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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
GCSE Passes
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list by local education authority the number and percentage of 18-year-olds with five GCSE passes or equivalent in (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999. [101519]
Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 8 December 1999]: The numbers of 18-year-olds with five GCSE passes or equivalent in 1997 and 1998 for local education authorities in England are shown in the following table. Figures for 1999, other than those released last month in performance tables, are not yet available. It is not possible to provide percentages as these may be misleading--population estimates for local education authorities are based on the resident population, and the GCSE data are institution based. Percentages for individual local education authorities would therefore be distorted by students who are resident in one authority but who took their GCSEs in another.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Working Time Directive
4. Mr. Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment he has made of employment agencies compliance with the Working Time Directive. [100527]
Mr. Alan Johnson: It is too soon to assess the level of compliance. Our revised employment agency regulations will help prevent bureaux acting in a way which denies workers their working time rights.
20. Mr. Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which EU member states have exempted small businesses from the Working Time Regulations. [100546]
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Mr. Alan Johnson:
The Working Time Directive which has been implemented in Great Britain by the Working Time Regulations, requires member states to extend its provisions to all businesses regardless of size. Only workers in the excluded sectors (transport, doctors in training and offshore) are exempt.
15. Mr. Rowlands:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his estimate is of the number of miners compensation claims which have been agreed. [100541]
32. Mr. Crausby:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the number of compensation claims from retired miners that have been settled. [100561]
Mrs. Liddell:
As at the end of November, the Department had made 4,186 full and final payments and 5,523 part payments to ex-miners suffering from Vibration White Finger. A further 584 full and final payments and 15,460 part payments have been made to ex-miners and their families suffering from respiratory diseases. To date the Department has made payments totalling some £89 million.
16. Maria Eagle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on inward investment to Merseyside. [100542]
Mr. Caborn:
Since May 1997 my Department has made 255 offers of Regional Selective Assistance in the Merseyside area, including 31 offers to overseas companies, creating or safeguarding nearly 18,000 jobs. Major inward investment successes have included Capital Bank and the new Jaguar X400 saloon.
17. Mr. Steen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many rules and regulations have been repealed since May 1997 by his Department to assist small businesses. [100543]
Ms Hewitt:
Between May 1997 and October 1999 my Department made 25 regulations that reduced costs on business, including small business.
We have taken many other actions to assist small businesses. For example, we have introduced legislation on late payment, we are setting up the Small Business Service, and we are consulting on proposals to raise the thresholds below which small companies are exempt from requirements to file full accounts and to have those accounts audited.
31. Mr. Dobbin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to encourage technical innovation in small businesses. [100560]
Ms Hewitt:
As indicated in the consultation document, "The Small Business Service--A Public Consultation" (URN 99/815), I intend to improve the coherence and customer-focus of my Department's support for small businesses by making most such support accessible through the Small Business Service. In addition, I have already announced that the Smart scheme has been
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expanded to a commitment of over £100 million over the period 1999-2000 to 2001-02 and its scope enlarged so that now even more small businesses will benefit from cash support for technology development and acquisition. The new Enterprise Fund will provide regional and high-tech venture capital funds for start-ups and small companies with growth potential. Also, my Department's funding for the TCS scheme is being doubled and we are creating a national network of Faraday Partnerships designed to support knowledge transfer to small businesses in particular.
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