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Millennium Compliance
Ms Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how much money has been allocated to provide free Bug-buster courses for small and medium-sized enterprises; [75255]
- (2) how many small and medium-sized enterprises have completed Bug-buster training courses; [75256]
(3) how many accredited training providers are offering Bug-buster courses funded by his Department to small and medium-sized enterprises; [75257]
(4) what plans he has for the future funding of the free delivery of Bug-buster courses for small and medium- sized enterprises. [75258]
Mr. Mudie: £26 million was allocated to provide Bug-buster training courses. As at 5 March, 24,774 people had started training, 22,376 of these had completed, and a further 9,474 had booked places. There are 180 accredited providers offering training under the scheme.
When the free programme ends, training will continue to be available at commercial prices. The average cost per business of a two day Bug-buster course will come to about £750 per trainee, which is a sound investment compared to the potential financial damage posed by the Millennium Bug.
The Government have made a significant investment in developing the courses, establishing the accreditation process and quality assuring the training, and this will continue. Small and medium-sized enterprises can also get help and advice on Year 2000 issues from their local Business Link.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many individual learning accounts have been created to date; and at what cost. [76436]
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Mr. Mudie:
To date, around 3,000 individual learning accounts have been opened, through 15 development projects led by TECs. The DfEE contributed £816,000 to these projects; this funding was used to test out a range of processes, systems and marketing approaches to help inform the final framework. The National Framework will be launched in 2000, from which time Individual Learning Accounts will be widely available.
Mr. Willis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to limit the amounts (a) individuals and their families and (b) employers can invest in individual learning accounts free of tax; and if he will make a statement. [77884]
Mr. Mudie:
There are no plans to limit the amount an individual and/or their family can contribute to the individual's individual learning account (ILA), although the incentives will be available only on the first £500 spent on eligible courses in any one year.
There are no plans to limit the tax-free contributions that employers can invest in their employees' ILAs provided that the employers contribute to the ILAs of their lowest paid employees on similar terms and the contribution can only be used to pay for eligible learning.
Mr. Willis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment which financial institution will handle individual learning accounts; and what will be the administration fee for each separate account. [77883]
Mr. Mudie:
The national framework for individual learning accounts is still under development. It will be ready for launch in April 2000. We hope that a range of financial institutions will be involved in the provision of accounts. At this stage it is too early to say which financial institutions will be involved or how administration arrangements will work--currently our discussions are commercial in confidence. We plan to publish detailed arrangements for the national framework later this year.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many times Ministers in his Department have met their counterparts in the US Government since 1 June 1998; and if he will list the dates and locations of each meeting, the Ministers involved on each occasion, and the name of the US counterpart at each meeting. [77122]
Mr. Mudie:
My right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities met his US counterpart, Alexis Herman, at the G8 conference in Washington in February this year. No other such meetings have taken place since 1 June 1998.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for (a) small and medium-sized enterprises and (b) larger companies (i) all licences and permits issued by his Department and its agencies to companies permitting them to carry out their business, (ii) the cost of each such licence or permit in (A) 1997-98 and (B) 1999-2000 and (iii) the current number of companies which are in receipt of each such licence or permit. [76847]
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Mr. Mudie
[holding answer 16 March 1999]: (i) The Department grants Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) and Chambers of Commerce, Training and Enterprise (CCTEs) licences to operate as TEC/CCTEs in their agreed operational area. These organisations are small or medium sized enterprises.
(ii) The TECs/CCTE licence is free of charge.
(iii) There are 72 licensed TEC/CCTEs in England.
Mr. Healey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish Employment Service performance data in relation to the annual performance agreement targets on a quarterly basis. [77352]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
A summary of Employment Service performance against its Annual Performance Agreement targets will be published on a quarterly basis in future, starting with the first quarter of the 1999-2000 operational year. Performance for the 1998-99 operational year as a whole will be published in the Employment Service Annual Report and Accounts before the summer recess.
Mr. Healey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people called Employment Service Direct in the latest period for which figures are available; what proportion of callers were (i) unemployed and (ii) employed; and what were the placings rates into jobs. [77351]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
Responsibility for the subject of these questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Foster to Mr. John Healey, dated 18 March 1999.
Dr. Julian Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright), of 8 March 1999, Official Report, column 71, about non-departmental public bodies, for what reasons the
23 Mar 1999 : Column: 198
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority declined to make its minutes available to a member of the public on 9 March. [77296]
Mr. Mudie:
My answer did not differentiate between bodies which publish or make available to the public minutes of meetings and those that publish or make available summary reports of meetings. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority declined to make available the minutes of its meetings when asked, as it does not publish these. The Authority does, however, publish summary reports of its meetings, as outlined in my pursuant reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright), 17 March 1999, Official Report, column 691.
Mr. Fallon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will set out the process by which each category of school will receive the £2,000 for books announced in the Budget. [77434]
Ms Estelle Morris:
Each local education authority will pay £20 per pupil to schools with 100 pupils or fewer, and at least £2,000 to schools with more than 100 pupils.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of his Department's budget is spent on education in schools about the dangers caused by smoking; and if he will make a statement. [77588]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The dangers of smoking form a vital part of education about drugs. We are supporting £7 million of expenditure this year through the Standards Fund programme, to assist primary and secondary schools and the youth service to deliver effective education about drugs, including alcohol and tobacco. This is 1.1 per cent. of the £627 million of expenditure being supported in total through the Standards Fund programme this year, which includes a range of grants that reflect the Government's central priority of raising standards in our schools, as set out in the "Excellence in Schools" White Paper. We will also be providing increased support of £7.5 million for drug education through the Standards Fund programme in each of the next three years.
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked Leigh Lewis to reply to your question about how many people have called Employment Service Direct in the latest period for which figures are available, the proportion of callers who were unemployed and employed and the placings rate into jobs. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mr. Lewis as Chief Executive of the Employment Service. I am replying in his absence.
The most recent figures show that almost 53,000 calls were made to Employment Service Direct during the week ending Saturday 13 March. Some 95 per cent. of these calls were from unemployed people. During the same week the Service placed over 1,300 people into work. Since its introduction on 4 January Employment Service Direct has received more than 480,000 calls resulting, so far, in over 9,000 job placings. Some 98 per cent. of these were of unemployed people. Further placings are likely to occur as a result of calls already made as the results of job interviews and submissions become available.
I hope this is helpful.
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