Tag: Kevin Brennan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average length of a non domestic rates appeal was in each of the last five years.

Mr David Gauke

The time taken to resolve an appeal can be affected by a number of factors, such as the complexity of the case or whether the case proceeds to be listed for hearing by the independent Valuation Tribunal. Some cases can be held up in litigation or placed on hold at the ratepayer’s request. The average (median) time taken to resolve challenges for non-domestic properties in each of the last five years is shown in the attached table. This table covers the 2010 Local Rating Lists.

Year	Median (days)
2010-11	135*
2011-12	335
2012-13	413
2013-14	390
2014-15	395

*The 2010 list began on 1 April 2010 so only those challenges received in 2010-11 were resolved in 2010-11. In subsequent years, however, challenges received in previous years can also be resolved so the median clearance time may include more complex challenges which took longer to resolve.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has spent on its industrial strategy in each year in which that strategy has been in force.

Anna Soubry

The industrial strategy was launched under the coalition Government in September 2012. The strategy was characterised by support for a number of sectors, in several areas where government action (via investment or otherwise) was identified to have an impact in promoting jobs and growth.

These areas were access to finance, support for emerging technologies, creating a pipeline of skilled workers, government procurement and the development of supply chains.

The figures below show how much money has been spent in the spend areas of Aerospace, Automotive and Agri-tech, in each year that it has been in force:

	13/14 (£)	14/15 (£)	15/16 (£) (Forecast)
Euro-Transonic Wind-tunnel (part of the Agri-tech Catalyst)	1,111,747	683,000	1,195,000
Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI)	72,697,664	132,544,663	128,877,536
Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC)	–	16,009,948	32,358,783
Agri-Tech Catalyst	1,648,790	1,959,154	24,837,890
Total	75,458,201	151,196,766	187,269,209

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake a comparative assessment of levels of business rates applying to steel producers in the UK and in other EU member states.

Mr David Gauke

The government concluded the Business Rates Review at Budget 2016. The government consulted with stakeholders, including the steel industry.

From April 2020, business rates for all businesses, including the steel industry, will be cut through a switch in the indexation of business rates from RPI to the main measure of inflation currently CPI.

The government has worked hard to deliver on the steel industry’s key asks. We (a) secured state aid approval to compensate for energy costs, (b) secured flexibility over EU emissions regulations, (c) published guidance so that the true value of UK steel can be taken into account in major procurement decisions, and (d) continue to tackle unfair trading practices at an EU and an international level

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 28 April 2016 to Question 35059, how many requests to meet with hon. Members she has received from each of the political parties represented in the House since 1 February 2016.

Nick Gibb

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Education frequently meets Hon Members from across the political spectrum in the performance of her duties.

Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the benefits that the Growth Accelerator Programme has had for small and medium-sized enterprises since the launch of that programme.

Anna Soubry

The Growth Accelerator was launched as our economy was still recovering from the worst recession this country had faced in 100 years, presided over by the hon Member’s party. An interim evaluation of the Growth Accelerator programme was published in November 2014.

Thanks to the difficult decisions made by this government and the last, we now have the fastest growing economy in the developed world and a record number of businesses and as part of our continued commitment to live within our means and pay down our debts, we took the decision to discontinue the Business Growth Service in the Spending Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2015 to Question 3892, how many (a) jobs and (b) apprenticeships were created by each Green Investment Bank (GIB) investment; and whether he plans to monitor the performance of a privatised GIB in creating jobs and apprenticeships.

Anna Soubry

The Green Investment Bank (GIB) estimates that approximately 5700 jobs have been created during the construction phases of their projects and approximately 1000 jobs have been created during the operational phase of their projects. Apprenticeship numbers are not recorded separately from other jobs but any apprenticeship roles would be included in the figures mentioned above.

We would expect a privatised GIB to continue to monitor the green and other benefits of their investments, such as job creation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-21.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the average levels of exit payments in the (a) public sector and (b) private sector.

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 the potential impacts of the cap and sets out which organisations the Government intends to capture within scope of the public sector exit payment cap. The final policy is in line with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

The consultation ran from 31 July to 27 August 2015. Over 4000 responses were received. These representations were considered during and after the consultation to inform the Government response that was published on 16 September 2015.

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

An impact analysis was published within the exit payment cap consultation document which respondents had an opportunity to comment on. Further, the Government worked with departments and took into account consultation responses received after the official deadline to inform the impact of a public sector exit payment cap set at £95,000 in different sectors and for different categories of workers. This assessment gave due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty.

The exit payment cap is intended to capture organisations classified as public sector by the Office for National Statistics with few exceptions as identified in the consultation response.

The Government does not expect the cap to have a widespread impact on the take-up of voluntary redundancy.

At the 2015 Spending Review the Government announced it will consult on further cross public sector action on exit payment terms. This consultation will provide a good opportunity to collect further information on the trends in the level of exit payments between the private and public sector.

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 effect the European Commission’s decision to grant the Green Investment Bank scope to operate with aided capital until mid-2017 has had on his Department’s policy on privatising that bank.

Anna Soubry

The original European Commission state aid decision on the Green Investment Bank (GIB) gave approval for GIB to operate until October 2016. While we expect to move GIB into private ownership during the course of 2016, the Government has obtained an updated state aid approval that provides the scope for GIB to operate as a state funded enterprise until the end of March 2018. This ensures GIB could continue to operate should the sale process extend beyond October.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which provisions of the Regulatory Reform Act 2013 need to be removed in order to achieve balance sheet reclassification for the purposes of privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

The Government’s proposals to amend and repeal provisions in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 relating to UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) are contained in clause 30 of the Enterprise Bill. The Government has explained the background to these proposals in paragraphs 62 – 73 of our November 2015 policy statement on the future of GIB which can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to implement automatic indexing of the proposed public sector exit payment cap.

Greg Hands

The Government made a manifesto commitment to end six-figure payouts in the public sector and wants to do so as soon as possible. These payments cost around £2 billion a year and it is important that they are fair, proportionate and provide value for money to the taxpayer that funds them. As such, the Government does not see any case for transitional arrangements to delay ending six-figure exit payments. However, the power for Ministers to relax the restrictions imposed by the cap provides the flexibility to do so in appropriate circumstances.

Automatic indexing would fail to offer the flexibility that the clause currently provides for. As it stands, the Government can amend the level of the cap to take into account all prevailing circumstances, and with the additional scrutiny of the affirmative resolution procedure in Parliament.