Business, Innovation & Skills Bulletin – 20th February 2015

- Business, Innovation & Skills Bulletin – 20th February 2015 - Parents-to-be begin the countdown to Shared Parental Leave With just 8 weeks to go until mums and dads with babies due on or after 5 April 2015 can start sharing up to 50 weeks of parental leave, expectant parents need to have that all-important conversation with their employers. 285,000 working couples a year are expected to be eligible for Shared Parental Leave with parents giving their employers 8 weeks’ notice of the pattern of leave they intend to take. Use this quick and easy online tool to make sure you are eligible for Shared Parental Leave, see the acas good practice guide for employers and employees, or find out more on GOV.UK.   £20 million for UK industrial biotechnology Business Secretary Vince Cable has unveiled the winners of a multi-million-pound competition to bring innovative UK biotechnology projects to market. A total of 23 projects, ranging from making biofuel from household waste to using bacteria to make the building blocks for new medicines, will share almost £20 million from the Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst – introduced in January 2014 to support collaboration between UK researchers and the emergent industrial biotechnology sector. View the Life Sciences infographic and find out more on GOV.UK.         Women entrepreneurs are untapped talent says report Women entrepreneurs could play a bigger role in the UK economy, creating jobs and boosting growth as well as reducing gender inequality, according to the findings of an independent report published this week. The report, ‘Inclusive Support for Women in Enterprise’, found that although the number of female-run small and medium-sized businesses has increased, there is still more to be done to close the gender gap between men and women. Find out more on GOV.UK.   Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – Cable urges greater transparency The UK will greatly benefit from closer economic ties with the US, via the proposed EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), but more transparency is needed to help address public concerns, Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable has told EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. In a meeting in London this week Vince Cable and UK Trade Minister Lord Livingston asked Commissioner Malmström to give senior UK parliamentarians access to TTIP treaty text as it is developed, so that they can monitor progress and ask questions on the public’s behalf. Find out more on GOV.UK.   National Apprenticeship Week 2015 National Apprenticeship Week runs from 9 to 13 March. Why not test your knowledge of apprenticeships with a short quiz? You may find out something surprising!   Minister signs £330 million North East Growth Deal Greg Clark, Minister for Universities, Science and Cities, visited Science Central in Newcastle this week to sign the North East Growth Deal, which will see nearly £330 million of government funding invested into the North East. The Minister joined Paul Woolston, Chair of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), to sign the Growth Deal at Science Central. Over the lifetime of its deal (2015 to 2021) the LEP estimates that up to 5,000 new jobs will be created. Find out more on GOV.UK.     Government names and shames largest ever number of National Minimum Wage offenders A further 70 employers who failed to pay their workers the National Minimum Wage have been named this week by Business Minister Jo Swinson, bringing the overall total named and shamed to 162. Between them, these 70 employers owed workers a total of over £157,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £70,000. To support the minimum wage crackdown, the Government is increasing HMRC’s £9.2 million enforcement budget by a further £3 million, helping to fund more than 70 extra compliance officers. This week the Low Pay Commission recommended increases to the NMW rate, including a 3% increase to the adult rate, which the Government will now consider.   Cyber security ‘myths’ putting a third of SME revenue at risk Small and medium sized companies are putting a third (32%) of their revenue at risk because they are falling for some of the common misconceptions around cyber security, leaving them vulnerable to losing valuable data and suffering both financial and reputational damage. Yet new research by the Government’s Cyber Streetwise campaign shows that two-thirds (66%) of SMEs don’t consider their business to be vulnerable, and just 16% say that improving their cyber security is a top priority for 2015. Businesses can take advantage of free online training courses for staff, Cyber Essentials and a simple cyber security guide for small and medium-sized firms. Find out more on GOV.UK.   Government backs manufacturing with action plan and cash boost Ministers have announced a package of measures to boost British manufacturing, including a £22 million grant to accelerate new house building technology and a new action plan to support growth in supply chains. The grant, part of a £104 million project led by construction and engineering firm Laing O’Rourke, will promote new pre-assembly techniques in house building. The project will also deliver training in the latest digital engineering and installation skills. Find out more on GOV.UK and view the guide to Industrial Strategy.

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