Aerospace Industry
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to help small and medium-sized enterprises in the aerospace industry export to fast-growing markets. [121799]
Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has a range of mechanisms available to support aerospace companies of all sizes. In addition to a renewed drive to encourage more companies to start exporting, UKTI is supporting existing exporters to reach more high growth and emerging markets. This financial year £9 million of additional funding will go directly towards boosting trade opportunities to small and medium size businesses by helping them to attend trade shows abroad or travel on an overseas trade mission. The additional support includes substantial discounts for firms that use UKTI's overseas market introduction service for the first time, to carry out targeted market research to help them find those crucial first contacts overseas and develop relationships, or use it to research one of UKTI's High Growth Markets for the first time.
Apprentices: Peterborough
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have undertaken a Level 3 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics apprenticeship in Peterborough constituency in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [121712]
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Matthew Hancock:
Table 1 shows the number of apprenticeship programme starts by level and sector subject area in Peterborough parliamentary constituency
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between 2006/07 and 2010/11, the latest academic year for which final data are available.
| Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by level and sector subject area in Peterborough parliamentary constituency, 2006/07 to 2010/11 | ||||||
| Sector subject area | Level | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. ‘—’ indicates a value of less than five. 2. Geography is based on the home postcode of the learner. Geographic information is based on boundaries of regions as of May 2010. Source: Individualised Learner Record | ||||||
Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 28 June 2012:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/
Breast Cancer: Research
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of public funding of cancer research is spent on identifying the causes of breast cancer. [121654]
Mr Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. It is an independent research funding body which receives its grant in aid from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
In 2010/11, the MRC spent £4.4 million on research into breast cancer. Of this, £2.0 million supported research on the causes of breast cancer.
The MRC’s overall expenditure on cancer research in 2010 was £107.9 million(1)(, 2). This includes a broad portfolio of site-specific and general underpinning cancer research, some of which will be relevant to research on breast cancer and its causes as it is often the case that research relevant to one site may also have implications for other forms of cancer.
The Department of Health supports cancer research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). In August 2011, the Government announced £800 million investment over five years in a series of NIHR biomedical research centres and units. This includes £61.5 million funding for the Royal Marsden/Institute of Cancer Research Biomedical Research Centre, which has a research theme on breast cancer.
The NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) is currently hosting 108 studies in breast cancer, that are in set-up or recruiting patients. Expenditure by the CRN on research into particular cancer sites cannot be disaggregated from total CRN expenditure.
(2) NCRI present data on research spend in calendar years, this is to allow analysis of investments across a range of different funders. For the MRC, the data for 2010 are broadly comparable to 2010/11 financial year spend.
(1)Source:
The National Cancer Research Institute Cancer Research Database(2).
British Antarctic Survey
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the Natural Environment Research Council report on the future of the British Antarctic Survey; and if he will place a copy of that report in the Library. [121946]
Mr Willetts: The report “The Future of the British Antarctic Survey” was an early version of a paper presented to the NERC Council in May 2012. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold a copy so the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has not assessed it. I am, however, aware of NERC's proposals for the British Antarctic Survey on which it is consulting the academic community. In line with the Haldane Principle, future arrangements for the UK operations of the British Antarctic Survey are the responsibility of NERC.
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Any changes would have no effect on the UK's commitment to scientific excellence in Antarctica nor on the existing footprint of scientific bases and research ships in the South Atlantic.
The hon. Member may wish to contact the Natural Environment Research Council directly to request the report.
Business
Neil Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's definition is of the small and medium-sized business sector. [121777]
Michael Fallon: There is no single definitive or universally accepted definition of a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME).
For statistical purposes, in the National Statistics publication ‘Business Population Estimates for the UK and Regions' BIS define SMEs as those businesses with fewer than 250 employees.
However, there are two further definitions used in the UK and Europe, which are as follows:
In EU law an SME is defined as an enterprise with fewer than 250 employees and with a turnover of less than €50 million or alternatively a balance sheet of less than €43 million.
2. UK law definition of an SME company
In the UK, the Companies Act 2006 defines a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements.
According to this a small company is one that meets at least two of the following conditions:
(i) annual turnover of not more than £6.5 million
(ii) a balance sheet total of not more than £3.26 million
(iii) not more than 50 employees.
A medium-sized company is one that meets at least two of the following conditions:
(i) annual turnover of not more than £25.9 million
(ii) a balance sheet total of not more than £12.9 million
(iii) not more than 250 employees.
Business: Loans
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of small and medium-sized businesses who have had (a) an overdraft or (b) a business loan application rejected by a bank in each month of the last year; and if he will make a statement. [121849]
Michael Fallon: Over the last year, the percentage of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which had applied for credit that were unable to obtain a facility are as follows. Figures for the most recent three quarters are based on small sample sizes and are subject to revision over the next nine months.
| Percentage | ||||
| Q3 2011 | Q4 2011 | Q1 2012 | Q2 2012 | |
|
Percentage of overdraft applications ending with no facility | ||||
| (1) Not yet available. | ||||
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Figures are taken from the most recent publication of the quarterly SME Finance Monitor. The SME Finance Monitor is an independently edited report, funded by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) as part of their commitments under the BBA Taskforce. It is the most comprehensive regular survey of small and medium-sized enterprises' experiences accessing finance. Its reports are publicly available at:
http://www.sme-finance-monitor.co.uk
Business: Regulation
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what steps the Government is taking to reduce the amount of red tape; [121514]
(2) how his Department intends to reduce red tape for start-up businesses and encourage their growth. [121516]
Michael Fallon: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has reduced red tape for business by giving over 100,000 more businesses the flexibility to decide whether or not their company accounts should be audited. The regulations also allow companies that prepare their accounts under International Financial Reporting Standards to move to UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (ACCP) and take advantage of reduced disclosures.
We have also withdrawn the extension of the right to request time to train to businesses with fewer than 250 employees. We have achieved agreement in Brussels to exempt up to 1.4 million UK small businesses from certain EU accounting rules.
This Government has taken specific and concrete steps to reduce the amount of red tape. We have introduced a three year moratorium on new domestic regulation for micro-businesses and start-ups from 1 April 2011 in order to support growth and establish a period of increased regulatory stability for the smallest businesses. We have also introduced the one-in, one-out rule, so that if a Department wants to introduce a new regulation which generates costs for business, it must first identify a corresponding cut in regulation elsewhere with the same value. To date we have cut the costs of domestic regulation by £850 million thanks to this rule.
The Government is also systematically examining some 6,500 substantive regulations that it inherited, through the Red Tape Challenge process. The Government has committed to abolish or substantially reduce at least 3,000 of these regulations. We will complete the identification of the regulations to be scrapped or overhauled by December 2013. In addition we recently announced that from April 2013 hundreds of thousands of businesses will be exempted from burdensome, regular health and safety inspections.
In January 2012, the Prime Minister launched “Business in You”, a major campaign, to inspire people to realise their business ambitions and to highlight the range of support available for start-ups and growing businesses. The campaign is a partnership between Government and private enterprise and is being supported by a wide range of partners. More information is available at
http://businessinyou.bis.gov.uk/
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Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the British Chambers of Commerce's Report, entitled Red Tape Challenged?. [121515]
Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 17 January 2012, Official Report, column 782W.
Electric Cables
Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess the effect of imports of counterfeit or falsely marked foreign electrical cable on employment levels in the UK electrical cabling sector. [119912]
Jo Swinson: There are no plans to make such an assessment. However Government, and associated public and private enforcement organisations, continue to engage actively with UK businesses to raise the profile of the threat of counterfeit products entering relevant supply chains, including supply chains in the electrical cabling sector.
For example, the IP Crime Toolkit launched in November 2011, aims to make businesses more aware of the growing risk from counterfeit goods getting into supply chains—it also gives guidance on how to strengthen and protect intellectual property (IP) assets:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipctoolkit.pdf
Fossil Fuels: Export Credit Guarantees
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 17 July 2012, Official Report, columns 115-16WS, on green technologies (UKTI and ECGD Support), whether the Export Credits Guarantee Department would be permitted to support export contracts for new fossil fuel plant with annual emissions exceeding 450g/kWh of carbon dioxide at base load. [121450]
Michael Fallon: The Export Credits Guarantee Department would be permitted to consider support for an export contract for a new fossil fuel plant with annual emissions exceeding 450 g/kWh of carbon dioxide at base load, provided that support is in line with the relevant international standards as set out in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence.
Higher Education
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward legislative proposals to bring commercial for-profit universities within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if he will make a statement. [121634]
Mr Willetts:
The Ministry of Justice is the lead department for the Freedom of Information Act and will respond in due course to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee's report ‘Post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.’ Currently,
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higher education providers who receive grant funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Typically, higher education providers not in receipt of HEFCE grant funding, including those operating on a commercial for-profit basis, are not within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act.
India
Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the UK's primary exports are to India. [118895]
Michael Fallon: The UK exported over £2.2 billion of goods to India in the first six months of 2012, as shown in the following table.
The UK also exports services to India. The UK exported over £2.6 billion of services to India in 2011 (the latest data available). Data by service type are shown in the following table. “Other business services” account for a third of all service exports, followed by Travel and Transportation both accounting for around a fifth of service exports by value.
| UK services exports to India, 2011 | ||
| £ million | Percentage of total | |
| Source: ONS Pink Book 2012 | ||
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Industry: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 576W, on industry: Scotland, what recent discussions have taken place with the Scottish Government on the (a) manufacturing and (b) construction sector in Scotland. [121327]
Michael Fallon: Most matters relating to the development of the Scottish manufacturing and construction sectors are devolved to the Scottish Parliament and discussions take place within that context. Discussions on construction have included the Construction Act reforms, prequalification, the Low Carbon Construction Action Plan and Building Information Modelling.
Licensing
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what permits and licences his Department and its public bodies issue to businesses. [118821]
Michael Fallon: The Department issues export and import licences to UK businesses.
Four of the Department’s Executive agencies issue licences.
The UK Space Agency issues licences on behalf of the Secretary of State under the Outer Space Act 1986 to enable organisations established in the UK or one of its Crown Dependencies or overseas territories to carry out one of the following activities:
(a) launch or procure the launch of a space object;
(b) operate a space object;
(c) any activity in outer space.
As an information trading fund, Land Registry licenses the use and reuse of data it has collected and analysed, on commercial terms. Each add value service has its own separate contract in order to comply with the Information Fair Trader Scheme (IFTS) principles of transparency, fairness and challenge. Each contract requests that customers agree to the terms and conditions and sets out service descriptions and clauses addressing data protection and permitted use, as well as pricing, payment methods, operating hours and service level agreements.
The Met Office uses a variety of licences for its products and services, depending on the type of customer and the use to which the product or service will be put.
Ordnance Survey issue various licences which enable the use and reuse by a wide range of users of the geographic information products and services that Ordnance Survey creates. The type of licence issued depends on the proposed type of use of the information, however, a range of licences are available in order to best meet business’ needs. Ordnance Survey’s authority to issue these licences originates from the delegation of authority from the controller of OPSI to license and manage the Crown copyright and Crown database rights subsisting in Ordnance Survey materials. These licensing activities are primarily overseen and regulated via the Information Fair Trader Scheme administered by the National Archives.
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London Metropolitan University
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many overseas students at London Metropolitan University he expects to apply for help from the fund set up to support them. [121593]
Mr Willetts: The fund will provide up to £2 million from existing budgets to allow affected legitimate students to meet additional costs they may incur by moving to another institution. The fund went live on 1 October 2012 and at the moment it is too early to say what the overall level of demand will be. Initial data from the Higher Education Funding Council for England show that, as of 3 October 2012, there had been 53 applications to the fund.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the likely average payment per student from the fund set up to help overseas students at London Metropolitan University. [121594]
Mr Willetts: The fund will provide up to £2 million from existing budgets to allow affected legitimate students to meet additional costs they may incur by moving to another institution. The fund went live on 1 October 2012 and at the moment it is too early to say what the level of demand will be or the average payment per student.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students affected by the decision to revoke London Metropolitan University's highly trusted status have gained a place on a new university course to date. [121595]
Mr Willetts: Following the recent legal proceedings, legitimate non-EU students are able to continue study at London Metropolitan University until their course has ended or the end of the academic year, whichever is sooner. As a result, the number of students choosing to stay at the university or transfer to another institution is changing and the final position will not become clear until later in the month, when the application cycle closes.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what methodology informed the Government's decision to establish a fund to help overseas students at London Metropolitan University affected by the decision to revoke London Metropolitan University's highly trusted status. [121596]
Mr Willetts: Our decision to establish a fund covering the reasonable additional costs faced by legitimate students was informed by our recognition of the important contribution that overseas students make to the UK's economy.
The Government's priority is to ensure that legitimate overseas students affected by the decision to revoke London Metropolitan University's highly trusted status are given the support required to continue their studies.
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Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 17 September 2012, Official Report, column 517W, on London Metropolitan University, how many students have made an application for support from the London Metropolitan Fund; and how many such students have been successful. [121935]
Mr Willetts: The fund went live on 1 October 2012. Initial data from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) show that as of 3 October 2012 there had been 53 applications to the fund. HEFCE are aiming to process claims within 10 working days so it is too early to say how many have been successful.
Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 17 September 2012, Official Report, column 517W, on London Metropolitan University, how many non-EU students who were previously enrolled at London Metropolitan University have found a place at another UK higher education institute through the UCAS clearing system. [121936]
Mr Willetts: Following the recent legal proceedings, legitimate non-EU students are able to continue study at London Metropolitan university until their course has ended or the end of the academic year, whichever is sooner. As a result, the number of students choosing to stay at the university or transfer to another institution is changing and the final position will not become clear until later in the month, when the application cycle closes.
Manufacturing Industries
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will assess the findings in the report The route to growth from EEF; and if he will make a statement. [122001]
Michael Fallon: We welcome this report from the Engineering Employers' Federation (EEF), which includes a number of recommendations that are consistent with and build on the work the Government has done to date on growth. In their report, the EEF call for a clear vision for the economy through an industrial strategy. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), recently outlined our industrial strategy on 10 September 2012, Official Report, column 25.
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to lower the cost of doing business for (a) British industry and (b) the manufacturing sector. [122003]
Michael Fallon:
The Government's “Plan for Growth”, published in March 2011, set out clear ambitions to create the most competitive tax system in the G20 and to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business. By 2014 corporation tax will fall to 22%, the lowest in the G7, and the rate of relief under the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credits scheme has been increased to 225% of qualifying R&D costs from 1 April 2012; this represents one of the most
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competitive rates in the world. The Patent Box, which will be introduced from April 2013, will offer a preferential 10% Corporation Tax on profits from patents and similar intellectual property.
Rising electricity costs pose a key risk for energy intensive industries whose international competitiveness is most affected by energy and climate change policies. In November's autumn statement the Government announced a package of measures to reduce the impact of Government policy on the cost of electricity for these businesses. The package is worth around £250 million to energy intensive industries to reduce their energy bills, subject to state aid approval.
The Government has set out an ambitious agenda to reduce the overall burden of regulation on business over the course of this Parliament. The “One In, One Out” rule introduced by the Government is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, and has so far delivered a cumulative reduction of business burdens since 2011 of at least £850 million. The “Red Tape Challenge” aimed to scrap or simplify regulations that are ineffective, unnecessary or obsolete. The Manufacturing theme of the Red Tape Challenge was launched in July 2011, with results announced as part of autumn statement 2011. The final deregulation package sets out changes to scrap or simplify 65 different rules and regulations affecting this sector.
Furthermore, plans from other themes such as employment-related law and environment are expected to deliver significant savings to industry and the manufacturing sector, for example a package of environmental deregulation which will save businesses at least £1 billion over five years.
Manufacturing Industries: Government Assistance
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to assist manufacturing companies wishing to enter a new market. [121999]
Michael Fallon: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has a range of mechanisms available to support manufacturing companies of all sizes. In addition to a renewed drive to encourage more companies to start exporting, UKTI is supporting existing exporters to reach more high growth and emerging markets. This financial year £9 million of additional funding will go directly towards boosting trade opportunities to small and medium-sized businesses by helping them to attend trade shows abroad or travel on an overseas trade mission. The additional support includes substantial discounts for firms that use UKTI's overseas market introduction service for the first time, to carry out targeted market research to help them find those crucial first contacts overseas and develop relationships, or use it to research one of UKTI's High Growth Markets for the first time.
Departmental Meetings
Mr Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what dates (a) he, (b) his Ministers and (c) senior officials in his Department met representatives of (i) Bridgepoint, (ii) Lincoln, (iii) Kaplan, (iv) Corinthian, (v) Apollo, (vi) Kaiser, (vii) Education Management Corporation,
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(viii) Rosmussen, (ix) Career Education Corporation and (x) Westwood in (A) 2011 and (B) 2012; and if he will make a statement. [121510]
Mr Willetts: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I meet regularly with organisations that have an interest in higher education. A quarterly-updated list of all Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) ministerial meetings with external organisations is available at:
http://data.gov.uk/dataset/disclosure-ministerial-hospitality-received-department-for-business
BIS officials will also have had meetings with a range of higher education providers, but a comprehensive record of these is not maintained.
Minimum Wage
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of times an accommodation offset was deducted by an employer from an employee’s wage packet in each year since 1998. [121651]
Jo Swinson: The Department does not hold this information.
Accommodation is the only benefit in kind that can count towards the minimum wage and employers can offset the cost of providing accommodation to workers up to a maximum daily limit. The Low Pay Commission is currently reviewing the accommodation offset and is due to report to Government in February 2013. We will consider its report carefully once it has been received.
Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has invested in supporting UK car manufacturers develop green and hybrid car technologies in the last year; and what plans he has for the future allocation of funds for this purpose. [121700]
Michael Fallon: The Government has made provision of over £400 million for measures to promote the uptake of ultra-low carbon vehicles in the UK. This includes approximately £80 million supporting research and development activities; £30 million for the installation of infrastructure; and £300 million to support consumer incentives for the life of the Parliament.
BIS, with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles has to date invested over £150 million in more than 100 major automotive research, development and validation projects under the TSB's Low Carbon Innovation Platform which has been more than matched with around £200 million of private sector funding. In addition, TSB recently announced £7.5 million funding for five major research and development projects which could speed-up the adoption of energy systems using hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
At the Low Carbon Vehicle 2012 event on 5 September 2012, I announced £9 million of new funding to support the creation of an Energy Storage Centre based at the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.
Further competitions under the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform are under consideration which would likely be formulated around strategic CO2 reduction technologies identified by the Automotive Council.
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New Businesses: Young People
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2012, Official Report, column 573W, on business: Government assistance, how many (a) expressions of interest have been received and (b) loans have been issued under the Start Up Loans scheme. [121486]
Michael Fallon [holding answer 18 September 2012]: By Friday 14 September, 1,264 expressions of interest had been received directly by the Start-Up Loans Company. Further expressions are being received by our delivery partners, but those data are not yet held centrally.
Applications take around three weeks to be processed, allowing applicants time to develop their business plans and benefit from hands-on support in getting from concept to finance. To date, an initial seven loans have been made, and the Start-Up Loans Company projections forecast around 2,800 loans being issued under the pilot period of the scheme.
Overseas Students: EU Nationals
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many EU citizens from other member states enrolled at UK universities to study as an undergraduate in each of the last five years. [121312]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 18 September 2012]: The latest available information on EU domiciled undergraduate enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions is shown separately in the following table for the academic years 2006/07 to 2010/11. Information on enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions for the 2011/12 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2013.
| EU domiciled(1) undergraduate enrolments(2) UK higher education institutions—Academic years 2006/07 to 2010/11 | |
| Academic year | Enrolments |
| (1) Domicile refers to a student's permanent or home address prior to entry to their course. (2) Covers undergraduate full and part-time students in all years of study. Notes: Figures are based on a HESA standard registration population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record. | |
Overseas Trade
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to assist British companies wishing to export their products. [122000]
Michael Fallon: Through UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), this Department helps UK based businesses to take advantage of export opportunities and assists overseas companies to bring their high-quality investment to the UK.
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UKTI works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to provide practical support to exporters and inward investors through its teams which are co-located in FCO Posts in some 100 markets overseas.
The FCO's ‘Charter for Business' complements UKTI's strategy ‘Britain Open for Business' and has made supporting UK businesses abroad and attracting investors to the UK a core activity for the FCO. It focuses on getting the whole of the FCO behind growth and has put prosperity at the heart of foreign policy.
This approach emphasises the Government's joined-up approach to trade and investment and how UKTI's activities help to support British businesses overseas, in partnership with the FCO and other Government Departments.
Procurement
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of his Department and its agencies' procurement contracts were won by small and medium-sized businesses in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date. [121488]
Jo Swinson [holding answer 18 September 2012]: Research Councils UK Shared Services Centre Ltd (RCUK SSC) has taken over the provision of procurement services on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) from 1 August 2012. RCUK SSC is currently undertaking a data analysis of BIS and Partner Organisations which initially will focus on who BIS are transacting with; this information will then enable us to identify where to direct our efforts to establish the number of contracts that are in place and subsequently identify what proportion of those contracts are with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
What we can provide is the data which have been collected recently which identify the percentage by value of business placed with SMEs. This information is collected across Government and is the current metric used to measure performance against the target of 25% of activity with SMEs.
| Percentage | |
| (1) Quarter 1 figures only. | |
These figures are based on the data RCUK SSC have access to and cover the following organisations only:
Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Companies House
Culham Centre for Fusion Energy
Department for Business Innovation and Skills
Higher Education Funding Council for England
Intellectual Property Office
Land Registry
National Measurement Office
Ordnance Survey
Skills Funding Agency
Student Loans Company
The Met Office
UK Commission for Employment and Skills
RCUK and the 7 Research Councils
UK Trade and Investment Administration
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RCUK SSC does not have and cannot provide data for all other BIS partner organisations, which would need to be approached individually. I have asked the Chief Executive of the Insolvency Service to reply directly to the hon. Member with their information.
Letter from Richard Judge, dated 18 September 2012:
The Secretary of State, for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question, what proportion of his Department and its agencies' procurement contracts were won by small and medium-sized businesses in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date.
Where the Insolvency Service has had direct responsibility for awarding contracts, the figures obtained show the following:
2010 - 2011 = Not all data available
2011 - 2012 = 50%
2012 - 17/09/12 = 0%
Redundancy
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what evidence his Department gathered on the potential direct benefits to business in advance of taking the decision to consult on reducing the consultation period prior to collective redundancies. [120190]
Jo Swinson: The Government decided to consult on changes to the collective redundancies rules in response to a Call for Evidence conducted between November 2011 and January 2012. The Call for Evidence asked specific questions on the impact of the current rules and on options for change. In response, businesses identified a number of areas where they would benefit directly and indirectly from change. The findings of the Call for Evidence informed the consultation-stage impact assessment (IA), which the Department published in June 2012. The IA can be found at:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/c/12-809-collective-redundancies-consultation-impact.pdf
Officials in the Department gathered further evidence through a public consultation exercise which closed on 19 September. Throughout the Call for Evidence and the consultation, the officials have engaged with stakeholders to assess the impact of the proposed changes.
Regional Growth Fund: North West
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been spent by the regional growth fund in (a) the North West and (b) Warrington since its launch; how many jobs have been created as a result; and what the average cost was of each job created. [121828]
Michael Fallon: 47 bids from the North West to Rounds 1 and 2 of the regional growth fund (RGF) were successful. These bids were conditionally allocated £234 million and are expected to leverage £1.549 billion of private sector investment, and create and safeguard a total of 55,598 jobs over the period 2011-12. This corresponds to a gross cost per job of £4,209. None of the North West bids will directly create jobs in Warrington, although businesses in Warrington may benefit from other national and regional programmes.
Beneficiaries must achieve specific investment and employment triggers in order to draw down RGF funding. To date 25 of the 47 projects/programmes have started and £37.5 million of RGF funding has been drawn down. Three projects have withdrawn.
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Monitoring reports to date indicate that 1,411 jobs have been created or safeguarded in the North West as a result of RGF funding. The results of RGF Round 3 funding bids will be announced shortly.
Research
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on research and development in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12; and how much he plans to spend in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15. [121876]
Mr Willetts: This Department published Science, Engineering and Technology Statistics on 21 September 2012 which provides out-turn figures for Departmental expenditure on research and development for 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11. Figures for 2011-12 have not yet been published.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/science/science-funding/set-stats
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not prescribe departmental budget to be spent on research and development for future years. Directorates or groups allocate their budget to fund research as policy questions arise.
However, the £4.6 billion per annum funding for science and research programmes through the Research Councils and the Higher Education Funding Council for England has been protected in cash terms, and ring fenced against future pressures during the spending review period to 2014-15.
Social Enterprises
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many visits he has made to social enterprises since May 2010; [121376]
(2) how many meetings he has attended with representatives of social enterprises since May 2010. [121377]
Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), regularly meets and visits businesses (including social enterprises) in the course of his work.
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to support the growth of social enterprises. [121379]
Michael Fallon:
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is committed to supporting social enterprise as a key strand of our drive for sustainable economic growth. We are working with HM Treasury on their review of social enterprise announced in Budget 2012 and along with the Cabinet Office we launched Big Society Capital last year funded through the Big Society Trust and with £200 million through the Merlin Bank agreement. We also provide access to finance through the community development finance institutions who provide microfinance through loans to start-up companies, individuals and established enterprises from their geographical area or community who are unable to
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access finance from the more traditional sources such as banks. The businesslink.gov.uk website provides information on the different streams on non-bank finance available to businesses and social enterprises. It also provides a link to the Community Development Finance Association’s (CDFA) Finding Finance website. This tool enables both small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and social enterprises to find the community development finance institution (CDFI) that provides finance best suited for their specific needs.
Students: Loans
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students originally studying at commercial for-profit universities had informed the Student Loans Company they had (a) withdrawn from their course and (b) not passed their degree in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [121533]
Mr Willetts: In assessing students' eligibility for student loans, the Department does not distinguish between those universities that operate on a commercial for-profit basis, and those that do not. The information requested is not available.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate the Student Loans Company has made of the number of students in receipt of loans who will be studying at commercial for-profit universities in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement. [121636]
Mr Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not distinguish between those universities that operate on a commercial for-profit basis, and those that do not.
I have, however, previously placed a list in the Library of the House showing the number of students that took out student loans in respect of studies with all types of non-publicly funded providers in each year since 2006. This was in response to parliamentary question 100853 (2010/9517) answered on 19 March 2012, Official Report, column 334W.
This shows an upward trend in the numbers of students, courses, and institutions. This in line with the Government's policy that new providers and new forms of higher education provision will help to stimulate and strengthen market competition, promote student choice, and ensure value for money.
Tobacco: Packaging
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to his Department's Better Regulation guidelines for consultations, whether his Department indicated either orally or in writing to the Department of Health that it was satisfied with the consumer surveys which form part of the consultation on plain packaging for tobacco products. [119993]
Michael Fallon [holding answer 7 September 2012]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 6 September 2012, Official Report, column 401W.