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1110574

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Innovate UK: Grants
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April to Question 237126 on Innovate UK: Grants, what proportion of Innovate UK grant funding has been awarded to (a) SMEs and (b) large companies since 2004 in each sector.
tabling member constituency	Cambridge
tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
uin	242858
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2019 answer text <p>Since 2004, Innovate UK has allocated funding to the following sectors.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Sector </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Large business</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>SME</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aerospace</p></td><td><p>£840,714,248</p></td><td><p>£61,394,337</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Agri-Tech</p></td><td><p>£10,425,603</p></td><td><p>£90,178,915</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Energy</p></td><td><p>£140,484,835</p></td><td><p>£153,132,910</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Healthcare</p></td><td><p>£27,631,824</p></td><td><p>£268,619,252</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Life Science</p></td><td><p>£3,605,908</p></td><td><p>£28,233,769</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Materials and Manufacturing</p></td><td><p>£6,653,473</p></td><td><p>£37,208,881</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Space</p></td><td><p>£6,358,779</p></td><td><p>£14,382,838</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Transport</p></td><td><p>£229,587,823</p></td><td><p>£221,127,202</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other sectors</p></td><td><p>£1,481,329,743</p></td><td><p>£1,306,782,393</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p><strong>2,746,792,236</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2,181,060,497</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 11/04/2019 15:37:44 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

1110795

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Loans
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that maintenance loans are available to all students.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Ian Austin
uin	242749
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>Eligible full-time students attending full-time undergraduate higher education courses qualify for maintenance loans. All such students, regardless of their income, qualify for a minimum loan with additional support for disadvantaged students.</p><p>For the current academic year, 2018/19, students on family incomes of £25,000 or less who are living away from the parental home and studying outside London qualify for a maintenance loan of £8,700, increasing to £8,944 for the 2019/20 academic year. Higher rates of loan are available for students living away from home and studying in London.</p><p>Since August 2018, new students attending part-time degree level courses have also qualified for partially means-tested maintenance loans. Information on student support for undergraduate students, including maintenance loans, can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/get-undergraduate-student-loan" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/get-undergraduate-student-loan</a>.</p><p>The government’s review of post-18 education and funding is looking at how we can ensure that the education system for those aged 18 years and over is accessible to all. The review’s focus includes how disadvantaged students and learners receive maintenance support, both from government and from universities and colleges.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 15/04/2019 15:20:08 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

1110208

registered interest
date	08/04/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Company Accounts: Research
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring companies to publish reports on on their R&D spend.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	242131
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2019 answer text <p>The ONS publish annual R&amp;D statistics, including Business Enterprise R&amp;D (BERD). BERD statistics are based on a business survey and include analysis of regional and sectoral trends. We use the ONS statistics to track progress towards our commitment of increasing overall investment in R&amp;D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 and 3% in the longer-term.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 11/04/2019 13:08:29 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1110356

registered interest
date	08/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Plagiarism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to prevent essay mills businesses from targeting university students.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	242015
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2019 answer text <p>The use of companies that sell bespoke essays to students who pass the work off as their own undermines the reputation of the education system in this country and devalues the hard work of those succeeding on their own merit.</p><p> </p><p>The government has a clear expectation that educational institutions do everything in their power to prevent students being tempted by these companies. In a university context that may be through introducing initiatives such as honour codes, as well as making sure their students are aware of the severe consequences they face if they are caught cheating.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the department published an Education Technology strategy on 3 April which challenges technology companies to identify how anti-cheating software can tackle the growth of essay mills and stay one step ahead of the cheats. This strategy can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/realising-the-potential-of-technology-in-education" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/realising-the-potential-of-technology-in-education</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The government is supporting the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) to put pressure on technology companies who readily facilitate the use of essay mills.</p><p> </p><p>On 20 March, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, challenged PayPal to stop processing payments for ‘essay mills’ as part of an accelerated drive to preserve and champion the quality of the UK’s world-leading higher education system.</p><p> </p><p>PayPal is now working with businesses associated with essay-writing services to ensure its platform is not used to facilitate deceptive and fraudulent practices in education.</p><p> </p><p>Google and YouTube have also responded by removing hundreds of advertisements for essay writing services and promotional content from their sites.</p><p> </p><p>This supports and furthers the 2017 efforts of the QAA and National Union of Students and Universities UK who responded to the government’s request to develop guidance for higher education providers on how to combat the threat of “contract cheating”.</p><p> </p><p>This guidance includes advice to higher education providers to consider blocking access to essay mills from computers and Wi-Fi systems on their property and disrupting essay mills’ opportunities to advertise by asking pamphlet distributers to leave their campuses and using their own social media and email accounts to contact their students, warning them about any detected contact from particular sites and companies and re-stressing the need for academic integrity.</p><p> </p><p>The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England. Through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the government has given the OfS the power to take action if higher education providers are found to be, in any way, complicit in cheating. This includes imposing fines or ultimately de-registration, the highest possible punishment. The government remains open to the future need for additional legislation and will continue to investigate all options available.</p><p> </p><p>We are determined to beat the cheats who threaten the integrity of our higher education system.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 11/04/2019 15:59:58 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1109724

registered interest
date	04/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	STEM Subjects: Degrees
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to encourage more students to study STEM degrees.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	241025
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2019 answer text <p>Overall numbers of students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are rising. The share of students studying science subjects at English Higher Education providers has increased from 41% in 2010/11 to 45% in 2016/17.</p><p>Despite rising STEM student numbers, we are far from complacent and we know that employer groups continue to point to an unmet demand for higher level STEM skills. This issue seems to be particularly acute in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, engineering, science and technology. We are therefore implementing a number of initiatives across government to increase the numbers of STEM graduates. For example:</p><ul><li>The Department for Education (DfE) is piloting a conversion course scheme to enable graduates to retrain in engineering and computer science.</li><li>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are leading a £90 million investment in 1,000 new PhD places, of which around 85% will be in STEM areas, and 40% will aim to boost collaboration between industry and academia.</li><li>The government is providing funding for the new Institute of Coding, which aims to improve digital skills provision at levels 6 and 7. It will target a skills gap in digital skills and involves collaboration between education providers and industry.</li><li>The DfE is also supporting (with £15 million over 3 years) the New Model in Technology &amp; Engineering, a STEM-focused institution due to take its first full cohort of students in 2020.</li><li>Institutes of Technology are being established to help meet STEM skills needs at levels 4 – 6, working closely with local employers and Local Enterprise Partnerships.</li></ul><p>Effective careers guidance and advice is also key to supporting young people to undertake learning in areas that will give them the skills employers are looking for. The government’s careers strategy sets out a long-term plan to build a world class careers system to achieve this ambition. We are increasing the information available to students to ensure they can make informed choices about what and where to study.</p><p>As set out in the Industrial Strategy White Paper, the Skills Advisory Panels (SAPs) programme aims to ensure that the local provision of skills, and the delivery of skills policy in local areas, meets and responds to changing employer needs. SAPs analysis will inform Local Industrial Strategies and local post-16 skills provision, so that skills provision better meets labour market needs.</p><p>Degree apprenticeships also allow universities to build partnerships with businesses and employers and to work together to create a skilled workforce. Employers are working in partnership with universities and professional bodies to meet the high-level technical skills that employers and our economy need to prosper.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 10/04/2019 16:39:45 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1109725

registered interest
date	04/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Overseas Students: Universities
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on ensuring that the UK continues to attract international students to British universities after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	241026
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2019 answer text <p>Ministers within the Department for Education have regular discussions with the Home Office on ways to ensure the UK remains an attractive study destination, and the UK already has a strong offer for overseas students who graduate in the UK. International graduates can remain in the UK to work following their studies by switching to several existing visa routes, including Tier 2 (skilled worker) visas.</p><p>As you will be aware, the Immigration White Paper, published in December 2018, proposes increasing the post-study leave period for international students following completion of studies to 12 months for those completing a PhD, and to 6 months for all full-time postgraduate and undergraduate students at institutions with degree awarding powers. These proposals go beyond recommendations set out in the Migration Advisory Committee’s report and will benefit tens of thousands of international students. During the Home Office’s 12-month engagement programme on the Immigration White Paper, business and stakeholders from a wide range of sectors, including the Higher Education sector, will be able to feed in their views on white paper proposals.</p><p>In addition, the International Education Strategy, published on 16 March 2019, sets out actions to continue to provide a welcoming environment for international students, and includes our ambition to increase the number of international students we host to 600,000 by 2030. One of the actions within the strategy includes considering where processes could be improved to improve the visa experience for international students.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 10/04/2019 16:47:37 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1109727

registered interest
date	04/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the level of (a) female and (b) BAME representation in top university positions.
tabling member constituency	Harrow East
tabling member printed	Bob Blackman
uin	241027
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2019 answer text <p>Diversity and equality in higher education is a priority for this government. Higher education institutions are independent bodies and responsible for decisions about who they employ. Like every employer they must ensure they meet their obligations under the Equality Act 2010.</p><p>Important progress has been made on the number of women in leadership roles in higher education, particularly in the increase in the proportion of female Chairs of Governing Bodies and female Vice-Chancellors. Sector-led gender initiatives, such as the Athena SWAN Charter and the Aurora development scheme, demonstrate the importance the sector attaches to tackling the barriers that hinder women’s progression in higher education careers.</p><p>On 1 February, the government announced measures to tackle ethnic disparities in higher education including encouraging higher education providers to make use of tools such as the Race at Work Charter and the Race Equality Charter to drive forward a step-change in the recruitment and progression of ethnic minority employees.</p><p>The government has also consulted on ethnicity pay reporting in order to inform future government policy.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 10/04/2019 16:06:43 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4005 label Biography information for Bob Blackman

1109744

registered interest
date	04/04/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Nuclear Power
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Regulated Asset Base model and its potential for the nuclear sector.
tabling member constituency	Copeland
tabling member printed	Trudy Harrison
uin	241077
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2019 answer text <p>We are continuing to review the viability of a Regulated Asset Base model as a sustainable mechanism for financing new nuclear projects. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out to the House on 17 January that we intend to publish our assessment of that method by the summer.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 09/04/2019 16:01:32 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison

1109341

registered interest
date	03/04/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Engineering: Construction
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure major construction and engineering projects are undertaken under the auspices of relevant national agreements between the employer and the workforce including the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	240645
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises that national agreements may play a valuable role in supporting positive employee relations, working rules, wages, and terms and conditions of employment. The making of such agreements and decisions on when to utilise them, however, is a matter for the parties concerned.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 08/04/2019 14:03:08 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1109424

registered interest
date	03/04/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Nuclear Power
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the nuclear industry.
tabling member constituency	Copeland
tabling member printed	Trudy Harrison
uin	240614
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2019 answer text <p>This Government continues to believe that nuclear has an important role to play in our future energy mix as long as it provides value for money for taxpayers and consumers. Our commitment is demonstrated in us giving the go ahead for the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C. The landmark Nuclear Sector Deal, worth over £200m, was launched last June is a demonstration of the strong partnership between government and industry. Support provided by this Government through the Deal includes up to £56m for the development of advanced nuclear technologies, up to £20m for an advanced manufacturing and construction programme, and £86m for a fusion programme at Culham in Oxfordshire.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 10/04/2019 14:26:53 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison