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Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what surplus or loss each training and enterprise council made in 1994-95 on their turnover. [3702]
Mr. Paice: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 15 June 1995, Official Report, column 655. This shows the surpluses or losses for each of the training and enterprise councils in England. The information has been extracted from TECs' statutory accounts for 1993-94. Information for 1994-95 will be available at 31 January 1996 by which date all TECs are required to have lodged their accounts.
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the total amount available in 1995-96 to TECs by way of performance-related funding; and what was the performance-related funding target for small firm training loans to have been awarded in respect of each TEC. [3704]
Mr. Paice: The total amount of funding for the 1995-96 performance-related funding competition for TECs has yet to be determined, but is customarily 2 per cent. of eligible programme budgets for the following year. The 1994-95 competition resulted in awards totalling nearly £20 million. Targets for small firms training loans of some 1,300 were planned as a component of the 1995-96 competition, but following representation from the TEC national council that the targets were unrealistic I have agreed to withdraw this element of the competition, if all TECs in a region agree.
Skills League Table
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the United Kingdom's current position in the World Economic Forum's skills league table. [3703]
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 308
Mr. Forth: Out of the 48 countries covered in the World Economic Forum's "World Competitiveness Report, 1995", the UK was ranked 20th in respect of the availability of competent senior managers and skilled labour. However, the forum's findings are based on limited statistical evidence and put Japan well below the Philippines.
Investors in People
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many employers, and of what size, currently hold investor in people status; and what these constitute as a percentage of all employers of that size (a) nationally and (b) by region. [4237]
Mr. Paice: At 8 October 1995, 2,631 employers in the United Kingdom were recognised as investors in people. Of these, 743 were companies with over 200 employees; 1,888 with under 200 employees.
The percentage of organisations in England recognised as investors in people is:
(a) 8.5 per cent. of those with over 200 employees.
Training and enterprise councils have counted the number of companies employing over 200 who are likely to be eligible for investors in people. Figures for companies employing under 200 are currently based on the latest published census of employment figures which counts numbers of workplaces.
(b) 0.15 per cent. of those with under 200 employees.
| Over 200 employees | Under 200 employees | |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern | 7 | .05 |
| East Midlands | 9 | .15 |
| London | 3 | .05 |
| Merseyside | 11 | .19 |
| North West | 9 | .17 |
| Northern | 9 | .16 |
| South East | 10 | .09 |
| West Midlands | 10 | .15 |
| Yorkshire/ Humberside | 9 | .18 |
| South West | 17 | no baselines available |
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 309
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative (a) capital and (b) revenue costs to public funds (i) under the PFI and (ii) estimated to have been incurred had the scheme been funded wholly within the public sector. [3819]
Mrs. Gillan: The Employment Service has procured a personnel system under the private finance initiative. There are no associated capital costs to public funds. The revenue cost to the Employment Service is £3.2 million over the seven-year life of the contract.
The Employment Service could not have obtained the expertise within the public sector so no estimate has been made.
Mr. Betts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how much capital expenditure is forecast to be included in the private finance initiative for the current financial year and the next five financial years. [3824]
Mrs. Gillan:
I refer the hon. member to table 6.5 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1996-97", which was laid before the House on 28 November 1995.
Mr. Byers:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for the latest year available for (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) regionally of those young people who started youth training in (i) 1994 and (ii) 1995 what percentage completed the course (1) without gaining a qualification and (2) subsequently registered unemployed. [4292]
Mr. Paice:
The available information is given in the table. The table covers those who completed their training in 1994, as many of those young people who started youth training in 1994 and 1995 have yet to complete their course.
| Not gaining a qualification or credit towards one | Unemployed | |
|---|---|---|
| Northern | 21 | 25 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 25 | 16 |
| North-west | 28 | 15 |
| Greater Manchester | 25 | 12 |
| West Midlands | 24 | 14 |
| East Midlands | 28 | 14 |
| South-west | 24 | 11 |
| South-east | 28 | 12 |
| Eastern | 23 | 12 |
| London | 29 | 19 |
| England | 25 | 15 |
| Wales | 32 | 18 |
| England and Wales | 26 | 15 |
Note: The proportion of leavers who sign on as unemployed is not available from the follow-up survey; the table reports the proportion of leavers who declared themselves to be unemployed six months after leaving the programme. Source: YT National Follow-up Survey.
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 310
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many ministerial visits have been undertaken by each Minister in her Department between 6 July and 1 December; and how many and what percentage of these have involved the Minister travelling abroad. [4224]
Mr. Robin Squire: The information requested is in the table:
| Minister | Total number of visits | Visits abroad | Percentage visits abroad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary of State | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Mr. Forth | 17 | 2 | 12 |
| Lord Henley | 20 | 1 | 5 |
| Mr. Paice | 19 | 3 | 16 |
| Mr. Squire | 33 | 1 | 3 |
| Mrs. Gillan | 18 | 3 | 17 |
NORTHERN IRELAND
"Make It Back Home"
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Make It Back Home project was launched by the Local Enterprise Development Unit; in what countries it was advertised; how many applications have been made to date from each such country; and how many persons have been assisted and at what total and average cost (a) to date and (b) to the end of the period in which grant assistance will be paid to those currently accepted under the scheme. [3456]
Mr. Ancram: LEDU launched its first "Make It Back Home" campaign in 1987 under the name "Success in the West" and advertising subsequently took place in the following countries:
United States of America
United Kingdom
Canada
Hong Kong
New Zealand
Australia.
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 311
| Country | Number of applications received |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 89 |
| United States of America | 17 |
| Australia | 2 |
| Canada | 6 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | 3 |
| Total | 118 |
A total of 90 companies have been assisted to date with a total funding commitment of £938,544.
The total cost of assistance actually paid to date is £699,358 with an average cost per project of £7,770.
The average cost, once all moneys committed to these 90 companies have been paid will be £10,428 per project.
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the cost per job created in (a) manufacturing industry, (b) the service industry and
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 312
(c) retailing in the last five years in Northern Ireland the current year to date; and what has been the cost to public funds in each category. [3458]
Mr. Ancram:
Information on costs per job is not currently available in the form requested. The Industrial Development Board and the Local Enterprise Development Unit are currently each carrying out work to establish meaningful measurements in this difficult area.
The hon. Gentleman may, however, find useful the related information on employment and financial assistance contained in the latest IDB and LEDU annual reports, copies of which are available in the Library.
Mr. Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many jobs have been created by inward investment in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years and the current year to the latest available date in (a) manufacturing industry, (b) the service industry and (c) retailing in each council area in Northern Ireland. [3463]
Mr. Ancram:
Information on job creation is not available in the form requested. The table gives details of all inward investment job promotions in each council area in Northern Ireland for the years 1990-91 to 1994-95 and for those agreed and announced in the current year up to 29 November.
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 311
| District council area | 1990-91 | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 to 29 November 1995 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim | 65 | -- | 660 | 250 | 579 | -- |
| Ards | -- | -- | 21 | -- | -- | -- |
| Armagh | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Ballymena | 7 | -- | 120 | -- | -- | -- |
| Ballymoney | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Banbridge | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Belfast | 977 | 390 | 150 | 420 | 67 | 190 |
| Carrickfergus | -- | -- | -- | -- | 255 | -- |
| Castlereagh | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Coleraine | -- | -- | -- | -- | 60 | -- |
| Cookstown | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Craigavon | -- | -- | 35 | -- | 509 | -- |
| Derry | -- | 28 | 934 | 46 | 481 | 500 |
| Down | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Dungannon | -- | -- | -- | 257 | -- | -- |
| Fermanagh | 63 | 12 | -- | -- | -- | 118 |
| Larne | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Limavady | -- | -- | -- | 314 | -- | -- |
| Lisburn | -- | -- | -- | 212 | -- | 1,358 |
| Magherafelt | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Moyle | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Newry and Mourne | 155 | -- | -- | 129 | 18 | -- |
| Newtownabbey | 5 | -- | -- | 681 | -- | -- |
| North Down | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Omagh | -- | -- | 25 | -- | -- | -- |
| Strabane | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Total | 1,294 | 430 | 1,945 | 2,309 | 1,969 | 2,166 |
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 311
6 Dec 1995 : Column: 311
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