Tag: Kevin Brennan

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of UK firms was owed money for late payments in each of the last ten years.

Anna Soubry

The Department does not hold the information required to make an estimate of proportion of UK firms owed money for late payments in each of the last ten years. As late payment affects so many different types of business in different ways, no single survey gives a full picture of the impact of late payment on businesses. The three sources that we look to as an indicator of late payment are the SME finance monitor, the regular BACs survey and Experian’s late payment index. BACS data shows that small and medium businesses were owed a total of £26.8 billion as at June 2015, and the average small business is waiting for £31,900 in overdue payments.

The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors. Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress his Department has made on implementing its plans to impose financial penalties of up to £20,000 per worker against companies who fail to pay the national minimum wage.

Nick Boles

From 26 May 2015, the maximum penalty for underpayment of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) increased from £20,000 per notice of underpayment (NoU) to £20,000 per worker.

From 1 April 2016 the penalty has been increased to 200% of the total underpayment for all of the workers specified in a NoU. By increasing penalties for underpayment of the NMW it is intended that employers, who could otherwise be tempted to underpay, comply with the law and working people receive the money they are legally due. The maximum penalty will remain at £20,000 per worker.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the quality of information and data used to inform his Department’s investment prioritisation process; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is committed to ensuring that all of its key policies and programmes are based on high quality evidence and subject to robust monitoring and evaluation. The foundation for this vision was set out in the Department’s Evaluation Strategy published in December 2014 and the first update – BIS Evaluation Plan 2016.

A substantial amount of work is undertaken across the Department to better understand, and develop, the evidence underpinning investment options. For example, in preparation for Spending Review 2015, the Department thoroughly reviewed its evidence base, through Evidence Challenge Panels (ECP) and an Investment Gateway (IG) process. The ECP membership consisted of Directors of spend areas and provided senior peer review of work underway to address the key evidence gaps and to support longer term planning to develop BIS’ evidence base. The IG was set up to support prioritisation of spend and ensure investment decisions are based on robust business cases consisting of strategic, economic, financial, management and commercial assessments. The IG panel includes the chief analyst and DG finance. The ECP and IG in turn fed into the Department’s submissions to HM Treasury for the Spending Review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with his Bahraini counterpart the treatment of Hassan Mushiema.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are aware of the case of Hassan Mushaima and we have raised it with the Government of Bahrain. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments and to appropriately address all reports of ill-treatment of detainees. We also encourage all those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these directly to the Ombudsman.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many jobs there were in the manufacturing sector in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of all jobs such jobs were in each such year.

Anna Soubry

Data on the number and proportion of manufacturing employees in each region and constituent country of the UK is available from the Office for National Statistics Employee Jobs data.

Please note that this covers employees only and excludes the self-employed.

The data requested is given below.

Employee Jobs in Manufacturing by Region and Country of the UK

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
North East	129	128	121	116	113
North West	364	361	334	329	305
Yorks/Humber	288	283	267	253	248
East Midlands	279	277	264	257	258
West Midlands	350	331	318	285	280
East of England	247	243	232	220	214
London	144	139	133	118	111
South East	302	297	287	267	265
South West	244	245	232	224	216
Wales	157	156	156	140	129
Scotland	214	212	201	189	176
Northern Ireland	84	84	82	75	73
UK	2,800	2,755	2,626	2,472	2,388
	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
North East	107	110	109	110	116
North West	316	296	302	314	328
Yorks/Humber	247	249	246	258	262
East Midlands	249	261	253	251	256
West Midlands	277	275	280	294	299
East of England	221	226	213	216	212
London	106	107	106	112	115
South East	262	254	242	239	237
South West	213	218	217	214	214
Wales	133	133	138	147	145
Scotland	178	180	174	182	189
Northern Ireland	74	74	75	77	80
UK	2,384	2,383	2,356	2,414	2,453

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 his Department has made of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on the British steel industry.

Anna Soubry

The UK is stronger, safer, and better off in a reformed EU, and this very much applies to our steel industry. The EU is our most important market for steel, buying over half our steel exports, and it is a powerful voice pushing for fair international trading conditions. Our membership provides access to a vast open market with a good system that balances the interests of producers and users. Outside the EU, we could find ourselves on the receiving end of EU tariffs, which would result in additional costs for the UK steel industry. In addition, we would be less able to defend ourselves against unfair competition from third countries. The Commission now has a record 37 measures against steel products, 16 of which are on Chinese imports.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to (a) promote and (b) co-ordinate research into the (i) use and (ii) manufacture of (A) steel, (B) glass, (C) plastics, (D) aluminium, (E) titanium and (F) other alloys.

Joseph Johnson

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Innovate UK oversee coordination and promotion of research in these and other areas.

The White Paper, ‘Success as a Knowledge Economy,’ set out the Government’s plans to create UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI will ensure our research and innovation system is sufficiently integrated, strategic and agile to meet current and future challenges and deliver national capability that drives discovery and growth.

EPSRC has a portfolio of over £450m of materials-related research covering the breadth of materials (including the metals/alloys identified, glass and plastics), from fundamental physics to the re-use and remanufacture of advanced new alloys and other materials.

Innovate UK’s Delivery Plan for 2016/17 sets out support through its Manufacturing and Materials Directorate which includes a twice-yearly £15m collaborative research and development fund aimed at both manufacturing and materials.

Innovate UK has also provided over £70m funding to the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, which includes some materials manufacturing and development research, for example materials research at the National Composite Centre (composites and plastics), the Advanced Forming Research Centre (powder metallurgy), the Manufacturing Technology Centre (Additive Layer Manufacturing) and Centre For Process Innovation (polymer research).

The Henry Royce Institute has a work stream in Advanced Materials Processing, and will seek to coordinate the infrastructure supporting UK-based advanced materials research providing national capability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Government intends to raise from privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

Proceeds will depend on the size of stake sold and the outcome of negotiations with investors about the value of the company. We will need to be satisfied any transaction represents value for money for the taxpayer.

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 resource and energy efficiency measures.

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 assessment he has made of the potential effect of the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank on the level of investment it will make in the UK green economy.

Anna Soubry

The privatisation of the Green Investment Bank will allow the company to increase its investments in the UK green economy. It will be able to raise more capital free from being on the Government balance sheet. It will also be free from State Aid restrictions on the green investments it can make.