Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has held with Innovate UK on their decision to close the Smart Grants Scheme.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Supporting innovative firms to flourish in the UK will be vital to delivering our Growth Mission. Innovate UK is redesigning its approach to better support these firms to scale and grow. Innovate UK has paused its Smart Grants offer so that it can work with startups and SMEs on improving this support and has invited feedback on how to do this. In Spring, it will pilot a new support package that it will evolve in partnership with businesses. An economic evaluation of the Smart Programme is being conducted to inform Innovate UK's overall strategy and its role in delivering the Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to review the decision of Innovate UK to close the Smart Grants Scheme.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Supporting innovative firms to flourish in the UK will be vital to delivering our Growth Mission. Innovate UK is redesigning its approach to better support these firms to scale and grow. Innovate UK has paused its Smart Grants offer so that it can work with startups and SMEs on improving this support and has invited feedback on how to do this. In Spring, it will pilot a new support package that it will evolve in partnership with businesses. An economic evaluation of the Smart Programme is being conducted to inform Innovate UK's overall strategy and its role in delivering the Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to improve his Department’s support for UK SMEs.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department is committed to improving support for SMEs, working cross-government to remove barriers to growth, ensuring that SMEs have access to resources and expertise needed to develop and scale. For example, over the last 2 years, Innovate UK has awarded £5.2bn funding to more than 7,000 businesses spread across the UK, of which 86% were SMEs
We are also working to back UK tech startups through a range of policies that address the issues the sector cares about. This includes harnessing the benefits of AI, investment, skills, regulation, data and procurement.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of Innovate UK funding for UK SMEs.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Supporting innovative small firms is a key objective of the government’s growth mission. My department regularly engages with business organisations to understand the needs of their members. 86% of Innovate UK grant funding goes to SMEs, with 8,000 SMEs supported in 2023 that were new to Innovate UK funding. Innovate UK’s connections to SMEs and innovators include 600+ skilled innovation & growth specialists across the UK through IUK Business Growth and IUK Business Connect. This network supports more than 10,000 SMEs a year on their innovation journey.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with small business organisations on the performance of Innovate UK.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Supporting innovative small firms is a key objective of the government’s growth mission. My department regularly engages with business organisations to understand the needs of their members. 86% of Innovate UK grant funding goes to SMEs, with 8,000 SMEs supported in 2023 that were new to Innovate UK funding. Innovate UK’s connections to SMEs and innovators include 600+ skilled innovation & growth specialists across the UK through IUK Business Growth and IUK Business Connect. This network supports more than 10,000 SMEs a year on their innovation journey.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) ensure the accessibility of allotments for members of the community and (b) support local authorities in (i) improving facilities and (ii) ensuring inclusive access; and whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of demand for allotment spaces.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is not currently taking any such steps. Allotments policy is a matter for local Government.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to (a) review and (b) amend the Allotments Act 1950 to strengthen the rights of allotment tenants.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is not currently taking any such steps. Allotments policy is a matter for local Government.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) company groups that have been entered into the Tonnage Tax scheme and (b) vessels entered into the scheme by those company groups in each year since 2000; and what flags of registration those companies flew.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not maintain cumulative records of all companies that have participated in the Tonnage Tax system, as there is no business requirement to do so. The training obligation is assessed annually. However, we can provide the most recent figures as of 1 October 2024.
Currently, there are 82 companies participating in the Tonnage Tax scheme, encompassing 870 ships, 331 of which are UK-flagged. Additionally, 35 companies are recorded as having exited the scheme.
Excluding the 331 ships registered in the UK, other ships in the scheme are registered under the following flags:
· Cyprus:6
· Denmark: 16
· Finland: 3
· Italy: 1
· Malta: 43
· Netherlands: 2
· Norway: 9
· Portugal: 6
· Spain: 1
· Antigua and Barbuda: 6
· Bahamas: 99
· Bermuda: 8
· Brazil: 3
· Cayman Islands: 1
· Gibraltar: 8
· Hong Kong: 16
· Isle of Man: 44
· Liberia: 161
· Madeira: 10
· Marshall Islands: 49
· Panama: 30
· St. Vincent: 1
· Singapore: 15
· USA: 1
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 14304 on Prisoners Escort, how her Department defines agreed court start times.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The team in HM Prison & Probation Service responsible for managing the Prisoner Escort & Custody Service (PECS) contracts collects data relating to trial delays from several sources. HM Courts and Tribunal Service submits a Court Exceptions Report in respect of each instance of hearing delay; the contractors also self-report any delays; and the contract management team undertake further assurance work through site visits.
Court operating times were agreed with HM Courts and Tribunal Service as part of the procurement process for the PECS contracts and are set out in contract schedules. For each court day, the start time is determined by the judge, taking account of the scheduled operating time. The PECS contractor is required to produce the prisoner in advance of the start time decided by the judge, provided this is within the operating times set out in the contract.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 14304 on Prisoners Escort, how her Department collects data on prisoner delays.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The team in HM Prison & Probation Service responsible for managing the Prisoner Escort & Custody Service (PECS) contracts collects data relating to trial delays from several sources. HM Courts and Tribunal Service submits a Court Exceptions Report in respect of each instance of hearing delay; the contractors also self-report any delays; and the contract management team undertake further assurance work through site visits.
Court operating times were agreed with HM Courts and Tribunal Service as part of the procurement process for the PECS contracts and are set out in contract schedules. For each court day, the start time is determined by the judge, taking account of the scheduled operating time. The PECS contractor is required to produce the prisoner in advance of the start time decided by the judge, provided this is within the operating times set out in the contract.