Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what safeguards his Department has to ensure that rules on mergers and acquisitions do not damage foreign direct investment.
Answered by Margot James
The UK has one of the highest rates of foreign direct investment in the world. Our merger regime, based on transparent rules that are administered by independent bodies, supports this. Ministers can intervene in mergers that concern public interest issues relating to national security, financial stability, and media plurality. This provides confidence to investors.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what dates (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department met with their counterparts in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to discuss competition in the telecommunications sector in each of the last two years.
Answered by Margot James
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ministers and officials meet Department for Culture, Media and Sport colleagues to discuss issues in the telecommunications sector as required. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not routinely disclosed.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what dates (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department met small businesses to discuss company law reform in each of the last two years.
Answered by Margot James
Ministers and officials meet regularly with small businesses to discuss a variety of topics.
All Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the risk of Stuxnet cyber-attacks on the UK's civil nuclear power programme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
For security purposes, we do not disclose details of potential risks to specific facilities.
The cyber security of existing and proposed nuclear facilities is a priority for the government. The UK civil nuclear sector is subject to a thorough safety and security regulatory regime, including cyber, overseen by the Office for Nuclear Regulation.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent meetings he has had with Ministers of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on rural superfast broadband.
Answered by Jesse Norman
High quality broadband connectivity across the country is vital for maintaining the UK’s place at the forefront of the digital revolution and connecting people to opportunity and prosperity; in light of this, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has regular discussions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the important issue of broadband for everybody in an economy that works for all, and particularly those in rural locations.
In addition, the joint BEIS/DCMS Review of Business Broadband will continue to consider how consumers and businesses in rural locations can benefit from future private and public digital infrastructure initiatives.
Asked by: Andrew Murrison (Conservative - South West Wiltshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to inform businesses about the effect that (a) paid and (b) unpaid internships have on social mobility.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Government believes in fair wages for fair work and opportunity for all. When an intern meets the legal definition of a worker they must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. We actively promote understanding of the importance of pay for interns through our Social Mobility Business Compact, which secures agreement from business to take measures to improve social mobility. In addition, the Common Best Practice Code for High Quality Internships secures collective commitment from leading employers to ensure internships are fairly paid. These initiatives help to ensure employers are fully aware of the types of standards and expectations that need to be in place in the intern-employer relationship.
Separately, we have made it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with national minimum wage regulations and complaints from interns are now fast-tracked by HMRC.