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12 May 2004 : Column 432W—continued
Business (South Ribble)
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses have started up in South Ribble since 1997. [172145]
Nigel Griffiths: Barclays Bank's latest survey of business creation includes non-VAT registered firms and shows that there were 115,000 business start-ups in England and Wales, including 2,600 in Lancashire County (which contains the constituency of South Ribble), 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 10,200 business start-ups in Lancashire County in 2003. Data for counties are not available for before 2003.
DTI figures based solely on VAT registrations for South Ribble and West Lancashire local authorities (which contain the constituency of South Ribble) are shown in the table for the period 1997 to 2002. Data for 2003 will be available in autumn 2004.
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| South Ribble | West Lancashire | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 275 | 260 |
| 1998 | 300 | 245 |
| 1999 | 255 | 290 |
| 2000 | 280 | 265 |
| 2001 | 240 | 285 |
| 2002 | 250 | 265 |
Source:
Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2002, Small Business Service, available from: www.sbs.gov.uk/statistics/vatstats.php
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. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government has taken to help small businesses in South Ribble since 1997. [172146]
Nigel Griffiths: The Business Link Operator for North and West Lancashire has provided assistance to 2,083 enterprises in the South Ribble constituency since 2001. The Small Business Service (SBS) 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 Small Business Service does not have access to this data.
The type of assistance provided by the Business Link Operator includes pre-starts, start up advice, intensive assists, IT support, Investors In People.
In addition under the Enterprise Grant Scheme three companies have received offers of grant with a total value of £167,883 since 1997. This scheme has now come to a close from the 1 April 2004.
Business Regulation
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total (a) staff numbers and (b) resource budget of the Departmental Regulatory Impact Unit has been since its inception. [168611]
Ms Hewitt: Information about staff numbers and resource budget of the Departmental Regulatory Impact Unit since its inception could not be ascertained without disproportionate cost. However since 2002 the unit has had an average of six full time staff and for the financial year 2004–05 has a total resource budget of £350,000.
Businesses (Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers in Sittingbourne and Sheppey have benefited from the national minimum wage. [170293]
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Mr. Sutcliffe: It is not possible to provide estimates specifically for the constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey. However, based on the Office for National Statistics' Low Pay data released in 2003, the DTI estimates that around 120,000 people in the South East stood to benefit from the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in April 1999. Between 80,000 and 100,000 people were expected to have benefited from the October 2003 uprating of the National Minimum Wage.
Care Staff
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health about the impact of flexible working for carers on the demand for paid care staff. [172001]
Mr. Sutcliffe: My officials are in discussion with all interested Government Departments, including officials from the Department of Health, to explore how flexible working arrangements can help carers. This is part of on-going work which will inform the review of the flexible working law in 2006 and shape future policy. It is too early to consider the implications on the demand for paid care staff.
As part of this work, we are aiming to hold two roundtables involving employers and individuals who have caring responsibilities, such as those caring for elderly or sick relatives. The roundtables will explore how individuals balance work and caring responsibilities, including how different working patterns suit both carers and their employers. We are discussing the roundtables with the Department of Health and bodies representing carers.
The Government's work-life balance campaign seeks to persuade all employers of the business case to adopt work-life balance policies and to follow best practice by providing flexible working opportunities across the workforce. This applies equally to those providing paid care as it does to those providing unpaid care.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what definition he will use of the term carer in relation to the planned introduction of the right to flexible working for carers; and if he will make a statement; [170974]
(2) when plans for the right to flexible working for carers will be implemented; and if he will make a statement. [171009]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government are committed to reviewing the impact of the right to request flexible working and has no plans to extend the provisions of the law until after the review in 2006.
Currently, the law provides eligible parents of children under 6 and disabled children under 18 with a legal right to apply to work flexibly. An issue that the review will consider, which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has indicated should be a priority, is extending the law to wider groups of carers, such as carers of elderly or sick relatives. Definition of terms relating to any extension to the law as an outcome of that review, including carers, will be something that will be addressed at that time.
12 May 2004 : Column 435W
Corporate Governance
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many FTSE 250 companies have recruited at least one non-executive director from the not-for-profit sector. [172383]
Jacqui Smith: This information is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the change in proportion of non-executive directors of FTSE 250 companies following the publication of the Tyson Report. [172384]
Jacqui Smith: As recommended by the Tyson Report, the Department commissioned a study by Cranfield University on the diversity of all directors in FTSE 100 companies. This report has now been presented to my Department. In addition, I have participated in a series of roundtables hosted by leading businesses which debated the issues surrounding diversity in the boardroom in an open and constructive manner. We are currently consulting the Financial Reporting Council and a range of business and other organizations on how best to build on these initiatives and will be making an announcement later in the year.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has for promoting a register of talented candidates from the not-for-profit sector for consideration for non-executive director posts, as recommended in the Higgs Report. [172390]
Jacqui Smith: The Higgs Review made a number of recommendations to stimulate the inclusion of a more diverse range of people on company boards. These were taken forward by the Tyson Group, which decided against developing a list of candidates from the non-commercial sector.
The Government welcome the creation of registers of suitably skilled people, across a range of sectors, to assist companies in identifying potential candidates for non-executive board positions. Such registers should be co-ordinated by the relevant professional or affiliated body.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many FTSE 250 companies publish their recruitment procedures for non-executive directors; and what plans she has to encourage such publication. [172391]
Jacqui Smith: This information is not collected centrally. This is a matter for companies and their shareholders and is a provision of the Financial Reporting Council's Combined Code. The provision applies on a comply or explain basis to all listed companies, and for all board appointments, and came into effect for reporting years beginning on or after 1 November 2003.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to provide a deadline by which FTSE 250 companies should publish their recruitment procedures for non-executive directors. [172392]
12 May 2004 : Column 436W
Jacqui Smith: This is a matter for companies and their shareholders and is a provision of the Financial Reporting Council's Combined Code. The provision applies on a comply or explain basis to all listed companies, and for all board appointments, and came into effect for reporting years beginning on or after 1 November 2003.
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