The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of individuals employed on zero-hours contracts by (a) region and (b) gender; and what research his Department has commissioned on that matter.
Mr Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials from (a) his Department and (b) its executive agencies and associated public bodies worked on the Royal Mail privatisation.
Michael Fallon
The core team working on the sale of Royal Mail shares was comprised of 17 people. None of the Department’s Partner organisations were involved in taking forward the initial public offering.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, column 415, on Royal Mail, over what time period the (a) final price achieved and (b) aftermarket performance of the shares will be assessed under the benchmarks set by the Government.
Michael Fallon
We have not set a rigid timetable for the assessment of whether the discretionary payment should be made. As seen in recent days, there is still volatility in Royal Mail’s share price.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the names are of (a) the 16 priority investors selected and (b) the 21 priority investors under initial consideration by the Government in the privatisation of Royal Mail.
Michael Fallon
All investors in Royal Mail, whether individuals or institutions, have a legitimate expectation of privacy. It would not be appropriate to disclose the list of institutions that were allocated shares in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) or the names of investors that participated in the investor engagement prior to the IPO.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many business rates appeals to the Valuation Office Agency are currently classified as (a) outstanding, (b) received and (c) cleared, by region; and what the current median time taken in days is to clear business rates challenges in each region.
Mr David Gauke
Table 1 shows the latest available statistics on proposals (appeals), by region, to amend the 2010 rating lists. The numbers provided cover England and Wales for the duration of the 2010 rating list as of 30 September 2013.
Table 1: Proposals to amend the 2010 Rating Lists
|
Region |
Total Received1,2 1 Apr 10 to 30 Sept 13 |
Total Cleared1,2 1 Apr 10 to 30 Sept 13 |
Total Outstanding1,2 at 30 Sep 13 |
Median time to clear (days) 30 Sept 13 |
|
England and Wales |
572,780 |
409,680 |
163,100 |
360 |
|
England |
544,550 |
388,850 |
155,700 |
360 |
|
North East |
23,030 |
17,370 |
5,660 |
360 |
|
North West |
79,090 |
58,620 |
20,470 |
370 |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber |
52,920 |
41,150 |
11,770 |
330 |
|
East Midlands |
34,530 |
26,520 |
8,010 |
300 |
|
West Midlands |
53,310 |
40,540 |
12,770 |
320 |
|
East |
53,340 |
37,530 |
15,820 |
380 |
|
London |
119,130 |
71,540 |
47,590 |
400 |
|
South East |
77,700 |
56,440 |
21,260 |
380 |
|
South West |
51,500 |
39,150 |
12,350 |
350 |
|
Wales |
28,230 |
20,830 |
7,400 |
360 |
1 Figures may not sum to the totals due to the rounding of figures.
2 VOA Official Statistics, Local Rating Lists: Business Rates
(Experimental Statistics): Table As, November 2013
http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/_downloads/xls/NDR_TableA_All_2010.xls
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what process the Government adopted to (a) identify and (b) select priority investors in the recent Royal Mail privatisation.
Michael Fallon
The process of investor engagement commenced 12 months prior to the Initial Public Offering (IPO). In the initial period, Royal Mail’s management met with over 60 high quality institutions to educate them about the business. During pilot fishing in early September 2013, the management team and the Government’s banking advisers engaged further with a focused group of 21 well-informed and longer-term investors. Initial indications of potential demand were received from this group; this gave the Government the confidence to proceed with announcing the Intention to Float on 12th September 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many jobs have been (a) created and (b) safeguarded at each enterprise zone to date; how many (i) jobs and (ii) firms are currently based at each enterprise zone; and how many businesses have begun occupying premises at each enterprise zone since it began operation.
Kris Hopkins
More than 7,600 jobs have been created and 260 new businesses attracted to the 24 Enterprise Zones over the period April 2012- December 2013. However, I am unable to disclose zone-level information as the estimates that Enterprise Zones provide us with may be subject to local commercial sensitivities and disclosure may prejudice commercial negotiations. For this reason, it is for individual zones to determine whether they make this information available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons details of arrangements with priority investors in respect of the privatisation of Royal Mail were not published at the time of that privatisation.
Michael Fallon
The Government did not enter into any direct arrangements with investors. All institutional investors entered into agreements with the underwriting banks (the syndicate) to purchase their allocated shares at the offer price. This is standard practice and applied to all investors.
Details of individual allocations were not disclosed because all investors in Royal Mail – whether individuals or institutions – have a legitimate expectation of privacy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many vacant premises are currently located at each enterprise zone.
Kris Hopkins
More than 7,600 jobs have been created and 260 new businesses attracted to the 24 Enterprise Zones over the period April 2012- December 2013. However, I am unable to disclose zone-level information as the estimates that Enterprise Zones provide us with may be subject to local commercial sensitivities and disclosure may prejudice commercial negotiations. For this reason, it is for individual zones to determine whether they make this information available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what incentives were (a) offered to (b) accepted by priority investors in relation to Royal Mail privatisation.
Michael Fallon
No incentives were offered to priority investors.