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170285

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Written Questions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what estimate he has made of the savings to the Law Officers' Departments from the Q&A system in the (a) 12 months and (b) five years since 4 June 2014; what additional ICT systems or improvements to existing systems the Law Officers' Departments have introduced or plan to introduce that would not have been feasible without the Q&A system; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which the system has made it easier to answer questions from hon. Members on time.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	218771
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>The Attorney General’s Office has made an estimated saving of £164 in respect of stationery costs since June 2014. There may also have been some savings in staff time but it is not possible to quantify this without incurring a disproportionate cost. There have been no other identified savings.</p><p> </p><p>There have also not been any modifications made to existing ICT systems that were dependent on introduction of the Q&amp;A system.</p><p> </p><p>One of the benefits of the new system is the possibility for the reporting of the timeliness of answers to Parliamentary Questions to be delivered with greater consistency and accuracy across all answering bodies.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It will be for the Procedure Committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the new system in improving performance when it assesses the evidence following the end of the session.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Mr Robert Buckland question first answered 05/01/2015 17:40:06 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

170286

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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	Written Questions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department from the Q&A system in the (a) 12 months and (b) five years since 4 June 2014; what additional ICT systems or improvements to existing systems his Department has introduced or plans to introduce that would not have been feasible without the Q&A system; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which the system has made it easier to answer questions from hon. Members on time.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	218770
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/01/2015 answer text <p>No financial estimate of savings has been made since the introduction of the Q&amp;A system. However, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has seen a reduction in paper usage and BIS staff no longer have to physically deliver PQ answers to hon. Members and the House authorities. These obvious savings will continue.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>BIS changed its IT platform for managing PQs to eCase last summer. This would have happened regardless of the introduction of the Q&amp;A system.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 02/01/2015 11:52:42 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

170287

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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	Post Offices: Worcestershire
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 post offices were closed in (a) Worcester and (b) Worcestershire (i) between 1997 and 2010 and (ii) between 2010 and 2015.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	218796
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>The Government understands the important role that post offices play in communities across the country and since 2010 has committed nearly £2 billion to maintain, modernise and protect a network of at least 11,500 branches that continues to meet strict access criteria that see, for example, 95% of the urban population living within one mile of a post office outlet.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has also committed that there will be no programme of Post Office closures. There are currently around 11,700 post office branches in the UK, with the Post Office network at its most stable for over two decades.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited and I understand from the company that it does not hold information in the format requested. For your reference I include historic information on the number of open Post Office branches at national level and by the West Midlands Government Office region in the tables below:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Number of open post offices in the UK</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of open Post Office branches</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of March 1997</p></td><td><p>19251</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of March 2010</p></td><td><p>11905</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of Sept 2014</p></td><td><p>11631</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Number of open post offices in West Midlands Government Office region (historic figures are only available from the year 2000)</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of open Post Office branches</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of March 2000</p></td><td><p>1479</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of March 2010</p></td><td><p>930</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>End of Sept 2014</p></td><td><p>904</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 05/01/2015 11:22:53 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

170288

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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	Further Education
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 people aged 24 years and older participated in Government-funded further education courses at all levels in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	218803
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>Table 1 shows the number of people aged 24 years and older who participated in Government-funded further education courses at all levels in the last five academic years.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: 24+ FE &amp; Skills Participation (2009/10 to 2013/14) – Learner Volumes</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td colspan="5"><p><strong>Funded Learners</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Participation</strong></p></td><td><p>2,873,400</p></td><td><p>2,515,100</p></td><td><p>2,493,600</p></td><td><p>2,583,100</p></td><td><p>2,273,300</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p> </p><p>1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 100; percentages are calculated on pre-rounded data.</p><p> </p><p>2) Age is reported as at 31 August of the academic year and is based upon self-declaration by the learner.</p><p> </p><p>3) The data source for this table is the Individualised Learner Record.</p><p> </p><p>4) Figures for 2011/12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as a Single Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data collection system has been introduced. Small technical changes have been made in the way learners from more than one provision type are counted, leading to a removal of duplicate learners and a reduction in overall learner numbers of approximately 2 per cent.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 05/01/2015 14:05:48 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

170289

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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, if he will take steps to ensure that interns used for full-time work are paid at least the National Minimum Wage; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Helen Jones
uin	218759
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>The term “intern” is not defined in any legislation: entitlement to the minimum wage depends on whether or not an individual is a worker. If an internship meets the legal definition of a worker, then they must be paid at least the minimum wage from the start.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Given this dependency on employment status, it is vital that employers and workers understand how this is determined. We continue to carry out targeted awareness raising initiatives with interns and HMRC have been working with employers to identify potential non-compliance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Complaints from interns about non-payment of the minimum wage are prioritised by HMRC for investigation and HMRC will investigate every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. Any worker who believes that they are being paid below the minimum wage should call the helpline on 0800 917 2368.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Determining an individual’s employment status can be complicated. This is why the Business Secretary announced a review of employment status in October this year, to help ensure an employment status framework in the UK that meets the needs of everyone. This is an internal review and will present findings to ministers early next year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 18/12/2014 12:13:10 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	432 label Biography information for Helen Jones

170290

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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: 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, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2014 to Question 217744, when his Department plans to write to level 2 and 3 apprenticeships in England informing them of their National Minimum Wage entitlement.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	218767
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>A letter is issued to all new level 2 and 3 apprentices in England on Government-funded apprenticeships, setting out what they can expect from their apprenticeship. This includes information on their national minimum wage entitlement.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 05/01/2015 16:41:25 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles previous answer version 35662 answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

170291

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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	Post Offices
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 post offices have been refurbished as a result of the Government's £2 billion investment in the Post Office Network since 2010 in (a) Worcester, (b) Worcestershire and (c) England.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	218797
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>The Government understands the important role that post offices play in communities across the country and since 2010 has committed nearly £2 billion to maintain, modernise and protect the network. This is an historic commitment, and is designed to ensure that the Post Office has a vibrant, successful and financially sustainable long-term future where is it less reliant on an annual taxpayer funded subsidy.</p><p> </p><p>The Post Office is undertaking the largest modernisation programme in its history and network transformation is seeing subpostmasters receiving public investment to improve their branches; delivering benefits to customers including longer opening hours, more convenient access and improved branch environments. To date over 3,500 branches have converted to the new Main and Local models and nearly 290 of the Post Office’s directly owned Crown post offices have benefitted from investment.</p><p> </p><p>The following table sets out the numbers of post offices that have received investment in the areas requested:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><p>Number of post offices that</p><p>have received investment</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Worcester</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Worcestershire</p></td><td><p>32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands Government Office Region</p></td><td><p>302</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>3173</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 05/01/2015 14:03:59 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

170292

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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	UK Trade and Investment: West Midlands
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 businesses in the West Midlands have received support from UK Trade and Investment in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Worcester
tabling member printed	Mr Robin Walker
uin	218798
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2015 answer text <p>The figures below detail the number of businesses which have had interactions with UKTI West Midlands in the last 5 financial years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>West Midlands based</strong></p><p><strong>Businesses Assisted*</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2333</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2212</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>2784</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>2993</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>2799 (to Dec 2014)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*The figures provided are the total number of unique businesses that benefited from a Service Delivery. Service Delivery is participation in either the Passport To Export or Gateway to Global Growth programme, or a ‘Significant Assist’ – which is the provision of in-depth advice and support from an International Trade Advisor.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 06/01/2015 16:38:13 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker

170293

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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	Students: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department issues guidance to higher and further education institutes on student safety during trips abroad.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne East
tabling member printed	Mr Nicholas Brown
uin	218715
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/01/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not issue guidance to UK higher and further institutions on student safety during trips abroad. Higher and further education institutions are autonomous bodies, and as such each institution is wholly responsible for their own risk assessment and guidance on student safety during trips abroad.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 02/01/2015 11:49:23 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
tabling member	523 label Biography information for Mr Nicholas Brown

170294

registered interest
date	15/12/2014
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: Procurement
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 prohibit companies from requiring a supplier company to make a payment in order to join or to remain on that company's list of suppliers.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Greg Mulholland
uin	218825
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2014 answer text <p>The Government has already taken action to prohibit this practice in certain sectors. The statutory Grocery Supply Code prohibits payments as a condition of stocking or listing a supplier’s grocery products.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are currently consulting on extent of the problem and on whether Government should take further action with respect to supplier lists.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 19/12/2014 16:15:09 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock previous answer version 35664 answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1540 label Biography information for Greg Mulholland