Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to support small businesses in (a) Crawley constituency and (b) West Sussex.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to supporting all entrepreneurs to start and grow a business, it is a key aspect of our ambitious Industrial Strategy. We want to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, to create jobs and spread prosperity.
In addition to accessing national support available, such as the Business Support Helpline (0300 456 3565) and advice on www.gov.uk, small businesses in the Crawley constituency and West Sussex County Council area can access business advice through the Coast to Capital Growth Hub. Led and governed by the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Growth Hub provides a free, impartial, ‘single point of contact’ to help businesses in the area identify and access the right support for them at the right time no matter their size or sector. The Coast to Capital LEP has self-reported that in FY2017-2018 their Growth Hub supported over 2,400 businesses and helped over 600 individuals start a business.
The Start-Up Loans programme, now part of the British Business Bank, has delivered 63,564 loans worth £496m, and is currently supporting 96 loans totaling £659,191 of finance in Crawley.
Funding under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund indicates that Crawley has £546,203 for organisations registered within this constituency. There is no data for West Sussex.
And finally, as you are aware in the 2019 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, Inspiration Healthcare Ltd in Crawley won an award in the International Trade category.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Oil and Gas Authority’s proposed supplemental guidance for the Disclosure of certain Geophysical Survey Data (created or acquired under an Exploration Licence pre-2018) published in March 2019, whether the impact assessment included a full assessment of the effect of that guidance on geophysical companies based in the UK.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The treatment of legacy geophysical survey data is a matter for the independent oil and gas regulator, the Oil and Gas Authority, which ran a consultation exercise on the issue to which it will respond later this year.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Oil and Gas Authority’s proposed supplemental guidance on the disclosure of certain Geophysical Survey Data (created or acquired under an Exploration Licence pre-2018) published in March 2019, what assessment his Department has made of the compatibility with the rule of law of the retrospective application of that guidance.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The treatment of legacy geophysical survey data is a matter for the independent oil and gas regulator, the Oil and Gas Authority, which ran a consultation exercise on the issue to which it will respond later this year.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
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 potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the UK’s contribution to tackling climate change; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Leaving the European Union will not affect our ambitious domestic emissions reduction commitments, as they are enshrined in UK law in the Climate Change Act (2008). The UK is a global leader in this area; between 1990 and 2017, the UK reduced its emissions by over 40% while growing the economy by more than two thirds, and we remain committed to delivering the outcomes of the Paris Agreement.