Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations his Department is planning to seek from consumer groups on the working group on product recalls and safety; and what representation consumer groups will have on the membership of that group.
Answered by Margot James
The Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety includes representatives from a wide range of experts including the Chief Fire Officers Association, the Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers, Electrical Safety First, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), many of whom represent the interests of individuals and consumers.
I have met with Which? to talk to them about the Working Group and they have been invited to join the Group.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will introduce a ban on the import of carbon monoxide alarms which do not comply with the BS EN 50291 safety standard after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Margot James
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy currently has no plans to introduce a ban on the import of carbon monoxide alarms that do not comply with the BS EN 50291 safety standard when the UK leaves the EU. However, we continue to consider what measures are likely to be most effective in ensuring protection against carbon monoxide poisoning.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment the Government has made of the auditing sector's contribution to economic productivity.
Answered by Anna Soubry
No such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of mechanisms by which a disabled student can challenge a failure to make reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 by a higher education institution.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Higher Education Institutions have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled students and to monitor their compliance with their Equality Act duties. The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011 require institutions to publish information as to their compliance with the general public sector equality duty.
In those cases where a student is dissatisfied with the response from their higher education institution and have completed the institution’s formal complaints procedures, they can take their complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education. The OIA is independent of Government and publishes an annual report setting out its performance in handling unresolved student complaints. In providing remedies, the OIA aims to return students to the position they were in before their complaint. In appropriate circumstances this can include financial payments.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how his Department plans to monitor whether higher education institutions comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards disabled students; and what remedies are available to such students in the event that an institution does not comply with those duties.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Higher Education Institutions have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled students and to monitor their compliance with their Equality Act duties. The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011 require institutions to publish information as to their compliance with the general public sector equality duty.
In those cases where a student is dissatisfied with the response from their higher education institution and have completed the institution’s formal complaints procedures, they can take their complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education. The OIA is independent of Government and publishes an annual report setting out its performance in handling unresolved student complaints. In providing remedies, the OIA aims to return students to the position they were in before their complaint. In appropriate circumstances this can include financial payments.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many cases heard by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator were closed within three months in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Data is not collected in the way the Hon Member has requested. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator has a key performance indicator which tracks cases closed within six months from the receipt of the complaint form. In its most recently published annual report, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator reported that 39 per cent of cases were closed within this period.