Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many records of dissolved companies have been destroyed by Companies House in each of the last (a) 12 months and (b) five years.
Answered by Margot James
Companies House has not destroyed records of dissolved companies in (a) the last twelve-months (b) the last five years.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with energy suppliers on tariffs for customers who do not elect to pay for services online.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Ministers will be meeting energy supply companies in due course to discuss a range of issues.
Under the terms of the supply licence, suppliers are required to offer customers a wide choice of payment methods, and this must include payment by cash and payment in advance through a prepayment meter.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many part-time apprenticeships have been taken up in each of the last three years; and what steps he is taking to (a) widen access to apprenticeships and (b) promote the option of part-time apprenticeships.
Answered by Nick Boles
Statistical data on apprenticeships broken down by part-time/full-time hours is not available.
Apprenticeships are full-time jobs; therefore an apprentice should work at least 30 hours per week. In exceptional circumstances, such as where the apprentice has caring responsibilities, a minimum of 16 hours per week may be agreed between the apprentice and the employer. In circumstances where the apprentice works fewer than 30 hours per week, the duration of the apprenticeship must be extended in proportion so that the minimum requirements on duration are still met.
Apprenticeships are safeguarded by the same equality duties under the Equality Act (2010) as any other employment. We want quality apprenticeships to be accessible to a diverse range of people and encourage the use of the range of reasonable adjustments available so apprentices with disabilities (who can apply for Access to Work funding) can demonstrate what they know and can do. We are also supporting care leavers’ transition into work, including considering how apprenticeships and study programmes including traineeships can support them. From 2016/17 employers taking on care leavers aged 19+ as apprentices will be entitled to the full funding rate paid for 16-18 year old apprentices.
In May we launched a communications campaign promoting the benefits of apprenticeships to young people, their influencers and employers. Schools are required to provide pupils with independent careers guidance, including on apprenticeships. They will be required to collaborate with colleges, university technical colleges and other training providers, in putting careers options in place.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people have taken shared parental leave to date; how many people have made a claim for shared parental pay since April 2015; and what proportion of such claimants were fathers and partners.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Government does not yet have any reliable information on the take up of Statutory Shared Parental Pay. We expect information for the 2015-16 tax year to be available from May 2016, although it will also include Additional Statutory Paternity Pay information up to December 2015. This will give an estimate for the total number of claims for Statutory Shared Parental Pay.
The Government does not collect information on the number of employees who have taken Shared Parental Leave. We will evaluate the policy by 2018 and this will enable us to better estimate the actual take up for leave.