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Tobacco

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what budget he has provided for the establishment of local tobacco control alliances. [109070]

28 Apr 2003 : Column 97W

Ms Blears: The Cancer Plan committed up to £1 million a year over three years (2000–03) to support the establishment and operation of the alliances. For the first year, core funds were provided to begin building these alliances, the second year saw a mixture of core funding and project or operational funds, with the last year (2002–03) providing only project work funds.

The total funds to support local alliance projects for the year 2002–03 was £751,277 and was distributed between September 2002 and January 2003. Further funds were used to provide a national co-ordinator and regular update meetings. Funding arrangements for 2003–04 are currently being finalised.

Tuberculosis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last visited a local health authority in London to see TB screening and prevention services. [106562]

Ms Blears: Departmental officials visited the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Tuberculosis team to observe TB screening of the homeless on 22 and 29 July 2002.

Officials also visited the mobile screening unit during its screening project/pilot in London on 21 November 2002.

Working Hours

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what policy on (a) core hours and (b) flexible working hours is operated by his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible. [107649]

Mr. Hutton: The working day is divided into band widths and core times. In the Department of Health these are:

Starting bandwidths	07.00–10.00
Morning core time	10.00–12.00
Lunchtime band widths	12.00–14.00
Afternoon core time	14.00–15.30
Finishing band widths	15.30–19.00

Core time is the busiest part of the day when all staff are supposed to be at work. Absence during core time can only be with line management permission or for sickness or for some other unexpected reason which prevents someone being at work.These arrangements also apply to most of the Department's agencies and non-departmental bodies. Those with varying bandwidths and core times to suit their local operational needs, are listed as follows.

The NHS Pensions Agency have the following bandwidths which were agreed with local Trades Unions (TUS):

Starting bandwidth	07.00–09.30
Morning core time	09.30–12.00
Lunchtime bandwidth	12.00–14.00
Afternoon core time	14.00–15.00
Finishing bandwidth	15.00–19.00

The National Care Standards Commission—flexi-time is available to administrative support staff on salary bands 1–5 inclusive, only with line manager's approval. The following bandwidths apply:

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Starting bandwidth	08.00–09.30
Morning core time	09.30–12.00
Lunchtime bandwidth	12.00–14.00
Afternoon core time	14.00–16.00
Finishing bandwidth	16.00–18.00

For other groups of staff that are not covered by the flexi-time scheme identified above, the commission supports the process of flexible working without the use of a formalised scheme.

The National Radiological Protection Board operate a similar flexible working hours scheme:

Mondays–Thursdays		Fridays
Morning core time	09.30–11.45	09.30–11.45
Afternoon core time	14.00–16.00	14.00–15.30

Heads of Departments and Directorates do not participate.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Nuclear Physics Research

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the level of ISIS funding and the projects it has funded in 2002–03. [108604]

Ms Hewitt: In 2002–3 the ISIS facility, owned and operated by CCLRC, received £21,379,000 to fund its operations and the services it provides to its research users. This funding was provided from the following sources:

	£000
EPSRC	19,126
BBSRC	228
NERC	100
Overseas Partners:	1,650
EU Framework Programme 6	275

In addition ISIS was active in the following major, multi-year, development projects:

£000

Project	Overall value	Spent in FY 02–03	Internationalinvolvement
2nd harmonic upgrade	7,000	2,210	USA, Japan
MERLIN	3,852	350	USA
GEM	3,563	335	Japan
ENGIN-X	2,510	803	—
SXD	956	146	—
He3 Spin Filters	689	160	FP5 partnership
Target Station 2 preparation	7,100	1,020	—
Total	25,670	5,024	—

28 Apr 2003 : Column 99W

National Minimum Wage

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the extra costs imposed on local authorities in the provision of (a) social services and (b) residential long-term care as a result of the increase in the national minimum wage. [109138]

Alan Johnson: The independent Low Pay Commission looked at this issue in their recent Report to the Government. ¹

They noted,

"The impact of the uprating on particular groups of workers and wage structures in local Government has also been minimal. Evidence from the Employers' Organisation for local government stated our national pay negotiations and spinal column point framework mean that event hose on the lowest pay point are paid above the NMW".
¹ 'Building on Success' released March 2003 p.69

Animal Welfare

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will press for EU action to prohibit the import of seal products where these have been obtained through the clubbing to death of seals. [107680]

Ms Hewitt [holding answer 7 April 2003]: EU Directive (83/129/EEC) prohibits imports of skins from seal pups and breeding mothers of certain species of seal. By protecting these sections of the seal population, the ban aims to protect overall numbers. The EU, with the strong support of the UK, continues to press for animal welfare concerns to be recognised as legitimate grounds for taking trade measures under WTO rules.

Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the funding of the UK Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary. [108176]

Mr. Wilson: The funding of the UKAEA Constabulary is paid by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, BNFL plc and URENCO Ltd. The Police Authority sets the annual budget for the Constabulary. Expenditure in financial year 2001–02 amounted to £23,381,000. The figure of expenditure for the year just ended is not yet available.

Audits

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to prevent the early shredding of (a) audit records and (b) bank reconciliations by auditors and to require audit records to be kept to facilitate investigation of audit failure; and if she will make a statement. [109159]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The keeping of audit records is covered by regulation 3.08b of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) Audit Regulations 1995 (as amended in 1999). This regulation says that

"a registered auditor must keep all audit working papers which auditing standards require for an audit for a period of at least

28 Apr 2003 : Column 100W

six years. The period starts with the end of the accounting period to which the papers relate."

The relevant auditing standards are SAS 230 which details the content of audit working papers, and others such as SAS 200 (on planning) which detail other documentation that needs to be created during the course of an audit. Early shredding of any relevant audit papers, including audit records and bank reconciliations where these form part of the audit working papers, is therefore contrary to regulations. While these are not statutory regulations, compliance with them is indirectly a statutory requirement; the Companies Act 1989 requires audit firms to be registered with a Recognised Supervisory Body such as the ICAEW and to subject themselves to their rules including inspection and enforcement of compliance.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from (a) accounting bodies and (b) professional bodies in support of her proposal to transfer regulatory functions in accountancy and audit from the Accountancy Foundation to the Financial Reporting Council. [109160]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The majority of accountancy bodies and other representative bodies that responded to the Government's consultation document on the review of the regulatory regime of the accountancy profession considered that there was a strong case for the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) taking on the functions of the Accountancy Foundation.

On 29 January 2003 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced that she had accepted the conclusions of the Review team, the main conclusion of which was that the FRC should take on the functions of the Accountancy Foundation. On 11 March the Government published a consultation document on proposals for statutory provisions to support the new regulatory functions of the FRC. The consultation period closes on 10 June.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to cap auditor liabilities; what representations she has received on this from (a) audit firms, (b) professional bodies, (c) the European Commission and (d) academics; and if she will make a statement. [109161]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government is considering proposals on auditor liability and will consult on its own detailed proposals in due course.

We have not received any specific representations on the question of auditor liability; however, a range of interested parties submitted views to the Company Law Review as part of its extensive consultation process. These are on the public record.

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