Tag: Kevin Brennan

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 steps he takes to monitor the economic effect of projects his Department has funded.

Anna Soubry

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has taken a number of steps to embed systematic monitoring of our policies and programmes, including economic effects. The Department’s vision for monitoring and evaluation is outlined in our Evaluation Strategy, found on the GOV.UK website.

In particular:

1. For all new spending the Department ensures fit for purpose monitoring and evaluation plans are embedded before policy implementation.
2. The Department publishes an updated summary of the monitoring and evaluation coverage for each policy area on an annual basis. The BIS Evaluation Plan 2016 was published in January and is the second annual publication of BIS’s evaluation coverage, also found on the GOV.UK website.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was received in the UK in net earnings from direct investment in companies based outside the UK 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 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the reasons are for the reduction in the proportion of his Department’s budget spent with small and medium-sized enterprises between 2013 and 2015.

Anna Soubry

It is an established convention that Ministers of one Administration cannot see the documents of a previous Administration. I am therefore unable to provide the information requested by the hon Member.

However, the Department continues to improve its data collection so that the full extent of indirect spending with SMEs is captured, working closely with the Crown Commercial Service and prime contractors. The Department actively explores the possibility of contracting directly with SMEs throughout its procurement processes whilst adhering to the relevant public procurement regulations.

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 potential contribution of innovation, research and development to the future viability of the British steel industry.

Anna Soubry

The UK is a world leader in advanced manufacturing sectors such as automotive and aerospace, which continue to grow rapidly. These industries all require high value, continually improving steel products in order to remain competitive, and therefore innovation will continue to play an important role in the future of the UK steel industry. The Steel Council recognises this; UK Steel are leading the Future Capacity and Capabilities working group which is currently undertaking work to better identify where innovation and R&D is needed to meet future requirements for steel products, and how industry and Government can work together to support this.

Since 2010 we have been supporting the steel sector by offering grants totalling £29 million and loans totalling £33 million towards projects including:

o The development of facilities, such as the R&D centre at Warwick University.

o Development of new products.

o And investment in training, skills and apprenticeships.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions each local authority has brought under the provisions governing a blind person’s right to travel in licensed taxis with their guide dogs of the Equality Act 2010.

Dominic Raab

It is an offence under section 168 of the Equalities Act 2010 to refuse to take an assistance dog in a taxi or private hire vehicle. The maximum penalty is a level 3 fine (up to £1,000).

The number of offenders sentenced at all courts (with fines and average fines specifically identified) for failure to comply with a section 168 duty in relation to an assistance dog for a disabled person, in England and Wales, from 2011 (earliest separately identifiable information available) to 2015 can be viewed in table 1.

The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for failure to comply with a section 168 duty in relation to an assistance dog for a disabled person, listed by local authority prosecuting the case in England and Wales, from 2011 (earliest separately identifiable information available) to 2015 can be viewed in table 2.

Centrally held data by the Ministry of Justice includes information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. Data on whether a guide dog for the blind or a different type of assistance dog was involved in such a case is not held centrally, or reliably recorded where there is no operational reason to do so.

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 his Department has for the £1.8 billion of uncommitted Green Investment Bank funds following privatisation of that bank.

Anna Soubry

The Government allocated up to £3.8 billion of funds to Green Investment Bank (GIB) for investment in the period to March 2016. To date, GIB has made commitments totalling £2.1billion. Government will fund these and any further commitments GIB enters into during the current year to March 2016.

GIB’s funding needs for the year 2016/17 are being considered as part of the current spending review and the outcome will be announced later in the year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18925, which visits referred to that (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department made included a visit to a food bank.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department does not hold the information requested. Ministers have conducted visits to food banks in various capacities, including in their roles as Members of Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 8811, what projections his Department have made of the potential increase in green investments in the UK in the next 10 years as a result of the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

We are working on the basis that UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) plans to invest at a rate of around £800m per year over the period to 2020 in a range of green projects.

We believe that moving GIB into private ownership is the best way to ensure the company has the funding it needs to achieve this annual investment rate. This is because private ownership will give GIB access to much more capital from a much wider range of sources than if it remained in Government hands where it would have to compete for funding against all other Government spending needs.

Moving GIB into the private sector will also mean GIB will no longer be subject to state aid controls, giving it scope to invest in a wider range of green sectors and types of project than if it were to remain state funded.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22689, when his Department plans to report to Parliament its detailed plans for the sale of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry

The Government has introduced provisions to the Enterprise Bill which require a report to be laid before Parliament once a decision to undertake a sale has been made. The report must set out the type of sale, the expected timescale, and the Government’s objectives for the sale.

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 assessment he has made of differences in the ability of the Green Investment Bank to secure investment in (a) offshore wind power generation, (b) commercial and industrial waste processing and recycling, (c) energy from waste generation, (d) non-domestic energy efficiency and (e) support for the Green Deal as (i) public and (ii) private sector organisation.

Anna Soubry

The Green Investment Bank (GIB) contributes to UK green policy objectives by mobilising much needed private capital into green sectors, demonstrating that green investment can be profitable.

GIB will continue to perform that role in private ownership – increasing investment and making profits from green sectors that are relatively mature but nevertheless suffer from a lack of investment.