Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications for undergraduate study were made to (a) the University of York, (b) York St John University and (c) all English universities in each year since 2009-10. [198515]

Mr Willetts: The latest information is given in the following table. UCAS have not released any data on applications to individual institutions for the 2014 application cycle, but the latest figures for total applicants to all UK institutions (published on 30 May) show that they have risen by 4%, compared to the same point in 2013.

Post Codes: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether public sector organisations in Northern Ireland will be eligible for the terms of use for postcode address finder from 1 April 2015. [199370]

Jenny Willott: Northern Ireland public sector organisations will be not eligible for the Postcode Address File (PAF) Public Sector Licence agreed between the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS) and Royal Mail. The PAF Public Sector Licence covers public sector bodies in England and Wales and will come into full force on 1 April 2015. Bodies whose remit is mainly or wholly within Northern Ireland, Scotland, and other Crown dependencies or foreign territories are excluded from the agreement between BIS and Royal Mail.

Royal Mail discussed the creation of an equivalent to the PAF Public Sector Licence with the Northern Ireland Land and Property Services. The view was that most of Northern Ireland's Government Departments were only interested in addresses within Northern Ireland and that there was no need for a central agreement.

Research: Gender

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment she has made of the gender balance amongst chairs and presidents of (a) learned societies and (b) research councils. [199684]

Mr Willetts: The National Academies, the UK's leading learned societies, are independent, self-governing bodies. Ministers have no role in academy appointments but we encourage them to embed equality and diversity in everything they do. Professor Dame Ann Dowling is expected to be confirmed as the first female President of the Royal Academy of Engineering in September. The current Presidents of the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society of Biology are all female.

Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) appoint chairs to the research councils and these appointments are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. BIS Ministers are committed to the principle of public appointments on merit through an open and transparent process and to providing equal opportunities for all, irrespective of race, age, disability, gender, marital status, religion, sexual orientation, transgender and working patterns. There are seven research councils, the chairs of which are currently male. The research councils are committed to improving diversity in their public appointments and held a workshop in March 2014 to agree an action plan to increase the diversity of each council. The action plan will be published on the RCUK website and disseminated to all council members.

The BIS Board, which provides collective strategic leadership of the Department, has endorsed a plan of activity and a number of actions to help the Department not only to improve its position on gender-diversity during 2014/15 but to reinforce its continued commitment to attracting a strong and diverse field of candidates to public appointments.

Shipping: Minimum Wage

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what recent (a) correspondence and (b) discussions he has had with individual employers in the maritime industry about pay rates below the national minimum wage (NMW) for seafarers subject to UK national insurance employed on vessels working from UK ports; and if he will take steps to enforce in the maritime sector his Department's policy on enforcement, prosecutions and naming employers who break the law on the NMW; [199360]

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(2) what recent discussions he has had with the (a) UK Chamber of Shipping and (b) European Community Shipowners Association on pay rates for seafarers subject to UK national insurance employed on vessels working from UK ports who are paid hourly rates below the national minimum wage; and if he will request data on such pay rates from maritime employers' associations. [199356]

Jenny Willott: The Department is beginning engagement with a range of stakeholders from the maritime industry to fully understand issues surrounding payment of the minimum wage. To date we have met with officials in other jurisdictions as this policy area is affected by legislation outside the UK. We will go on to engage with individual maritime employers and their associations. We will be discussing recruitment models and pay structures as part of this engagement. Following these investigations, we will consider whether further enforcement activity is needed in this sector.

This Government remain committed to the minimum wage and the protection it provides to low-paid workers. That is why we have strengthened the enforcement regime by cutting back the criteria for naming and shaming non-compliant employers and have increased the penalty from 50% to 100% of arrears up to £20,000. We are also taking primary legislation to apply a penalty per underpaid worker rather than per non-compliant employer.

Where employers in the maritime industry are found to not be paying the national minimum wage that workers are entitled to, we will not hesitate to take action, including recovering arrears owed to workers and penalising employers financially and their reputation by naming and shaming where appropriate.

Workers in the maritime industry who think they have not been paid the correct national minimum wage should contact the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368.

Space Technology

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has invited representatives of the devolved Administrations to join the ad hoc ministerial-led steering group on the implementation of his Department's national space security policy. [199367]

Mr Willetts: The UK Space Agency and the Ministry of Defence are jointly leading work to co-ordinate an implementation plan for the National Space Security Policy that should be agreed between Ministers in the four lead Government Departments by the end of the calendar year. This plan will include the governance arrangements to oversee its successful implementation. Although Defence and National Security are not devolved matters, devolved Administrations will be consulted where it is necessary or appropriate to do so.

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Space Technology: Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that industry and academia in Northern Ireland are able to benefit from opportunities in support of national space security interests. [199368]

Mr Willetts: As part of the Northern Ireland pact published last year, the UK Space Agency is currently setting the business case for an investment in a satellite propulsion test facility near Belfast. This capability could be used for satellites employed in commercial and security uses.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions officials in his Department had with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive before publication of the National Space Security Policy. [199371]

Mr Willetts: Prior to the publication of the National Space Security Policy, committee clearance was requested via the National Security Committee by me, which was confirmed on 12 December 2014. Although Defence and National Security are not devolved matters, devolved Administrations will be consulted where it is necessary or appropriate to do so.

UK Coal

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what assessment his Department has made of the conclusions of the Orion Innovations report entitled Merits of UK Coal State Aid Application, submitted to his Department on 9 May 2014; [199685]

(2) what assessment he has made of the report, Merits of UK Coal State Aid Application submitted to his Department on 9 May 2014 by Orion Innovations. [199792]

Michael Fallon: I asked officials to review the report and discuss it with the author. This included a discussion on the background to the report and an explanation from Orion of the methodology and conclusions made in the report. Furthermore, they questioned the detail of the analysis, the robustness of the assumptions and areas for further development. Their conclusions are that the report is a high-level analysis of the key issues and that it would require significant further work, diligence and validation of assumptions and contingency. It also requires enhancements to methodology, for example, to model the phasing of cash flows and include time value of money considerations and appropriate returns to capital. Orion has noted that the work was completed on a short time frame and that they would be open to carrying out further work if a mandate could be agreed. On this basis, it is not possible to draw conclusions sufficient to inform any investment decision.