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114570

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	Service Industries
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 plans to take to support further growth in the services sector; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that EU regulations do not negatively affect support to businesses in that sector.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	213505
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The UK is the second largest exporter of services globally, with services exports valued at £193bn in 2012, accounting for 40% of overall UK exports. The Government is taking steps to strengthen exports of the service sector through: trade negotiations; UK Trade and Investment business support for service exporters; and through the current Industrial Strategy, incorporating eleven sector strategies, including for the highly regarded Professional and Business Services sector. The UK Government is a strong supporter of the Trade in Services Agreement negotiation which could be worth £2-3bn to the UK as the EU’s most externally competitive services economy. The UK is also working closely with other EU countries to ensure that the new European Commission prioritises deepening of the single market in services through the removal of remaining barriers to trade. We will also work closely with the new Commission and other institutions to emphasise the priority the UK attaches to the reduction of unnecessary EU burdens on business across a range of sectors, to support growth and job creation.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 11/11/2014 15:43:04 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

101785

registered interest
date	30/10/2014
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	Telecommunications: Foreign Investment in UK
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 he is taking to promote the UK as a hub for global trade to foreign investors involved in the telecoms industry.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	212747
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>As part of our measures to promote the UK to foreign investors and encourage them to locate their Headquarters in the UK, we have cut our corporate tax to 21 per cent and will reduce it further to 20% in 2015. We offer R&amp;D tax credits, and companies placing intellectual property here can take advantage of the Patent Box.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>These lower barriers to market entry allow easier access to the UK’s lucrative $65bn telecoms sector and also the wider European market. UK Trade &amp; Investment (UKTI) and its partners in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales coordinate the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment working with local partners and overseas Posts.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Most of the major global companies in the telecoms sector have a UK presence. Key account management has been introduced for a number of these through a cross-Government “Strategic Relationships Team”, to provide a central point of contact to help reach government efficiently.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are investing over £780 million to achieve a transformation in broadband in the UK, and large parts of the country will have access to high speed 4G mobile broadband services, with 98 per cent coverage in place by 2017.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 06/11/2014 17:06:00 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

92126

registered interest
date	26/09/2014
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	Foreign Investment: Colombia
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 he has taken to ensure that the forthcoming UK-Colombia bilateral investment treaty includes adequate protection for UK investors.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	209779
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2014 answer text <p>The UK-Colombia Bilateral Investment Treaty was negotiated in 2008-09. It aims to protect investors from discriminatory treatment. The agreement includes Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions to enable investors to claim compensation through independent international arbitration if they believe the standards of protection set out in the treaty have been breached whilst protecting the ability of the host government to regulate in the public interest in areas such as the environment.</p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 14/10/2014 16:28:28 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

78640

registered interest
date	17/07/2014
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
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 he is taking to support employed people who wish to start their own business.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	206554
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Small businesses are vital to the economy and this Government is supporting people to start up a business in a number of ways.</p><p> </p><p>The website <a href="http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/" target="_blank">www.greatbusiness.gov.uk</a> provides general support and advice for entrepreneurs starting out; specific support available in Northern Ireland is available at <a href="http://www.investni.com/" target="_blank">www.investni.com</a> . We recognise that a key issue for many start-ups is accessing affordable finance. The British Business Bank recently published “<em>The Business Finance Guide: A Journey from Start-Up to Growth</em>” which is available on the British Business Bank Website. It is a unique guide that sets out the main things to consider and outlines sources of finance available to businesses – ranging from start-ups to growing businesses.</p><p> </p><p>For those looking for start up finance and advice there are Start-Up Loans: 24 loans worth over £100, 000 have been drawn down in Belfast since the scheme began in 2012.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 02/09/2014 16:54:35 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

78717

registered interest
date	17/07/2014
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	Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
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 UK's policy is on EU negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what consultation his Department has had with the devolved administrations in formulating this policy.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	206552
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Securing significant progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations is a top priority for the Government’s trade agenda. We are pushing for a broad agreement that eliminates the vast majority of tariffs on trade between the two markets and reduces other unnecessary barriers to trade.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ministers in the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, through regular Joint Ministerial Committee meetings, have an opportunity to input into the UK position, where appropriate, and Ministers have been kept abreast of development. Officials from the Devolved Administrations are also invited to frequent cross-Whitehall meetings on TTIP, and are in regular contact with trade policy officials in Whitehall.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 03/09/2014 16:33:41 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn

64873

registered interest
date	01/07/2014
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 create synergies with the European Alliance for Apprenticeships in improving work opportunities for young people.
tabling member constituency	Belfast North
tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Dodds
uin	203397
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2014 answer text <p>The UK recognises the value of learning from others by keeping abreast of developments in Europe and internationally. However, we believe that this can be achieved through less bureaucratic routes than a European Alliance for Apprenticeships. In England, we do not propose to participate but the devolved administrations are free to do so if they believe that the Alliance is the appropriate framework for sharing best practice.</p><p>We are already taking strong action to improve opportunities for young people by funding record numbers of apprenticeships, new traineeships and improved maths and English training. These actions, along with the record number of jobs, have contributed to the 32.8% fall in youth unemployment over the past year.</p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 08/07/2014 15:51:35 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	1388 label Biography information for Lord Dodds of Duncairn