Business & Growth

International Patent Process: A new pilot scheme, increasing the flexibility of the Patent Prosecution Highway will provide more support for UK businesses operating in the US and Japan.

Intellectual Property Crime: More people than ever before are being successfully prosecuted for committing intellectual property crime in the UK according to a new report published.

Government Response to Public Disorder

Support for affected businesses: The Government has announced a multi-million pound support package for local firms & communities following the recent incidents of public disorder across England.  We are working with local enterprise partnerships, local authorities and business organisations to ensure affected businesses have access to practical advice, information and support to get back on their feet as quickly as possible.

Further Education & Skills

Further education colleges gain right to award own degrees: The Privy Council has granted foundation degree awarding powers to the Corporation of Newcastle College and the Corporation of New College Durham, following detailed scrutiny of their applications by the Quality Assurance Agency.

Freedoms for colleges to deliver skills for employment and growth: Skills Minister John Hayes announced greater freedoms for colleges to deliver fully subsidised training to help people on benefits enter employment.

Regulation

Red Tape Challenge - Enforcement theme launches: The government wants to hear about your experiences and your views of regulatory enforcement – both what works well and what doesn't – to feed into its White Paper on enforcement being published this Autumn.

Get Involved

BIS currently has 8 consultations open. These include:

• BIS Technical Consultation: a new, fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for the Higher Education sector
• Higher Education White Paper: Students at the Heart of the System
• Higher Education: Consultation on potential early repayment mechanisms for student loans