Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department issues to (a) National Grid and (b) Ofgem on the frequency of use of retrospective changes to the energy from the gas market.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department has not issued any guidance to Ofgem or National Grid on the specific issue of retrospective changes. It is for Ofgem and National Grid to consider the appropriateness of any changes they may wish to make, within the legal framework set by the Government.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the National Grid on support for small-scale gas energy suppliers to remain in the market.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Capacity Market provides reliable capacity, including gas plant, with secure revenues in return for keeping themselves available when needed. Recent auction outcomes demonstrate the Capacity Market provides the necessary financial incentives to ensure new gas plant are brought forward as and when needed, with up to 1.2GW of new small scale gas winning agreements in 2016 alone.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take in response to the leaked documents relating to the operations of Mossack Fonseca to ensure that foreign officials and politicians (a) in general and (b) from Pakistan who own property in the UK do not use such property to hide their assets.
Answered by Anna Soubry
At the International Anti-Corruption Summit in London on 12 May, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that we will require foreign companies that own or purchase UK properties or bid on UK Government procurement contracts to provide details of their beneficial owners to a public central register. This will be the first register of its kind in the world.
Additionally as of 6 April this year all UK companies have been required to hold a register of people with significant control over their company. This applies to all UK companies regardless of whether they own property.
These two registers combined will ensure that individuals will not be able to hide behind corporate structures to obscure their ownership of property or UK companies.
It is important to note that this work started before the release of the panama papers, with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister committing to create a register of people with significant control at the UK led G8 meeting in 2013, and the commitment to consider a new register of foreign companies that purchase property being made in July 2015.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will consult with experts to develop the policy throughout the year and consult formally on the detail of the policy in due course. Implementation of the new register requirements is expected to require both primary and secondary legislation, which we intend to introduce when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Government has invested into research and development of future car technologies in each of the last three years.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Government is fully committed to the continuing success of the automotive sector and supports the development of future car technologies through a variety of mechanisms depending on the technology and stage of development. The most significant sources of funding are set out in the following table:
| 13/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 |
BIS (incl. Innovate UK & Advanced Propulsion Centre) | 10 | 40.5 | 27.7 |
Office for Low Emission Vehicles | 17.5 | 8.9 | 10.5 |
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (BIS, DfT & HMT) |
| 15.75 | 23.75 |
Total (£M) | 27.5 | 65.15 | 61.95 |
In addition the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has invested £127M in research relevant to the automotive sector since FY 13/14.
In the last Spending Review my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed Government funding for the Advanced Propulsion Centre out to 2023 and announced additional support for automotive R&D of £225m from 2023 to 2026.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to reduce the burden of regulation on businesses.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Government is committed to cutting £10bn worth of red tape, as set out in the 2015 Conservative Manifesto, and will report on progress by June this year. We are putting forward proposals in the Enterprise Bill to systematically track for the first time the impact of regulators’ actions. This will drive savings through, for instance, simpler guidance, less paperwork and coordinated inspections. Through my department’s Cutting Red Tape programme, businesses are encouraged to report burdens and recommend sectors that Government may wish to review. There are currently seven reviews in progress: Energy; Care; Agriculture; Mineral Extraction; Waste; Anti-Money Laundering; and House Building.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to promote trade opportunities for UK businesses in high-growth markets.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Increasing exports, to all overseas markets, is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. Government departments are working together to support UK businesses looking to take advantage of overseas opportunities and to create a strong business environment that allows them to flourish both at home and overseas. A key part of this work is to identify export opportunities, many of which are based around the needs of high-growth and emerging markets.
This effort to drive economic growth is supported in part by the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Programme, a group of appointed parliamentarians drawn from across the political spectrum. Envoys are carefully selected for their experience, skills and knowledge of particular sectors or markets, or their knowledge of business in an effort to identify substantial trade and investment opportunities. There are now 24 Trade Envoys covering 50 high-growth and emerging markets.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to carry out an impact assessment after completion of the further education area review.
Answered by Nick Boles
Government will produce an evaluation of the area review programme and its potential to impact on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010. The reviews do not however, mandate action, and colleges are independent corporations, so it will be for each college’s governing body to assess the potential impact on groups protected by the Act, as part of its decision to accept or reject any recommendation requiring a change to their provision
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to organise a high-level trade mission to Bangladesh.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Over one hundred UK companies already operate in Bangladesh and I would like to see more exporting to the country. Bangladesh has taken impressive economic strides over the past decade leading to increased opportunities for UK and Bangladeshi companies to work meaningfully together for the benefit of both economies. We are currently exploring a visit to Bangladesh in the coming months by my noble friend, Lord Maude of Horsham, including the possibility of an accompanying trade delegation