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  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many complaints about payment of the National Minimum Wage (a) were made, (b) were resolved within the required Departmental timescales and (c) were not resolved within the required Departmental timescales in 2013-14.

    Jenny Willott

    The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) on behalf of BIS.

    HMRC investigates every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights helpline and deals with each NMW complaint on a case-by-case basis. The timescale for each case is dependent on a number of factors:

    • the complexity of the issues
    • the size of employer
    • the cooperation of the employer
    • the enforcement route required

    In 2013/14, HMRC investigated 1631 cases. Of these, 1084 cases were closed; 565 cases were closed within 120 days; 519 cases were closed outside of 120 days and 547 cases are still open and yet to be concluded.

    Please note that investigations may not commence and be completed in the same financial year.

  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the target timescale is for resolving complaints regarding non-payment of the National Minimum Wage.

    Jenny Willott

    The Government is committed to increasing compliance with minimum wage legislation and effective enforcement of it. Everyone who is entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) on behalf of BIS.

    HMRC investigates every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights helpline and deals with each NMW complaint on a case-by-case basis. The timescale for each case is dependent on a number of factors:

    • the complexity of the issues
    • the size of employer
    • the cooperation of the employer
    • the enforcement route required

    In 2013/14, HMRC investigated 1631 cases. Of these, 1084 cases were closed; 565 cases were closed within 120 days; 519 cases were closed outside of 120 days and 547 cases are still open and yet to be concluded.

    Please note that investigations may not commence and be completed in the same financial year.

  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail regarding the redirection notices it provides to other postal operators.

    Jenny Willott

    None. Matters relating to its operations and services, which includes its Redirection Service, are the direct responsibility of Royal Mail’s management.

  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the budget for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate is for 2014-15.

    Jenny Willott

    The budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate is no longer devolved below branch level in the Labour Markets Directorate, and we are therefore unable to provide this information.

  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with Ofcom regarding the postal service standards provided by TNT.

    Jenny Willott

    Ministers and officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) meet with officials from Ofcom, the independent regulator for postal services, on a regular basis to discuss a broad range of market issues. There have not been any specific discussions about TNT Post’s service standards.

    All postal operators are subject to regulatory conditions set by Ofcom. These regulatory conditions cover such things as the security and confidentiality of the mail that operators handle and ensure that effective complaints procedures are in place for consumers. More information about Ofcom’s regulatory regime can be found on its website (www.ofcom.org.uk).

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  • Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Jonathan Edwards – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Edwards on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether his Department had discussions with the Welsh Government regarding the use of public funds by the Cabinet Office to produce and send an anti-Scottish Independence pamphlet to every house in Scotland.

    Greg Clark

    There are regular discussions between UK Government and Welsh Government Ministers on matters of mutual interest.

  • Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Ainsworth on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many small and medium-sized enterprises have premises in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry and (c) the West Midlands.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what changes there have been in the claimant count for women claiming for over 12 months since May 2010.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Tees Valley City Deal.

    Greg Clark

    All City Deals are available on gov.uk.

    A copy of the Tees Valley City Deal has been placed in the Library of the House.

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 678W, on money lenders, how many actionable reports led to a conviction in each of the last four years.

    Jenny Willott

    Final Approved answer to 13371

    The Illegal Money Lending Teams conduct complex and sensitive investigations. The length of each investigation will be influenced by the circumstances of the specific case. In some instances convictions can only be delivered through months of proactive intelligence gathering and community engagement. Because of this, some cases span across multiple years and so there is not necessarily a direct link between the numbers of actionable reports and the numbers of convictions in any one year.

    Below is a breakdown of the number of operations, arrests and prosecutions completed by the Illegal Money Lending Teams in England, Scotland and Wales in each of the last four years and the number of custodial sentences handed down by the courts.

    Operations

    Arrests / Detainments

    Prosecutions

    Custodials

    England

    Wales

    Scotland

    England

    Wales

    Scotland

    England

    Wales

    Scotland

    England

    Wales

    Scotland

    2013/14

    74

    29

    9

    107

    4

    7

    55

    2

    7

    25

    2

    0

    2012/13

    73

    38

    15

    92

    4

    4

    34

    2

    6

    13

    2

    0

    2011/12

    57

    37

    14

    62

    13

    17

    17

    4

    6

    11

    4

    1

    2010/11*

    288

    46

    17

    104

    6

    5

    32

    7

    5

    26

    1

    0

    * The England Illegal Money Lending Team was restructured in April 2011- 9 England regional teams were merged into a single National team covering the whole of England.

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