The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed by non-British EU companies in (a) the UK and (b) each region.
Mr Rob Wilson
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 Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on foreign direct investment of the UK leaving the EU.
Mr David Gauke
As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) has noted, the best outcome for the UK economy is that we achieve major economic reform of the EU. The Prime Minister is focused on success: he believes he can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU, and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis.
The Confederation of British Industry and British Chambers of Commerce have both come out to say they support the reform agenda the Prime Minister is seeking to deliver.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding the UK was allocated from the (a) European Regional Development Fund, (b) European Social Funds, (c) European Agricultural Fund of Guarantee, (d) European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, (e) European Territorial Cooperation, (f) Youth Employment Initiative and (g) European Maritime and Fisheries Fund in the period from 2010 to 2014.
Anna Soubry
The information requested for points a, b, d, e, f, and g is set out in the financing plans in the respective programmes for these funds which can be found on gov.uk, gov.scotland and gov.wales.
The information requested for point c can be found on the European Commission and Eur-lex websites.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefits to UK businesses in the (a) retail, (b) automobile, (c) construction, (d) ICT, (e) financial services and (f) defence sectors of reduced tariff barriers arising from UK membership of the World Trade Organisation.
Anna Soubry
The Government has not made a specific assessment of the benefits to UK businesses in these sectors as a result of the UK’s membership of the WTO. But the benefits will be substantial as over the 20 years of the WTO average applied tariffs have been cut in half from 15 per cent in 1995 to less than 8 per cent today. And there are now 161 WTO Members comprising 98% of world trade, with the new (post-1995) members contributing 21% of this total. Further benefits are likely from negotiations currently underway: for example the Information Technology Agreement 2 (ITA2) should liberalise tariffs that affect around £12 billion of UK exports and imports.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefit to the UK economy of the preferential trade agreements the EU has negotiated with countries outside the EU.
Anna Soubry
The cumulative impact of all concluded, on-going and potential trade negotiations currently being undertaken by the EU could boost UK GDP by over £ 20 billion in the long run.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefits to the UK economy of (a) the absence of tariff barriers for intra-EU trade and (b) other aspects of the single market.
Anna Soubry
The EU provides the biggest single market in the world. EU countries trade twice as much with each other as they would without it. The absence of tariffs contributes to this. The single market also brings benefits for consumers. For example, between 2000 and 2006, the cost of making a 10-minute call in the EU fell by an average of 74%, and roaming charges will be abolished completely in 2017. As part of our agenda for EU reform, we want to go further and faster on economic competitiveness including liberalisation of the services sector, trade, and de-regulation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 217185, tabled on 4 December 2014 by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East.
Brandon Lewis
Question 217185 was answered on 17 March 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 217181, tabled on 4 December 2014 by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East.
Brandon Lewis
Question 217181 was answered on 23 February 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many community-led developments have completed as a result of the Community Right to Build.
Stephen Williams
A key priority for the Coalition Government has been to give communities greater control over shaping the development of their area. The Localism Act 2011 created new powers for communities to write their own neighbourhood plans and to gain planning permission for community-led development through Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders.
Nearly 1,400 communities, covering six million people, are now engaged at different stages of the neighbourhood planning process, giving millions of people the chance to participate in identifying, and voting on, where development takes place and what it looks like. All 52 referendums held to date have resulted in big ‘yes’ votes and 34 plans have been ‘made’ (brought into force) and therefore are part of the development plan, the starting point for determining planning applications.
The popularity of neighbourhood planning has shown that when given the opportunity, communities are keen to shape future development in their areas, and we expect the number of community-led developments to increase as more neighbourhood plans are finalised. Over the last two years there have been over 3,100 enquiries and 14,000 web hits relating to the Community Right to Build. The Community Right to Build gives communities the freedom to build new homes, shops, businesses or facilities where they want them, without going through the normal planning application process. Experience has shown that following discussions with the local planning authority for community-led development proposals, community groups have chosen to submit a planning application for their project, rather than a Community Right to Build Order.
To ensure groups undertaking community-led development have the right support and advice to gain planning approval, we broadened the remit of available support funding to assist community groups to bring forward development either through Community Right to Build Orders or community-led planning applications.
This has led to significant take up of funding for community-led projects coming forward, with over 100 applications for funding already approved by the Homes and Communities Agency and the Greater London Authority. Locality and their partners have also been working with 60 groups to provide assistance and advice.
The first three referendums for Community Right to Build Orders took place in December, all of which were passed and are now in force.
We have allocated a further £3.5 million to support the Community Right to Build and community-led planning applications for housing in 2015-18. On 17 February, my department announced a further £6 million funding boost to the community rights programme. This new funding will mean:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many procurement processes have been triggered as a result of the Community Right to Challenge.
Stephen Williams
The Department does not collect or collate administrative data from local authorities on the number of Expressions of Interest they receive under the Community Right to Challenge. We do however carry out follow up surveys with community groups and parish councils that have used the Community Right to Challenge support service. The Department also collates intelligence from local authorities, where they speak to us about an Expression of Interest.
From this, we are aware of 51 Expressions of Interest submissions to councils, but this is not a comprehensive figure. Of these, we know of seven completed procurement exercises, four of which have resulted in the organisation that submitted the Expressions of Interest winning a contract. We know of two other cases where an Expression of Interest has been accepted and a procurement triggered, but not completed.
We know that voluntary groups remain interested in the Community Right to Challenge. The most recent follow up survey of organisations using the Community Right to Challenge support service showed that a further 43 groups, out of 105 respondents, were intending to submit an Expression of Interest in the next 12 months.
We do know that Challenge is recognised by the voluntary and community and parish sectors as being helpful in opening up relationships with lcoal authorities. In a recent survey of 188 enquirers to the advice service, 25% were in negotiation with their council on potential commissioning and said negotiation had come about as a direct result of the Challenge legislation. Almost half (48%) felt that their local authority was more open to contracting with eligible bodies than before the legislation came into force and 25% were working with ttheir authorities on commissioning as a result of the legislation. 70% felt the support they received had improved their contrct readiness and 82% were expecting to bid for the delivery of public services. Timescales for procurement exercises are sdignificant but we are working with support providers to monitor the number of organisations that succeed in winning contracts.
This information is informing our future programme of work especially around commissioning processes. Community groups advise us that they are encouraged by the shift in culture and the changing mind-sets of procurement and commissioning officiers in councils across England as a result of the Localism Act 2011. They tell us the community rights have prompted many councils to examine how local public services are commissioned in their area.
Through our support programme we have supported 376 groups with specialist referrals and provided 216 groups with financial assistance to develop their capacity to bid for and deliver services.