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1132439

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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	Small Businesses: East Midlands
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 the Government has taken to boost the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises in the East Midlands.
tabling member constituency	Mansfield
tabling member printed	Ben Bradley
uin	265575
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text <p>Small and medium sized enterprises in the East Midlands can access business advice through their local Growth Hubs. Led and governed by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP), Growth Hubs provide 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. The LEPs which cover the East Midlands have self-reported that in FY2017-2018 their Growth Hubs supported over 12,000 businesses and helped over 300 individuals start a business</p><p> </p><p>Since its creation in 2012, the Government-backed Start Up Loans company has made 3,573 loans worth over £25.5m to the East Midlands region. In the Mansfield constituency, 66 loans have been made worth £503,200[1].</p><p> </p><p>April 2019’s increase in the National Living Wage (NLW) means that 157,000 workers in the East Midlands have received an inflation-beating pay rise of 4.9%. The latest estimates suggest that 5,000 workers in Mansfield are receiving the NLW and National Minimum Wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Industrial Strategy is creating an economy that works for everyone; setting out a long-term plan to boost productivity by backing businesses to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people throughout the United Kingdom. Nationally, the Government is providing up to £18.6 million to Be the Business to increase firm level productivity by supporting SMEs to make simple changes and learn from each other.</p><p> </p><p>And the £9 million Business Basics Programme is testing innovative ways of encouraging SMEs to take-up proven technology and business practices that can boost productivity. A total of £2 million has been allocated to projects from the first round of the Business Basics Fund and we are expecting to allocate a further £2 million of funding in Autumn 2019.</p><p> </p><p>[1] At May 2019</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 26/06/2019 11:53:14 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4663 label Biography information for Ben Bradley

1132448

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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	Offshore Industry: Agency Workers
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 he is taking to ensure that the employment of agency workers on drilling rigs in the offshore drilling industry is compliant with the provisions of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	265512
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Workers within the offshore oil and gas industry in internal or territorial waters, or working regarding exploitation of the continental shelf, are entitled to the same protections as UK workers. This includes receiving the National Minimum Wage for all their work on installation, construction and maintenance, regardless of nationality or where they ordinarily work. As with all other workers, their terms and conditions of employment are for negotiation and agreement between employers and employees (or their representatives). Once agreed they form a legally binding contract of employment. While it is always open to either party to seek to renegotiate the terms of the contract, if the employer changes any of the terms without the employee’s agreement, the employee may be entitled to seek legal redress.</p><p> </p><p>Agency workers’ rights conferred by the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 are self-enforced at an Employment Tribunal. The enforcement body for the recruitment sector, the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate (EAS), investigates every relevant complaint that falls under its remit as set out in the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and has a strong track record in upholding the rights of agency workers.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 265513 question first answered 24/06/2019 15:28:43 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1132449

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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	Offshore Industry: Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of changes in employment practices of major drilling contractors in the offshore oil and gas industry since 2015.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	265513
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Workers within the offshore oil and gas industry in internal or territorial waters, or working regarding exploitation of the continental shelf, are entitled to the same protections as UK workers. This includes receiving the National Minimum Wage for all their work on installation, construction and maintenance, regardless of nationality or where they ordinarily work. As with all other workers, their terms and conditions of employment are for negotiation and agreement between employers and employees (or their representatives). Once agreed they form a legally binding contract of employment. While it is always open to either party to seek to renegotiate the terms of the contract, if the employer changes any of the terms without the employee’s agreement, the employee may be entitled to seek legal redress.</p><p> </p><p>Agency workers’ rights conferred by the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 are self-enforced at an Employment Tribunal. The enforcement body for the recruitment sector, the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate (EAS), investigates every relevant complaint that falls under its remit as set out in the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and has a strong track record in upholding the rights of agency workers.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 265512 question first answered 24/06/2019 15:28:43 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1132473

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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	Whirlpool Corporation: 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 adequacy of the Office for Product Safety and Standards inquiry into Whirlpool; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
tabling member printed	Gill Furniss
uin	265582
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring the safety of consumers. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) was tasked with reviewing the effectiveness of Whirlpool’s technical modification and the adequacy of its consumer outreach programme, and that review was published on 4th April.</p><p> </p><p>The review focussed on an engineering assessment of Whirlpool tumble dryers and expert analysis of data including fire and incident data from Fire and Rescue Services, Which? and Whirlpool. It also reviewed whether Whirlpool’s consumer outreach programme was adequate. The OPSS review was conducted by scientific, legal and product safety experts including input from the Government’s Health and Safety Laboratory and it was reviewed by the BEIS Chief Scientific Advisor.</p><p> </p><p>I am satisfied that the review was robust and thorough.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 20/06/2019 09:03:12 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4571 label Biography information for Gill Furniss

1132516

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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	Restaurants: Gratuities
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 his Department is taking to ensure that restaurants are prevented from making deductions from money left for staff by diners.
tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
uin	265553
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>Through the Good Work Plan we have committed to legislate on a range of areas to enhance workers’ rights, including to ensure that all tips left to workers go to them in full.</p><p> </p><p>We expect over a million workers to benefit, many of whom are in low-paid jobs. Consumers will have reassurance that the money they leave in good faith is going to the staff, as they intended.</p><p> </p><p>We have been working closely with stakeholders and across Government to prepare this legislation, and will lay measures to implement the Good Work Plan in Parliament as soon as possible.</p><p> </p><p>The Good Work Plan set out an ambitious programme to take forward 51 of the 53 recommendations made in the Taylor Review. We have already implemented key commitments, with Parliament recently passing secondary legislation we brought forward to increase workers’ rights and protections, and improve transparency for workers, from day one.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 20/06/2019 09:03:00 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan

1132535

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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	Minimum Wage
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 17 June 2019 to Question 263213 on Conditions of Employment, whether the employers subject to labour market enforcement undertakings for non-payment of the national minimum wage will be considered for naming when the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme resumes.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	265603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>Enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is a priority for the Government. We have more than doubled the budget for NMW compliance and enforcement since 2015, to a record high of £27.4 million. The 2018/19 financial year was a record year for NMW enforcement; HMRC identified £24.4 million in arrears across 3,018 cases – a record number since the introduction of the National Living Wage in 2016.</p><p> </p><p>In line with the published NMW enforcement policy, any employer who have been issued a Notice of Underpayment resulting from a breach of National Minimum Wage law will be considered for naming under the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>This applies regardless of whether the employer is also subject to a Labour Market Enforcement Undertaking or Order.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 20/06/2019 09:03:18 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1132289

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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	Minimum Wage: Enforcement
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 11 June 2019 to Question 261273, what the outcomes of the HMRC investigations that were completed but did not result in employers being found non-compliant were.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	264793
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>HMRC may open an investigation into an employer’s compliance with National Minimum Wage law either following a worker complaint or via proactive risk-based enforcement activity. Where HMRC find no minimum wage arrears are due, they will not take enforcement action such as issuing a Notice of Underpayment and financial penalty.</p><p> </p><p>Where HMRC find that arrears are due to workers they will generally issue a Notice of Underpayment and financial penalty. In some cases, employers may be allowed to carry out self-correction action which ensures that workers are paid the money due to them without the issue of a Notice of Underpayment. Overall, in 2018/19 HMRC found arrears in 45% of cases they closed; this “strike rate” has increased year-on year since the introduction of the National Living Wage in 2016.</p><p> </p><p>This information will be covered in more detail in BEIS’ Minimum Wage Enforcement and Compliance report, which we will publish in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 20/06/2019 09:03:25 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 124076 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

1132290

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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	Minimum Wage: Enforcement
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 10 June 2019 to Question 260713 on Minimum Wage, whether the Director of Labour Market Enforcement recommended that the naming of non-compliant employers be suspended for the duration of the review of the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	264794
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government remains committed to enforcing the National Minimum Wage (NMW). We have more than doubled HMRC’s budget for NMW compliance and enforcement since 2015 to £27.4 million for 2019/20.</p><p> </p><p>The Director of Labour Market Enforcement recommended evaluation of the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme in his 2018/19 Strategy. The Director’s consultation revealed mixed views from stakeholders about naming; some were strongly supportive, whilst others proposed ideas for increasing its effectiveness as a deterrent to underpayment of the minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Government decided to pause the naming of non-compliant employers while we determine what changes are needed to make sure the scheme continues to have resonance and acts as a tool to drive compliance.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 19/06/2019 09:25:45 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1132031

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
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	Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Minister of Postal Affairs plans to respond to the letter of 30 April 2019 from the Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance.
tabling member constituency	North Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
uin	264358
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>I replied to the letter referred to on Tuesday 18 June.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 18/06/2019 16:25:22 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

1132033

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
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	Parental 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, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more new parents to take up shared parental leave.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	264319
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Between February and April 2018, we ran a £1.5m paid for communications campaign to promote Shared Parental Leave and Pay to eligible parents. This was supported by the publication of revised tools and guidance which make it easier for parents to understand and access the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>We ran a further campaign between February and April 2019 to maintain the high levels of awareness that we achieved in 2018 and are planning further communications activity for 2019/20.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 18/06/2019 14:06:45 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham