Tag: Bill Esterson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to improve the monitoring of late payments by insurance companies to claims made by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government recognises the importance of prompt payment by insurers and has taken steps in the Enterprise Bill to introduce a requirement for insurers to pay all claims within a reasonable time and entitle policyholders, including small and medium sized enterprises, to damages where claims are paid late.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 14066, what accountability mechanisms are in place for the Criminal Cases Review Commission; and if he will meet the hon. Member for Sefton Central to discuss the case of James Thompson.

Mike Penning

As I stated in response to Question 14066, although the Criminal Cases Review Commission is funded by my Department, it is entirely independent of Government, and Ministers cannot, and should not, intervene in its reviews or decisions. Since there is no action I can take, I do not believe a meeting with the Hon. Member would be helpful.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Pubs Code Adjudicator on (a) the length of leases given to pub tenants by owners of pubs, (b) implementation of the market rent only option for pub tenants and (c) the independence of the adjudicator from pub companies.

Anna Soubry

There have been no discussions of the types described with the Adjudicator.

BIS officials met the Adjudicator after his appointment to provide him with a high level briefing on Part 4 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act and some areas of the draft Pubs Code in order to familiarise him with key aspects ahead of him taking up this important role. During the course of this briefing there was a discussion of some technical aspects of the market rent option arbitration process – for example, the length of time it takes to appoint an independent expert – where the Adjudicator shared his professional insights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his strategy is for maximising the economic contribution of (a) the steel industry and (b) other industries vital to the UK’s economic success.

Anna Soubry

The best way the Government can support our industries is to continue to deliver a strong and growing economy.

In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced an exemption for Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs), including the steel industry, from the policy costs of the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariffs, a hugely significant step to provide industry with long-term certainty and helping them remain competitive. This is on top of the millions that has already been paid in compensation to EIIs for energy costs.

The Government engages with various industrial sectors through our Sector Councils, where we discuss the opportunities and challenges facing certain sectors.

The Government recognises the current difficulties that are unique to the steel sector. While we cannot fix the price of steel, halt global overproduction or fix currency rates, the Government has taken a number of measures to help our steel industry.

We have taken action on unfair trade, recently voting in support of anti-dumping measures on wire rod and steel tubing imports, as well as lobbying successfully for an investigation into cheap imports of Reinforcing Steel Bar.

The steel industry’s request for flexibility over Industrial Emissions Directive exemptions has been secured. This will save the industry millions of pounds of unnecessary expenditure at a time of crisis by offering steel companies more time to comply with this European legislation.

Finally, we are taking action to drive up the number of public contracts won by UK steel manufacturers and their partners through fair and open competition. The Government published on 30 October new guidelines for departments to apply on major projects when sourcing and buying steel. The new instructions will help steel suppliers compete on a level playing field with international suppliers for major Government projects.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he took to take into account the rules on conflicts of interest set out in (a) Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies, (b) Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Rules of Conduct and (c) Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct in the recruitment process for the recently-appointed Pubs Code Adjudicator; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry

• Paul Newby was appointed in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ (OCPA) Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies.
• His prior experience of the pubs sector as a surveyor and arbitrator and his ability to forge trusted relationships with both tenants and PubCos is an asset, not a conflict of interest.
• The appointment panel discussed conflicts of interest with him at interview. The Panel was satisfied there were no conflicts of interest, and put this advice to ministers.
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators membership were not requirements for this post, so the documents referred to are not directly relevant to the appointment process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the reliance of the UK economy on imports of steel from countries outside the EU.

Anna Soubry

The Government supports an open market for steel and UK consumers are free to source their requirements from anywhere in the world as long as imported material is traded fairly and meets quality and standards criteria where applicable.

Data on UK imports of steel as a share of domestic demand are published by the EEF on behalf of UK Steel in their Key Statistics 2015 report, which can be found at the EEF website under the ‘Publications’ page. Please note that these figures exclude imports made by steel producers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what date his Department plans to publish the final version of the Pubs Code.

Anna Soubry

The Government intends to bring the regulations into force by the end of May 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make representations to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to open an investigation into the case of James Thompson.

Mike Penning

As I stated in response to Questions 14066 and 16560, although the Criminal Cases Review Commission is funded by my Department, it is entirely independent of Government, and Ministers cannot, and should not, attempt to intervene in its reviews or decisions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30732 and the oral contribution of the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise of 10 March 2016, Official Report, column 425, what the nature of Mr Newby’s assistance to departmental officials was in the development and implementation of the Pubs Code.

Anna Soubry

I refer the hon Member to the Answer to Question UIN 30732.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17450, what assessment his Department has made of the performance of the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Mike Penning

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has improved its performance in recent years from closing 947 cases in 2010/11 to closing 1,632 cases in 2014/15. The CCRC has also recently undertaken a review of working practices that is expected to lead to further improvements.