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223511

registered interest
date	25/02/2015
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	Students: Grants
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 it his policy to increase the level of student maintenance loans in areas where the cost of living matches or exceeds the London average to the level of such loans in London.
tabling member constituency	Cambridge
tabling member printed	Dr Julian Huppert
uin	225433
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2015 answer text <p>Decisions on support for tuition and living costs support are taken on an annual basis.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 12 March 2014 the Maintenance Grant for academic year 15/16 would be maintained at 14/15 levels. Maximum loans for living costs for new and continuing full-time students will be increased by forecast inflation for 2015/16, 3.34%. The student support package for 16/17 will be announced in due course.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 06/03/2015 12:21:02 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark previous answer version 47342 answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
tabling member	3931 label Biography information for Dr Julian Huppert

223532

registered interest
date	25/02/2015
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	Care Workers: Living Wage
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 bring forward proposals to ensure that all care workers receive at least the living wage for every hour that they work.
tabling member constituency	North Antrim
tabling member printed	Ian Paisley
uin	225326
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>The Government encourages employers that choose to pay the Living Wage when it is affordable and not at the expense of jobs. However decisions on what wages to set are for employers and workers to agree as long as employers pay at least the national minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are taking action to improve compliance with the national minimum wage in the social care sector. We are working closely with the Department of Health, Communities and Local Government and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to make workers more aware of their rights and encourage them to call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368 if they think they have been underpaid. HMRC respond to every complaint, as well as undertaking targeted, risk-based enforcement action.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to improving living standards, particularly for the low paid and the only way to achieve a sustainable increase in living standards is to focus on economic growth, employment and cutting taxes for the low paid. This is exactly what we are doing.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In addition to the NMW we are raising the personal allowance, allowing people to take home more of what they earn. From April 2015 the average person will pay over £825 less in income tax than 2010 and over 3.4 million people will be taken out of income tax altogether.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 04/03/2015 14:40:37 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4129 label Biography information for Ian Paisley

223192

registered interest
date	24/02/2015
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	Higher Education: Migrant Workers
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 attract non-EU academic staff to seek employment at universities in England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	225242
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2015 answer text <p>UK Universities are autonomous bodies and determine their own recruitment policies.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 09/03/2015 10:58:08 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark previous answer version 47047 answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

178807

registered interest
date	10/02/2015
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	Developing Countries: Sustainable Development
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 ensure policy coherence between trade policy and international poverty reduction with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	224086
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2015 answer text <p>Trade openness is a key driver of economic growth, which is essential for poverty reduction. Trade will therefore play a central role in the Means of Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are working with colleagues across Whitehall to develop an ambitious proposal for trade commitments in the Post-2015 agenda. These commitments range from securing increased market access for low income countries to ensuring that they can make the most of this access through tackling 'behind the border' obstacles to trade. <br> <br></p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 23/02/2015 13:58:57 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland

179062

registered interest
date	10/02/2015
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	Zero Hours Contracts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what definition the Government uses for classifying a zero hours contract.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	223955
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2015 answer text <p>There is no legal definition of a zero hours contract in UK domestic employment law. In general terms a zero hours contract is an arrangement under which an employer does not guarantee the individual any work, and the individual is not obliged to accept any work offered.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The ONS in their Labour Force Survey describe a zero hours contract as a contract ‘where a person is not contracted to work a set number of hours, and is only paid for the number of hours that they actually work’.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 24/02/2015 11:48:33 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

178446

registered interest
date	09/02/2015
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	Migrant Workers
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 (a) encourage firms to pay a fair wage to workers in their overseas supply chains and (b) stop other forms of exploitation of those workers.
tabling member constituency	Dundee West
tabling member printed	Jim McGovern
uin	223816
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has introduced a requirement for large listed companies to include in their Strategic Report information on human rights issues. This requirement will be further enhanced by the Non-Financial Reporting Directive, due to come into force by 2017, which specifically includes human rights due diligence and supply chains.</p><p> </p><p>In December last year, I announced support from BIS for the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, which will assess and rank the human rights performance of 500 companies worldwide. The combination of enhanced disclosure and published assessments of company performance will provide a powerful incentive to businesses to ensure that workers in their overseas supply chains are free from exploitation and are paid fair wages.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 24/02/2015 10:58:36 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1515 label Biography information for Jim McGovern

179263

registered interest
date	09/02/2015
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	Zero Hours Contracts
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 take steps to ensure that employees working on zero-hours contracts, who are in practice working regular hours over an extended period, have the right to a fixed-term contract.
tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent South
tabling member printed	Robert Flello
uin	907603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2015 answer text <p>All employees on zero hours contracts can already, after 26 weeks, request a move to fixed hours contracts under flexible working legislation, brought in on 30 June 2014. We are also currently banning exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts and the employment status review currently taking place is looking further at the employment rights zero hours workers have.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 12/02/2015 16:28:53 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1569 label Biography information for Robert Flello

177604

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
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	Water Companies: Living 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 discussions his Department has had with water companies on payment of the living wage in that sector.
tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
tabling member printed	Angela Smith
uin	223140
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p>My Rt. hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not had any discussions with water companies on payment of the Living Wage.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government supports employers that choose to pay the Living Wage when it is affordable and not at the expense of jobs. Decisions on what wages to set are for employers and workers to agree as long as employers pay at least the national minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to improving living standards, particularly for the low paid and the only way to achieve a sustainable increase in living standards is to focus on economic growth, employment and cutting taxes for the low paid. This is exactly what we are doing.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 09/02/2015 15:56:19 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1564 label Biography information for Angela Smith

173580

registered interest
date	14/01/2015
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what future plans they have to increase the provisions for free training linked to the Employer Skills Fund to eligible small and medium-sized businesses.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL4140
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2015 answer text <p>The Employer Skills Fund is a project run in the Liverpool City Region under a consortium led by Wirral Metropolitan College co-funded by the Skills Funding Agency and the European Social Fund. Support will come to an end on 31 July 2015 when the current European Structural and Innovation Funds programme expires.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The new European Structural and Innovation Funds programme which will run to 2020 is currently being finalised. The Skills Funding Agency is working with Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership to determine whether any programmes similar to the Employer Skills Fund will be established depending on local priorities.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>More generally, we are reforming the skills system so that it is increasingly responsive to local communities and businesses. Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), through initiatives such as City Deals and Local Growth Deals, have increasing influence over the delivery of skills that support the priorities described in their Strategic Economic Plans. This includes LEPs taking the lead role in determining the use of European Social Fund allocations in the next round (2014-2020).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 26/01/2015 12:45:29 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

173362

registered interest
date	13/01/2015
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	Managers: Pay
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 bring forward proposals to curb excessive pay increases for senior executives; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	South Antrim
tabling member printed	Dr William McCrea
uin	220594
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2015 answer text <p>The Government has taken decisive action to restore the link between top pay and performance.</p><p> </p><p>In October 2013 new laws comprehensively reforming the governance of company directors’ pay came into force, boosting transparency so that shareholders have adequate information, and giving them the power to hold companies to account.</p><p> </p><p>We are also seeing good signs of improved engagement between investors and companies: with a clear impact on directors’ pay awards. The latest evidence shows that median total remuneration awarded to FTSE100 CEOs fell by 5% in 2012 and by a further 7% in 2013. At the same time 35% of CEOs and 30% of executive directors in FTSE100 companies did not receive a salary increase in 2013.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is monitoring the impact of the reforms and will consider further measures if necessary.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 19/01/2015 15:10:39 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	655 label Biography information for Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown