Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with streaming music companies on enhancing cultural plurality for listeners.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government has not had recent discussions with music streaming companies on enhancing cultural plurality for listeners, nor has the Government been approached on this matter.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the amount of royalties paid by music streaming companies as a proportion of revenue in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Streaming contracts are private commercial agreements between the parties concerned.
The Government recognises the importance of understanding how rights holders are remunerated in the global streaming environment. To this end, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is working closely with the UK Council of Music Makers on a research project to investigate the flow of money from streaming to creators. This will run for 12 months and is due to report in summer 2021. This project will help improve our understanding of the issue.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with music streaming companies on the rates of remuneration for minority language artists.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Streaming contracts are private agreements between the parties concerned and the Government plays no role in them.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of setting an increased fixed statutory level for which music streaming companies remunerate publishers.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ultimately, such remuneration is a private, contractual matter.
The Government recognises the importance of understanding how rights holders are remunerated in the global streaming environment. To this end, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is working closely with the UK Council of Music Makers on a research project to investigate the flow of money from streaming to creators. This will run for 12 months and is due to report in summer 2021. This project will help improve our understanding of the issue.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with banks operating the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme on the interest rates for those loans.
Answered by Paul Scully
Interest rates charged under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) are set at the discretion of each lender. However, under the terms of the State Aid agreement, the Government fully expects that the benefit of the guarantee under the CBILS is reflected in the interest that is charged on the CBILS facility, both during the period of the Business Interruption Payment and thereafter for the remainder of the facility.
The Government held discussions with the banking industry prior to the launch of CBILS. The Business Secretary has had calls with UK senior executives at Natwest, Barclays, Aldermore, Lloyds, HSBC and Santander and will continue to hold a regular dialogue with each of the biggest CBILS lenders to address feedback on how the scheme has been working and closely monitor its implementation to ensure that companies feel the full benefits of this support.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme have been allocated to businesses since that scheme was announced.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) opened for applications on 23 March. On 3 April it was significantly expanded along with changes to the scheme’s features and eligibility criteria to allow more SMEs to access the scheme. As of Tuesday 21 April, it has provided over £2.8 billion of lending to SMEs. Total lending under CBILS has doubled in the week from 14 April to 21 April, with an increase of £1.45 billion.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the loan guarantee offered by the Government for the construction of Hinkley Point C remains valid despite the delays in its construction.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
On 12 June 2018, the then Minister for Business and Industry stated that the £2 billion debt guarantee for Hinkley Point C, made through the UK Guarantees Scheme, had been cancelled by EDF.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) unrestored and (b) restored former open cast sites across the UK.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department does not hold records relating to the status of surface mine sites as overall planning approval and specific agreement to a restoration plan, detailing how the land will be landscaped once the site has been mined, is a matter for individual Local Planning Authorities (LPA). The LPA is also responsible for the monitoring of any restoration work and ensuring the planning applicant has the financial backing to complete the work.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether her Department has had any discussions with representatives from the Libyan National Army on energy policy.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The UK regards the Government of National Accord as the UN-endorsed government in Libya. There have been no discussions between members of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and representatives of the Libyan National Army on energy policy.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what records his Department holds on cases of identity theft affecting company directors because their home addresses and dates of birth were disclosed through Companies House.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
While the Department does not hold such information, Companies House does record complaints where identity theft is alleged to have resulted from the public availability of information on the Company Register.