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  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his proposals for the extension of Sunday trading hours has passed the family test.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government’s Family Test is not a pass or fail measure.

    The Government has conscientiously considered the impact on families and the evidence on this presented during the consultation. The Government will publish the Impact Assessment, including the Family Test, shortly.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many representations he has received on the exploitation of unpaid trials in the (a) service, (b) print and (c) retail sector.

    Nick Boles

    My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, BIS Ministers and officials are in frequent contact with a wide range of stakeholders on labour market issues, including issues around internships. The Low Pay Commission also consults on a range of issues, including internships, and submits its findings to Government each year to inform its recommendations on the National Minimum Wage. We are not aware of any recent, formal representations relating only to exploitation of unpaid interns in the specified sectors.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the exploitation of unpaid trials in at-risk sectors.

    Nick Boles

    Entitlement to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) applies where someone meets the criteria of a worker. There is no legal or consistently-used definition of an internship and therefore no authoritative, single assessment of their prevalence, unpaid or otherwise. However, the Low Pay Commission 2015 Report on the National Minimum Wage sets out their findings from the evidence they have collated as well as research that they have commissioned to assess the prevalence of unpaid internships.

    The Government works to promote high-quality, paid internships through improved codes of practice, awareness campaigns and changes to the BIS-sponsored Graduate Talent Pool. We also continue to tackle exploitation. The Government invested over £13m in 2015/16 to ensure enforcement of the NMW and we continue to name and shame employers who break minimum wage law.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

    Joseph Johnson

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 March 2016 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice to Question 28629.

    “

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many consultants’ contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.

    Joseph Johnson

    During the period of the last six years there have been no early terminations of consultants’ contracts for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) publications, (b) consultation documents and (c) circulars his Department has issued since August 2012; and what the title was of each such publication, consultation document or circular.

    Joseph Johnson

    My Department does not hold a central list of publications, consultations or circulars.

    All publications, consultations, press releases and statistics are published on the GOV.UK website and can be found listed there:

    Publications: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills

    Consultations: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills&publication_filter_option=consultations

    Press releases: https://www.gov.uk/government/announcements?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills

    Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills

    “

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil law suits have been brought against his Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

    Joseph Johnson

    The information requested is not available because separate data for cases based wholly or partially on the Human Rights Act 1998 are not recorded.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.

    Joseph Johnson

    The table below provides a breakdown of overtime paid and the number of claimants for each month in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) HQ, in the last 24 months from February 2014 to January 2016.

    The relevant budget holder must give approval before overtime can be worked or overtime pay claimed. Overtime pay is non-pensionable and can only be paid to staff below the Senior Civil Service. Approximately 0.3% of the annual BIS paybill is paid in overtime.

    Month

    Overtime Payments – BIS HQ

    Number of BIS HQ Staff Making Claims

    February 2014

    £55,032.15

    98

    March 2014

    £73,754.92

    102

    April 2014

    £61,699.33

    97

    May 2014

    £38,664.16

    75

    June 2014

    £64,135.44

    91

    July 2014

    £79,053.18

    106

    August 2014

    £45,977.38

    75

    September 2014

    £38,306.55

    69

    October 2014

    £33,276.09

    85

    November 2014

    £44,786.28

    68

    December 2014

    £47,025.85

    80

    January 2015

    £45,380.49

    64

    February 2015

    £58,541.14

    95

    March 2015

    £68,139.08

    99

    April 2015

    £52,546.46

    98

    May 2015

    £34,257.16

    69

    June 2015

    £44,667.14

    87

    July 2015

    £55,187.86

    81

    August 2015

    £47,242.28

    71

    September 2015

    £27,737.41

    61

    October 2015

    £44,006.48

    72

    November 2015

    £52,376.22

    74

    December 2015

    £48,453.85

    71

    January 2016

    £52,221.58

    69
  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the exemption of academy school staff from the one per cent public sector pay rise limit.

    Edward Timpson

    The reformed national pay and terms and conditions arrangements allow all schools considerable flexibility over the pay of their teachers.

    Staff at academies are employees of academy trusts, companies limited by guarantee with charitable status. Whilst academy trusts are classified as public sector bodies, their staff are not employees of the Crown. Academies have more control over their budgets so that they can meet their school’s needs more effectively and have the flexibility to reward the best teachers and excellent performance. These are the reasons they are not included within the statutory national pay and terms and conditions arrangements, which includes the current one per cent cap on pay increases.

    Many academies have pay systems that mirror the provisions of the statutory national arrangements and many converter academy staff have ‘Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations’ rights that preserve their entitlement to the national pay and terms and conditions arrangements.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil law suits have been brought against his Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Cabinet Office does not hold the information that has been requested as separate data for cases based wholly or partially on the Human Rights Act 1998 are not recorded.