The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was received in the UK in net earnings from direct investment in companies based outside the UK in each of the last five years.
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 Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the reasons are for the reduction in the proportion of his Department’s budget spent with small and medium-sized enterprises between 2013 and 2015.
Anna Soubry
It is an established convention that Ministers of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested by the hon Member.
However, the Department continues to improve its data collection so that the full extent of indirect spending with SMEs is captured, working closely with the Crown Commercial Service and prime contractors. The Department actively explores the possibility of contracting directly with SMEs throughout its procurement processes whilst adhering to the relevant public procurement regulations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of innovation, research and development to the future viability of the British steel industry.
Anna Soubry
The UK is a world leader in advanced manufacturing sectors such as automotive and aerospace, which continue to grow rapidly. These industries all require high value, continually improving steel products in order to remain competitive, and therefore innovation will continue to play an important role in the future of the UK steel industry. The Steel Council recognises this; UK Steel are leading the Future Capacity and Capabilities working group which is currently undertaking work to better identify where innovation and R&D is needed to meet future requirements for steel products, and how industry and Government can work together to support this.
Since 2010 we have been supporting the steel sector by offering grants totalling £29 million and loans totalling £33 million towards projects including:
o The development of facilities, such as the R&D centre at Warwick University.
o Development of new products.
o And investment in training, skills and apprenticeships.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions each local authority has brought under the provisions governing a blind person’s right to travel in licensed taxis with their guide dogs of the Equality Act 2010.
Dominic Raab
It is an offence under section 168 of the Equalities Act 2010 to refuse to take an assistance dog in a taxi or private hire vehicle. The maximum penalty is a level 3 fine (up to £1,000).
The number of offenders sentenced at all courts (with fines and average fines specifically identified) for failure to comply with a section 168 duty in relation to an assistance dog for a disabled person, in England and Wales, from 2011 (earliest separately identifiable information available) to 2015 can be viewed in table 1.
The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for failure to comply with a section 168 duty in relation to an assistance dog for a disabled person, listed by local authority prosecuting the case in England and Wales, from 2011 (earliest separately identifiable information available) to 2015 can be viewed in table 2.
Centrally held data by the Ministry of Justice includes information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. Data on whether a guide dog for the blind or a different type of assistance dog was involved in such a case is not held centrally, or reliably recorded where there is no operational reason to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans his Department has for the £1.8 billion of uncommitted Green Investment Bank funds following privatisation of that bank.
Anna Soubry
The Government allocated up to £3.8 billion of funds to Green Investment Bank (GIB) for investment in the period to March 2016. To date, GIB has made commitments totalling £2.1billion. Government will fund these and any further commitments GIB enters into during the current year to March 2016.
GIB’s funding needs for the year 2016/17 are being considered as part of the current spending review and the outcome will be announced later in the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18925, which visits referred to that (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department made included a visit to a food bank.
Justin Tomlinson
The Department does not hold the information requested. Ministers have conducted visits to food banks in various capacities, including in their roles as Members of Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 8811, what projections his Department have made of the potential increase in green investments in the UK in the next 10 years as a result of the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.
Anna Soubry
We are working on the basis that UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) plans to invest at a rate of around £800m per year over the period to 2020 in a range of green projects.
We believe that moving GIB into private ownership is the best way to ensure the company has the funding it needs to achieve this annual investment rate. This is because private ownership will give GIB access to much more capital from a much wider range of sources than if it remained in Government hands where it would have to compete for funding against all other Government spending needs.
Moving GIB into the private sector will also mean GIB will no longer be subject to state aid controls, giving it scope to invest in a wider range of green sectors and types of project than if it were to remain state funded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22689, when his Department plans to report to Parliament its detailed plans for the sale of the Green Investment Bank.
Anna Soubry
The Government has introduced provisions to the Enterprise Bill which require a report to be laid before Parliament once a decision to undertake a sale has been made. The report must set out the type of sale, the expected timescale, and the Government’s objectives for the sale.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of differences in the ability of the Green Investment Bank to secure investment in (a) offshore wind power generation, (b) commercial and industrial waste processing and recycling, (c) energy from waste generation, (d) non-domestic energy efficiency and (e) support for the Green Deal as (i) public and (ii) private sector organisation.
Anna Soubry
The Green Investment Bank (GIB) contributes to UK green policy objectives by mobilising much needed private capital into green sectors, demonstrating that green investment can be profitable.
GIB will continue to perform that role in private ownership – increasing investment and making profits from green sectors that are relatively mature but nevertheless suffer from a lack of investment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy that a lump sum paid by a public sector employer to an employee’s pension fund to compensate the scheme for having to pay a reduced pension earlier than expected should be used as part of the calculation for the public sector exit payment cap proposed in the Enterprise Bill.
Greg Hands
The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.
The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf
The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.
The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.
Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.