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  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish regular information on the level of his Department’s target impairment for student loans.

    Mr David Willetts

    This Department does not set a target for impairment of student loans. Our reforms were designed to put higher education on a sustainable footing. Universities are now well-funded and this is driving up the quality of the student experience and helping to stimulate economic growth, while keeping access to higher education free at the point of entry.

  • Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julie Elliott – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2014-03-31.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he had with investors in renewable energy before the changes to the Enterprise Investment Scheme on tax breaks for companies benefiting from the Renewables Obligation.

    Mr David Gauke

    Budget 2014 announced that companies benefiting from Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) and/or the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme will be excluded from the venture capital schemes, including the enterprise investment scheme.

    This change ensures the venture capital schemes continue to support smaller and growing businesses in a targeted and effective way. The government consulted extensively with stakeholders when similar action was taken to exclude companies benefitting from Feed-in-Tariffs from the venture capital schemes in 2011.

    Further information on the detail of the change will be published shortly, ahead of the publication of an impact assessment and legislation.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many men in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) England died from advanced prostate cancer in each of the last five years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

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

  • Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) incidence rate and (b) age standardised incidents rate of prostate cancer in (i) England and (ii) each parliamentary constituency was in the latest year for which figures are available.

    Mr Nick Hurd

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

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people (a) of pensionable age and (b) over 80 years old there are in Brigg and Goole constituency.

    Mr Nick Hurd

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

  • Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to A UK Strategy for Agricultural Technologies, what progress has been made in identifying skills needed to support the agri-tech research progress; and what steps he is taking to ensure the identified skills are being procured.

    Mr David Willetts

    The Agri-Tech Strategy Leadership Council is delivering the skills commitments in the Strategy. Current work includes working with the UK Research Councils and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to map the gaps in research skills; working with the Agri-Skills Forum to promote the professionalisation of careers in agriculture; and working with Government to help shape the new Rural Development Programme with respect to agri-skills.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people applied to the 2014 Sirius Programme for young entrepreneurs; and if he will make a statement.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Sirius Programme, led by UK Trade and Investment, enables talented graduates with innovative start up ideas to start a business in the UK. Successful applicants receive support via a structured mentoring programme and participants requiring a visa, are able to access support through a dedicated visa route for the Sirius Programme. The current programme is a 2 year pilot – the first round was launched on 6 September 2013 and closed on 15 January 2014. A total of 1543 people applied.

    A second round of the Sirius Programme will open shortly.

  • Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Dr Julian Huppert – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Julian Huppert on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to ensure long-term capital funding for sixth form colleges.

    Mr David Laws

    The 2013 Spending Round confirmed the levels of capital funding that the Department for Education will receive between 2015 and 2021. This settlement will enable the Department to develop a long-term approach, allowing us to consider making allocations over a number of years, which would help schools, sixth-form colleges and their responsible bodies to plan with greater confidence.

    I am clear that in future years our funding should be better targeted to where it is most needed, and it is for this reason that the Department is currently collecting up to date information on the condition of school buildings, including sixth-form colleges, through a comprehensive survey. This survey is due to be completed by the summer and it is our intention that the results will be used to inform the allocation of capital maintenance funding from 2015-16.

  • Stephen Pound – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stephen Pound – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Pound on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many claims for asbestos-related illnesses were made against his Department in each year since 2003.

    Jenny Willott

    The asbestos-related personal injury claims for which the Department is responsible are mainly historical liabilities that were assumed by the Department from various bodies, including former nationalised industries, whose liabilities transferred to the Department (as previously constituted) when those bodies ceased to exist.

    Based on available data, the number of claims for the years in question are listed by category, and are as follows:

    Year

    National

    Dock Labour Board

    British

    Shipbuilders[1]

    British Shipbuilers Chester Street[2]

    British Coal[3]

    Others[4]

    2003

    645

    31

    11

    2004

    854

    37

    103

    2005

    771

    15

    47

    2006

    214

    4

    42

    2007

    119

    8

    42

    1

    2008

    115[5]

    126

    4

    36

    2

    2009

    44

    168

    2

    2

    2010

    45

    133

    7

    3

    2011

    47

    124

    4

    1

    2012

    45

    232

    3

    1

    2013

    37

    160

    4

    2

    2014

    6

    33

    1

    2

    The footnotes below provide further information on these numbers.

    [1]British Shipbuilders was a separate legal entity, with BIS, as formerly constituted, as its sponsor department. British Shipbuilders was wound up in March 2013. Since then responsibility for these claims has passed to BIS.

    [2]BIS is responsible for compensation claims made against former British Shipbuilders’ companies that were sold with their liabilities during privatisation, and which subsequently became insolvent, as did their insurer, Chester Street Insurance Holdings Ltd. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not compensate former employees in respect of periods of employment with nationalised industries (such as British Shipbuilders) and the Department (the then DTI) assumed liability for this compensation by way of a Minute to Parliament in 2003.

    [3] BIS does not hold complete figures for asbestos claims for British Coal for calendar years 2003, 2005 and 2006. British Coal liabilities transferred to the Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) on its creation in October 2008, so no figures have been included after that date.

    [4]The claims listed in the column headed “Others” are claims for which the Department is responsible as the successor to partner organisations and executive agencies which no longer exist.

    [5]The figure of 115 NDLB claims for 2008 is the complete number for the years 2006 – 2008 as the figures for these years have been aggregated.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-03-31.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the effect on his Department’s total resource Departmental Expenditure Limits of the revised guidance on revaluation of student loan impairments in each of the next three years.

    Mr David Willetts

    Student Loan repayments are managed annually under government budgeting rules and any changes, for whatever reason, in forecast repayments, are considered as part of the Parliamentary Supply Process.

    Additional Supply was agreed between this Department and HM Treasury, and approved by Parliament as part of the 2013-14 Supplementary Estimates process.