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450649

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
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	Foreign Companies: Property
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to bring the rules regarding transparency in respect of overseas company ownership of UK property into line with those for UK registered companies' property ownership.
tabling member printed	Lord Rooker
uin	HL5950
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2016 answer text <p>As announced, the Government is considering measures to increase the transparency of beneficial ownership of assets by foreign companies</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 25/02/2016 14:58:10 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	302 label Biography information for Lord Rooker

450651

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Literacy: Charities
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government which literacy charities they have provided with funding over the last five years, and how much funding they have provided in each case.
tabling member printed	Baroness Rebuck
uin	HL5952
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2016 answer text <p>We have undertaken a thorough search of our records in the Department for Education and contacted the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for International Development, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, the Department for Health and the Ministry of Justice. The list below sets out the results of this search:</p><p>The National Literacy Trust - £1,485,145</p><p>Centre for Literacy in Primary Education - £1,450</p><p>Book Trust - £34,716,302</p><p>The Reading Agency - £2,652,880</p><p>Developments in Literacy Trust UK - £249,995</p><p>The government is committed to improving literacy. We have introduced a new, more rigorous national curriculum which includes greater focus on reading. The national curriculum for English places a greater focus on reading and requires pupils to study a range of books, poems and plays to develop a life-long love of literature. Through reading and writing pupils will have an opportunity to develop intellectually, spiritually and socially, and develop a life-long love of culture.</p><p>Between September 2011 and October 2013, the Department for Education provided £23.7 million in match funding to over 14,000 primary schools, enabling them to buy systematic synthetic phonics products and training. In 2012 we introduced a phonics screening check at age 6 so that teachers can intervene early to help children catch up with their reading.</p><p>In November 2015 we announced the introduction of a year 7 resit test for pupils who did not achieve the expected standard at key stage 2 in reading or maths. Since September 2014 we have required 16-19 year olds not holding good passes in GCSE maths to continue to work towards them. This resulted in 7,500 more students aged 17 and above securing A*-C GCSE Maths last summer.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 08/03/2016 15:21:55 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	4332 label Biography information for Baroness Rebuck

450653

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
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	Literacy: Females
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of poor literacy skills on women relative to men.
tabling member printed	Baroness Rebuck
uin	HL5954
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2016 answer text <p>The Skills for Life Survey 2011 showed no notable difference between the levels of literacy of men and women:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><p><strong>Literacy levels by gender (%)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Literacy Level</strong></p></td><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Gender</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>All</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Male</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Female</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Entry Level 1 or below</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Entry Level 2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Entry Level 3</p></td><td><p>/8</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Level 1</p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>29</p></td><td><p>28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Level 2 or above</p></td><td><p>57</p></td><td><p>54</p></td><td><p>59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Unweighted base</p></td><td><p>5824</p></td><td><p>2520</p></td><td><p>3304</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>(Skills for Life Survey 2011)</p><p> </p><p>For both women and men, poor literacy is associated with higher rates of unemployment and poorer health and well-being. We do not have evidence to suggest that illiteracy affects women any more than men.</p><p> </p><p>This Government nevertheless understands the importance of English for all adults and has made this subject a priority for support within the adult skills system. An example of this is the Government-funded English and ESOL programmes, which include more female than male learners:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>English and maths participation figures 2014/15</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>English </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>ESOL</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total Learners</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>668,600</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>131,100</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Gender</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>379,700</p></td><td><p>88,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>289,000</p></td><td><p>43,100</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>(Statistical First Release – first published January 2014)</p><p> </p><p>We are undertaking a range of research to better understand where Government investment in English and maths has the greatest impact and delivers value for money. This includes: using behavioural insights to identify how to motivate adults to improve their English and maths and encourage learners to keep studying once enrolled on a course, through our partnership with the Behavioural Research Centre for Adult Skills and Knowledge (ASK); longitudinal research into skills gain and skills atrophy of adult English and maths learners; and a comparison of the impact of blended and more traditional classroom learning.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 25/02/2016 14:12:36 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	4332 label Biography information for Baroness Rebuck

450656

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of occupational pension schemes registered in the UK as at 1 January 2011 and at 1 January 2016, indicating whether any of those schemes registered as at 1 January 2011 have been absorbed by or taken over by any of the schemes registered as at 1 January 2016.
tabling member printed	Lord Triesman
uin	HL5957
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2016 answer text <p>Lists of registered occupational pension schemes are not readily available and can only be provided at a disproportionate cost. Information on which registered pension schemes have been absorbed or taken over by other registered pension schemes is not available.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Lord O'Neill of Gatley question first answered 17/02/2016 14:11:37 answering member 4536 label Biography information for Lord O'Neill of Gatley
tabling member	3651 label Biography information for Lord Triesman

450658

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
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	Unpaid Work: Social Mobility
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 inform businesses about the effect that (a) paid and (b) unpaid internships have on social mobility.
tabling member constituency	South West Wiltshire
tabling member printed	Dr Andrew Murrison
uin	25863
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>The Government believes in fair wages for fair work and opportunity for all. When an intern meets the legal definition of a worker they must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. We actively promote understanding of the importance of pay for interns through our Social Mobility Business Compact, which secures agreement from business to take measures to improve social mobility. In addition, the Common Best Practice Code for High Quality Internships secures collective commitment from leading employers to ensure internships are fairly paid. These initiatives help to ensure employers are fully aware of the types of standards and expectations that need to be in place in the intern-employer relationship.</p><p>Separately, we have made it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with national minimum wage regulations and complaints from interns are now fast-tracked by HMRC.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 12/02/2016 14:21:05 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison

450659

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of businesses and other organisations in (a) Wiltshire and (b) the UK that will be required to pay the apprenticeship levy.
tabling member constituency	South West Wiltshire
tabling member printed	Dr Andrew Murrison
uin	25885
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>The apprenticeship levy will apply across the UK and will be collected from employers on a UK wide basis. An allowance of £15,000 means those with a paybill exceeding £3million will have to pay the levy.</p><p> </p><p>Regional level estimates of those likely to pay the Apprenticeship Levy is not available.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 12/02/2016 14:34:09 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	1466 label Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison

450664

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
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	Post Offices: Closures
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 his Department has made of the effect on benefit and tax credit demand from workers who are Royal Mail employees at franchises of former post offices; and what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost of that demand to the public purse.
tabling member constituency	Bermondsey and Old Southwark
tabling member printed	Neil Coyle
uin	25919
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2016 answer text <p>Royal Mail and Post Office Limited are separate independent businesses. Post Office Limited runs and manages its directly managed Crown post offices. Employees of these offices are employees of Post Office Limited. Changes to the Crown network are an operational matter for Post Office.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 10/02/2016 16:33:04 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4368 label Biography information for Neil Coyle

450665

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
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	Exports
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 potential merits of the introduction of a mentoring scheme for businesses who wish to export to a country or region that partners such businesses with other businesses that export to that country or region.
tabling member constituency	The Cotswolds
tabling member printed	Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
uin	25922
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/02/2016 answer text <p>Lord Maude made a <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2016-01-19/HLWS466/" target="_blank">statement</a> to the House of Lords on Tuesday 19 January on the Government’s strategy to support trade. The new operating model set out in the statement will see UK Trade &amp; Investment start to pilot schemes that provide direct support to businesses over the coming months.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to pilot a mentoring scheme. Instead, UKTI will continue to identify opportunities to connect UK businesses via the <a href="http://www.mentorsme.co.uk/about/articles/about-mentorsme" target="_blank">mentorsme network</a>, Britain’s first online gateway for small and medium sized enterprises looking for mentoring services. This service offers businesses free access to a list of quality-assured business mentoring organisations across Britain.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 16/02/2016 15:41:20 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	249 label Biography information for Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

450666

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
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	Post Offices: Closures
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 Office Crown branches have closed or merged since the end of the last formal Crown Transformation Programme.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	25932
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2016 answer text <p>Provision of its Crown branches is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.</p><p> </p><p>I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 12/02/2016 14:35:51 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

450667

registered interest
date	04/02/2016
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	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Debt Collection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has spent on debt collection agencies in each of the last seven years.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
uin	25972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2016 answer text <p>The core Department has spent £0 on debt collection agencies in the last seven years.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 10/02/2016 16:41:45 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands