Tag: Anna Turley

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the risk and potential effect of new government-funded assets on commercial innovation activity in existing commercial innovation facilities.

Joseph Johnson

All potential major capital projects are assessed against the additional value they add, including an evaluation of whether the research or innovation activity is already being undertaken elsewhere. The majority of decisions about which research investments to undertake are taken directly by Research Councils, based on rigorous criteria including peer review.

In respect of the establishment of Innovate UK’s 11 Catapult Centres, all candidate areas have undergone a robust evaluation by Innovate UK’s Senior Innovation Leads who have relevant domain expertise. In addition, facilitated workshops, with leading figures in the relevant industries – including business, academic and representatives from the public sector, are held to ascertain whether Innovate UK’s analysis of the market opportunities in this area is correct. Each candidate area is evaluated according to an agreed process to assess the size of the global market opportunity and the demand for a Catapult to help business build on their capabilities to commercialise innovation and realise this potential in the UK.

In setting up new Catapult centres Innovate UK take into account the option of working within or alongside existing physical centres in the UK either to avoid duplication or to achieve quicker delivery.

At a local level, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are responsible for identifying, assessing and approving Local Growth Funded projects. They do this in accordance with their strategic economic objectives and Local Assurance Frameworks which have to comply with the LEP National Assurance Framework. The National Assurance Framework covers value for money and states that methodology should be proportionate to the funding allocated and in line with established Government guidance including the HM Treasury Green Book.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what correspondence his Department has had with PwC regarding SSI Redcar in the last three years; and how many meetings his Department has had with PwC in that period.

Anna Soubry

My officials had a number of telephone calls and one meeting with PwC between 28 August 2015 and 1 October 2015 to discuss SSI.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the postcodes for the addresses of mothers of babies born with congenital abnormalities are available on the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers.

George Freeman

The National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service (NCARDRS) is operated by Public Health England. NCARDRS has legal permission to collect patient identifiable data without the need for individual consent. As part of this dataset, patient postcodes for individuals resident in England are recorded on the NCARDRS congenital anomaly database. Protection of individual patient data is paramount and release of this data, including postcode data, is strictly controlled.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects are terminated after the 20 week scan.

Jane Ellison

Information on the socio-economic group for women having abortions is not collected centrally.

In 2014, 442 abortions were performed because of neural tube defects; 34% of these were performed at 20 weeks gestation or over.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with cancer as a result of exposure to acetaldehyde in the (a) North East and (b) UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison

Information concerning the number of people diagnosed with cancer as a result of exposure to acetaldehyde is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the deliverability of the recommendations of the independent report, Tees Valley: Opportunity Unlimited, published in June 2016; and what the timetable is for his Department to respond to those recommendations and set out a schedule for the implementation of any recommendations which are accepted.

Andrew Percy

Government is currently working with Tees Valley Combined Authority on progressing Lord Heseltine’s recommendations. The report was debated in Parliament on 15 June.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-06-5/debates/16061550000002/TeesValleyInwardInvestmentInitiative#contribution-16061550000452

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-10-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the timeframe to implement the Apprenticeship Levy; and what steps he is taking to ensure that businesses affected by the levy are given adequate time to make adjustments.

Mr David Gauke

From April 2017 the government will introduce a levy to fund the step change needed to achieve 3 million apprenticeship starts and an uplift in their quality by 2020. The systems required to implement this in time for April 2017 are on track and are being tested on a regular basis. This includes progress by both HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), with regards to the collection of the levy, and from the Skills Funding Agency who are building the digital accounts for employers to access levy funds.

The Department for Education has issued guidance for employers regarding the apprenticeship levy. Further guidance, confirming the funding policy, will be published shortly. HMRC has also issued guidance to software developers to ensure that employers’ payroll systems are ready for the apprenticeship levy and will publish further guidance for employers in December.

The government have been working with employers and training providers since the concept of the apprenticeship levy was introduced to ensure that it works for them. These conversations have played a major part in shaping how the apprenticeship levy will work and we will continue these discussions to assist employers and providers as they prepare for the introduction of the levy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will list (a) his Department’s correspondence and (b) meetings with the former hon. Member for Redcar between May 2010 and May 2015 on SSI Redcar.

Anna Soubry

It is an established convention that Minsters of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested by the hon Member.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what procedures are in place to monitor the take-up of advice on NHS websites on prevention of spina bifida.

Jane Ellison

Information on the number of live births affected by congenital abnormalities including spina bifida, hydrocephalus and anencephaly has been collected by the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers and is currently available for the years 2009–2012 at:

http://www.binocar.org/publications/reports

There are no current mechanisms in place for monitoring the take-up of advice given on the NHS Choices website about preventing spina bifida.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Government did not apply to the European Globalisation Fund to secure financial support for those affected by the closure of SSI Redcar in 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The UK has not made any applications to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).

The European Globalisation Fund (EGF) provides a financial contribution for active labour market measures, aimed at reintegrating those made or at risk of being made redundant in the labour market. EGF Regulations state that these measures must complement actions at national, regional and local level.

The EGF Regulations also set out strict criteria and eligibility for potential applicants with regards to the number of redundancies that take place over a given period of time and the link between these redundancies and globalisation or the global financial and economic crisis.

The UK already offers a broad range of personalised support to workers made redundant through its Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus, which could therefore not be duplicated or substituted by EGF.

The Rapid Response Service and the Jobcentre Plus Core Offer are effective reintegration tools which represent good value for money and are our primary and most effective means of response to support the industry.

In addition to this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also announced packages of support worth up to £80 million for SSI in Redcar.

It has, therefore, not been necessary to make an application for EGF funding to provide complementary support.