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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

521057

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	London Airports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of expansion at (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick Airport on the number of jobs that will be created in the North East by (i) 2030 and (ii) 2050.
tabling member constituency	Redcar
tabling member printed	Anna Turley
uin	38316
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report. The Government is not providing a running commentary on this work and nor would it be appropriate to outline specific pieces of evidence before an announcement. Any work to inform an announcement will be set out in subsequent publications and associated consultation.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 01/06/2016 09:18:17 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	4449 label Biography information for Anna Turley

521058

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Bank Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to submit evidence to the independent review of the British Bakers Association Access to Banking Protocol led by Professor Russell Griggs.
tabling member constituency	Tottenham
tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
uin	38318
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. The Government believes that banks should act in the best interests of their customers and continue to serve the needs of the consumer as well as the wider economy. Although decisions on opening and closing branches are commercial ones, in which the Government does not intervene, it is imperative that the banks live up to the spirit, as well as the letter, of the commitments in the protocol.</p><p> </p><p>The British Bankers’ Association consulted relevant government departments and the regulator, as envisaged in the protocol, when it appointed Professor Russel Griggs to lead the independent review. The independent reviewer’s role is to consider and identify best practice in implementation and, if appropriate, make recommendations for amendments to the protocol to ensure it continues to meet its objectives.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has not assessed the impact of the protocol or banks’ compliance with their commitments in the protocol and as such will not submit formal evidence. However, the Government awaits the independent review’s conclusions, and any recommendations that the reviewer makes for the future of the protocol, when they are published later this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin grouped question UIN 38319 38320 38334 question first answered 01/06/2016 13:53:25 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy

521059

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Bank Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had with the British Bankers' Association Industry Protocol on how effectively banks have applied and implemented the Protocol during its first year and the efficacy of the Protocol in mitigating the effect of branch closures on (a) local businesses and (b) the elderly, disabled and other vulnerable customers.
tabling member constituency	Tottenham
tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
uin	38320
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. The Government believes that banks should act in the best interests of their customers and continue to serve the needs of the consumer as well as the wider economy. Although decisions on opening and closing branches are commercial ones, in which the Government does not intervene, it is imperative that the banks live up to the spirit, as well as the letter, of the commitments in the protocol.</p><p> </p><p>The British Bankers’ Association consulted relevant government departments and the regulator, as envisaged in the protocol, when it appointed Professor Russel Griggs to lead the independent review. The independent reviewer’s role is to consider and identify best practice in implementation and, if appropriate, make recommendations for amendments to the protocol to ensure it continues to meet its objectives.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has not assessed the impact of the protocol or banks’ compliance with their commitments in the protocol and as such will not submit formal evidence. However, the Government awaits the independent review’s conclusions, and any recommendations that the reviewer makes for the future of the protocol, when they are published later this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin grouped question UIN 38318 38319 38334 question first answered 01/06/2016 13:53:25 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy

521060

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Bank Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the British Bankers' Association Industry Protocol on Branch Closures in mitigating the effect of branch closures on local businesses and customers.
tabling member constituency	Tottenham
tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
uin	38319
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. The Government believes that banks should act in the best interests of their customers and continue to serve the needs of the consumer as well as the wider economy. Although decisions on opening and closing branches are commercial ones, in which the Government does not intervene, it is imperative that the banks live up to the spirit, as well as the letter, of the commitments in the protocol.</p><p> </p><p>The British Bankers’ Association consulted relevant government departments and the regulator, as envisaged in the protocol, when it appointed Professor Russel Griggs to lead the independent review. The independent reviewer’s role is to consider and identify best practice in implementation and, if appropriate, make recommendations for amendments to the protocol to ensure it continues to meet its objectives.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has not assessed the impact of the protocol or banks’ compliance with their commitments in the protocol and as such will not submit formal evidence. However, the Government awaits the independent review’s conclusions, and any recommendations that the reviewer makes for the future of the protocol, when they are published later this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin grouped question UIN 38318 38320 38334 question first answered 01/06/2016 13:53:25 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy

521061

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	Electrical Goods: Packaging
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with which organisations Ministers of his Department have met to discuss the review of enforcement of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 in respect of copycat packaging of branded electrical goods in the last three months.
tabling member constituency	Swansea East
tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
uin	38332
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government concluded its review of the enforcement provisions of the Consumer Protection against Unfair Trading Regulations (2008) in respect of copycat packaging in October 2015, and the Minister of State for Skills discussed the review with the British Brands Group the following month. The Intellectual Property Office have subsequently been working with industry stakeholders to deliver awareness training to trading standards about copycat packaging and the Government have committed to continue to provide training in the recently published IP Enforcement Strategy 2020.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 29/06/2016 09:24:08 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

521062

registered interest
date	24/05/2016
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Banks: Closures
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of bank branch closures on (a) affected communities, (b) local businesses and (c) customers.
tabling member constituency	Tottenham
tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
uin	38333
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government believes that banks should act in the best interests of their customers and continue to serve the needs of the consumer as well as the wider economy. This is why the Government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. The protocol commits each participating bank to carry out a number of steps when it is closing a branch, including the preparation of meaningful local impact assessments. After deciding to close a branch a bank must also engage with key local stakeholders to understand the potential impact of the close on the local community and branch users. The results of the engagement and the impact assessment will be published before the branch is closed.</p><p> </p><p>Professor Russel Griggs is leading an independent ‘one year on’ review of the protocol. The Government looks forward to seeing the conclusions of the review.</p><p> </p><p>However, banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy. Decisions on the opening and closing of individual branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.</p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 01/06/2016 13:55:06 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy