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  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise to the Urgent Question of 29 January 2016, Official Report, on Closure of St Paul’s Place, BIS Office (Sheffield), if he will publish the business case for the closure of that office.

    Joseph Johnson

    Since summer 2015 the Department has been reviewing its business model. By 2020, we want to simplify our structure, become more digital, be cheaper for taxpayers and better for users. As part of this we anticipate reducing the number of our locations from more than 80 to approximately 7 centres plus a regional footprint. The intention to close the BIS Sheffield office in St Paul’s Place was formed in light of these plans.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what financial assistance is available to UK businesses in the oil industry supply chain who face financial difficulties resulting from the reduction in the price of oil.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government has taken steps to help reinvigorate the supply chain by stimulating more investment opportunities in the UK Continental Shelf through a £1.3bn package of tax cutting measures and £20m of new funding for a second round of seismic surveys, announced at the end of January 2016.

    The government has taken forward the rapid implementation of the Wood Review and the Oil and Gas Fiscal Review, establishing the Oil and Gas Authority, and in recognition of the current economic pressures hitting the industry, has established a cross-government, Ministerial oil support group. This will look at issues such as how to support the supply chain and workers through this difficult period.

    UKTI also continue to work with supply chain companies to access overseas opportunities in countries including Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan and Mexico.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what funding the Government has provided for carbon capture and storage research and development projects not based in the UK since 2010.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Under DECC’s £20m CCS Innovation Programme, Net Power LLC, a US company, was awarded a Research and Development grant of £7.5m to demonstrate a British invented low carbon power generation technology. Net Power worked with Goodwin Steel castings, an established UK manufacturer, to manufacture turbine casings for the project.

    Through the International Climate Fund (ICF) the Government has funded capacity building projects in a number of partner countries. In December 2012, the UK committed £60 million from the ICF to trust funds operated by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to support developing countries to develop both the technical and institutional knowledge necessary to enable the deployment of CCS technologies. The ICF finance is supporting CCS capacity building through pilot projects, with the aim of demonstrating the technology and reducing the cost of the technology application across the CCS chain.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to maintain core funding for British schools and institutes abroad which promote UK higher education and research and the international reputation of the UK.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department for Business Innovation and Skills does not provide direct funding for British schools and institutes abroad which promote UK higher education and research and the international reputation of the UK. Core funding to some overseas research institutes such as the BASIS institutes sponsored by the British Academy, is provided through the science budget. The Government has protected the science budget in real terms to the end of the Parliament. The allocation for the National Academies for 2016-17 to 2019-20 provides for real terms protection for the British Academy’s BASIS programme, enabling the Academy to continue to provide the BASIS Institutes with substantial block grant support throughout this period.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate what proportion of the cost of introducing the proposed Teaching Excellence Framework will fall to (a) central government and (b) universities.

    Joseph Johnson

    We recently published the Green Paper “Fulfilling our potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice,” which sets out our proposals for delivering the Teaching Excellence Framework and reducing the regulatory burden on the sector. The consultation period closed on 15 January 2016.

    Once we have considered the consultation responses, and are in a position to publish our final proposals, we will publish a Regulatory Impact Assessment which will set out the costs of implementation.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK voting to leave the EU on UK students’ participation in the Erasmus scheme.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom – so we get a better deal for our country and secure our future. We are confident that the right agreement can be reached.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the market conditions affecting the Government’s decision to postpone the privatisation of Lloyds Bank on the proposed privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

    Anna Soubry

    Decisions about these separate matters will be taken on their individual merits. Further information on the Government’s proposals for a sale of the Green Investment Bank (GIB) is provided in our November 2015 policy statement on the future of GIB and in the Government’s response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report on the future of GIB. Both documents can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the expected timetable for the Lloyds Banking Group share offer.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government is committed to creating a share owning democracy in Britain. The Lloyds Banking Group share offer will help build that by giving the general public the chance to have a greater stake in our economy and encouraging long-term share ownership.

    However, given ongoing events in financial markets, now is not the right time to sell shares to retail investors. We have always been clear that sales are dependent on market conditions and the timing of the offer will be kept under review in light of this.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are planning to take to end fraudulent whiplash insurance claims.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government is determined to crack down on the compensation culture and insurance fraud.. We therefore announced, in the Autumn Statement, that we will limit the right to damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity in low value whiplash claims and raise the small claims limit for personal injury claims to £5,000.

    These reforms build on previous measures taken forward by the Ministry of Justice to control costs, strengthen the medical evidence process and reduce incentives to pursue fraudulent and unnecessary whiplash claims.

    The Government will consult on the detail of the new measures in due course.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many companies have made special arrangements with HMRC to pay tax owed, and how the arrangements are assessed as reasonable and fair to the taxpayer in general as well as to the company concerned.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HMRC does not enter into special arrangements with companies.