Tag: Kevin Brennan

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what consultation process took place in respect of the (a) establishment and (b) proposed privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

The answers to the hon. Member’s questions can be found in the policy document entitled “Future of the Green Investment Bank plc” that was published on 18 November on GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-investment-bank-the-future

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the timescale is for privatisation of the Green Investment Bank; and whether he has made contingency plans to extend that timescale in the event of adverse market conditions.

Anna Soubry

The Government has previously stated that it is seeking to sell a majority stake in the Green Investment Bank (GIB) in the financial year 2016/17.

Strong market interest currently exists for the GIB and we expect this timetable to be successfully met. Any extension would be considered nearer to the end of that timetable, should it be required.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which organisations he has consulted on the changes to Sunday trading in the 12 months.

Anna Soubry

The Government ran a public consultation, which closed in September 2015, on its proposals to devolve the power to extend Sunday trading powers to local areas. The Department also met with a range of interested parties including trade unions, religious groups, retailers and retail bodies, and representatives of local authorities.

The Government plans to publish its response to the consultation shortly.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether tribunal awards made to employees will be included when calculating the proposed exit payments cap for those workers.

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 which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

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

The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.

The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.

Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the percentage change in high street footfall figures was in each UK region in the last two years for which figures are available.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department for Communities and Local Government does not hold figures for UK footfall, however there are external sources that do collect these statistics.

The British Retail Consortium/Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor publishes a monthly roundup of national changes in UK footfall.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the proportion of global patents for graphene that is held in the UK.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) estimates that 5% of global graphene patent documents published between 2005 and 2014 have coverage in the UK (in that they are applications to the IPO or the European Patent Office (EPO) with effect in the UK, but were not necessarily filed by UK applicants).

In the same period, UK applicants were responsible for filing 1% of published global graphene patent applications worldwide.

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 2016-03-23.

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.

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 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on reforming the law on surrogacy.

Jane Ellison

A search of the Department’s central correspondence system shows that, since November 2015, the Department has received 31 representations that made direct or indirect reference to reforming the law on surrogacy. I have also answered four Parliamentary Questions in this session about this issue.

The Government has no current plans to change the legislation in respect of surrogacy arrangements.

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 the Government’s policy is on the granting of market economy status to China.

Anna Soubry

The Government believes it is important that World Trade Organisation members meet their international obligations. But we are also committed to tackling unfair trade and ensuring that the Commission continues to have the necessary tools available to do this.

China’s 2001 Protocol of Accession to the WTO removes certain provisions after 15 years, so countries may need to alter the methodology for calculating dumping when conducting anti-dumping investigations involving China. In such an event, the EU would still be able to impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures against China, just as it does against Russia, the US and other market economies. We recognise there are real concerns about this. We are committed to discussing implementation of the Protocol’s requirements with our international partners.

The European Commission is due to present its proposals in this area in the summer. Alongside its proposal, the Commission is expected to present a detailed assessment of the legal, economic and social impacts of this issue. It conducted a consultation earlier this year to collect evidence to inform its assessment and on possible measures to mitigate any adverse effects on EU industry. We welcome this and will examine the Commission’s proposal and impact assessment carefully before deciding our position.