The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Government’s proposal to sell the Green Investment Bank (GIB) will include provision for the (a) sale of all GIB assets and (b) future of the GIB team.
Anna Soubry
It is the Department’s intention to sell GIB as a going concern. The assets and staff are an inherent part of that company.
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 proportion of (a) public and (b) private investment was in each project in which the Green Investment Bank has invested.
Anna Soubry
The information requested can be found in the Transaction Table on the Green Investment Bank website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2016 to Question 23263, if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of his Department’s meetings with the National Audit Office on the issue of value for money from the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.
Anna Soubry
The Government has held a number of discussions with the National Audit Office at a working level about the future sale of the Green Investment Bank. The Government does not intend to place any minutes of those discussions in the Library of the House.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any of the devolved administrations have refused to consent to the provisions dealing with public sector exit payments contained within the Enterprise Bill.
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 2016-03-16.
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.
|
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 2016-04-15.
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.