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170297

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Scottish Power
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he received reports from the MacDonald Partnership in relation to mis-sold Scottish Power Power Plan warranties; what the titles of such reports were; and when he plans to respond to those reports.
	tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Walton
	tabling member printed	Steve Rotheram
	uin	218595
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The initial report from Mr MacDonald was received on 17 July 2014 for review by the Insolvency Service. Further information including another more detailed report was received from him during September and October 2014, and these again have been reviewed by the Insolvency Service. The reports are confidential.</p><p> </p><p>The reports themselves do not require a direct response but I can confirm that the Insolvency Service has completed its review of this material and is in communication with Mr MacDonald.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 17/12/2014 11:11:20 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	4035 label Biography information for Steve Rotheram

106200

	registered interest
	date	04/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Admissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the effect on spending by his Department of abolition of the cap on higher education student numbers announced in the Autumn Statement 2013.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hodge Hill
	tabling member printed	Mr Liam Byrne
	uin	213239
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>Details of estimates and costs are in the 2013 Autumn Statement document at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263942/35062_Autumn_Statement_2013.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263942/35062_Autumn_Statement_2013.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark grouped question UIN 213835 213836 question first answered 18/12/2014 16:58:48 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	1171 label Biography information for Liam Byrne

114583

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Admissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what contingency arrangements his Department has reached with HM Treasury on meeting the cost of the expansion of student numbers in the absence of proceeds from the sale of the student loan book in the 2010-15 Parliament.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hodge Hill
	tabling member printed	Mr Liam Byrne
	uin	213629
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2015 answer text <p>The removal of the cap on student numbers is not contingent on the sale of the loan book.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark grouped question UIN 213630 question first answered 06/01/2015 15:02:27 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	1171 label Biography information for Liam Byrne

114585

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Admissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how his Department plans to fund the abolition of the cap on student numbers in the absence of proceeds from the sale of the student loan book in the 2010-15 Parliament.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hodge Hill
	tabling member printed	Mr Liam Byrne
	uin	213630
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2015 answer text <p>The removal of the cap on student numbers is not contingent on the sale of the loan book.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark grouped question UIN 213629 question first answered 06/01/2015 15:02:27 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	1171 label Biography information for Liam Byrne

114586

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Admissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his Department plans to publish updated student numbers as a result of the abolition of the cap on student numbers.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hodge Hill
	tabling member printed	Mr Liam Byrne
	uin	213631
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>Confirmed student numbers for 2014/15 and future years are not yet available. The Higher Education Statistics Agency will publish data on Higher Education entrants and enrolments for 2014/15 in January 2016.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark grouped question UIN 213632 question first answered 18/12/2014 16:55:38 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	1171 label Biography information for Liam Byrne

114588

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Admissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his most recent estimate is of the increase in student numbers as a result of the decision to abolish the cap on student numbers; and what his updated estimates of student numbers is for (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hodge Hill
	tabling member printed	Mr Liam Byrne
	uin	213632
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>Confirmed student numbers for 2014/15 and future years are not yet available. The Higher Education Statistics Agency will publish data on Higher Education entrants and enrolments for 2014/15 in January 2016.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark grouped question UIN 213631 question first answered 18/12/2014 16:55:38 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	1171 label Biography information for Liam Byrne

143348

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Admissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the effect has been on public sector net debt of abolition of the cap on higher education student numbers announced in the Autumn Statement 2013.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hodge Hill
	tabling member printed	Mr Liam Byrne
	uin	213836
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>Details of estimates and costs are in the 2013 Autumn Statement document at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263942/35062_Autumn_Statement_2013.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263942/35062_Autumn_Statement_2013.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark grouped question UIN 213239 213835 question first answered 18/12/2014 16:58:48 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	1171 label Biography information for Liam Byrne

143352

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Admissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the cost to the public purse is of abolishing the cap on student numbers in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16, (c) 2016-17 and (d) 2017-18.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hodge Hill
	tabling member printed	Mr Liam Byrne
	uin	213835
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>Details of estimates and costs are in the 2013 Autumn Statement document at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263942/35062_Autumn_Statement_2013.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263942/35062_Autumn_Statement_2013.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark grouped question UIN 213239 213836 question first answered 18/12/2014 16:58:47 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark previous answer version 28171 answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	1171 label Biography information for Liam Byrne

164311

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Regeneration
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what investment in regeneration projects the Regeneration Investment Organisation has secured in the last six months.
	tabling member constituency	Caerphilly
	tabling member printed	Wayne David
	uin	215654
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>Having built up a ‘shovel ready’ pipeline of 41 projects within 12 months, UK Trade and Investment’s Regeneration Investment Organisation (RIO) will shortly announce its first win for this financial year. RIO hopes to deliver two more project wins this financial year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Beyond this, RIO’s £112bn long-term pipeline has the potential to create 640,000 jobs. 41 out of a total 180 projects have undergone technical investment evaluation and this number will soon rise to 100 verified projects. RIO has prioritised its overseas investors from 7 key markets and continues to support investment and supply chain development into ongoing projects such as Manchester Airport City and Battersea Power Station.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 17/12/2014 16:16:40 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock previous answer version 30716 answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	1398 label Biography information for Wayne David

164313

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Iron and Steel
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he last met or spoke to representatives of the UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels regarding the traceability and certification of Chinese and Turkish steel products imported to the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
	tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
	uin	215766
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has maintained close contact with the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) who investigated a complaint about CARES from UK Steel about labelling and traceability of imports.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>UKAS concluded that CARES responded in an appropriate way to the concerns raised, in line with the expectations and requirements of the accreditation standard. That conclusion has been communicated to UK steel and to the All Party Parliamentary Group on steel.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We understand from UKAS that there has been an increase in CARES’ vigilance with increased sampling and checks.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I have also been advised that, as a result of ongoing discussions between CARES and UK Steel, the association supplied samples of imported rebar and CARES testing found it was non-compliant. As a consequence we understand CARES visited the Chinese steel mill and conducted further sampling and testing but found no evidence of stock production being non-compliant.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 17/12/2014 16:25:04 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock previous answer version 30526 answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

166225

	registered interest
	date	26/11/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Radicalism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions the Minister for Universities has had with the Welsh Government Minister for Education on tackling extremism and radicalisation in universities; and what plans he has to meet his counterparts in the devolved administrations to discuss tackling extremism and radicalisation in universities across the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
	tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
	uin	216009
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2014 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I have discussed these matters with the Minister for Education in the Welsh Government. The Government continues to work closely with the Welsh Government and other partners in Wales, including through a ‘Preventing Extremism’ coordinator who supports Universities and Colleges to help them prevent radicalisation and tackle extremism. Officials are also undertaking discussions with Devolved Administrations with regard to the recently introduced Counter –Terrorism and Security Bill.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 19/12/2014 16:12:51 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark previous answer version 30928 answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

167964

	registered interest
	date	04/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Mentorsme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Mentors Me website.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	217143
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2015 answer text <p>Last year the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) funded the creation of a network of 27,000 accredited business mentors and partnered with the British Bankers Association (BBA) and Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) to create the mentorsme website. BBA and SFEDI now lead this initiative and have established a sector-led Enterprise Mentoring Advisory Council with responsibility for assessing the performance of the mentorsme website and the initiative overall.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Advisory Council also have responsibility for upholding the standards for enterprise mentoring, promoting awareness of the benefits of and access to enterprise mentoring and acting as a central policy advisory group.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>BIS has a seat on the Advisory Council and continues to support mentorsme by driving awareness and take up of mentoring as part of the national Business is GREAT campaign and by sharing research evidence and insight.</p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 07/01/2015 11:29:15 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

167973

	registered interest
	date	04/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Productivity
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to improve productivity.
	tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
	tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
	uin	217275
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>Government policy focuses on delivering growth; this in turn partly depends on longer term improvements to productivity. As such, much of the Government’s economic policy is about raising productivity, including but not limited to:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Tax cuts</strong>: Government is actively working to reduce the tax burden where possible to help give businesses the confidence to invest and grow. Initiatives announced at this year’s Autumn Statement include a doubling of the Small Business Rate Relief for a further year, and a continued cap on the annual increase in business rates at 2% from April 2015 to March 2016. More widely the UK now has the lowest headline corporate tax rate in the G7 and 4th lowest in the G20. Budget 2013 announced further measures to reduce the main corporate tax rate to 20% by 2015.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Deregulation</strong>: Government departments are working together to simplify and reduce the regulatory burden for UK businesses through the Red Tape Challenge, One In, One Out , and One In, Two Out policies. This will create a regulatory environment in which businesses have the confidence to invest and grow. This work is already showing significant signs of success; excluding EU regulation, the estimated annual net cost of regulation to UK business has fallen by £1.5bn since 2011.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Skills</strong>: Ensuring employers have access to workers with the right skills plays a crucial role in enhancing the UK’s productivity. This Government has driven up participation in education, employment or training for 16-24 year olds since 2011. Apprenticeship participation has risen by 77% from 2009/10 to 2012/13, and there have been over 2 million Apprentices started since 2010.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is giving employers more direct control over the design and delivery of training solutions to address skills shortages and improve business performance through the Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP) and its successor Employer Ownership Fund (EOF). The Government is completing round 2 of EOP which will be worth £238m and has announced targeted activity for the auto supply chain and engineering under EOF.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Infrastructure</strong>: High quality infrastructure is essential for supporting productivity growth. Delivering the right infrastructure at a local, regional and national level, across the UK, is therefore key to the government’s long-term economic plan. Since 2010, this Government has completed 55 major roads and local transport projects, completed major improvements to Kings Cross station as well as 400 other stations, opened Heathrow Terminal 2 and introduced £22 billion of private sector investment in water assets.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The National Infrastructure Plan for 2014 outlines a £466 billion plan for the UK’s infrastructure, of which £189 billion is future investment. This includes £15 billion of road improvements, £38bn investment in rail and £46 billion investment in the gas and electricity network.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Science and Innovation</strong>: The government funds and supports innovation in science, technology and engineering to help the UK’s high-tech industries to thrive. This has already seen £600m of government funding committed to the development and commercialisation of eight great technologies, a further £106m investment in new Centres for Doctoral Training, which will train more than 750 new students, and £42m in the creation of the Alan Turing Institute – a world-class research institute specialising in Big Data science. Details of the government’s on-going commitment to science and innovation will feature in the soon to be released Science and Innovation Strategy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 17/12/2014 16:23:19 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock previous answer version 32571 answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

168571

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Apprentices
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that employers offer apprenticeships to disadvantaged young people.
	tabling member constituency	Dudley North
	tabling member printed	Ian Austin
	uin	217658
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2015 answer text <p>The Department has established a new advisory group to help address barriers and increase diversity within apprenticeships. We also reflect the additional needs of disadvantaged young people through the apprenticeship funding system by extending the fully funded rate currently applicable to 16 – 18 year olds to 16 – 24 year olds, where an appropriate assessment has been made. We plan to continue this support under the reforms with employers being entitled to receive the 16 – 18 recruitment payment.</p><p> </p><p>The Skills Funding Agency’s National Apprenticeship Service has also developed a Toolkit encouraging and helping employers to recruit and support disabled young people.</p><p> </p><p>We have also introduced traineeships to support young people who are not work-ready to be able to compete for apprenticeships by providing work preparation training; a substantial high quality work placement; and English and maths for those that have not achieved at Level 2.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 07/01/2015 11:41:45 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

168580

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Iron and Steel: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answers to Questions 58 and 86 in his oral evidence of 29 January 2014 to the Welsh Affairs Committee on the steel industry in Wales, HC 882-i, what progress he has made in initiatives to create supply chain groups.
	tabling member constituency	Islwyn
	tabling member printed	Chris Evans
	uin	217589
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The Government has initiated a supply chain plan policy in the renewable electricity sector. To be able to take part in the allocation process for a Contract for Difference, developers of projects above 300MW must submit a supply chain plan providing evidence that the project will make a material contribution to the economic growth and viability of the industrial supply chain. Any plans assessed by Government to be unsatisfactory would not be allowed to enter the Contract for Difference round. In addition the Offshore Wind Industry Council – a partnership between industry and Government - is taking forward actions from the offshore wind supply chain review conducted by Matthew Chinn that was published last month.</p><p> </p><p>Through the industrial strategy programme, we are working in partnership with industry to develop strong supply chains in the UK. We have set out a range of measures in our sector strategies published last year, which we are continuing to deliver.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 17/12/2014 11:31:17 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	4040 label Biography information for Chris Evans

168913

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Further Education: Ethnic Groups
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to increase representation of ethnic minorities in the further education workforce.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	217809
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Business Innovation and Skills is not the employer of the further education workforce. Further education providers are independent organisations responsible for all matters relating to the recruitment of their staff.</p><p> </p><p>In awarding grants or contracts, the Department does include within the terms and conditions of funding, a requirement that every provider must comply with relevant legislation. This includes being mindful of and meeting responsibilities laid out in the Equality Act 2010. Contracts and grants also pass on the Public Sector Equality Duty, which was introduced in April 2011, and describes equality responsibilities.</p><p> </p><p>The Education and Training Foundation was established in 2013 as the independent sector owned and led organisation. It is responsible for professionalism in further education and has Government endorsement. The Foundation is playing an active role in supporting the sector to address findings from further education workforce surveys and improve the diversity of the further education workforce.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 05/01/2015 10:10:10 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

169364

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	EU Trade: Trade Agreements
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many trade negotiations are being conducted by the EU on behalf of the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	Mr John Spellar
	uin	218050
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The European Commission is conducting, on behalf of the UK, nine bilateral trade negotiations, and a number of negotiations at the World Trade Organisation where the EU negotiates on behalf of the UK and the EU.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 17/12/2014 16:21:46 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

169366

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Work Permits: Construction
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of revising the length of the validity of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme card to match the length of validity of a relevant work permit.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	218090
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>The Construction Skills Competency Card (CSCS) is not a Government scheme. The scheme is an industry-led initiative, which is managed and administered by the Construction Industry Training Board on behalf of the CSCS Management Committee.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Government recognises the important contribution that these schemes make, any decision on the validity of cards rests with the CSCS Committee, which is made up of employer organisations and trade unions representing the breadth of the construction industry.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 05/01/2015 16:44:18 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

169719

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Apprentices
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of plans to transfer apprenticeship funding to employers from further education providers on the budgets of those providers.
	tabling member constituency	Dudley North
	tabling member printed	Ian Austin
	uin	218332
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>Our apprenticeship reforms are designed to make all apprenticeships world class, so that the programme is rigorous, responsive, and meets the changing needs of business and the future economy. As part of our reforms, we are giving employers control of funding to make them more demanding customers of high-quality training, relevant to their needs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Training providers make a vital contribution to apprenticeships and we want that to continue. Good providers already offer high-quality provision that is responsive to employers’ needs, which makes them well placed to be successful under any new arrangements. We recognise that these reforms represent a major change in the way that providers operate. The Skills Funding Agency, working with the Education and Training Foundation, Association of Colleges and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers are offering support and guidance to providers to help them prepare for the reforms. However, it will be for employers to decide who will help them deliver a high quality experience for their apprentices. We are trialling a new funding model in 2014/15 and intend to evaluate its impact before any funding system is fully implemented.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 05/01/2015 16:42:29 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

169721

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Business: Procurement
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the practice of companies requiring a supplier company to make a payment in order to join or to remain on a list of suppliers.
	tabling member constituency	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
	tabling member printed	Simon Hart
	uin	218268
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2014 answer text <p>The Department is aware that the practice of suppliers having to pay to join or remain on a supplier list is an issue in some sectors. The Government has already taken action to prohibit this practice in certain sectors. We are consulting to help us understand the wider extent of the problem and on whether Government should take any action with respect to supplier lists.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government has already taken action to prohibit this practice in certain sectors. This is why the statutory Grocery Supply Code prohibits payments as a condition of stocking or listing a supplier’s grocery products.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 19/12/2014 16:17:08 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	3944 label Biography information for Simon Hart

169723

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Small Businesses: Procurement
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received from small and medium-sized businesses about companies that require a supplier company to make a payment in order to join or to remain on a list of suppliers.
	tabling member constituency	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
	tabling member printed	Simon Hart
	uin	218269
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received a number of representations about this issue both from small business representative organisations and from small- and medium-sized businesses themselves. The recent media coverage relating to Premier Foods has prompted an increase in such representations. However, there is not a consensus amongst correspondents: some are in favour of company investment and/ or discount schemes and have explained how they have helped them thrive as a supplier; others are against such schemes and have highlighted the negative impact of their imposition.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 17/12/2014 16:20:33 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	3944 label Biography information for Simon Hart

169731

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	New Businesses: Stourbridge
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many new businesses have opened in Stourbridge constituency in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Stourbridge
	tabling member printed	Margot James
	uin	218371
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2015 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The estimated number of business start-ups in the Stourbridge constituency between 2009 and 2013, is shown in the table below.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Estimated number of business start-ups in Stourbridge</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>610</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>640</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>590</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>550</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>550</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: BankSearch: number of new business bank accounts opened. All figures rounded to the nearest 10.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 07/01/2015 14:09:13 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
	tabling member	4115 label Biography information for Margot James

169732

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Gripen Aircraft: Export Controls
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many export licences his Department has issued for the supply of military equipment for incorporation into the Grippen NG.
	tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
	tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
	uin	218375
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2014 answer text <p>We have granted 401 licences over the last fifteen years, where there was a reference to the Gripen NG in the goods descriptions, or the end-use was stated on the licence application as being explicitly for the Gripen NG.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 19/12/2014 16:07:59 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
	tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

169929

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Travel
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
	tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
	uin	218466
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>In each of the last five financial years the following amounts have been spent by the Department (BIS and UK Trade and Investment) on first class train tickets and business class air travel. Figures for the total amount spent on taxis prior to 2012-13 cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost as these costs were included in individual travel and expense claims and not centrally collated.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><strong> Financial Year</strong></td><td><strong> Rail<ins class="ministerial"> - 1st Class</ins></strong></td><td><strong><del class="ministerial"> 1st Class </del>Air<ins class="ministerial"> - Business Class</ins></strong></td><td><strong><del class="ministerial"> Business Class </del>Taxis</strong></td></tr><tr><td>2009-2010</td><td>£761,381.87</td><td>£2,061,066.16</td><td>£n/a</td></tr><tr><td>2010-2011</td><td>£179,884.52</td><td>£1,177,664.09</td><td>£n/a</td></tr><tr><td>2011-2012</td><td>£47,316.35</td><td>£1,379,266.78</td><td>£n/a</td></tr><tr><td>2012-2013</td><td>£18,974.65</td><td>£1,282,766.02</td><td>£92,301</td></tr><tr><td>2013-2014</td><td>£21,277.50</td><td>£1,725,998.87</td><td>£79,701</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />Note: The use of first class rail travel is restricted for those with health issues and exceptional business need. In both cases prior approval is required in line with the Department’s travel policy. The use of business class flights is restricted to long haul and the figures above will include some costs relating to multi leg journeys made up of economy and business class elements; these cannot be separated without incurring disproportionate costs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 18/12/2014 11:51:08 question first ministerially corrected 02/02/2015 11:18:45 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson previous answer version 35491 answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

169930

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) financial error in (i) his Department, (ii) its executive agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
	tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
	uin	218496
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The estimated annual cost of fraud and financial error in each of the last five years in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and its forty six partner organisations is estimated to be about £50-100m. This represents some 0.5% of total annual BIS spending on average.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Nearly all of this estimated figure relates to the error rate (made by applicants and officials) on student support, although that has declined in successive years from over 1% to some 0.5% in the latest year (2013-14) for which data is available.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department and all its partner organisations are now working closely with each other and with other Departments, led by the Cabinet Office, and other organisations inside and outside central government to improve the prevention, detection, measurement and early recovery of losses from fraud and error.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I have asked Chief Executives of the Executive Agencies to respond directly to the Hon Member. This information is not held by BIS in respect of non-Departmental Public Bodies.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson attachment 1 file name PQ-218496-Exec-Agencies-NDPB-Responses.pdf title Responses from Executive Agencies and NDPBs 2 file name PQ-218496-Met-Office-Response.pdf title Response from the Met Office question first answered 17/12/2014 11:13:28 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
	tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell