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6 Dec 2006 : Column 454W—continued

Public Bodies

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding his Department gave to the (a) Central Arbitration Committee, (b) Competition Appeal Tribunal, (c) Copyright Tribunal, (d) Employment Appeal Tribunal, (e) Employment Tribunals, (f) Insolvency Practitioners Panel, (g) Persons Hearing Consumer Credit, (h) Licensing Appeals Tribunal and (i) Persons Hearing Estate Agent Appeals in each of the last five years; and how much has been provided to each body in 2006-07. [106950]

Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 4 December 2006]: Funding which DTI gave (or DTI has provided for in the case of 2006-07) to the following bodies in the years shown:

£ 000
	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Central Arbitration Committee	1,170	990	970	1,010	770	800
DTI does not fund the CAC directly, but DTI does fund ACAS, which is statutorily responsible for resourcing the CAC
Competition Appeal Tribunal	0	0	499	682	646	777
The CAT came into being on 1 April 2003. In addition to the CAT costs, running costs are met by the Competition Service. These CS operating costs were	0	0	2,093	2,692	2,953	2,973
Copyright Tribunal
The Patent Office pays the costs of running the CT. DTI has not paid any such costs.	—	—	—	—	—	—
Employment Appeal Tribunal
Employment Tribunals	55,042	64,376	68,321	68,131	73,762	0
ETs and the EAT are co-funded through the Employment Tribunals Service (which became the Tribunals Service in April 2006) DTI funding ceased from April 2006, as responsibility transferred to DCA. The costs shown are for ETs and the EAT combined, the overwhelming majority relating to ETs.
Insolvency Practitioners Tribunal
A maximum of £4,000 has been spent in any one year on IPT costs, and 2004-05 was the last time costs were incurred.	—	—	—	—	—	—
Persons Hearing Consumer Credit Licensing Appeals Tribunal	24	9	29	18	37	30
Persons Hearing Estate Agent Appeals	0	0	7	4	6	8

Retirement: Age

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to his answer of 27 November 2006, Official Report, column 386W, on the retirement age, what the aims were which the Government were seeking to achieve; and if he will make a statement. [107446]

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Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer to my answer of 30 October 2006 , Official Report, columns 93-94W. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations aim to tackle unjustified age discrimination in employment and vocational training. The default retirement age and the employee’s right to request working beyond retirement age, were introduced in order to deliver the Government’s labour market objectives of recognising the need for work force planning and avoiding adverse impact on the provision of occupational pensions and other work-related benefits. Our position was also set out in the joint written statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to the House on 14 December 2004, Official Report, column 127WS.

Carbon Monoxide

Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to promote the use of carbon monoxide detectors in homes. [102073]

Mrs. McGuire: I have been asked to reply.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) strongly recommends the use of approved, audible carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in all homes that use gas appliances. Such detectors should not be regarded as a substitute for competent maintenance and annual safety checks of gas equipment by a CORGI-registered installer. These primary safeguards are required by law in rented accommodation.

This recommendation, applying to all homes, was most recently publicised by the Chief Executive of HSE on 24 October 2006.

There is a range of penalties that the courts can impose if a landlord is guilty of an offence. Magistrates courts can impose a fine of up to £5,000 on summary conviction. The Crown Court can impose an unlimited fine. If death results from CO poisoning, the Crown Prosecution Service can decide to bring manslaughter charges for which life imprisonment is the maximum penalty.

Minister for Women

Boards

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what estimate the Government has made of the representation of women at board level in public companies. [106929]

Meg Munn: The latest figures from Cranfield University female FTSE 100 report show the total representation of women at board level in public companies is 256 women with directorships, and 44 women with executive directorships. There are 117 (10 per cent.) women directors in the FTSE 100, and
6 Dec 2006 : Column 456W
139 (6.6 per cent.) in the FTSE 101-350; also there are 15 women (4 per cent.) with executive directorships in the FTSE 100, and 29 (4 per cent.) in the FTSE 101-350. 24 companies in the FTSE 100 have no female board members.

Family-friendly Policies

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent discussions she has had with the Secretaries of State for (a) Education, (b) Health and (c) Trade and Industry on the introduction of family friendly policies; and if she will make a statement. [106933]

Meg Munn: I have had no recent discussions with the Secretaries of State for Education, for Health and for Trade and Industry on the introduction of family friendly policies.

Government are committed to giving children the best start in life, to enable all families to have genuine choices about how they balance their work and family responsibilities and to help business to recruit and retain the best people.

Since 2003, parents of children under the age of six and disabled children have had the right to request flexible working. The Work and Families Act 2006 builds on this further by establishing a balanced package of rights and responsibilities, for both employers and employees, in line with the Government’s better regulation agenda. Some of the measures within the Act include extending the right to request flexible working to the carers of adults, extending the period for payment of Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance and Statutory Adoption Pay to a maximum of 52 weeks and giving fathers and new right to an additional period of paternity leave.

Communities and Local Government

Bonus Payments

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff in her predecessor Department received bonus payments in each of the last five years for which information is available; what proportion of the total work force they represented; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was in each year; and if she will make a statement. [100672]

Angela E. Smith: Available information on bonus payments to senior civil servants (SCS) and non-SCS staff in my predecessor Department, in respect of overall performance and exceptional performance on specific tasks or at specific times, is set out as follows.

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6 Dec 2006 : Column 458W

	Number of staff receiving awards	Proportion of staff group receiving awards (percentage)	Total amount of award (£)	Largest award (£)
Senior civil servants
With effect from:
1 April 2006(1)	83	67	570,000	12,500
1 April 2005	86	72	426,000	9,500
1 April 2004	71	59	343,000	9,650
Non-SCS staff
With effect from:
1 August 2005(1,2)	503	24	170,000	600
1 August 2004	293	14	126,000	600
1 August 2003	237	11	86,000	500
Special bonus awards
During:
2005-06(1)	301	14	105,000	600
2004-06	400	19	116,000	600
2003-04	356	17	116,000	600
(1) This amends some figures given in a previous answer of 6 November 2006, Official Report, columns 868-69W. (2) Performance awards were extended to further grades of non-SCS staff with effect from 1 August 2005.

Climate Change

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that the forthcoming Climate Change Planning Policy Statement reinforces PPS22 policy requiring on-site renewable energy in new developments. [103075]

Yvette Cooper: We have said that the Planning Policy Statement on climate change will set out how Government expect participants in the planning process should work towards the reduction of carbon emissions, including through the use of renewable energy, in the location, siting and design of new development.

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