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2 Mar 2005 : Column 1237W—continued
Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults Order
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps the Department of (a) Education, (b) Finance and Personnel, (c) Health Social Services and Public Safety and (d) Culture, Arts and Leisure will take to implement the requirements of accreditation contained in the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults Order 2003, in relation to (i) non-departmental public bodies, (ii) next step agencies and (iii) grant funding for children's services. [218372]
Angela Smith: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has commissioned the Volunteer Development Agency to develop and pilot a framework of quality standards, which could be used in the accreditation process. The pilot is scheduled to end on 31 March 2005 and findings will be used to inform the Department's view as to how the accreditation agenda should be taken forward. The Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety will consult other Departments and relevant key stakeholders on the way ahead.
Small Businesses
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many businesses that employ 60 people or fewer there are in each Northern Ireland constituency; how many people are employed by such small businesses in total; and how many new small businesses have been created in each year since 2000. [218310]
Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Roy Beggs, dated 2 March 2005:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the number of businesses that employ 60 people or fewer in each Northern Ireland constituency; how many people are employed by such small businesses in total; and how many new small businesses have been created in each year since 2000. (218310)
The latest period for which the total number of small businesses is available is March 2004. The data requested are shown in Table 1, which I am placing in the House of Commons Library.
Further information about the number of businesses in the United Kingdom is available from the National Statistics publication UK Business: Activity, Size and Location—2004" available free of charge on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pal003
The numbers of small business creations for each year between 2000 and 2003 are shown in Table 2, which I am placing in the House of Commons Library.
The figures presented here differ slightly from those published by the Small Business Service (SBS), as adjustments for birth lags have been applied only to the published data.
For further information on business start-ups please see the National Statistics publication VAT Registrations and De-registrations: Business Start-ups and Closures" available free of charge on the SBS website at: http://www.sbs.gov.uk/statistics/vatstats.php
All figures have been rounded to the nearest five to avoid disclosure. This means that totals may not necessarily equal the sum of the data in columns, and counts of less than three will be shown as zero. Where counts and employment are released, all figures based on a count of less than 20 must have employment estimates replaced with an asterisk and other employment estimates must be suppressed to ensure that there is no disclosure by difference.
The employment data relate mainly to the 2001 Census of Employment updated for more recent creations and closures.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Congestion Charge
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on congestion (a) charges and (b) penalty charge notices by the Department since the commencement of the congestion charging scheme. [213827]
Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of the Cabinet Office on 28 February 2005, Official Report, column 957W, which detailed congestion charges and penalty charges incurred by vehicles provided to all Government Departments by the Government Car and Despatch Agency.
In addition to the costs covered by that answer, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has spent a total of £1,425 (this does not include the Government Offices for the Regions which perform functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments) on the congestion charge since its introduction.
Civil servants are personally responsible for meeting the cost of the congestion charge and any penalty charges incurred. Congestion charges incurred by civil servants in the necessary conduct of their business are reimbursed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Departmental Policies (Folkestone)
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Folkstone and Hythe constituency, the effects on Folkestone and Hythe of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [215972]
Yvette Cooper: Along with other Government Departments, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to improving the lives of people across the whole of the UK. For example, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is determined that everyone should have the opportunity to have a decent home, and since 1997 we have reduced the number of non-decent homes nationally by one million.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister provides grant funding that benefits the Folkstone and Hythe constituency through a number of programmes.
More broadly, since 1997 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has been able to increase the total amount of government grant given to local authorities by £22.6 billion. This is a 33 per cent. increase in real terms. Shepway district council has received average annual increases in formula grant since 1997 of 2.7 per
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cent. Residents of Folkestone and Hythe have also benefited from Kent county council's average annual increase in grant of 4.8 per cent.
The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at Parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at: http://neighbourhood.statistics. gov.uk/.
Disabled Facilities Grant
Gregory Barker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) when the report from the Disabled Facilities Grant Review Group will be made available to the House; and which Government Departments are involved in the review; [218886]
(2) whether he expects that the Strategy Unit's recent recommendation that the disabled facilities grant for disabled children should be reformed will be implemented by the end of the year; [218887]
(3) what percentage of disabled facilities grants are allocated to families with (a) disabled children, (b) disabled adults and (c) pensioners; [218888]
(4) what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the working tax credit on the calculations for the disabled facilities grant means test for families with disabled children; and if he will make a statement. [218889]
Yvette Cooper: The work of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) review group is due to be completed in May. The Government will publish and make available in the Library of the House a consultation document on any proposals for change as soon as possible after this date. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health are represented on the review group. The consultation document will include proposals for what, if any, changes should be made to the means test for disabled facilities grant.
Central records of the type of applicants for DFG by age are not kept by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The latest published evaluation of the DFG system was undertaken by PIED A in 1996. This showed that 5 per cent. of DFG approvals related to disabled children under 18 and 70 per cent. where from disabled persons over the age of 60.
Apart from a disregard in relation to the 30 hour element of working tax credit, this credit is counted as income for the purposes of the DFG means test. This follows the procedures for eligibility for housing benefit
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and council tax benefit on which the DFG means test is based. The review of DFG is considering the DFG means test and the implications of any changes for the public sector cost of the DFG system will be fully considered.
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