Tag: Kevin Brennan

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 powers are available to his Department to restrict dumping of steel imports in the UK; and which of those powers he has used.

Anna Soubry

Trade defence is an EU competence. The EU’s anti-dumping procedures are set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 (the EU’s basic anti-dumping Regulation). The process is mainly initiated following requests from EU producers to the Commission. The Commission is responsible for considering requests for and, if appropriate, opening anti-dumping investigations. The UK, or any other EU member state, cannot unilaterally impose tariffs.

It is for industry to demonstrate prima facie evidence of dumping to the European Commission. We encourage industry to present this evidence to the Commission where they have evidence of dumping. Where evidence is sufficient to justify an investigation the Commission will do so and present any proposals for imposing duties to Member States.

The Government stands ready to assist all parts of UK industry in making its case to the Commission and has actively lobbied the Commission in support of UK steel producers in a number of recent cases, including reinforcing bar and cold-rolled flat products.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department made of the applicability of the requirements of school food standards as part of the development of the Government’s Eatwell guide.

Jane Ellison

The Eatwell Guide is suitable for everyone over the age of five years to follow and intends to assist the population in choosing a varied and balanced diet to meet Government dietary recommendations.

The School Food Standards aim to assist school aged children in achieving Government dietary recommendations, tying in with the aims of the Eatwell Guide. Common themes include the encouragement of fruits, vegetables and wholegrain starchy carbohydrates, as well as promoting the contribution of water and lower fat milks.

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 the Government has for potential financial proceeds from the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

The government has put paying down our debt while investing in infrastructure at the heart of our long term economic plan. The sale proceeds will therefore help us deliver on both those objectives.

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 steps he is taking to encourage manufacturers to introduce sustainable manufacturing processes.

Anna Soubry

The Government’s top priority is to continue creating a highly competitive business environment that makes the UK an attractive location for new manufacturing investment in sustainable processes. We are protecting spending on innovation and the cutting-edge smart manufacturing technologies that will encourage digital, virtual, resource-efficient factories in the future. The High Value Manufacturing Catapult has skills, expertise and equipment available to help partner companies improve the efficiency and sustainability of their processes. As part of Autumn Statement 2015, my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that funding to the nine existing Catapults would increase in real terms over the Spending Review period ensuring the UK remains a world leader in high-value manufacturing.

In addition, we are taking into account UK business opportunities during negotiations on the EU Circular Economy proposals which include aims to improve business sustainability, resource and energy efficiency.

At the Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced a review of the business energy efficiency tax landscape and Government launched a consultation in September. The consultation set out proposals for delivering a simpler and more stable environment for business that will reduce administrative costs and improve incentives to invest in energy efficiency. This will help increase the productivity of UK businesses, save carbon emissions and ensure secure energy supplies. The Government is currently considering all consultation responses and is likely to publish its formal response at Budget 2016.

I would be delighted to receive further representations from the Manufacturing Commission on their recent Industrial Evolution report.

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 discussions he has had with the Office for National Statistics on the issuing of special shares in the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

The Government is currently exploring with the Office of National Statistics whether there is scope to implement a special share style arrangement in a way that would not amount to a form of state control.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the public sector exit payments cap on morale in the Civil Service.

Matthew Hancock

The Civil Service has successfully changed the way it operates and become more efficient – it is now delivering far more, for less, than it did before 2010. The Government has delivered a range of policy changes over the last five years to modernise the Civil Service and save taxpayers money. During this time employee engagement rates have actually increased.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the number of workers who would be affected if the exit payments cap for public sector workers was set at any other amount than £95,000.

Greg Hands

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.

Exit payment terms vary significantly across the private sector, and there will be examples of terms that match or even exceed those in the public sector. However, the Government has seen no evidence that redundancy terms such as employer-funded early retirement, which are widely available across the public sector and often cost employers tens, or even hundreds of thousands of pounds per person, are replicated to anything like the same extent in the private sector.

The precise number of those affected by the public sector exit payment cap will depend on the number and type of exits in coming years.

However, as the average cost of an exit in the public sector in recent years has been around £25,000 the vast majority of exits are below the level of the cap. For example, less than 2% of recent exits in local government were above the level of the cap.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library a timescale for the introduction of the proposed exit payment cap for the public sector.

Greg Hands

The public sector exit payment cap will come into effect at a date after the Enterprise Bill has received Royal Assent. The Enterprise Bill is currently expected to receive Royal Assent by May 2016. A set of secondary regulations which will give effect to the public sector exit payment cap are currently expected to come into force during autumn 2016.

In the response to the consultation the Government stated that ‘the government would request Legislative Consent Motions from the Devolved Administrations where appropriate, however it would be for the Devolved Administrations to decide the approach they wish to take to this measure.’

On 7 December 2015 the Northern Ireland Assembly declined to agree a Legislative Consent Motion. Subsequently, no provisions relating to Northern Ireland are included in the clauses relating to exit payments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many successful prosecutions there have been against employers who have taken action against workers who have refused to work on Sundays under Section 45 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Anna Soubry

Section 45 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 gives certain shop workers and betting workers the right not to be subjected to detriment by their employers on the ground that the employee refused (or proposed to refuse) to do shop work, or betting work, on Sundays. This right can be enforced by bringing a complaint to the employment tribunal. There is no relevant criminal offence, so there have been no prosecutions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has invested in (a) large facilities and (b) other (i) national and (ii) international capital projects managed by the Research Councils in each of the last ten years.

Joseph Johnson

This Government a record £6.9 billion in new equipment, new laboratories and new research institutes across the UK from 2015/16 to 2020/21.

Details of investments in large facilities and national and international capital projects by the Research Councils is held by the Councils themselves, in line with the delivery responsibilities placed on the Partner Organisations that BIS funds. We do not hold this level of information for the period you request centrally, however, aggregate capital expenditure for each of the seven Research Councils is available through their individual delivery plans, which are published and available online.