Tag: Adam Afriyie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that exporters of intangible goods can access the resources of UK Export Finance.

Michael Fallon

UK Export Finance can provide support for intangibles, such as software licenses, where they are provided in connection with goods or services. As far as the supply of intangibles by themselves are concerned, UK Export Finance has initiated a public consultation on proposals to widen its powers under its enabling legislation, the Export and Investment Guarantees Act 1991 (as amended). These proposals include giving UK Export Finance the ability to support exports of intangible goods such as intellectual property rights by themselves. If, having regard to the responses to that consultation, it is deemed to implement these proposals, they will form part of a Bill that will be introduced in the next session of Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she has taken to ensure developing countries can access UK satellite technology to monitor local agricultural land and environmental risks; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone

DFID is supporting projects that use satellite data. DFID supports the World Agroforestry Centre to use data to help monitor and assess agriculture land use and environmental risks including land degradation. DFID contributes to the UK Environment Observations Framework Coordinating Climate Observations Group which coordinates Her Majesty’s Government activities supporting the development and use of climate data, including from satellites.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-29.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the Office of Tax Simplification.

Mr David Gauke

At Budget 2014 the government announced it will implement Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) recommendations to simplify the taxation of employee benefits and expenses, employee share schemes, and partnerships. It will also simplify National Insurance contributions (NICs) for the self-employed by collecting class 2 NICs through Self Assessment from April 2016, as recommended by the OTS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken to support elderly first-time entrepreneurs.

Matthew Hancock

People of all ages and experiences are setting up and growing businesses all the time. We continue to work hard to provide the right support to make life easier for them all.

www.gov.uk is the home for Government services and information online. One of the tools available is the ‘Business Finance and Support Finder;’ a source of government backed support and finance for business. The website www.greatbusiness.gov.uk also provides support and advice for anyone trying to grow a business as well as for entrepreneurs starting out.

In addition to on-line support, the Business Support Helpline is available to provide a quick response on queries about starting a business, or a personalised and in-depth advice service for more complex needs. For those looking for start-up finance and advice there are Start-Up Loans: 7 loans worth a total of £37,000 have been drawn down in Windsor since the scheme began in 2012.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the radio spectrum is earmarked for (a) military purposes, (b) radar purposes and (c) public service broadcasting.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Officials have consulted Ofcom who hold such information. Ofcom advise that they do not hold such information for bands below 87.5MHz, but have provided information for bands from 87.5MHz-30GHz.

Ofcom has identified the proportion of spectrum accessed for public sector uses (not limited to the military), defined as all spectrum bands used by the public sector with Crown immunity (i.e. without need for authorisation by Ofcom). For the purpose of this analysis, this category includes all aeronautical uses of spectrum.

		Crown use of spectrum as a % of total weighted spectrum
87.5 MHz	30 GHz	54%

26% of the total weighted spectrum in the 87.5MHz to 30 GHz is allocated for radiolocation services/radar.

Ofcom cannot provide specific information with regards to spectrum in use for public service broadcasting as the national allocation of frequencies does not distinguish between public service broadcasting and non-public service broadcasting. The table below provides information with regards to the proportion of total weighted spectrum in use for terrestrial broadcasting, split into TV and radio.

		Terrestrial broadcasting spectrum as a % of total weighted spectrum	TV	Radio
87.5 MHz	30 GHz	8%	7%	1%

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the (a) 30-300MHz, (b) 300-3000MHz and (c) 3-30GHz bands of the radio spectrum is in the operation of the private sector.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Officials have consulted Ofcom who hold such information. Ofcom advise that they do not hold such information for bands below 87.5MHz (as frequencies above this are considered to be the most important and usable), but have provided information for bands from 87.5MHz-30GHz.

The table provides an overview of the proportion of total weighted spectrum accessed for market uses by band.

Lower frequency	Upper frequency	Spectrum authorised for Market uses as a % of total weighted spectrum
87.5 MHz	328.6 MHz	47%
328.6 MHz	3.1 GHz	73%
3.1 GHz	30 GHz	80%

The Public Sector Spectrum Release Programme aims to release 500MHz of sub-5GHz spectrum from public sector use by 2020. The most recent Programme update can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spectrum-strategy

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2014-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on the Lower Thames Scheme.

Dan Rogerson

Further to my answer to the hon. Member for Windsor on Monday, 24 February 2014, Official Report column 83W, the Environment Agency is continuing to work with partners to develop the River Thames Scheme (Datchet to Teddington). This includes flood channel capacity improvements, property level protection measures and the construction of three new channels.

Preparatory work, which is under way, includes establishing appropriate consents and approval needed with planning authorities, undertaking surveys needed to gain consents, and the development of a funding package with other risk management authorities. The Environment Agency is planning to submit its Strategic Outline Case for this project to Defra as part of the HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office’s Major Projects Authority approvals process.

The Environment Agency aims to start the work on improving weir capacity in 2016.

Full appraisal and outline design of the flood channel and capacity improvements will commence this summer. It is expected that this will take three to four years to enable the proposal for the new flood channels to be submitted for planning consents and authorisations. It is estimated that the construction of the flood channel will commence in 2020 and will take five to six years to complete.