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 Margaret Curran on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support the First Minister of Scotland has received from UK Trade & Investment ahead of his upcoming visit to the US.
Michael Fallon
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) in New York and San Francisco have worked closely with the First Minister’s team in planning arrangements for his visit.
The Consul-General in New York hosted a lunch at his residence on 7 April 2014 in association with Scottish Development International (SDI) and Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) for the First Minister and 17 Scottish companies in the accompanying trade mission, to which key business figures in the US were invited.
On 8 April 2014 SDI and mission delegates attended a UKTI briefing discussion on marketing in the US. Mission companies will have access to meeting rooms for one-to-one meetings throughout the week, as well as UKTI staff who will be available to discuss business opportunities in the US market. UKTI staff are also supporting a number of events during the week, including the US office launch on 5 April 2014, of Scottish based Smarter Grid Solutions and other events where mission delegates will be present.
For the visit of the Scottish Government’s External Affairs and International Development Minister, Huzma Yousaf, UKTI contributed to the guest list for Mr Yousaf’s Scotland Week reception in San Francisco. UKTI also contributed to energy sector invitees for the World Trade Centre-Northern California breakfast event for the Minister, as requested by the World Trade Centre.
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 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, 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 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, what involvement (a) the bank acting as financial adviser to the Government and (b) banks acting as bookrunners, co-ordinators and lead managers had in discussions with priority investors on the privatisation of Royal Mail.
Michael Fallon
Together with Royal Mail’s management team, the Government’s independent financial adviser (Lazard) and members of the banking syndicate met with the priority investors throughout the investor engagement process. The banking advisers also met with over 500 institutional investors. The purpose of this engagement was to educate investors about the business and secure indications of potential demand and valuation.
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 correspondence there was between (a) the bank acting as financial adviser to the Government and (b) banks acting as bookrunners, co-ordinators and lead managers (i) with and (ii) on priority investors; and if he will publish any relevant correspondence.
Michael Fallon
The Department has not seen and does not hold copies of any correspondence between Lazard or the Syndicate of banks selling Royal Mail shares and the priority investors.
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 (a) verbal and (b) contractual agreement was made with priority investors in relation to their shareholders during the privatisation of Royal Mail.
Michael Fallon
No verbal or contractual agreement of any description – including future intentions for shareholdings – was made between the Government and any investor in the Royal Mail Initial Public Offering (IPO). Any suggestion that there was a “gentleman’s agreement” is false.
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 apprentices aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) between 19 and 24 and (c) 25 years or over are employed at the Competition and Markets Authority.
Matthew Hancock
The Competition and Markets Authority employs no apprentices at this time.
As a supporter of apprenticeships, the Government launched the first Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme in 2013.
As at September 2013, the most recent date for which figures are available, the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme had 100 18-21 year old apprentices employed in permanent posts across government on the 2-year scheme.