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11 Nov 2005 : Column 768W—continued
Olympic Lottery Games
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans her Department has to publicise the new Olympic lottery games. [26476]
Tessa Jowell: Camelot Group plc, the national lottery operator, is responsible for publicising the new Olympic lottery games in line with the terms of its licence. My Department supports this at appropriate opportunities.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with the national lottery regarding the new Olympic scratchcard. [26477]
Tessa Jowell: Licensing of specific national lottery games is the responsibility of the National Lottery Commission (NLC). The Department fully supported efforts by the NLC and Camelot Group plc, the national lottery operator, to make the necessary preparations for a prompt launch of the first Olympic lottery game, the Go for Gold scratchcard, as soon as possible after the IOC decision to award the 2012 Games to London.
TV Licences
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the likely cost of the television licence in the period covered by the next BBC Charter; and if she will make a statement. [21468]
Tessa Jowell:
In line with our commitment set out in the Green Paper: A strong BBC, Independent of Government, we are currently conducting a review of BBC funding to determine the future level of the licence fee. We will announce the outcome in due course.
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CABINET OFFICE
Criminal Offences
Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by his Department from May 1997 up to and including April 2005, broken down by Act. [27589]
Mr. Jim Murphy: No offences have been created by primary legislation introduced by the Cabinet Office.
SCOTLAND
Asylum Seekers
Mr. McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Scottish First Minister about the use of dawn raids in asylum cases. [25313]
David Cairns: My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of subjects, including issues which come under the responsibility of the Home Office.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Call Centres
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many call centres were run by his Department and its agencies in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 to date; and how many and what proportion of calls (i) were handled by an adviser, (ii) were received but abandoned and (iii) received an engaged tone. [23304]
Alan Johnson: The Department of Trade and Industry has one call centre (defined as an operation where 10 or more people work in a structured telephone environment) which was operational in 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–2006.
| How many calls handled | How many calls received but abandoned | How many callers received an engaged tone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 227,023 | 27,447 | (1)— |
| 2004–05 | 210,455 | 8,419 | (1)— |
| 2005–06 | 165,276 | 7,665 | (1)— |
(1) Information not available.
Company Accounts
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on his proposals that a named individual should sign off a company's accounts. [27001]
Alun Michael
[holding answer 10 November 2005]: This proposal reflects widespread agreement following consultation. The European Commission's draft Audit Directive (latest text 2004/0065(COD)) contains a provision requiring the signature of a named individual auditor on each audit report. The Department consulted on this directive in September 2004 and published the
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results of the consultation in February 2005 (available on the DTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-1370.html)
Separately in early 2005, the Audit Quality Forum, which involves UK auditors, their clients and investors, recommended that the lead audit partner should sign his or her own name on each audit report. The March 2005 White Paper "Company Law Reform" contained proposals to this effect, and in July the Department published draft clauses for consultation.
About a dozen consultees commented specifically on this proposal. Most supported it in principle and made suggestions for improvements to clarify the draft clauses. Some of these suggestions have been incorporated in the Company Law Reform Bill that was introduced to Parliament last week.
Departmental Skills Development Plan
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's Skills Development Plan. [23861]
Alan Johnson: Copies of the Skills Development Plan for Department of Trade and Industry will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Doha Trade Talks
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the prospects for progress in the Doha trade talks. [26974]
Ian Pearson: The Government is committed to achieving an ambitious, pro-development outcome at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in December, which will allow conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda by the end of 2006. While meetings in London and Geneva this week have shown the distance that remains between several WTO Members, there remains a shared commitment to an ambitious result from the round. Hong Kong still has the potential to mark a significant step forward towards an early conclusion of the round.
ECJ Judgment
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on ECJ case C-127/05, 2005/C 143/26, with particular reference to (a) assessed liabilities ensuing for business and (b) the principle of proportionality in UK legislation. [16661]
Mrs. McGuire: I have been asked to reply.
The European Commission has brought infraction proceedings against the United Kingdom for allegedly failing to fulfil its obligations under article 5(1) and (4) of Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (the framework directive on health and safety) in its implementation of these provisions.
The Government have lodged a defence of our implementation of the directive with the European Court of Justice as being in full compliance with our community law obligations.
11 Nov 2005 : Column 771W
Literacy and Numeracy
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to promote uptake of the national tests in adult literacy and numeracy among employees of his Department. [23440]
Alan Johnson: The Skills for Life Programme and National Testing information is made available to employees that have identified need. We offer the chance to pursue the Skills for Life Numeracy and Literacy programme at an independent educational establishment such as 'LearnDirect' on day release for employees if they so choose.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of new recruits to his Department do not have a level 2 qualification in English and mathematics. [23769]
Alan Johnson: Recruitment to my Department is competence based and there may not be a specific requirement for new recruits to hold a particular type of qualification. This type of data is not therefore collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what methods of assessment of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills are used as part of the recruitment process by employees of his Department. [23793]
Alan Johnson: Recruitment to my Department is competency based. Where literacy and numeracy skills are required, processes are in place to assess these skills through the application process. These include verification of formal qualifications, skills based questions and skills based tasks.
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