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91822

registered interest
date	26/09/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Electrification
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Kramer on 15 September (HL1794 and HL1795), since 1 June 2014 how many meetings have been held between (1) the Department for Transport and Network Rail, and (2) the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail Regulation, to discuss the costs of the electrification schemes.
tabling member printed	Lord Berkeley
uin	HL1880
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>The Department attends a number of meetings with both Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation across various levels with a broad agenda. These include costs, deliverability, construction synergies and scope of works. Electrification schemes and related issues are often discussed.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Kramer question first answered 15/10/2014 15:27:28 answering member 1557 label Biography information for Baroness Kramer
tabling member	3526 label Biography information for Lord Berkeley

91830

registered interest
date	26/09/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many contracts they have entered into on the same or similar basis as the proposed contracts with private sector providers of the probation service, containing penal clauses requiring 100 per cent compensation in the event of cancellation.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL1888
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>In this instance to provide you with the information you ask would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold. Individual contract managers would need to search through hundreds of contract files to confirm whether the clauses in each one of their contracts are on the same or a similar basis to the clauses within the draft Transforming Rehabilitation contracts.</p><p> </p><p>I can however tell you that voluntary termination is a standard clause in government contracts which is designed to provide flexibility for government while maintaining the balance of value for money for the tax payer.</p><p> </p><p>Voluntary termination compensation would only be payable to the contractor if a contract is terminated through no fault of the contractor.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 15/10/2014 12:47:31 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

91848

registered interest
date	26/09/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Welfare Assistance Schemes
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the terms of reference of the review into the impact of the abolition of funding for local welfare assistance schemes.
tabling member printed	Baroness King of Bow
uin	HL1906
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>There has been no abolition of funding for local welfare schemes. From 2015/16 there was going to be no specific grant but we are looking again at how the funding is provided in 2015/16. The Department for Work and Pensions are carrying out a review into how the funds in 2013/14 have been used. I refer the noble Lady to the comments of my noble Friend the Lord De Mauley of 25 January 2012 during the debate on the Welfare Reform Act 2012. He said, “<em><em>Following the introduction of localised assistance, the department has already made plans to conduct a review in 2014-15 to obtain appropriate information from a representative cross-section of at least 50 local authorities, which represents one-third of the total, in order to help inform future funding levels. We have committed to using this opportunity to gather further information about the way in which local authorities have used the funding.”<br><br></em></em></p><p>I refer the noble Lord to the consultation paper on local welfare provision published by HM Government on 10 October 2014. I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/10/2014 12:46:32 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon attachment 1 file name 210187 welfare consultaion paper.pdf title welfare assistance
tabling member	143 label Biography information for Baroness King of Bow

91883

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	Arms Trade: Trade Fairs
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 10 September 2014 to Question 206108, whether UK law and export control regulations place any restrictions on allowing companies which have previously been ejected from the DSEI arms fair for selling equipment which could be used for torture to exhibit at future DSEI events in London, or whether that decision is entirely a matter for Clarion Events.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
uin	209456
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) is a commercial exhibition run by Clarion Events. Any decision as to whether to allow a company that may have been ejected from a previous DSEI to exhibit at a future one is a matter for Clarion.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between BIS and Clarion was set in place in 2013 to give Clarion the authority they need to control the activities of their exhibitors at DSEI. It sets out Clarion’s role and responsibilities, and those of the exhibitor companies, regarding UK export and trade control legislation.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 15/10/2014 13:52:21 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

91884

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	British Business Bank
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 small and medium-sized businesses in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England and Wales have (i) applied for and (ii) been granted loans by the British Business Bank in the last year.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Michael Dugher
uin	209441
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>The British Business Bank oversees the management of two loan programmes that can be accessed by small and medium–sized businesses seeking debt finance; Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) and Start-Up Loans (SUL).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>EFG is delivered by participating lenders, including all the main high street banks, while SUL is delivered by a network of delivery partners contracted by the Start-Up Loans Company.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The delivery of both programmes is fully devolved to the participating lenders and for consistency they primarily report the numbers of loans offered or drawn rather than the number of applications received.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Programme</p></td><td><p>Volume of Loans drawn Barnsley East</p></td><td><p>Volume of Loans drawn</p><p>South Yorkshire</p></td><td><p>Volume of Loans drawn</p><p>England and Wales</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>EFG</p></td><td><p>22</p></td><td><p>515</p></td><td><p>20806</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Start Up Loans</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>321</p></td><td><p>20435</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>836</p></td><td><p>41241</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 15/10/2014 13:50:17 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	3916 label Biography information for Michael Dugher

91885

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	Postal Services: Republic of Ireland
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 he has made of the adequacy of the current pricing structure of cross-border mail between the UK and Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Belfast South
tabling member printed	Dr Alasdair McDonnell
uin	209442
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>The setting of postal prices, including prices for cross-border mail between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, is the direct responsibility of postal operators. It is for postal operators and other carriers to ensure that they offer cross-border services that meet the needs of postal users in Northern Ireland and that their services are competitively priced, while covering the costs of their respective operations.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Royal Mail, as the UK’s designated universal service provider, can negotiate suitable cross-border arrangements with the postal administration in the Republic of Ireland in the same way as it does for any other international destination, though its universal services must comply with the requirements of the Postal Services Directive on cross-border mail within the European Union and with Ofcom’s regulatory framework which sets parameters on pricing for universal postal services. Other carriers offering services between the UK and the Republic of Ireland are responsible for setting their own pricing structures in response to market pressures.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Royal Mail works closely with An Post to provide customers with a high-quality cross border postal service. A Consumer Focus NI report of March 2010 (http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/northern-ireland/publications/cross-border-post-improving-mail-services-between-northern-ireland-and-the-republic-of-ireland) found that on reliability 85% of consumers and 75% of businesses rated the cross-border services as good and that the service exceeded the EU performance targets of delivery within 3 days of posting in both directions.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 15/10/2014 13:36:48 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1596 label Biography information for Dr Alasdair McDonnell

91891

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	Postal Services: Republic of Ireland
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 total volume was of mail (a) dispatched to and (b) received from the Republic of Ireland in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Belfast South
tabling member printed	Dr Alasdair McDonnell
uin	209570
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>HM Government does not collect or hold data for cross-border post between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Data relating to the volumes of mail between the UK and the Republic of Ireland are subject to commercial confidentiality between the national postal operators, Royal Mail and An Post, and other carriers operating between the two countries.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 15/10/2014 13:58:31 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1596 label Biography information for Dr Alasdair McDonnell

91895

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	Social Services: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of people earning less than the national minimum wage in the care sector in each year since 2010-11.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne North
tabling member printed	Catherine McKinnell
uin	209411
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>The current best estimate of non-compliance is published by the ONS in their low pay release[1], derived from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)[2]. Figures show that non-compliance in the care sector is actually lower than non-compliance in the general economy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>In 2011, 0.6% of employees were paid below the NMW in the care sector; compared to 0.8% in the whole economy.</li><li>In 2012, 0.7% of employees were paid below the NMW in the care sector; compared to 0.9% in the whole economy.</li><li>In 2013, 0.7% of employees were paid below the NMW in the care sector; compared to 0.8% in the whole economy.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This estimate, as well as all estimates of non-compliance, has some limitations. However, there are no reasons to suppose that these limitations affect the social care sector more or less than the economy as a whole.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/low-pay/april-2011/stb-2011-low-pay-estimates.html" target="_blank">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/low-pay/april-2011/stb-2011-low-pay-estimates.html</a></p><p><a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/low-pay/april-2012-results/stb-2012-low-pay-estimates.html" target="_blank">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/low-pay/april-2012-results/stb-2012-low-pay-estimates.html</a></p><p><a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/low-pay/april-2013/stb-2013-low-pay-estimates.html" target="_blank">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/low-pay/april-2013/stb-2013-low-pay-estimates.html</a></p><p> </p><p>[2] ASHE is a survey of employees completed by employers which we can use to look at workers earning at or below the NMW rate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 15/10/2014 13:34:43 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4125 label Biography information for Catherine McKinnell

91896

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	Social Services: Pay
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 employers in the care sector who failed to comply with the national minimum wage have been named to date.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne North
tabling member printed	Catherine McKinnell
uin	209412
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government has not yet named any employers from the care sector.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have already named 30 employers under the revised naming and shaming scheme, which came into effect in October 2013. Between them they owed workers over £50,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £24,000. We will be naming more employers that fail to comply with National Minimum Wage regulations soon.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 15/10/2014 13:37:31 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4125 label Biography information for Catherine McKinnell

91897

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	Post Boxes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he was consulted on the decision to restrict the last collection time at Royal Mail post boxes to 9 am; and how many post boxes across the country are subject to this decision.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	209447
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government does not have any role in Royal Mail’s operational decisions. Providing Royal Mail operate their services in compliance with the existing regulatory framework, as set down by Ofcom, decisions relating to their services can be made on operational grounds.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Royal Mail points out that the new arrangements relating to collections are needed in response to declining letter volumes which has left many post-boxes no longer covering their costs. Rather than decommission uneconomic post-boxes, the company is committed to ensuring their viability by improving the efficiency of collections arrangements.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Royal Mail have said that the majority of post-boxes will retain a 4pm or later final collection, as they have now, and they will ensure that there is a late-posting box within half a mile of each post-box that is restricted to earlier collections. The company is also aiming to boost public access to post-boxes in those areas around the country currently underserved with the addition of 2,000 new post-boxes. These will be targeted at rural areas, with a particular focus on Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as to areas of new development that are currently not served by a post-box. Some will be added in high footfall areas such as train stations and shopping centres. More information about Royal Mail’s post box network can be found on its website</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>(<a href="http://www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/postboxes-faqs" target="_blank">http://www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/postboxes-faqs</a>).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 15/10/2014 13:56:34 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe