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29 Jan 2007 : Column 118W—continued
| £ million | ||||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | ||||
| RDA | Budget | Actual spend | Budget | Actual spend | Budget | Actual spend to date |
In addition, the DTI has also established funds in each of the regions under the Regional Venture Capital Fund programme. These funds address the equity gap, a national market failure in the provision of venture capital, through measures which include local management of investment.
Trade Union Strikes
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many working days were lost to trade union strikes in each of the last nine years. [111926]
Jim Fitzpatrick: It is not known how many working days have been lost due to trade union strikes in each of the last nine years. However, the following table gives the number of working days lost due to all labour disputes from 1997 to 2005. Labour disputes include official and unofficial strikes and cases of ‘lock-outs’, that is, where an employer prevents their employees from working by refusing entry to the place of work.
| Working days lost (Thousand) | |
| Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Disputes Inquiry | |
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many working days were lost to trade union strikes in each of the last 12 months. [111934]
Jim Fitzpatrick: It is not known how many working days have been lost due to trade union strikes in each of the last 12 months. However, the following table gives the number of working days lost due to all labour disputes in each of the last 12 months. Labour disputes include official and unofficial strikes and cases of 'lock-outs', that is, where an employer prevents their employees from working by refusing entry to the place of work.
| Working days lost (Thousand) | |
| (1) Provisional. (2) The latest 12-month cumulative total will not necessarily equal the sum of the 12 months as some disputes continue for over one month. These disputes appear in each month's data, but only once in the total. Source: Office for National Statistics, Labour Disputes Inquiry. | |
Trading Relations
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to encourage business and trade links between the east Midlands and India. [111728]
Margaret Hodge: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is the Government organisation that supports companies in the UK doing business internationally and overseas enterprises seeking to locate in the UK. India is recognised in the UKTI corporate strategy as a high growth market offering both promising business opportunities and significant challenges to UK companies.
At the regional level, UKTI and the East Midlands Development Agency are working with private and public sector partners to develop a strategy aimed at matching capacity and capability in the east Midlands with opportunities in the Indian market. UKTI ensure individual clients have the support they need to assess opportunities in this market. As well as advice and guidance from international trade advisers, there is also the opportunity to access market information and themed events run by East Midlands International Trade Association project. Also, groups of companies are taken from the region to India to explore business opportunities first hand. UKTI's trade portal also contains a great deal of relevant information.
UKTI’s inward investment activity is delivered through the regional development agencies. India is recognised within the East Midlands Development Agency's foreign direct investment strategy as a key market. In line with the regional economic strategy, Emda will target inward investment opportunities
within the transport technologies and transport equipment sectors. Emda, in collaboration with Advantage West Midlands, currently employs one full-time representative in Mumbai.
The Leicestershire-India Trade Bureau (LITB) is a project established with devolved Emda funding to promote trade and business cooperation between Leicestershire and India with specific emphasis on the state of Gujarat.
The bureau provides an information service that can identify suitable business opportunities and act as a business ‘marriage’ broker. It also raises awareness amongst Leicestershire companies of the potential of Gujarat and India as an export market. UKTI and Emda are considering the establishment of an East Midlands India Bureau with a wider and more regional remit next year.
UK Civil Plutonium and Uranium
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to his written statement of 10 January 2007, Official Report, column 15WS, on UK civil plutonium and uranium figures, what procedures he has instituted to ensure the type of error discovered is not repeated in future. [111918]
Malcolm Wicks: Quality checking procedures are currently being enhanced by the operator concerned to include a peer check and independent verification prior to publication of the annual statement. The aim of these enhanced measures is to verify that material is assigned to the appropriate category and to confirm any significant changes to the figures from the previous year. The enhanced measures will be in place by early February 2007.
Home Department
Animal Rights Extremists
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is his policy to treat attacks on property by animal extremists as terrorist attacks under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. [110924]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 25 January 2007]: No animal rights extremist has been charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 or the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. However, should the activities of animal rights extremists, or any other individual or group, meet the required threshold of terrorism contained within the Acts, it is entirely possible that those Acts could be used. It is the remit of the police and Crown Prosecution Service to select the most appropriate charge in individual cases. To date, offences under other legislation including the relatively new economic damage offences in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 have been more appropriate for bringing charges, and there have been a number of convictions of leading animal rights extremists.
Antisocial Behaviour Orders and Individual Support Orders
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued against people aged (a) under 18, (b) between 18 and 24 and (c) over 25 years in the City of Leicester. [111347]
Mr. McNulty: Since 1 June 2000, from copies of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) received, we are able to determine the local government authority (lga) area in which prohibitions have been imposed within orders.
The number of ASBOs issued where prohibitions have been imposed in the Leicester city council lga area, from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2005 (latest available), for persons aged 10 to 17 is 27. For persons aged between 18 and 24 the total number issued is 15 and for persons aged 25 years and over the number is 27. A further two orders have been issued to persons for whom age details have not been reported.
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many and what proportion of antisocial behaviour orders issued since April 2006 have had an intervention order attached to them; [114476]
(2) how many individual support orders were issued in each year since May 2004; [114477]
(3) how many and what proportion of anti-social behaviour orders issued since May 2004 have had an individual support order attached to them; [114478]
(4) what assessment he has made of the take-up of individual support orders (a) prior to and (b) since June 2005. [114479]
Mr. McNulty: Data on the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued at all courts are currently available up to 31 December 2005. The power to make intervention orders came into effect on 1 October 2006. A new national system for collecting data on ASBOs is scheduled for implementation from 1 April, and will incorporate new reporting requirements, e.g. intervention orders.
Individual support orders (ISOs) can be issued to persons aged 10-17 in addition to an antisocial behaviour order at civil proceedings at the magistrates court. The number of ISOs issued in 2004 (from 1 May), as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, is seven. This is 2 per cent. of the number of ASBOs issued to 10-17 year olds at civil proceedings at the magistrates court during the same period. The equivalent figures for 2005 are 42 and 7 per cent. respectively.
Concerted action is under way by the Home Office, the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Youth Justice Board and practitioners to increase the take up of ISOs. Following meetings with practitioners around the country at the beginning of 2006 an action plan was devised. This included reinforcing information on ISOs on key practitioner websites such as the Together Actionline and the Youth Justice Board's, promoting ISOs at a series of practitioner events and conferences, including the Respect Academies that took place throughout last
summer, success stories researched and published on the Together website and an article on ISOs published in the March 2006 edition of The Magistrate to reach all magistrates nationally. Longer term funding for the use of ISOs from 2006 was included in the £45 million prevention fund to youth offending teams.
We are about to embark on a three-month survey of the 60 Respect action areas, the outcome of which is intended to provide information about the use of ISOs and other interventions that young people may be receiving to help them address their antisocial behaviour.
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been (a) enforced and (b) breached in the (i) Eyres Monsell and (ii) Freemen ward of Leicester. [111108]
Mr. McNulty: Information about enforcement related to antisocial behaviour orders is not collected centrally. ASBO breach data held centrally are available only at Criminal Justice System (CJS) Area level.
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