The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister about the value of the Government support package for people affected by the closure of the SSI Steelworks in Redcar.
Anna Soubry
The package, worth up to £80 million, announced to support former SSI workers and the Tees Valley economy more broadly was agreed across Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have accessed the Government support package for people affected by the closure of the SSI steelworks in Redcar.
Anna Soubry
There are a number of different elements of support for people affected by the closure of the SSI steelworks in Redcar. These include:
The Government will not impose solutions from Whitehall and will continue to work closely with the local taskforce to deliver the proposals it has identified as having a real and lasting impact. This includes:
– a £1.7m support fund to enable SSI’s 50 apprentices complete their training
– a £16.5m Jobs and Skills Fund to help local firms employ former SSI workers or their spouses in full-time or part-time jobs for a minimum of three years
– £16m support for firms in the SSI supply chain and wider Tees Valley impacted by the Redcar steelworks closure, to safeguard jobs, provide the stimulus to create new posts and provide expert assistance to help them expand their business
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will assess the performance of the Official Receiver during the liquidation of SSI UK.
Anna Soubry
It is not part of the Secretary of State’s functions to assess the performance of the Official Receiver when acting as liquidator. The Secretary of State cannot interfere in the administration of the liquidation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Hurd on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2015 to Question 10237, when he expects to publish proposals for the future of the National Debt Fund.
Jeremy Wright
I refer my Hon. Friend to my Answer of 17 September 2015. Work is on-going on the possible application to the court for directions on the future of the National Fund, consistent with its object of extinguishing or reducing the national debt. I am also continuing to consider other options. I will update my Hon. Friend as soon as I can.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Huddleston on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage competition and switching between providers in consumer markets.
Nick Boles
The Government is determined to encourage more consumers to vote with their feet in key markets like energy, banking and telecoms. We are currently conducting a Call for Evidence on a set of six “switching principles”. Once fully implemented, these will make the process quicker and easier for consumers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of investments made through the British Business Bank has been made in the North East.
Anna Soubry
As at 30 June, the North East accounts for 5% of the finance facilitated by the British Business Bank. Given that the North East accounts for 3% of the small business population this means that the region enjoys more than its pro rata share of Business Bank investment.
I am pleased that since 2010, there are 11,800 new businesses in the North East. The historic Tees Valley devolution deal, worth £450million, and the North East Combined Authority deal, worth £900million, recently signed by the Chancellor will help drive locally led economic growth and a thriving business environment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that the skills of steel industry employees are maintained.
Anna Soubry
From my visits to Scunthorpe, Redcar, Port Talbot and Cardiff, I know first-hand what a dedicated and skilled workforce exists in the industry and am determined that they have a future, with the action the government has taken and will continue to take to help the industry.
For those workers that have unfortunately lost their jobs, the government is committed to doing all we can to give them the support and training needed to quickly return to work. We have made available up to £80 million for Redcar and announced up to £9 million for Scunthorpe to support those who have been affected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marion Fellows on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage prompt payment to small businesses.
Anna Soubry
We will establish a Small Business Commissioner to help small businesses deal with late payment disputes. We are also introducing new payment reporting requirements for large companies that will allow public scrutiny of payment performance
I was pleased to see Tesco has cut its payment terms to 14 days for suppliers with total sales to Tesco worth less than £100,000 a year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart McDonald on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that funding is available to maintain work opportunities for researchers in the early stages of their careers.
Joseph Johnson
The Government recognises the importance of sustaining a vibrant research community across the UK. A key criterion for allocating the £4.6billion per year of research funding is “maintaining a substantial flow of new researchers and high level skills”. Research Councils support 10,000 researchers many of whom are in early research careers, as well as Doctoral Training Centres. National Academies also support early-career researchers with the potential to become leaders in their chosen fields.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what average time his Department took to respond to freedom of information requests in each year since 2005.
Justin Tomlinson
The Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness. These can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics
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