Author: admin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding allocated under the Regional Growth Fund in each (a) holding and (b) region has not yet been drawn down by winning bidders.

Michael Fallon

Regional breakdown of RGF allocations for each bidding round (Rounds 1-4) including the amount drawn down and remaining to be drawn down are provided in the attached tables. This data is as at 2 April. The RGF not drawn down for Rounds 1 to 4 totals £1,238 million. Of this, currently, £1,152 million is budgeted to be drawn down in 2014/15 and later years. Payments schedules are agreed with companies and payments are made when they need them.

Round 1

Region	RGF Allocation (£m)	RGF Drawdown (£m)	RGF not drawn down (£m)
North West	21	19	2
Yorkshire & Humber	47	39	8
North East	34	34	0
West Midlands	89	22	67
East Midlands	2	2	0
East of England	16	10	6
South East & London	0	0	0
South West	4	4	0
National	175	175	0
TOTAL	388	305	83

Round 2

Region	RGF Allocation (£m)	RGF Drawdown (£m)	RGF not drawn down (£m)
North West	189	123	66
Yorkshire & Humber	68	45	23
North East	64	56	8
West Midlands	91	87	4
East Midlands	80	49	31
East of England	35	20	15
South East & London	60	45	15
South West	71	69	2
National	90	80	10
TOTAL	748	574	174

Round 3

Region	RGF Allocation (£m)	RGF Drawdown (£m)	RGF not drawn down (£m)
North West	113	43	70
Yorkshire & Humber	63	28	35
North East	113	44	69
West Midlands	158	24	134
East Midlands	57	14	43
East of England	25	8	17
South East & London	48	18	30
South West	82	8	74
National	177	75	102
TOTAL	836	262	574

Round 4

Region	RGF Allocation (£m)	RGF Drawdown (£m)	RGF not drawn down (£m)
North West	96	5	91
Yorkshire & Humber	30	2	28
North East	33	1	32
West Midlands	65	1	64
East Midlands	41	1	40
East of England	15	3	12
South East & London	25	2	23
South West	14	0	14
National	115	12	103
TOTAL	434	27	407

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much in Regional Growth Fund money is currently held by intermediaries; and how much such money has been allocated (a) in each bidding round, (b) to each intermediary and (c) in each region.

Michael Fallon

From the four Regional Growth Fund (RGF) bidding rounds, £1.5 billion has been allocated to RGF programmes from which grants are made to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs.)

Of this, £452 million was allocated to 13 endowment programmes in Rounds 1 and 2 that received the full payment of their RGF grant upfront. These programmes have since invested £144 million to date in individual projects, and of the remaining £308 million held by such endowment programmes, a further £154 million is already committed to specific SME projects.

Non–endowment programmes are funded a quarter in advance on evidence of credible pipeline projects. These programmes have spent £172 million with a further £151 million of RGF paid to them in the last financial quarter under the expectation it would be spent this quarter. The money held by these programmes is not causing any delay to individual projects as businesses claim the money according to their business needs. A table of RGF funding allocated to intermediaries by each bidding round and region will be placed in the libraries of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials currently work in the Government’s Reshore UK service; how many such officials were previously employed in (a) the Manufacturing Advisory Service and (b) other Government departments or agencies; and where the staff of the Reshore UK service are currently located.

Michael Fallon

Reshore UK brings together and joins-up existing resources and activities of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) globally, the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) in England and partner bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to promote the UK as the location of choice for businesses considering reshoring: it is not an employer in its own right.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the total value is of all bids to each round of the Regional Growth Fund; how much has been committed to winning bidders in each Regional Growth Fund bidding round; and how much such funding has been drawn down in each region to date.

Michael Fallon

Regional breakdown of RGF allocations for each bidding round (Rounds 1-4) including the amount drawn down and remaining to be drawn down are provided in the attached tables. This data is as at 2 April. The RGF not drawn down for Rounds 1 to 4 totals £1,238 million. Of this, currently, £1,152 million is budgeted to be drawn down in 2014/15 and later years. Payments schedules are agreed with companies and payments are made when they need them.

Round 1

Region	RGF Allocation (£m)	RGF Drawdown (£m)	RGF not drawn down (£m)
North West	21	19	2
Yorkshire & Humber	47	39	8
North East	34	34	0
West Midlands	89	22	67
East Midlands	2	2	0
East of England	16	10	6
South East & London	0	0	0
South West	4	4	0
National	175	175	0
TOTAL	388	305	83

Round 2

Region	RGF Allocation (£m)	RGF Drawdown (£m)	RGF not drawn down (£m)
North West	189	123	66
Yorkshire & Humber	68	45	23
North East	64	56	8
West Midlands	91	87	4
East Midlands	80	49	31
East of England	35	20	15
South East & London	60	45	15
South West	71	69	2
National	90	80	10
TOTAL	748	574	174

Round 3

Region	RGF Allocation (£m)	RGF Drawdown (£m)	RGF not drawn down (£m)
North West	113	43	70
Yorkshire & Humber	63	28	35
North East	113	44	69
West Midlands	158	24	134
East Midlands	57	14	43
East of England	25	8	17
South East & London	48	18	30
South West	82	8	74
National	177	75	102
TOTAL	836	262	574

Round 4

Region	RGF Allocation (£m)	RGF Drawdown (£m)	RGF not drawn down (£m)
North West	96	5	91
Yorkshire & Humber	30	2	28
North East	33	1	32
West Midlands	65	1	64
East Midlands	41	1	40
East of England	15	3	12
South East & London	25	2	23
South West	14	0	14
National	115	12	103
TOTAL	434	27	407

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of individuals employed on zero-hours contracts by (a) region and (b) gender; and what research his Department has commissioned on that matter.

Mr Nick Hurd

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 415, on Royal Mail, over what time period the (a) final price achieved and (b) aftermarket performance of the shares will be assessed under the benchmarks set by the Government.

Michael Fallon

We have not set a rigid timetable for the assessment of whether the discretionary payment should be made. As seen in recent days, there is still volatility in Royal Mail’s share price.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many business rates appeals to the Valuation Office Agency are currently classified as (a) outstanding, (b) received and (c) cleared, by region; and what the current median time taken in days is to clear business rates challenges in each region.

Mr David Gauke

Table 1 shows the latest available statistics on proposals (appeals), by region, to amend the 2010 rating lists. The numbers provided cover England and Wales for the duration of the 2010 rating list as of 30 September 2013.

Table 1: Proposals to amend the 2010 Rating Lists

Region	Total Received1,2 1 Apr 10 to 30 Sept 13	Total Cleared1,2 1 Apr 10 to 30 Sept 13	Total Outstanding1,2 at 30 Sep 13	Median time to clear (days) 30 Sept 13
England and Wales	572,780	409,680	163,100	360
England	544,550	388,850	155,700	360
North East	23,030	17,370	5,660	360
North West	79,090	58,620	20,470	370
Yorkshire and the Humber	52,920	41,150	11,770	330
East Midlands	34,530	26,520	8,010	300
West Midlands	53,310	40,540	12,770	320
East	53,340	37,530	15,820	380
London	119,130	71,540	47,590	400
South East	77,700	56,440	21,260	380
South West	51,500	39,150	12,350	350
Wales	28,230	20,830	7,400	360

¹ Figures may not sum to the totals due to the rounding of figures.

² VOA Official Statistics, Local Rating Lists: Business Rates

(Experimental Statistics): Table As, November 2013

http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/_downloads/xls/NDR_TableA_All_2010.xls

“