Download or read book Department for Business Innovation and Skills written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-09 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 2000 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (the Department) and its predecessors have invested public money, alongside private investors, in a series of funds managed by private sector fund managers. The funds provide support to small businesses unlikely to receive support from other sources. The programme currently comprises 28 funds. By December 2009 taxpayers had contributed £338 million, alongside £438 million from private investors. The Department's intervention in the venture capital market was experimental and risky, yet it did not set clear, prioritised objectives for the funds, including the expected economic benefits, and did not set targets at the outset for expected rates of return. The Department did not begin to properly evaluate the progress of its early funds until late 2008 and, to the concern of the Committee, did not publish any information on the funds until December 2009. The evidence suggests that the funds are underperforming. As at December 2008 the Regional Venture Capital Funds, the largest category of early funds, showed negative returns and the average rate of return was minus 15.7 per cent whilst private European venture capital funds of a similar size had an average rate of return of minus 0.4 per cent. The Department has not done enough to curtail the high costs of managing the funds. Fees for the Regional Venture Capital Funds have totalled £46 million compared to the £130 million invested. Substantial fees have been paid to fund managers even though the performance of the funds has been poor.
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 Department for Business Innovation and Skills Capability Action Plan written by Great Britain. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book National Audit Office Department of Business Innovation and Skills HM Treasury Improving Access to Finance for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises HC 724 written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-11 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite a renewed focus by government on the financing challenges facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), there is scope for the range of funding initiatives currently in place to work as a more unified programme, according to the National Audit Office. Preparations for the Business Bank, which was publicly launched in October 2013 but will start operating as an independent entity in 2014, prompted the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) to re-examine the nature of the finance problems facing SMEs. These include a possible need by SMEs by 2017 for an additional £22 billion over and above the finance available to them. BIS and HM Treasury are able to draw on an increasingly strong body of data to inform decision-making, including Bank of England reports on credit conditions, the SME business barometer and aggregated information from the British Bankers' Association on loan applications and approvals. At present, although BIS and HM Treasury both have teams dealing with 'enterprise' policy, there is no formal research programme joining the Departments with other departments, such as HMRC, with an interest in SMEs. One of the Treasury's priorities is to support the development of new routes to finance for SMEs, while BIS schemes target specific parts of the market. To date, the Departments have not articulated clearly enough what the various schemes are expected to deliver as a programme. The NAO found that BIS-led schemes such as the Enterprise Finance Guarantee and Start-Up Loans provided direct support to around 5,900 firms in 2012-13, and the current schemes are generally performing positively in terms of meeting the largely activity-based success measures set for them. BIS has also taken steps to provide better explanations to SMEs on the options available to them for financing their business, but raising the profile of the help available will be a challenge for the Business Bank.
Download or read book Department for Business Innovation and Skills Annual Report and Accounts written by Great Britain. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Innovation nation written by Great Britain. Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-03-13 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This White Paper represents the ambition of Government to promote innovation across society as a tool to develop and generate economic prosperity and improve the quality of life throughout the UK. The policies include proposals about how Government can use procurement and regulation to promote innovation in business and make the public sector and public services more innovative. The White Paper is in 10 chapters: The role of government; demanding innovation; supporting business innovation; the need for a strong and innovative research base; international innovation; innovative people; public sector innovation; innovative places and the innovation nation: next steps. An Annex sets out the development of this White Paper. Published alongside the White Paper is 'Implementing "The Race to the Top": Lord Sainsbury's review of Government's science and innovation' (ISBN 9780108507175). Lord Sainsbury's review published in October 2007 (HM Treasury, ISBN 9781845323561, http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/5/E/sainsbury_review051007.pdf) and also relevant is the 2008 Enterprise Strategy (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/E/3/bud08_enterprise_524.pdf)
Download or read book BIS Department for Business Innovation Skills written by Great Britain. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 75 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 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 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 The Work of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills written by Great Britain. Parliament House of Commons. Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
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 . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Work of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: work of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills : Oral and written evidence, 19 January 2010, Rt Hon Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State, and Rt Hon Pat Mcfadden MP, Minister, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Download or read book Department for Business Innovation and Skills Annual Report and Accounts 2013 14 written by Great Britain. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Any of Our Business written by and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Any of our Business? : Human rights and the UK private sector, first report of session 2009-10, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence
Download or read book Department for Business Innovation and Skills Annual Report and Accounts 2014 15 written by Great Britain: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Print and web pdfs are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications Web ISBN=9781474118262
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 Department for Business Innovation and Skills Annual Report and Accounts 2010 11 written by Great Britain. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and published by . This book was released on 2011-07-18 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills annual report and Accounts 2010-11 : (for the year ended 31 March 2011)
