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Business Survival Rates
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list for (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) each English region and (f) each local authority in the United Kingdom, the percentage of businesses surviving three years for the latest period for which figures are available. [34307]
Nigel Griffiths: We estimate survival rates on the basis of businesses registering for VAT who are still registered three years after. These data are available at Business Link, Training and Enterprise Council and Local Enterprise Company level. Data at local authority level are not available. The latest data relate to 1996 registrants and are set out in the table.
Source:
Small Business Service April 2001
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Regional Assistance (North-west)
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry further to the answer to the hon. Member for Knowsley, North and Sefton, East, (Mr. Howarth) of 29 January 2002 , Official Report, column 160W, if she will list the recipients of regional assistance grants within the Liverpool, Walton constituency in each year from 1992 to 2001. [34432]
Alan Johnson: Recipients of regional assistance grants in Liverpool Walton are set out in the following table. This represents offers of regional selective assistance made by the Department of Trade and Industry. Offers that are not yet in the public domain have been excluded.
| Financial year | Company name |
|---|---|
| 1992–93 | Panda Alarms Ltd. |
| 1992–93 | Commercial Hydraulics Liverpool Ltd. |
| 1992–93 | Food Integrants Ltd. |
| 1992–93 | W. R. Wright and Sons Ltd. |
| 1993–94 | Fortress Fabrications Ltd. |
| 1993–94 | Yes Stores Ltd. |
| 1993–94 | Fortress Fabrications Ltd. |
| 1994–95 | Fortress Fabrications Ltd. |
| 1994–95 | Stella Products Ltd. |
| 1996–97 | Ascotcrown Ltd. |
| 1996–97 | James Price Glazing Ltd. |
| 1997–98 | Dunlop Hevea (Industrial Footwear) Ltd. |
| 1999–2000 | Friskies Petcare (UK) Ltd. |
Small Business Service
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Small Business Service has to publish and maintain a clear strategy backed by clear milestones and targets. [33982]
11 Feb 2002 : Column 71W
Nigel Griffiths: The Small Business Service's strategy for 2001–04 and business plan for 2001–02 are available in the Libraries of the House and on www.sbs.gov.uk.
SBS's priorities and operational targets for the next year are currently being developed and will be published in their business plan for 2002–03. Operational targets for 2002–03 will be announced in the House.
Entertainment Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list, for 1997–98 and for each subsequent financial year, the amount spent (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) abroad by (i) her Department, (ii) its agencies and (iii) its non-departmental public bodies on (1) providing mobile telephone equipment, including handsets and other associated equipment, (2) telephone calls made using such equipment and (3) telephone calls made using privately owned mobile telephones but subsequently reclaimed by (x) Ministers and (y) staff. [34414]
Ms Hewitt: This information is not held centrally in the Department of Trade and Industry and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Responsibility for the provision of mobile telephones for official purposes and for payment of the associated call charges was devolved to individual directorates, agencies and NDPBs at the end of March 1993. Since August 1997, the DTI has increasingly made use of the central Mobile Telecommunications contract managed by the Office for Government Commerce. Vodafone are the latest suppliers of this contract, which provides a call-off arrangement for DTI users at advantageous prices ensuring that the Department obtains good value for money.
Accountancy Services
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost to her Department was for accountancy services in each of the last four years. [34178]
Ms Hewitt: The Department entered into a contract for the provision of accounts with CSL Group Ltd., effective from 1 April 1995. The contract, which covered an initial period of five years, was extended for a further two years. The cost of services is in part dependent upon volume of transactions. The average cost is approximately £2 million per annum.
The Department has also entered into a PFI agreement for the development of a new financial accounting system. Under the terms of the agreement, the costs of development (approx £10 million) are recoverable over the (10-year) life of the system.
| Accounts services provision | PFI agreement | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 2 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | 2 | 0.5 |
| 1999–2000 | 2 | 1.1 |
| 2000–01 | 2 | 1.4 |
11 Feb 2002 : Column 72W
Advantage West Midlands
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are directly employed by Advantage West Midlands; and how many equivalent full-time posts this represents. [34806]
Alan Johnson: Advantage West Midlands employs 173 staff; this includes staff seconded to other organisations. This figure represents 170.7 full-time equivalent posts.
Skills Councils
Mr. Olner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has made to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to include the manufacturing sector in the trailblazers for the new sector skills councils. [34577]
Ms Hewitt: The DTI was represented in the interdepartmental group that considered bids to become trailblazer sector skills councils. We are pleased that important manufacturing interests such as textiles, oil and gas production, refining and distribution and chemicals manufacture are represented amongst the trailblazers. We are committed to building the conditions in which a successful manufacturing sector can thrive. The network of business-led sector skills councils currently being put in place will provide the framework in which to develop a highly skilled workforce that will support improved productivity and innovation in manufacturing companies in the UK.
Consignia
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when a permanent chairman will be appointed to Consignia plc. [34793]
Mr. Alexander: Arrangements are in hand to recruit a permanent Chairman of Consignia. With the help of recruitment consultants, we are undertaking an open competition in accordance to the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice. We are looking to make an appointment as soon as possible. In the interim, the Board of Consignia have asked Allan Leighton to Chair the Board.
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