Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department has taken to implement the recommendations of The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship on increasing the number of female angel investors in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The ‘Women backing Women’ campaign was launched under the auspices of the Rose Review via the Angel Investment Taskforce, led by the UK Business Angels Association.
This campaign seeks to support women to become angel investors across all four nations in the UK, and has engaged thousands of new and prospective female angel investors to help unlock new source of early-stage funding for female founders across the UK. Further measures to increase the number of women choosing to become angel investors will be taken during 2024.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department has taken to encourage international companies to (a) invest and (b) base themselves in Northern Ireland in the last six months.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
International investment makes an important contribution towards Northern Ireland's prosperity.
The Northern Ireland Investment Summit, led by the Department for Business and Trade in partnership with the Northern Ireland Office and Invest NI, welcomed over 180 global investors to the region in September. The Summit showcased Northern Ireland’s innovation, sector strengths and opportunities for inward investment to a truly global audience.
We are already seeing new international investment in Northern Ireland’s key growth sectors as a result, along with established companies already based in Northern Ireland announcing that they will be expanding their operations in the region.
My Department continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade to maximise opportunities to encourage investment. I attended the Global Investment Summit that the UK hosted in November and met with many businesses interested in setting and scaling up in the UK. My clear message to them was that Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom has all of the right ingredients for economic success: exceptional talent, unique opportunities, a tradition of creativity and a healthy spirit of private sector entrepreneurship.
A key factor for international investment is of course business certainty. We thus welcome the restoration of devolved governance in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions she has had with representatives of Uber on the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Uber BV and others v Aslam and others, [2021] UKSC 5.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Uber Supreme Court judgment was clear that those who qualify as workers under existing employment law are entitled to rights such as the minimum wage, and all gig economy businesses should ensure they are fulfilling their legal responsibilities.
The Department for Business and Trade cannot comment on individual circumstances or the working practices of individual companies, however representatives of Uber engage regularly with the Department. The Government continues to welcome innovation and entrepreneurship, to drive improved consumer choice and competition, ensuring the UK is one of the best places to work and to grow a business.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 28 September (HL10391), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what criteria and data they plan to use in assessing the extent to which the High Potential Individual visa entry route has met its stated objective of supporting the UK’s growth as a leading international hub for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office are committed to evaluating visa routes to robustly identify which policies and aspects of our delivery are effective. Full details on the ways in which we evaluate visa routes can be found in the Home Office Evaluation Strategy. The findings from completed evaluations, including those evaluating the efficacy of visa routes, are routinely published on GOV.UK.
The process of commissioning an external evaluation of the High Potential Individual visa route is currently ongoing.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to produce a strategy on increasing entrepreneurship among STEM higher education students.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Government has established a supportive framework to empower universities in equipping students with the essential skills required for success.
The department is investing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels to ensure students have access to high-quality STEM teaching and STEM career opportunities. The department is investing approximately £750 million of additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 in high-quality teaching and facilities. This includes additional funding in science and engineering, in subjects that support the NHS, and in degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the higher education (HE) sector in over a decade to support students and improve teaching.
The Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey showed that the number of graduate start-ups increased by 5% (from 4,528 in 2020/21 to 4,735 in 2021/22), which is the highest annual figure in the survey's history.
The National Careers Service also provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice, and guidance on careers, skills, and the Labour Market in England. The service provides support to individuals studying STEM subjects in HE, and helps industry sectors to disseminate key information and updates.
Students and taxpayers invest tens of thousands of pounds in HE. This must lead to good quality qualifications, which equip students with the skills they need to achieve their potential.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help encourage entrepreneurship amongst STEM higher education students.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government has established a supportive framework to empower universities in equipping students with the essential skills required for success.
The department is investing in STEM education at all levels to ensure people have access to high-quality STEM teaching and can access STEM career opportunities We are investing around £750 million of additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 in high-quality teaching and facilities, including in science and engineering, in subjects that support the NHS, and in degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the higher education (HE) sector in over a decade and will support students and teaching.
The National Careers Service also provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice, and guidance on careers, skills, and the Labour Market in England. The service provides support to individuals studying STEM subjects in HE, relating to entrepreneurship and helps industry sectors, including STEM sectors, to disseminate key information and updates to ensure careers advisers in the community are up to date with the latest information when supporting customers.
The HE Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey showed that the number of graduate start-ups increased by 5% (from 4,528 in 2020/21 to 4,735 in 2021/22), the highest annual figure in the survey's history[1].
[1] Chart 1 - Spin-offs and start-up companies 2014/15 to 2021/22 | HESA
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the cooperative sector to the UK economy.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to having a thriving co-operative sector and creating a modern and supportive business environment in the UK. The Government acknowledges the vital contribution co-operatives make to the economy, serving local communities up and down the UK. The latest Co-operative and Mutual Economy Report 2023, conducted by the trade body Co-operatives UK, found that co-operatives generated a combined, annual turnover of £40.9 billion, a 3.7% increase from 2022 levels.
The Government has taken significant steps to support the co-operative sector in recent years. For example, the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 helped cut through the legal complexity involved in running a co-operative, improving their competitiveness. Additionally, at Budget 2021, the Government announced the £150m Community Ownership Fund. This allows community groups to bid for up to £2 million matched-funding to help them buy or take over local community assets at risk of being lost and run them as community-owned businesses, supporting co-operative entrepreneurship. To date, 195 projects across the UK have benefitted from the fund.
Earlier this year, the Government-supported Co-operatives, Mutuals, and Friendly Societies Act 2023 came into force, which grants HM Treasury the power to bring forward regulations to give those mutuals further flexibility in determining for themselves the best strategies for their business regarding their surplus capital.
Furthermore, the Government also aims to continue to develop a modern and supportive business environment to set co-operatives and mutuals up for success. The Government has commissioned the Law Commission to conduct reviews of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and the Friendly Societies Act 1992. These reviews will investigate necessary changes to legislation that will help support co-operatives and friendly societies in their future growth and success.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 19 September (HL9920), what plans they have to evaluate the success of the High Potential Individual (HPI) entry visa route to the UK; and what criteria and data they plan to use in assessing the extent to which the HPI route has met its stated objective of supporting the UK’s growth as a leading international hub for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We keep all visa routes, including the High Potential Individual route, under review and will update Parliament in the normal manner.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to promote economic cooperation between the UK and Namibia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Namibia will be one of 25 selected African countries attending the UK-African Investment Summit in April 2024, a high-level event promoting UK-African partnerships in trade and investment, finance, technology, clean energy, food security, critical minerals and women's entrepreneurship. There will be a particular focus on the UK's distinctive role in supporting the economic capabilities of the future (e.g. financial sectors; renewable energy) in African countries. The summit will provide an opportunity to enhance economic cooperation, with particular interest in Namibia's strong and progressive ambitions in the green hydrogen industry, which has strong potential to attract UK investment, fitting the UK's leadership in the renewable energy sector.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to develop the skills in the UK to translate research outcomes into real-world applications, particularly in the fields of health and technology, (2) to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration in this area, and (3) to enhance the availability of specialized training and skill development programmes that cater to the needs of researchers and professionals engaged in translating research into commercial applications.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring research is translated into real-world impact. For example, providing over £100 million over the next three years for Impact Acceleration Accounts and £37.5 million this year for translating medical research through the Medical Research Council’s Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme. Government is providing £350 million for technology missions to translate research into transformative applications across four critical technologies and investing £65 million in an interdisciplinary research call. Through Research England’s £280 million Higher Education Innovation Fund and its Connecting Capabilities Fund, Government is funding skills development, including entrepreneurship training, for researchers and commercialisation professionals.