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Recruitment Industry
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received in response to his proposals relating to regulation of Temp to Perm in
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the private recruitment industry as contained in his Department's draft regulation of 16 March; what assessment his Department has made of (a) the potential effect of these proposals on the permanent recruitment market and (b) the extent to which the proposals may create a disincentive to recruitment firms to train and develop their temporary workers; and if he will make a statement. [123399]
Mr. Alan Johnson: We have received representations from agencies, workers, unions and employers. There has been general support for the principle that hirers should have the option of a hiring extension of negotiable length, followed by free transfer, as an alternative to a "temp to perm" fee and also that there should be a limit on the period agencies may continue to demand a transfer fee after a hirer has ceased to engage a worker. Some respondents have endorsed our suggested four week limit but others have advocated shorter and longer periods.
Employers wishing to recruit permanent staff will generally continue to do so from the outset, because they will wish to attract applicants who are looking for permanent work. This is confirmed by our analysis of independent research showing the level of market segmentation between the permanent and temporary sectors.
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We do not believe that a disincentive for bureaux to train and develop temporary workers will be created. Hirers will continue to seek skilled staff, and bureaux will continue to be able to recoup their training costs, in the event of a temporary worker transferring to permanent employment, either through an extension of the hiring period or the charging of a "temp to perm" fee.
Business Links
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses with more than (a) one employee and (b) 10 employees used the Business Link Service in each region in (i) the most recent available year and (ii) 1997-98. [123535]
Ms Hewitt: As part of the Management Information requirement, Business Links provide SBS with total usage data which is broken down to usage by number of employees.
The data requirement is to count all businesses using Business Link services for non-trivial activity. The table shows that activity for periods 1997-98 and 1999-2000. A business which receives advice twice within a quarter is only counted once, but a business which receives assistance in two separate quarters will be counted in each quarter. It is not possible, because of the risk of double counting, to give precise total usage of businesses being assisted each year.
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| Quarter | Number of employees | England Total | East | East Midlands | London | North West | North East | South East | South West | West Midlands | Yorkshire and Humberside |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | |||||||||||
| Q1 April-June | 1-9 | 40,984 | 3,998 | 2,762 | 4,059 | 7,905 | 1,839 | 7,019 | 4,675 | 4,890 | 3,837 |
| 10+ | 46,399 | 5,012 | 3,407 | 4,416 | 8,925 | 2,219 | 6,785 | 4,504 | 6,562 | 4,569 | |
| Q2 July-September | 1-9 | 42,811 | 3,822 | 3,078 | 4,927 | 7,680 | 1,954 | 6,482 | 5,013 | 5,826 | 4,029 |
| 10+ | 49,802 | 5,915 | 4,109 | 4,502 | 9,434 | 2,423 | 6,881 | 3,996 | 8,351 | 4,191 | |
| Q3 October-December | 1-9 | 42,200 | 4,033 | 3,104 | 5,110 | 7,558 | 1,654 | 6,349 | 4,199 | 5,650 | 4,543 |
| 10+ | 47,955 | 5,577 | 3,286 | 5,899 | 8,568 | 2,305 | 6,821 | 3,333 | 7,399 | 4,767 | |
| Q4 January-March | 1-9 | 42,604 | 4,256 | 3,627 | 4,447 | 7,322 | 1,845 | 6,812 | 3,919 | 5,710 | 4,666 |
| 10+ | 47,916 | 5,732 | 3,979 | 4,273 | 9,255 | 2,059 | 6,869 | 3,489 | 7,180 | 5,080 | |
| Average | 1-9 | 42,510 | 4,027 | 3,143 | 4,636 | 7,616 | 1,823 | 6,666 | 4,452 | 5,519 | 4,269 |
| 10+ | 48,018 | 5,559 | 3,695 | 4,773 | 9,046 | 2,252 | 6,839 | 3,831 | 7,373 | 4,652 | |
| 1997-98 | |||||||||||
| Q1 April-June | 1-9 | 39,296 | 8,176 | 1,693 | 2,770 | 9,973 | 2,126 | 4,234 | 3,914 | 3,748 | 2,662 |
| 10+ | 36,693 | 6,843 | 2,186 | 2,121 | 6,989 | 1,378 | 3,942 | 3,898 | 6,864 | 2,472 | |
| Q2 July-September | 1-9 | 42,140 | 7,895 | 2,036 | 2,770 | 8,809 | 2,352 | 7,116 | 4,257 | 3,692 | 3,209 |
| 10+ | 39,243 | 7,121 | 2,230 | 2,599 | 7,051 | 2,399 | 4,954 | 3,820 | 6,651 | 2,418 | |
| Q3 October-December | 1-9 | 41,340 | 5,933 | 2,124 | 2,937 | 9,121 | 3,313 | 7,784 | 3,972 | 3,189 | 2,967 |
| 10+ | 39,659 | 5,714 | 2,440 | 3,372 | 7,781 | 3,254 | 5,201 | 3,613 | 5,568 | 2,716 | |
| Q4 January-March | 1-9 | 44,176 | 6,483 | 2,264 | 3,591 | 10,483 | 1,686 | 7,625 | 4,139 | 3,960 | 3,943 |
| 10+ | 42,876 | 7,656 | 2,341 | 4,075 | 8,002 | 2,075 | 4,797 | 3,823 | 6,476 | 3,631 | |
| Average | 1-9 | 41,738 | 7,122 | 2,029 | 3,017 | 9,597 | 2,369 | 6,690 | 4,071 | 3,647 | 3,195 |
| 10+ | 39,618 | 6,834 | 2,299 | 3,042 | 7,456 | 2,277 | 4,724 | 3,789 | 6,390 | 2,809 |
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Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Business Links Partnerships have developed centres of enterprise, and which business areas are covered by each centre. [123544]
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Mr. Alan Johnson: There are currently 22 centres of expertise within the Business Links Partnerships funded specifically for that purpose. The Business Links Partnerships and the 22 centres of expertise are set out in the following table. A number of these projects are not sector specific and are designed to support all businesses.
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Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses in each region have received expert advice on the use of information and communications technologies from Local Support Centres associated with Business Links. [123539]
Ms Hewitt: As part of the Management Information requirement, Business Links provide SBS with usage data for the Information Society Initiative Centres (formally known as Local Support Centres).
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We do not collect national records of the nature of every assistance given, in order to minimise the management requirement of Business Links. However, we do ask them to omit trivial activity. The table shows activity for the period 1999-2000. The figures given are the numbers of businesses assisted in each quarter. A business which receives advice twice within a quarter is only counted once, but a business which receives assistance in two separate quarters will be counted in each quarter. It is not possible, because of the risk of double counting, to give a precise total number of businesses being assisted each year.
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| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April-June | July-September | October-December | January-March | Average | |
| England total | 3,126 | 4,969 | 4,141 | 5,587 | 4,456 |
| East | 46 | 105 | 136 | 246 | 133 |
| East Midlands | 594 | 467 | 544 | 471 | 519 |
| London | 577 | 937 | 579 | 557 | 663 |
| North West | 639 | 755 | 617 | 1,015 | 757 |
| North East | 118 | 144 | 209 | 62 | 133 |
| South East | 303 | 554 | 384 | 1,111 | 588 |
| South West | 145 | 337 | 358 | 449 | 322 |
| West Midlands | 516 | 1,126 | 901 | 536 | 770 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 188 | 544 | 413 | 1,140 | 571 |
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