Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of workforce representatives on the boards of UK PLCs.
Answered by Margot James
Government is committed to strengthening the worker voice in the boardroom. We are aware that some companies have appointed worker representatives to their boards. The green paper on Corporate Governance Reform explores a range of options for strengthening the worker voice.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is his Department's policy to increase the number of policy-making civil servants based outside London.
Answered by Margot James
Following the Machinery of Government changes, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is currently considering how best to align the reform agendas of its two predecessor Departments. This will include considering what the right footprint for the Department should be, in order to best deliver its objectives.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many unpaid internships there are in his Department.
Answered by Margot James
There are no unpaid internships in BEIS. BEIS participates in the Civil Service wide Summer Diversity Internship Programme, which is a two month placement and is paid. The Civil Service also runs the Early Diversity Internship Programme which is for a week only (and more akin to work experience) – it provides expenses to encourage applications and ensure there is no financial loss.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Director for Labour Market Enforcement will be appointed.
Answered by Margot James
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State plans to announce the outcome of the recruitment process for the Director of Labour Market Enforcement in due course.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which (a) workers' representatives groups and (b) trade unions were consulted by his Department during the drawing up of the shortlist for Director of Labour Market Enforcement.
Answered by Margot James
The recruitment campaign for the Director of Labour Market Enforcement was undertaken in line with guidance issued by the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA). The selection panel was chaired by an OCPA appointed Public Appointments Assessor (PAA), and included representatives from the Home Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and an independent panel member.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of workers employed within sectors of the economy that the Government has identified as at risk of labour market abuse and exploitation.
Answered by Margot James
The Government has created the role of Director of Labour Market Enforcement who will lead an intelligence hub to draw together evidence and intelligence about abuse in the labour market. It will be a priority for the Director, once in post, to make an assessment of the risk of abuse and exploitation in different sectors of the economy. This will form part of the annual labour market enforcement strategy which will set the strategic priorities for the work of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and enforcement of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage by HM Revenue and Customs.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many businesses are operating within the (a) construction, (b) care homes, (c) hotels and (d) catering sectors in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Margot James
The Business Population Estimates published in November 2016 give the following estimates for the number of private business in the UK:
(a) construction, 342,490 (Division 41, Construction of buildings)
(b) care homes, 36,620 (Division 87, Residential care activities)
(c) hotels, 8,815 (Group 551, Hotels and similar accommodation)
(d) catering sector, 149,440 (Division 56, Food and beverage service activities)
The data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-population-estimates-2016.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people employed in human resources roles in his Department have (a) prior experience and (b) qualifications in human resources.
Answered by Margot James
Information on prior experience and qualifications is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
In 2015-16, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) spent £7.3m on non-payroll staff, which represents 4.7% of the total paybill. This includes agency staff, specialist contractors, Interim Managers, consultants and consultancy costs.
BIS has a clear strategy to reduce our costs for agency and contractor spend by at least 20% over the current Spending Review period.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The proportion of people working in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills HQ who were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff are shown in the table below.
Year ending 31 March | Payroll | Non payroll |
2012 | 90% | 10% |
2013 | 89% | 11% |
2014 | 90% | 10% |
2015 | 97% | 3% |
2016 | 98% | 2% |
The data for 2012, 2013 and 2014 also includes people working in UKTI.