Tag: Kevin Brennan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) number and (b) proportion of civil servants will be affected by the Government’s proposed exit payment cap.

Matthew Hancock

To remain the best in the world, the Civil Service needs to respond to both the challenges and opportunities of our times. The Civil Service continues to require new and different skills to respond to the fiscal environment, global competition and changes in technology, whilst at the same time delivering better services more efficiently: in short, doing more for less.

The numbers of civil servants affected by the Government’s action to end six figure pay outs in the public sector will depend upon the terms applicable when the staff leave and which staff are exited.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Leader of the House, how many and what proportion of each Department’s Named Day Questions have been answered on the named day in the most recent period for which data is available.

Chris Grayling

The last submission from the Government on Parliamentary Written Questions performance was sent to the Procedure Committee on 4 November 2015 and covered the 2014-2015 Parliamentary Session. It is available at http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/Letter-fro.pdf!docid=2617780!.pdf.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many jobs each of the 56 science capital projects his Department has funded since 2007 has created.

Joseph Johnson

BIS’s investment in science capital projects supports the UK’s world class research base, which directly employed around 260,000 researchers in 2013 and delivers a significant return to the economy. Further jobs are supported by investment, for example through construction of advanced facilities or improved Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths skills. However, job creation is not the primary aim of science capital projects, and has not been measured for each project, so it is not possible to provide the information requested.

The Government recognises that research is vital to our wellbeing and future economic success. This is why the science capital budget was increased to £1.1bn in 2015/16 and will rise with inflation to a total of £6.9bn over the period 2015 to 2021.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he takes to monitor the economic effect of projects his Department has funded.

Anna Soubry

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has taken a number of steps to embed systematic monitoring of our policies and programmes, including economic effects. The Department’s vision for monitoring and evaluation is outlined in our Evaluation Strategy, found on the GOV.UK website.

In particular:

1. For all new spending the Department ensures fit for purpose monitoring and evaluation plans are embedded before policy implementation.
2. The Department publishes an updated summary of the monitoring and evaluation coverage for each policy area on an annual basis. The BIS Evaluation Plan 2016 was published in January and is the second annual publication of BIS’s evaluation coverage, also found on the GOV.UK website.

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.