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1109037

	registered interest
	date	02/04/2019
	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	Self-employed: Billing
	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 tackle late payments to freelancers.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	239900
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2019 answer text <p>Government is clear that unfavourable payment practices is a serious issue. That is why we have a range of measures in place with the aim to address the imbalance in market power between parties, increase transparency and encourage better payment practices through culture change.</p><p> </p><p>The Payment Practices and Performance Reporting Requirement requires large businesses to report biannually on their payment practices and performance. Businesses must publish this information on gov.uk, providing transparency in payment practices and making payment behaviour a reputational, board room issue. To date over 13,000 reports have been submitted.</p><p> </p><p>Government continues to support the Prompt Payment Code as a best practice in payment standards. Last year the Secretary of State announced a new, tough and transparent compliance regime to ensure the Code is rigorously enforced. The Secretary of State also announced that he had appointed the Small Business Commissioner to the Prompt Payment Code Compliance Board.</p><p> </p><p>Last year Government launched a Call for Evidence to assess what further steps and intervention may be needed to create a responsible payment culture. A full response will be published shortly and will contain a full package of policy measures.</p><p> </p><p>At Spring Statement Government announced that it will require large company’s Audit Committees to review payments practices and report them in their annual accounts. This will elevate payment practices to Board level and increase transparency.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 11/04/2019 15:00:12 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 112703 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1122744

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2019
	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	Furniture: Regulation
	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 he plans to publish the responses to the September 2016 Consultation on Updating the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations.
	tabling member constituency	Wakefield
	tabling member printed	Mary Creagh
	uin	246981
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2019 answer text <p>We intend to publish the responses received to the Consultation alongside the Government’s response, which will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 01/05/2019 16:03:06 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 115581 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	1579 label Biography information for Mary Creagh

1122747

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2019
	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	Furniture: Fire Resistant Materials
	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 scientific advice has been sought from environmental scientists by the Office for Product Safety and Standards as part of the review of the use of flame retardant chemicals in domestic upholstery.
	tabling member constituency	Wakefield
	tabling member printed	Mary Creagh
	uin	246982
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government is reviewing the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire)(Safety) Regulations 1988 to ensure they respond to developments in furniture design, innovation, manufacturing processes and environmental and health concerns while maintaining fire safety protections.</p><p> </p><p>We have also developed scientific and technical expertise within the Office for Safety and Standards and are taking account of the body of relevant scientific research, including engaging with environmental scientists and commissioning research from external sources. We have sought expert and scientific advice from a range of sources, including from leading fire safety experts, Government Chief Scientific Advisors, and British Standards Institution technical standards committees.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 01/05/2019 16:03:12 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 115582 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	1579 label Biography information for Mary Creagh

1122847

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2019
	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	Passenger Ships
	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 discussions he has had with the Department for Transport on the effect of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s proposals on older UK passenger boats on businesses and skilled maritime jobs.
	tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
	tabling member printed	Zac Goldsmith
	uin	247016
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and BEIS ministers have not had any direct discussions with the Department for Transport (DfT) on the effect of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s proposals on older UK passenger boats on businesses and skilled maritime jobs. BEIS officials have reached out to the MCA and industry to further understand the issue raised. They also remain closely engaged with DfT on the delivery of the recently published Maritime 2050 strategy and to support growth ambitions across the maritime sector.</p><p>Should my hon. friend wish to discuss this issue, I would be happy to arrange a meeting.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 07/05/2019 16:06:41 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 115577 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

1123139

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2019
	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	Buildings: Safety
	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 23 April 2019 to Question 242927, how the Government is ensuring the exclusion of regulatory provisions from the Business Impact Target in relation to the safety of (a) tenants (b) residents and (c) occupants in buildings as a result of the Government’s response to the Grenfell tragedy, reviews, inquiries or working groups; which regulatory objects and subjects have been excluded in this way; and which units within the Government and regulators are responsible for ensuring this exclusion.
	tabling member constituency	Oxford East
	tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
	uin	247780
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2019 answer text <p>As set out in the Written Statement of 20 June 2018, departments and regulators are legally responsible for certifying if their regulatory provisions are covered by the Business Impact Target exemption relating to the safety of tenants, residents and occupants in buildings that stem from, or relate to, Government’s response to the Grenfell tragedy, reviews, inquiries or working groups. Any measures which have been certified by the individual departments or regulators under the Grenfell exclusion are listed in the Better Regulation annual report. The 2018/19 annual report will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 01/05/2019 16:02:00 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 115894 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1123260

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2019
	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	Females: Directors
	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 increase the number of women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds at the highest level of business.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	247760
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to working with business to achieve inclusive and diverse workplaces and supporting the independent, business-led diversity reviews in this area – the Hampton-Alexander Review (FTSE Women Leaders) and the Parker Review (Ethnic Minorities on Boards) - that have set ambitious targets for FTSE350 companies. The Hampton-Alexander Review aims for women to hold at least 33% of senior leadership and board positions by 2020. The Parker Review is campaigning for FTSE100 boards to have at least one director “of colour” by 2021, and FTSE250 boards to have the same by 2024.</p><p> </p><p>We have seen the representation of women on FTSE100 boards rise from 12.5% in 2011 to 31.4% today, and on FTSE350 boards from 9.5% to 28%; and all-male boards in the FTSE350 have gone down from 152 to 2 in the same period. These reviews form part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy which aims to build an economy that works for all.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, the Government published its response to the Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship in March. The Rose Review shed light on the barriers faced by women starting and growing businesses, including: lower access to finance; a perceived lack of skills and experience; disproportionate childcare responsibilities; different risk appetite; and a lack of sponsorship and role models.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has announced an ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by half by 2030, equivalent to nearly 600,000 additional female entrepreneurs, and HM Treasury is working with UK Finance to establish a new Code, Investing in Women, that will see banks and other financial institutions adopt a set of best practices that will benefit female business owners across the country. This work complements ongoing wider initiatives to address gender imbalances, like tackling the gender pay gap (at a record low), the Women in Finance Charter, and the Government’s forthcoming Gender Equality and Economic Empowerment Strategy.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 01/05/2019 16:01:52 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 115893 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1123436

	registered interest
	date	26/04/2019
	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	Buildings: Fire Prevention
	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 23 April to Question 242927, how the Government is ensuring the exclusion of regulatory provisions from the Business Impact Target as relating to the safety of tenants, residents and occupants in buildings that stem from, or relate to, Government’s response to the Grenfell tragedy, reviews, inquiries or working groups; which regulatory objects and subjects have been excluded in this way; and which units are responsible for ensuring this exclusion.
	tabling member constituency	Oxford East
	tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
	uin	248069
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2019 answer text <p>As set out in the Written Statement of 20 June 2018, departments and regulators are legally responsible for certifying if their regulatory provisions are covered by the Business Impact Target exemption relating to the safety of tenants, residents and occupants in buildings that stem from, or relate to, Government’s response to the Grenfell tragedy, reviews, inquiries or working groups. Any measures which have been certified by the individual departments or regulators under the Grenfell exclusion are listed in the Better Regulation annual report. The 2018/19 annual report will be published this summer.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 02/05/2019 12:59:30 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 116114 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1123439

	registered interest
	date	26/04/2019
	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	Living Wage and Minimum Wage: Non-payment
	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 plans he has to publish the names of employers who do not pay the national minimum or national living wage.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
	tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
	uin	248059
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>Enforcement of the National Minimum and National Living Wage (NMW) is a priority for the Government. We are taking tough action against the minority of employers who underpay; in 2018/19 HM Revenue &amp; Customs NMW identified a record £24.4 million in arrears for over 220,000 workers and issued over £17 million in penalties to non-compliant employers. Since 2015 we have doubled our budget to enforce the NMW.</p><p>To date, we have named almost 2,000 employers who underpaid through the NMW Naming Scheme. As a result of recommendations made by the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, we have now begun a review of the Scheme to ensure it continues to effectively deliver our policy objective of ensuring workers are paid fairly for the work they do. This work is ongoing and will be completed in due course.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 07/05/2019 16:05:32 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 116111 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

1123688

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2019
	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	Companies: Ownership
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many exemptions have been made under the people with significant control register; and for what reasons those exemptions have been made.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow Central
	tabling member printed	Alison Thewliss
	uin	248713
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>As at 30 April 2019, 836 live companies were exempt from the requirements to file information about their People with Significant Control. This is because they are subject to other disclosure requirements due to their voting shares being admitted to trading on a regulated market in the UK or EEA, or on markets listed in Schedule 1 to the Register of People with Significant Control Regulations 2016.</p><p> </p><p>Exemptions can also be granted in very limited circumstances, in the interests of national security, the economic wellbeing of the UK, or in the support or prevention or detection of serious crime. I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 26 January 2016, <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-01-26/HCWS488/" target="_blank">HCWS488</a>, which set out the circumstances in which such exemptions would be granted.</p><p><strong><br> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 07/05/2019 16:05:18 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 116369 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4430 label Biography information for Alison Thewliss

1124011

	registered interest
	date	30/04/2019
	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	Retail Trade
	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 has taken to promote the retail industry through the Government's Industrial Strategy.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	249204
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2019 answer text <p>At Autumn Budget 2018, my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Future High Streets Fund, which aims to invest £675m in England to support local areas to develop and fund plans to make their high streets and town centres fit for the future. Autumn Budget also announced a cut in business rates by one third for the next two years for all retailers in England with a rateable value below £51,000, worth almost £1bn to retailers.</p><p> </p><p>The industry-led Retail Sector Council has agreed its priority work areas for the next two years, focusing on: costs to business, skills and lifelong learning, employment protections, the circular economy, consumer protections, and retail and the Industrial Strategy.</p><p> </p><p>A senior industry figure is leading each of these work groups and will bring proposals for action for both industry and government back to the Council for consideration. The Industrial Strategy workstream is led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership and member of the Industrial Strategy Council, and will look at how the Industrial Strategy can work to the benefit of the retail sector.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As part of the Industrial Strategy, and following the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, the Government responded with the Good Work Plan, which will bring forward legislation to extend workers’ rights, including for people who work in the retail sector. This includes the introduction of new guidance to support the interpretation of holiday pay rules, as well as the biggest ever increase to the National Living Wage. An awareness campaign will be launched, targeted at both individuals and employers, to boost awareness and understanding to help ensure all workers are benefiting from their paid entitlement to leave. All these measures will improve the wages and working contracts of many of those working in the retail sector.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 08/05/2019 15:00:34 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 116722 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham