Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much loan funding was provided by the British Business Bank by NUTS 1 region in each year since 2013-14.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The British Business Bank provides funds and guarantees to private sector partners, enabling them to finance a greater number of smaller businesses (either through debt or equity).
Additionally the Bank delivers a number of regional funds including Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and Midlands Engine Investment Fund, and anticipates the launch of Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Fund in Spring 2018. These funds include a mixture of debt and equity funding.
The following tables shows figures for debt programmes for each FY since 2013/14:
BBB flow of debt funding by FY* | |||||
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| FY 2013/14 | FY 2014/15 | FY 2015/16 | FY 2016/17 |
| East Midlands | 72,386,366 | 140,250,914 | 308,530,985 | 183,988,271 |
| East of England | 143,190,179 | 55,802,099 | 424,220,179 | 400,741,313 |
| London | 1,038,250,763 | 776,330,176 | 1,038,618,734 | 1,670,112,945 |
| North East | 193,138,738 | 37,732,958 | 43,427,554 | 218,883,429 |
| North West | 201,053,761 | 351,155,990 | 430,621,254 | 326,036,311 |
| South East | 341,467,807 | 609,890,567 | 701,148,582 | 377,032,104 |
| South West | 141,141,660 | 70,948,681 | 180,186,344 | 232,027,294 |
| West Midlands | 146,797,170 | 229,676,477 | 243,970,679 | 347,596,847 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | 450,408,230 | 189,189,923 | 561,138,552 | 319,446,648 |
CTD | Devolved Admins and Other | ||||
|
| FY 2013/14 | FY 2014/15 | FY 2015/16 | FY 2016/17 |
| Scotland | 90,299,306 | 55,354,003 | 65,638,590 | 244,079,333 |
| Wales | 25,764,981 | 40,634,299 | 227,020,046 | 83,795,193 |
| Northern Ireland | 8,057,260 | 11,916,650 | 14,704,296 | 15,588,272 |
| Not Available | 1,559,500 | 3,155,090 | 180,514,809 | 36,264,010 |
| Total | 2,853,515,720 | 2,572,037,827 | 4,419,740,604 | 4,455,591,970 |
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| * Includes all Investment programme figures for each FY, which will include equity funding. | ||||
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| * Figures included from the following programmes: Enterprise Finance Guarantee, H2G, Investment Programme and ENABLE programmes | ||||
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| * The SUL programme is included on a separate tab as the Bank is unable to produce figures matching NUTS1 boundaries | ||||
STARTUP LOAN CO. flow of lending by FY* | ||||
| FY 2013/14 | FY 2014/15 | FY 2015/16 | FY 2016/17 |
East Midlands | 3.99 | 3.24 | 3.65 | 5.00 |
East of England | 4.09 | 4.17 | 3.86 | 6.28 |
London | 24.36 | 16.13 | 15.10 | 20.17 |
North East | 3.27 | 2.85 | 3.33 | 4.89 |
North West | 10.63 | 7.65 | 6.13 | 9.55 |
South East | 6.20 | 6.06 | 5.59 | 8.45 |
South West | 4.05 | 6.21 | 6.03 | 8.24 |
West Midlands | 5.25 | 5.74 | 5.79 | 7.94 |
Yorkshire and Humber | 5.50 | 5.20 | 5.75 | 8.31 |
Scotland | 0.85 | 4.04 | 3.98 | 6.16 |
Wales | 1.29 | 4.05 | 3.87 | 4.77 |
Northern Ireland | 0.35 | 1.19 | 1.05 | 1.48 |
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Total | 69.84 | 66.53 | 64.11 | 91.25 |
* the geographical boundaries used to report lending in this table differ slightly from the NUTS1 definition. | ||||
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which measures in the industrial strategy will help to reduce the rate of unemployment in the West Midlands.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government’s Industrial Strategy sets out a long term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. It also builds on previous reforms to allow local leaders to focus where they will have the greatest economic impact. We will agree Local Industrial Strategies that build on local strengths and deliver on economic opportunities. These will be long-term, evidence-based, and aligned to the national Industrial Strategy.
The Government is pleased to have agreed a further devolution package with the West Midlands: the detail of this deal demonstrates the Government’s commitment to mayoral devolution, the Midlands Engine and promoting local economic growth.
Key measures to support employment include:
Joint work to establish one of the first Skills Advisory Panels – a new partnership between the West Midlands Combined Authority, local employers, post-16 skills providers and central government which will bring together data and intelligence on local labour market demand and influence skills provision, including the implementation of T-level qualifications in the local area.
A career learning pilot testing new approaches to helping adults to upskill and reskill throughout their working lives.
In March 2017 we announced a flagship £20million Midlands Skills Challenge to improve skills across the Midlands. This includes:
£11 million to provide additional Work Coaches in order to deliver targeted employment support to unemployed people across Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country, with the aim of supporting claimants furthest from the labour market and improve the employment rate in these areas.
And £2 million to offer English-language training to people in the Midlands, whose lack of ability to speak English is holding them back from accessing employment.
Finally, in the three months ending September 2017, compared to the same period in 2010, the unemployment rate in the West Midlands fell from 9.0% to 5.7%, a decrease of 3.3 percentage points, meaning 87,000 fewer people unemployed (Labour Force Survey, November 2017).
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of the 10 July 2017 to Question 2747, what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce (a) geographical, (b) wealth and (c) generational inequalities.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The Budget set out a long-term vision for an economy that is fit for the future, ensuring that the next generation have more opportunities than the one before and everyone can prosper wherever they live and whatever their background. This vision was underlined by:
£15bn of financial support available for housing over the next five years, to reduce the cost of purchasing a home and help people to get a foot on the housing ladder.
the largest increases to the National Minimum Wage youth rates in ten years, the new rates will apply from April 2018.
a £1.7 billion Transforming Cities Fund which will promote local growth and productivity within city regions.
a new devolution deal with North of Tyne authorities, which will see £600 million of investment over 30 years and create a new mayor elected in 2019.
a new £337 million investment to replace the 40-year-old rolling stock on the Tyne & Wear Metro with modern energy-efficient trains.
a £300 million investment that ensures HS2 infrastructure can accommodate future Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine rail services.
the freezing of tuition fees for 2018/19 and an increase in the earnings threshold at which post-2012 student loans begin to be repaid (from 2018/19).
a package of measures to raise educational attainment in maths and computer science, so that young people have the skills they need to get on in life.
This government is committed to ensuring opportunities are shared in every part of the country.
since 2010, the unemployment rate has fallen the most in Yorkshire & the Humber (-4.7 percentage points) and Wales (-4.4 percentage points).
since 2010, earnings of the average full-time employee have grown fastest in Northern Ireland (14.6%) and the North East of England (13.8%).
We are building a country where everyone can share in our economic prosperity.
in 2015-16, income inequality fell to its lowest level since the mid-1980s.
the proportion of full-time jobs that are low paid is at its lowest level in at least 20 years.
the share of total income tax paid by the top 1% is 27.7%; higher than in any year under the previous Labour government.
strong employment growth has particularly benefitted poorer households, where working-age adults are 4.6 percentage points more likely to be in work than in 2010-11.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to re-locate civil servants from London to (1) Birmingham, (2) the West Midlands, and (3) the Midlands as defined in the Midlands Engine Strategy.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Workforce planning is primarily the responsibility of each department to determine based on their individual operational and policy requirements. Each department has their own spending agreements with HM Treasury and are responsible for ensuring they have the right workforce and capability in place to deliver their commitments.
We are consolidating our estate in central London and, since 2010, have reduced the number of offices from 185 to 54. The Public Bodies Relocation Programme seeks to move significant numbers of civil servants and other public servants out of London. This is part of the Government's Industrial Strategy and seeks to help rebalance the UK economy.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses in Stafford constituency.
Answered by Margot James
We are working hard to support businesses and entrepreneurs across the UK to ensure they can access finance and wider support to grow and the right conditions are in place for companies to invest for the long-term.
Small businesses in Stoke and Staffordshire can access support through GOV.UK and the Business Support Helpline. The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Growth Hub also acts as the first port of call for local businesses seeking advice or support. Since its launch in May 2014, the Stoke and Staffordshire Growth Hub has engaged and supported 4340 businesses and it has helped 385 individuals to start up a new business.
Since November 2014, British Business Bank programmes have facilitated over £4.3m* to 87 businesses in the constituency of Stafford. This includes 54 Start-up Loans at a value of £415,957.
Stafford constituency is also part of the Midlands Engine. A key part of the Government’s strategy for fuelling growth in the region is the £250m Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), which is a result of close collaboration between the British Business Bank, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Communities and Local Government and 10 Midlands Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). It aims to transform the finance landscape for smaller businesses in the Midlands, accelerate economic growth and promote job creation. The Fund launched its first wave, £120m of Debt and Small Business funds, at the end of August.
*This does not include ENABLE funding data as this is not available at a constituency level.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to increase the level of access to credit for businesses in Stafford constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Margot James
We are working hard to support businesses and entrepreneurs across the UK to ensure they can access finance and wider support to grow and the right conditions are in place for companies to invest for the long-term.
Small businesses in Stoke and Staffordshire can access support through GOV.UK and the Business Support Helpline. The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Growth Hub also acts as the first port of call for local businesses seeking advice or support. Since its launch in May 2014, the Stoke and Staffordshire Growth Hub has engaged and supported 4340 businesses and it has helped 385 individuals to start up a new business.
Since November 2014, British Business Bank programmes have facilitated over £4.3m* to 87 businesses in the constituency of Stafford. This includes 54 Start-up Loans at a value of £415,957.
Stafford constituency is also part of the Midlands Engine. A key part of the Government’s strategy for fuelling growth in the region is the £250m Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), which is a result of close collaboration between the British Business Bank, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Communities and Local Government and 10 Midlands Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). It aims to transform the finance landscape for smaller businesses in the Midlands, accelerate economic growth and promote job creation. The Fund launched its first wave, £120m of Debt and Small Business funds, at the end of August.
*This does not include ENABLE funding data as this is not available at a constituency level.
Asked by: Jeremy Lefroy (Conservative - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps his Department has taken to support businesses in Stafford constituency.
Answered by Margot James
We are working hard to support businesses and entrepreneurs across the UK to ensure they can access finance and wider support to grow and the right conditions are in place for companies to invest for the long-term.
Small businesses in Stoke and Staffordshire can access support through GOV.UK and the Business Support Helpline. The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Growth Hub also acts as the first port of call for local businesses seeking advice or support. Since its launch in May 2014, the Stoke and Staffordshire Growth Hub has engaged and supported 4340 businesses and it has helped 385 individuals to start up a new business.
Since November 2014, British Business Bank programmes have facilitated over £4.3m* to 87 businesses in the constituency of Stafford. This includes 54 Start-up Loans at a value of £415,957.
Stafford constituency is also part of the Midlands Engine. A key part of the Government’s strategy for fuelling growth in the region is the £250m Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), which is a result of close collaboration between the British Business Bank, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Communities and Local Government and 10 Midlands Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). It aims to transform the finance landscape for smaller businesses in the Midlands, accelerate economic growth and promote job creation. The Fund launched its first wave, £120m of Debt and Small Business funds, at the end of August.
*This does not include ENABLE funding data as this is not available at a constituency level.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support small business growth in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.
Answered by Margot James
Small businesses are vital to our economy and so it is important we do all we can to make the UK a great place to start and grow a business.
Government has actively supported and invested in the creation of a network of Growth Hubs to provide businesses with tailored advice and support at the local level.
In the West Midlands, including Coventry, this is delivered by six Local Enterprise Partnership led Growth Hubs. The Business Support helpline also provides information and guidance over the phone, via email, webchat and social media.
To stimulate innovation and growth in the region, Innovate UK in 2016-17 committed almost £36.1m to 110 projects for SMEs based in the West Midlands.
In addition, the soon to be launched Midlands Engine Investment Fund, aims to boost the region’s economy and support the growth ambitions of its smaller businesses. It will facilitate investment of over £250 million across the region to help SMEs to achieve their growth ambitions, revitalise local economies and create jobs.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of including the Handsacre connection from HS2 to the West Coast Main Line once HS2 Phase 2A is completed.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The inclusion of a link at Handsacre to allow HS2 trains to pass onto the West Coast Main Line is contained in the High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Act 2017. Furthermore, the Government has given a specific assurance to build the Handsacre link before the launch of Phase One services.
The Phase 2a strategic outline business case, published in November 2015, includes Handsacre Junction in our assessment of the benefits of the 2a scheme, and the Full Y scheme. Handsacre Junction would allow us to serve stations along the West Coast Mainline such as Stafford. Government also sees the potential benefits of serving Stoke-on-Trent in support of the wider development plans of the Northern Gateway Development Zone and the ambitions of the Midlands Engine. The Secretary of State has therefore asked HS2 Ltd to take forward more detailed work on train planning for options to serve Stoke via Handsacre Junction, including operational feasibility in both 2027 and 2033.
However, we do not break down the economic benefits of different parts of the scheme, including Handsacre Junction.
Asked by: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has carried out an impact assessment on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the West Midlands regional economy.
Answered by David Gauke
The government has provided a guarantee for all European Structural and Investment Fund projects signed before the UK’s departure from the European Union. Officials are beginning the longer-term work of considering how best to support our regions following the UK’s departure from the European Union.
The government will publish a Midlands Engine Strategy shortly. This will set out plans to address productivity barriers across the region. The Midlands will also benefit from £392 million of Local Growth Fund allocations.