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  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the (a) premium income, (b) claims paid and (c) monies at risk of UK Export Finance were relating to the defence sector in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

    Nick Boles

    The Information requested is in the table below:

    Year

    Net Premium Income[1]

    Gross Amounts At Risk[2]

    Claims Paid

    2010/11

    £ 2,597,418

    £ 1,156,123,326

    £ 0

    2011/12

    £ 11,832

    £ 1,743,249,113

    £ 0

    2012/13

    £ 42,664,931

    £ 3,364,357,183

    £ 0

    2013/14

    £ 27,162

    £ 3,063,150,515

    £ 0

    2014/15

    £ 3,472,656

    £ 2,899,169,497

    £ 0

    It should be noted that premium income relates to business supported in that financial year, whereas amounts at risk will relate to all business in respect of which contingent liability still remains.

    [1] Net of Premium due where reinsurance (if any) has been obtained.

    [2] Inclusive of amounts reinsured (if any)

  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to support (a) peer-to-peer lending and (b) challenger banks.

    Anna Soubry

    Access to finance on flexible, competitive terms is essential for growing businesses. Challenger banks and alternative finance providers have an important role to play in widening choice and promoting competition.

    Government is bringing into effect provisions in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 which will require the largest banks – where they decline lending requests from small business customers – to offer those customers the opportunity for their details to be referred to a government-designated funding platform. These platforms will be brought into operation later this year and will allow SMEs to match their requirements with offers from peer-to-peer platforms and challenger banks.

    During the last 12 months, the British Business Bank has supported 3,301 businesses through the peer-to-peer platforms Funding Circle, RateSetter and Zopa. The British Business Bank also supports the growth of challenger banks by providing wholesale funds alongside private sector investors.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on infraction proceedings in each of the last 10 years.

    Joseph Johnson

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 11 May 2016 to Question UIN 36288.

    “

  • Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number of jobs that may be lost as a result of automation in industry over the next 10 years; and what steps the Government is taking to address the risk of such job losses.

    Nick Boles

    The Department has not made a specific forecast of how many jobs will be lost (or how many will be created) over the next 10 years due to automation. However, officials across Government are exploring the implications for policy – including employment – of automation, as part of the Horizon Scanning Programme. Officials are also engaging with our international partners to ensure that we are aware of the most recent thinking about the potential impacts of automation.

    The Government is taking action to provide individuals with the skills that will help prepare them for changes to the labour market. Activities include the new school computing curriculum, developing new apprenticeship standards, growing the apprenticeships programme, and recently announcing the Institute for Coding.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to make a final decision on the proposed closure of his Department’s Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Executive Board’s plan is to communicate its decision to staff, together with its response to the consultation on the proposal, during the week beginning 23 May.

  • Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many people were prosecuted in England for forced marriage in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) collects information to show the number of defendants prosecuted for offences relating to forced marriages identified by way of a monitoring flag applied to the case record. The flag is applied where any offence of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse has been carried out in the context of a forced marriage. During the financial year 2014-15 the CPS prosecuted 45 defendants in England and 46 defendants nationally (England and Wales) for offences associated with forced marriages. CPS figures in relation to the financial year 2015-16 will be placed in the House of Commons Library later this year.

    A specific offence of forced marriage was created by section 121 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and came into force in June 2014. This offence applies to a person who intentionally forces a person to enter into marriage, believing the person does not consent, or a person who deceives someone into going abroad for the specific purpose of forcing them to marry. During 2014-15, the CPS commenced one prosecution in relation to forced marriage and two in relation to breaches of forced marriage protection orders.

  • Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many forced marriage protection orders were issued in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Statistics on Forced Marriage Protection Orders are published by the Ministry of Justice and are available as part of the Family Courts Statistics Quarterly series at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly.

    “

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the labelling of milk products to show country of origin.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    In 2011, Defra facilitated a set of industry principles on country of origin labelling. These principles ensure that the vast majority of milk and dairy products sold at retail in Britain are clearly labelled with their country of origin. We are continuing to work with the food industry to explore what more can be done to increase origin labelling, as well as in the EU to push for EU-wide mandatory origin labelling for milk and dairy products.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in their application to the EU Solidarity Fund for flood relief, and when they anticipate the first payments from that fund will be made.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government submitted an initial UK application to the European Union Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February. We are in the process of refining our cost estimates and figures, and I will update Parliament once the application is finalised.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to legislate to make restaurants and food outlets display their hygiene ratings.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has responsibility for the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. The FSA has been monitoring the impact of mandatory display of ratings at food outlets in Wales and will look closely at the evidence from this. It is anticipated that proposals will be presented to the Government by the end of the year.