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101011

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Private Finance Initiative
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many private finance initiative projects the Law Officers' Departments contracted for in each year from 1997 to 2010.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
uin	212091
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has had two private finance initiative (PFI) contracts between 1997 and 2010 as follows.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong><em>Information Technology (IT) managed service</em></strong></p><p> </p><p>The Department's IT service is provided through a PFI managed service contract with CGI (formally Logica) which was let from 1 April 2002. The contract currently runs until 30 November 2015 and provides for further extension options until 31 March 2017.</p><p> </p><p><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong><em>Communications managed service</em></strong></p><p> </p><p>The Department's communications are provided through a managed service PFI contract with Level 3. This was let from 1 April 2006 and the contract runs until 30 November 2015.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The remaining Law Officers’ Departments have not contracted any PFI projects during the specified period of time.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Mr Robert Buckland question first answered 03/11/2014 17:21:33 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

101012

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
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	Private Finance Initiative
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 private finance initiative projects his Department contracted for in each year from 1997 to 2010.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
uin	212090
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>The Department and its agencies contracted for the following number of projects each year (excluding years when no projects were contracted for):</p><p>1998 – 2 projects (National Physical Laboratory and the Elgar contract)</p><p>2007 – 1 project (Insolvency Service Infrastructure contract)</p><p>This covers the following administrative departments: Department for Trade and Industries, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.</p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 03/11/2014 12:50:27 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

101018

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
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	Deloitte
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 the Insolvency Service has made of the performance of Deloitte as an appointed administrator in collective redundancy consultation.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
uin	211982
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>Responsibility for assessing the conduct and performance of insolvency practitioners in their role as Administrators falls to the Regulatory Professional Body of which they are a member. The role of the Secretary of State, through the Insolvency Service, is to ensure that these bodies are effectively undertaking their regulatory functions.</p><p> </p><p>In June 2014, an Employment Tribunal judgement was handed down which was critical of the role of the Administrators (from Deloitte) in their handling of redundancies involving approximately 6,500 employees following the collapse of Comet, a large national retailer of electrical goods. The judgement was referred by the Insolvency Service to the Administrators’ Regulatory Professional Body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for consideration of disciplinary action. That investigation is currently on-going.</p><p> </p><p>An Employment Tribunal had previously made criticisms of the Administrators of WW Realisations 1 Limited formerly known as Woolworths (also from Deloitte). That matter was also referred by the Insolvency Service to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales for consideration. No disciplinary action was taken as a result of that investigation.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 30/10/2014 15:34:24 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

101021

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
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	British Business Bank
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what research he has commissioned on the number of black and ethnic minority-owned businesses from each ethnic group which have received support as a result of investments made by the British Business Bank (BBB); what meetings he has had with BBB staff to discuss the needs of black and ethnic minority-owned businesses; and what steps were subsequently taken by the BBB to address the issues raised.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Mr Chuka Umunna
uin	211991
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The objective of the British Business Bank is to ensure that finance markets work more effectively for smaller businesses. In achieving this objective, the Business Bank does not lend to or invest directly in any smaller business and instead works through and invests alongside private sector providers such as banks, peer to peer lenders, leasing companies or venture capital funds which offer a wide range of finance products.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As part of its remit, the Business Bank regularly monitors the performance of programmes by collecting a range of data, including the ethnic background of business owners, for a number of key programmes, such as Start Up Loans. The latest data shows that as of August 31, 26% of Start Up Loans recipients identified themselves to be either Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) businesses. Around 300,000 (6%) of small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK are BAME led.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In addition, Business Bank officials and I regularly meet with key stakeholders to discuss and better understand the broader finance needs of different types of smaller businesses, in order to ensure that Business Bank programmes are targeted to address market failures.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 30/10/2014 17:09:15 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna

101022

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
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	Post Offices
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 post offices will be affected by the Network Transformation Programme in each region and constituent part of the UK; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
tabling member printed	Jonathan Edwards
uin	212039
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government has committed nearly £2 billion since 2010 to maintain a network of at least 11,500 branches and to protect and modernise the network by 2018, securing its long-term sustainable future.</p><p> </p><p>Under the Government funded Network Transformation programme, the Post Office is modernising and improving its national network with branches benefiting from investment and customers seeing big improvements with converted branches typically offering much longer opening hours in brighter more attractive customer environments. National rollout of Network Transformation began in October 2012, and to-date 3,363 post offices have already been modernised under the programme. The programme is fully-funded and by March 2018 around 8,300 branches will have converted, with a further 3,400 ‘Community Branches’ benefitting from access to a £20 million investment fund.</p><p> </p><p>I include a breakdown of modernised branches to-date, by nation and region, in the table below.</p><p> </p><p>Network Transformation – Number of modernised branches by UK nation and region (data provided by Post Office Limited – as at 2 November 2014)</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Branches</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="9"><p>England</p></td><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>214</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td><p>325</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>277</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>177</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>362</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>396</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>382</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>276</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and the Humber</p></td><td><p>338</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Northern Ireland</p></td><td><p>110</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>310</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>196</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>3363</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 03/11/2014 17:06:02 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3943 label Biography information for Jonathan Edwards

101023

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Financial Services: Islam
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made on the benefit to UK companies of an increase in the capacity of the UK's Islamic finance market.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Mr Chuka Umunna
uin	211993
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>Islamic finance is the one of the world’s fastest growing sectors - according to estimates from TheCityUK, at the current rate of growth, the market will exceed US$2 trillion in assets by the end of this year.[1] The Government has not estimated the benefits to UK companies of the expansion of the UK’s Islamic finance market, although we recognise the significant opportunity it represents UK firms.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains the global partner and destination of choice for Islamic finance. In June this year the Government was the first western country to issue a sovereign sukuk, an Islamic bond, worth £200 million. This cemented the UK’s position as the western hub for Islamic finance and demonstrates that the UK has created a level playing field which puts Islamic finance on par with conventional forms of finance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The UK has a high concentration of Islamic finance and related professional services firms: 6 full Islamic banks, over 20 banks offering Islamic finance products and services, and over 25 UK law firms have Islamic finance units. As the Government continues its efforts to develop the UK’s Islamic finance market, we expect further opportunities and benefits to arise for UK companies although these have not been estimated.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 30/10/2014 17:19:05 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna

101024

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
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	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, what the timetable is for the implementation of the transparency initiative for open export licences.
tabling member constituency	St Austell and Newquay
tabling member printed	Stephen Gilbert
uin	212029
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>The new reporting requirements came into place at the start of 2014 and the data for this year is due to be published as part of the Government’s UK Strategic Export Controls Annual Report 2015. We plan to commence a review of this initiative in early 2015.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 30/10/2014 15:39:45 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	4101 label Biography information for Stephen Gilbert

101025

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
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	Goldcrest Finance and Hertford Solutions
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 about (a) Gold Crest Finance and (b) Hertford Solutions LLP.
tabling member constituency	Aberconwy
tabling member printed	Guto Bebb
uin	211997
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has received no representations about (a) Gold Crest Finance and (b) Hertford Solutions LLP.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 30/10/2014 15:29:47 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb

101026

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
answering body	Department for Energy and Climate Change
answering dept id	63
answering dept short name	Energy and Climate Change
answering dept sort name	Energy and Climate Change
hansard heading	Nuclear Power: Emergencies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps his Department has taken to develop a cross-government concept of operations in emergency response plans to deal with a radiological emergency.
tabling member constituency	Newport West
tabling member printed	Paul Flynn
uin	212044
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>The UK’s cross-government arrangements for responding to emergencies, irrespective of cause or location, are detailed in the Central Government’s Concept of Operations. The central government CONOPS is supplemented by a range of nuclear emergency planning guidance, available on the GOV.UK website, to ensure that local and national agencies are aware of how the response to a nuclear emergency would be coordinated and their roles and responsibilities during the response.</p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 30/10/2014 17:09:45 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	545 label Biography information for Paul Flynn

101027

registered interest
date	27/10/2014
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all departments make use of relevant wellbeing evidence to inform policy.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	211945
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>The Cabinet Office is working with other departments to make use of wellbeing evidence.</p><p>The Cabinet Office recently announced the establishment of a What Works Centre for Wellbeing, with the aim of translating wellbeing evidence into guidance for decision makers within Whitehall and beyond. The Government outlined its approach in detailed evidence provided to the Environmental Audit Committee for its Inquiry into Wellbeing. This can be found at:</p><p><a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/inquiries/parliament-2010/well-being/" target="_blank">http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/inquiries/parliament-2010/well-being/</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading East answering member printed Mr Rob Wilson question first answered 03/11/2014 17:50:16 answering member 1556 label Biography information for Mr Rob Wilson
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane