Asked by: Kanishka Narayan (Labour - Vale of Glamorgan)
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 free trade agreement with India.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Business and Trade Secretary was in Delhi in February to relaunch negotiations for a trade deal with India and made good progress in building momentum towards a deal that will strengthen economic growth across the UK.
A trade deal with India could improve our access to the fastest growing economy in the G20; cut red tape for business, support jobs, and boost wages in UK.
Our negotiating team is working to capitalise on the positive momentum and secure a deal that strengthens our trade and investment relationship.
Asked by: Kanishka Narayan (Labour - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support employee share ownership in venture capital-backed startups.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Venture capital-backed startups will frequently offer shares in the business to employees, as part of their remuneration. Most of these startups will be eligible to use the Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) scheme, which is open to firms with assets of £30 million or less and fewer than 250 employees. Using EMI firms may award share options up to a value of £250,000 in a 3-year period, free of Income Tax and National Insurance to the employee subject to certain conditions.