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179260

registered interest
date	11/02/2015
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	Working Hours: EU Law
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 discussions he has had with the EU Commission on the UK's implementation of the Working Time Directive.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	224307
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is in regular contact with the European Commission on a range of issues. In 2014 the European Commission requested national reports on the practical implementation of the Working Time Directive. The Government provided its response on 31 October 2014, setting out recent developments in case law, and evidence of the impacts of the Working Time Directive. That evidence was recently published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389676/bis-14-1287-the-impact-of-the-working-time-regulations-on-the-uk-labour-market-a-review-of-evidence.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/389676/bis-14-1287-the-impact-of-the-working-time-regulations-on-the-uk-labour-market-a-review-of-evidence.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The response re-iterated the Government’s priorities for the future of the Working Time Directive. They are to maintain the economy-wide individual right to opt-out of the 48 hour working week, and seek more flexibility following EU court rulings around on-call time, compensatory rest and holiday pay.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 23/02/2015 09:38:11 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

175660

registered interest
date	26/01/2015
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	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 September 2014 to Question 208599, on the minimum wage, how many notices of underpayment have been issued since 1 October 2013 in cases where the investigation commenced on or after that date.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	221930
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2015 answer text <p>276 Notices of Underpayment have been issued by HMRC since 1 October 2013 where the investigation started on or after that date. All of these cases will be considered for naming under the revised BIS naming scheme. We have already named 92 employers under the new scheme and we will name more soon.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>After the Notice of Underpayment is issued, employers have 28 days to pay back the arrears they owe and the penalty, or they can lodge an appeal against the NOU. HMRC then issue a case closure letter. From the date of that letter, the employer has 14 days to make a representation to BIS as to why they should not be named.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Any worker who is concerned that they have not been paid the minimum wage should call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 29/01/2015 15:33:37 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

175220

registered interest
date	22/01/2015
answering body	Church Commissioners
answering dept id	9
answering dept short name	Church Commissioners
answering dept sort name	Church Commissioners
hansard heading	Employment Tribunals Service
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, how much the Commissioners have spent on the Employment Tribunal action by the Reverend Mark Sharpe against the Bishop of Worcester and the Worcester Diocesan Board of Finance.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	221769
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2015 answer text <p><strong><em>Owing to ongoing legal proceedings, the Church Commissioners are unable to comment on this case at present.</em></strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Sir Tony Baldry question first answered 27/01/2015 10:42:56 answering member 93 label Biography information for Sir Tony Baldry
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

170085

registered interest
date	12/12/2014
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	Employment Tribunals Service
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to introduce a scheme for naming and shaming employers who fail to pay an employment tribunal award.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	218531
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The Government takes very seriously the non-payment of employment tribunal awards. Currently, as part of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, the Government is proposing a financial penalty for employers that fail to pay awards. We are also ensuring that enforcement options and consequences of non-payment are made clear throughout the dispute resolution process from early conciliation to the tribunal hearing itself.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We will also look to learn the lessons of existing naming and shaming schemes and consider if such a scheme could further encourage prompt payment of employment tribunal awards.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 17/12/2014 10:16:21 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

169928

registered interest
date	11/12/2014
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, how many employers have successfully appealed against being named and shamed for non-payment of the national minimum wage under the revised scheme that came into force on 1 October 2013.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	218516
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p>Under the revised Naming Scheme the Government will name all employers that have been issued with a Notice of Underpayment (NoU) unless employers meet one of the exceptional criteria or have arrears of £100 or less.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To date 3 employers have made successful representations against being named and 8 employers have not been named as they had arrears of £100 or less.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government has already named 55 employers. Between them they owed workers a total of over £139,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £60,000. We will be naming other employers that do not comply with National Minimum Wage regulations soon.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Anyone not receiving the minimum wage that they are legally entitled to should call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 15/12/2014 15:41:13 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

169932

registered interest
date	11/12/2014
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	Employment Tribunals Service
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 financial penalties have been imposed on respondent employers under section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 to date; and how many such penalties (a) have been paid and (b) remain unpaid.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	218454
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p>Financial Penalties, as described in section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, commenced on 6 April 2014. None have been imposed so far.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 16/12/2014 16:03:39 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

170009

registered interest
date	11/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Employment Tribunals Service
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2014 to Question 206019, how many awards of remission of fees for employment tribunal proceedings were made in each month between 1 July 2014 and 30 September 2014; and how many such awards were to (i) single claimants, (ii) claimants in multiple claimant cases and (iii) applicants to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	218524
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2015 answer text <p>I will answer these questions together as they are seeking information on the costs and benefits of running the employment tribunals.</p><p> </p><p>Jadu Ltd was awarded a contract by the Ministry of Justice to establish, and support, a digital exemplar service including an online form and a payment system for employment tribunals in February 2013. That contract was for £1.2m including VAT and provided delivery of the system and support for two years. Jadu Ltd has received £800k including VAT since July 2013 for additional changes due to legislation and for further non-contracted improvements to the system.</p><p> </p><p>For the period from 1 April 2014 to 31 December 2014 HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has received a gross total of £9.0m in employment tribunal fees of which £2.4m has been forgone in fee remission, leaving £6.6m in net fees.</p><p> </p><p>The number of fee remission awards made each month is available from financial information relating to fees and remissions in the employment tribunals system published by HMCTS in its Annual Report and Accounts. The answer by the Minister for the Courts and Legal Aid given on 15 October 2014 which can be viewed at</p><p>http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2014-07-15/206019/ records the number of fee remission awards in each month from July 2013 to June 2014. The number awarded each month from July 2014 to December 2014 is shown below:</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><p><strong>Employment Tribunal Fee Remission Awards</strong><strong><sup>1</sup></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Jul-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Aug-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Sep-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Oct-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Nov-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Dec-14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Individual Claims (Single Claims)</p></td><td><p>532</p></td><td><p>510</p></td><td><p>521</p></td><td><p>864</p></td><td><p>533</p></td><td><p>499</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Multiple Claims</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>51</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><sup>1</sup></strong>Timing differences exist between data uploaded to the finance system and data entered at source within employment tribunals fees systems. The monthly profile shown here reflects the date remissions were recorded on the finance system. This may not reflect the date on which remission applications were received or processed.</p><p> </p><p>My Department expects to be in a position to publish more detailed data on the number of remission applications made, and awards made, for the employment tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics quarterly bulletin by the end of this financial year.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to separate out reductions in variable operational costs resulting from changes in employment tribunals claims from decreases in costs for other reasons. Excluding allocated overheads, the cost of operating the employment tribunals for the year 2013 /14 was £69m. The most recent forecast of cost in 2014/15 is £65m, a reduction of £4m in nominal terms. Fee income for 2014/15 is forecast to be £9m, so the costs to the taxpayer are forecast to reduce by £13m.</p><p> </p><p>Hardworking taxpayers should not be picking up the bill for employment disputes in tribunals and it is reasonable to expect people to contribute towards the bill for the service. Moreover, it is important to remember that the Government has taken measures to ensure that those who have limited means have fee waivers and are therefore not excluded from seeking redress in tribunals.</p><p> </p><p>It is also worth noting the figures published by Acas show that over 37,000 people used the new early conciliation scheme in its first six months. This is a promising start to the scheme and shows that there are alternative ways of resolving disputes rather than always through tribunals.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 218521 218522 218523 218525 question first answered 26/01/2015 17:15:16 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

170010

registered interest
date	11/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Employment Tribunals Service
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will estimate savings in variable operational costs to HM Courts and Tribunals Service resulting from the reduction in the number of employment tribunal claims since 29 July 2013.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	218525
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2015 answer text <p>I will answer these questions together as they are seeking information on the costs and benefits of running the employment tribunals.</p><p> </p><p>Jadu Ltd was awarded a contract by the Ministry of Justice to establish, and support, a digital exemplar service including an online form and a payment system for employment tribunals in February 2013. That contract was for £1.2m including VAT and provided delivery of the system and support for two years. Jadu Ltd has received £800k including VAT since July 2013 for additional changes due to legislation and for further non-contracted improvements to the system.</p><p> </p><p>For the period from 1 April 2014 to 31 December 2014 HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has received a gross total of £9.0m in employment tribunal fees of which £2.4m has been forgone in fee remission, leaving £6.6m in net fees.</p><p> </p><p>The number of fee remission awards made each month is available from financial information relating to fees and remissions in the employment tribunals system published by HMCTS in its Annual Report and Accounts. The answer by the Minister for the Courts and Legal Aid given on 15 October 2014 which can be viewed at</p><p>http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2014-07-15/206019/ records the number of fee remission awards in each month from July 2013 to June 2014. The number awarded each month from July 2014 to December 2014 is shown below:</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><p><strong>Employment Tribunal Fee Remission Awards</strong><strong><sup>1</sup></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Jul-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Aug-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Sep-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Oct-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Nov-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Dec-14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Individual Claims (Single Claims)</p></td><td><p>532</p></td><td><p>510</p></td><td><p>521</p></td><td><p>864</p></td><td><p>533</p></td><td><p>499</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Multiple Claims</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>51</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><sup>1</sup></strong>Timing differences exist between data uploaded to the finance system and data entered at source within employment tribunals fees systems. The monthly profile shown here reflects the date remissions were recorded on the finance system. This may not reflect the date on which remission applications were received or processed.</p><p> </p><p>My Department expects to be in a position to publish more detailed data on the number of remission applications made, and awards made, for the employment tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics quarterly bulletin by the end of this financial year.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to separate out reductions in variable operational costs resulting from changes in employment tribunals claims from decreases in costs for other reasons. Excluding allocated overheads, the cost of operating the employment tribunals for the year 2013 /14 was £69m. The most recent forecast of cost in 2014/15 is £65m, a reduction of £4m in nominal terms. Fee income for 2014/15 is forecast to be £9m, so the costs to the taxpayer are forecast to reduce by £13m.</p><p> </p><p>Hardworking taxpayers should not be picking up the bill for employment disputes in tribunals and it is reasonable to expect people to contribute towards the bill for the service. Moreover, it is important to remember that the Government has taken measures to ensure that those who have limited means have fee waivers and are therefore not excluded from seeking redress in tribunals.</p><p> </p><p>It is also worth noting the figures published by Acas show that over 37,000 people used the new early conciliation scheme in its first six months. This is a promising start to the scheme and shows that there are alternative ways of resolving disputes rather than always through tribunals.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 218521 218522 218523 218524 question first answered 26/01/2015 17:15:16 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

170011

registered interest
date	11/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Employment Tribunals Service
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2014 to Question 206019, when he expects to be in a position to provide data on the number of employment tribunal fee remission applications made in each month since 29 July 2013.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	218523
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2015 answer text <p>I will answer these questions together as they are seeking information on the costs and benefits of running the employment tribunals.</p><p> </p><p>Jadu Ltd was awarded a contract by the Ministry of Justice to establish, and support, a digital exemplar service including an online form and a payment system for employment tribunals in February 2013. That contract was for £1.2m including VAT and provided delivery of the system and support for two years. Jadu Ltd has received £800k including VAT since July 2013 for additional changes due to legislation and for further non-contracted improvements to the system.</p><p> </p><p>For the period from 1 April 2014 to 31 December 2014 HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has received a gross total of £9.0m in employment tribunal fees of which £2.4m has been forgone in fee remission, leaving £6.6m in net fees.</p><p> </p><p>The number of fee remission awards made each month is available from financial information relating to fees and remissions in the employment tribunals system published by HMCTS in its Annual Report and Accounts. The answer by the Minister for the Courts and Legal Aid given on 15 October 2014 which can be viewed at</p><p>http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2014-07-15/206019/ records the number of fee remission awards in each month from July 2013 to June 2014. The number awarded each month from July 2014 to December 2014 is shown below:</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><p><strong>Employment Tribunal Fee Remission Awards</strong><strong><sup>1</sup></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Jul-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Aug-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Sep-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Oct-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Nov-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Dec-14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Individual Claims (Single Claims)</p></td><td><p>532</p></td><td><p>510</p></td><td><p>521</p></td><td><p>864</p></td><td><p>533</p></td><td><p>499</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Multiple Claims</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>51</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><sup>1</sup></strong>Timing differences exist between data uploaded to the finance system and data entered at source within employment tribunals fees systems. The monthly profile shown here reflects the date remissions were recorded on the finance system. This may not reflect the date on which remission applications were received or processed.</p><p> </p><p>My Department expects to be in a position to publish more detailed data on the number of remission applications made, and awards made, for the employment tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics quarterly bulletin by the end of this financial year.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to separate out reductions in variable operational costs resulting from changes in employment tribunals claims from decreases in costs for other reasons. Excluding allocated overheads, the cost of operating the employment tribunals for the year 2013 /14 was £69m. The most recent forecast of cost in 2014/15 is £65m, a reduction of £4m in nominal terms. Fee income for 2014/15 is forecast to be £9m, so the costs to the taxpayer are forecast to reduce by £13m.</p><p> </p><p>Hardworking taxpayers should not be picking up the bill for employment disputes in tribunals and it is reasonable to expect people to contribute towards the bill for the service. Moreover, it is important to remember that the Government has taken measures to ensure that those who have limited means have fee waivers and are therefore not excluded from seeking redress in tribunals.</p><p> </p><p>It is also worth noting the figures published by Acas show that over 37,000 people used the new early conciliation scheme in its first six months. This is a promising start to the scheme and shows that there are alternative ways of resolving disputes rather than always through tribunals.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 218521 218522 218524 218525 question first answered 26/01/2015 17:15:16 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

170012

registered interest
date	11/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Employment Tribunals Service
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been received by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in payment of employment tribunal fees since 1 April 2014; and how much of that sum was foregone in fee remission.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	218522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2015 answer text <p>I will answer these questions together as they are seeking information on the costs and benefits of running the employment tribunals.</p><p> </p><p>Jadu Ltd was awarded a contract by the Ministry of Justice to establish, and support, a digital exemplar service including an online form and a payment system for employment tribunals in February 2013. That contract was for £1.2m including VAT and provided delivery of the system and support for two years. Jadu Ltd has received £800k including VAT since July 2013 for additional changes due to legislation and for further non-contracted improvements to the system.</p><p> </p><p>For the period from 1 April 2014 to 31 December 2014 HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has received a gross total of £9.0m in employment tribunal fees of which £2.4m has been forgone in fee remission, leaving £6.6m in net fees.</p><p> </p><p>The number of fee remission awards made each month is available from financial information relating to fees and remissions in the employment tribunals system published by HMCTS in its Annual Report and Accounts. The answer by the Minister for the Courts and Legal Aid given on 15 October 2014 which can be viewed at</p><p>http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2014-07-15/206019/ records the number of fee remission awards in each month from July 2013 to June 2014. The number awarded each month from July 2014 to December 2014 is shown below:</p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><p><strong>Employment Tribunal Fee Remission Awards</strong><strong><sup>1</sup></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Jul-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Aug-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Sep-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Oct-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Nov-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Dec-14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Individual Claims (Single Claims)</p></td><td><p>532</p></td><td><p>510</p></td><td><p>521</p></td><td><p>864</p></td><td><p>533</p></td><td><p>499</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Multiple Claims</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>51</p></td><td><p>23</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><sup>1</sup></strong>Timing differences exist between data uploaded to the finance system and data entered at source within employment tribunals fees systems. The monthly profile shown here reflects the date remissions were recorded on the finance system. This may not reflect the date on which remission applications were received or processed.</p><p> </p><p>My Department expects to be in a position to publish more detailed data on the number of remission applications made, and awards made, for the employment tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics quarterly bulletin by the end of this financial year.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to separate out reductions in variable operational costs resulting from changes in employment tribunals claims from decreases in costs for other reasons. Excluding allocated overheads, the cost of operating the employment tribunals for the year 2013 /14 was £69m. The most recent forecast of cost in 2014/15 is £65m, a reduction of £4m in nominal terms. Fee income for 2014/15 is forecast to be £9m, so the costs to the taxpayer are forecast to reduce by £13m.</p><p> </p><p>Hardworking taxpayers should not be picking up the bill for employment disputes in tribunals and it is reasonable to expect people to contribute towards the bill for the service. Moreover, it is important to remember that the Government has taken measures to ensure that those who have limited means have fee waivers and are therefore not excluded from seeking redress in tribunals.</p><p> </p><p>It is also worth noting the figures published by Acas show that over 37,000 people used the new early conciliation scheme in its first six months. This is a promising start to the scheme and shows that there are alternative ways of resolving disputes rather than always through tribunals.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 218521 218523 218524 218525 question first answered 26/01/2015 17:15:16 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray