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1220634

registered interest
date	03/07/2020
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	Coronavirus Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to review the criteria for distributing and allocating funding through the Discretionary Grant Fund to local councils for supporting businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	68687
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2020 answer text <p>The Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs that are not liable for business rates or rates reliefs.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities are responsible for defining the precise eligibility for this Fund and may choose to make payments to other businesses based on local economic need, subject to those businesses meeting the specific eligibility criteria.</p><p> </p><p>We are asking local authorities to prioritise the following types of businesses for grants from within this funding pot:</p><ul><li>Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces. Examples could include units in industrial parks, science parks, and incubators which do not have their own business rates assessment.</li><li>Regular market traders with fixed building costs, such as rent, who do not have their own business rates assessment.</li><li>Bed &amp; breakfasts which pay Council Tax instead of business rates.</li><li>Charity properties in receipt of Charitable Rate Relief, which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Businesses already in receipt of the Small Business grant or a Retail, Hospitality and Leisure grant are not eligible for this fund. Businesses who are eligible for or in receipt of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme are now eligible to apply for this scheme.</p><p> </p><p>There is currently no plan to change eligibility criteria for this scheme. Officials are keeping in close contact with local authorities to monitor the progress of the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance for Local Authorities was published 13 May: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding</a>.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 13/07/2020 17:05:08 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1188765

registered interest
date	20/04/2020
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	Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
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 firms can access the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	37587
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) opened for applications on 23 March. The Government has been working closely with the British Business Bank and financial sector to ensure businesses can access the support they need. We have made changes to widen the scheme’s eligibility so that more small businesses across the UK can benefit from the scheme, by extending loans to all viable small businesses affected by the Coronavirus, not just those unable to secure regular commercial financing. For facilities under £250,000, use of personal guarantees are not permitted under the scheme.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 28/04/2020 16:42:54 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1180967

registered interest
date	26/02/2020
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	Vaccination: Research
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of directing UKRI to fund research into platform vaccine and diagnostic tools to support the development of vaccines during a potential pandemic.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	21237
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2020 answer text <p>We work with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Department for International Development, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to support research on platform vaccine technologies and diagnostic tools that can be utilised as a rapid response during a pandemic. These form a component of the current DHSC and UKRI COVID-19 rapid-response call for proposals to address the threat of this novel coronavirus. Platform vaccines and diagnostics are an integral part of UKRI’s current approach for the development and translation of research findings into tangible benefits, with research funded across UKRI councils</p><p> </p><p>DHSC and UKRI lead the UK Vaccine Network which brings together funders, industry and academia to identify and target investment opportunities for the most promising vaccines and vaccine technologies, including platform vaccine and diagnostic tools to combat infectious diseases with epidemic potential and to address structural issues related to the UK’s vaccine infrastructure.</p><p> </p><p>Through the Network two vaccine manufacturing hubs have been established to streamline vaccine manufacturing. A £10 million award to Professor Robin Shuttock at Imperial College London aims to revolutionise the vaccine manufacture, stabilisation and storage, reducing costs, increasing efficiency and improving prevention of existing and new diseases. A £7 million award to Professor Tarit Mukhopadhyay at University College London aims to establish the UK as a global centre for vaccine discovery, development and manufacture, while also ensuring that new vaccine manufacturing processes can be used in low and middle income countries.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 03/03/2020 16:02:27 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1170294

registered interest
date	13/01/2020
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	Carbon Capture and Storage
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 plans she has to support the creation of carbon capture and storage clusters; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	2480
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2020 answer text <p>Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) will play a vital role in meeting our net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050, supporting both our Industrial Strategy and the revitalisation of the economies of the UK’s industrial areas.</p><p> </p><p>The CCUS Action Plan outlined that deploying CCUS in industrial clusters has the potential to allow a number of carbon capture applications – for industry, to hydrogen, to low carbon gas or bio-energy with CCS in power – to connect to shared carbon dioxide infrastructure.</p><p> </p><p>That is why this Government has committed to invest £800 million to build the first fully deployed CCUS cluster by the mid-2020s and £500 million to help energy-intensive industries move to low-carbon techniques.</p><p> </p><p>CCUS is also likely to play an important role in achieving our Industrial Clusters Mission, creating the world’s first net zero industrial cluster by 2040. This is supported by up to £170 million from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to support the deployment of low carbon technologies and enabling infrastructure in one or more clusters.</p> answering member constituency Spelthorne answering member printed Kwasi Kwarteng question first answered 20/01/2020 16:40:55 answering member 4134 label Biography information for Kwasi Kwarteng
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1148768

registered interest
date	14/10/2019
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	Business: Crawley
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 recent steps her Department has taken to support businesses in Crawley.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	165
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to making the UK the best place to start and grow a business, ensuring all businesses have access to the advice and support they need<del class="ministerial"> to succeed to start, grow, and scale up their businesses</del>.</p><p> </p><p>All businesses can access core services, information and guidance on starting up and running a business, as well as their statutory rights and obligations, on our GOV.UK sites and <a href="http://www.gov.uk/browse/business" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/browse/business</a>. The Business Finance and Support Finder tool on the website provides information on how to access a wide range of Government-backed financial support for start-up businesses, such as funding and grant schemes. The Government backed British Business Bank (BBB), as of July 2019, has provided funding of £6.6bn to over 89,000 businesses. In addition, since 2012, the Start-Up Loans Company (now part of BBB) has delivered over 67,000 loans worth over £534m. In Crawley they have issued 99 loans since 2012, worth over £680,000.</p><p> </p><p>This Government continues to work with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to drive forward local growth. Through three rounds of competitive Growth Deals, Government has invested over £9 billion of funding, including £304.3 million to Coast to Capital LEP, which covers Crawley, to empower local areas to reach their potential, boosting national productivity and growth.</p><p> </p><p>We have also supported and invested in the creation of a network of 38 Growth Hubs. Businesses in the Crawley constituency can access business advice through the Coast to Capital Growth Hub. Led and governed by the Coast to Capital LEP, the Growth Hub provides a free, impartial, ‘single point of contact’ to help businesses in the area identify and access the right support for them at the right time no matter their size or sector. This support includes helping businesses prepare for Brexit. In 2018-19 the Coast to Capital Growth Hub supported over 1,503 businesses and helped more than 313 individuals start a business.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 21/10/2019 16:11:37 question first ministerially corrected 22/10/2019 15:30:10 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 620 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1148769

registered interest
date	14/10/2019
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	Greenhouse Gas Emissions
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 her Department is taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	166
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2019 answer text <p>The UK has made world-leading progress in cutting our emissions while growing the economy. Our net zero target requires us to build on this progress by transforming our economy – our homes, our transport, our businesses, and how we generate and use energy.</p><p>We are building on the strong frameworks of the Clean Growth Strategy and Industrial Strategy to deliver the net zero target. Since legislating for net zero the Government has announced £2 billion of investment, including up to £1 billion for the electric vehicle supply chain, and funding for electric vehicle infrastructure, clean steel and hydrogen.</p><p>The Government will continue to bring forward further plans, for example through the Energy White Paper, Transport Decarbonisation Plan and Heat Roadmap in the coming months.</p> answering member constituency Spelthorne answering member printed Kwasi Kwarteng question first answered 21/10/2019 15:19:51 answering member 4134 label Biography information for Kwasi Kwarteng
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1136361

registered interest
date	02/07/2019
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	Science: 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, what steps his Department is taking to support scientific human-relevant research methods.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	272218
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>As part of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy and the Government’s commitment to maintaining the UK’s position as a world leader in research and innovation, we are investing in identifying better ways to treat and prevent disease and to advance the health of people worldwide.</p><p> </p><p>Advances in biomedical science and technologies – including stem cell research, in vitro systems that mimic the function of human organs, imaging and new computer modelling techniques – are all providing new opportunities to support scientific human-relevant research.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 10/07/2019 14:37:21 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1129165

registered interest
date	03/06/2019
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	Small Businesses: West Sussex
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 recent steps he has taken to support small businesses in (a) Crawley constituency and (b) West Sussex.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	259180
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting all entrepreneurs to start and grow a business, it is a key aspect of our ambitious Industrial Strategy. We want to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, to create jobs and spread prosperity.</p><p>In addition to accessing national support available, such as the Business Support Helpline (0300 456 3565) and advice on <a href="http://www.gov.uk/" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a>, small businesses in the Crawley constituency and West Sussex County Council area can access business advice through the Coast to Capital Growth Hub. Led and governed by the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Growth Hub provides a free, impartial, ‘single point of contact’ to help businesses in the area identify and access the right support for them at the right time no matter their size or sector. The Coast to Capital LEP has self-reported that in FY2017-2018 their Growth Hub supported over 2,400 businesses and helped over 600 individuals start a business.</p><p>The Start-Up Loans programme, now part of the British Business Bank, has delivered 63,564 loans worth £496m, and is currently supporting 96 loans totaling £659,191 of finance in Crawley.</p><p>Funding under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund indicates that Crawley has £546,203 for organisations registered within this constituency. There is no data for West Sussex.</p><p>And finally, as you are aware in the 2019 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, Inspiration Healthcare Ltd in Crawley won an award in the International Trade category.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 11/06/2019 15:55:12 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1127745

registered interest
date	21/05/2019
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	Fossil Fuels: Surveying
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Oil and Gas Authority’s proposed supplemental guidance for the Disclosure of certain Geophysical Survey Data (created or acquired under an Exploration Licence pre-2018) published in March 2019, whether the impact assessment included a full assessment of the effect of that guidance on geophysical companies based in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	256969
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/05/2019 answer text <p>The treatment of legacy geophysical survey data is a matter for the independent oil and gas regulator, the Oil and Gas Authority, which ran a consultation exercise on the issue to which it will respond later this year.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore grouped question UIN 256970 question first answered 28/05/2019 11:41:42 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1127746

registered interest
date	21/05/2019
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	Fossil Fuels: Surveying
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Oil and Gas Authority’s proposed supplemental guidance on the disclosure of certain Geophysical Survey Data (created or acquired under an Exploration Licence pre-2018) published in March 2019, what assessment his Department has made of the compatibility with the rule of law of the retrospective application of that guidance.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	256970
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/05/2019 answer text <p>The treatment of legacy geophysical survey data is a matter for the independent oil and gas regulator, the Oil and Gas Authority, which ran a consultation exercise on the issue to which it will respond later this year.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore grouped question UIN 256969 question first answered 28/05/2019 11:41:42 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith