Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of national minimum wage compliance in the catering sector.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
This Government is committed to cracking down on employers who fail to pay the National Minimum and Living Wage (NMW). We almost doubled HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) budget to enforce the NMW from £13.2 million to £26.3 million between 2015/16 and 2018/19.
This increase in resources enabled HMRC to identify a record £15.6 million of arrears for more than 200,000 workers in 2017/18. These totals include arrears worth £469,468 owed to 6,526 workers in relation to food and beverage service employers.
In addition to undertaking proactive enforcement work in high risk sectors, HMRC respond to each and every worker complaint received. In April 2016, the financial penalty paid by employers was doubled to 200% of the arrears identified, up to a maximum of £20,000 per worker.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
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 undertake a consultation on the transposition of the Posting of Workers Directive (96/71/EC) into domestic law.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The UK has already implemented the Posting of Workers Directive (96/71/EC). Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will need to implement the recent Directive amending the Posting of Workers Directive (2018/957/EU) by 30 July 2020. We intend to consult on the implementation of this Directive later this year. This will give us enough time to pass the necessary legislation, if any is required.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the annual budget has been for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in each of the last three years; and how many staff that Inspectorate has employed in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Draft Answer
Year | Employment Agency Standard Inspectorate Budget | Number of Full Time Equivalent Staff |
2016/17 | £500,000 | 11 |
2017/18 | £725,000 | 11 |
2018/19 | £725,000 | 13* |
*Recruitment for additional EAS Inspectors is ongoing.
In 2018/19, BEIS is funding over £27million of labour market enforcement. In addition to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, BEIS have increased resources to HMRC to enforce the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. Funding rose to £25.3 million in 2017/18 (from £20 million in 2016/17), where HMRC identified a record £15.6 million in minimum wage arrears for over 200,000 workers. HMRC’s enforcement budget for 2018/19 now stands at £26.3 million”
As part of the Good Work Plan, the Government has committed to extend state enforcement for vulnerable workers to cover holiday pay and will bring forward proposals for a single labour market enforcement body.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on (a) the ability of the Government to meet its climate change targets and (b) the environment of reducing regulations on shale gas extraction; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government is firmly committed to meeting its ambitious climate change targets and contributing to the global effort to tackle climate change through the Paris Agreement.
Shale gas has the potential to be a home-grown energy source which can lead to jobs and economic growth, contribute to our security of supply, and be compatible with our climate change objectives.
Pursuant to my response to Question 175969, there are no plans to reduce the robust regulations for shale gas extraction - we have been clear that shale gas development must be safe and environmentally sound.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of his Department's staff are based in his Department's Sheffield office at St Paul’s place.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy currently has approximately 300 staff working outside greater London.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not occupy St Paul’s Place Sheffield and has had no staff based at that location since July 2018.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the budget is for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate for 2018-19; and how many staff the Inspectorate plans to employ in 2018-19.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The opening budget for the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate for 2018-19 is £0.725m, although the Department will continue to monitor spend and review resourcing requirements throughout the year.
The EAS currently has 12 members of staff, however the Department continues to review the resourcing needs both in the short term and in the context of wider, longer term reforms including the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices and the strategy of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and (b) Euratom on negotiations on a future association agreement for nuclear research between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The UK’s objective is to seek a close association with the Euratom Research and Training Programme, including JET and ITER, following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. My rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister reiterated this aim in her Jodrell Bank speech on 21 May, stating that the UK would like the option to fully associate ourselves with the excellence-based European science and innovation programmes, including Euratom Research and Training, and would be willing to make an appropriate financial contribution.
On 23 May, the UK published its vision for the future UK-EU partnership on science and innovation[1], including on nuclear research, setting out the UK’s vison for a far-reaching science and innovation pact. Discussions about a potential future framework for collaboration on Science and Innovation are held with the Department for Exiting the European Union on an ongoing basis. UK officials had early discussions about such a potential framework, including the Euratom Research and Training Programme, with the EU’s Taskforce 50 on 22nd May and further discussions will be had in due course.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what date the most recent UK State System of Accountability and Control Project Highlight Assessment was (a) produced by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and (b) assessed by the Secretary of State.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The most recent UK State System of Accountability and Control Project Highlight Assessment covered the period to the end of April 2018. The Secretary of State is regularly updated on the Department’s delivery of EU Exit programmes.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of the high level risks on the most recent UK State system of Accountability and Control Project Highlight Assessment are categorised as (a) red, (b) amber and (ci) green under the RAG coding system.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The UK State system of Accountability and Control Project Highlight Assessment is a project management tool that is regularly updated to facilitate oversight of the project and enable the identification and escalation of risks within the Programme governance. The particular risk descriptions and ratings identified in this report are constantly evolving as part of the ongoing project delivery.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish a draft charging agreement for the a new nuclear safeguarding regime.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Any decision to introduce cost recovery and charging arrangements for the safeguards regime would be subject to close engagement with industry and other key stakeholders, as well as public consultation.
If the decision is made that the Office for Nuclear Regulation should be able to recover costs from industry, further appropriate consultation and engagement on the detail of the arrangements would take place.