Delivery of EFG is fully devolved to over 40 participating lenders, each of which has their own arrangements for handling customer complaints. The Department does not mediate in disputes between individual borrowers and lenders. Any business complaining to BIS or the British Business Bank is guided in the first instance to follow their lender\u2019s complaints procedure. Upon exhaustion of that process the next step for dealing with an unresolved dispute in most instances will be to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4070", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Matt Hancock"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "West Suffolk"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Matthew Hancock"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-10-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-10-23T13:08:39.975891Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "26"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-10-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many complaints about the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme his Department has received in each year since the inception of that scheme.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/533", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Hanson"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Delyn"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr David Hanson"} ], "uin" : "210872"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/93749", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Innovation and Skills"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/93749/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Delivery of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) is fully devolved to over 40 participating lenders. As such the Department for Business Innovation and Skills does not directly receive, approve or terminate any EFG applications.<\/p>
Participating lenders do not report to the Department numbers of applications submitted or terminated. Since inception of the scheme in January 2009, participating lenders have made offers of 26,189 EFG-backed loans and other types of debt facilities.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4070", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Matt Hancock"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "West Suffolk"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Matthew Hancock"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-10-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-10-23T13:09:56.3500656Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "26"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-10-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many applications to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme have been (a) submitted, (b) approved and (c) terminated following approval by his Department since the inception of that scheme.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/533", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Hanson"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Delyn"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr David Hanson"} ], "uin" : "210873"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/93750", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Innovation and Skills"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/93750/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Companies are held accountable by investors, consumers and civil society as well as governments for the way in which they conduct their operations, including labour conditions, and how they report on their actions in this regard.<\/p>
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Since October 2013, quoted companies have been required to provide information in their Annual Report about social, community and human rights issues, including information about any policies of the company in relation to those matters and the effectiveness of those policies.<\/p>
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The Department has negotiated at the European level to strengthen current human rights disclosure requirements and make them more specific. Provisions have now been agreed that will apply across all EU Member States from 2017 to large quoted companies and Public Interest Entities. My Department will shortly be consulting on the transposition of these measures into UK law.<\/p>
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Additional disclosure requirements will be introduced in the Modern Slavery Bill. Big businesses will have to publicly state each year what action they have taken to ensure their supply chains are slavery free. This requirement goes further than any similar legislation in the world by applying to businesses regardless of the nature of a company or what it supplies, whether goods or services.<\/p>
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In September 2013, the UK was the first country to publish a National Action Plan implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Action Plan underlines the duty of businesses to respect the human rights of their employees and those in their supply chains. My Department is taking action to develop guidance for businesses reporting on this obligation, beginning with the retail sector.<\/p>
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In order to toughen up our enforcement of the National Minimum Wage my Department has made it simpler to name and shame employers that break the law on the National Minimum Wage and has increased the financial penalty that employers pay for breaking the law from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of the unpaid wages owed to workers. The maximum penalty has also increased from £5,000 to £20,000 and will be applied per worker not per firm.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1513", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jo Swinson"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Dunbartonshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jo Swinson"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-10-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-10-23T16:23:04.021098Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "26"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-10-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Working Conditions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that companies are held responsible for labour conditions throughout their supply chains.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/304", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Birmingham, Hall Green"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Roger Godsiff"} ], "uin" : "210900"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/93764", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Innovation and Skills"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/93764/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government is committed to protecting the privacy and data security rights of individuals, and does recognise that the potential exists for online personal information and data to be misused by organisations and agencies, including for discriminatory purposes. For this reason, stringent safeguards are in place to ensure personal data is protected and handled appropriately.<\/p>
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The Data Protection Act 1998 and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights impose clear legal limits on how organisations can record, store, alter, use or disclose personal data. In addition the Information Commissioners Office, the UK\u2019s independent authority for upholding information rights, provides advice to citizens, rulings on eligible complaints and can take action when the law on data privacy is broken.<\/p>
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The Government is also currently working with the Information Economy Council, business groups, regulators, the third sector, and consumer bodies to develop a framework of trust and privacy principles for businesses. The framework will be in addition to existing data protection legislation and is being developed to help create greater public confidence in how companies use and re-use their personal data.<\/p>
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<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wantage"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Edward Vaizey"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-10-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-10-23T16:00:16.2195587Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "26"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-10-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Internet: Data Protection"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential for online personal information and big data to be used for discriminatory practices by organisations and agencies.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/523", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Nicholas Brown"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Newcastle upon Tyne East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Nicholas Brown"} ], "uin" : "210878"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/93449", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Innovation and Skills"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/93449/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Information on ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) participation is published in Table 3 of a Statistical First Release (SFR):<\/p>
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