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General Agreement on Trade in Services
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to inform Parliament about the Government's future negotiating position on the General Agreement on Trade in Services. [R] [6471]
Nigel Griffiths: Parliament approved the objective of sustainable development through progressive liberalisation under the General Agreement on Trade in Services as part of its support for the results of the Uruguay Round. The DTI has been consulting on the current GATS negotiations since 1998. Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise the results of negotiations.
SMART Development (Hull)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many firms in the Hull area have received SMART development money over the past five years; and if she will indicate the companies concerned and the amounts involved. [7099]
Nigel Griffiths: The following businesses in the Hull Travel-to-Work Area have been offered Smart or SPUR awards since 1 April 1996:
(6) SMART was merged with SPUR on 1 April 1997 to form a new Smart scheme, to provide grants for feasibility studies and development projects
(7) SPUR provided grants for development projects
(8) Although SPUR was closed on 31 March 1997, a small number of former SMART award winners were still eligible to apply for SPUR awards after that date
(9) Smart Micro Projects were introduced in October 1999. Grants are provided towards the costs of developing simple prototypes
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Assisted Areas
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the areas in receipt of assisted area status may be changed through the Assisted Areas Order 2000 prior to the expiry of that Order in 2006. [6646]
Alan Johnson: As I told the hon. Member on 19 July 2001, Official Report, column 326W, the Government are not planning to review the assisted areas until it is necessary to develop proposals for the period after 2006.
RDAs (Tourism)
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money (a) Yorkshire Forward, (b) One North East, (c) East of England, (d) South West of England, (e) South East of England, (f) East Midlands, (g) Advantage West Midlands and (h) North West Development Agency have made available to the tourism industry. [7630]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 15 October 2001]: The tourism industry benefits substantially from spending all of the Regional Development Agencies' main programmes including SRB and Rural Regeneration. It is also a particular focus of the Business Recovery Fund for foot and mouth disease established by the RDAs largely with extra resources. With an increasing budget, greater flexibility and increased economic focus, the RDAs can continue to build on their support for the tourism industry. Figures for the total spending on the tourism industry are not available because records are maintained on a programme rather than business sector basis.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Departmental Staff
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will estimate the number of staff employed by her Department by region and nation of the UK; and if she will make a statement. [6822]
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Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development currently employs 796 permanent staff in London and 483 in Scotland.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will estimate total annual staff costs for her Department and its agencies by nation and region of the UK; and if she will make a statement. [6823]
Hilary Benn: Within the UK, DFID staff are located in London and Scotland only. In 2001–02, we estimate we will spend approximately £28 million on the pay and related costs of staff based in London; and approximately £10 million on the equivalent costs of staff in Scotland.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what proportion of each Civil Service grade in her Department is located in each region and nation of the UK; what the average salary is for each grade; and if she will make a statement. [6826]
Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development currently employs 796 staff in London and 483 staff in Scotland. The table gives the detailed information requested.
| Grade equivalent | Number(10) | Proportion of those in grade | Average salary(11) (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | |||
| SCS | 54 | 91.5 | 64,187 |
| G6 | 128 | 96.97 | 47,443 |
| G7 | 188 | 90.38 | 37,617 |
| SEO | 60 | 60.6 | 28,492 |
| HEO | 143 | 70.1 | 24,238 |
| HEO(D) | 52 | 94.55 | 23,773 |
| EO | 144 | 51.99 | 18,747 |
| AO | 153 | 47.52 | 15,489 |
| AA | 54 | 52.43 | 12,763 |
| Scotland | |||
| SCS | 5 | 8.5 | 62,589 |
| G6 | 4 | 3.03 | 44,430 |
| G7 | 20 | 9.62 | 33,952 |
| SEO | 39 | 39.4 | 25,985 |
| HEO | 61 | 29.9 | 21,577 |
| HEO(D) | 3 | 5.45 | 20,434 |
| EO | 133 | 48.01 | 16,893 |
| AO | 169 | 52.48 | 13,083 |
| AA | 49 | 47.57 | 9,986 |
(10) The figures include 180 of our overseas staff who are normally UK-based and are paid London salaries which cannot be disaggregated in our calculations
(11) These figures are for August 2000 salaries. The pay award for August 2001 has yet to be finalised
London Weighting
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will estimate the total value of London weightings and London living allowances for her Department; and if she will make a statement. [6824]
Hilary Benn: On 1 April 1996, following annual pay negotiations with Trade Union representatives and a ballot of staff, London Weighting was fully consolidated into pay for all permanent staff below the Senior Civil Service.
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For the Senior Civil Service, with the agreement of all those involved, London Weighting was fully consolidated into pay on 1 January 1999.
It is not however possible to estimate the total value of this in current salaries. Individual salaries are based on a number of factors, including performance year on year. Therefore, although the average salary is higher in London at all grades, the difference cannot be fully attributed to the element previously paid separately as London Weighting Allowance.
Departmental Properties
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will estimate the total running costs for buildings used, owned or rented by her Department for each nation and region of the UK, and estimate the average cost per square metre for properties used by her Department as a whole, and by region and nation of the UK. [6825]
Hilary Benn: The estimated total annual costs of our accommodation in our two UK locations, central London and East Kilbride, are as set out in the table. These costs include rent (applicable in the case of central London but not East Kilbride), rates, utilities, service charges, maintenance and minor works, cleaning and security.
| Location | Total running costs | Cost per sq m |
|---|---|---|
| Central London | 7,500,000 | 504 |
| East Kilbride | 840,000 | 81 |
| Overall | 8,340,000 | 330 |
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