pay. The Department is currently considering this research and will be making an announcement in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 257441 question first answered 05/06/2019 16:18:38 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1128430

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Shares: Sales
	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 progress has been made on the research into share buybacks initiated in January 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
	tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
	uin	257441
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department has noted several significant share buyback announcements in recent months. These can be undertaken for a variety of reasons such as providing a flexible tool for returning excess cash to shareholders and offsetting dilution arising from the issue of new shares such as those issued to employees under employee share ownership schemes. Buyback activity tends to fluctuate, responding to company-specific and wider economic conditions such as the interest rate environment.</p><p> </p><p>The Department commissioned research to further its understanding of longer-term trends in share buybacks, how and why companies make use of them and whether they are being misused to hit performance targets and inflate executive pay. The Department is currently considering this research and will be making an announcement in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 257440 question first answered 05/06/2019 16:18:38 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1128581

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	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	Post Office
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2919 to Question 246964 on Post Office, which Ministers met with Tim Parker in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	North Durham
	tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
	uin	257662
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>The Ministers that met with Tim Parker in the last 12 months were myself and the previous Parliamentary Under Secretary of State my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Andrew Griffiths).</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 06/06/2019 09:34:18 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

1128582

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	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	Post Office: Corporate Hospitality
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2019 to Question 246968 on Post Office: Corporate Hospitality, which Senior officials accepted hospitality from the Post Office; and what the dates were of the two board dinners hosted by the Post Office.
	tabling member constituency	North Durham
	tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
	uin	257663
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>The hospitality referred to in the answer of 9 May 2019 to Question 246968 consists of five pre-Board dinners and an Awards dinner which the Shareholder Representative Non-Executive Director (Tom Cooper – UK Government Investments) attended as a member of the Post Office Board on 23 May 2018, 30 July 2018, 08 November 2018, 26 November 2018, 28 January 2019 and 25 March 2019 In addition, a member of the Post Office Shareholder Team at UK Government Investments attended the Board’s two-day strategy meeting in lieu of Tom Cooper on 26-27 June 2018, which included an overnight stay provided by Post Office Ltd.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 06/06/2019 09:34:27 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones