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521047

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	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, whether (a) he and (b) ministers of his Department have met with the new Welsh Government to discuss the steel crisis.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
uin	38236
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2016 answer text <p>My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills spoke with the First Minister about the steel crisis following his re-appointment on 18 May. He also wrote to the new Minister for Economy and Infrastructure on 23 May congratulating him on his appointment and extending a joint request from both myself and the Secretary of State for an early discussion on the situation in the South Wales steel industry.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 06/06/2016 12:47:29 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

521048

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	British Irish Council
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 meetings of the British-Irish Council Ministers of his Department took part in since May 2013.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	38265
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2016 answer text <p>Information on Ministerial attendances can be found on the British-Irish Council website:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.britishirishcouncil.org/communique/ministerial-meetings" target="_blank">https://www.britishirishcouncil.org/communique/ministerial-meetings</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 06/06/2016 10:14:38 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

521049

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Business: Stafford
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 is taking to support businesses in Stafford constituency.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	38309
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government is working to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business by supporting businesses across the country. In Stafford, 42 Government backed Start-Up Loans have been drawn down since September 2012 with a value of over £218,000. A Regional Growth Fund award of £4m made in 2011 has attracted private investment of £56.5 million, delivering 1,600 jobs. Since May 2010, 26 loans have been drawn down in Stafford, worth over £2.6 million, from the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. Businesses in Stafford also have access to the Stoke-on-Trent &amp; Staffordshire Growth Hub which was live from September 2014, which is one of a network of 39 Growth Hubs set up across England.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 01/06/2016 10:23:44 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

521050

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Business: Stafford
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 steps his Department has taken to increase the level of access to credit for businesses in Stafford constituency in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	38310
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2016 answer text <p>The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 contained two specific policies to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in accessing finance.</p><p>The first requires major banks to refer SMEs they reject for finance to designated ‘finance platforms’ that can help match SMEs with alternative finance providers. This will ensure that viable SMEs, including businesses in Stafford, that may not fit the major banks’ risk appetite can still get the finance they need to grow and expand. Three platforms have recently been designated by HM Treasury on the advice of the British Business Bank and are expected to come into operation later this year.</p><p>The second requires the major banks to share information on their SME customers, with the SME’s permission, with other lenders through designated Credit Reference Agencies. This will improve the ability of challenger banks and alternative finance providers to conduct accurate risk assessments and level the playing field between providers and make it easier for SMEs to get finance from providers other than their bank.</p><p>The Government is supporting the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and Crowdfunding sectors, which provide alternative sources of finance for both businesses and individuals. The British Business Bank, for example, has invested £100m in SMEs via five P2P platforms.</p><p>In addition, the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme has facilitated over £2.6 billion of bank lending and other finance to over 25,000 SMEs. Since the start of the scheme, 45 EFG loans have been drawn down in Stafford worth over £5 million. Government has also provided loans through the Start Up Loans Company to help new businesses in Stafford. 42 start up businesses in Stafford have secured a loan from the Start Up Loans Company, with a total value of over £218, 000.</p><p>More widely, credit conditions for business continue to improve with net lending to SMEs in 2015 positive across the complete year, the first time this has happened since the financial crisis.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 01/06/2016 10:22:58 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

521051

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Video Games: Internet
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 protect children from in-game selling and promotions when playing games online.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	38300
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers are properly protected and that children’s vulnerability and inexperience is not exploited by aggressive commercial practices<strong>. </strong>We welcomed the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) investigation into whether children have been unfairly encouraged to spend money in online games and apps, in breach of consumer laws. The OFT’s subsequent <em>Principles for Online and App-based Games</em> were published in January 2014, to help ensure that online and app games publishers better understand their responsibilities and do not subject children to unfair or aggressive selling practices. The Competition and Markets Authority subsequently referred 3 games to the Advertising Standards Authority for further enforcement action.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 03/06/2016 09:58:02 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

521052

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Video Games: Internet
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 his Department has made of the effectiveness of legislation for protecting children from in-game selling and promotions when playing games online.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	38301
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers are properly protected and that children’s vulnerability and inexperience is not exploited by aggressive commercial practices<strong>. </strong>We welcomed the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) investigation into whether children have been unfairly encouraged to spend money in online games and apps, in breach of consumer laws. The OFT’s subsequent <em>Principles for Online and App-based Games,</em> which are based on the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008), were published in January 2014. The Competition and Markets Authority subsequently referred 3 games to the Advertising Standards Authority for further enforcement action. The Government continues to take a close interest in this issue.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 03/06/2016 09:58:11 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

521053

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	New Businesses: Manchester Withington
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 been set up in Manchester, Withington constituency since May 2010.
tabling member constituency	Manchester, Withington
tabling member printed	Jeff Smith
uin	38352
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2016 answer text <p>There is no single data source that comprehensively measures all business start-ups within the UK.</p><p> </p><p>However, ONS has published statistics showing that there were 2,210 businesses newly registered for VAT or PAYE in the Manchester, Withington constituency between 2010 and 2014. Some newly registered businesses will have been trading for a number of years and other active businesses will not be covered because they are operating below the VAT and PAYE registration thresholds.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 06/06/2016 12:54:22 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	4456 label Biography information for Jeff Smith

521054

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Higher Education
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 his Department has made of the value of the higher education sector to the economy.
tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
tabling member printed	Gordon Marsden
uin	38397
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2016 answer text <p>Higher education is an important source of productivity growth. It equips individuals with the skills and abilities they need to succeed in the workforce, and helps drive innovation by strengthening the economy’s knowledge base, as well as enriching our cultural and intellectual life. The BIS research paper <em>The relationship between graduates and economic growth across countries </em>(2013) provides an estimate of the sector’s contribution, and is available online at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229492/bis-13-858-relationship-between-graduates-and-economic-growth-across-countries.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229492/bis-13-858-relationship-between-graduates-and-economic-growth-across-countries.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 06/06/2016 16:18:53 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden

521055

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Overseas Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with the Home Office on the effect of existing legislation on overseas students on steps to increase the number of international students studying in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
tabling member printed	Gordon Marsden
uin	38398
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2016 answer text <p>Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills meet with Home Office officials and representatives from the education sector on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues related to international students studying in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is fully committed to controlling migration and supporting the global competiveness of our higher education system. We are delivering this through promoting our universities as places where the brightest and the best of the world’s talent should come to study, whilst tackling immigration abuse where it exists in our education system.</p><p> </p><p>There remains no cap on the number of genuine international students who can come to study in the UK.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 06/06/2016 10:19:28 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden

521056

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
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	Higher Education
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 his Department has made of the potential effect of the proposals in his Department's White Paper, Success as a knowledge economy: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice, published on 16 May 2016, on the number of new providers in the higher education sector by 2020.
tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
tabling member printed	Gordon Marsden
uin	38399
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2016 answer text <p>The Higher Education and Research Bill Impact Assessment, published alongside the Bill, details the Government’s assessment of the expected number of HE providers following the reforms. The full forecast is provided in Annex A of the document, available at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-and-research-bill-impact-assessment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-and-research-bill-impact-assessment</a> .</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 06/06/2016 10:22:29 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden