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Small Business Service
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the local boundaries for the Small Business Service. [96729]
Ms Hewitt:
In July, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry asked for the advice of the Regional Development Agencies and the London Development Partnership on the boundaries for local delivery of services on behalf of the Small Business Service and the proposed Learning and Skills Council. After widespread consultation in each region, the RDAs and LDP have provided that advice to us and we have given it very careful consideration.
28 Oct 1999 : Column: 937
I can now announce that the boundaries for the 45 Small Business Service local areas are as follows:
| Region | Areas |
|---|---|
| North West | 7 |
| Cumbria | |
| Merseyside/Halton | |
| East Lancashire | |
| West and North Lancashire | |
| Cheshire/Warrington | |
| Greater Manchester (2) | |
| North East | 4 |
| Tyne and Wear | |
| County Durham | |
| Tees Valley | |
| Northumberland | |
| West Midlands | 6 |
| Birmingham and Solihull | |
| Staffordshire | |
| Shropshire | |
| Herefordshire and Worcestershire | |
| The Black Country | |
| Coventry and Warwickshire | |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4 |
| North Yorkshire | |
| South Yorkshire | |
| West Yorkshire | |
| Humberside | |
| East Midlands | 5 |
| Lincolnshire (including Rutland) | |
| Northamptonshire | |
| Leicestershire | |
| Derbyshire | |
| Nottinghamshire | |
| East of England | 6 |
| Bedfordshire | |
| Essex | |
| Cambridgeshire | |
| Hertfordshire | |
| Norfolk | |
| Suffolk | |
| London | 1 |
| (with 5 local delivery operations) | |
| South East | 6 |
| Surrey | |
| East Sussex/West Sussex/Brighton and Hove | |
| Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire/Milton Keynes | |
| Kent/Medway | |
| Hampshire/Isle of Wight/Portsmouth/Southampton | |
| Bracknell Forest/West Berkshire/Reading/Slough/ Windsor/Maidenhead/Workingham | |
| South West | 6 |
| Devon and Cornwall | |
| Somerset | |
| Gloucestershire | |
| Bournemouth/Dorset/Poole | |
| Wiltshire/Swindon | |
| The Former Avon |
A copy has been placed in the Library of the House. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Lifelong Learning and I will be writing to hon. Members with full information about the new areas.
28 Oct 1999 : Column: 938
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment are grateful to the RDAs and LDP for their advice.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations his Department has received concerning Lufthansa's dismissal of workers following a strike. [96244]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
The Department has received a number of letters urging the Government to give its support to the strikers in the Skychefs dispute. However, it is not the Government's policy to intervene in industrial disputes or be seen to take sides by commenting on the conduct of one side or the other. Disputes are a matter for the parties concerned to resolve with the assistance of the independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) where both parties agree.
We intend to bring Section 16 and Schedule 5 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 into force by Easter next year. These provisions will extend the right of protection for those dismissed for taking lawfully organised industrial action to complain to a tribunal of unfair dismissal. They are designed to stop precipitate dismissals and to place an onus on both employers and unions to settle disputes by negotiation.
Easter Adjournment
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the President of the Council when she expects the next Easter adjournment to take place. [95941]
Mrs. Beckett: I am not yet able, before the start of the new Session, to forecast when the House will not be sitting, but I hope to give further information nearer the time.
Staff Pensions
Mr. Burden: To ask the President of the Council how many hon. Members use the Fees Office facility to contribute to pension provision for their staff; and how many staff are covered by the facility. [95654]
Mrs. Beckett: The information requested is as follows (and was current at 22 October 1999).
625 hon. Members use the Fees Office facility to contribute to pension provision for their staff; and 1,276 staff are covered by this facility.
Archival Paper
Mrs. Gordon: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if she will make available to hon. Members samples of the archival paper which the Committee recommends should replace vellum as the means of preserving record copies of Acts. [96313]
Mrs. Roe:
Yes; I am please to advise the hon. Lady that I have arranged for samples of the archival paper, which it is proposed should replace vellum, to be placed in the Library.
28 Oct 1999 : Column: 939
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, what plans he has to use private security services in the Palace of Westminster. [95819]
Mr. Kirkwood:
There are no current plans to use private security services in the Palace of Westminster. A new contract for security services came into force with the Metropolitan Police on 1 September this year. It is for two years with the option for annual extensions thereafter.
Mrs. Roe:
To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will make a statement on the matter of Harmon CFEM Facades (UK) Ltd. v. The Corporate Officer of the House of Commons. [95880]
Mr. Kirkwood:
A Judge of the Technology and Construction Court has found the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons liable for damages in relation to its decision to award the external cladding package for the New Parliamentary Building to an Austrian/British company, Seele Alvis.
The Commission is concerned by the Judge's finding that the project team unlawfully promoted a "Buy British" policy. Given the liquidation of Harmon in March 1998, the House would have been put in a disastrous situation if the contract had gone to them. Another contractor would have to have been found which would have caused delay to the project and would have meant major financial loss, estimated to be an additional £12 million, on a project which is on time and under budget.
The Judge has held that Harmon is entitled to recover its tender costs (claimed at not more than £438,000) and any profit it can prove it would have earned. These are to be determined at a later hearing. The Judge has said that the fact that Harmon went into insolvent liquidation during the period it would have carried out the contract, cannot be ignored.
Advice on the grounds for appeal is being sought.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the OECD's list of tax havens and its recommendations pertaining to them; and if he will make a statement. [94805]
Dawn Primarolo:
The OECD has not yet completed its evaluation of tax havens.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those elements of fiscal harmonisation currently being discussed at EU level to which he (a) has and (b) has not raised objections; and if he will make a statement. [95225]
28 Oct 1999 : Column: 940
Dawn Primarolo:
As the joint statement made by the Prime Minister and the German Chancellor last December makes clear, the UK Government will not support proposals leading to a higher tax burden and jeopardising competitiveness and jobs in the EU. We fully support enhanced co-operation in the fight against tax abuse and evasion, and to combat unfair tax competition.
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the (a) conclusions, (b) minutes and (c) agenda of the meeting of EU Tax Ministers held on 13 and 14 October at Fiuggi near Rome. [95093]
Dawn Primarolo:
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 13 July 1999, Official Report, column 182.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made in providing self-correcting spectacles in countries with limited optical services; and if she will make a statement. [94804]
Clare Short:
We are providing a grant of £250,000 to "Adaptive Eye Care Ltd.", to assist in funding a 12 month programme in Africa and Asia, to further develop the adaptive spectacles. The programme covers market research, product field trials and local staff training.
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