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27 Oct 2004 : Column 1243W—continued
Innovation and Growth Teams
Mr. Jim Cunningham: o ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which sectors her Department's innovation and growth teams cover. [192572]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 21 October 2004]: DTI's Innovation and Growth Teams cover the following sectors: Automotive; Software and Digital Content related services; Chemicals; Environmental Goods and Services; Aerospace; Bioscience; and Electronics.
Manufacturing
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list her Department's funding given to each manufacturer in the (a) automotive sector and (b) manufacturing sector since 1997; and what the purpose was in each case. [192573]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 21 October 2004]: This information is not held centrally to this level of detail and can only be compiled at disproportionate cost.
In summary, some £950 million of assistance was offered in England in support of 198,000 jobs between 1997 and 2004. This included some 3,611 RSA grants of which 130 were in the automotive sector.
258 RSA grants worth £150 million were offered in 2003–4, expected to secure £1.2 billion investment, safeguard 14,000 jobs and create 13,000 new jobs. Of
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these, 11 grants worth a total of £10 million were to the automotive manufacturing sector, expected to secure £81 million of investment and create/safeguard over 2000 jobs.
National Minimum Wage
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many (a) anonymous, (b) named and (c) third party complaints of alleged non-compliance with the national minimum wage were received by the Inland Revenue enforcement agency in each financial year since 1999, including the current financial year to date; how many of the employers complained against in each financial year were found to be not complying with the national minimum wage; and what level of underpayment was identified in relation to the complaints in each financial year; [193621]
(2) how many investigations of employers suspected of non-compliance with the national minimum wage were conducted by the Inland Revenue enforcement agency on the basis of its analysis of tax credit and other data, in each financial year since 1999; how many of the employers investigated were found to be not complying with the national minimum wage; and what the level of underpayment of the national minimum wage identified in relation to such investigations was in each financial year. [193622]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
Since the introduction of the minimum wage on 1 April 1999, the number of worker (named) complaints and third party complaints were as detailed in the table. It would be disproportionately expensive to establish details of the number of anonymous complaints for these years. The figures provided in the following table will include some cases where the complainant has asked to remain anonymous.
| Worker (named) complaints | Third party complaints | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 3,844 | 838 |
| 2000–01 | 1,823 | 542 |
| 2001–02 | 1,353 | 369 |
| 2002–03 | 1,500 | 498 |
| 2003–04 | 1,440 | 529 |
| 2004–05 (to 22 October 2004) | 736 | 253 |
The number of investigations undertaken on the basis of tax credit and other data (excluding named and third party complaints) were as detailed follows.
| Tax credit | Other official sources | Risk assessed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 0 | 0 | 4,231 |
| 2000–01 | 3,271 | 0 | 1,787 |
| 2001–02 | 2,461 | 381 | 669 |
| 2002–03 | 3,230 | 322 | 961 |
| 2003–04 | 2,839 | 231 | 313 |
| 2004–05 (to 22 October 2004) | 1,840 | 97 | 235 |
Inland Revenue statistics related to numbers of employers found not to be complying with the minimum wage include results from investigations that arose from worker (named) or third party complaints as well as
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those arising from tax credit and other sources. For this reason we are unable to provide the details requested without incurring a disproportionate cost. Figures are provided in the table which show the percentage of all employers investigated who were found not to be complying and the level of underpayment for that year.
| Percentage non-compliance | Arrears identified (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 20 | 1,242,341 |
| 2000–01 | 30 | 3,035,373 |
| 2001–02 | 36 | 5,135,799 |
| 2002–03 | 32 | 3,585,941 |
| 2003–04 | 40 | 2,558,096 |
| 2004–05 (to 22 October 2004) | 34 | 2,326,177 |
Offshore Industry
Mr. Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to support UK firms involved in fabrication projects in the offshore oil and gas industry. [193369]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: DTI's Energy Group is charged with improving the performance of the supply chains in the UK which serve this sector—including Offshore Fabrication. Energy Group works in the main with intermediaries such as regional development agencies and other partner organisations to promote joint initiatives which address aspects of competitiveness. Thus emphasis is placed on the development of skills and technology and the adoption of progressive business practices while support is given for the seeking of opportunities in diversification. Jointly with UK Trade and Investment Energy Group works with individual companies and sectoral organisations to maximise export opportunities.
Post Office
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the compliance of PIN pads in post offices with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [192815]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The compliance of pin pads with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is a matter for the Post Office Ltd. I understand that in order to address the concerns of those customers who find it difficult to use PIN pads, Post Office Ltd. consulted with the Disability Rights Commission and other representative groups regarding adjustments to make its services as accessible to as many people as possible. As a result a number of modifications have been made to the PIN pads located in post office branches, including the fitting of a plastic cover or key guide over the unused keys at the top of the PIN pad; fixing a tactile marker or "dot" on the central number "5" key; tactile markers that conform to international cash machine standards for the ENTER, CLEAR and CANCEL keys; and louder and different key tones for the function keys.
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the implications for the provision of post offices in market towns of the imminent closure of the Evesham post office, situated in a supermarket. [192916]
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Mr. Sutcliffe: None. Decisions on post office closures and relocations are operational issues for Post Office Ltd. I understand that the Evesham post office is currently operated by the Co-op, and is located within the Co-op store in the Riverside Shopping Centre. On 13 October the Co-op gave Post Office Ltd. six months notice of its intention to close the Evesham store and are now actively engaged with Post Office Ltd. in locating an alternative site to maintain post office provision in the area.
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the £5.4 million in respect of improvement investment grants paid to Post Office Ltd. has been spent in Scotland. [193290]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The £5,448,897 paid to date by the DTI to Post Office Ltd. for investment grant funding as part of the urban reinvention programme includes an element of pre-funding to the company to facilitate prompt payments to sub-postmasters. I understand from Post Office Ltd. that to the end of September 2004, 1453 investment grant applications, including 104 from Scotland, had been approved with £9.4 million committed (£538k in Scotland). Of these applications, 638 grants, totalling £3.6 million had been paid in full, including payments of £195k (5.4 per cent.) to sub-postmasters in Scotland.
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the £115 million in respect of compensation payments paid to Post Office Ltd. has been expended in Scotland. [193291]
Mr. Sutcliffe: As at October 2004, compensation payments for sub-postmasters whose post offices are closed under the terms of the urban reinvention programme, total £122,449,842.23. Post Office Ltd. has applied £6,381,779.82 (5.2 per cent. in respect of post offices in Scotland.
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the implications of using neighbourhood renewal areas in inner cities as part of the criteria for determining the definition of deprived areas used in the Post Office reinvention programme. [194000]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Implementation of the urban post office network reinvention programme is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to respond direct to my hon. Friend.
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