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451165

registered interest
date	08/02/2016
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	Small Businesses: 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 support his Department plans to make available to small companies operating in deprived areas to help meet the costs of the introduction of the living wage; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	26180
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2016 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government has introduced measures to help businesses with the transition to the new National Living Wage. The Government is reducing corporation tax to 18% by 2020, setting the Annual Investment Allowance at a new permanent level of £200,000, and increasing the Employment Allowance from £2,000 to £3,000. The increase in the Employment Allowance means a business could employ four people on the National Living Wage and pay no National Insurance Contributions. It will benefit up to 590,000 employers and take up to 90,000 firms out of National Insurance Contributions altogether. These measures will help small businesses across the country.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 11/02/2016 15:27:25 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

442904

registered interest
date	06/01/2016
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	Postgraduate Education: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reason his Department sets an age limit for the receipt of funding for Masters degrees; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	21327
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2016 answer text <p>The new loan to support Master’s study has an upper age limit to ensure the scheme overall is affordable and offers value for money. The new postgraduate loan will be repaid from earnings on an income contingent basis, in this case 6% of earned annual income above the threshold of £21,000. We are therefore limiting eligibility to cover those likely to continue in employment and enter repayments.</p><br /> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 11/01/2016 17:02:21 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

438110

registered interest
date	14/12/2015
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	Universities: Assistance Animals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK universities are required to admit support dogs for adults with autism.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	19995
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2015 answer text <br /><p>Higher Education Institutionsare autonomous and independent bodies, and have clear legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support their students, including those with autism.</p><br /><p>Under the Equality Act 2010 institutions have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people to ensure students are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.</p><br /> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 17/12/2015 12:07:07 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

438111

registered interest
date	14/12/2015
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	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 assessment he has made of the effect on businesses which have entered into long-term supply contracts of the introduction of the national living wage.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	19996
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2015 answer text <p>Businesses can respond to the introduction of the National Living Wage in a number of ways. In the case of supply contracts, the response is likely to vary from contract to contract according to specific circumstances. For example, some contracts will include provision for changes in statutory pay requirements.</p><br /><p>The Government published a full impact assessment for the introduction of the National Living Wage on 7<sup>th</sup> December 2015.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 22/12/2015 22:06:00 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

419802

registered interest
date	09/10/2015
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	Overseas Companies: Conditions of Employment
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 assessment he has made of the employment conduct abroad of companies which are based in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	10928
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2015 answer text <p>We have made no such assessment. However, the UK was the first country to publish a National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which sets out the Government’s expectation of business behaviour wherever they operate, including complying with all applicable laws and honouring the principles of internationally recognised human rights when faced with conflicting requirements.</p><p>Company directors of UK-based businesses also have a duty to act to promote the success of the company, and in doing so have regard for a number of factors including the interests of the company's employees. To demonstrate this consideration, companies are required to report information on employee matters, where necessary for an understanding of their business.</p><p>Furthermore, the Home Office will shortly be introducing regulations that will require businesses with a turnover of £36million to report on the measures they are taking to ensure that modern slavery and human trafficking are not present in their supply chains.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 14/10/2015 14:53:10 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

419803

registered interest
date	09/10/2015
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	Business: Human Rights
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 assessment he has made of the progress achieved by the UK Business and Human Rights Action Plan against the aims and objectives set out in it.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	10929
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2015 answer text <p>Progress on the UK’s National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is covered in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights and Democracy annual report, last published in March 2015. We have made considerable progress, for example on improved reporting requirements. We will continue to update our action plan, reflecting the progress we have made as well as covering other related action taking place across Government such as the Modern Slavery Act.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 23/10/2015 13:39:44 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

418890

registered interest
date	15/09/2015
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, for what reasons maintenance grants are not available to people who are over 60 years old; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	10337
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2015 answer text <p>Students aged 60 or over at the start of the first academic year of their course do not qualify for a Maintenance Grant in the 2015/16 academic year. They can instead get a means-tested Special Support Grant toward the costs of books, equipment, travel and childcare. This has the same income thresholds and maximum amounts as the Maintenance Grant. The Special Support Grant, unlike the Maintenance Grant, is not taken into account as student income when DWP calculates means-tested DWP benefits for students aged 60 or over.</p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 12/10/2015 12:20:25 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

381496

registered interest
date	16/06/2015
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	Preservatives: Health Hazards
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 assessment he has made of possible health effects on consumers of use of methylchloro isothiazolinone in cosmetics, household goods and industrial items; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	2640
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/06/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has regularly considered MCI both on its own and in a mixture with MI. The SCCS last considered MCI on its own in 2009, and in a mixture with MI in the ratio of 3:1 in 2014</p><p> </p><p>With respect to cosmetics, Methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI or CMI) can only be used as a permitted preservative under the EU Cosmetic Products Regulation as a mixture of MCI and Methylisothiazolinone (MI) in a ratio of 3:1 up to a maximum authorised concentration of 0.0015 % in rinse-off cosmetic products.</p><p> </p><p>As the SCCS has recently reviewed the use of MCI, I have made no additional assessment.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 23/06/2015 15:16:00 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

350056

registered interest
date	11/06/2015
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	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 inquiry into the nature of the warranties sold by ScottishPower to its customers between 1980 and 1999 and potential losses to those customers.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	2157
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2015 answer text <p>I am aware of concerns regarding the warranties sold by Scottish Power. The Insolvency Service has reviewed information from the liquidators of two companies that administered warranties sold between 1997 and 2001, in order to determine whether or not further investigation is warranted using powers available in the Companies Act.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Investigations conducted under section 447 Companies Act 1985 are confidential, so it is not usually possible to announce whether an investigation is taking place. I can say that in practical terms an investigation of warranties sold between 1980 and 1999 is unlikely to be able to recover meaningful evidence.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 16/06/2015 16:04:28 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

93091

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	Small Businesses: Civil Proceedings
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 protect small businesses from vexatious claims by employees; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	210557
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2014 answer text <p>The new Employment Tribunal rules of procedure, which implemented the recommendations of the Underhill Review, were implemented on 29 July 2013. These rules allow tribunals to identify weak or vexatious claims at an early stage through an initial sift and to manage them effectively through measures such as deposit orders. Greater flexibility to apply a deposit order to parts of a claim or response helps to manage the expectations of claimants as to the strength of their claim and encourage them to consider more carefully what parts of their claim they want to take forward.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 17/10/2014 13:29:29 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson