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99776

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	Scottish Power
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 last reviewed the adequacy of prior investigations in connection with the nature of the warranties sold by Scottish Power to its customers between 1980 and 1999 and any potential losses suffered by such customers.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
tabling member printed	Mr William Bain
uin	211060
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>It is not the policy of the Secretary of State to announce or comment on confidential enquiries conducted using powers contained in the Companies Acts.</p><p>However, the Secretary of State has recently received further information regarding the Extended Warranty schemes sold by Scottish Power between 1997 and 2001 from the liquidators of two companies involved in administering the schemes. Officials are currently reviewing this information together with the conclusions of an earlier investigation to determine what further action, if any, is appropriate.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 27/10/2014 14:06:40 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1610 label Biography information for Mr William Bain

99778

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	Scottish Power
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 reopen the enquiry into the nature of the warranties sold by Scottish Power to its customers between 1980 and 1999 and any potential losses suffered by such customers.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
tabling member printed	Mr William Bain
uin	211059
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has recently received further information regarding the Extended Warranty schemes sold by Scottish Power between 1997 and 2001 from the liquidators of two companies involved in administering the schemes. Officials are currently reviewing this information together with the conclusions of an earlier investigation to determine what further action, if any, is appropriate, within the limits of his powers of investigation under the Companies Acts.</p><p> </p><p>The liquidators have also notified other regulators who may have an interest in this matter and who will be considering their own courses of action.</p><p> </p><p>It should be noted that any decision whether or not to commence an investigation using s447 Companies Act 1986 is confidential and the existence or otherwise of such an investigation will not be announced or commented on.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 27/10/2014 14:09:30 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1610 label Biography information for Mr William Bain

99892

registered interest
date	20/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Data Protection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to improve the level of transparency in the Government's use of personal data.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne East
tabling member printed	Mr Nicholas Brown
uin	211039
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>The UK has one of the most transparent regimes in the world in relation to the use of investigatory powers, which involve the accessing of personal data. The Interception of Communications Commissioner provides robust, independent oversight of the use of these investigatory powers and provides a published annual report to Parliament. This report includes statistics on public authorities’ use of interception and communications data powers, and his 2013 report contained more statistics than ever before. The Government remains committed to looking at what more can be done to enhance the transparency of our regime. The Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014, which was passed in July, requires the Interception of Communications Commissioner to report on a twice yearly basis in the future. In addition, the Act provides for a review of investigatory powers to be conducted by the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson QC. This review will be completed by 1 May 2015 and its findings will be reported to Parliament. The Government also announced, alongside the Act, the publication of an annual Government Transparency Report on investigatory powers.<br><br>The Government is fully committed to supporting a safe and secure online environment. That is why it is crucial that our law enforcement and <br>intelligence agencies have strictly regulated powers to ensure that those that would seek to do harm online, as well as in the real world, cannot carry out their activities with impunity. There are limits to what could be said publically about operational investigative techniques, as to do so would potentially help criminals to evade detection. However, crucial capabilities to access communications data are degrading because of rapidly changing technology and the increasing use of internet communications, whether or not those communications utilise encryption or anonymity techniques. Legislation is needed urgently to ensure that public authorities have the powers they need to investigate crime, safeguard national security and protect the public. We cannot allow cyberspace to become a haven for criminals, terrorists and paedophiles.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire grouped question UIN 211040 question first answered 27/10/2014 12:21:47 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	523 label Biography information for Mr Nicholas Brown

99893

registered interest
date	20/10/2014
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Internet: Data Protection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of online do not track tools on (a) Government efforts to gather communications data and (b) individual online privacy.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne East
tabling member printed	Mr Nicholas Brown
uin	211040
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>The UK has one of the most transparent regimes in the world in relation to the use of investigatory powers, which involve the accessing of personal data. The Interception of Communications Commissioner provides robust, independent oversight of the use of these investigatory powers and provides a published annual report to Parliament. This report includes statistics on public authorities’ use of interception and communications data powers, and his 2013 report contained more statistics than ever before. The Government remains committed to looking at what more can be done to enhance the transparency of our regime. The Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014, which was passed in July, requires the Interception of Communications Commissioner to report on a twice yearly basis in the future. In addition, the Act provides for a review of investigatory powers to be conducted by the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson QC. This review will be completed by 1 May 2015 and its findings will be reported to Parliament. The Government also announced, alongside the Act, the publication of an annual Government Transparency Report on investigatory powers.<br><br>The Government is fully committed to supporting a safe and secure online environment. That is why it is crucial that our law enforcement and <br>intelligence agencies have strictly regulated powers to ensure that those that would seek to do harm online, as well as in the real world, cannot carry out their activities with impunity. There are limits to what could be said publically about operational investigative techniques, as to do so would potentially help criminals to evade detection. However, crucial capabilities to access communications data are degrading because of rapidly changing technology and the increasing use of internet communications, whether or not those communications utilise encryption or anonymity techniques. Legislation is needed urgently to ensure that public authorities have the powers they need to investigate crime, safeguard national security and protect the public. We cannot allow cyberspace to become a haven for criminals, terrorists and paedophiles.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire grouped question UIN 211039 question first answered 27/10/2014 12:21:47 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	523 label Biography information for Mr Nicholas Brown

99933

registered interest
date	20/10/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Woking
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of overcrowding on rail services from Woking to London Waterloo.
tabling member constituency	Woking
tabling member printed	Jonathan Lord
uin	211109
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Transport (DfT) holds information on the number of passengers on board services from Woking to London when they reach London, however information for individual routes is considered commercially confidential and so cannot be released. An exception to this are those services which appear in the ‘Top 10 overcrowded trains’ lists that are published, which regularly include services between Woking and London Waterloo, and I recently travelled on this route to experience the crowding on it.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not hold information on crowding on services leaving Woking which do not go to London.</p><p> </p><p>DfT publishes statistics showing overall passenger numbers and crowding levels on the route into London Waterloo in the publication <em>Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays in major cities in England and Wales: 2013</em>, which is available in the Libraries of the House and online at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rail-passenger-numbers-and-crowding-on-weekdays-in-major-cities-in-england-and-wales-2013" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rail-passenger-numbers-and-crowding-on-weekdays-in-major-cities-in-england-and-wales-2013</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry grouped question UIN 211073 question first answered 27/10/2014 14:08:03 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

99938

registered interest
date	20/10/2014
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Woking
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the capacity utilisation on trains out of Woking between 6.30am and 9.00am on a weekday morning in the latest period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Woking
tabling member printed	Jonathan Lord
uin	211073
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Transport (DfT) holds information on the number of passengers on board services from Woking to London when they reach London, however information for individual routes is considered commercially confidential and so cannot be released. An exception to this are those services which appear in the ‘Top 10 overcrowded trains’ lists that are published, which regularly include services between Woking and London Waterloo, and I recently travelled on this route to experience the crowding on it.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not hold information on crowding on services leaving Woking which do not go to London.</p><p> </p><p>DfT publishes statistics showing overall passenger numbers and crowding levels on the route into London Waterloo in the publication <em>Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays in major cities in England and Wales: 2013</em>, which is available in the Libraries of the House and online at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rail-passenger-numbers-and-crowding-on-weekdays-in-major-cities-in-england-and-wales-2013" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rail-passenger-numbers-and-crowding-on-weekdays-in-major-cities-in-england-and-wales-2013</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Devizes answering member printed Claire Perry grouped question UIN 211109 question first answered 27/10/2014 14:08:04 answering member 3974 label Biography information for Claire Perry
tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

99945

registered interest
date	20/10/2014
answering body	Wales Office
answering dept id	28
answering dept short name	Wales
answering dept sort name	Wales
hansard heading	Mobile Phones
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with Ofcom on partial not-spots and the use of passive infrastructure sharing in those areas.
tabling member constituency	Aberconwy
tabling member printed	Guto Bebb
uin	211121
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>The Wales Office has regular discussions with Ofcom about improving mobile coverage across Wales. The UK Government is considering a number of options for improving coverage in partial not-spot areas, including passive infrastructure sharing and national roaming.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Vale of Glamorgan answering member printed Alun Cairns question first answered 27/10/2014 12:23:42 answering member 4086 label Biography information for Alun Cairns
tabling member	3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb

99948

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	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, what recent steps he has taken to ensure employer compliance with minimum wage legislation.
tabling member constituency	Newport West
tabling member printed	Paul Flynn
uin	211009
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2014 answer text <p>Individuals who are entitled to the National Minimum Wage should receive it and we are committed to taking the steps necessary to improve compliance; ensuring employers understand their responsibilities and workers know their rights, and ensuring robust enforcement of the law.</p><p>Detailed guidance, including how to calculate the minimum wage, is available on the gov.uk website. Confidential advice is also available for both workers and employers through the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. Any worker who is concerned that they have not been paid what they are legally entitled to or who wants to make a complaint, should call the helpline on 0800 917 2368.</p><p>We have taken a number of steps to strengthen enforcement activity. This year, HMRC’s enforcement budget has increased by £1.2million to £9.2 million. This extra funding will enable HMRC to increase the number of National Minimum Wage compliance officers who, as well as continuing to respond to every complaint, will also undertake targeted enforcement, focusing on the worst offending employers in the highest-risk sectors.</p><p>Employers who are found to have broken the law face substantially higher penalties. We increased the financial penalty percentage that employers pay for breaking minimum wage law from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of the unpaid wages owed to workers and the maximum penalty from £5,000 to £20,000. The increase came into effect on 7 March 2014. Since revising the Government’s naming scheme, we have also named 30 employers who between them owed over £50,000 in arrears, to provide further incentive to all employers to comply.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 27/10/2014 14:11:14 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	545 label Biography information for Paul Flynn