Tag: Adam Afriyie

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of whether his Department is on course to complete the roll-out of smart meters by 2020.

Jesse Norman

The Government is committed to every home and small business being offered smart meters by the end of 2020. The Programme is making good progress. More than 4.2 million meters have been installed in homes and businesses across Great Britain.

Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed in Great Britain is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end June 2016’, published on 29 September 2016: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-2-2016

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to boost exports to (a) Indonesia, (b) Vietnam, (c) Thailand, (d) Malaysia, (e) the Philippines and (f) other countries in South East Asia.

Anna Soubry

UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has established a regional network to support UK trade and investment across South East Asia. This helps provide UK companies with access to the fast-growing markets of the region. The network is on target to assist nearly 10,000 businesses this year. UKTI has directly assisted in export deals with the region worth £2bn in the first six months of this financial year, putting us on track to deliver the UK’s best ever trade figures for the region. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister urged the European Union to accelerate negotiations on the EU-ASEAN FTA, a deal that is worth an additional £3 billion a year to the UK economy.

Closer collaboration across the region, supported by continued investment from government, has enabled UKTI to operate ever more efficiently, working with more British businesses and securing a higher value of business wins. Six regional priority sectors have been identified- reflecting UK strengths as well as the scale of opportunities in the region – enabling a more strategic approach to trade delivery in Infrastructure, Education, Energy, Financial & Professional Services, Consumer Retail and Healthcare.

Significant investment is also being made in the development of additional trade service capacity, being delivered by industry partners in the region, principally through Chambers of Commerce. This represents the government’s growing focus on the region as a global growth engine, and is indicative of the continuing importance that this government places in seeking out global opportunities to boost the UK economy.

In July of this year my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister led a trade mission to Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. The mission was made up of 30 British businesses, and included the signing of trade deals worth over £750 million. Concurrently, my right hon. Friend the Secretary for State for Business, Innovation and Skills led the inaugural Northern Powerhouse delegation, comprising over 50 UK companies, to Singapore and Malaysia.

During his visit to Indonesia, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that the Government will make available up to £1 billion to finance infrastructure projects involving UK business, in Indonesia through its export guarantee scheme. The UK welcomes the recent commitments made by President Joko Widodo’s government on deregulation and improving the business and investment environment in Indonesia, as well as the talks between Indonesia and the EU on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which will benefit both Indonesia and the UK. Richard Graham MP, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Indonesia and the Asian Economic Community (AEC) has paid two visits this year to Indonesia, pushing forward trade priorities and promoting work on second-tier cities within Indonesia.

Two-way trade with Vietnam more than doubled between 2009 and 2014, reaching £2.81 billion, with the UK being amongst Vietnam’s largest trading partners within the EU. During my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s visit in July, the first by a serving British Prime Minister, Rolls Royce and Vietnam Airlines signed an agreement totalling £340 million, Prudential announced a £100 million investment and ZincOx agreed a £75 million investment for hazardous waste recycling.

In the past year, over 1000 UK businesses have been helped to trade with Thailand. Notable improvements to the business environment include: British beef and lamb now being allowed to be imported into the Thai market after a 20-year hiatus, which will bring business of some £9m over the next five years; the British Embassy Bangkok, with other embassies and Chambers, encouraged the Thai authorities not to proceed with new regulations which would have directly impacted foreign ownership of over 5000 companies, many British, as well as deter further UK investment opportunities; finally the Government has encouraged the Thai authorities, with strong support from the Thai Prime Minister, to sign up to the Construction Transparency Initiative, which should improve public procurement practice for major infrastructure projects.

Exports to Malaysia (the UK’s second largest export market in ASEAN) have risen by almost 25% between 2010 and 2014. Over the past four years, there have been more UK Ministerial and VIP visits to Malaysia promoting trade and investment than ever before, including two visits by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. Recent successes include a £4.2bn supply and maintenance deal between Rolls Royce and Air Asia. Posts have successfully worked to tackle market access barriers, for example, helping to open up engineering and legal services in Malaysia.

In the first half of this year UK exports to the Philippines grew by 44%, the third highest growth in exports to any country worldwide. Major deals include a £90m contract for the supply of electronic voting machines, a £70m deal for a British solar company and the appointment of Arup as the lead designer on the country’s second largest airport.

Lord Puttnam, UK Trade and Cultural Envoy to Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam has also made two visits to the region this year, strengthening important business and governmental links and working on campaigns ranging from infrastructure to education.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the extent of electoral fraud in Ghana; and whether her Department has participated in election observation in Ghana in the past and what plans it has to do so in future.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID supported the conclusion of the UNDP Needs Assessment Mission conducted 3-11 November 2014, that the Ghana Electoral Commission, despite its good reputation, continues to suffer from many challenges, primarily poor performance in managing the voters register; inadequate coordination among other institutions involved in the electoral process; and lack of communication and consultations with key stakeholders, including political parties. This increases the potential for electoral fraud. DFID staff have participated in previous election observation and plan to do so again, as part of the overall UK effort to support Ghana in achieving peaceful and credible elections in 2016.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to promote career colleges; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Boles

Career Colleges will have their own branding and identity and are independent of Government policy, so it is not for Government to promote them directly. However, we do support any organisation which is focused on providing high quality technical education to young people.

In particular, we hope Career Colleges can benefit from the protection of funding and the range of flexibilities in the system. This includes protecting the 16-19 base rate, substantial investment in apprenticeships and study programmes, which provide an opportunity to tailor provision around the needs and aspirations of each young person.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to include (a) stem cell and (b) bone marrow donation alongside organ and blood donation options on NHS GP registration forms for new patients.

Nicola Blackwood

There are no plans to include stem cell and bone marrow donation on general practice registration forms for new patients. NHS Blood and Transplant recruits potential bone marrow donors from blood donors when they first donate blood.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on election observation (a) in real terms and (b) as a proportion of her Department’s budget since 2010.

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID tracks its spending on support to elections, and this encompasses election observation to build public confidence in electoral processes and help deter fraud, intimidation and violence. DFID spent a total of £212 million on bilateral and multilateral support to elections during the period 2010/11 to 2014/15 which represents 0.5% of DFID total spend. During this period DFID has funded elections observation in a number of countries often as part of wider election programmes, for example in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Kosovo, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to widen access to sources of alternative finance.

Anna Soubry

Alternative finance is a rapidly growing sector. Latest figures from the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association (P2PFA) show that new SME loans originated by their members increased by 89% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2015. Equity crowdfunded deal numbers and investment totals have also been steadily rising. The British Business Bank is an active participant in the sector and during the last 12 months has supported 3,301 businesses through the peer-to-peer platforms Funding Circle, RateSetter and Zopa.

A key element in the growth of the UK alternative finance sector has been a regulatory environment that supports innovation while protecting both investors and businesses. In addition, 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 help match SMEs with alternative finance providers and will be brought into operation later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase entrepreneurship and business education in schools.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Entrepreneurship and business education are important components of both high quality careers education and guidance as well as a broad education offer for pupils.

The careers statutory guidance places a responsibility on schools in England to offer pupils the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills and have access to advice on options available post-16, including entrepreneurship. While it is for schools to decide how best to provide entrepreneurship education, we know that contact with entrepreneurs themselves and businesses more widely is essential. That is why we are funding The Careers & Enterprise Company to increase the number and quality of contacts between young people and businesses, including entrepreneurs.

We have revised the business GCSE, so that from September 2017 there is greater depth and breadth and a clearer focus on the overall purpose, features and workings of businesses and how to apply this knowledge in a business context.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase registration for (a) blood and platelet, (b) stem cell, (c) bone marrow and (d) organ donation.

Nicola Blackwood

NHS Blood and Transplant runs donor recruitment campaigns for blood, platelet, stem cell and organ donation throughout the year. Examples include the recently launched Missing Type campaign to promote blood donation; implementation of their Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020: A UK Strategy and management of the NHS Cord Blood Bank and British Bone Marrow Registry, working with Anthony Nolan.

Specific action addressing awareness of registration among school-aged children includes the introduction of new education resources designed to equip secondary school teachers with the knowledge to educate and engage students about organ donation and working with Anthony Nolan to run the Be a Lifesaver education programme which trains volunteers to educate 16-18 year olds about stem cell, blood and organ donation.