The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will conduct an assessment of UK science infrastructure to inform departmental decision-making on spending priorities.
Joseph Johnson
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 April 2016 to Question 32088.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what value and proportion of central government procurement was made by each department in each year since 2010.
Matthew Hancock
Total central government procurement spend is published as part of the annual reporting of spend with small and medium-sized businesses at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2014-to-2015
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he last reviewed his Department’s industrial strategy; and if he will make a statement.
Anna Soubry
At the Science and Technology Select Committee on the science budget and spending review held on Tuesday 19 January my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills stated that he wanted to see sector strategies that were formed under the coalition Government’s industrial strategy refreshed, as those strategies were put in place a number of years ago. My right hon. Friend has had meetings with many of the sector councils to discuss this and will continue to meet with sector councils and others, to consider what more the Government can do to support these industries and their growth.
My right hon. Friend also explained that there is an open door policy from his department to all industries, including newer industries and those that don’t yet have formal sector strategies.
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 value was of (a) private and (b) public sector investment in the British steel industry in each of the last 10 years.
Anna Soubry
This information is not collected centrally. However, the following are examples of Government investments in the UK metals sector since 2008:
Information on private sector investment in the steel industry is not available from official sources.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of his Department’s contracts in the last five years used the largest proportion of British steel.
Mr Philip Dunne
The largest defence equipment procurement project during this period has been the construction of the two Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. Updated figures show that the vast majority of structural steel used, some 95,000 tonnes, was manufactured in the UK.
In the main, defence requirements for steel are sourced by our prime contractors taking into account cost, time and quality. UK suppliers have made a significant and valuable contribution to the supply of steel for our major defence programmes. New Government guidelines, which have been implemented in the Ministry of Defence, will also help them compete for future defence projects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he had with small businesses and entrepreneurs on the planned closure of the Business Growth Service.
Anna Soubry
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills continues to have discussions with businesses and their representatives. They have told us that there is strong appetite in the private sector to fill the gap in the market and develop sustainable offers of support.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Government has undertaken an environmental impact assessment of its policy to privatise the Green Investment Bank.
Anna Soubry
As set out in the answer to question 22471 on 18 January, the Government is moving UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) into private ownership so it can continue operating in the same way it does now only funded with private capital rather than relying on taxpayers’ support. The detailed background and supporting case for this move was set out in the policy statement we published on 18 November. Decisions on the proposed sale are being taken in accordance with best practice to ensure all available options are properly examined in a detailed business case and that a robust valuation process is followed. The process does not involve preparation of an environmental impact assessment as we do not envisage any direct environmental or regulatory impacts of a majority sale of GIB, or changes to pre-existing policy goals for GIB.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-21.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of trends in the levels of exit payments in the (a) private sector and (b) public sector in the last 20 years.
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 the potential impacts of the cap and sets out which organisations the Government intends to capture within scope of the public sector exit payment cap. The final policy is in line with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.
The consultation ran from 31 July to 27 August 2015. Over 4000 responses were received. These representations were considered during and after the consultation to inform the Government response that was published on 16 September 2015.
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
An impact analysis was published within the exit payment cap consultation document which respondents had an opportunity to comment on. Further, the Government worked with departments and took into account consultation responses received after the official deadline to inform the impact of a public sector exit payment cap set at £95,000 in different sectors and for different categories of workers. This assessment gave due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The exit payment cap is intended to capture organisations classified as public sector by the Office for National Statistics with few exceptions as identified in the consultation response.
The Government does not expect the cap to have a widespread impact on the take-up of voluntary redundancy.
At the 2015 Spending Review the Government announced it will consult on further cross public sector action on exit payment terms. This consultation will provide a good opportunity to collect further information on the trends in the level of exit payments between the private and public sector.
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 plans his Department has to ensure that a privatised Green Investment Bank will work to open major new investment options for investors in the UK’s low carbon economy while making a material contribution to decarbonisation.
Anna Soubry
Details of why the Government believes moving UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) into private ownership represents the best way to enable the company to deliver its ambitious green business plan and have a greater impact on green investment while minimising burdens on the UK taxpayer are provided in our November 2015 policy statement on the future of GIB and are further set out in the Government’s response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report on the future of GIB which was laid in Parliament on 2 February. Both documents can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much public sector funding was spent on facilitating higher risk green investment in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the likely spend of this type in each of the next five years.
Anna Soubry
Government funding for green innovation is provided for private sector led technology R&D through grants, procurement approaches and to a lesser extent equity interventions. Additionally, DECC, Research Councils and InnovateUK are involved in European programmes that can leverage significant funding from the EC while ensuring cross border collaboration.
Government spent ~£1.3billion on low carbon innovation for the period 2011-15. In addition, the Low Carbon Networks Fund which is funded by network operators is expected to allocate ~£440m over the period 2010-15. See table 1 attached:
Separately, the British Business Bank has three main programmes for supporting early stage technology investment, including in the clean technology area: the Enterprise Capital Funds targeted at early stage venture capital investment; the UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF) which supports creation of viable investment funds targeting UK high growth technology-based businesses; and the Venture Capital Catalyst Fund, launched in 2013.
As part of the recent Spending Review, it was announced that the department for Energy & Climate Change will double its innovation program to £500 million over the next five years.
UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) also invests in innovative green projects, though it does so on fully commercial terms and is focused on technologies ready for deployment at full commercial scale and capable of attracting additional investment from mainstream finance providers. Details of all GIB’s investments to date can be found on the company’s website.