Land Registration
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2012, Official Report, columns 791-2W, on Land Registry, what steps he is taking to register land that is unregistered; and if he will make a statement. [91418]
Mr Davey:
Nearly 80% of land in England and Wales, including most urban land, is now registered with Land Registry with over 23 million registered titles. The registered area has increased from 45% in 2004, when data on geographic coverage first became available. This growth is principally attributable to Land
25 Jan 2012 : Column 310W
Registry persuading landowners of the benefits of voluntary first registration. A large percentage of the land that remains unregistered is in rural areas or includes large estates or public landholdings.
Work on achieving a comprehensive land register continues. Every first registration will result in greater coverage. Land Registry currently offer up to 25% discount on the fee on registration of voluntary registrations. In addition, new legislation has been introduced, under the Land Registration Act 2002 (Amendment) Order 2008, which ensures that when certain land transactions are undertaken, land that previously did not need to be registered, now must be included on the register.
Public Houses
George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to change the relationship between large pub companies and their licensees; and if he will make a statement. [91407]
Mr Davey: The Government's plans for a new, self-regulatory regime that will change the relationship between large pub companies and their licensees are set out in our response to the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee's report on pub companies:
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm82/8222/8222.pdf
George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the self-regulatory regime for small community pubs; and if he will make a statement. [91646]
Mr Davey: The Government consider that the previous system of self-regulation in the pub industry was inadequate. That is why, in November 2011, it secured an industry commitment to implement a tough new self-regulatory system, including strengthening the Industry Framework Code, making it legally binding and establishing an independent conciliation and arbitration service to resolve disputes between pubcos and licensees.
Public Houses: Rural Areas
George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent meetings he has had with representatives of (a) the Campaign for Real Ale, (b) the British Beer and Pub Association, (c) the Federation for Small Businesses and (d) the Forum of Private Business to discuss ways of (i) lessening the regulatory burden on and (ii) improving economic conditions for rural pubs; and if he will make a statement. [91245]
Mr Davey: The meetings I have had with representatives of the pub industry and other stakeholders, at which I discussed matters relating to the Department's policy responsibility for competition, are given in the following table.
Other policy matters relating to pubs are the responsibility of a range of Departments including the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Her Majesty's Treasury and the Home Office.
25 Jan 2012 : Column 311W
25 Jan 2012 : Column 312W
Regional Growth Fund
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of expenditure from the Regional Growth Fund in 2011-12; and what use he intends to make of any monies unspent at the end of that period. [88651]
Mr Prisk: Funding for the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) has been profiled for the spending review period. Officials are working to ensure that this year's RGF is fully disbursed.
Unfair Dismissal: Compensation
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what reasons his plans to consult on compensated no-fault dismissals do not include firms with 10 or more employees. [90981]
Mr Davey: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), announced in November that the Government would seek evidence on the idea of introducing compensated no-fault dismissal for micro firms because we believe that the smallest businesses are less likely to have access to human resources (HR), and legal advice, and may be less confident in applying detailed procedures. This announcement was alongside a range of radical proposals aimed at cutting unnecessary demands on businesses of all sizes while safeguarding workers' rights.