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  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for UK Erasmus students, lecturers and research fellows of the UK leaving the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to extend the statutory obligation for employers to consult appropriate representatives of employees being made redundant when that employer dismisses fewer than 20 people at an establishment.

    Nick Boles

    The Government has no plans to bring forward legislation in relation to collective redundancies and existing thresholds for employers to consult with employee representatives nor in the treatment of ‘establishment’. The existing threshold balances such consultation rights of employees with the need for businesses to be able to restructure effectively to respond to changing market conditions.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the proposed TTIP agreement provides equality of competition for US and EU companies in the tendering of public service contracts.

    Anna Soubry

    The Procurement Chapter in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will not require the Government to outsource public services, and it will only apply to specified services sectors. The Procurement Chapter is still being negotiated – the EU and US made their first exchange of offers in February. Our aim is to enhance the opportunities for UK companies seeking to operate in the US. An assessment for the European Commission suggests that around 10% of the EU’s potential economic gains could come from liberalisation of procurement in the US. Therefore, the Procurement Chapter is expected to contain an obligation not to discriminate in favour of domestic firms when procuring services.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of providing adult education courses over the next five years.

    Nick Boles

    The skills funding letter published in December 2015 sets out priorities and funding for adult education over the next 5 years. Across all of the funding streams used to support adult education participation, we are increasing funding by 40% in cash terms. It is for colleges and private providers, working with their local areas, to decide how best to use that funding in the interests of the learners and employers they serve.

    A full copy of the funding letter can be viewed via – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-letter-april-2016-to-march-2017.

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  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the technology used for the digital voucher system for accessing funds from the apprenticeship levy will allow companies to direct unused funds to smaller companies in their supply chains.

    Nick Boles

    In the first year of the levy, employers will be able to use funds in their levy account to pay for apprenticeship training and assessment of their own employees. We know that some employers will want to use funds in their digital account to pay for apprenticeship training of other employer’s apprentices, for example, someone in their supply chain. We will make an assessment of the pros and cons of any approach, including the trade-offs with other design choices, before providing further information in June.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the budget reduction for community pharmacy in 2016-17 on high street vacancy rates.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review, the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public. Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim. We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close or what the effect on high street vacancy rates might be because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent to which they derive income from services commissioned locally by the NHS or local authorities or have non-NHS related income.

    We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and others, including patient and public representatives, on our proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond. We announced on 16 March 2016 that the consultation period was to be extended to allow more time to develop the proposed changes with the PSNC and others. It will now close on 24 May 2016.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much has been spent by his Department on the services of consultancy firms relating to proposals to privatise the Land Registry.

    Anna Soubry

    We will publish details of the expenditure on advisers once a transaction is completed. Given that the privatisation of the Land Registry would be a significant commercial transaction for Government, it is expected that the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee will scrutinise fees incurred as part of any review into the conduct of the transaction. This is the normal process of scrutiny for major Government asset sales.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the cessation of downstream steel operations at Llanwern on further redundancies in that region.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government recognises the considerable impact that a closure of Tata Steel UK’s facilities at Llanwern would have on its employees, their families and the communities in which they live. That is why we are working closely with Tata to find a credible buyer for their entire UK operation. Our interests are to support Tata Steel and the wider industry, secure as many jobs as we can and deliver a sustainable future.

    On 21 April, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills announced that a package of support worth hundreds of millions of pounds would be made available to potential buyers on commercial terms to support the ongoing operation and deliver long term investment in the future of the business. We will also consider support in other areas such as plant, pensions and power supply, and any other areas that potential buyers believe the Government can provide support.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2016 to Question 34542, whether his Department has made an assessment of risks from lasers; and how he plans to use the General Product Safety Regulations to ensure the safe use of lasers in driverless cars.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government, via Public Health England, has made an assessment of the health risks posed by different classes of lasers, and as a result my Department has advised Trading Standards to use their powers under the General Product Safety Regulations to remove laser pointers higher than Class 2 from sale.

    However, we are also aware that there is a second risk from the intentional directing of a laser at aviation (and other modes of transport) so as to dazzle or distract the pilot (or driver).

    This is a cross-Whitehall issue and we are working with other departments to address it, including looking at legislative options. However, the practical implementation of the General Product Safety Regulations is a matter for Local Authority Trading Standards.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to the letter of 24 March 2016 on ethical procurement from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield.

    Matthew Hancock

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today.