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164523

	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	Package Holidays: EU Action
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on the Package Travel Directive and what is their definition of Assisted Travel Arrangements.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL3116
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p>Negotiations in the European Council are nearing completion. The proposal was discussed at the Competitiveness Council of Ministers on 4 December and a General Approach was agreed by Member States’ Ministers. We expect final agreement to be achieved in the New Year following the completion of the next stage in the negotiation; discussions between the Presidency of the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The definition of Assisted Travel Arrangements in the text agreed at Council is:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>'assisted travel arrangement' means at least two different types of travel services purchased for the purpose of the same trip or holiday, not constituting a package within the meaning of paragraph 2(b), resulting in the conclusion of separate contracts with the individual travel service providers, if a trader facilitates:</p><p> </p><p>(a) on the occasion of a single visit or contact with its point of sale, the separate selection and separate payment of each travel service by travellers, or</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>(b) in a targeted manner, the procurement of additional travel services from other traders where contracts with such other traders are concluded not more than 48 hours after the confirmation of the first travel service.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong><br> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 08/12/2014 16:42:09 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

176946

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2015
	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: Productivity
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the productivity of small businesses.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL4576
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2015 answer text <p>Government policy focuses on delivering growth which in turn depends on productivity in the longer term.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have already set out our four key growth ambitions: creating the most competitive tax system in the G20, making the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business, encouraging investment and exports, and creating a more educated workforce. And through our industrial strategy, the whole of government is taking a long-term strategic approach to working in partnership with businesses to increase global competitiveness, support innovation and maximise export potential.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The right tax environment is vital to help businesses flourish so we have cut the main rate of Corporation Tax from 28% to 21% and announced further cuts to 20% by 2015 – the joint lowest rate in the G20 major economies. We have helped businesses with the cost of hiring staff by introducing a new Employer Allowance which cuts £2,000 from the National Insurance bills of small firms. To support small businesses in local communities, the ‘high street discount’ for around 300,000 shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants will go up from £1,000 to £1,500, from April 2015 to March 2016. This is in addition to doubling Small Business Rate Relief for a further year which means 380,000 of the smallest businesses will pay no rates at all.</p><p> </p><p><br> <br></p><p> </p><p>R&amp;D Tax Credits are the single largest Government support for business investment in R&amp;D. They are designed to encourage greater R&amp;D spend by business leading, in turn, to greater investment in innovation and improved products and processes. The rate of relief under the SME scheme is one of the most competitive rates in the world and, at Autumn Statement 2014, was increased from 225% to 230% of qualifying R&amp;D expenditure from April 2015. Innovate UK is the Government’s prime channel for supporting business-led technology innovation. It delivers a range of programmes in support of businesses undertaking R&amp;D including Collaborative R&amp;D, Smart and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Innovate UK also provides opportunities for innovative businesses through the growing network of Catapult centres. Under the Coalition Government, Innovate UK, with partner and business contributions, has invested around £3.5 billion in innovation projects across the UK.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>More businesses are getting access to the finance they need to start up and grow with Start-Up Loans offered to over 25,000 businesses; so far lending over £129 million. The British Business Bank has facilitated £890m of new lending and investment to over 21,000 small businesses in the year to the end of September 2014. And we have facilitated over £1.67 billion of lending to over 16,000 small businesses since May 2010, through our Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. We have brought together all Government advice and support in one place at GREATbusiness.gov.uk, where the ‘My Business Support Tool’ helps businesses find the support they need quickly, and businesses can speak to or webchat with a helpline adviser direct using the Business Support helpline. Businesses can also access our new Business Growth Service on the website, which brings together expert advice to improve and grow in one place, including Growth Accelerator, the Manufacturing Advisory Service, and export advice and finance.</p><p> </p><p>Small businesses have less regulation to follow with a £10 billion cumulative net saving to businesses as a result of our deregulation work. Through the Red Tape Challenge, we have reviewed over 5,600 regulations and identified 3,000 to scrap or improve. We are on track to surpass our target of saving business £850 million per year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>And around 48,000 businesses have been helped by our UKTI support – of which 90% were small businesses. This support helped generate additional sales of over £49 billion and created or safeguarded over 220,000 jobs over the last year.<br> <br></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 17/02/2015 15:53:23 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

420500

	registered interest
	date	12/10/2015
	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: EU Grants and Loans
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, what steps, if any, they plan to take to ensure local involvement and certainty for small businesses participating in the JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to medium Enterprises) initiative in the north-east of England; and what role the British Business Bank will have in disbursing funds for projects supported by that initiative.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL2475
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2015 answer text <p>Government has no intention of imposing any arrangements for the next round of JEREMIE-style funds that do not carry local support. The Government remains committed to the Northern Powerhouse, and in that context is continuing, with the British Business Bank, to look at how best to help SMEs across the north access the investment they need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 22/10/2015 12:20:11 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

420882

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2015
	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: Disclosure of Information
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the requirement for public-interest enterprises to disclose non-financial interests and diversity measures under European Union Directive 2014/95 affects United Kingdom small and medium-sized enterprises wishing to be listed on stock exchanges across the European Union.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL2568
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2015 answer text <p>The Government expects to publish a consultation document shortly on plans for transposition of this Directive, most of whose provisions are already reflected in UK reporting requirements. A full impact assessment, including an assessment of the impact on SMEs, will be made available alongside the consultation document.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 21/10/2015 16:44:24 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

455800

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2016
	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	Insolvency
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the European Commission's Recommendation in 2014 on a new approach to business failure and insolvency on the UK's insolvency regime.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL6490
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2016 answer text <p>The UK’s flexible and effective restructuring and insolvency regime is very much in keeping with the general themes of the EU Recommendation. Following the European Commission’s 2014 Recommendation, the Government conducted a call for evidence seeking the views of stakeholders and submitted a response to the Commission’s survey on how Member States comply with the Recommendation. The Government published the UK’s response in August 2015. This can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/european-commission-recommendation-on-business-failure-and-insolvency-call-for-evidence" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/european-commission-recommendation-on-business-failure-and-insolvency-call-for-evidence</a></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 14/03/2016 12:34:18 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe attachment 1 file name UK_Response_to_Commission_Questionnaire_on_Recommendation_on_a_new_approach_to_business_failure_and_insolvency.pdf title Gov response to Commission report on insolvency
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

455801

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2016
	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	Insolvency
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what work they are doing to promote the UK's insolvency regime to the European Commission as it develops its plans for an insolvency directive.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL6491
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2016 answer text <p>My officials have regular discussions with Commission officials on this matter. Insolvency experts have also had such discussions to ensure they are aware of the features and strengths of our insolvency regime. The Commission has announced its intention to publish a legislative initiative on corporate insolvency in late 2016. This is to be preceded by a consultation to be published this spring. The Government will be responding to the consultation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 08/03/2016 12:31:52 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

455802

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2016
	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	Insolvency
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Bank's methodology for producing its Resolving Insolvency rankings.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL6492
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2016 answer text <p>It is not simple to compare different insolvency regimes. The World Bank methodology for ‘Resolving Insolvency’ uses principally an assessment of speed and amount of returns to creditors but also has introduced more subjective tests of the strength of the framework. In the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, the UK continues to be 7th in the world for returns to creditors, and is quicker and costs less than the US, Germany and France, but does somewhat less well on the subjective factors, which may understate the strengths of our regime. We keep the UK’s insolvency regime under review to ensure it remains at the forefront of best practice and that possible new features are properly considered.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 08/03/2016 12:32:34 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

455803

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2016
	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	Insolvency
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the main criteria for judging whether an insolvency regime is successful.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL6493
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2016 answer text <p>It is not simple to compare different insolvency regimes. The World Bank methodology for ‘Resolving Insolvency’ uses principally an assessment of speed and amount of returns to creditors but also has introduced more subjective tests of the strength of the framework. In the World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, the UK continues to be 7th in the world for returns to creditors, and is quicker and costs less than the US, Germany and France, but does somewhat less well on the subjective factors, which may understate the strengths of our regime. We keep the UK’s insolvency regime under review to ensure it remains at the forefront of best practice and that possible new features are properly considered.</p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 08/03/2016 12:33:37 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison

455804

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2016
	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	Insolvency
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of which of the provisions of the European Commission's 2014 Recommendation on a new approach to business failure and insolvency would (1) benefit, and (2) harm, the UK's insolvency regime if introduced.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harrison
	uin	HL6494
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2016 answer text <p>The UK’s flexible and effective restructuring and insolvency regime is very much in keeping with the general themes of the EU Recommendation. Following the European Commission’s 2014 Recommendation, the Government conducted a call for evidence seeking the views of stakeholders and submitted a response to the Commission’s survey on how Member States comply with the Recommendation. The Government published the UK’s response in August 2015. This can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/european-commission-recommendation-on-business-failure-and-insolvency-call-for-evidence" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/european-commission-recommendation-on-business-failure-and-insolvency-call-for-evidence</a></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 08/03/2016 12:34:18 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe attachment 1 file name UK_Response_to_Commission_Questionnaire_on_Recommendation_on_a_new_approach_to_business_failure_and_insolvency.pdf title Gov response to Commision on Insolvency
	tabling member	2488 label Biography information for Lord Harrison