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226193

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Surveys
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in the Law Officers' Departments responded that they were treated fairly at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	226958
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 26/03/2015 15:04:14 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

226194

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Surveys
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in the Law Officers' Departments reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	227075
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 26/03/2015 15:04:54 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

226195

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
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	Small Businesses: Advisory Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which businesses are providing advice and support through the Growth Voucher scheme; and how many businesses have received such assistance from each such business to date.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Mr Chuka Umunna
uin	227104
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2015 answer text <p>The support is delivered at two stages within the Growth Vouchers programme.</p><p> </p><p>The first is an assessment, either face to face or online, that helps businesses identify their support needs and decide what advice they need to help them grow. The face to face assessment is delivered by advisers on behalf of the delivery partners Cavendish Consortium, Winning Pitch, and West Midlands Chamber of Commerce.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Since the Growth Vouchers programme began 15 months ago, there have been 31,513 applications of which 20,661 businesses have received the first stage assessment. After this assessment is completed, businesses are randomly selected to receive a voucher.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The second stage of support is in the form of vouchers to help pay for external advice from suppliers in the private sector. Of the 20,661 who undertook the initial business assessment, 15,600 received a voucher. This means that over £31 million worth of Growth Vouchers have been distributed, giving small businesses the opportunity to purchase advice at a subsidised rate. Those businesses that did not receive a voucher make up the control group of businesses that we will use to assess the impact of the advice being delivered as part of the research we are conducting.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Businesses with a voucher can then go on to select a supplier from the 3,424 Growth Voucher accredited suppliers listed on Enterprise Nation’s online marketplace (<a href="https://marketplace.enterprisenation.com/" target="_blank">https://marketplace.enterprisenation.com/</a>). 844 small business advice suppliers have delivered advice to 2,152 small businesses.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There are 8,103 businesses that have a valid voucher, who will have until the expiry date on the voucher to redeem the subsidy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 24/03/2015 15:43:51 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock previous answer version 50321 answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna

226196

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
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	Adult Education: Hyndburn
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 2015-16 adult social skills budget for Hyndburn is; and what the percentage change from last year's budget is.
tabling member constituency	Hyndburn
tabling member printed	Graham Jones
uin	227015
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2015 answer text <p>The funding available for Adult Skills in 2015/16 is outlined in the Skills Funding Letter. The letter sets out the Government’s priorities for the budget and it is for providers to decide how they use their adult skills funding to reflect those priorities and meet the needs of learners and employers in their local area.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-letter-april-2015-to-march-2016" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-letter-april-2015-to-march-2016</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 16/03/2015 11:16:35 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	3999 label Biography information for Graham P Jones

226197

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
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	Postgraduate Education
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 proposed timetable is for his consultation on the introduction of loans for postgraduate students.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Mr Andrew Smith
uin	226986
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2015 answer text <p>The public consultation on the proposed postgraduate loan schemes will be launched shortly.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 19/03/2015 16:17:37 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
tabling member	95 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Smith

226212

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
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	Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his most recent assessment is of default rates under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme; and with what frequency his Department makes such an assessment.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Mr Chuka Umunna
uin	227105
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2015 answer text <p>The Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme is administered by the British Business Bank (BBB), which was set up by the Secretary of State to manage such programmes professionally. The BBB closely monitors the performance of the scheme on a quarterly basis. The scheme default rate, which was 11.5% as at 31st December 2014 on the original drawn loan balance, does not reflect the overall cost to Government as not all defaults lead to a claim being made against the guarantee.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The EFG is a valuable programme that, since launch, has supported additional lending to small and medium sized businesses by enabling over 23,000 loans with a total value of some £2.4bn (as at 31 December 2014) and has a significant wider economic benefit.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 16/03/2015 15:01:37 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna

226213

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
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: Advisory Services
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 business that have applied for Growth Vouchers have not been successful in that application to date.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Mr Chuka Umunna
uin	227103
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2015 answer text <p>As at 8 March, there were 26,903 applications to the Growth Vouchers programme. Of the 16,903 businesses who have gone on to complete the assessment of their needs, 12,687 have been allocated a voucher and 4,216 have not.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 16/03/2015 15:04:09 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna

226214

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
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	Small Businesses: Government Assistance
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 valid Growth Vouchers have been issued that have not yet been redeemed.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Mr Chuka Umunna
uin	227102
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2015 answer text <p>As at 19 March, 8,103 businesses have a valid voucher and they will have until the expiry date on the voucher to redeem the subsidy.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 24/03/2015 15:35:09 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock previous answer version 50323 answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna

226215

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
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	Surveys
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in his Department responded that they were treated fairly at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	226957
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2015 answer text <p>In the 2014 People Survey, 71% of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) respondents declaring a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability responded that they were treated fairly at work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>80% of BIS respondents declaring that they did not have a long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability responded that they were treated fairly at work.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Overall, the BIS score for the ‘Inclusion and fair treatment’ survey theme were in line with the Civil Service benchmark (75% positive). 78% of all BIS respondents reported that they had been treated fairly at work in the past 12 months, compared to 79% of respondents in the Civil Service.</p><p> </p><p><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Actions to improve results include:</strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>Delivering the Civil Service Talent Action Plan and the BIS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&amp;I) Strategy to continue to build an increasingly inclusive Department where everyone is treated fairly. This includes actions relating to disability, which is identified as a priority demographic within the Department. Examples of deliverables under the Plan and Strategy include:</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>o The appointment of disability, race and gender champions at Director level to work with our Board level ED&amp;I Champion and the Diversity Networks to support and highlight barriers so they can be addressed at an early stage.</p><p> </p><p>o Professor Binna Kandola ran 3 unconscious bias sessions for managers last autumn to raise greater diversity awareness and address issues across BIS.</p><p> </p><p>o Mandated unconscious bias e-learning for all line managers to ensure that we attain a baseline of awareness across all BIS managers.</p><p> </p><p>o Piloting non-executive board members’ providing coaching and mentoring to under-represented SCS staff.</p><p> </p><p>o Launched a Reverse Mentoring programme where 2 Directors General and 6 Directors receive mentoring from a junior BME and/or disabled member of staff. The programme aims to lead to more inclusive decision making and a better understanding of perceptions and behaviour.</p><p> </p><ul><li>Providing further guidance and information to staff and managers on our approach to performance management to mitigate against a more robust system potentially being misinterpreted as unfair treatment, bullying or harassment.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Engaging staff in Groups through e.g. surveys and conversations, to identify particular areas of concern, causes, and potential actions to take forward locally.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Points to note: </strong> <strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The Civil Service People Survey asks the question “Do you have any long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability?” The survey does not include a question that specifically identifies disability status.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 17/03/2015 16:20:01 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

226216

registered interest
date	10/03/2015
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	Billing
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 of large companies' use of lengthy payment terms for suppliers on suppliers' ability to trade.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	226870
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2015 answer text <p>The Government is absolutely clear that large companies should lead by example and aim to pay their suppliers in 30 days. It is not acceptable for large companies in the UK to be using unduly long payment terms which squeeze suppliers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are acutely aware of the negative impact late payment and unduly long payment terms can have on small companies’ cash flow, which in turn can impact on their ability to trade.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is taking forward a comprehensive package of measure to bring an end to these practices once and for all, including: introducing a new reporting requirement on all large businesses; and strengthening the Prompt Payment Code.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Through the Small Business, Employment and Enterprise Bill we will require the UK’s largest companies to report on their payment practices – through a tough, new reporting requirement which will shine a light on those companies using lengthy payment terms.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have also sought views on proposals for business representative bodies to have wider powers to challenge payment terms and practices which are grossly unfair – which will build on existing protections for small businesses.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I also recently announced changes to the Prompt Payment Code to strengthen its impact. The Code will now promote 30 days payment terms as the norm and a maximum payment terms on 60 days.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 18/03/2015 16:05:50 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley