Download or read book Memorandum to the Business Innovation and Skills Committee written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Memorandum to the Business Innovation and Skills Committee written by Great Britain. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee Draft Consumer Rights Bill HC 697 II written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-23 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government's draft Consumer Rights Bill has the potential to consolidate, simplify and modernise consumer law however issues and inconsistencies must be resolved. The current proposals would apply a statutory right that services under a contract must be provided with reasonable care and skill [a fault-based standard]. This does not provide sufficient consumer protection. The Draft Bill should require that services must achieve the stated result, or one which could be reasonably expected [an outcomes-based standard]. As the Bank of Ireland case demonstrated, the right to terminate a contract does not necessarily protect consumers from detriment. This report recommends an addition to the grey list - the indicative list of contract terms which may be regarded as unfair. The Government's proposals for enhanced consumer measures, which would require traders that have breached consumer law to compensate consumers, are welcome. However, private enforcers should also be able to use them. The collective proceedings regime has the potential to improve access to redress for victims of competition law breaches but the Government must clarify the certification requirements for such proceedings. The creation of rights and remedies for digital content is welcome, but the Government must do more to communicate how the proposals will work in practice. Under the draft Bill, the remedies available to consumers of digital content would depend on whether the content is intangible (such as a music download) or tangible (such as a CD). In appropriate circumstances, consumers should have the right to reject and obtain a refund irrespective of whether they purchase intangible or tangible digital content

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee Open Access HC 99 I written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-09-10 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government's commitment to increasing access to published research findings and its desire to achieve full open access are welcomed in this report from the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee. However, whilst Gold open access - where authors publish their articles in an open access journal that provides free immediate open access to all of its articles on the publisher's website - is a desirable ultimate goal, focusing on it during the transition to a fully open access world is a mistake. The Government and Research Council UK should reconsider their preference for Gold open access during the five year transition period, and give due regard to the evidence of the vital role that Green open access and repositories have to play as the UK moves towards full open access. (Authors opting for Green open access publish in any subscription journal, and then make their peer-reviewed final draft freely accessible online by self-archiving or depositing the article in a repository (either institutional or disciplinary) upon acceptance for publication.) Other recommendations include: promotion of standardisation and compliance across subject and institutional repositories; mitigation against the impact on universities of paying Article Processing Charges out of their own reserves; introduce a reduced VAT rate for e-journals; non-disclosure clauses should not be used in publishing contracts that include the use of public funds; BIS must review its consultation processes to ensure that lessons are learned from the lack of involvement of businesses, particularly SMEs, in the formation of open access policy

Download or read book Memorandum to the Business Innovation and Skills Select Committee written by Great Britain. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2012-11-15 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dated November 2012. Further Education and Training Act 2007 ch. 25 is available separately (ISBN 978010542076)

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee Draft Consumer Rights Bill HC 697 I written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-23 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government's draft Consumer Rights Bill has the potential to consolidate, simplify and modernise consumer law however issues and inconsistencies must be resolved. The current proposals would apply a statutory right that services under a contract must be provided with reasonable care and skill [a fault-based standard]. This does not provide sufficient consumer protection. The Draft Bill should require that services must achieve the stated result, or one which could be reasonably expected [an outcomes-based standard]. As the Bank of Ireland case demonstrated, the right to terminate a contract does not necessarily protect consumers from detriment. This report recommends an addition to the grey list - the indicative list of contract terms which may be regarded as unfair. The Government's proposals for enhanced consumer measures, which would require traders that have breached consumer law to compensate consumers, are welcome. However, private enforcers should also be able to use them. The collective proceedings regime has the potential to improve access to redress for victims of competition law breaches but the Government must clarify the certification requirements for such proceedings. The creation of rights and remedies for digital content is welcome, but the Government must do more to communicate how the proposals will work in practice. Under the draft Bill, the remedies available to consumers of digital content would depend on whether the content is intangible (such as a music download) or tangible (such as a CD). In appropriate circumstances, consumers should have the right to reject and obtain a refund irrespective of whether they purchase intangible or tangible digital content

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee The Retail Sector Volume I HC 168 I written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-03-04 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Committee calls for a wholesale review that goes beyond the administration of business rates to examine whether retail taxes should be based on sales rather than the rateable value of a property; whether retail needs its own system of business taxation; and how frequently revaluations should take place. In the interim, the Committee calls for a six months business rates amnesty for businesses occupying empty properties. This would go further than the 50% reduction announced in the Autumn Statement and would encourage new businesses to the High Street. The Committee also recommends that in the interim the Government review whether business rates are more appropriately linked to CPI or RPI and calls for annual increases to be linked to a 12 month average of either RPI or CPI, with a cap at 2%. This would replace the current link to a monthly snapshot of RPI. The Government should provide information on how and how much of the money allocated to the Portas Pilots is being spent. This follows concerns that much of the money allocated to the pilots has not been spent. The Government is also urged to outline the results of its latest STEM skills analysis and outline the action it will take to tackle any skills shortages. The retail sector also needs to encourage more staff to be trained at Apprenticeship Level 3 and above, and consider developing language skills to enhance the international consumers' experience

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee Payday Loans HC 789 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-20 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rapid expansion of the payday loan sector has been accompanied by a significant increase in the number of people experiencing serious debt problems which suggests people should think carefully before taking out such loans. Furthermore the number of payday loan adverts seen by 4-15 year olds has increased from 3 million in 2008 to 596 million in 2012. The Committee's recommendations include: all payday loan companies should be required to resubmit their affordability tests to the FCA for approval before they can continue in the sector and the FCA should make clear that if real-time data sharing has not been established by July 2014 it will mandate its use as a condition of trading in the sector; a limit should be set of one roll-over per payday loan; Payday lenders should be required to give 3 working days notice before using a continuous payment authority [CPA] and each notice should set out the right of a customer to cancel the CPA; the FCA should discuss with the Information Commissioners Office how texts on payday loans could be disaggregated to identify the extent of bad practice and if this evidence base demonstrates inappropriate targeting or marketing, the FCA should move to ban all brokering of payday loans through email, texts and other personal mobile devices; when payday loans come under the authority of the FCA, they will be subject to a levy which should be ring fenced by the Money Advice Service solely for the funding of front-line debt advice services

Download or read book Memorandum to the Business Innovation and Skills Select Committee written by Great Britain. Parliament and published by . This book was released on 2012-01-12 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dated January 2012. This memorandum relates to the Companies Act 2006 (PGA 2006 Ch. 46, ISBN 9780105446064)

Download or read book House of Commons Business Innovation and Skills Committee The Retail Sector Volume II HC 168 II written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-03-04 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Additional written evidence is contained in volume 3, available on the Committee website at www.parliament.uk/bis

Download or read book The Creation of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Departmental Annual Report 2008 09 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS) was formed in June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). This report looks back on the last departmental report of the old Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and considers the progress made in moving forward the new Department. The Committee welcomes the creation of the new Department which brings under one roof the business and further and higher education sectors. The Committee believes this could deliver significant potential benefits. The report examines the merger process, the delivery agencies, public service agreements and departmental strategic objectives, and future departmental reports and resource accounts. The report also focuses on the Automotive Assistance Scheme, designed primarily to support investment in low carbon plant and research and development. It welcomes the lowering of the limit of the Scheme from £5 million to £1 million, in line with its recommendation made in July, but is deeply concerned that not a single loan or loan guarantee has been made under the programme. The Committee calls on the Government to expedite its negotiations, and prove to the Committee and the automotive industry that the Scheme can provide tangible benefits to companies in the sector.

Download or read book Scrutiny of arms export controls 2012 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-07-13 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The joint committee is known as the Committees on Arms Export Controls, formerly the Quadripartite Committee. The UK strategic export controls annual report 2010 was published as HC 1402, session 2010-12 (ISBN 9780102973662)

Download or read book Broadband written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-02-23 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Digital Britain is a vital part of public policy which will define the United Kingdom's telecommunications networks for years to come, and so there must be a full-time Minister dedicated to the issue. This report supports a swift roll-out of Next Generation Access (NGA) networks across the country.

Download or read book Exporting out of recession written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-01-28 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incorporating HC 199 i-iii, session 2008-09

Download or read book Is Kraft working for Cadbury written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011-05-23 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report, Is Kraft working for Cadbury? (HC 871), the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee considers undertakings given by Kraft to the Committee in the previous parliament on manufacturing and job retention. The Committee is particularly concerned about a number of regrettable job losses at Cadbury headquarters in the months following the acquisition, and about transfer of management functions away from the UK. After evidence from Kraft, the Committee was encouraged to hear of Kraft's recent recruitment into research at Cadbury and its investment in Cadbury manufacturing in this country. Particularly welcome were the commitment to extending Kraft's international research activities at Bournville and the confirmation on the future of the Reading R&D facility. Some concerns remain, notably around pay harmonisation and transfer of strategic brand management to Zurich. The Committee trust that Kraft will now signal an extension of its commitment to Cadbury UK into the medium term through further sustained investment, and that that the synergy savings to be made from the takeover will be invested back for growth at Cadbury UK. In May 2010 the Takeover Panel criticised Kraft for its handling of the Somerdale factory closure announcement. That decision was a serious matter and the Committee hope that Kraft will fully accept the Takeover Panel criticism and the particular responsibility that it brings to value the efforts of the Cadbury workforce. Kraft must abide by its undertaking that the harmonisation of pay and conditions will not be about cost cutting.

Download or read book Pub companies written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-04 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Previous report on this subject was HC 26-I, session 2008-09 (ISBN 9780215530127) by this Committee's predecessor the Business and Enterprise Committee

Download or read book Sheffield Forgemasters written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-12-14 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 17 March 2010, the previous Government announced that it would be providing a loan of £80 million out of the Strategic Investment Fund and the Low Carbon Fund to Sheffield Forgemasters, a private company which specialises in a broad range of heavy steel forgings and steel castings. The loan was to facilitate the development of a 15,000 tonne press to make large components for the civil nuclear industry. When it came into office, the Coalition Government undertook a review of all spending commitments made by the previous Government in the period between January 2010 and the General Election. 217 project were submitted to the Treasury for re-approval. Twelve of the 217 project were cancelled and a further twelve were suspended. The loan to Sheffield Forgemasters was one those cancelled. This report outlines the Committee's inquiry into the arrangements for the loan and reasons for its withdrawal. The establishment of such a large press would have enabled the UK to take a significant lead in the industry and therefore urges the Government to continue to in its efforts to secure funding for this project.