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Regional Grants
Mr. David Porter: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what financial assistance through Government schemes will be available from 1 January 1996, for which the Lowestoft area will be eligible for support, development and diversification of its economic base; and if he will make a statement. [6201]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 18 December 1995]: The following are the main measures of Government and European assistance for which funding could be sought for projects to promote regeneration, economic development and direct support for businesses in the Lowestoft area:
(i) Objective 5b funding for the designated area within Lowestoft, in accordance with East Anglia Single Programming Document;
(ii) Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Funding in accordance with the bidding guidance to be issued early in 1996;
(iii) Two National DTI grant schemes for businesses. The Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology (SMART) is an annual competition offering financial support towards the development of commercially viable innovative projects. Support for Projects under Research (SPUR) offers flat rate grants to develop innovative products and processes;
(iv) Financial assistance to undertake market research or to visit overseas markets is also available through the DTI/Foreign and Commonwealth Overseas Trade Services programme.
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 18 December 1995]: The government office for eastern region has indicated to the various interests in the Lowestoft area that it stands ready to discuss such bids. Preliminary discussions based on objective 5b funding and the third round of the single regeneration budget challenge fund will be taking place before the end of the month.
Mr. Porter: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the eligibility criteria for gas and oil-related projects in the next round of regional challenge, mainstream objective 5b and single regeneration budget funding grants; how they are administered on a regional basis; and if he will make a statement. [6190]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 18 December 1995]: There are no specific criteria under these funding and challenge competitions in relation to oil and gas-related projects, but depending on the nature of any future projects account might need to be taken of any wider impact that they might have on the sector in terms of its existing capacity and employment. The same considerations would apply to projects in other industrial sectors. It is expected that the regional administrative arrangements for these measures will remain unchanged.
19 Dec 1995 : Column: 1087
Mr. Porter: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the eligibility criteria by which a scheme in Swaffham, Norfolk, won the regional challenge funding for East Anglia; and if he will make a statement. [6203]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 18 December 1995]: All bids, including the winning regional challenge project for the East Anglia objective 5(b) area, were assessed against the criteria for the regional challenge competition and those provided for in the East Anglia single programming document.
Mr. Porter: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what (i) consultation, (ii) visits and (iii) submissions the government office for the eastern region was involved in and when they took place, to date in 1995, in connection with regional challenge and objective 5b funding in Suffolk and Norfolk; and if he will make a statement. [6196]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 18 December 1995]: Prior to the formal submission of the regional challenge bids, visits were made to Breckland district council on 10 July and Waveney district council on 26 July at the request of those councils. A sub-group of the objective 5b monitoring committee, accompanied by GOER officials, visited Breckland district council on 4 September and Waveney district council on 13 September for presentations on the regional challenge bids, in preparation for the consideration of those bids by the monitoring committee on 18 September. Senior officials from GOER visited Waveney district council on 10 November to discuss developments in market conditions affecting the regional challenge proposals for the marine base.
Other contacts, mainly by telephone and in writing, have taken place throughout the period, largely for clarification of the bids.
Mr. Porter:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the considerations above the strict eligibility criteria he employed in determining the regional challenge and objective 5b funding applications for Suffolk and Norfolk. [6198]
Mr. Oppenheim
[holding answer 18 December 1995]: No special considerations above those applying to regional challenge and objective 5b funding were employed in determining the eligibility of the applications for the regional challenge competition. Projects considered to be eligible were assessed against the criteria in the regional challenge bidding guidance and the selection criteria provided for in the East Anglia single programming document. Those project selection criteria included value for money, taking into account the likelihood of achievement of the projected outputs from the proposals.
Mr. Porter:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade at what stage during 1995 (a) his officials, (b) the government office for the eastern region and (c) he personally, determined that gas and oil-related projects were ineligible for regional challenge and objective 5b funding; and if he will make a statement. [6202]
Mr. Oppenheim
[holding answer 18 December 1995]: No such decisions have been taken.
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Mr. Porter:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade under what circumstances his Department reconsiders reworked bids from the Lowestoft area for funding assistance for projects relating to (a) gas and oil, (b) a port and (c) technological development, during 1996; and if he will make a statement. [6197]
Mr. Oppenheim
[holding answer 18 December 1995]: The government office for the eastern region stands ready to consider both new and revised bids from the Lowestoft area against the criteria for the range of measures listed in my previous answers. Any revised bids for oil and gas projects would also be expected to take account of the recent, local market developments in the offshore supply sector which have affected the feasibility of the regional challenge bid for an integrated offshore marine base.
Mr. Steen:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many times the Radio Communications Agency has had cause to reject an application from Scope Marketing (Communications UK) Ltd. Totnes, for an EC type examination certificate under the Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 1992 due to presentational errors from the type approvals laboratories. [7006]
Mr. Ian Taylor
[holding answer 18 December 1995]: The Radiocommunications Agency has not rejected any applications from Scope Marketing (Communications UK) Ltd. Totnes for an EC type examination certificate under the Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 1992 No. 2372, solely on the grounds of presentational errors.
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what systems are in place in (a) the Patent Office, (b) Companies House and (c) the Insolvency Service to compare costs of outside bidders with in-house services prior to any contractorisation; and if he will make a statement on the timetable and stages of contractorisation at each agency. [5836]
Mr. Lang
[holding answer 18 December 1995]: The basis for assessing bids in each agency will be overall value for money, including both the cost and quality of service. On costs, any bids will be assessed against a benchmark of the cost of continuing in-house provision, taking into account any planned efficiencies.
On the timetables for each exercise: (a) Patent Office.
Contracting out is being considered for four areas of the Patent Office--the operation of London front office; accommodation and office services; marketing and information services and information technology services. The first two are in the early stages of competitive tender. If it is decided to award a contract, it is envisaged that contractors would begin work in the early summer of 1996. The other two areas are the subject of feasibility studies.
(b) The Insolvency Service: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North Devon (Mr. Harvey) on 12 December 1995, Official Report, column 599.
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(c) Companies House: Tenders are currently being evaluated for the London and satellite offices in England, the Edinburgh office, and the central inquiry unit and postal search services and the cheque processing functions in Cardiff. If it is decided to award any contract, it is currently envisaged that contractors would be in place by April.
Tender invitations are due to be issued in January 1996 in relation to office services in Cardiff which covers typing, reception, and so on.
Mr. Carlile:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consultations have taken place with staff and unions and (a) the Patent Office and (b) the Insolvency Service with particular reference to benchmarking. [5839]
Mr. Lang
[holding answer 18 December 1995]: Regular meetings have been held with the agency trade unions and staff have also been briefed regularly regarding the progress of the contracting-out process in both agencies. The issue of benchmarks has been covered in discussions or in correspondence with trade unions. Suggestions for efficiency improvements from staff put forward to management and agreed in the normal way are incorporated in the benchmarks.
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