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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.

  • 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.

    “

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the implementation of Shaping University Curricula to Critical Infrastructure Employer Needs.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government actively encourages collaboration between universities and business to ensure course content meets the needs of employers, including those responsible for critical infrastructure. Higher Education Institutions, as autonomous bodies, are independent from the Government and are responsible for the implementation of SUCCEED.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 15 of Beneficial Ownership Transparency: enhancing transparency of beneficial ownership information of foreign companies undertaking certain economic activities in the UK, published by his Department in March 2016, how much property has been investigated as suspected proceeds of corruption in each year since 2004-05; and what proportion of those properties in each of those years used offshore corporate ownership.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold the information requested. Paragraph 15 of the discussion paper refers to information from the 2015 Transparency International Report “Corruption on your Doorstep”. The Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit provided the information to inform the report prior to their joining the National Crime Agency to form the International Corruption Unit. I have received the assurance that it is not possible to provide the information broken down by year without redoing the research which would be at disproportionate cost.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the ban on bearer shares which came into force on 26 May 2015.

    Anna Soubry

    The government introduced a ban on the issue of new bearer shares on 26 May 2015 through the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. The legislation provided a transition period to allow existing bearer shareholders to convert their shares into other types of shareholding or to realise their value. The transition period ended on 25 February 2016. Companies notify Companies House of the removal of bearer shares when they file their annual return (which will change to the confirmation statement from 30 June 2016).

    Since 26 May 2015 Companies House has worked closely with the approximately 1,300 companies that had bearer shares as well as their directors and professional representatives. Over 1,233 of those companies have confirmed to Companies House that they have no longer have bearer shares.

    Companies House is monitoring each filing of these companies’ annual return to confirm that the bearer shares have been converted. This exercise will end in February 2017 once the annual filing cycle concludes following the end of the transition period.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many referrals the Insolvency Service received from (a) each of the sectoral regulators and (b) any other third party for alleged malpractice by directors of companies in each year since 2009.

    Anna Soubry

    The number of complaints received about live companies, and the number of reports received about insolvent companies from insolvency practitioners (IPs), is summarised in the table below. No records are kept of the total number of complaints received about insolvent companies and separate figures are not available for complaints received from regulators.

    Reporting year

    No complaints received about live companies

    No of reports received from IPs

    09/10

    5,989

    7,030

    10/11

    4,852

    5,373

    11/12

    3,523

    5,401

    12/13

    3,014

    5,335

    13/14

    3,603

    4,671

    14/15

    3,791

    4,620

    15/16

    3,904

    4,277
  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to announce the results of the consultation, Property ownership and public contracting by foreign countries: improving transparency, published on 4 March 2016.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government is currently analysing the responses to the discussion paper, with a view to announcing its next steps shortly.