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106193

registered interest
date	04/11/2014
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	Apprentices
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 is taking to encourage offers of apprenticeships to adults without GCSEs.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	213292
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>Apprenticeships are jobs and as such individual employers set their own entry requirements.</p><p>We have introduced Traineeships, working with employers, to offer people aged 16 – 24, often without GCSEs, an opportunity to develop the skills and experience needed to compete successfully for an apprenticeship or other job.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 10/11/2014 12:22:38 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

106194

registered interest
date	04/11/2014
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	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 steps his Department is taking to offer training to adults without GCSEs.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	213293
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government supports a range of training opportunities for adults who are not qualified to GCSE level.</p><p> </p><p>We provide full funding for adults of any age, irrespective of employment status, to study English and Maths up to and including Level 2 qualifications and to take GCSEs in these subjects. We also fully fund adults aged 19 to 23 to study for their first full Level 2 or learning programmes pre-Level 2 to enable them to progress to Level 2 and above. These can cover a wide range of subjects, from vocational courses to GCSEs. In 2012/13 we supported 1.2m learners at level 2. For adults aged 24 who want to study subjects other than English and maths, we provide a subsidy and they make a contribution from their own resources.</p><p> </p><p>The Government supports some particular programmes operating partly or exclusively for adults who have not yet achieved GCSE. Traineeships provide work preparation training, English and Maths for those who need it, and vital work experience - combining to equip people with the skills and experience they need to compete for Apprenticeships and other jobs. Apprenticeships are real jobs with training and provide an opportunity for people, including those without GCSEs, to obtain high quality training in a particular career.</p><p> </p><p>Sector-based work academies combine sector-based training with a work experience placement lasting up to a maximum of 6 weeks along with a guaranteed job interview. They are designed to support benefit customers aged 18+ who are close to the labour market but have been unable to find sustained employment in a demand sector. In addition, individuals who are out of work and in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), Employment Support Allowance in the Work Related Activity Group (ESA WRAG) or on Universal Credit (UC) with a skills need identified, are able to receive free training from Colleges and providers to help them get into work. Of all aims started by benefit claimants 89 per cent were at Level 2 and below.</p><p> </p><p>We support Adult Community Learning with funding of £210m which is designed to engage people who are most disadvantaged and furthest from learning such as those who do not yet have the confidence to go to a formal course. It has proven to be particularly effective in motivating people without qualifications.</p><p> </p><p>Some of those studying below GCSE have learning difficulties and disabilities and where it is needed, we fund the delivery of additional support for these learners so that they can participate fully in education and training. Working in close partnership with the Ministry of Justice, our prison education offer similarly provides offenders with the basic skills of maths and English, and with relevant vocational qualifications, that will allow them to secure employment on release. We know that employment reduces re-offending.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 11/11/2014 15:14:59 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

106202

registered interest
date	04/11/2014
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	Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on allowing employers to pay the apprenticeship wage for longer than 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	213294
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The apprenticeship minimum wage applies to apprentices aged under 19 and those aged 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship. If the apprentice is over 19 and has completed the first year of their apprenticeship, they are entitled to the age appropriate rate of the national minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>The apprenticeship minimum wage is the legal minimum. It is not a guide as to what employers should pay and we encourage employers to pay higher where they are able to do so. Most employers pay more than the minimum wage.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 11/11/2014 12:28:44 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

105812

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Business: North West
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 (a) the North West and (b) Warrington have been (i) named and (ii) prosecuted since 1 October 2013.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Helen Jones
uin	212902
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government has named 30 employers under the revised Naming and Shaming Scheme. Between them they owed workers a total of over £50,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £24,000. Details of these employers can be found on the original press notices (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-gets-tough-with-employers-failing-to-pay-minimum-wage" target="_blank">28 February 2014</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-employers-who-fail-to-pay-minimum-wage" target="_blank">8 June 2014</a>), including the town in which the employer is based. However, these organisations may employ staff or have offices or other operations in other geographical locations.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>No employers have been prosecuted under the National Minimum Wage Act since October 2013.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 06/11/2014 16:01:40 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	432 label Biography information for Helen Jones

105813

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Apprentices: Northern 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 recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on encouraging businesses to offer apprenticeships to young people.
tabling member constituency	South Antrim
tabling member printed	Dr William McCrea
uin	212916
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>My Rt. Hon. Friend the then Minister for Skills and Enterprise (Matthew Hancock) met with the four nation Ministers including Dr Stephen Farry, MLA, Minister for Employment and Learning, on 19 June 2014.</p><p>He updated Ministers on the review of apprenticeships and trailblazer reforms in England.</p><p>Dr Stephen Farry informed Ministers that Northern Ireland would be producing a new strategy on apprenticeships and this was formally announced on 24 June 2014.</p><p>Ministers agreed that an official-level group would be beneficial and my Rt. Hon. Friend. the now Minister for Business and Energy Matthew Hancock suggested extending the remit of the UK strategic policy forum to include apprenticeships. The UK Strategic Forum meets approximately one month prior to the four nation Ministerial meetings and the first meeting took place on 4 June 2014.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 10/11/2014 12:43:40 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	655 label Biography information for Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown

105814

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Technology: Greater London
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what future investment the Government plans to make to promote the technology sector in London.
tabling member constituency	Tottenham
tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
uin	212963
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p>London is the tech capital of Europe. The Government has played a key part in its success. It supports Tech City UK which delivers support services and programmes to tech businesses in London and UK-wide. London and Partners promotes the London wide tech sector, working on behalf of the Mayor of London and other commercial partners, including Tech City for which it took over specific responsibility in April this year.</p><p> </p><p>Technology companies in London will benefit from a range of government funding such as the:</p><p> </p><p>• recently announced 5m funding (£2m in 2015/2016 and a provisional allocation of £3m in 2016/17) for a pilot digital skills programme to be run by the London Enterprise Panel as part of the London Growth Deal.</p><p> </p><p>• A new Digital Catapult, located in King’s Cross, with £50m over 5 years to provide tech companies with access to expertise and enable them to develop new products and services.</p><p> </p><p>• £40K, this financial year, for Tech City UK’s Future Fifty Programme. Of the 50 tech companies, 37 of them are headquartered in London.</p><p> </p><p>• £400K this financial year for Tech City UK’s Digital Business Academy - an online training programme to ensure everyone has the much needed digital skills.</p><p> </p><p>We will have the lowest corporation tax rate in the G7 from next year. Technology companies can also benefit from other tax incentives such as the Patent Box, which can give an effective 10% tax rate for qualifying net revenue arising from EU or UK registered patents, R&amp;D tax credits, the Enterprise Investment Scheme and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>The Government launched the new computing curriculum in September 2014, to ensure a pipeline of digitally skilled individuals. £3.5m of funding has been provided to ensure teachers have the skills to teach the curriculum and there are a number of coding clubs available in London schools, to inspire young people about the career opportunities digital skills provide.</p><p> </p><p>There is also good work at a local level, for example, Camden Council has started to set up code clubs in schools, see the following link: <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/local-government-network/2013/sep/02/camden-council-pioneers-coding-in-schools" target="_blank">http://www.theguardian.com/local-government-network/2013/sep/02/camden-council-pioneers-coding-in-schools</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed Mr Edward Vaizey question first answered 17/11/2014 17:06:59 answering member 1580 label Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot
tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy

105815

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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 the company registration number is of (a) Master Distribution Limited, Essex and (b) Zoom Limited, Havant, named for non-payment of the national minimum wage in his Department's press notice of 8 June 2014.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	212931
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>Details of the employers that have already been named under the BIS Naming Scheme can be found on the original press notices (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-gets-tough-with-employers-failing-to-pay-minimum-wage" target="_blank">28 February 2014</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-names-employers-who-fail-to-pay-minimum-wage" target="_blank">8 June 2014</a>).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Information about individual companies, including registration numbers, is available through the Companies House website <a href="http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/" target="_blank">www.companieshouse.gov.uk</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Any worker who believes that they are being paid below the minimum wage should call the Pay &amp; Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368. HM Revenue &amp; Customs investigate all complaints.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 06/11/2014 17:29:40 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

105816

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Chemicals: Syria
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether licences grated to companies to export dual-use chemicals that could be used as precursors to the production of chemical weapons to Syria remain in place.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
uin	213006
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>No licences granted to companies to export dual-use chemicals that could be used as precursors to the production of chemical weapons to Syria remain in place.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 06/11/2014 15:57:24 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

105817

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Chemicals: Syria
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 make public the names of the companies which had licences approved to export dual-use chemicals that could be used as precursors to the production of chemical weapons to Syria.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
uin	213007
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The names of the companies which had licences approved to export dual-use chemicals that could be used as precursors to the production of chemical weapons to Syria cannot be disclosed. Following an assessment under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act the public interest, in the maintenance of the confidentiality and overall integrity of the export licensing system, on this occasion outweighs the public interest in the disclosure of the name of the exporter.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 06/11/2014 15:56:08 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

105818

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
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	Freedom of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has spent on legal fees over prevention of release of information requested by Freedom of Information requests since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
tabling member printed	John Woodcock
uin	213100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 July 2014, Official Report Col 537W.</p><p> </p><p>Although the Hon. Member has requested information in respect of a slightly shorter period (i.e. since 2010 and not each of the past 5 years) and has asked about fees over the prevention of release of information requested by Freedom of Information requests rather than in relation to freedom of information cases generally, the answer remains the same as that previously given.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 10/11/2014 16:42:01 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney