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93452

registered interest
date	15/10/2014
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	Phones 4u
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 progress being made to offset job losses and the cost to the economy resulting from the collapse of mobile telephone retailer Phones 4U.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	210713
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>The administration of Phones4U was disappointing news and is obviously a worrying time for the workforce, but this continues to be a matter for the Administrators, PWC.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government, through its Rapid Response Service has supported the Taskforce established by local partners in Newcastle under Lyme and Stoke in September</p><p> </p><p>The Taskforce has been able to offer direct and indirect support through an Employee Support Event on 7 October which is part of a larger support programme for those looking for work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I was pleased to see media reports that more than 2,000 staff working in 198 stores and 160 concessions have been transferred to buyers of parts of the business including Vodafone and EE.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 21/10/2014 13:44:52 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

93453

registered interest
date	15/10/2014
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	Business: Equality
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 a conscience clause is included within equality legislation affecting UK businesses.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	210714
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that people are protected against discrimination because of religion or belief, and that they are able to exercise the right to hold and manifest their beliefs in a reasonable manner. We believe that the Equality Act 2010 strikes the right balance between the rights of people to manifest their religion or beliefs and the rights of others not to be discriminated against or harassed due to other protected characteristics, such as gender or sexual orientation, in areas such as employment and the provision of goods and services.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 21/10/2014 13:47:52 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

93454

registered interest
date	15/10/2014
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	Publishing: Competition
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations his Department has received on large publishing firms coercing smaller publishing houses to sign contracts with anti-competitive clauses.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	210716
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2014 answer text <p>The Department has received correspondence from members of the public and publishing firms raising competition concerns about the application of certain types of contract in the publishing sector generally, for example most favoured nation or price-parity clauses. However, there has not been a concerted campaign asking for action.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government has given the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) strong powers to tackle anti-competitive behaviour. I would encourage anyone that is aware of large publishing firms engaging in such anti-competitive practices to provide that evidence to the CMA.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 21/10/2014 13:50:38 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

93167

registered interest
date	14/10/2014
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	Erasmus+ Programme
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 he is taking to ensure that graduates work in the UK following participation in the Erasmus overseas study programme.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	210438
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>Given that a large proportion of the Erasmus students outgoing from the UK are studying languages, it is unsurprising that they are more likely than non-mobile students to be employed overseas after graduation often in international comparison. Nonetheless most UK Erasmus graduates are employed in the UK.<br> <br></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 30/10/2014 16:32:42 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

92123

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	Electronic Commerce
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 he is taking to encourage the uptake of (a) e-commerce and (b) other online tools among (i) businesses and (ii) consumers.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	209776
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p>The Government is encouraging businesses to adopt digital technology by supporting the work of the digital charity Go On UK and other external partners to promote the benefits of digital and to improve basic online skills. The Government is also working with Local Enterprise Partnerships to expand digital support for businesses at a local level.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government’s Digital Inclusion Strategy, published earlier this year, sets out how the government and partners will help get people online.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed Mr Edward Vaizey question first answered 15/10/2014 08:56:01 answering member 1580 label Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

92126

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	Foreign Investment: Colombia
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 he has taken to ensure that the forthcoming UK-Colombia bilateral investment treaty includes adequate protection for UK investors.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	209779
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2014 answer text <p>The UK-Colombia Bilateral Investment Treaty was negotiated in 2008-09. It aims to protect investors from discriminatory treatment. The agreement includes Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions to enable investors to claim compensation through independent international arbitration if they believe the standards of protection set out in the treaty have been breached whilst protecting the ability of the host government to regulate in the public interest in areas such as the environment.</p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 14/10/2014 16:28:28 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

78640

registered interest
date	17/07/2014
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	New Businesses
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 he is taking to support employed people who wish to start their own business.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	206554
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Small businesses are vital to the economy and this Government is supporting people to start up a business in a number of ways.</p><p> </p><p>The website <a href="http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/" target="_blank">www.greatbusiness.gov.uk</a> provides general support and advice for entrepreneurs starting out; specific support available in Northern Ireland is available at <a href="http://www.investni.com/" target="_blank">www.investni.com</a> . We recognise that a key issue for many start-ups is accessing affordable finance. The British Business Bank recently published “<em>The Business Finance Guide: A Journey from Start-Up to Growth</em>” which is available on the British Business Bank Website. It is a unique guide that sets out the main things to consider and outlines sources of finance available to businesses – ranging from start-ups to growing businesses.</p><p> </p><p>For those looking for start up finance and advice there are Start-Up Loans: 24 loans worth over £100, 000 have been drawn down in Belfast since the scheme began in 2012.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 02/09/2014 16:54:35 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

78717

registered interest
date	17/07/2014
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	Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
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 UK's policy is on EU negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what consultation his Department has had with the devolved administrations in formulating this policy.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	206552
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Securing significant progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations is a top priority for the Government’s trade agenda. We are pushing for a broad agreement that eliminates the vast majority of tariffs on trade between the two markets and reduces other unnecessary barriers to trade.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ministers in the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, through regular Joint Ministerial Committee meetings, have an opportunity to input into the UK position, where appropriate, and Ministers have been kept abreast of development. Officials from the Devolved Administrations are also invited to frequent cross-Whitehall meetings on TTIP, and are in regular contact with trade policy officials in Whitehall.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 03/09/2014 16:33:41 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

78335

registered interest
date	16/07/2014
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	Graduates
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 he is taking to increase opportunities for university leavers and to ensure that university leavers in all regions and constituent parts of the UK benefit from his efforts.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	206222
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/09/2014 answer text <p>The Government is rebuilding, rebalancing and growing the economy to ensure that all university leavers in all parts of the country are given the opportunity to achieve their potential.</p><p>The economic plan is working, with over two million more private sector jobs and 400,000 more businesses.</p><p>To enable students to take advantage of these opportunities we are increasing the information available to them through the Key Information Set. This provides comparable information on over 37,000 undergraduate courses at universities and colleges across the country.</p><p>Our Graduate Talent Pool programme has played a valuable role in stimulating the UK graduate internship market, helping graduates to gain relevant work experience and improving their employment prospects.</p><p>Latest data, from the Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education survey, show that these policies are working. 88% of full-time first degree leavers who graduated from UK universities in 2012/13 were in employment or further study 6 months after graduation.</p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 01/09/2014 16:04:19 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

64873

registered interest
date	01/07/2014
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 has taken to create synergies with the European Alliance for Apprenticeships in improving work opportunities for young people.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	203397
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2014 answer text <p>The UK recognises the value of learning from others by keeping abreast of developments in Europe and internationally. However, we believe that this can be achieved through less bureaucratic routes than a European Alliance for Apprenticeships. In England, we do not propose to participate but the devolved administrations are free to do so if they believe that the Alliance is the appropriate framework for sharing best practice.</p><p>We are already taking strong action to improve opportunities for young people by funding record numbers of apprenticeships, new traineeships and improved maths and English training. These actions, along with the record number of jobs, have contributed to the 32.8% fall in youth unemployment over the past year.</p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 08/07/2014 15:51:35 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn