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9 Mar 2006 : Column 1724W—continued
Business Support
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support his Department gives to small local businesses in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. [56128]
Alun Michael:
The Department of Trade and Industry supports a comprehensive range of business support services in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. The first step in gaining access to these services is to contact the local Business Link which is part of a network providing services in every part of England. The Business Link network provides the information, advice and support that is required in order to start, to maintain and to grow a business and includes an award-winning national website.
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The Business Link service is a crucial part of the Government's campaign to promote enterprise and to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business.
The local Business Link's office is Business Link Tees Valley. During 2005–06, Business Link Tees Valley received £1,441,979 from the core Business Link allocation. Business Link Tees Valley has used this funding to lever in significant additional funds—current estimates suggest that Business Link Tees Valley will deliver support and solutions worth £7,714,528 in 2005–06.
Business Link provides access to the following DTI branded services:
Knowledge Transfer Networks—a grant to bring together businesses, universities and others with an interest in technology applications.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships—a grant to transfer and embed knowledge into a business from the UK knowledge base via a strategic project
Grant for Investigating an Innovative Idea—subsidised consultancy to help businesses to implement their ideas
Small Firms Loan Guarantee—encouraging commercial lenders to provide loans to businesses lacking security
In addition to the aforementioned, the DTI provides additional specialist support such as:
Manufacturing Advisory Services—delivers hands-on advice and assistance from experts in a wide range of manufacturing disciplines.
UK Trade and Investment—supports companies in the UK doing business internationally and overseas enterprises seeking to set up or expand in the UK
In addition, the region's regional development agency, One NorthEast delivers its own business support in conjunction with Business Link Tees Valley. These are:
Resource Efficiency Business Support Service—aims to improve the resource efficiency of regional businesses, impacting on productivity and profitability through the efficient use of energy, water and materials. Delivered through brokerage, the service is supported with £1,650,000 of funding by One NorthEast to 2007–08.
Flexible Skills Fund—provides £650,000 per year funding for SMEs, matched by business contributions to support accredited or non-accredited training at level 3 or above, linked to a business objective.
Raising Skills in Tees Valley—providing a package of support for businesses and individuals aimed at driving demand for skills and generating sustainable economic growth in Tees Valley.
Tees Valley Area Tourism Partnership—currently in development. This provides a holistic package of support for tourism businesses in the region, encompassing business
- support in conjunction with Business Link branded services, product development and marketing support, and skills development. These significant catalysing activities will stimulate the tourism and hospitality sector in Tees Valley, generating sustainable growth in a key sector for the North East.
Businesses and individuals in the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland are benefiting from Business Link's support as the recent performance demonstrates:
| Start-ups | Established businesses | |
|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 73 | 227 |
| 2004–05 | 130 | 268 |
| 2005-present (February) | 183 | 331 |
In addition, businesses and individuals in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland have benefited from support, resulting in:
7,423 people assisted in their skills development in Tees Valley since April 2005 as a result of sub-regional Single Programme investment.
Throughout the region, an additional:
As from September 2005, Business Link Tees Valley have spent £154,000 on providing 38 businesses with skills development training.
Business Link Tees Valley also provides a Workforce Development events entitled 'Better People, Better Business' which attracted 41 attendees in February 2005 and 43 attendees in January 2006.
Company Law Reform Bill
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Government intends to bring forward amendments to the Company Law Reform Bill to make companies accountable for their impact on (a) workers, (b) communities and (c) the environment. [55850]
Alun Michael: The Company Law Reform Bill is part of a wider programme of Government and market- led reform to support enterprise, encourage investment and promote long-term performance in order to ensure that Britain remains one of the best places in the world to set up and run a business.
A key part of the Bill is the statutory statement of directors' duties. This will provide greater clarity on what is expected of directors. It will also recognise in statute that business prosperity and responsible business behaviour are two sides of the same coin: directors will be required to promote the success of the company in the collective best interests of shareholders, having regard to wider factors such as the interests of employees, the community and the environment. This will help directors to understand that they need to look beyond
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the short-term financial bottom line, but company law is not the right vehicle for addressing employment, community or environmental issues.
Consolidated Resource Accounts
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the nature was of the cases identified in the accountability notes on page 88 of his Consolidated Resource Accounts 2004–05; and if he will make a statement. [52576]
Alan Johnson: The nature of the cases identified on page 88 of the resource accounts are as follows:
1. Amounts billed to customers, overpayments or repayable grants that have been categorised as no longer collectable, usually due to insolvency or excessive costs which would be incurred in pursuing further, and thus written off.
These are broken down as follows:
(a) Six payments of compensation paid by ACAS in relation to the termination of their employment, totalling £56,000. Further details can be found at page 88 of the ACAS Annual Report 2004–05 (http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/0/0/Acas Annual Report04–05_l.pdf).
(b) Three payments to ex-members of DTI staff following claims to the Civil Service Appeals Board, amounting to £33,487.30.
(c) One payment of ex-gratia compensation to a potential supplier whose application was not properly considered, amounting to £5,000.
(d) Miscellaneous payments to DTI staff for damage to property, personal injury and miscalculations of entitlement amounting to £78,274.53.
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