Select Committee on Trade and Industry Annxes to the Report


Follow-up Questions

RECOMMENDATION F:   CORPORATE VENTURING INCENTIVE

A progress report on the programme to encourage corporate venturing, as referred to at para 27 of the response, would be helpful

  Representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry, Small Business Service, CBI and NatWest have continued to work together, taking forward a programme of events and activities aimed at stimulating awareness and understanding of corporate venturing and offering practical support.

  Progress to date includes:

    —  offering early stage information and support via the SBS Gateway—information on corporate venturing has recently been added to the SBS web-site and this will be updated as proposals develop;

    —  a series of regional seminars to promote corporate venturing and offer participants practical advice from experienced practitioners on how and why to get involved—two seminars have been held to date and six more are planned between October 2000 and February 2001;

    —  offering practical support and advice through the development of a "How To" Guide—following input from a team of legal advisers, development of the Guide is moving forward, with a view to making this document available by end of December 2000;

    —  working with the National Business Angels Network (NBAN) to encourage them to promote corporate venturing by matching corporate investors with small companies—after initial discussions, officials are due to meet with the new Executive Director of NBAN in early October to discuss the way forward;

    —  seeking large company champions to help demonstrate the benefits corporate venturing can bring to larger companies—an important precursor to inculcating a greater appreciation of corporate venturing into "Board Culture"—two of the planned regional seminars (in Cambridge and London) are being designed with large companies in mind. In addition, representatives from the Small Business Service are currently considering whether the Whitehall and Industry Group will provide a useful forum for engaging large companies.

RECOMMENDATION H: EMPLOYEE SHARE OWNERSHIP SCHEME

It would be helpful to have a copy of the leaflet giving employees guidance on benefit entitlement and employee share ownership

  The Inland Revenue has published a leaflet (IR177) entitled "The All-Employee Share Plan" and your entitlement to benefits. Copies are enclosed[9] and are also available on the Inland Revenue's website at www.inlandevenue.gov.uk/shareschemes/ir177.pdf.

RECOMMENDATION Q:  CLIMATE CHANGE LEVY: ENERGY EFFICIENCY FUND

It would be helpful to have a copy of the decisions on the energy efficiency fund referred to as appearing in the 2000 Spending Review

  Attached is the text of information, that HM Treasury will shortly be placing on their website, which details the decisions made on the Fund. The HM Treasuryn webiste is at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/.


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