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224633

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	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 assessment he has made of whether foreign corporations will be able to sue the Government for damages and loss of profit under the investor-state dispute mechanism of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what steps the Government plans to take to prevent such an occurrence.
tabling member constituency	Newport West
tabling member printed	Paul Flynn
uin	226095
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has not yet been negotiated. The European Commission carried out a public consultation on these provisions last year and has published a report on the consultation responses. The UK, with other EU Member States and the Commission, will consider the report’s findings carefully to understand what is required of ISDS provisions to protect the right of governments to regulate in the public interest.</p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 12/03/2015 15:55:29 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	545 label Biography information for Paul Flynn

224634

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	Business
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 improve business access to (a) bank and (b) non-bank finance; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	226104
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2015 answer text <p>The Government has taken bold and innovative steps to improve business access to bank and non-bank finance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A key development has been the establishment of the British Business Bank (BBB) which became operationally independent in November 2014. For the first time, the UK has a permanent institution committed to correcting business finance market failures and driving innovation and competition in the markets. Similar institutions have long been a feature in the access to finance landscape in other countries.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Bank has made significant progress not just in terms of its establishment but also by the amount of investment that it is already stimulating. Business Bank programmes are currently supporting £1.8bn of finance to over 43,000 smaller businesses, with a further £1.2bn of finance to mid-cap businesses. Over the next five years, it aims to unlock further significant bank and non-bank finance for viable smaller businesses through programmes such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, the Start Up Loan programme, the Investment Programme and venture capital programmes.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Government is also legislating to improve business access to finance. Provisions in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will require major banks to refer declined small business borrowers to lending platforms. This will help put borrowers in touch with alternatives to their main bank and stimulate the growth of alternative providers. Banks will also be required to share credit data on their small and medium sized business customers with other finance providers via credit reference agencies to make it easier for alternative lenders to lend.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Government is taking steps to improve the information and advice available to potential borrowers through schemes such as ‘My Business Support Tool’. This helps businesses find the support appropriate for their size and situation quickly with businesses being able to speak to, or webchat, with a helpline adviser direct using the Business Support helpline.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Government is also improving competition and choice in finance markets. For example, authorisation processes for new banks have been streamlined, and the seven day Current Account Switching Service will be extended to businesses with a turnover of up to £6.5m from the beginning of April. The British Business Bank’s Investment Programme is co-investing up to £400 million into alternative finance providers, including challenger banks and non-bank lenders such as crowd funding platforms. In addition, the Competition and Market Authority is carrying out a market investigation of SME banking, with provisional findings and a possible remedies notice (if required) expected in September.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Government is using the tax system to support the development of alternative financing. Tax changes announced in last year’s Autumn Statement, for example, will support the development of peer to peer lending and crowdfunding platforms by allowing investors to offset losses from bad loans against other peer to peer income. In addition, the government is boosting the private placement market, which provides long-term funding for business from insurance companies and other non-bank sources, by making an exemption from withholding tax for interest on private placements.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The overall business finance environment is improving. Gross bank lending to small businesses in 2014 was 24% higher than in 2013 and, according to the latest SME Finance Monitor report, 76% of applications for loans and overdrafts made within the last 18 months were successful. Gross lending to all non-financial businesses, including large companies, in 2014 was 16% higher than in 2013. Research published by Nesta in November 2014 shows that the alternative finance market is also increasing rapidly. In 2014, the market raised £1.19 billion for businesses, more than double that raised in 2013.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 09/03/2015 15:09:01 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

224635

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	Trade Missions: Nuclear Power
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support UK Trade and Investment has given to (a) the Nuclear Industry Association and (b) private nuclear companies to participate in trade missions it organised or supported in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Newport West
tabling member printed	Paul Flynn
uin	226099
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2015 answer text <p>The data below details the support given since the establishment of the UKTI Events and Missions Team in 2012; to gather information from further back would incur disproportionate costs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Since 2012 UKTI has supported, 74 unique private nuclear companies on nine outward trade missions at a total cost of £63,500. The details are:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2012</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>April- nuclear decommissioning to Japan</p><p> </p><p>November- nuclear decommissioning and waste management to Korea</p><p> </p><p>November- nuclear decommissioning and waste management to Japan</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2013</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>October-general nuclear mission-Korea</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2014</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>January-mission to Korea Atomic Industrial Forum January-mission to UK-China Civil Nuclear July-mission to Nuclear Dialogue-Japan September-mission to Radiex-Japan</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2015</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>November-mission to Taiwan</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The NIA has participated in three events, Japan in April 2012; Korea in November 2012 and UK-China in January 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 19/03/2015 15:45:23 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	545 label Biography information for Paul Flynn

224636

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	Regional Growth Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support the Regional Growth Fund has provided for the Civil Nuclear Sharing in Growth programme in each year since 2010 Regional Growth Fund.
tabling member constituency	Newport West
tabling member printed	Paul Flynn
uin	226100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2015 answer text <p>The Civil Nuclear Sharing in Growth Programme has been allocated £27.3 million from the Regional Growth Fund.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Tunbridge Wells answering member printed Greg Clark question first answered 19/03/2015 15:48:09 answering member 1578 label Biography information for Greg Clark
tabling member	545 label Biography information for Paul Flynn

224637

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	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 improve the UK's ranking in the Word Bank's Doing Business survey for (a) starting a business, (b) registering property, (c) getting electricity and (d) enforcing contracts.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	226103
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2015 answer text <p>The World Bank recognises the UK as one of the best places in the world to do business. Their latest Ease of Doing Business ranking saw the UK climb to 8<sup>th</sup>. This is evidence that our economic plan is delivering a more competitive economy; we are delivering on our commitment to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There is clearly still more to do.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>With regard to specific action on the indicators mentioned:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Starting a business</strong>: The UK already has an online company registration system that compares favourably with the best in the world. In their latest Doing Business report, the World Bank applauded the efficiency of the UK’s company registry, Companies House, in a case study. Our Employment Allowance means no business pays the first £2000 of employers NICs, helping businesses create jobs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have improved the tax registration system for new businesses so processing new PAYE applications takes 3 days instead of 8. We are developing a one-click registration tool that should reduce the time and procedures to register even further. Delivery for this is planned for 2017.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Registering property</strong>: The Infrastructure Bill, which received Royal Assent on 12<sup>th</sup> February this year, contains provisions to enable Land Registry to provide a single digital Local Land Charges service. This service will improve access, standardise fees and improve turnaround times for property professionals and citizens. <br> <br></p><p> </p><p><strong>Getting electricity</strong>: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills, the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the energy regulator Ofgem have worked closely to improve the provision of new electricity connections. Ofgem will be implementing measures to remove barriers to competition in the connections market later this year. Increasing competition in the connections market will improve the quality of service and should help to drive down connection costs and times.</p><p> </p><p><br> <strong>Enforcing contracts</strong>: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has been working closely with the Ministry of Justice to improve the speed in at which contract disputes are resolved. The World Bank measures the performance of the court system in London. Central London County Court is undergoing significant transformation to deliver an improved service to court users and make best use of its administrative and judicial resources. The Ministry of Justice have set up a pilot in London where the Central London County Court acts as the multi-track triage centre for London. Previously cases were managed at the individual centres around London before being sent to CLCC for final hearing. This streamlining of the case management process should reduce the length of disputes by between 30 – 90 days.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 09/03/2015 15:10:28 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

224638

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	Productivity
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 increase in the UK's total factor productivity was in each of the last 15 years.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	225955
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2015 answer text <p>The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have published experimental estimates of Multi-Factor Productivity (MFP), which is the terminology the ONS uses for total factor productivity. This is shown in Table 1.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Table 2 displays an index of these data, showing cumulative growth in MFP over the last 15 years.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Annual Growth Rate of Multi-Factor Productivity </strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1999</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2000</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2001</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2002</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2003</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2004</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2005</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2006</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2007</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2008</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2009</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>0.96</p></td><td><p>2.02</p></td><td><p>0.87</p></td><td><p>1.13</p></td><td><p>2.71</p></td><td><p>1.21</p></td><td><p>0.27</p></td><td><p>1.54</p></td><td><p>0.58</p></td><td><p>-0.94</p></td><td><p>-4.62</p></td><td><p>0.91</p></td><td><p>0.39</p></td><td><p>-1.81</p></td><td><p>-0.53</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 2: Multi-Factor Productivity (1998=100)</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1999</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2000</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2001</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2002</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2003</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2004</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2005</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2006</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2007</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2008</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2009</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><p>101.0</p></td><td><p>103.0</p></td><td><p>103.9</p></td><td><p>105.0</p></td><td><p>107.7</p></td><td><p>108.9</p></td><td><p>109.2</p></td><td><p>110.7</p></td><td><p>111.3</p></td><td><p>110.4</p></td><td><p>105.7</p></td><td><p>106.6</p></td><td><p>107.0</p></td><td><p>105.2</p></td><td><p>104.7</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Source: Multi-factor Productivity (experimental), Estimates to 2013, ONS (Jan 2015) <a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-386314" target="_blank">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-386314</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 09/03/2015 16:47:34 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

224639

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	Lifelong 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 steps he is taking to encourage requalification and life-long learning; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	225956
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Government supports learning for the full range of purposes. Apprenticeships, including Higher Apprenticeships, are the Government’s key priority to enable people of all ages to acquire new skills, improve their skills or update them as part of an employer- led skills system. Wider freedoms and flexibilities offered by the adult skills budget give colleges and training organisations more ability to respond to the learning needs of individuals and employers in their locality, and we have increased loan support for learners aged 24 and over studying at Levels 3 and 4. 24 + Advanced Learning Loans continue to be accessed in large numbers with over 123,000 applications in total to December 2014. The National Careers Service provides high quality, information and guidance to help people choose the right learning pathway and to understand whether funding is available to help them.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also invests £210m per annum in Community Learning, which offers flexible local provision for post-19 adults of all ages and from a wide range of backgrounds. Courses meet a variety of learning needs, from personal development to pre-employment skills, health and wellbeing, parenting skills, arts, crafts and languages.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 10/03/2015 14:33:28 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

224640

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	Business: Government Assistance
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 simplify support offered to businesses; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	225953
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2015 answer text <p>Businesses now have simpler and easier access to business advice and support as a result of steps taken by the Government.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have brought together all Government advice and support in one place at GREATbusiness.gov.uk. The ‘My Business Support Tool’ helps businesses find the support they need quickly, and businesses can speak to or webchat with a helpline adviser direct using the Business Support helpline.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Businesses can also access our new Business Growth Service on the same website, which brings together expert advice to improve and grow in one place, including GrowthAccelerator, the Manufacturing Advisory Service, and export advice and finance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Finally, businesses can now access local support through Growth Hubs which join up local resources.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 09/03/2015 13:18:18 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

224642

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	Lord Heseltine Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which recommendations of the report No Stone Unturned, published in October 2012 by the right Hon. the Lord Heseltine, have been implemented to date.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	226029
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2015 answer text <p>The Government published its response to “No Stone Unturned” by my noble Friend Lord Heseltine in March 2013. That response accepted, in full or in part, 81 out of Lord Heseltine's 89 recommendations.</p><p>The Government continues to take forward these recommendations to advance the main commitments of decentralisation and working with business-led Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to unleash the potential of local economies.</p><p>The Government has created a Local Growth Fund (LGF) of at least £12bn for the period 2015 to 2021 to drive local growth, which is under the strategic influence of the LEPs.</p><p>Funds will be allocated from the LGF as part of the Growth Deals with every LEP, which were announced on 7 July 2014. Earlier this year the government announced further investment of £1 billion in local economies across England by expanding these Growth Deals.</p><p>The Government is also supporting those areas seeking to go further, as demonstrated by the devolution deals agreed with the Greater Manchester and the Sheffield City Region areas.</p> answering member constituency West Suffolk answering member printed Matthew Hancock question first answered 10/03/2015 11:03:13 answering member 4070 label Biography information for Matt Hancock
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

224643

registered interest
date	03/03/2015
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	Procurement
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 the amount (a) his Department and (b) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on procurement was paid to small and medium-sized enterprises (i) directly and (ii) through the supply chain in the last year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Mr Chuka Umunna
uin	226052
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2015 answer text <p>The Government has overhauled public procurement to open it up to businesses of all sizes. On 25 February 2015, we announced that central government spent an unprecedented £11.4 billion with SMEs in 2013-14, a record 26.1% of direct and indirect spend. This meets our aspiration, set in 2010, that 25% of government procurement spend would be with SMEs by the end of this Parliament.</p><p> </p><p>The data on central government spend with SMEs in 2013-14 is available on GOV.UK:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/central-government-spend-with-smes-2013-to-2014</a></p> answering member constituency East Dunbartonshire answering member printed Jo Swinson question first answered 10/03/2015 14:59:37 answering member 1513 label Biography information for Jo Swinson
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna