Tag: Angela Rayner

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of small businesses which have received financial assistance from (a) peer-to-peer lenders and (b) other alternative funding sources.

Anna Soubry

According to NESTA, peer-to-peer business lending in the UK grew at a rate of 250 per cent annually between 2012 and 2014. The Peer-to-Peer Finance Association publishes quarterly updates, which show net new lending of £251m in the third quarter of 2015 of which £91m was to small businesses. Although the number of businesses is not stated, Funding Circle (which accounts for £66m of the £91m net new lending) had 10,755 borrowers at the end of the quarter. The total is therefore likely to be close to 15,000.

Equity crowdfunded deal numbers and investment totals are less readily available. The British Business Bank cites market investment data recorded by Beauhurst which show that in the first half of 2014, £24m was raised across 101 crowdfunded equity investments. Using survey data, NESTA has produced a higher estimate of £31m for the same period and £84m for 2014 as a whole.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing a fiduciary duty for the governance committees of pension funds to their members.

Justin Tomlinson

Under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules introduced in April 2015, independent governance committees (IGCs) have a clear duty to challenge providers on the value for money of their workplace pension schemes, acting in members’ interests, raising concerns and making recommendations as appropriate. The provider must also make arrangements for member views to be directly represented to the IGC.

The provider’s board has a “comply or explain” duty in response to recommendations from the IGC and if the IGC is not content with the board’s response it can escalate to the FCA, to members of the scheme and to the public. When coupled with the IGC’s duty to act in members’ interests, this provides a practical and direct way of ensuring good member outcomes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will provide financial assistance to councils to enable them to acquire new social housing to replace properties bought through the Right to Buy policy.

Brandon Lewis

The 2012 Reinvigorated Right to Buy gave councils, for the first time, the ability to use additional receipts from Right to Buy sales to provide new affordable homes. Councils have up to three years to start building and if these receipts are not used within this timeframe they must be returned to the Homes and Communities Agency (or to the Greater London Authority in London), who will issue the funding as grant to provide new affordable housing.

We urge councils to progress their building plans in order to help provide much needed affordable housing for their local communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the Green Investment Bank continues to pursue its principal objectives after privatisation.

Anna Soubry

Green investment is what the Green Investment Bank (GIB) does and is where its value lies. It is clear from preliminary feedback that potential investors are interested in GIB precisely because of its unique green specialism and its existing forward business plan and pipeline of green projects. Investors will have sound commercial reasons to maintain GIB’s green focus and continue operating in accordance with its clearly stated green principles and highly transparent and robust green reporting practices.

As a key part of any sale discussions, potential investors will be asked to confirm their commitment to these values and to set out how they propose to protect them. We envisage this would involve new shareholders agreeing to:

• ensure GIB continues to invest in a way that achieves a positive green impact; and

• maintain GIB’s existing standards for reporting on its green investment performance as well as continue providing for independent assurance of this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26069, whether trades unions which are not formally recognised by an employer will be entitled to request and receive the Chair’s Statement.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government remains committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear. Although it is not a legal requirement, the Government expects that many schemes will choose to publish their annual Chair’s Statement. In due course, the Government intends to make regulations requiring information about scheme costs and charges to be published.

Trade unions that are recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining in relation to members of the scheme are entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. Trade unions which do not meet these criteria are not entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. However, beneficiaries of pension schemes who are members of trade unions which are not recognised for collective bargaining purposes may still request the information and pass it on to their union or any other person.

We intend to publish a summary of the evidence received on transaction costs in pension schemes when we announce our next steps, which will follow in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on job numbers in councils and housing associations of the measures contained in the Housing and Planning Bill.

Brandon Lewis

The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Housing and planning Bill on 22 October. A link to the impact assessment is at: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/housingandplanning/documents.html.

This document will be updated as the Bill progresses through Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the proportion of small businesses which do not have an online presence.

Anna Soubry

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 2014 Small Business Survey shows that 36% of all small businesses do not have a website. Further research on small businesses’ digital capabilities was published on 9th September 2015. The Office for National Statistics also publishes information on businesses’ e-commerce and ICT activity. It should be noted that 46% of small businesses use social media.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26069, when the Government and the Financial Conduct Authority plan to publish the evidence received on transaction costs for pension trusts; and what the timetable is for determining the next steps referred to.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government remains committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear. Although it is not a legal requirement, the Government expects that many schemes will choose to publish their annual Chair’s Statement. In due course, the Government intends to make regulations requiring information about scheme costs and charges to be published.

Trade unions that are recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining in relation to members of the scheme are entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. Trade unions which do not meet these criteria are not entitled to receive a copy of the Chair’s Statement. However, beneficiaries of pension schemes who are members of trade unions which are not recognised for collective bargaining purposes may still request the information and pass it on to their union or any other person.

We intend to publish a summary of the evidence received on transaction costs in pension schemes when we announce our next steps, which will follow in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to advance peace talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK is clear that the best way to achieve a two-state solution is through negotiations between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority. However, there must be an environment conducive to peace, and we are therefore urging all parties to de-escalate current tensions.

On 9 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke to President Abbas and urged him to do everything in his power to reduce tensions and restore calm. Officials at our Embassy in Tel Aviv discuss the situation frequently with Israeli officials. Most recently, on 19 November, our Ambassador to Tel Aviv discussed the ongoing violence with Gilad Erdan, the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Public Security and Information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to section 11.9 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what steps he plans to take to achieve £360 million in efficiencies and savings in adult skills.

Nick Boles

The Chancellor published the results of the Spending Review on 25th November 2015. This is a good settlement for further education. Between 2010-11 and 2019-20 the Government will have doubled spending on apprenticeships in cash terms to £2.5 billion, and protected funding for the core adult skills participation budgets in cash terms, at £1.5 billion

The Government will make £362 million of savings and efficiencies from adult skills funding by 2019-20. We are prioritising funding for participation, with savings being made from supporting budgets. We are also restructuring the sector through locally-led Area Reviews to provide sustainable and high quality provision in the future.