First elected: 6th May 2010
Left House: 3rd May 2017 (Defeated)
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Simon Kirby, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Simon Kirby has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Simon Kirby has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to enable police forces and local authorities in England and Wales to disperse unauthorised traveller encampments with the minimum of delay; and for connected purposes
Simon Kirby has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has teams throughout Latin America supporting British firms. It has increased resource in Colombia and Mexico, while Government has opened new embassies in El Salvador and Paraguay and a new Consulate General in Recife, Brazil; each of which is working to improve trade links. Additionally, dedicated prosperity officers have been added in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina and Panama
As Part of the GREAT campaign the Government has supported missions in Brazil (supporting Education, energy, sport and retail), Mexico (Ports) and Peru (Energy). To the end of 2014 UKTI has reported £80 million in business wins related to GREAT campaign activities in the region.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) is supporting UK firms in the region through the provision of an International Export Finance Adviser based in Rio de Janeiro. UKEF has provided some £1.5 billion of support for exports over recent years and is considering further projects including municipal infrastructure and education projects in Columbia and Brazil.
The Government continues to strive for greater trade liberalisation between the UK and Latin America through securing EU free trade agreements (FTAs) in the region. The EU-Chile FTA helped UK-Chile bilateral trade increase by 360% between 2003 and 2012. Through the EU the UK has recently concluded trade negotiations with Central American countries and with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. The UK continues to make a case for an FTA with Mercosur (South America’s leading trading bloc) countries.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects and publishes data on student enrolments at UK Higher Education Providers. Statistics on the number of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic First Degree qualifiers at English and Welsh Higher Education Providers over the last five years are provided in the table.
In the 2013/14 academic year, a new methodology was implemented (which counted Open University students by their national centre and not the administrative centre). Therefore, this new methodology has been applied for the previous years to ensure consistency with the data.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency will publish statistics for the 2014/15 academic year in January 2016.
First Degree Qualifiers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic Subjects
English and Welsh Higher Education Providers
Academic Years 2009/10 to 2013/14
2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | |
England | 116, 000 | 121,315 | 128,165 | 135,825 | 142,160 |
Wales | 8,445 | 9,055 | 9,565 | 9,670 | 10,135 |
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five
2. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic subjects has been classified by using the Joint Academic Coding System and is comprised of the following subject areas: Medicine & dentistry; Subjects allied to medicine; Biological sciences; Veterinary science; Agriculture & related subjects; Physical sciences; Mathematical sciences; Computer science; Engineering & technology; Architecture, building & planning
The Greater Brighton City Deal, announced on 12 March 2014, initiated some important measures to boost the local economy. These include the expansion of the area’s tech cluster, and funding for flood defence works at Shoreham and Newhaven. Local leaders expect the deal to deliver 8,500 jobs and unlock £173 million of investment over its lifetime.
The Government has made good progress implementing the actions set out in Advancing transgender equality: a plan for action, and the majority have now been completed.
We also continue to liaise regularly with representatives of the transgender community to understand their priorities in tackling remaining areas of inequality and discrimination
There are 226 people with a declared disability working in BIS, representing 6% of the total workforce.
In BIS it is not compulsory for individuals to declare any diversity information, although they are strongly encouraged to do so. The information provided above should be taken in this context.
BIS is committed to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and encouraging diversity amongst its workforce, and to treating all staff and eligible job applicants fairly.
During the winter I assess the levels of energy generation and storage capacity on a weekly basis. This week we were expecting to have between 11 and 12GW of spare electricity generating capacity and our gas storage started the week at over 90% full. I will reassess the levels of both next week.
A further 1.1GW of electricity generating capacity has been procured by National Grid for the Winter of 2014/15 that can be relied upon when we need it, in order to help us comfortably meet Reliability Standards that have been previously set. This consists of keeping otherwise mothballed or closed plant in reserve and a small amount of voluntary electricity demand reduction by large energy users.
More widely, we have undertaken extensive assessments of the levels of gas storage available to the UK market and published the results of that very detailed work in September 2013: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236757/DECC_FI_Final_report_09072013.pdf.
The overall conclusion of this assessment was that intervention in the gas storage market was not desirable.
As of 30 November 2014, there were 86 civil servants, working in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, who had declared that they had a disability.
The Government has made good progress implementing the actions set out in Advancing transgender equality: a plan for action, and the majority have now been completed.
We also continue to liaise regularly with representatives of the transgender community to understand their priorities in tackling remaining areas of inequality and discrimination
As at 19 November 2014, there are 35 civil servants over 65 years old employed to work for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). We do not centrally hold details of the age of staff in the department's partner organisations, staff working in companies contracted by the department, or other non-payroll staff.
As an equal opportunities employer, BIS is committed to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and encouraging diversity amongst its workforce, and meeting its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Act.
The table below shows electricity generated from micro-generation installations between 2010/11 and 2013/14 and its share of total UK electricity supply. This includes electricity generated from installations registered on the Feed-in Tariff Scheme (FiT), and the Renewables Obligation (RO). FiT data for 2013-14 are due to be published by Ofgem on 18th December.
Total Generated from Micro Schemes (GWh) | ||||
2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | |
Feed-in Tariff Scheme (GWh) | 51 | 374 | 1,236 | n/a |
Renewable Obligation (GWh) | 8 | 13 | 34 | 40 |
Total (GWh) | 59 | 387 | 1,438 | n/a |
Total Electricity Supply (GWh) | 382,125 | 370,918 | 378,186 | 366,313 |
Percentage of Micro-generation | 0.016% | 0.104% | 0.380% | n/a |
Full FiTs data are available at the link below:
RO data are available in table 6.3 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-trends-section-6-renewables
Electricity supply data are available in table 5.2 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-section-5-energy-trends
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has investigated the viability of insulating the two buildings it manages and has installed additional insulation in its headquarters building, 3 Whitehall Place. DECC is committed to running its estate as energy efficiently as possible and making significant reductions in its energy use. This is done through a range of measures, including insulation, which are carefully assessed for their feasibility and cost effectiveness.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has not made any recent changes to the insulation of the departmental estate, however a number of steps have been taken to improve energy efficiency.
The Department currently uses energy monitoring software to examine energy usage at a number of BIS sites. This provides daily consumption data and enables estate management to reduce usage and optimise building services.
Building Management Systems are also installed across the estate, providing live data to engineers on building performance and energy demand throughout each building.
The Department has a number of renewable energy installations installed which support the department to reduce carbon and increase efficiency. The Biomass boiler at Companies House in Cardiff produces 88% of heating for the building, saving 227 tonnes of carbon per annum. The scheme has become an Ofgem case study and Carbon Trust Exemplar.
An ongoing initiative aimed at reducing energy consumption in the BIS core building is the partial Christmas shutdown at 1 Victoria Street. This has been implemented since 2011. The main areas of focus are the reduction of operational workspace in the building, reducing heating and cooling load by disabling most of the heating zones and reducing the number of operational lifts. BIS has saved approximately £12,000 and 80 tonnes of CO2. This year, in order to increase further energy savings, the feasibility of implementing this across further sites is being investigated.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills supports research into TB through the UK Research Councils who support a broad portfolio of research addressing different aspects of the disease. This includes research on vaccines and treatments for antibiotic resistant strains of TB.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) currently supports five projects directly relating to antibiotic resistant strains of TB with a total value of £5.7m. These include studies which aim to identify novel targets for antibacterial drug discovery, the development of new TB vaccines and antibiotics, clinical trials with a focus on translational and implementation research relevant to developing countries, and health services and health systems research.
The MRC is also leading an anti-microbial resistance (AMR) funders’ forum to coordinate activities in this area and an initiative involving all of the UK Research Councils on which aims to tackle resistance and try to develop treatments and diagnostic tools. In addition the MRC also supports a broader portfolio of research into TB likely to improve our understanding and inform future research into antibiotic resistant strains.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are funding research into new treatments for antibiotic resistant strains of TB in addition to research on vaccine development, which while not specifically addressing antibiotic resistant strains is likely to improve our understanding and inform future research.
An Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded study aims identify barriers to tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment uptake while an EPSRC fellowship is looking at the transmission dynamics of TB.
Researchers are also using the Diamond Light Source, to identify ways of disabling the enzyme that protects the TB bacteria and to understand the structure of the protein that enables the TB bacteria to survive in the human body. It is hoped that this work will make existing treatments easier and more effective and to help design new drugs. The Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
The UK is also a member of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) which aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other neglected diseases. In December 2014 the second phase of the partnership, EDCTP2 was launched aiming to contribute over 1billion euros over the next 10 years. Further information can be found at: http://www.edctp.org/
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills supports research into Ebola through the UK Research Councils who support a number of research projects addressing different aspects of the disease. This includes work on vaccines, treatments and interventions, and finding a cure.
Current Medical Research Council (MRC) funded research includes a £2.8m grant funding jointly by the MRC, the Wellcome Trust and DFID to allow a team led by the University of Oxford to test the safety of a candidate vaccine alongside similar trials in the US.
The MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling, at Imperial College London, is an official WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Modelling. Researchers there have been providing advice to the WHO regarding the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa and contributed to a study reviewing data since the beginning of the outbreak in December 2013 to determine the scale of the epidemic, better understand the spread of the disease, and explore what it will take to reverse the trend of infections.
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is supporting one £3.6m study which aims to improve our understanding of the cultural and political dimension to inform interventions. In addition researchers funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) are using the Diamond Light Source to investigate emerging viruses are making an Ebola protein for therapeutic antibodies. The Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron and is also funded by STFC.
The UK is also a member of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) which aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other neglected diseases, including Ebola. In December 2014 the second phase of the partnership, EDCTP2 was launched aiming to contribute over 1billion euros over the next 10 years. Further information can be found at: http://www.edctp.org/
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills supports research into Ebola through the UK Research Councils who support a number of research projects addressing different aspects of the disease. This includes work on vaccines, treatments and interventions, and finding a cure.
Current Medical Research Council (MRC) funded research includes a £2.8m grant funding jointly by the MRC, the Wellcome Trust and DFID to allow a team led by the University of Oxford to test the safety of a candidate vaccine alongside similar trials in the US.
The MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling, at Imperial College London, is an official WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Modelling. Researchers there have been providing advice to the WHO regarding the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa and contributed to a study reviewing data since the beginning of the outbreak in December 2013 to determine the scale of the epidemic, better understand the spread of the disease, and explore what it will take to reverse the trend of infections.
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is supporting one £3.6m study which aims to improve our understanding of the cultural and political dimension to inform interventions. In addition researchers funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) are using the Diamond Light Source to investigate emerging viruses are making an Ebola protein for therapeutic antibodies. The Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron and is also funded by STFC.
The UK is also a member of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) which aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other neglected diseases, including Ebola. In December 2014 the second phase of the partnership, EDCTP2 was launched aiming to contribute over 1billion euros over the next 10 years. Further information can be found at: http://www.edctp.org/
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills supports research into TB through the UK Research Councils who support a broad portfolio of research addressing different aspects of the disease. This includes research on vaccines and treatments for antibiotic resistant strains of TB.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) currently supports five projects directly relating to antibiotic resistant strains of TB with a total value of £5.7m. These include studies which aim to identify novel targets for antibacterial drug discovery, the development of new TB vaccines and antibiotics, clinical trials with a focus on translational and implementation research relevant to developing countries, and health services and health systems research.
The MRC is also leading an anti-microbial resistance (AMR) funders’ forum to coordinate activities in this area and an initiative involving all of the UK Research Councils on which aims to tackle resistance and try to develop treatments and diagnostic tools. In addition the MRC also supports a broader portfolio of research into TB likely to improve our understanding and inform future research into antibiotic resistant strains.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are funding research into new treatments for antibiotic resistant strains of TB in addition to research on vaccine development, which while not specifically addressing antibiotic resistant strains is likely to improve our understanding and inform future research.
An Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded study aims identify barriers to tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment uptake while an EPSRC fellowship is looking at the transmission dynamics of TB.
Researchers are also using the Diamond Light Source, to identify ways of disabling the enzyme that protects the TB bacteria and to understand the structure of the protein that enables the TB bacteria to survive in the human body. It is hoped that this work will make existing treatments easier and more effective and to help design new drugs. The Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
The UK is also a member of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) which aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other neglected diseases. In December 2014 the second phase of the partnership, EDCTP2 was launched aiming to contribute over 1billion euros over the next 10 years. Further information can be found at: http://www.edctp.org/
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) supports research into HIV/AIDS through the UK Research Councils who support a broad portfolio of research addressing different aspects of the disease. This includes research on vaccines and interventions.
Research supported by the Research Councils includes Medical Research Council (MRC) funded studies which aim to understand the mechanisms of HIV infection through to novel strategies for preventing and controlling infections through research on human behaviour and lifestyle. Research supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) includes an evaluation of the impact of health care schemes in Rwanda providing basic preventive and curative health care services and HIV/AIDS treatment in addition to Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded research on drug delivery and vaccine delivery technology involving nanomedicines.
Researchers are also using the Diamond Light Source to advance the understanding of how HIV and other retroviruses infect human cells and replicate to inform the development of better treatments. The Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
The UK is also a member of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) which aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other neglected diseases. In December 2014 the second phase of the partnership, EDCTP2 was launched aiming to contribute over 1billion euros over the next 10 years. Further information can be found at: http://www.edctp.org/
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) supports research into HIV/AIDS through the UK Research Councils who support a broad portfolio of research addressing different aspects of the disease. This includes research on vaccines and interventions.
Research supported by the Research Councils includes Medical Research Council (MRC) funded studies which aim to understand the mechanisms of HIV infection through to novel strategies for preventing and controlling infections through research on human behaviour and lifestyle. Research supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) includes an evaluation of the impact of health care schemes in Rwanda providing basic preventive and curative health care services and HIV/AIDS treatment in addition to Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded research on drug delivery and vaccine delivery technology involving nanomedicines.
Researchers are also using the Diamond Light Source to advance the understanding of how HIV and other retroviruses infect human cells and replicate to inform the development of better treatments. The Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
The UK is also a member of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) which aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other neglected diseases. In December 2014 the second phase of the partnership, EDCTP2 was launched aiming to contribute over 1billion euros over the next 10 years. Further information can be found at: http://www.edctp.org/
The Department currently has a number of renewable energy installations installed for micro-generation.
BIS Core produced 10,615kwh of electricity between June-September (Quarter 2) this year. This is produced from PV arrays set on the roof of 1 Victoria Street.
The Biomass boiler at Companies House in Cardiff produces 88% of heating for the building producing 227 tonnes of carbon per annum and is an Ofgem case study and Carbon Trust Exemplar.
Since April 2014 the Department as a whole has produced:
Assessments to install micro-generation across sites are being made however are faced with a number of challenges including site constraints, funding and payback before lease expiry.
The Department has assessed the capacity for micro-generation of renewable energy of its buildings, particularly the installation of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal panels, on several occasions over the past four years. So far this has not proved as effective as energy saving measures in reducing the department’s carbon footprint. We are keeping this position under review. DECC has a very small estate and so the opportunities for micro-generation are limited.
The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), including 9 arm-lengths bodies, has a baseline for water use of 283,495m3 across the estate. In April 2014 the Department achieved a 45% reduction compared to the baseline.
One method for reducing water consumption since April 2014 has been to install waterless urinals throughout the building at 1 Victoria Street. In addition to this, BIS has also reduced flush capacity by 3 litres so far in year 2014/15.
The Department is aiming to build on the current reduction by the end of year 2014/15 and we anticipate that the decrease in water usage by BIS will equate to a significant financial saving.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) already utilises water efficient appliances, including waterless urinals. In addition, over the past twelve months DECC has undertaken a number of measures aimed at reducing its water use and water bills. These include undertaking an independent water audit, increased maintenance on its hot and cold water dispensers to make them more efficient, the closing and draining down of its cooling towers over the winter months when chilling is not required, staff awareness raising measures and maintenance work to fix a small number of leaking taps.
A number of BIS services are available online including transaction services (e.g. filing information and accounts at Companies House), as well as online guidance available on GOV.UK and information on BIS services. BIS also uses digital channels to engage stakeholders in developing policy making.
BIS is committed to the vision set out in the Government Digital Strategy, publishing its own digital strategy in 2012. BIS and Partner Organisations have embarked on a digital transformation programme that by 2020 will ensure that all services that can be redesigned as such will be 'digital by default' and available on GOV.UK. They will be redesigned around the needs of users i.e. businesses, students, employees and consumers.
As a critical first step, BIS is playing a key role as part of the Government's Digital Exemplar Programme covering organisations with services that have over 100k transactions annually. BIS provides 5 of the 25 exemplar services. These are:
Each of these services have or are being redesigned to be digital by default. Two are already live - Patents Renewal and Part-Time Student Finance - and the remaining three will be publicly available by end March 2015.
Beyond the exemplar services, The BIS Digital and Technology 2020 roadmap will identify all current non-digital services across BIS and Partner Organisations that need to be redesigned to be digital by default by 2020 along with the estimated timelines for development and online availability.
DECC’s digital strategy was published in December 2012 and this sets out the proposals for DECC to move towards the digital by default agenda. A Digital Leader has been appointed with responsibility to promote the take up of digital services across the department. As a relatively new Department many of the services managed by the Department already include a digital element.
A series of activities have been undertaken which:
Information on apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a Statistical First Release (SFR):
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills introduced a new correspondence system in July 2013, at which time all correspondence processes were thoroughly reviewed.
The Department keeps its processes under review.
DECC is committed to ensuring that correspondence is logged efficiently and in a timely manner. When correspondence to the Department is sent in via DECC’s official channels, it is processed by DECC’s central Correspondence Unit.
The DECC Correspondence Unit conducts regular reviews of its correspondence handling processes (including logging of all correspondence) as part of its ongoing work on continuous improvement, with weekly opportunities for feedback from staff. The DECC Correspondence Unit also meets with Fivium, (the database provider) at least once a year to review enhancements or upgrades, and whether current processes are fit for purpose.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not produce statistics giving geographical breakdowns of the number of social enterprises. National level estimates are produced using the Small Business Survey, which does not have a sufficiently large sample to provide sub-national estimates. BIS estimates there are 280,000 social enterprises in the UK.
The Department and its agencies contracted for the following number of projects each year (excluding years when no projects were contracted for):
1998 – 2 projects (National Physical Laboratory and the Elgar contract)
2007 – 1 project (Insolvency Service Infrastructure contract)
This covers the following administrative departments: Department for Trade and Industries, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) came into being in October 2008.
The department contracted one private finance initiative project in 2009 and none since then.
The Departmental Group is involved in two private finance initiatives; an IT infrastructure initiative managed by the Insolvency Service, and a Research Ship managed by the Natural Environment Research Council. The table below sets out the annual unitary payments for the next 20 years as at 31 March 2014.
Project | 2014-15 £m | 2015-16 £m | 2016-17 £m | 2017-18 £m | 2018-19 £m | 2019-20 £m | Total £m |
Research Ship | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 9.2 |
IT Infrastructure | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 11.1 |
Total | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 20.3
|
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has no private financial initiative liabilities.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is committed to reducing energy usage in order to realise cost savings and achieve the Greening Government Commitments (GGC) target of 25% carbon reduction by 2014/15.
The Department has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce the estate’s energy consumption:
a) Estate Rationalisation has maximised space utilisation and improved the usability and capacity of core buildings. In central London the Department has achieved significant energy savings by reducing from eight buildings to one. This has resulted in an estimated £10.7 million in property savings per annum for the period 2012-2021 including significantly reduced energy costs.
b) A partial building shutdown is observed over each Christmas break at 1 Victoria Street. Staff are located in a discrete area of the HQ building between Christmas and New Year, to minimise heating and lighting energy consumption.
c) The Department operates a temperature ‘deadband’ where no heating or cooling operates, The ‘deadband’ stops conflict between heating and cooling systems whilst maintaining a comfortable working environment.
d) The Department’s arms-length bodies are also fully committed to reducing energy consumption and associated costs. At Companies House a biomass boiler has been installed. The 500KW wood pellet boiler has replaced 2.4MW gas boilers and now provides 88% of heating to the building and this technology will save £30,000 annually.
Since it was established, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has reduced its energy consumption by 42%.
DECC has, and continues, to take effective steps to reduce its energy costs by cutting energy use on its estate. The Department’s Carbon Management Plan details our plans to achieve reductions in energy and carbon through to 31 March 2015. The Carbon Management Plan is published on the Government website, and copies will be made available in the Libraries of the House:
https://intranet.decc.gsi.gov.uk/services/estates/Documents/CMP%20rev%202.pdf.
There has been, and continues to be, substantial investment in reviewing BIS Departmental Estates in order to reduce costs. We have made substantial investment which has proven most successful in delivering an Estates Transition Programme.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change currently occupies four buildings in London and one in Aberdeen. DECC’s current occupation is in line with the Cabinet Office directives of fewer desks than staff (Full Time Equivalent – FTE) and within 8-10m2 per FTE (by December 2015).
The lease in Aberdeen is due to expire in May 2016 and alternative accommodation will be sought with value for money as one of the key objectives.
London accommodation is being reviewed with a view to reducing the existing four buildings to two in 2015, and therefore reducing the overall cost of the estate. In order to achieve this, alterations will be required to the two remaining buildings. These changes will be in line with the Cabinet Office directives listed above as well as the Civil Service Reform Plan.
The target for replying to correspondence is 80% in 15 working days - we aim to meet or exceed that target.
Cabinet Office guidance on correspondence handling states that individual Departments' targets for routine correspondence from MPs should be a maximum of 20 working days.
The handling of correspondence is given the highest priority by the Department and we aim to respond to all correspondence within 15 working days. For the calendar year ending 31 December 2013, the latest period for which figures are available, 93% of responses to MPs and Peers were answered within our target of 15 working days. This represents an increase of 9% over the previous year’s performance.
Guidance on handling correspondence from Members of Parliament, Peers, MEPs and Members of devolved Administrations will be updated in due course.
Every effort is made to ensure that departmental correspondence is dealt with in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
Letters are sent on stationery printed in-house. If sending a ministerial reply to hon. Members at the House of Commons or House of Lords then no postage is incurred as mail is delivered twice a day from the Department, 1 Victoria Street on our van service.
During recess, letters are sent via first class mail – the cost of stationery and postage during the most recent summer recess period is estimated at around £200. Figures for earlier time periods are not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s estimate of annual costs incurred for ministerial replies to Hon. Members is (a) £60 for stationery and (b) £5k for postage.
As agreed in the Greater Brighton City Deal, the Greater Brighton Economic Board is currently working to secure private sector investment in the expansion of New England House.
UK Trade &Investment (UKTI) provides a wide range of support to help business. UKTI's South East team deploys 45 international trade advisers to help companies maximise their export potential. Those trade advisers have a wide range of international business experience across many business sectors, and they are able to connect companies to UKTI teams in over 100 international markets. UKTI South East also undertakes a wide range of events across the region which have included supporting export related events at the Amex stadium in January and April of this year. There was also a strong UKTI presence at the Eco Technology Show at the Brighton Centre in June 2014.
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) provides support and information on how to make the most of all forms of intellectual property (IP) to businesses on a national basis. In 2013 the IPO launched IP for Business, a set of online training tools and advice to help businesses understand IP and how it can be used within a business to generate revenue. The IPO also funds 300 IP audits, targeted through partners at high growth businesses across the UK. Over the last year the IPO has spoken to 18000 people through seminars, workshops and events; since October 2013, 276 businesses have benefited from face-to-face information and support from the IPO at seven events in the Brighton area – including Brighton, Lewes, Crawley and Bognor Regis. In addition, the IPO has a national consumer's campaign focussing on awareness raising and encouraging respect of IP.
Small businesses are vital to the economy and this Government is supporting them in many ways.
Economic stability, lower taxes, deregulation, and a culture of enterprise are vital to business growth. But it is equally important that businesses are able to access the information they need to start-up and grow.
The British Business Bank recently published “The Business Finance Guide: A Journey from Start-Up to Growth” which is available on the British Business Bank Website. It is a unique guide that sets out the main things to consider and outlines sources of finance available to businesses – ranging from start-ups to small and medium-sized enterprises and growing mid-sized companies. The website www.greatbusiness.gov.uk also provides support and advice for businesses trying to grow as well as for entrepreneurs starting out.
In addition to on-line support, the Business Support Helpline is available to provide a quick response on queries about starting a business, or a personalised and in-depth advice service for more complex needs.
For those looking for start-up finance and advice there are Start-Up Loans: 105 loans worth £527,740 have been drawn down in Brighton, Kemptown and Lewes since the scheme began in 2012.
The Government is committed to protecting all Intellectual Property rights and has taken a number of steps recently to help rights holders protect and enforce their intellectual property. These include funding a dedicated police IP Crime Unit within the City of London police; making the intentional copying of registered designs a criminal offence; and introducing reforms to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, including the introduction of a ‘small claims track' to help businesses gain access to justice at proportional cost to what is at stake.
The Information Economy Strategy published in June 2013 sets out the Government's plans to help digital technology-based businesses start up and thrive throughout the UK.
This Department is supporting Tech City UK's work with the UK Tech Cluster Alliance network. A key role of the Alliance which currently contains 13 clusters located throughout the UK, is to promote and facilitate connections and identify common barriers to growth.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office on 7th July 2014, Official Report, Column 5-6W.
I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Francis Maude) on Monday 7 July 2014, Official Report, column reference 5-6W.
I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Francis Maude) on Monday 7 July 2014, Official Report, column reference 5-6W.