| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
21 Apr 2004 : Column 531W—continued
New Businesses
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many new businesses have started up in Birkenhead since 1997; [166491]
(2) how many new businesses have been established in Birkenhead since 1997. [166493]
Nigel Griffiths: Barclays Bank's latest survey of business creation (published 31 March 2004) includes non-VAT registered firms and shows that there were 115,000 business start-ups in England and Wales, including 500 in Wirral Local Authority (which contains the constituency of Birkenhead), in the fourth quarter of 2003. The latest yearly figures show 465,000 business start-ups in England and Wales in 2003. This represents a 19 per cent. increase on the year before. There were 2,100 business start-ups in Wirral Local Authority in 2003. Data for local authorities are not available for before 2003.
DTI figures based solely on VAT registrations for Wirral Local Authority (which contains the constituency of Birkenhead) are shown in the table for the period 1997 to 2002. Data for 2003 will be available in autumn 2004.
| Wirral | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 660 |
| 1998 | 595 |
| 1999 | 600 |
| 2000 | 600 |
| 2001 | 555 |
| 2002 | 510 |
Source:
Business Start-ups and Closures
VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2002, Small Business Service
VAT registrations do not capture all start-up activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register will not necessarily have closed. Only 1.8 million out of 3.8 million enterprises were registered for VAT at the start of 2002.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government has taken to help small businesses in Birkenhead since 1997. [166492]
Nigel Griffiths:
The Business Link Operator for Greater Merseyside (GME) has provided assistance to 194 businesses in the Birkenhead constituency since 2001. The Small Business Service was set up as an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry in April 2000. Contracts were exchanged with a national network of 45 business Link operators (seven in the north west) to provide Business Support to small and medium sized enterprises from April 2001. Before this date Government support to businesses was provided through Training and Enterprise Councils and the SBS does not have access to these data.
21 Apr 2004 : Column 532W
The Business Link Operator has provided Business Start Advice to the 194 businesses, and in addition have provided assistance regarding Investors in People, Specialist Business Advice, Workforce development and the Consultancy projects to those companies needing help in these areas.
Eleven companies have received offers of grant from the Research and Development Grant scheme with a total value of £696,160 since 1997.
Under the Enterprise Grant Scheme which has now just come to a close (31 March 2004) 13 companies have received offers of grant with a total value of £334,170.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses have started up in Wirral, South since 1997. [166628]
Nigel Griffiths: Barclays Bank's latest survey of business creation (published 31 March 2004) includes non-VAT registered firms and shows that there were 115,000 business start-ups in England and Wales, including 500 in Wirral Local Authority (which contains the constituency of Wirral, South), in the fourth quarter of 2003. The latest yearly figures show 465,000 business start-ups in England and Wales in 2003. This represents a 19 per cent. increase on the year before. There were 2,100 business start-ups in Wirral Local Authority in 2003. Data for local authorities are not available for before 2003.
DTI figures based solely on VAT registrations for Wirral Local Authority (which contains the constituency of Wirral, South) are shown in the table for the period 1997 to 2002. Data for 2003 will be available in autumn 2004.
| VAT Registrations 1997–2002 | Wirral |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 660 |
| 1998 | 595 |
| 1999 | 600 |
| 2000 | 600 |
| 2001 | 555 |
| 2002 | 510 |
Source:
Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2002, Small Business Service.
VAT registrations do not capture all start-up activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register will not necessarily have closed. Only 1.8 million out of 3.8 million enterprises were registered for VAT at the start of 2002.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government has taken to help small businesses in Wirral, South since 1997. [166629]
Nigel Griffiths:
The Business Link Operator for Greater Merseyside (GME) has provided assistance to 109 businesses in the Wirral, South constituency since 2001. The Small Business Service was set up as an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry in April 2000. Contracts were exchanged with a national network of 45 Business Link Operators (seven in the north west) to provide Business Support to small and
21 Apr 2004 : Column 533W
medium sized enterprises form April 2001. Before this date Government Support to businesses was provided through Training and Enterprise Councils and the SBS does not have access to these data.
The Business Link Operator has provided Business Start Advice to the 109 businesses, and in addition have provided Specialist business advice, workforce development and consultancy projects to those companies needing help in these areas.
Fourteen companies have received offers of grant from the Research and Development Grant Scheme with a total value of £465,700 since 1997.
Under the Enterprise Grant Scheme which has just come to a close (31 March 2004) 11 companies have received offers of grant with a total value of £696,160.
Paid Leave
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many residents of Liverpool, Walton are qualified for paid leave entitlement. [166972]
Mr. Sutcliffe: All workers resident in Liverpool, Walton qualify for paid leave entitlements at least four weeks as set out in the Working Time Regulations.
Post Office
Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how soon the outcome of and lessons learned from the process of the Post Office Urban Reinvention programme will be evaluated and published following the conclusion of that programme. [166820]
Mr. Timms: The urban reinvention programme is managed by Post Office Ltd. and decisions on any evaluation will be a matter for the company. The Government do, of course, monitor its expenditure on this programme and will require the company to confirm on completion that it has met its obligation to ensure that 95 per cent. of the urban population nationally continue to live within one mile of their nearest post office.
Since the programme began, Post Office Ltd. has worked with Postwatch, the consumer watchdog, to improve and refine the processes. This evolutionary nature of the programme has seen a number of significant developments, including my written statement to the House of Commons of 5 February 2004, which details changes to the programme in the light of concerns expressed in Parliament and elsewhere.
In addition, Postcomm, the independent regulator, reports annually to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on developments in the post office network. These annual reports are published on Postcomm's's website and copies are placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make the independent review of the facilities at the Crown post office in Bedford part of a wider review into the facilities of the post office network as a whole in Bedford and Kempston. [166821]
21 Apr 2004 : Column 534W
Mr. Timms: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to my hon. Friend.
Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the process leading to the decisions Post Office Ltd. has made concerning the closure of sub-post offices are covered by the Government Code of Practice on the release of official information. [167272]
Mr. Timms: No. The final decisions on post office closures following public consultation are operational matters for Post Office Ltd.
Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether the rationale of the statement made by the Minister for Energy, E Commerce and Postal Services on 5 February concerning the Post Office Urban Reinvention Network was intended to apply as far as possible to the Area Plan proposals for the Bedford and Kempston parliamentary constituency which were subject to public consultation until 17 February; [167270]
(2) whether the statement made by the Minister for Energy, E Commerce and Postal Services on 5 February concerning the Post Office Urban Reinvention Network came into force with immediate effect. [167271]
Mr. Timms: The changes to the public consultation arrangements for closure proposals under Post Office Ltd.'s urban network reinvention programme announced in my statement of 5 February came into force with immediate effect but were not retrospective in their application. The changes therefore applied to the consultation on closure proposals for Bedford and Kempston to the extent compatible with the stage those consultations had reached as at 5 February.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment has been made of the case for Post Office Ltd. developing a role for post offices as government general practitioners and of Government support for this as mentioned in the Performance and Innovation Unit Report of 2000, Chapter 8, page 16, conclusion 18; [166779]
(2) what assessment has been made of the case for Post Office Ltd. developing a role for the Post Office Network as internet and learning and access points as mentioned in the Performance and Innovation Unit Report of 2000, Chapter 8, page 16, conclusion 17. [166827]
Mr. Timms:
In line with the Performance and Innovation Unit's recommendations, the Government contributed £25 million to the 'Your Guide' pilot to test the concept of the role for post offices as 'Government General Practitioner' and as internet learning and access points. It was made clear from the outset that the decision on whether or not to roll out a national service would depend on the results of the pilot. The 'Your Guide' pilot showed that a publicly funded national scheme would not represent value for money and we concluded that it should not be rolled out. However, Your Guide highlighted a number of areas in which Government Departments might deliver services through post offices in the future particularly if they could be linked with or channelled through a
21 Apr 2004 : Column 535W
commercially-based kiosk network. The evaluation report of the Your Guide pilot was published on 23 July 2002 and a copy placed in the Libraries of the House.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |