David Simpson

This Government takes intellection property (IP) crime very seriously and is working closely with law enforcers and rights holders to tackle criminality, including the sale of counterfeit goods. The Intellectual Property Office continues to support Trading Standards, Police and partners with intelligence in support of enforcement operations. Locally, the National Markets Group is active in tackling IPR trade at our markets. Nationally, the UK Border Force is targeting importers using intelligence to enhance container seizures – these have increased year on year for the last 3 years. In addition, work is ongoing with source countries to tackle production in countries abroad. In particular, work between the UK and Chinese authorities has already resulted in seizures and arrests. All this activity is supported by education programmes and a government/private industry partnership to provide IP training to enforcement officers and brands representatives to help stem the demand for counterfeit products.

While the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not had any direct discussions with Archer on their plan to reduce their UK workforce by 400 people, the appropriate bodies are taking this forward as economic development is a devolved issue: Skills Development Scotland has contacted Archer to offer support to the workforce through Scottish Government’s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative, and DWP officials are liaising with PACE counterparts on any cross-border issues.

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State met with the Northern Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment Arlene Foster on 2 February. They discussed the future of the renewable electricity support scheme in Northern Ireland.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change's expenditure for the financial year 2013-2014 was in (a) England £2,445.6m, (b) Scotland £437.2m, (c) Northern Ireland £1.8m and (d) Wales £117.4m.

Expenditure that is incurred for the benefit of the UK as a whole and cannot be disseminated by individual country or region is excluded from these amounts.

The figures are published annually and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2014

The UK has established itself as a world leader on energy efficiency. The 2012 Energy Efficiency Strategy outlined the Government’s ambition to realise the energy efficiency opportunity in the UK.

UK final energy consumption has fallen in eight of the last nine years. The Government’s energy efficiency policies have contributed to a 20% decline in household energy and since 2010 over 1 Million homes have recovered energy efficiency measures use since 2004. The overall energy intensity of the UK’s economy has fallen by 22% over the same period.

As a result the UK is now on track to achieve the energy saving targets established by the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive.

Since 1 April 2014, the lowest paid contracted staff at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) offices across the UK have been paid £7.85 per hour, up £1.40 or nearly 22% from the previous £6.45 per hour rate. This increase restored and surpassed the real value of wages that had fallen in recent years. This means that BIS contractors are amongst the top 25% of contractors across Whitehall.

We absolutely encourage suppliers to pay above the National Minimum Wage where affordable and without cutting jobs - but this is a decision that must be taken by the suppliers themselves. We will always award contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer most often following a competitive process, making use of the Crown Commercial Frameworks to ensure a consistent application with the rest of Government.

The Government recognises the importance of preserving and developing skills in the agri-foods sector and we are pleased to see that the number of students in agriculture-related subjects has been increasing in recent years.

We are taking an employer-led approach to skills delivery and funding.

The Agri-Tech Strategy:

• maps the funding of research by private and public sector organisations including support for studentships; and

• works alongside the Agri-Skills Forum in England to help deliver their Skills Strategy.

The Strategy can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-agricultural-technologies-strategy

The Government has a number of initiatives to encourage employers to work with colleges and other educational bodies to ensure that we have the skills that we need as a country to compete in the global marketplace. For example, in England, the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink is running a new Industrial Skills Partnership with £2m of funding from the (BIS/DfE) Employer Ownership of Skills Fund. This new industry-led partnership will take forward work across a broad front including improving the perception of jobs in the industry, creating clear career pathways and addressing specific skills shortages in the sector.

Innovate UK (sponsored by the Department) also delivers a number of programmes that allow Higher Education Institutions to work with businesses on innovative projects across all sectors, including agri-food (www.innovateuk.org).

The Government is fully committed to the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits employers from discriminating against their disabled employees and job applicants with a disability. Employers are also required to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees so that they can work on a similar basis to employees that do not have a disability. Where an employee or potential employee believes that they have experienced disability discrimination, they can make a claim to an employment tribunal within six months of the alleged discrimination taking place.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all disabled people have the opportunities, chances and support that they need to gain and remain in employment, and there is a range of available provision to help them.

The Equality Ac 2010 only applies to England Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own disability discrimination legislation - Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended).

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) works with other stakeholders to set the skills priorities for the sector ensuring that vocational qualifications delivered by the further education sector and private training providers are fit for purpose and meet the needs of employers. It also collects labour market intelligence through the Construction Skills Network which helps identify trends in the demand for skills by occupation and region.

The Government supports a demand led approach to skills, with employers at the centre of decisions. CITB is undertaking work to better understand the supply of skills and qualifications in the further and higher education sectors, and how this matches employer demand.

Ministers and officials in the Department engage with their counterparts regularly in the Northern Ireland Executive on a wide range of issues including work related to the transition to a low carbon economy and tackling climate change. This includes, for example, discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the Electricity Market Reform programme, which is designed to decarbonise our electricity generation, and updating them on international climate change policy developments, such as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations.

Skills policy is devolved so this answer refers to policy in England only.

One of the Government's priorities is to ensure that all adults have the level of English, maths and digital skills to help them find and sustain employment, as well as achieving other positive outcomes such as improved health and well-being.

We are implementing a major programme of reform to raise the quality and standards of these vital subjects in adult education which will improve the quality of the teaching workforce, reward the best providers and ensure learners are stretched to achieve the best they can.

We are investing £30m this year and next to attract the best graduates to teach in further education (FE) and to provide opportunities for existing teachers to improve their skills. As part of a £15m bursary scheme between 2013-15 we are offering up to £20,000 to the best and brightest graduates to teach in FE. In January 2014 we announced further measures to improve the workforce including; a golden-hello scheme offering a bonus of £7,500 to maths graduates in their second year of teaching; a recruitment incentive scheme offering £20,000 to providers for taking on a specialist maths graduate teacher; and a subject knowledge enhancement scheme to enable highly qualified graduates who have the skills and aptitude to teach but need to develop some specific maths skills before they start teacher training.

We have put English and maths at the heart of all our major programmes. From 2014/15 all intermediate Apprentices will be required to work towards achieving a level 2 in English and maths and young people undertaking a traineeship will be required to study English and maths unless they already have a level 2 qualification in English and maths.

We fully fund all adults to achieve their first English and maths GCSE as well as other qualifications which help them get to that level. Our reforms to English and maths GCSEs will make them more rigorous and help ensure that young people and adults develop the skills most relevant to employers. The reformed GCSEs will be available for first teaching from September 2015 and our ambition is for them to become the gold-standard measuring achievement at level 2 for all ages and ability levels.

We encourage and support a wide range of different and flexible types of provision so that adults can learn in a way that suits them, for example, learning in the workplace, Community Learning including Family English, Maths and Language (FEML) provision, through traditional college courses and using technology and online learning.

We are making sure jobseekers on benefits have the best chance of finding employment by helping them improve their literacy and numeracy skills. From April 2014, those with poor spoken English which is preventing them from finding work have been expected to train in English, with the possibility of losing their benefit if they choose not to participate. In December 2014, we will launch the 18-21 Work Skills pilot which will test different approaches to teaching and learning and the outcomes of mandating new 18-21 year-old Jobseekers' Allowance claimants with English and maths below Level 2 to English and maths training for up to 16 hours per week, alongside their jobsearch.

We have a substantial programme of research to identify the most effective approaches to teaching and learning. In April, I announced the launch of a new research centre with the Behavioural Rights Insight Team to bring the latest findings from behavioural science to bear on the challenges of improving adult literacy and numeracy.

Basic digital skills are now seen to be as vital as literacy and numeracy, not just for employment but for all aspects of life. The Government's recent Digital Inclusion Strategy set what actions we will take to ensure everyone has these skills. The Strategy can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-digital-inclusion-strategy/government-digital-inclusion-strategy

For its part, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has committed over £30m over the last 5 years to UK online centres to help more people develop the basic digital skills needed to use a computer, and to get online safely and securely. This has so far helped over 1.25 million people, most of whom were adults, get online. A £1m extension to the current programme will help another 43,000 people to get online. This is aimed at hard to reach groups, many who are socially excluded. We are currently in the process of tendering a new programme with the aim to get another 1million people online in the next 3-5 years.

Details of Ministerial meetings with proprietors, editors and media executives are published routinely, and can be found on Gov.uk.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The Government created the Big Energy Saving Network, to provide face to face support for vulnerable consumers to switch and save, led by Citizens Advice and delivered by third sector organisations and community groups. In addition many Ofgem accredited price comparison sites offer a free telephone service.

We are also working closely with Ofgem to deliver midata in energy, which will streamline tariff comparisons by allowing switching companies to access key energy data, with customers’ consent, and include a telephone access route for those consumers who are less confident using computers.

This Department is clear that we want all types of retail to thrive now and in the future, and wants to support the sector as it responds to change. This is why in March we established the industry led Retail Sector Council to bring Government and industry together to boost the sector’s productivity and promote its future.

In addition, in Autumn budget 2018, we announced a number of measures as part of an Action Plan, led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to support the sustainable transformation of our high streets. This plan includes:

• A £675m Future High Streets Fund, to support local areas in England to invest in town centre infrastructure, including to increase access to high streets and support redevelopment and densification around high streets. The Fund will also support the regeneration of heritage high streets (up to £55m of the overall Fund). MHCLG has published a fact sheet setting out more details about the Fund

• Supporting local leadership with a High Streets Taskforce, giving high streets and town centres expert advice to adapt and thrive. This will provide hands-on support to local areas to develop data-driven innovative strategies and connect local areas to relevant experts

• A planning consultation to help support change on the high street. This will aim to make it easier for high streets to adapt for the future, with a wider range of retail, residential and other uses. A second consultation will be published in 2019, including how to support the more effective use of tools such as Compulsory Purchase Orders and Local Development Orders

• Piloting a register of empty commercial properties to support wider regeneration of our high streets and town centres

• Launching an ‘Open Doors’ pilot in five town centres to bring empty properties back into use by matching landlords of vacant premises with local community groups looking for space.

This Action plan is in addition to existing measures including:

• An expert panel chaired by Sir John Timpson, whose recommendations informed the budget package. The panel are drawing on existing evidence and their own experiences to investigate the challenges facing our high streets and town centres and to advise on the best practical measures to help them thrive now and in the future. We look forward to receiving their full recommendations.

• The Future High Street Forum, chaired by the Minister for High Streets. The Forum consists of developers, investors and retailers. It provides joint business and government leadership to better enable our high streets and town centres to adapt and compete in the face of changing consumer and social trends.

• Government support for Business Improvement Districts, recognising the important role they play in allowing local businesses to work together to shape and improve their high streets and towns.

This department engages regularly with businesses across a range of sectors including clothing retailers who have stores in the UK. Many of these businesses also have a European base, and we understand their concerns about retaining frictionless trade.

This is why Government has been clear that the best outcome is for the UK to leave the EU with a deal and why, following months of intensive work and detailed discussions, we proposed a third option for our future economic relationship, based on the frictionless trade in goods.

At March European Council, the UK and EU agreed that during the implementation period, the UK would be treated as a Member State for the purposes of international agreements, including trade agreements.

This provides certainty and confidence that there will be no disruption to existing relationships underpinned by international agreements as we move into the Implementation Period.

The Government is committed to facilitating the continuation of the Single Electricity Market (SEM) between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and is keen to work with the Irish Government and the EU to ensure that the SEM is maintained in any future scenario.

The Department has a strong relationship with counterparts in Ireland and officials hold regular discussions on both EU exit and other issues of common interest. For example, the Permanent Secretary visited Ireland on 26 October and met with his counterpart at the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.

The Government established a regulatory framework requiring industry to establish an independent organisation (Smart Energy GB) to undertake consumer engagement.

Smart Energy GB is responsible for the national public engagement campaign for the roll-out of smart meters in Great Britain, including advertising campaigns on TV, print, online and radio. They have made progress in ensuring that households across Great Britain understand the benefits of smart meters and have generated significant levels of consumer demand to upgrade from analogue meters to smart meters.

Their recent research, published in October, showed that consumer demand for smart meters is strong, with 98% of people in Great Britain now aware of smart meters and their benefits.

The Government acknowledges the value that a gas connection can bring to households and businesses. However, as energy is a devolved matter, any extensions to the gas network in Northern Ireland would be a matter for a restored Northern Ireland Assembly.

There has been cross-government engagement with key automotive businesses operating in the UK and EU since the referendum. Ministers meet regularly with senior automotive executives, both through the Automotive Council and individually, to discuss investments. As part of the Industrial Strategy, in partnership with the Automotive Council, an ambitious Automotive Sector Deal has been agreed. The Government is determined to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world for automotive manufacturing.

The Information requested can be found online in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), which can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-planning-database-monthly-extract

The REPD tracks all renewable energy projects, including onshore wind and offshore wind projects, equal to or greater than 1MW as they progress through the planning system to when they become operational.

There has been cross-government engagement with key businesses operating in the UK and EU across the automotive sector since the referendum.

The Department is working closely with the Department for Exiting the EU to understand the impacts that withdrawal from the EU will have on businesses, consumers and other economic actors on both sides of the channel. As my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said we will work hard to get the best deal for Britain.

The Government is committed to investing £600m in infrastructure over the next decade and providing £15.3bn in new financial support for housing in this Parliament.

We are driving economic growth and improving people’s lives in the long term by investing £170m through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) in the Transforming Construction: Manufacturing Better Buildings programme. The programme will improve productivity through supporting the development and commercialisation of digital, manufacturing, energy generation and storage technologies for the construction and built environment sectors.

In Great Britain, it is a commercial decision for individual energy supply companies as to whether to offer incentives for consumers to purchase more than one of their services. In Northern Ireland, energy policy is largely a devolved matter. The UK Government is working to ensure the resumption of stable devolved government in North Ireland.

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy meets with the National Policy Director and the National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses most weeks and they regularly discuss the issues that are affecting businesses in Northern Ireland.

Various officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have had meetings with the Federation of Small Businesses Northern Ireland and continue to do so.

The Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility has not received any requests to meet with the Federation of Small Businesses Northern Ireland.

The Government has set out its commitment to work towards a ‘comprehensive and ambitious’ set of City Deals across Northern Ireland.

Officials across Whitehall are engaged with Belfast City Region as they develop their proposals for a City Deal, which my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer committed to taking forward at last year’s Budget.

I look forward to seeing Belfast City Region’s proposals for a City Deal that can drive growth and productivity across the region.

Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting roundtable on 19th April in Belfast where he met the CEO of Invest NI, who chaired the meeting, BEIS also engages with Invest NI in a range of fora, including:

• Invest NI helped arrange and joined a business roundtable hosted by the BEIS Permanent Secretary during the Industrial Strategy Green Paper Consultation on 27 October 2017, this touched on EU Exit and its relevance to economic planning such as the Industrial Strategy.
• Officials have engaged with Invest NI directly as part of the Four Nations Enterprise meeting, most recently on 3^rd May.
• Invest NI are due to be part of BEIS engagement on the Business Productivity Review in Northern Ireland at the beginning of July.

BEIS officials also have regular engagement with the Northern Ireland Civil Service on key issues related to EU Exit and Northern Ireland.

There is guidance on how to spot and avoid scams available to retailers and consumers from organisations including Citizen’s Advice, Trading Standards, banks, UK Finance, Action Fraud, and the FCA.

In addition, we are currently in the first week of Scams Awareness Month (SAM) – an annual campaign which BEIS supports bringing together organisations nationally and locally to take a united stand against scams and fraud. The campaign which runs until the end of June aims to raise awareness with both consumers and business about all types of scams – online, telephone, mail and at the doorstep – with a focus on encouraging victims to speak up and report to the appropriate authorities.

In the 2017 campaign last July over 360 organisations participated reaching over 1/3^rd million consumers face to face and offline and saw a 17 percent increase during the campaign in people accessing online advice about scams through the Citizens Advice website. We hope to increase on those numbers this year.

The Government is committed to fair pay by ensuring workers are paid at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW). In 2017/18, HMRC secured a record volume of pay arrears (£15.6 million) for a record number of workers (201,800).

In 2018/19, we have increased the enforcement budget for the NMW to £26.3 million. This additional resource will allow HMRC to proactively target those employers judged most at risk of not paying the minimum wage. As part of this, we will spend £1.48 million raising awareness of workers’ entitlement to the NMW.

Employers found to be breaking the rules could face penalties of 200% of arrears owed to the worker to a maximum of £20,000 per worker. Anyone concerned they are being underpaid should call the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) Helpline (on 0300 123 1100) for free and confidential advice. HMRC respond to 100% of complaints made.

The table below sets out how many onshore and offshore wind farms have been established in the UK in each of the last five years for which full year data is available.

Table 1: UK onshore and offshore wind farms that have become operational between January 1 2013 and 31 December 2017

Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database (April 2018 extract) BEIS: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-planning-database-monthly-extract

Note: extensions to existing sites have been counted as new sites.