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  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that UK citizens can take up apprenticeships in other EU states.

    Nick Boles

    There are many differences between apprenticeships systems across EU Member States. In some countries, like England, apprenticeships are jobs, whilst in others they are training courses without employment status.

    Under the principle of free movement, UK citizens, like all nationals of an EU Member State, have a right to work in another, subject to all relevant employment laws.

    Where apprenticeships are training programmes, it is up to each member state to set the parameters for their specific programme, including offering opportunities for resident citizens of other countries.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that best practice is shared with each of the devolved institutions on development among employers of agri-tech and skills strategies.

    George Freeman

    We are supporting the efforts of the agri-tech sector to ensure that it has the skills it needs for the future. In agriculture this is led by the Agri-Skills Forum, comprising bodies such as Lantra, Landex, National Farmers Union, and the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board, which takes a UK wide perspective of skills needs in agriculture and horticulture, and provides a direct link to employers. The Biological and Biosciences Research Council has provided £13 million of funding through its Advanced Training Programmes to support high level skills in food and farming throughout the UK.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps the Government has taken to improve toy safety.

    Anna Soubry

    Toy safety is fully addressed by the Toy Safety Regulations 2011. Officials are engaged with the associated standards developed and maintained through the British Standards Institute and monitoring of Trading Standards enforcement activities.

  • Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what regulations govern the manufacture, import and sale of laser pens in the UK.

    Anna Soubry

    All products intended for use by consumers are regulated under the General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) 2005 which implements the EU’s General Product Safety Directive (GPSD). This requires such products to be safe when placed on the market and applies to products where there is no other applicable legislation with more specific provisions on safety. This includes laser pens.

    In addition to the legislation, lasers sold in the UK and EU are covered by the safety standard BS EN 60825-1: 1994 Safety of Laser Products. This specifies those lasers which should be used by trained operators and therefore not suitable for use by the general public. Laser products up to 1 mW are considered safe for general consumer use.

    Trading Standards has the powers under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 to remove laser products from sale to the public, which are unsafe for general consumer use. If anyone is concerned about the safety of a product they should not use it and report it to their local Trading Standards department.

  • Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an estimate of the collective cost to small and medium-sized enterprises to recover overdue payments in each of the last five years.

    Anna Soubry

    We know that the collective cost of late payment has been, and remains, a significant burden for small and medium sized businesses. Small businesses spend too much valuable time and resource chasing late payments, which impacts on their ability to invest in growth.

    The Department does not hold the information required to make an estimate of the collective cost to small and medium-sized businesses to recover overdue payments in each of the last five years. As late payment affects so many different types of business in different ways, no single survey gives a full picture of the impact of late payment on small and medium-sized businesses. The three sources that we look to as an indicator of late payment are the SME finance monitor, the regular BACs survey and Experian’s late payment index.

  • Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to improve the monitoring of late payments by insurance companies to claims made by small and medium-sized enterprises.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government recognises the importance of prompt payment by insurers and has taken steps in the Enterprise Bill to introduce a requirement for insurers to pay all claims within a reasonable time and entitle policyholders, including small and medium sized enterprises, to damages where claims are paid late.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the cost and benefits of using (a) Green ISAs and Citizen Finance, (b) UK Pension Funds, (c) the European Investment Bank and (d) co-funding with devolved administrations as a means of increasing its capital base.

    Anna Soubry

    I assume that the Hon. Member’s question is referring to increasing the capital base of the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), rather than increasing the capital base of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

    The Government’s policy is to move the Green Investment Bank (GIB) into private ownership, minimising the Bank’s use of public funds, and where it will have the freedom to borrow and raise capital without impacting on public sector net debt.

    a) Green ISAs and Citizen Finance

    At present, GIB has insufficient track record for the retail market. Most of its portfolio is in relatively high risk construction projects that will not provide steady returns in the short term. More importantly, GIB’s current focus is growth, for which it will need to make regular cash calls on investors, which would be hard to meet in the public markets. However there is no reason why a privatised GIB could not raise capital through Green ISAs or other forms of citizen finance in the longer term.

    (b) UK Pension Funds

    Large scale institutional investors such as UK pension funds are likely to be interested in acquiring a stake in GIB, as part of the Government’s plans to move GIB into the private sector. GIB has already successfully attracted such investors into its managed fund for investment in Offshore Wind and other investments (e.g. Strathclyde local authority pension fund), many of whom are investing in green projects for the first time.

    (c) The European Investment Bank (EIB)

    The EIB’s focus is on providing debt products, rather than equity investment which is where GIB expects to concentrate. It is unlikely that the EIB would make an investment in GIB itself. However, GIB is already partnering with EIB as a co-investor (such as on the recent Galloper offshore wind investment) and it may continue to do so in future.

    (d) Co-funding with devolved administrations

    The Government’s policy is to move GIB into the private sector. Co-funding GIB with the devolved administrations would simply be another form of public sector funding.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2015 to Question 18005, how many of the students in Burnley qualified for maintenance grants in academic year 2013-14.

    Joseph Johnson

    Numbers of applicants awarded Maintenance Grants by Parliamentary Constituency in the academic year 2013/14 were provided in my reply to the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde, to question UIN 7227.

    “

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what options were considered during the decision-making process of privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government considered a number of options for the Green Investment Bank’s (GIB) future but none were deemed to be as effective in meeting the Government’s objectives as the current proposals of moving GIB into majority private ownership.

    These alternative options were set out in our policy paper of 18 November 2015.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the proposed sale of the Green Investment Bank will include all assets of the bank.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government has made clear that we intend to sell the Green Investment Bank (GIB) as a going concern. The assets are an inherent part of that company.