Tag: Kevin Brennan

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 much the Student Loans Company and HM Revenue and Customs spent on maintaining and collecting student loan repayments in each year for which data is available.

Joseph Johnson

The Student Loans Company (SLC) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have spent the following on maintaining and collecting income contingent repayments since the financial year 2011-12:

	Student Loans Company	HM Revenue and Customs
FY 2011-12	£15.7m	£5.6m
FY 2012-13	£15.6m	£6.4m
FY 2013-14	£18.6m	£5.5m
FY 2014-15	£18.5m	£5.8m
FY 2015-16	£20.9m (forecast)	£6.3m (forecast)

The figures in the table above include both the direct costs and associated ICT and back office overheads incurred by SLC and HMRC in maintaining and collecting income contingent repayments.

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 information he holds on the number of private sector employment agencies in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Boles

According to the Office for National Statistics the number of employment placement agencies and temporary agencies is given in the table below.

2015	22,445
2014	19,440
2013	18,180
2012	17,865
2011	17,515
2010	18,195

Data on number of the employment agency businesses are not available on a consistent basis prior to 2010. This is due to changes in methodology and the industrial classification system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the productivity level was in (a) manufacturing and (b) non-manufacturing jobs in each year for which data is available.

Anna Soubry

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) provides data on the labour productivity of the Manufacturing, Production and Service sectors between 1990 and 2015. These are presented as levels relative to 2012 and offer both output per worker and output per hour measures.

The ONS data is copied below and can also be found on the ONS website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of goods manufactured in the UK were exported 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 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the Materials Processing Institute to the development of a modern British steel industry.

Anna Soubry

The Government is exploring all options to support steel and the foundation industries. We are interested to consider how we can develop the best way forward for the UK industry alongside all parties with steel expertise, including the Materials Processing Institute.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received about plans to redevelop Cardiff Central railway station.

Claire Perry

I am aware of local stakeholder interest in the redevelopment of Cardiff Central Station which was identified by the rail industry in the Welsh Route Study as a choice for funders for the next five year Network Rail funding period (CP6, 2019-2024). I stand ready to discuss with the Welsh Government and the new Cardiff City Region Capital Transport Authority how a potentially viable and fundable scheme for Cardiff Central Station could be developed.

Later this year, the rail industry will present its initial advice on investment needs for the national network, for 2019 onwards. On the basis of this advice, Government intends to articulate its emerging priorities for improvements to the national network during 2017.

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 ability the Government plans to retain to ensure that the Green Investment Bank operates according to its original purposes after that body’s privatisation.

Anna Soubry

Green investment is what the Green Investment Bank (GIB) does and is where its value lies. It is clear from preliminary feedback that potential investors are interested in GIB precisely because of its unique green specialism and its existing forward business plan and pipeline of green projects. Investors will have sound commercial reasons to maintain GIB’s green focus and continue operating in accordance with its clearly stated green principles and highly transparent and robust green reporting practices.

As a key part of any sale discussions, potential investors will be asked to confirm their commitment to these values and to set out how they propose to protect them. We envisage this would involve new shareholders agreeing to:

• ensure GIB continues to invest in a way that achieves a positive green impact; and
• maintain GIB’s existing standards for reporting on its green investment performance as well as continue providing for independent assurance of this.

It is important to understand Government could not impose binding conditions on future owners of GIB to act in a particular way while also securing our key objective of removing state control over GIB so it can be reclassified to the private sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals on increasing penalties for online copyright infringement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

A consultation was held during summer 2015 on proposals to increase the maximum custodial sentence for online copyright infringement from two to ten years, to harmonise it with the penalty available for physical infringement. The responses to that consultation have been analysed and officials at the IPO are now giving consideration to future direction and timing and will advise Ministers accordingly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent representations he has received on the proposed privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

The Government has received a small number of representations from interested parties since the Government’s announcement to bring in private capital to the Green Investment Bank (GIB) in June 2015.

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills met my hon Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) and representatives from E3G and Aldersgate Group in October, and I have met with the Member separately this month. The Government also meets GIB management regularly to discuss this and other issues.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues on conducting public consultations during the summer recess.

Mr Oliver Letwin

Cabinet Office publishes Consultation Principles, which it expects all government departments to follow. They were most recently updated on 14 January in response to feedback from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee.

Principle G includes the line:

‘When the consultation spans all or part of a holiday period, consider how this may affect consultation and take appropriate mitigating action, such as prior discussion with key interested parties or extension of the consultation deadline beyond the holiday period’.

The Principles also make clear that formal consultation should only form part of the engagement process and that departments should make use of new digital tools and consider whether an iterative approach is appropriate.

The Principles can be found online on gov.uk and a copy can be found in the House of Commons Library.