Tag: Kevin Brennan

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many hon. Members of each party she has met as a result of a request for such a meeting since her appointment.

Nick Gibb

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Education frequently meets Hon Members from across the political spectrum in the performance of her duties.

Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which steel plants in the UK have (a) closed and (b) been bought by a new owner in each of the last 10 years.

Anna Soubry

The information requested is set out below and covers the closures and sales of primary steel making plants in the UK.

Steel Plant Closed (A)	Steel Plant Bought by New Owner (B)
Alphasteel, Newport (2007)	Libala, Newport (2008)
Teeside Cast Products, Redcar (2010)	SSI, Redcar (2011)
Thamesteel, Sheerness (2012)	Liberty Group, Newport (2013)
Libala, Newport (2013)
SSI, Redcar (2015)

For A) owner at time of closing, plant (year of closure)

For B) new owner, plant (year of sale)

There is no centrally collected information for downstream steel sites closures and sales.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government’s bilateral investment treaties on its policies on human rights, development and the environment in each of the countries with which it has signed a treaty.

Anna Soubry

The UK is signatory to over 90 bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The objective of BITs is to provide investors with fair and equitable treatment, protection against discriminatory action and a commitment not to expropriate investments without compensation. The contents of BITs do not provide specific obligations to either investors or states regarding human rights, development or the environment, however fair, non-discriminatory and proportionate action taken by a host state to protect human rights, development and the environment would not breach an investment protection. The Government is not aware of any Investor-State Dispute Settlement claims made by UK investors under existing BITs that have led directly to or contributed towards a negative impact on these areas.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Chinese government on the reported disappearance of Gui Haiming and other employees of Sage Communications in Hong Kong.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are following this issue closely along with EU partners. The UK takes seriously any threats to press freedom. We monitor this constantly including through the Foreign Secretary’s Six-Monthly Reports to Parliament. We have welcomed previous statements that the Hong Kong SAR Government remains committed to protecting the freedom of the press. We hope they and the Chinese authorities will also continue to make every effort to ensure that the environment in which the media, and publishers operate in the Hong Kong SAR is conducive to full and frank reporting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals for a statutory duty for fire and rescue services to respond to flooding.

Mike Penning

The Hon. Member will be aware that the Prime Minister announced on 5 January 2016 that responsibility for fire policy was being transferred to the Home Secretary with immediate effect. I am, therefore, answering the Hon Member’s question as Fire Minister. As fire is a devolved matter in Wales, my response applies only to England.

Fire and Rescue Authorities are required to put in place integrated risk management plans, coordinated with the community risk registers produced by Local Resilience Forums. These documents should identify the full range of risks to which fire and rescue services should be able to respond. The effective response of fire and rescue services to the recent flooding demonstrates that the system is working.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those at the frontline involved in that response. The commitment and dedication they showed throughout the Christmas and New Year period in helping communities affected to deal with the largescale flooding and to rebuild their lives afterwards is a demonstration of public service at its very best.

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 progress the Government has made in negotiating with its EU partners about developing anti-dumping measures covering steel imports.

Anna Soubry

The EU’s anti-dumping procedures are driven by requests from EU producers to the European Commission. The Commission is responsible for considering requests for and, if appropriate, opening anti-dumping investigations. My International Comparisons working group agreed to work closely with the steel industry on supporting cases where they provide evidence of dumping, as we did with Celsa Steel and rebar last year.

The Government is strongly in favour of effective trade defences to tackle unfair trade practices. The Government voted in favour of anti-dumping measures on steel products in July and November and it was the UK that lobbied successfully for an investigation into rebar. The Government secured agreement on the need for fast and effective action at an EU level and a robust dialogue with China and other producer countries at the Extraordinary Competitiveness Council in November. We have pressed the Commission to consider ways of speeding up investigations and recently wrote to the Commission with specific proposals. We will be attending a summit meeting on 15 February to push for further progress. Recent announcements by the EU on registration measures for cold rolled strip and rebar show they have listened and are taking swifter action.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding the Green Investment Bank has invested in fracking projects in the UK.

Anna Soubry

The Green Investment Bank has not invested in any fracking projects.

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 recent assessment he has made of the differences in the ability of the Green Investment Bank to invest in higher risk emerging green technologies as a (a) public and (b) private sector bank.

Anna Soubry

The Government’s position on this matter was set out in paragraphs 31 – 36 of our November 2015 policy statement on the future of the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) which can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website.

This makes clear that GIB’s remit has always been to invest in green projects on fully commercial terms to help demonstrate green investment can be profitable and attract additional private sector investment into green sectors from mainstream finance providers. GIB will continue to perform that role in private ownership.

There are other Government policy mechanisms in place aimed at promoting investment in more high risk projects and early stage technologies.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy that the right of local authorities to have a waiver option on public sector exit payments should be included on the face of the Enterprise Bill.

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 Energy and Climate Change, what recent assessment she has made of the availability of bank loans for oil exploration companies which operate in the North Sea.

Andrea Leadsom

Banks must make commercial decisions with regard to lending. The Government’s clear view is that the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry has a bright future and will remain a significant and important industry and energy supplier for the UK. The Government’s confidence in the sector was underlined in the tax reform package outlined by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Budget , worth £1 billion. In the Budget, the Chancellor also announced that the government is willing to consider proposals for using the UK Guarantees scheme for infrastructure where it could help secure new investment in assets of strategic importance to maximising economic recovery of oil and gas. Any proposals would also need to meet the existing criteria of the scheme, including in relation to commerciality and financial credibility