Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of disability discrimination related to (a) mental health and (b) other disabilities against whistleblowers in the public sector.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Employment Tribunal Statistics show that the number of claims related to Public Interest Disclosures brought to an Employment Tribunal hearing have increased from 1,489 in 2007/08 to 2,191 in 2017/18. Figures are not available to indicate how many of these claims related to public sector employers, nor to mental health or other disabilities.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
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 2 May 2018 to Question 140867 on fire regulations, whether the previously-set business impact target still applies when setting regulations.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Business Impact Target for the 2015-2017 Parliament does not still apply to regulations that come into force during the current Parliament. The Government is currently considering its approach to setting the scope for the Business Impact Target for the current Parliament.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
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 30 April 2018 to Question 138105, whether regulations pertaining to fire safety are included within those assessed for the business impact target.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Government is currently considering its approach to setting the scope for the Business Impact Target for the current Parliament.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which areas of Government policy are subject to the one-in-two-out rule for new regulations.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The One-In-Two-Out policy applied for the duration of the 2010-2015 Parliament. The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, introduced the business impact target to monitor regulatory costs. The Government is currently considering its approach to setting a target for the current Parliament.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken since 2015 to increase compliance with minimum wage regulations by employers.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforce the National Minimum Wage (NMW) on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. We are clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it.
The enforcement budget has been increased to £25.3m for 2017/18 up from £13 million in 2015/2016. We have also doubled the fines for firms who break the rules from 100% to 200% of the arrears owed to the worker, up to a maximum of £20,000 per worker.
In addition to proactive targeted enforcement activity and a £1.75 million communications campaign last year to raise employer awareness, HMRC follows up on every complaint it receives; including those made to the ACAS helpline and via the online complaint form.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to respond to the recent finding by HMRC that 98,150 workers were paid less than the minimum wage in 2016-17.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) enforce the National Minimum Wage (NMW) on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. We are clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it.
The enforcement budget has been increased to £25.3m for 2017/18 up from £13 million in 2015/2016. We have also doubled the fines for firms who break the rules from 100% to 200% of the arrears owed to the worker, up to a maximum of £20,000 per worker.
In addition to proactive targeted enforcement activity and a £1.75 million communications campaign last year to raise employer awareness, HMRC follows up on every complaint it receives; including those made to the ACAS helpline and via the online complaint form.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many firms are registered as Scottish Limited Partnerships in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The number of firms registered as Scottish Limited Partnerships in the UK is 29,709.