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26 Oct 2006 : Column 2010W—continued
No staff have been subject to disciplinary proceedings regarding this and it is not a category for which the Department gathers any statistics.
Financial Assistance Scheme
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate the Government have made of the cost of extending the financial assistance scheme in line with the recommendations from the parliamentary ombudsman’s report on occupational pension schemes. [92016]
James Purnell: We estimate the cost of implementing the ombudsman’s recommendations to be between £13 and £17 billion, in cash terms, over 60 years (or between £2.9 billion and £3.7 billion, net present value).
Culture, Media and Sport
Judo
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she has taken to resolve the dispute between the Bristol Judo Association and the Save Independent Judo campaign; what further action she proposes; and if she will make a statement. [97283]
Mr. Caborn: The Save Independent Judo campaign has written a number of letters to the Department about the development of the UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) in judo and the role of the British Judo Association (BJA). In June, I replied, explaining that I had asked my officials to look into the issues raised. In August, I provided a substantive reply, clarifying some of the background and the role of sports coach UK and the BJA in taking the issues forward.
Save Independent Judo has continued to correspond with the Department. We have ensured that Sports Coach UK, who are responsible for developing and implementing the UKCC, UK Sport and Sport England are aware of their various concerns. We will continue to work with these organisations to ensure that, where appropriate, these issues are addressed.
Olympic Games
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what locations in the London Borough of Bexley (a) were considered to be used to stage an event and (b) are being considered for training sites for athletes for the 2012 London Olympics. [96599]
Mr. Caborn: In order to host a compact Olympic games and Paralympic games as required by the International Olympic Committee, venues for the 2012 London games are, wherever practical, situated as close as possible to the Olympic Park in the Lower Lea Valley. As a result no facilities within the London borough of Bexley were able to be considered as competition venues.
The London Organising Committee for the Olympic games and Paralympic games (LOCOG) is preparing a pre-games training guide in which facilities that it has approved as providing a suitable training environment in the UK are listed by location and by sport. The development of this guide will be overseen by a steering group, made up of organisations such as the British Olympic Association, the British Paralympic Association, the English Institute of Sport, UK Sport and the home nation sport councils.
Venues from around the UK, including those situated within the London borough of Bexley, are invited to apply to host pre-games training camps through the LOCOG website:
<http://www.london2012.com/en/gettinginvolved/trainingcamps/Applicationprocess.htm>
Applications will initially be assessed on a national or regional basis, and the deadline for facilities to submit their interest is 31 January 2007. Final selection will take place by January 2008 and the guide will be distributed to national Olympic committees and national Paralympic committees in summer 2008.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) whether a decision has been made regarding use of the Olympic stadium following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games; what the role is of the Minister for Sport in that decision; and if she will make a statement; [97188]
(2) whether (a) the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, (b) the Olympic Delivery Authority and (c) her Department are considering alternative plans for the Olympic stadium that significantly depart from the London 2012 Candidate File's proposition to convert the stadium into a 25,000 seat multi-purpose venue with athletics at its core; and if she will make a statement; [97189]
(3) what steps she plans to take to ensure that following the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games the Olympic stadium continues to feature and support athletics events; and if she will make a statement. [97190]
Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is procuring the Olympic stadium. As the explanatory document published in July by the ODA made clear, in legacy mode we intend that it will be a 25,000-seater stadium with athletics at its core, consistent with the commitment set out in the London 2012 Candidate File. The ODA has appointed consultants who, in consultation with Olympic stakeholders, sporting bodies and the local community, are scoping the different possible community uses for the stadium with a view to drawing up a business plan for future use of the stadium. A wide range of options consistent with our Candidate File commitment is currently under consideration. Any decision on legacy use of the stadium will be made by the Olympic board on which I am the Government's representative.
Trade and Industry
Business Start-ups
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new business start-ups there were in (a) the East of England, (b) Suffolk and (c) Bury St. Edmunds constituency in each year since 1997. [95447]
Margaret Hodge: Value added tax (VAT) registrations and de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups and closures. DTI data on the number of VAT registrations, and the start of year stock of VAT registered businesses, in East of England Government office region, Suffolk county and Bury St. Edmunds constituency from 1997 to 2005 are shown in the following table. Data for 2006 will be available autumn 2007.
| VAT registrations and start of year VAT stock | ||||||||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| (1) Parliamentary constituency. Source: Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2005, Small Business Service, available from http://www.sbs.gov.uk/vats | ||||||||||
Although the number of registrations in Bury St. Edmunds constituency has remained fairly constant, the start of year stock has risen by 17 per cent. over the period.
VAT registration and de-registration data do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if their turnover falls below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register may not have closed. Only 1.8 million out of 4.3 million businesses (42 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2005.
Departmental Childcare Facilities
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether there are waiting lists for places at child care facilities which his Department provides for its employees. [89607]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI does not hold long-term waiting list for places for the DTI play-schemes. If the DTI play-schemes are over-subscribed on any given day, a list of requests for that date is kept on a first come first served basis. If a place becomes available, the place is offered to the next child on the list.
Digital Television
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications for electricity demand of digital switchover. [96130]
Margaret Hodge: Digital switchover is expected to have implications for both transmitter power usage and consumer power usage. The Government’s assessment is that the replacement of the analogue terrestrial transmission network with a nationwide digital terrestrial television network will lead to a net reduction in energy usage by the transmission networks of 186 GWh per year. Completion of switchover is expected to result in an increase in consumer energy use of between 966GWh and 2816GWh per annum, primarily due to the expected increase in the take up of set-top boxes. This is equivalent to a 0.37 per cent. increase in domestic electricity consumption. The Government’s overall estimate for the total impact of switchover is a net increase of 1705GWh per year.
Further details are contained in the ‘Regulatory and Environmental Impact Assessment: the timing of digital switchover’, published on 16 September 2005. This was placed in the House Library at the time of publication, and is also available at:
www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk.
Enterprise Campaign Coalition
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the work of the Enterprise Campaign Coalition. [96417]
Margaret Hodge: The Enterprise Campaign Coalition consists of 26 key national partner organisations with a common interest in promoting enterprise. During 2006, the work of Enterprise Campaign Coalition has been distributed between three groups:
(a ) Strategic framework sub-group:
This group has developed a prospectus called ‘Fuelling Enterprise Culture’ which was launched on 11 October 2006. It is a national call to action for different sectors to ‘mainstream’ the engagement of young people in enterprise.
(b ) Youth enterprise support sub-group:
This group has been looking at the needs of young people thinking about setting up their own business or social enterprise. It will produce a report about the direction that business support needs to take to better meet the needs of young people. This report is expected in early 2007.
(c) Enterprise education sub-group:
This group has been looking at the role of education. The group has identified six broad challenges and recently commissioned a brief mapping exercise of strategic projects/initiatives designed to improve the effectiveness of enterprise education across schools, colleges and universities. Subject to the findings of this mapping exercise, the group will be identifying areas where it can collectively add value in driving forward enterprise education.
Enterprise Insight
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2006, Official Report, column 1028W, on Enterprise Insight, whether all the local and sectoral enterprise campaign hubs are now fully functional; whether Enterprise Insight’s recruitment process has now been completed; and what the cost has been of the recruitment process. [96414]
Margaret Hodge: Enterprise Insight advises that of the five local hubs, Coventry and Liverpool are fully functional; Lowestoft, Wakefield and Teesside are not.
Of the three sectoral hubs, retail is fully functional; creative industries and manufacturing are not.
Of the 21 Enterprise Insight staff posts involved in these hubs, 15 are in post, 3 are appointed but have yet to start, and 3 have yet to be appointed. In addition, resources equivalent to four staff are being made available through agreements with partner organisations in Coventry and Lowestoft.
Enterprise Insight expects all hubs to fully functional by early 2007.
Enterprise Insight advises that the cost to date of the recruitment to the 21 posts is £117,000.
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