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Written Question
Subsidies
Friday 23rd July 2021

Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to (a) assess and (b) monitor the effectiveness of subsidies made by public authorities falling below the transparency thresholds proposed in the Subsidy Control Bill; and whether those subsidies will be required to be reported to his Department by public authorities.

Answered by Paul Scully

The new subsidy transparency rules will make the UK a world leader in subsidy transparency and will provide subsidy data for improving subsidy design across the UK.

Any financial support below £315,000 over three years does not require a public authority to check the subsidy against the principles, because it is exempt as Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA). This financial support does not need to be reported to the Government or uploaded to the transparency database. The Government does not intend to assess and monitor the effectiveness of financial support which is exempt from the subsidy control rules.

The subsidy transparency rules have been designed to balance the administrative burden of recording subsidies with the benefits of subsidy transparency for those subsidies most likely to distort competition. This is why the MFA threshold is set at £315,000 over three years.

Regardless of the transparency rules, public authorities have a responsibility to ensure that any public money they provide is spent appropriately. Nonetheless, the assessment of financial support which is exempt from the rules would reduce the effectiveness of the dataset generated by the subsidy control database. Any subsidy data analysis should focus on those subsidies subject to the rules of the regime.

Written Question
Subsidies
Friday 23rd July 2021

Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will provide a breakdown of the main purposes of subsidies awarded by public bodies that were below the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) transparency threshold in each calendar year between 2015 and 2020.

Answered by Paul Scully

Information on subsidies which were below the EU State aid transparency threshold was not required to be declared on the EU State Aid Transparency Public Search tool.

The information is also not held centrally by the Government and could therefore only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Written Question
Subsidies
Friday 23rd July 2021

Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the total (a) number and (b) value of subsidies awarded by public bodies that were below the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) transparency threshold was in each calendar year between 2015 and 2020.

Answered by Paul Scully

Information on subsidies which were below the EU State aid transparency threshold was not required to be declared on the EU State Aid Transparency Public Search tool.

The information is also not held centrally by the Government and could therefore only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 06 Jul 2021
Oral Answers to Questions

" What discussions he has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on the independence of open banking. ..."
John Penrose - View Speech

View all John Penrose (Con - Weston-super-Mare) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 06 Jul 2021
Oral Answers to Questions

"I am delighted to hear that the independence of open banking is a core principle. Would my hon. Friend agree that open banking potentially creates a much wider idea or direction of travel for open everything? All sorts of other sectors could benefit from this approach to allow switching to …..."
John Penrose - View Speech

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Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 18 Jul 2018
Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

"We are nearly there. With fingers firmly crossed, it looks as though this is the last, or last but one, trot around the track for the Bill before it goes off for Royal Assent. I echo the thanks that have come from all sides for the combined and cross-party efforts …..."
John Penrose - View Speech

View all John Penrose (Con - Weston-super-Mare) contributions to the debate on: Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 30 Apr 2018
Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

"I rise to speak to amendments 2 to 4, which stand in my name and those of a variety of Conservative colleagues, including two members of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee as well as former Ministers and Cabinet Ministers.

I should pause to say that I am not …..."
John Penrose - View Speech

View all John Penrose (Con - Weston-super-Mare) contributions to the debate on: Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 30 Apr 2018
Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

"As my right hon. Friend says, he and I have had many conversations about this over many months. I can only say to him that if his argument is that Ofgem might come up with a version of an absolute cap that is a bit less absolute and a bit …..."
John Penrose - View Speech

View all John Penrose (Con - Weston-super-Mare) contributions to the debate on: Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 30 Apr 2018
Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

"Yes, absolutely. We heard from the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead) what I thought was actually rather a good explanation about why such a cap is so wonderful. The Opposition disagree about the purpose, but the fundamental reason why we are all in the Chamber is that we …..."
John Penrose - View Speech

View all John Penrose (Con - Weston-super-Mare) contributions to the debate on: Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 30 Apr 2018
Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

"That argument has been advanced for both a relative cap and for an absolute cap; some people argue that it applies to both. We heard earlier a rather good explanation of why the argument does not really apply, which is that it would be commercial suicide, or a commercial kamikaze …..."
John Penrose - View Speech

View all John Penrose (Con - Weston-super-Mare) contributions to the debate on: Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill