Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee Draft Consumer Rights Bill HC 697 I written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-23 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government's draft Consumer Rights Bill has the potential to consolidate, simplify and modernise consumer law however issues and inconsistencies must be resolved. The current proposals would apply a statutory right that services under a contract must be provided with reasonable care and skill [a fault-based standard]. This does not provide sufficient consumer protection. The Draft Bill should require that services must achieve the stated result, or one which could be reasonably expected [an outcomes-based standard]. As the Bank of Ireland case demonstrated, the right to terminate a contract does not necessarily protect consumers from detriment. This report recommends an addition to the grey list - the indicative list of contract terms which may be regarded as unfair. The Government's proposals for enhanced consumer measures, which would require traders that have breached consumer law to compensate consumers, are welcome. However, private enforcers should also be able to use them. The collective proceedings regime has the potential to improve access to redress for victims of competition law breaches but the Government must clarify the certification requirements for such proceedings. The creation of rights and remedies for digital content is welcome, but the Government must do more to communicate how the proposals will work in practice. Under the draft Bill, the remedies available to consumers of digital content would depend on whether the content is intangible (such as a music download) or tangible (such as a CD). In appropriate circumstances, consumers should have the right to reject and obtain a refund irrespective of whether they purchase intangible or tangible digital content

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee Payday Loans HC 789 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-20 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rapid expansion of the payday loan sector has been accompanied by a significant increase in the number of people experiencing serious debt problems which suggests people should think carefully before taking out such loans. Furthermore the number of payday loan adverts seen by 4-15 year olds has increased from 3 million in 2008 to 596 million in 2012. The Committee's recommendations include: all payday loan companies should be required to resubmit their affordability tests to the FCA for approval before they can continue in the sector and the FCA should make clear that if real-time data sharing has not been established by July 2014 it will mandate its use as a condition of trading in the sector; a limit should be set of one roll-over per payday loan; Payday lenders should be required to give 3 working days notice before using a continuous payment authority [CPA] and each notice should set out the right of a customer to cancel the CPA; the FCA should discuss with the Information Commissioners Office how texts on payday loans could be disaggregated to identify the extent of bad practice and if this evidence base demonstrates inappropriate targeting or marketing, the FCA should move to ban all brokering of payday loans through email, texts and other personal mobile devices; when payday loans come under the authority of the FCA, they will be subject to a levy which should be ring fenced by the Money Advice Service solely for the funding of front-line debt advice services

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee Open Access HC 99 I written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-09-10 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government's commitment to increasing access to published research findings and its desire to achieve full open access are welcomed in this report from the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee. However, whilst Gold open access - where authors publish their articles in an open access journal that provides free immediate open access to all of its articles on the publisher's website - is a desirable ultimate goal, focusing on it during the transition to a fully open access world is a mistake. The Government and Research Council UK should reconsider their preference for Gold open access during the five year transition period, and give due regard to the evidence of the vital role that Green open access and repositories have to play as the UK moves towards full open access. (Authors opting for Green open access publish in any subscription journal, and then make their peer-reviewed final draft freely accessible online by self-archiving or depositing the article in a repository (either institutional or disciplinary) upon acceptance for publication.) Other recommendations include: promotion of standardisation and compliance across subject and institutional repositories; mitigation against the impact on universities of paying Article Processing Charges out of their own reserves; introduce a reduced VAT rate for e-journals; non-disclosure clauses should not be used in publishing contracts that include the use of public funds; BIS must review its consultation processes to ensure that lessons are learned from the lack of involvement of businesses, particularly SMEs, in the formation of open access policy

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee The Retail Sector Volume I HC 168 I written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-03-04 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee calls for a wholesale review that goes beyond the administration of business rates to examine whether retail taxes should be based on sales rather than the rateable value of a property; whether retail needs its own system of business taxation; and how frequently revaluations should take place. In the interim, the Committee calls for a six months business rates amnesty for businesses occupying empty properties. This would go further than the 50% reduction announced in the Autumn Statement and would encourage new businesses to the High Street. The Committee also recommends that in the interim the Government review whether business rates are more appropriately linked to CPI or RPI and calls for annual increases to be linked to a 12 month average of either RPI or CPI, with a cap at 2%. This would replace the current link to a monthly snapshot of RPI. The Government should provide information on how and how much of the money allocated to the Portas Pilots is being spent. This follows concerns that much of the money allocated to the pilots has not been spent. The Government is also urged to outline the results of its latest STEM skills analysis and outline the action it will take to tackle any skills shortages. The retail sector also needs to encourage more staff to be trained at Apprenticeship Level 3 and above, and consider developing language skills to enhance the international consumers' experience

Download or read book Government Response to the House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee s Fourth Report of Session 2013 2014 written by Great Britain: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2014-06-06 with total page 10 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dated June 2014. Government response to HC 314, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215061225). A TSO version of a title previously published by HM Government.

Download or read book Forty fourth Report of Session 2013 14 HC 83 xxix written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-04-08 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book HC 605 The FCO s Performance and Finances in 2013 14 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The cuts imposed on the FCO since 2010 have been severe and have gone beyond just trimming fat: capacity now appears to be being damaged. If further cuts are imposed, the UK's diplomatic imprint and influence would probably reduce, and the Government would need to roll back some of its foreign policy objectives. The FCO's budget is a tiny element of Government expenditure, but the FCO makes disproportionate contribution to policy making at the highest level, including decisions on whether to commit to military action. The next Government needs to protect future FCO budgets under the next Spending Review.

Download or read book Government Response to the House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee Report on Business university Collaboration written by Great Britain. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 21 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Work of the European and UK Space Agencies HC 253 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-10-28 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee heard much positive feedback about the work of the UK Space Agency since its creation in 2011. The UK's space sector is one of our economy's fastest growing sectors, with an average growth rate of almost 7.5%, and it has ambitions to increase its annual turnover to £40 billion by 2030. The report welcomes recent increases in the UK's commitments to the European Space Agency, but urged the UK Space Agency to strengthen UK influence within the European Space Agency by providing support for UK candidates applying for future director-level positions within the Agency. There are a number of exciting developments happening in the UK space sector, including the expansion of the European Space Agency's operations at Harwell, the establishment of the Satellite Applications Catapult and Major Tim Peake's upcoming mission to the International Space Station. With continued cross-party support, we hope to see this sector expand in line with its ambitions and continue to attract jobs and businesses to the UK

Download or read book Company Law written by Brenda Hannigan and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2016 with total page 855 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Employing a practical and contextual approach, this student textbook covers developments in the self-regulation of corporate governance, which is becoming global due to the activities of the OECD and World Bank.

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee Draft Consumer Rights Bill HC 697 II written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-23 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government's draft Consumer Rights Bill has the potential to consolidate, simplify and modernise consumer law however issues and inconsistencies must be resolved. The current proposals would apply a statutory right that services under a contract must be provided with reasonable care and skill [a fault-based standard]. This does not provide sufficient consumer protection. The Draft Bill should require that services must achieve the stated result, or one which could be reasonably expected [an outcomes-based standard]. As the Bank of Ireland case demonstrated, the right to terminate a contract does not necessarily protect consumers from detriment. This report recommends an addition to the grey list - the indicative list of contract terms which may be regarded as unfair. The Government's proposals for enhanced consumer measures, which would require traders that have breached consumer law to compensate consumers, are welcome. However, private enforcers should also be able to use them. The collective proceedings regime has the potential to improve access to redress for victims of competition law breaches but the Government must clarify the certification requirements for such proceedings. The creation of rights and remedies for digital content is welcome, but the Government must do more to communicate how the proposals will work in practice. Under the draft Bill, the remedies available to consumers of digital content would depend on whether the content is intangible (such as a music download) or tangible (such as a CD). In appropriate circumstances, consumers should have the right to reject and obtain a refund irrespective of whether they purchase intangible or tangible digital content

Download or read book House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee the FCO s Human Rights Work in 2012 HC 267 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-10-17 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The FCO was timid and inconsistent in the discussions which led to the decision to award to Sri Lanka the right to host the 2013 CHOGM. It should have taken a more robust approach since, in the light of continuing human rights abuses in the country. In 2009 the FCO objected to Sri Lanka hosting the 2011 CHOGM but did not obstruct a proposal that it might do so in 2013, nor did it insist that Sri Lanka's right to host in 2013 should be conditional on improvements in human rights. The Committee took evidence from the BBC World Service on jamming and denial of access to its broadcast and internet services, particularly in Iran and China. The Committee calls on the BBC to recognise in future funding plans the need to provide the resources necessary to afford protection. All providers of satellite services have a commercial interest in defeating jamming. The report considers Government policy on human rights in Burma and concludes that the EU's decision to lift economic sanctions in April 2013 was the right one, given the remarkable progress made in Burma. But it warns that the UK should be prepared to advocate re-imposition of sanctions if undertakings on human rights are not followed through. The Government should also urge condemnation of those responsible for violence in Rakhine State in 2012. The Committee does not support suggestions that the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games should be boycotted in protest against human rights abuses in Russia

Download or read book HC 842 Hong Kong China s Ban On The Committee s Visit written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In July 2014, the Committee launched an inquiry into the UK's relations with Hong Kong, 30 years after the signing of the Joint Declaration. As part of this inquiry, they planned to visit Hong Kong to speak to a wide range of interlocutors about the UK-Hong Kong relationship. The Chinese and Hong Kong authorities informed the Committee that they considered this to be interference in China's internal affairs and they urged a halt to the inquiry. On 28 November, the Chinese Deputy Ambassador informed the Committee that the Chinese government would take any necessary measures to prevent the Committee from visiting Hong Kong, forcing the postponement of the visit. It was made clear that the Committee would be prevented from entering Hong Kong, despite the fact that, as UK nationals, no visa for entry was required. The Committee considers the ban by China to be unprecedented, and sees it as an obstruction to the conduct of the Committee's parliamentary duties.

Download or read book House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee The Impact of the Bedroom Tax in Scotland Interim Report HC 288 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scottish Affairs Committee calls for the repeal of the Bedroom Tax. While this is being considered, the Committee calls on the Government to suspend application of the Bedroom Tax for all those tenants to whom a reasonable alternative offer cannot be made. There are not enough smaller houses available for tenants to transfer into. The lack of any alternative offers means that tenants have no choice but to go into arrears if they simply cannot afford the extra costs. Other amendments proposed for the operation of the tax include: exemptions for those disabled people who require a room to store or use equipment or aids; non application where it would be financially perverse to do so - eg where removing fixed aids and adaptations, and then reinstalling them in a smaller home, would be more expensive than the savings over two years; all children of secondary school age should be allowed a bedroom of their own to allow quiet study; all disabled children, of whatever age, should have a bedroom of their own. The Committee also calls for changes to the system of Discretionary Housing Payments, which have been designed by the Government to mitigate the worst impacts of the Bedroom Tax. There should be a standard nationwide entitlement system, across the UK as a whole, rather than the present postcode lottery. The UK and Scottish Governments should make longer term commitments to the provision of DHP payments in order to allow local authorities to plan and structure their budgets.

Download or read book House of Commons Home Affairs Committee E Crime HC 70 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Home Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The threat of a cyber attack to the UK is so serious it is marked as a higher threat than a nuclear attack. One can steal more on the internet than they can by robbing a bank and online criminals in 25 countries have chosen the UK as their number one target. Astonishingly, some are operating from EU countries. If we don't have a 21st century response to this 21st century crime, we will be letting those involved in these gangs off the hook. After a 10 month inquiry the Committee concluded that: a dedicated state of the art espionage response team should be established so that attacks can be immediately reported; Banks must be required to report all e-crime fraud to law enforcement; it is alarmed that CEOP is having its budget cut by 10% over 4 years, its experienced Chief Executive is leaving and it could lose its laser-like focus when merged with the National Crime Agency; it is still too easy for people to access inappropriate online content and those responsible need to take stronger action to remove such content - the Government should draw up a mandatory code of conduct with them to remove material which breaches acceptable standards; the DPP should review sentencing guidance and ensure e-criminals receive the same sentences as if they had stolen the same amount of money or data offline; the Government should look at setting up a similar organisation to the Internet Watch Foundation focused on reporting and removing online terrorist content

Download or read book The Politics of Child Protection written by Nigel Parton and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-24 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Every Child Matters and the Munro Review, to changing shifts in thinking from Coalition government; the child protection system has seen dramatic political and policy developments over recent years. This book brings you a critical analysis of these developments from a leading writer and commentator. It begins by exploring the origins of present-day arrangements, locating English policy and practice in both a wider British and international context. It examines tragic cases such as 'Baby P' and Maria Colwell, considering their impact on public and professional attitudes and, in turn, the implications for the child protection system. Looking to the future of child protection, Nigel Parton considers the current state of the system and argues that we need to address wider social and political issues, including poverty, class and inequality. Original, authoritative and up-to-date, The Politics of Child Protection is an important book for all students, practitioners and researchers interested in safeguarding and child protection.

Download or read book Stock Market Short Termism written by Kim M. Willey and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-07-12 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consideration of harmful short-termism in capital markets is prevalent amongst legal and business academics. It is also garnering increased attention in corporate board rooms and executive suites, and from the investing public. As a result, correcting perceived short-termism in capital markets has become a rationale for reform used by regulators across the globe. Despite the considerable attention given to this phenomenon, there has not yet been a comprehensive book analyzing the perceived short-termism problem, its sources and causes, and reform efforts undertaken to date. This book fills this gap by documenting the rise of the short-termism discussion, analyzing the significance of the problem, and considering the proposed legal remedies. Based on this analysis, a framework for effective short-termism reform is offered.