Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of India on protections for people practicing minority religions in that country.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Human rights form a regular part of our dialogue with India. Most recently, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State for South Asia, discussed the situation for Christians in India with India's Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kishan Reddy, on 15 March. Our Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi also discussed UK Parliamentary interest in minorities in India with officials from India's Ministry of External Affairs on 5 January. A senior FCDO official discussed the situation for India's religious minorities with the Indian High Commissioner on 29 December.
The British High Commission in New Delhi regularly meets religious representatives and has run projects promoting minority rights. This year, they supported an interfaith leadership programme for a cohort of emerging Indian faith leaders, creating an opportunity to exchange expertise on leading modern, inclusive faith communities, and promoting values of tolerance and multi-culturalism.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to encourage new businesses to begin operating in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire.
Answered by Paul Scully
A wide range of support and funding is available in Wakefield and across West Yorkshire for businesses at all stages, from start-ups and early-stage companies to established businesses that are ready to expand and grow.
Start Up Loans, part of Government’s British Business Bank, provide government-backed loans and support for businesses who struggle to access other forms of finance. New businesses and those who have been trading for up to 24 months can apply. Since the scheme launched in 2012 to the end of April 2021, 308 loans have been approved worth £2,804,475. In the Wakefield constituency 94 loans have been delivered worth £739,389. In Yorkshire and the Humber, 7,160 loans have been delivered worth £64,629,043.
Business support in Wakefield and across West Yorkshire includes the Business Growth Programme 2021/22 which comprises capital investment grants for businesses that can deliver jobs growth and safeguarding focussed on productivity, innovation, digital, resource efficiency and new start enterprises. It is available to existing businesses and inward investors and is supported by £7m from Government’s Getting Building Fund, extending services provided to March 2021 through the Government’s Local Growth Fund.
The Ad:Venture programme - dedicated business start-up programme, with young West Yorkshire businesses benefitting from a tailored mix of practical advice, coaching, academic support, incubation work space, finance brokerage and low rate loans. To April 2021, 42 Wakefield businesses have benefitted from the programme, with £2.4m grant awarded to 489 businesses across the City Region.
The Entrepreneurship Support Package 2021 launching this summer will encourage people from all communities across West Yorkshire to set up new businesses and help them tap into the wider sources of support. The package will use at least £6m of investment funds provided by Government through the West Yorkshire Devolution Deal.
The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership Strategic Inward Investment service supports new investors and businesses to move into Wakefield and West Yorkshire. Government is also supporting two Enterprise Zone sites within Wakefield to attract new business investment and jobs in the region.
At Budget in March 2021, Government announced two Towns Fund deals in Wakefield district worth £49m, providing the tools and funding for places to design and deliver local economic growth priorities and encourage and facilitate new investment in Wakefield. The Government invited eight towns across West Yorkshire to develop investment plans and will be announcing further Towns Fund deals in due course.
With BEIS Growth Hub funding support, the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s Business Support Service provides a single point of access to a wide range of national and local support and funding. The Government has also supported LEPs in England to create a network of 38 Growth Hubs which deliver impartial advice and support to businesses of all sizes and stages of growth and join up national and local offers. The Leeds City Region Growth Hub supports businesses across West Yorkshire and the Wakefield constituency. Businesses can search online www.the-lep.com/business-support, email businessgrowth@the-lep.com or call 0113 348 1818 to speak to an adviser by telephone.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many new businesses have been registered in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire from the start of the 2021-22 financial year to 27 May 2021.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department does not currently hold data on new business registrations for the 2020-21 financial year or for the 2021-22 financial year to 27 May 2021. (8775)
In the 2019 calendar year 11,005 new businesses were registered in West Yorkshire including Wakefield. 1,320 new businesses were registered in the Wakefield constituency in the same year[1]. (8776)
[1] These figures are from the latest data release (Business demography, UK: 2019) published in November 2020, with the next release to be announced.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many new businesses were registered in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire in the 2020-21 financial year.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department does not currently hold data on new business registrations for the 2020-21 financial year or for the 2021-22 financial year to 27 May 2021. (8775)
In the 2019 calendar year 11,005 new businesses were registered in West Yorkshire including Wakefield. 1,320 new businesses were registered in the Wakefield constituency in the same year[1]. (8776)
[1] These figures are from the latest data release (Business demography, UK: 2019) published in November 2020, with the next release to be announced.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and Ukraine.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
Total trade between the United Kingdom and Ukraine was valued at £1.3 billion in 2020. HM Government is taking steps to increase the volume of trade with Ukraine, including in areas such as defence and security, agri-tech, food and drink, green technologies and aerospace, as well as through the promotion of inward investment and the resolution of market access barriers.
Bilateral trade is underpinned by the United Kingdom-Ukraine Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement, offering preferential trading terms for British and Ukrainian businesses, which was signed on 8th October 2020 by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Prime Minister. On the same day, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding between ‘UK Export Finance’, Britain’s official export credit agency, and the Government of Ukraine, underlining our £2.5 billion capacity to support exports to Ukraine and agreeing areas of priority for cooperation.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to help increase the volume of trade between the UK and Singapore.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is Singapore’s top European trading partner and Singapore is the UK’s largest trade partner from ASEAN. The UK-Singapore bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) came into force on 1 January 2021. Since 1st January 2021, when the FTA took effect, the Government has been engaging with UK businesses to promote its benefits and is currently focusing on its implementation. Furthermore, the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA), whose negotiations the Government intends to launch soon, and the UK’s proposed accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Singapore is a founding member, are also expected to boost bilateral trade flows.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department have taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and Japan.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force in January 2021. The Government’s analysis shows that in the long run, the CEPA could increase UK-Japan trade by £15.7 billion compared to a situation where there was no agreement. CEPA goes beyond the EU-Japan deal, with enhancements in areas such as digital and data, financial services, food and drink, and creative industries.
In March 2021, the Department for International Trade launched a four-month trade mission to support businesses to trade with Japan. As of the 27 May 2021, 2,000 UK and Japanese companies have been involved, and over 250 UK businesses have been introduced to Japanese buyers.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of securing a bilateral trade agreement with Malaysia.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 1 February 2021 the Government submitted its notification of intent to begin the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) accession process, of which Malaysia is a signatory. This is the first formal step towards accession that aims to deepen the United Kingdom’s access to the fast-growing markets and major economies of the future, including Malaysia.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to increase the volume of trade between the UK and the Faroe Islands.
Answered by Ranil Jayawardena
My Department has been implementing the United Kingdom-Faroe Islands Trade Agreement, which secures a trading relationship that was worth £503 million in 2020 and maintains preferential trading conditions for British businesses.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to help increase the volume of trade between the UK and South Korea.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which entered into force on 1 January 2021, forms the basis of an ambitious new trading partnership between the United Kingdom and South Korea.
The UK also has a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) with South Korea, led by my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade. This helps to develop further the positive trade and investment relationship and compliments the opportunities the FTA presents.