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 comparative assessment he has made of trends in the level of spending on research and development in the (a) UK and (b) EU member states.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government is increasing public R&D spending by £7 billion by 2022, this is the largest increase on record.
The department regularly assesses comparative levels of R&D expenditure in the UK and EU member states.
The latest ONS data estimates that overall gross R&D expenditure in the UK was £33.1bn in 2016, which was 1.7% of GDP in that year. The latest OECD international comparison of R&D expenditure ranked the UK 10th among EU member states, with overall gross R&D expenditure in the EU28 estimated at 1.9% of GDP in 2016. More details can be found here http://oe.cd/msti
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 comparative assessment his Department has made of the level of research and development expenditure in the UK and EU member states.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Department regularly assesses comparative levels of R&D expenditure in the UK and EU member states.
The latest ONS data estimates that overall gross R&D expenditure in the UK was £33.1bn in 2016, which was 1.7% of GDP in that year. 2017 data is due to be released in March 2019. The latest OECD international comparison of R&D expenditure ranked the UK 10th among EU nations in 2016. More details can be found here http://oe.cd/msti.
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, the (a) number and (b) percentage of main Post Office branch closure consultations that resulted in branches remaining open.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The distribution of branches is an operational matter of commercial judgement for Post Office management team. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to you on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
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 steps his Department is taking to tackle low pay.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
From 1 April 2018, the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage increased above inflation to give more than two million of the lowest paid workers a pay rise of over 2 per cent in real terms. Over the next 12 months, full time workers aged 25 and over on the National Living Wage will see their earnings grow by more than £600.
In the longer term, the Government’s ambitious, modern Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. It sets out how we will help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs with investment in the skills, industries and infrastructure of the future.