Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a quoted portfolio in the British Business Bank.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank does have some quoted holdings, largely as a result of post-investment corporate activity. The focus of the Bank is on strengthening private markets. Any expansion of the Bank’s mandate into public markets would need a comprehensive analysis of options and is unlikely to be undertaken in isolation from other measures to incentivise increased investment into those markets by institutional investors.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of small and mid-sized quoted companies to the Government's growth mission.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
SMEs, including quoted companies, are an integral part of the Government’s growth mission in creating vibrant and prosperous local communities and being critical to supply chains for key industries. They are a diverse group operating in every sector, region and international market.
The SME Strategy - due to be published this summer - will set out the Government’s intentions on supporting businesses across key areas, including thriving high streets, making it easier to secure finance, improving productivity, accessing new domestic and international markets, encouraging entrepreneurship and building business capabilities such as digital adoption, whilst tackling the scourge of late payments.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the (a) accessibility and (b) affordability of audit requirements for small and mid-sized quoted companies.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Audit standards for UK companies are adopted and set by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), with reference to internationally-agreed standards. The Government is aware of concerns about the cost and availability of high-quality audit for smaller quoted companies, and supports the FRC’s work to make sure that every UK company, including small and mid-sized quoted companies, can access good quality audit services at a proportionate cost, including through its current year-long campaign to support small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the Government will consider these issues as it develops legislation to reform audit and corporate governance.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of paragraph 4.39 of the Competition and Markets Authority’s report entitled CMA project on Timeshare Disposal, released under FOI on 21 April 2015.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010 govern the sales of timeshares. They provide significant protections, including stipulating the information consumers must be aware of prior to purchase and a14 day right to exit, should the customer change their mind.
Purchasers of timeshares are also protected by general consumer law, requiring contract terms be fair and bans mis-selling. The CMA expressed the view that some in-perpetuity clauses may be unfair, depending on circumstances.
Enabling consumers to exit timeshares is a balance between protecting consumers wanting to leave and the interests of the business and those customers who remain and share admin costs.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation to provide consumers with a statutory right to exit in-perpetuity timeshare contracts.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010 govern the sales of timeshares. They provide significant protections, including stipulating the information consumers must be aware of prior to purchase and a14 day right to exit, should the customer change their mind.
Purchasers of timeshares are also protected by general consumer law, requiring contract terms be fair and bans mis-selling. The CMA expressed the view that some in-perpetuity clauses may be unfair, depending on circumstances.
Enabling consumers to exit timeshares is a balance between protecting consumers wanting to leave and the interests of the business and those customers who remain and share admin costs.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of in-perpetuity clauses in timeshare contracts on consumers.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010 govern the sales of timeshares. They provide significant protections, including stipulating the information consumers must be aware of prior to purchase and a14 day right to exit, should the customer change their mind.
Purchasers of timeshares are also protected by general consumer law, requiring contract terms be fair and bans mis-selling. The CMA expressed the view that some in-perpetuity clauses may be unfair, depending on circumstances.
Enabling consumers to exit timeshares is a balance between protecting consumers wanting to leave and the interests of the business and those customers who remain and share admin costs.