Colleen Fletcher
Labour - Coventry North East
First elected: 7th May 2015
Opposition Whip (Commons)
(since July 2017)2 APPG memberships (as of 8 Apr 2024)
Road Passenger Transport - Recovery and Renewal, Stem Cell Transplantation and Advanced Cellular Therapies10 Former APPG memberships
Blood Cancer, British Muslims, Cancer, Film and Broader Screen, Homelessness, Mental Health, Pancreatic Cancer, Road Passenger Transport, Stem Cell Transplantation, Women's HealthDivision Voting information
Debates during the 2019 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
(7 debate interactions)
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
(4 debate interactions)
(4 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(8 debate contributions)
(7 debate contributions)
(6 debate contributions)
(5 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
Colleen Fletcher has not made any spoken contributions to legislative debateCoventry North East Petitions
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
of 16,274 signatures (1.05%)
of 11,784 signatures (1.00%)
of 51,913 signatures (0.49%)
of 55,918 signatures (0.24%)
of 74,524 signatures (0.22%)
of 51,913 signatures (0.49%)
of 16,274 signatures (1.05%)
of 74,524 signatures (0.22%)
of 199,349 signatures (0.07%)
of 55,918 signatures (0.24%)
Latest EDMs signed by Colleen Fletcher
GKN Automotive alternative plan
Tabled by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)That this House is alarmed by GKN Automotive’s decision to close its Birmingham factory next year, with the loss of over 500 highly skilled jobs and work transferred to continental Europe; notes that GKN’s origins trace back to the industrial revolution, with over 260 years of history that include making …
(Most recent: 27 Apr 2022)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 60
Independent: 5
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Scottish National Party: 1
Alba Party: 1
West Midlands Gigafactory
Tabled by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)That this House notes that the West Midlands was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution; notes that our country must now lead the Green Industrial Revolution; further notes that the West Midlands is a global centre of battery technology for Electric Vehicles, and is already home to the UK Battery …
(Most recent: 10 Sep 2020)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 6
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Independent: 1
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Colleen Fletcher, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Colleen Fletcher has not been granted any Urgent Questions
1 Adjournment Debate led by Colleen Fletcher
Colleen Fletcher has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
1 Bill co-sponsored by Colleen Fletcher
Football Regulation Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Christian Matheson (Ind)
Latest 50 Written Questions
(View all written questions)1 Other Department Questions
The national gender pay gap has fallen significantly under this government - and by approximately a quarter in the last decade. In the West Midlands specifically, the gap has gone from 19.7% in 1997, to 10.8% in 2022.
In 2017, we introduced regulations requiring large employers to publish the differences in average salaries and bonuses for men and women every year. The regulations have helped to motivate employers, and focus attention on improving equality in the workplace.
However, in order to continue making progress we need to understand the real barriers people face in the workplace, and ensure everyone is empowered to fulfil their potential. This includes ensuring that we spread opportunity throughout the country. That is why initiatives like our Women-led high-growth enterprise taskforce have a specific focus on looking outside of London.
Should you wish to look further at gender pay gap data for your area, the Office for National Statistics does provide a breakdown of their annual gender pay gap data by constituency, geographic area, and region: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/annualsurveyofhoursandearningsashegenderpaygaptables
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Tackling sexual violence and domestic abuse is a priority for this Government and the CPS is working hard to deliver justice and protect victims of these abhorrent crimes.
In July 2020, the CPS published its own rape strategy – ‘RASSO 2025’. This five-year strategy outlines a programme of work specifically to help reduce the disparity between reports and criminal justice outcomes. In addition, the CPS and police published a Joint National Action Plan for rape in January of this year to improve joint handling of rape investigations and prosecutions.
Also in January this year, the CPS published an ambitious 12-month domestic abuse programme to help narrow the disparity between reporting and criminal justice outcomes and to proactively address domestic abuse offending.
The CPS has continued to prioritise high harms crimes including cases of sexual violence and domestic abuse throughout the pandemic and as restrictions are eased via the introduction of an Interim Charging Protocol in April 2020.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In 2018 – 29 sentences for causing death by dangerous driving were referred to the Attorney General’s Office. Of those 4 were referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. 2 sentences were found to be unduly lenient and the sentences were increased. 2 were found NOT to be unduly lenient and the sentences remained the same.
In 2019 – 43 sentences for causing death by dangerous driving were referred to the Attorney General’s Office. Of those 2 were referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. Both sentences were found to be unduly lenient and the sentences were increased.
To date, in 2020 – 18 sentences for causing death by dangerous driving have been referred to the Attorney General’s Office. Of those 3 have been referred to the Court of Appeal, 1 was found to be unduly lenient and the sentence was increased, 1 was found NOT to be unduly lenient and the sentence remained the same, and 1 sentence is yet to be considered by the Court of Appeal.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 31 January is attached.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.
The National Cyber Security Strategy (2016 to 2021) sets out the government’s plan to make Britain secure and resilient in cyberspace. We also published a progress report: “National Cyber Security Strategy 2016-2021 - Progress Report”, this includes details of the steps being taken to help protect business from cyber threats.
The Cabinet Office is leading work across Government to develop the UK’s strategic direction and funding for cyber security beyond 2021 and will set out the approach next year, building on the Government’s Integrated Review. This will respond to the evolving cyber threat and ensure the UK remains a leader on cyber security into the next decade.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
The latest ONS data[1] (as of 19 October 2023) shows the overall number of public houses and bars in Coventry North East, Coventry, the West Midlands and in England for each of the last 5 years (Table 1).
Table 1: Number of Public House and Bar Local Units, 2019 – 2023
Date | Coventry - North East | Coventry | West Midlands | England |
2019 | 35 | 120 | 3,515 | 33,305 |
2020 | 35 | 115 | 3,485 | 33,125 |
2021 | 30 | 115 | 3,415 | 32,430 |
2022 | 35 | 125 | 3,485 | 32,790 |
2023 | 40 | 125 | 3,505 | 32,665 |
Business closures (VAT de-registrations) are not available at this level of industrial and geographical detail. However, the Insolvency Service[2] do publish monthly data on the total number of insolvencies in the food and beverage services sector in England and Wales from 2019 to 2022 (Table 2).
Table 2: Food and beverage service activities insolvencies, England and Wales, 2019 – 2022[3]
Date | Food and beverage service activities insolvencies |
2019 | 2,150 |
2020 | 1,542 |
2021 | 1,542 |
2022 | 2,523 |
[1] ONS Business counts via NOMIS. Data relates to SIC 56.302 – Public houses and bars.
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monthly-insolvency-statistics-september-2023
[3] This data represents the sum of monthly insolvencies per year for SIC 56 - Food and beverage service activities.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The regional spread of debt among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has remained broadly the same over the past three years. The following figures are taken from UK Finance data and are taken as a share of the value of loan facilities of SMEs in Great Britain.
Between Q2 2020 and Q4 2021, regional shares of SME lending:
· Increased in London (21% to 22%)
· Decreased in the South East (14% to 13%), and North West (11% to 10%)
· Stayed the same in the South West (11%), East Midlands (6%), West Midlands (9%), East of England (7%), Yorkshire and the Humber (7%), North East (3%), Wales (4%), and Scotland (8%)
Between Q1 2022 to Q2 2023, regional shares of SME lending:
· Increased in London (21% to 22%)
· Decreased in the North West (11% to 10%)
· Stayed the same in the South East (14%), South West (11%), East Midlands (6%), West Midlands (9%), East of England (7%), Yorkshire and the Humber (7%), North East (3%), Wales (4%) and Scotland (8%)
Government is helping more businesses get the finance they need through the next generation of Nations and Regions Investment Funds, which will provide £1.6 billion of debt and equity finance to small businesses outside London and the South East.
The first of these funds launched in the South West of England in July 2023.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
10 Department for Energy Security & Net Zero Questions
(View all Colleen Fletcher's DESNZ questions)Energy prices have fallen significantly since the winter of 2022-23. The Quarter 2 2024 price cap of £1,690 has fallen by nearly 60% since the Quarter 1 2023 price cap peak. Despite this fall in prices, we have been supporting millions of vulnerable and low income households through the £900 cost-of-living payments, alongside established financial support including the £150 Warm Home Discount.
There are also multiple targeted energy efficiency schemes in place delivering measures to low income and fuel poor households.
We are currently reviewing the 2021 fuel poverty strategy for England ‘Sustainable Warmth’.
Sub-regional fuel poverty estimates for 2022 will be published on 25th April 2024.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest official Fuel Poverty Statistics for England were published in February 2023 on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics#2022-Statistics
In addition to reporting against the official fuel poverty metric for England, these statistics included an affordability measure of the number of households required to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on domestic energy. These can be found in Annex D: Affordability measures for England, of the annual report.
Affordability measure estimates are not held at sub-national level. Figures are available at sub-national level for fuel poverty under the Low-income Low energy efficiency (LILEE) metric, on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2023-2021-data
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government has not made a recent assessment of trends in fuel poverty in these areas. The latest official sub-regional statistics for 2021 (published 27th April 2023) show the number of households in fuel poverty in Coventry North East Constituency was 11,400 (23.3%) and Coventry local authority was 28,525 (20.8). The latest official statistics for 2022 (published 28th February 2023) show for the West Midlands administrative area 489,000 (19.2%) and England 3,257,000 households (13.4%).
Energy efficiency is the best way to tackle fuel poverty and the Government are delivering measures to fuel poor households and provided significant financial support last winter and further support is available for 2023-24.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Independent evidence from Smart Energy GB shows that 37% of people in Great Britain without smart meters would seek or accept, if offered, a smart meter installation within the next six months, and many of those that say they wouldn't, go onto have them installed. So, there remains good consumer demand for energy suppliers to convert into installations.
To facilitate this, the Government has identified and shared good practice with energy suppliers on effective consumer engagement and operational delivery. Ofgem has also provided guidance on its expectation that suppliers have appropriate re-contact strategies for consumers that have not yet taken up their smart meter offer.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Independent evidence from Smart Energy GB shows that 37% of people in Great Britain without smart meters would seek or accept, if offered, a smart meter installation within the next six months, and many of those that say they wouldn't, go onto have them installed. So, there remains good consumer demand for energy suppliers to convert into installations.
To facilitate this, the Government has identified and shared good practice with energy suppliers on effective consumer engagement and operational delivery. Ofgem has also provided guidance on its expectation that suppliers have appropriate re-contact strategies for consumers that have not yet taken up their smart meter offer.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
When energy suppliers install smart meters in a household, they are required to offer the customer an In-Home Display (IHD). They are also obligated to provide support for IHDs, including a repair or replacement where necessary, within the first year of installation. The Government does not hold data on the number of households experiencing problems with IHDs.
However, research shows the majority of smart metered consumers use IHDs as their primary method of monitoring energy use, and that this feedback is supporting consumers in managing their usage and reducing consumption.
Ofgem is responsible for regulating suppliers against their licence obligations.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government collects data on the number of smart meters in traditional mode, i.e. meters temporarily unable to automatically send meter readings to the energy supplier, at Great Britain level only.[1]
The Data Communications Company (DCC), which operates the smart meter national communications infrastructure, is obligated under its licence to provide coverage to at least 99.25% of premises across Great Britain. In addition, energy suppliers are obligated to take all reasonable steps to ensure their customers’ smart meters are functional.
The energy regulator Ofgem is responsible for regulating energy suppliers and the DCC against their licence obligations.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government collects data on the number of smart meters in traditional mode, i.e. meters temporarily unable to automatically send meter readings to the energy supplier, at Great Britain level only.[1]
The Data Communications Company (DCC), which operates the smart meter national communications infrastructure, is obligated under its licence to provide coverage to at least 99.25% of premises across Great Britain. In addition, energy suppliers are obligated to take all reasonable steps to ensure their customers’ smart meters are functional.
The energy regulator Ofgem is responsible for regulating energy suppliers and the DCC against their licence obligations.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government collects data on the number of smart meters in traditional mode, i.e. meters temporarily unable to automatically send meter readings to the energy supplier, at Great Britain level only.[1]
The Data Communications Company (DCC), which operates the smart meter national communications infrastructure, is obligated under its licence to provide coverage to at least 99.25% of premises across Great Britain. In addition, energy suppliers are obligated to take all reasonable steps to ensure their customers’ smart meters are functional.
The energy regulator Ofgem is responsible for regulating energy suppliers and the DCC against their licence obligations.
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
2 Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Questions
(View all Colleen Fletcher's DSIT questions)Ofcom collects coverage data as part of its reporting requirements, most recently published in its Connected Nations summer update, with data for the period to April 2023. Ofcom provides coverage data for premises, and we are unable to break this down between households and other premises.
Ofcom estimates that around 30,000 premises in the UK (0.1%) and 13,000 premises in England (less than 0.1%) lack access to either a fixed broadband network with ‘decent broadband’ (at least 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload speed) or good indoor 4G coverage.
In the constituency of Coventry North East, 381 premises lack access to either a fixed broadband network with ‘decent broadband’ (at least 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload speed). For the Coventry City Council area that figure is 1,137. Ofcom does not publish aggregated data for the region of the West Midlands, however more data can be found in Ofcom’s Connected Nations reports.
In respect of mobile coverage, Ofcom reports that 132,383 premises across England do not have indoor 4G mobile coverage from any MNO. This falls to 11,222 premises for 4G outdoor coverage. With 2G and 3G coverage added in, 9,622 premises do not have indoor data coverage from any MNO, falling to 1,127 premises without outdoor data coverage. Unfortunately, Ofcom data does not enable us to make an assessment of the number of premises in the West Midlands, the Coventry North East constituency, or the Coventry local authority area that do not have coverage from any mobile network operator.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is responsible for coordinating HM Government’s digital inclusion policy, and aims to ensure that as many people as possible across the whole of the UK, no matter their age or background, can overcome the barriers of digital inclusion and make the most of digital opportunities. This includes people in Coventry North East and Coventry.
For example, the Government is working to remove barriers and ensure that online services are as inclusive as possible by making public sector websites accessible to as many people as possible. The accessibility regulations ensure that websites and mobile apps are designed to be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Furthermore, assisted digital support services aim to increase digital inclusion for those online users who lack digital confidence, digital skills or access to the internet.
Additionally, to support low-income households DSIT has negotiated a range of high-quality, low-cost broadband and mobile social tariffs for households in receipt of Universal Credit and other means tested benefits. Mobile and broadband social tariffs are available in 99% of the UK, from a range of providers including, BT, Virgin Media, Sky and Vodafone from as little as £10 per month.
28 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions
(View all Colleen Fletcher's BEIS questions)An evaluation of the effectiveness of the voucher scheme, including analysis of scheme outcomes and evidence collected from scheme applicants and other stakeholders, is being undertaken by an independent research organisation. The interim findings, which relate to the delivery of the scheme and the early benefits to households, were published on 26th January 2023 ( https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-homes-grant-voucher-scheme-evaluation). The final phase of the evaluation will assess the effect of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme on jobs at national level with findings available in late 2023.
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is set out clearly in legislation so will be applied in a uniform way by all licensed suppliers. The regulations include a robust compliance and enforcement regime to ensure requirements are being met. Suppliers are also required to inform customers about the details of support, including the amount of the discount and discounted supply price in a timely and reasonable manner.
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the impact rising prices are having on businesses, including those in Coventry North East and Coventry constituency, and is engaging with businesses across the UK to understand these challenges and explore ways to mitigate them.
The Government has reversed the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs approximately £4,200 on average, implemented the cut to fuel duty for 12 months and raised the Employment Allowance to £5,000. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will protect SMEs from high energy costs over the winter.
In addition, at the Autumn Statement, my Rt Hon Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £13.6 billion of support for businesses over the next five years, reducing the burden of business rates for SMEs.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Businesses in Coventry will have benefitted from the Government’s reversal of the National Insurance rise, saving SMEs approximately £4,200 on average, the cut to fuel duty for 12 months and raising the Employment Allowance to £5,000.
The Energy Bill Relief and Energy Bill Discount Schemes will protect SMEs from high energy costs over the winter. The Autumn Statement announced £13.6 billion of support for businesses over the next five years, reducing the burden of business rates for SMEs.
The Government is providing financial support – 198 SMEs in Coventry North East have received Start Up loans to the value of £1,920,907 and 504 SMEs in Coventry to the value of £5,124,978.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is encouraging the creation of businesses through the Start Up Loan scheme which has provided mentoring and financial support to 198 SMEs to the value of £1,920,907 and 504 SMEs to the value of 5,124,978 in Coventry North East and Coventry respectively.
We are also committed to supporting SMEs through exemption from new regulations where possible. This exemption was recently extended to businesses with up to 500 employees, potentially reducing red tape and bureaucracy for up to 40,000 more businesses.
We are also providing support through our network of 38 Growth Hubs and Business Support Helpline which provide access to information and advice on starting a business.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department monitors regional trends in business lending through the British Business Bank (BBB), the SME Finance Monitor survey, and the trade associations UK Finance and Responsible Finance. The BBB’s three regional funds support access to debt and equity finance in Cornwall, the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine, including Coventry.
The regional spread of business debt broadly reflects national demand for business lending and the regional distribution of the business population. Differences within regions are more significant, with Community Development Finance Institutions playing a valuable role in enabling access to debt finance for businesses in under-served areas.
According to the SME Finance Monitor, the proportion of all SMEs using external finance was 38% in Q2 2022, down from the 45% using finance in Q2 2021 and in line with pre-pandemic levels. Use of debt finance is higher for SMEs trading internationally and those with plans to grow. The majority (86%) of SMEs are in the category of ‘happy non-seekers’ of finance, meaning that they have either no debt or a level of borrowing that they consider sufficient for their needs.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is aware of the impact increases in the cost of living is having on households across the country. Ofgem’s latest data shows the number of domestic customers repaying a debt to their energy supplier at the end of Q1 2022 was 1,029,000 for electricity and 786,000 for gas. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/search/data-charts?keyword=consumer%20debt.
From 1 October, a new Energy Price Guarantee will mean a typical UK household will, on average, pay no more than £2,500 a year on its energy bill for the next two years. This is in addition to the support the Government announced earlier this year, which includes the £400 rebate via the Energy Bills Support Scheme, a one-off £300 payment for pensioners, a one-off £650 payment for those on means-tested benefits and a one-off £150 payment for the disabled.
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The latest official statistics (published February 2022) show the number of households in fuel poverty in these areas are (a) Coventry North East Constituency 10,337 (21.7%), (b) Coventry local authority 28,208 (20.3%), (c) West Midlands administrative area 441,693 (17.8%), (d) England 3,158,206 (1.2%). No assessment of recent trends has been made.
In September, the Government announced the Energy Price Guarantee which will save a typical household at least £1,000 a year. This Guarantee is in addition to the £37 billion Cost of Living Support Package, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need.
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not hold this data at constituency level. The Government understands that this is worrying time for households and businesses. Ministers and officials continue to engage constructively to further understand and to help mitigate the impacts of high global energy prices. The Government’s priority is to ensure costs are managed and energy supplies maintained.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Quarterly statistics on energy prices by region may be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/quarterly-energy-prices . The Government does not have data at the constituency level.
The Government recognises the impact rising energy prices is having on consumers, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37 billion this year.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has a longstanding and comprehensive programme of support for the UK automotive sector.
As part of the Net Zero Strategy, in October 2021, the Government announced a further £350m to be delivered through the Automotive Transformation Fund over the next three years to support development of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain here in the UK. This is additional to the £500m announced as part of my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan in November 2020.
This will help to create thousands of well-paid green jobs in our industrial heartlands, including the West Midlands.
Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government is providing a range of support to help SMEs. Fuel duty has been cut for 12 months, Employment Allowance raised to £5,000, and VAT has been zero-rated on energy-saving materials. This compliments existing support, including business rates relief worth £7 billion over five years, whilst the Help to Grow programmes enables SMEs across England to mitigate the effects of rising costs.
This work builds on support to businesses in Coventry North East and Coventry itself, including:
- Enabling Growth Hubs to support a total of 3,030 businesses of varying sizes. In addition, they helped 227 individuals to start a business;
- £6.09 million Getting Build Fund towards Completing the Cultural Capital;
- £131.84 million Local Growth Deals;
- £766,332 Community Renewal Fund.
The Department has not undertaken an assessment of figures for these specific areas.
The Government recognises the impact rising energy prices is having on consumers and has put in place a package of support worth £9.1 billion to help domestic energy customers with the cost of living and rising energy bills.
The Government also has policies in place to ensure protection for consumers who struggle to pay their energy bills. Last year, we introduced the ‘Breathing Space’ scheme, which aims to address consumers’ ability to tackle debt and offers legal protections from creditors for 60 days.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The estimated projections for fuel poverty in England in 2022, can be found on gov.uk. The latest subregional statistics are for 2020. Projections are not made on a sub-regional level.
The Government sees energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term. In Coventry, 25,277 measures have been installed under the Energy Company Obligation to December 2021. 11,467 measures were installed in Coventry North East.
The Midlands Energy hub successfully bid for the Sustainable Warmth Competition, receiving funding through: Home Upgrade Grant (approx £28million) and the Local Authority Delivery Scheme Phase 3 (approx. £54million). Coventry was a consortium member under this bid.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Through Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, £1.3m of Local Growth Funding supported a Business Investment Fund which provided funding to support business expansion projects, seed funding for new technologies and small scale infrastructure improvements to enhance access to business sites.
The 2021 Spending Review (SR) saw record levels of investment in the UK’s world-leading research base, with public spending on R&D increasing by £5 billion per annum to £20 billion in 2024/25. This settlement will make significant progress to increase R&D sending to £22 billion by 2026-27.
We have committed to a new mission to increase domestic public investment in R&D outside the Greater South East by at least one third over the Spending Review period and at least 40 percent by 2030, with that additional government funding seeking to leverage at least twice as much private sector investment over the long term to stimulate innovation and productivity growth.
Supporting delivery of this mission, BEIS will make levelling up one of the objectives of its R&D investment strategy and will aim for the regions outside the Greater South East to receive at least 55% of its R&D budget by 2024/25.
Alongside increasing investment in innovation across the country, we will invest £100 million to pilot new Innovation Accelerators supporting three UK city regions, including the West Midlands, to become major, globally competitive centres for research and innovation.
The Accelerators will empower local areas by bringing together national and local government, industry and R&D institutions, including universities, in a long-term partnership.
Following the SR, BEIS is working to set detailed R&D budgets through to 2024/25. Further details of how this funding will be allocated will be announced in due course.
We have a clear commitment to level up all areas of the country. The Levelling Up White Paper builds on the important work to level up the country set out in our 'Plan for Growth', coupled with the Innovation Strategy and the recent Net Zero Strategy. Boosting productivity, pay, jobs, and living standards by growing the private sector, especially in places where they are lagging, is one of the four key objectives for levelling up, and BEIS will have a key role in delivering on this ambition.
In 2020, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) was allocated £66m from the Getting Building Fund for a wide-ranging package of projects that will deliver a much-needed boost to the local economy. The Getting Building Fund will deliver growth for the local economy and support green recovery for a wide-ranging package of projects, fulfilling the government role in creating the conditions for businesses to develop and grow alongside the funding for the infrastructure needed to do this. This included £6.09 million towards Completing the Cultural Capital to help maximise the benefits of Coventry City of Culture. These benefits will be felt across all of Coventry and its constituencies.
In 2021 the West Midlands Combined Authority was also awarded £766,332 from the Community Renewal Fund for the Coventry Creative Growth and Cultural Tourism Recovery Programme, an integrated business, skills and employment support package targeting Coventry’s cultural sectors, including creative industries, tourism, events, and businesses/freelancers supplying these sectors, providing support throughout the area.
In addition, small business growth will be supported through investment in the Coventry Heritage Action Zone, working in partnership with Coventry City Council, Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and others to promote investment and bring business opportunities. Coventry has also benefitted from their status as City of Culture 2021, for which a significant part of the work helped to build capacity so the cultural scene in the city is financially and environmentally sustainable.
Additionally, across Coventry and Warwickshire the government has invested £131.84 million from Local Growth Deals. This included projects which directly supported local business, for example £1.3m to support a Business Investment Fund providing direct grants to businesses, and £1 million to expand Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering support to connect supply chain and wider business community, expanding capabilities, skills and innovation activities. Across the Local Enterprise Partnership, the Local Growth Fund has generated around £220 million in public and private investment.
The Government’s priority is to ensure costs are managed and supplies of energy are maintained. The Secretary of State is in regular contact with the energy industry and Ofgem to manage the impact of high global gas prices and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We recognise the impact rising energy prices will have on businesses of all sizes and Ofgem and the Government are in regular contact with business groups and suppliers to understand the challenges they face and explore ways to protect businesses.
The Department and I continue to speak regularly with representatives from across the hospitality sector so that we can understand the challenges they face and represent their interests across Government.
Latest available data from the Business Registers and Employment Survey, which is part of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), shows that in 2020 there were 53,000 people employed in the automotive manufacturing sector in the West Midlands region.
Of those 1,750 were in the North East Coventry constituency and 5,000 in the South Coventry constituency. Similarly, the wholesale, retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles industry employed 1,500 people in each of the constituencies in 2020.
The Government remains fully committed to working in partnership with industry to support the automotive sector’s transition to zero emission vehicles. As part of the Net Zero Strategy, in October 2021, Government announced a further £350m to be delivered through the Automotive Transformation Fund over the next three years to support development of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain here in the UK. This will create thousands of well-paid green jobs in our industrial heartlands, including the West Midlands.
Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Latest available data from the Business Registers and Employment Survey, which is part of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), shows that in 2020 there were 53,000 people employed in the automotive manufacturing sector in the West Midlands region.
Of those 1,750 were in the North East Coventry constituency and 5,000 in the South Coventry constituency. Similarly, the wholesale, retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles industry employed 1,500 people in each of the constituencies in 2020.
The Government remains fully committed to working in partnership with industry to support the automotive sector’s transition to zero emission vehicles. As part of the Net Zero Strategy, in October 2021, Government announced a further £350m to be delivered through the Automotive Transformation Fund over the next three years to support development of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain here in the UK. This will create thousands of well-paid green jobs in our industrial heartlands, including the West Midlands.
Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) research income data shows research income earned by individual Higher Education providers, including grant and contract income from different government sources including Higher Education Funding bodies (including Research England), UK Research and Innovation Research Councils and Government departments. The relevant information is available on HESA at https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/income.
The focus of Government intervention is to create the conditions for businesses to thrive, grow and create jobs. Local Enterprise Partnerships lead from the Government perspective on supporting businesses to innovate, improve, make progress and create jobs.
For the financial year 2021/22 BEIS has provided £542,000 in core funding to the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP to support its Growth Hub. Between 1 April 2020 and 30 September 2021, the Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub self-reported that it reached over 52,000 business individuals (including via digital channels). This included supporting 3,303 businesses, including face-to-face support, of which 402 received high intensity support of 12 hours or more and helped 227 individuals start a business.
In addition, Coventry and Warwickshire LEP has been provided with capital funding for a suite of infrastructure projects aimed at providing the right conditions for businesses to grow.
£131.84 million of Growth Deal funding has been spent on projects that have improved transport infrastructure, improved broadband infrastructure, and provided new R&D business support facilities, and are on track to enable businesses to create up to 4,000 jobs alongside other benefits to the local economy. This has also included building new apprenticeship training facilities at Warwick Manufacturing Group, a new skills hub at Coventry City College, and delivering employment support programmes to ensure local people are able to take advantage of the jobs created by these interventions.
A further £123.8m has been awarded to the regions LEPs and the West Midlands Combined Authority as part of the Getting Building Fund. This funding is now delivering a set of projects predicted to enable businesses to create over 7,910 new jobs and over 2000 construction jobs in the region. In Coventry, this has seen direct investment in the Very Light Rail project.
Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
BEIS publish Fuel poverty statistics by Region (Table 1), Local Authority (Table 2) and parliamentary constituency (Table 4) in England, the latest data covers 2019. These are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-sub-regional-statistics#2019-statistics.
The Government’s projection for the number of households in England that are in fuel poverty for the year 2022 will be published on 24 February.
The energy price cap from 1 April 2022 will be announced by Ofgem later this year.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is monitoring the significant increases in wholesale energy prices closely, and meeting regularly with Ofgem, suppliers and consumer groups to understand the future impact on consumers as well as to discuss potential mitigations.
Eligible pensioners receiving a state pension will automatically receive the Winter Fuel Payment. Recipients will receive between £100 and £300 towards heating bills. Cold Weather Payments are paid to vulnerable claimants on qualifying benefits, including older people on Pension Credit, for every week of severe cold weather over the winter period. Between 1 November 2020 and 31 March 2021 the Government made £98.8 million in payments to those in need.
In addition to this, the Warm Home Discount scheme provides over £350m of energy bills support to low income and vulnerable households, largely through the provision of £140 rebates on energy bills.
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s response to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 enabled businesses across the night-time economy, including nightclubs, to remain open over the holiday period as Plan B measures were introduced in England.
Recognising the impact of Omicron, the Chancellor announced a further £1 billion of support including one-off grants for hospitality, accommodation and leisure businesses and over £100 million discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support other businesses. Eligible businesses can also access an additional £30 million available through the Culture Recovery Fund Over the course of the pandemic, the Government has provided £400 billion of businesses support
The success of our vaccine and booster programme is now allowing us to revert to Plan A. As a result, the Government is no longer asking people to work from home and, as of 27 January, nightclubs and events venues are no longer required by law to check visitors’ NHS COVID Pass. They can still choose to use the NHS COVID Pass on a voluntary basis.
The automotive sector is an important part of the Government’s plans for green growth, levelling up across our country and driving emissions to net zero by 2050.
We are delivering a sustained and strategic programme of support for the automotive sector across the country, including Coventry and the West Midlands region to enable the research and development, manufacture and adoption of low and zero-emission technologies. In addition, we have extended the furlough scheme and introduced other measures including £300 billion in loans and guarantees, job support schemes, cuts to VAT and business rates relief to support the industry throughout this pandemic. During the height of the pandemic, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme had a high uptake of 60% within the sector, which remains available until September.
In late 2020, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in his 10 Point Plan nearly £500 million of funding for the Automotive Transformation Fund over the next four years to support the development of UK supply chains for the large-scale production of electric vehicles, and for further EV research and development. This is part of a £2.8 billion package of measures to support industry and consumers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles. The transition to zero emission vehicles will help the UK meet its climate change obligations. It will improve air quality in our towns and cities, support economic growth, and create new jobs in our industrial heartlands.