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2 Feb 2004 : Column 651W—continued
Small Business Service
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Small Business Service has cost in each year since it was established and how many people it employed in each year. [152047]
Nigel Griffiths: The administration cost of the Small Business Service for each year since it was established, is shown in the following table with the people employed each year. These figures are in the Small Business Service published accounts available in the Libraries of the House.
| £000 | People (average full time equivalent) | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 10,195 | 203 | Excluding agency staff and secondments |
| 2001–02 | 13,420 | 284 | Excluding agency staff and secondments |
| 2001–02 | 13,420 | 326 | Revised to include agency staff and secondments |
| 2002–03 | 18,012 | 440 | Includes agency staff and secondments |
Notes:
1. We have interpreted the question as being about how much the small business service costs to run (£18 million in 2002–03), rather than the cost of the programmes it delivers (outturn £354 million in 2002–03).
2. The total cost of running the SBS reported in the accounts includes not only the administration budget from DTI (outturn £11.5 million in 2002–03) which covers staff in London and Sheffield, and Directors for the regions, but also the cost of the regional teams, SBS's share of DTI central services and accommodation costs.
3. The leap in administration costs from 2001–02 (£13 million) to 2002–03 (£18 million) is due to the transfer of 94 staff (full-time equivalents) from Government Offices to SBS regional teams, and to a rise in accommodation costs.
Smart Award
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has (a) to increase the upper limit of Smart award grants and (b) to simplify the Smart application process. [152058]
Nigel Griffiths: The information is as follows.
(a) Following the DTI's review of business support, the Smart scheme has been replaced with a new product from 1 June 2003, Grant for Research and Development, which provides a higher maximum grant for each element than did Smart. The maxima are now £20,000 for a micro project, £75,000 for a research project, £200,000 for a development project and £500,000 for an exceptional development project.
(b) In December 2002 the Smart application form and guidance notes for applicants were simplified so that the number of questions on the form was reduced from 35 to nine. Those modifications have been carried over into the Grant for Research and Development
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application form. The application procedure is the minimum necessary to protect public funds but is kept under review.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of Smart award-winners have reported increased profitability as a result of their award. [152059]
Nigel Griffiths: The report of the most recent, independent evaluation of the Smart scheme was published in September 2001. Of those award recipients surveyed 51 per cent. indicated that their business had become more profitable as a result of the Smart support received.
Space Research
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether debt accrued by the Beagle 2 programme will be met from existing departmental budget allocations for space programmes and research. [148976]
Ms Hewitt: The Beagle 2 Mars lander was funded by a combination of public and private sector contributions. All funding provided by my Department, directly or by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Council, has been paid as grants. In certain circumstances, some elements of those grants were repayable. Those circumstances have not arisen to date. The Department has no outstanding commitments to the project.
UK Online for Business
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on the agency UK online for business in each year since its inception. [152050]
Mr. Timms: The following was spent on the DTI programme, UK online for business:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | (12)13.9 |
| 2001–02 | 15.1 |
| 2002–03 | 13.1 |
| 2003–04 | (13)7 |
(12) UK online for business was established in September 2000 as a successor programme to the Information Society Initiative. Expenditure in 2000–01 includes the period April-August 2000, when the ISI was still in force.
(13) The figure for 2003–04 includes spend year to date plus forecast spend for remainder of the year.
CHURCH COMMISSIONERS
Clerical Terms of Service
25. Laura Moffatt: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement on the effect of the recent announcements on rights for members of the clergy; and whether the Church Commissioners will have a role in monitoring progress. [151917]
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Sir Stuart Bell: I refer to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral, South (Mr. Chapman) earlier. While the Review in question is being conducted under the auspices of the Archbishops' Council, hon. Members will know that I take a keen interest in this subject and the Church Commissioners will certainly be consulted by the Council as the matter is taken forward.
Church Repairs (VAT)
27. Miss McIntosh: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent representations he has received on reducing VAT on church repairs. [151919]
Sir Stuart Bell: The hon. Lady will be aware that the broader EU VAT review has currently reached an impasse following the rejection by the Council of Ministers of the proposals brought forward by the Commission last summer. The EU Presidency has now changed and the matter has yet to be formally brought forward for further discussion. The impending elections to the EU Parliament and the likely changes resulting from the appointment of the new Commission later this year may further delay resolution or even consideration of the EU VAT review.
Meanwhile, the Church VAT Group was delighted that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme has been extended to March 2006. The Group remains in touch with officials at HM Treasury and we know that the Government are committed to achieving the aim of a VAT reduction in this area.
Financial Review
Mr. Key: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the recommendations of the Church Commissioners' strategic financial review will be developed into spending plans for 2005 to 2007. [151798]
Sir Stuart Bell: The recommendations of the financial review group will be debated by the Church of England's General Synod on 11 February. Spending plans for 2005–07 will be developed by the Archbishops' Council and the Church Commissioners in the light of that debate and consultation with other interested parties, and shared with Synod later in 2004.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
"Minted"
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what definition of the term minted is used by his Department in (a) internal and external documents and (b) external advertising. [150610]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The word 'minted' is a slang word. The meaning is imprecise but suggests 'having money'.
This word has been in a recent radio advert which aims to raise awareness about student support available to those considering higher education. It has not been used in any internal or external documents.
2 Feb 2004 : Column 654W
Child Deaths
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) cot deaths and (b) sudden infant death syndrome deaths were recorded in (i) 2003, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2000, (v) 1999, (vi) 1998 and (vii) 1997. [152031]
Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Mr. Len Cook to Mr. Tim Loughton, dated 2 February 2004:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on how many a) cot deaths, and b) 'sudden infant death syndrome' deaths were recorded in (i) 2003, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2001, (iv) 2000, (v) 1999, (vi) 1998 and (vii) 1997. (152031)
- In England and Wales the terms 'cot death' and 'Sudden Infant Death Syndrome' are used synonymously in classifying cause of death in babies. In producing figures ONS uses a broad definition of "sudden infant death". This includes any mention of "sudden infant death", "cot death", "crib death", "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" or some similar term on the death certificate.
- The latest available figures are for 2002. Figures since 1997 are given below.
| Numbers | Rates(15) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 393 | 0.61 |
| 1998 | 289 | 0.45 |
| 1999 | 280 | 0.45 |
| 2000 | 246 | 0.41 |
| 2001 | 240 | 0.40 |
| 2002(16) | 187 | 0.31 |
(14) Babies less than one year old.
(15) Rate per 1,000 live births.
(16) Provisional.
Further information is available in two Health Statistics Quarterly articles: 'HSQ 10—Are unascertained deaths the same as sudden infant deaths?' and 'HSQ 19—Sudden infant deaths, 2002', which are available on the national statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=6725.
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