Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the regulations to implement the Government's policy of requiring listed companies to publish pay ratios; and whether those regulations are planned to be in force by June 2018.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Government is committed to introducing a new statutory reporting requirement to require quoted companies to disclose and explain the ratio of the Chief Executive Officer’s total annual remuneration to the average annual remuneration of the company’s UK employees. The regulations to implement this provision (along with the other new reporting provisions being introduced as part of the corporate governance reforms announced in August 2017) are being drafted and will be laid in draft in Parliament later this year subject to other Parliamentary business.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2018 to Question 121446, how many of the 169 employers owed arrears, including those for which they were named and shamed, to (a) more than 250 workers and (b) more than 500 workers.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Of the 169 employers who were instructed to self-correct further arrears in naming rounds 10-13:
This breakdown represents the arrears owed by a business to its workers, not the employer size.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answers of 16 November 2016, 3 March 2017, 12 September 2017 and 18 December 2017 to Questions 52385, 65376, 7533 and 118376, on Minimum Wage: Arrears, if he will publish the (a) sector and (b) size of the 169 employers who paid additional arrears, not included in the sum of arrears for which they were named and shamed, under the self-correction mechanism introduced by HM Revenue and Customs in 2015.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
A total of 169 employers were instructed to self-correct further arrears in naming rounds 10-13. The sectoral breakdown of those employers is presented in Table 1, below.
Table 1: Employers named under the National Minimum Wage naming scheme (rounds 10-13) and instructed to self-correct by the Low Pay Commission by sector
LPC Sector | No. of Employers instructed to self-correct |
Childcare | 6 |
Employment Agencies | 5 |
Hairdressing | 22 |
Hospitality | 41 |
Retail | 19 |
Social Care | 22 |
Non low paying sectors | 45 |
Other | 9 |
Total | 169 |
Notes
HM Revenue and Customs does not hold complete data on employer size, therefore a breakdown by size is not available.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Government response to the First Report of the Women and Equalities Committee of Session 2016-17, Pregnancy and maternity discrimination, published on 26 January 2017, Cm 9401, when he plans to implement the Government's commitment to bring forward proposals to ensure that those protections in place for women who are pregnant or returning from maternity leave are sufficient.
Answered by Margot James
Protection already exists through the Maternity and Parental Leave etc Regulations 1999. Where redundancy means that it is not practicable to continue to employ a woman on maternity leave under an existing contract, Regulation 10 requires an employer to offer appropriate alternative employment on terms which are not substantially less favourable. We are considering the implications of extending this right into the period when a new mother returns to work and into the period while she is pregnant and at work. In terms of initial consultation, we have also sought the views of the Alliance for Maternity Rights on other potential proposals.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support the Government is offering to the employees affected by the closure of some Homebase stores.
Answered by Margot James
We have mobilised Jobcentre Plus’s Rapid response Service to help workers get back into employment as soon as possible. This service is tailored to individuals’ needs and can include some or all of the following:
- Help with job searches, including CV writing and interview skills;
- Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps, linked to the local labour market;
- Training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised certification that will improve employability;
- Help to overcome barriers to attending training, securing a job or self-employment, such as child care costs, tools, work clothes and travel costs.
It is worth noting that in June, Bunnings, the owner of Homebase, announced plans to create over 1,000 new jobs in the UK.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2017 to Question 4647, what steps he is taking to ensure firms comply with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations with regard to the provision of basic rate customer services numbers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
Local Trading Standards and their equivalent in Northern Ireland enforce the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Traders are required to comply with these rules when dealing with consumers, including the provision of basic rate customer services numbers. Alleged breaches of legislation should be reported, in the first instance, through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline who will pass on complaints to the relevant enforcement authority where necessary.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress he has made on the planned review of the implementation of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations with regard to the provision of basic rate customer helplines.
Answered by Margot James
The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (CCRs), which came into force on 13 June 2014, requires the Secretary of State to review the regulations 5 years after they have come into force. These implemented the EU Consumer Rights Directive and the Department worked closely with OFCOM with regard to the characteristics of a basic rate number. The Department will review the Regulations, including the provision of basic rate customer helplines, by 13 June 2019.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he intends to respond to the consultation on Furniture and furnishings fire safety regulations: proposed changes, which closed on 11 November 2016.
Answered by Margot James
Revision of these regulations is technically complex and stakeholders hold a wide spectrum of views on the proposals that have been made. We will issue the Government response only after careful consideration of all 120 responses received. The Grenfell Tower fire highlights the need for public protection to remain our priority and we are now reviewing the proposed changes in the light of that tragic event.
Asked by: Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will commission research to determine the take-up of shared parental leave; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
We will evaluate Shared Parental Leave in 2018. We anticipate commissioning survey work to measure take-up as part of this evaluation.