Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

431904

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
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	Manufacturing 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 his strategy is for maximising the economic contribution of (a) the steel industry and (b) other industries vital to the UK's economic success.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	17449
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2015 answer text <p>The best way the Government can support our industries is to continue to deliver a strong and growing economy.</p><br /><p>In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced an exemption for Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs), including the steel industry, from the policy costs of the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariffs, a hugely significant step to provide industry with long-term certainty and helping them remain competitive. This is on top of the millions that has already been paid in compensation to EIIs for energy costs.</p><br /><p>The Government engages with various industrial sectors through our Sector Councils, where we discuss the opportunities and challenges facing certain sectors.</p><br /><p>The Government recognises the current difficulties that are unique to the steel sector. While we cannot fix the price of steel, halt global overproduction or fix currency rates, the Government has taken a number of measures to help our steel industry.</p><br /><p>We have taken action on unfair trade, recently voting in support of anti-dumping measures on wire rod and steel tubing imports, as well as lobbying successfully for an investigation into cheap imports of Reinforcing Steel Bar.</p><br /><p>The steel industry’s request for flexibility over Industrial Emissions Directive exemptions has been secured. This will save the industry millions of pounds of unnecessary expenditure at a time of crisis by offering steel companies more time to comply with this European legislation.</p><br /><p>Finally, we are taking action to drive up the number of public contracts won by UK steel manufacturers and their partners through fair and open competition. The Government published on 30 October new guidelines for departments to apply on major projects when sourcing and buying steel. The new instructions will help steel suppliers compete on a level playing field with international suppliers for major Government projects.</p><br /> <br /> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 30/11/2015 10:43:38 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

431905

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
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	Iron and Steel: Imports
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 he has made of the reliance of the UK economy on imports of steel from countries outside the EU.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	17451
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2015 answer text <p>The Government supports an open market for steel and UK consumers are free to source their requirements from anywhere in the world as long as imported material is traded fairly and meets quality and standards criteria where applicable.</p><br /><p>Data on UK imports of steel as a share of domestic demand are published by the EEF on behalf of UK Steel in their Key Statistics 2015 report, which can be found at the EEF website under the ‘Publications’ page. Please note that these figures exclude imports made by steel producers.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 30/11/2015 09:55:48 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

431906

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
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	Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: 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 is taking to promote apprenticeships in the road haulage industry.
tabling member constituency	Cheadle
tabling member printed	Mary Robinson
uin	17480
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2015 answer text <p>Through our reforms, more than 1300 employers are designing new apprenticeships standards that are more responsive to the needs of business. 194 standards have been published with over 150 new standards in development, including the new Large Goods Vehicle Driver standard.</p><p>Subject to final approval, this new apprenticeship standard will provide the sector with an excellent opportunity to develop a new generation of drivers in a way that meets their specific requirements.</p><p>In addition, in June Jobcentre Plus and the Road Haulage Association launched “Driving Britain’s Future”. This 12-month scheme will identify 2,400 work experience placements for Jobcentre Plus customers with logistics employers.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 02/12/2015 15:58:07 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	4406 label Biography information for Mary Robinson

431907

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Origin Marking: Occupied Territories
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to promote to UK investors the publication by the European Commission of the Interpretative Notice on indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, on 11 November 2015.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
tabling member printed	Richard Burden
uin	17491
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2015 answer text <p>The principal feature of the Interpretative Notice is a recommendation that goods imported into the EU which originate from Israeli settlements in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 should bear an indication which makes that provenance clear. That recommendation was included in technical advice to UK retailers and importers concerning labelling agricultural produce from the West Bank that was issued by Defra in 2009. We are currently in discussion with other Departments to consider whether revisions need to be made to the 2009 advice in the light of the Interpretative Notice.</p><br /> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice grouped question UIN 17186 question first answered 26/11/2015 12:34:40 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

431908

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
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	Biofuels: Plastics
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 development of a bio-plastics industry within a UK circular economy; and what the implications for his policy are of the effect of the EU's Europe 2020 programme in supporting that sector at a regional level.
tabling member constituency	Foyle
tabling member printed	Mark Durkan
uin	17499
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2015 answer text <p>The Government recognises the potential for the bio-plastics sector to contribute to a circular economy. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is engaged with a range of businesses in the bio plastic industry including via the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association and is working to help promote the potential growth of that sector. The EU 2020 strategy and the funding programmes that support that initiative offer opportunities for the UK. BIS is actively promoting and facilitating engagement and participation in the Horizon 2020 Programme via the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN).</p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 01/12/2015 11:29:24 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	1594 label Biography information for Mark Durkan

431909

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
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	Life Sciences
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the Government's Strategy for UK Life Sciences, published in December 2011, on the UK life sciences sector.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	17502
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2015 answer text <p>The UK has one of the strongest and most productive life sciences industries in the world, generating turnover of over £56 billion per annum and ranking top in major European economies for health life sciences foreign direct investment projects.</p><p>Since the launch of the Governments Life Science Strategy in 2011, the Government has invested almost £1billion in health and life sciences and has attracted over £3.5 billion of private sector investment to the UK, making us the leading European destination for life science fundraising.</p><p>Our ambition is to maximise the UK’s strengths in science and research to accelerate the development and adoption of 21<sup>st</sup> Century health science technology, delivering the best health outcomes and increasing wider growth and prosperity.</p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 27/11/2015 14:22:32 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

431910

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
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	Students: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of students supported by universities through the Student Opportunity Allocation fund have disabilities.
tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
uin	17521
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2015 answer text <p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocates the Student Opportunity Fund to Higher Education providers as part of the teaching grant.. Although the different elements of the fund are calculated on the basis of the number of students within an institution with particular characteristics, institutions have been able to use the funding in whichever way they feel is most appropriate for their students. Therefore, there is no centrally collected data on the numbers of students supported by the fund.</p><br /> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson grouped question UIN 17520 question first answered 30/11/2015 14:18:47 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

431911

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
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	Students: Finance
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 students are supported by universities through the Student Opportunity Allocation fund.
tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
uin	17520
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2015 answer text <p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocates the Student Opportunity Fund to Higher Education providers as part of the teaching grant.. Although the different elements of the fund are calculated on the basis of the number of students within an institution with particular characteristics, institutions have been able to use the funding in whichever way they feel is most appropriate for their students. Therefore, there is no centrally collected data on the numbers of students supported by the fund.</p><br /> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson grouped question UIN 17521 question first answered 30/11/2015 14:18:47 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

431912

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
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	Apprentices: Large Goods Vehicle Drivers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will make provision for large goods vehicles driving apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Mr Christopher Chope
uin	17548
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2015 answer text <p>Through our reforms, more than 1300 employers are designing new apprenticeships standards that are more responsive to the needs of business. 194 standards have been published with over 150 new standards in development, including the new Large Goods Vehicle Driver standard.</p><br /><p>Subject to final approval, this new apprenticeship standard will provide the sector with an excellent opportunity to develop a new generation of drivers in a way that meets their specific requirements.</p><br /> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 02/12/2015 16:01:37 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

431913

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
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	Biofuels: Plastics
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the finding in the report, The future potential economic impacts of a bio-plastics industry in the UK, published by the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association in October 2015, that, given the correct legislative environment, a UK bioplastics industry could support 35,000 jobs and contribute £1.9 billion to the economy.
tabling member constituency	Foyle
tabling member printed	Mark Durkan
uin	17550
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2015 answer text <p>I note the report by the Bio-based and Biodegradable Industries Association into the future potential impacts of a bio-plastics industry in the UK.</p><p>The Government delivers a range of policies across the business landscape – including research funding and innovation - that will be helpful in supporting the development of this sector. At the recent Autumn Statement, it was confirmed that science funding of £4.7 billion will be protected in real terms over the Parliament, and we will protect the Catapult network to support innovative firms and sectors.</p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Joseph Johnson question first answered 01/12/2015 11:30:47 answering member 4039 label Biography information for Lord Johnson of Marylebone
tabling member	1594 label Biography information for Mark Durkan