Tag: Lord Taylor of Warwick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-03-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of criticism from the British Retail Consortium that proposed changes in business rates are inadequate.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government announced at Budget 2016 the biggest ever cut in business rates in England – worth £6.7 billion over the next five years. All ratepayers will benefit from the package and 600,000 of the smallest businesses, including many retailers, will not have to pay business rates again.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Australian model for payment disputes could help small UK suppliers.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

In establishing the UK Small Business Commissioner through the Enterprise Act 2016, the Government has taken inspiration from the Australian Small Business Commissioner (now the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman) and Small Business Commissioners at state level in Australia. These bodies provide advice and access to alternative dispute resolution to small businesses involved in a variety of disputes, which may include some payment disputes.

The UK Small Business Commissioner will focus on payment disputes between small and larger businesses and encourage a change in how businesses deal with each other – a long lasting cultural change to promote fair treatment for all. He or she will act as a disincentive to unfavourable payment practices, and build the confidence and capabilities of small businesses to help them to assert themselves in contractual disputes and negotiate more effectively. The Commissioner will provide general information and advice, direct small businesses to existing dispute resolution services (eg, mediation services and ombudsmen) and handle complaints from small businesses about payment issues

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the possible impact of Brexit on workers’ pensions.

Lord Freud

The period since the referendum has seen movements in market conditions that could have a material impact on pension schemes funding positions. However, the precise effect will depend on a number of factors including how assets are allocated and the approach to hedging. It is important to remember that pensions are invested in the long-term. We continue to monitor the impact.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to help London’s small technology companies and to protect technology talent.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

We are committed to ensuring that Britain is the best place in Europe to innovate, patent new ideas and start a business, including small tech businesses. Innovate UK provides support to businesses across the UK with around 60% of its grant funding going to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to help them to develop new ideas and recruit and retain tech talent. We are supporting more companies to do research and development through the UK’s R&D Tax Credits scheme. The total of R&D support claimed rose to £2.45bn in 2014-15, an increase of £675m (38%) on the previous year.

An example of a specific activity in London is Tech City UK (TCUK), funded by Government, who focus their efforts to accelerate the growth of digital businesses at all stages of their development across the UK. TCUK creates a positive culture in relation to digital technology and technological entrepreneurship, and fosters the right policy and business environment for start-up and high-growth entrepreneurial businesses. It does this by connecting entrepreneurs to other businesses and investors, whilst also providing a vital feedback loop to government to ensure that policy development is fit for purpose.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support women and ethnic minorities to reach senior positions in the legal sector.

Lord Faulks

The Government is keen to see a diverse legal profession. Regulation of the legal profession is independent of Government. The Legal Services Board (LSB) and Approved Regulators are responsible for setting the requirements for entry to the profession as well as for continued professional development. These bodies have a duty to promote competition in the provision of regulated legal services, and encourage an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession.

There are a number of initiatives being taken forward on education and training by the three largest frontline regulators for the legal profession, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board and CILEx Regulation, to widen opportunities for a more diverse pool of people to enter the profession through more flexible routes to qualification. These are published on each of the frontline regulators’ website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to increase racial diversity in the workplace in the light of the Business in the Community report Race at Work 2015, which found that ethnic minority Britons are struggling against bias at work.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Equality Act 2010 protects all individuals against racial and other forms of discrimination in the workplace. The Prime Minister has underlined the Government’s commitments to increasing racial diversity in the workplace in his 2020 Vision in which he made a commitment to increase BAME employment by 20% by 2020. Her Majesty’s Government welcomes the publication of the Race at Work report and will study its recommendations carefully,.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to promote Small Business Saturday.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government is a strong supporter of Small Business Saturday, which was this year held on Saturday December 5. As part of a programme of activity to get behind the event and encourage communities to support their local businesses at a key time in the commercial calendar, the Government worked with Small Business Saturday organisers to hold a flagship market with a diverse range of small companies at HM Treasury. All 21 Government departments were also briefed to raise awareness of the campaign, with many using social media channels to highlight the initiative. In addition, 50 Ministers visited a local business in their area on the day, endorsing the campaign through their own social media channels. We also distributed message packs online to 588 stakeholders to encourage them to reach out to their own memberships and support the day. We are now planning to work with organisers to support Small Business Saturday 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-01-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage larger companies to form partnerships with creative entrepreneurs.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Government is supportive of the concept of larger organisations forming partnerships with creative entrepreneurs and is keen to encourage an environment in which such relationships can thrive. In addition, this is a matter for individual entrepreneurial endeavours in the cultural sector.

In the last 4 years, Creative England has pioneered new partnership models with global brands opening up new networks and opportunities for creative talent across England. My ministerial colleague, Ed Vaizey recently launched Creative England’s latest call to action in seeking a new corporate partner to co-fund ‘Creative Nation’ – a new initiative aimed at finding the best creative and digital businesses to develop innovative solutions to address non-creative sector issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is being done to ensure there is clear communication to people about the new state pension.

Baroness Altmann

The Department undertakes extensive research to ensure our communications are clear, targeted and effective.

The ‘Know the Facts’ campaign, launched in November 2014, uses radio, print and digital advertising to raise awareness of the changes to the State Pension. It directs people to detailed information and material including blogs, videos and resource packs on GOV.UK, and encourages those closest to State Pension age to get a new State Pension statement.

We continually improve all our communications, based on regular evaluation and feedback, to ensure messages are clear and informative. We also work closely with key intermediaries and stakeholders to share our messages widely.

The new State Pension campaign includes specific messages to those who may benefit from ways to increase their State Pension; those who may be most at risk of not meeting the minimum qualifying period; and to explain the impact of past periods of contracting-out. We have also reassured pensioners on the old system that they are not affected by these changes.

People can now also get a personalised State Pension statement online. They will be given a forecast of how much they could get when they reach State Pension age, and find out how to increase this amount. People who do not want to, or cannot use the online service, can continue to request a statement by phone or post.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to improve trade data for the next calendar quarter.

Lord Price

Increasing exports is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. Government departments are working together to support UK businesses looking to take advantage of overseas opportunities and to create a strong business environment that allows them to flourish both at home and overseas.

A key part of this work is to identify export opportunities, many of which are based around the needs of high-growth and emerging markets. We are making those opportunities available to UK businesses through the Exporting is GREAT campaign which has elicited over 25,000 responses to the 7,000 export opportunities published online since it launched in November 2015.