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3 Dec 2007 : Column 891W—continued
New Deal for Disabled People: Employment
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people registered for New Deal for Disabled People found employment lasting (a) less than 13 weeks, (b) at least 13 weeks, (c) at least 26 weeks and (d) at least 52 weeks in each year since the programme began. [162578]
Caroline Flint: Up to the end of May 2007, New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) had helped 151,970 people into work.
Information on job sustainability through NDDP is only available up to March 2006, and only available for jobs gained through an NDDP Job Broker.
Of the 77,820 people who gained a job through an NDDP Job Broker to March 2006, 56,510 (73 per cent.) gained a sustained job. Information on the definition of a sustained job through NDDP is provided in the notes to the following table.
Information is not available for jobs gained through NDDP lasting at least 52 weeks. The available information on the number of people finding employment through NDDP lasting less than 13 weeks, at least 13 weeks, and at least 26 weeks in each year since the programme began, is in the following table.
New Deal For Young People: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of participants in the new deal for young people in the Peterborough city council unitary authority area were repeat participants in the last year for which figures are available. [163176]
Caroline Flint: New deal for young people (NDYP) has helped 2,230 people in the Peterborough city council local authority area into work since it started in January 1998. Between June 2006 and May 2007, there were 960 participants on NDYP in the Peterborough city council local authority area, of which 290 (30 per cent.) were repeat participants.
Notes:
1. Latest available data are to May 2007.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
3. Percentages are rounded to the nearest number.
New Deal for Young People: Suffolk
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of participants in the New Deal for Young People in (a) the East of England and (b) Suffolk returned to receive jobseeker’s allowance (i) immediately and (ii) within one year of leaving the New Deal in the last year for which figures are available. [162594]
Caroline Flint: The available information is in the following table.
| Percentage of new deal for young people (NDYP) participants returning to receive jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) after leaving new deal | ||
| East of England | Suffolk | |
| Notes: 1. Latest available data are to the end of May 2007, but to enable data to be provided for those leaving NDYP and returning to JSA within one year of leaving the programme, information is from June 2005-May 2006. 2. To provide comparative data, information for those returning to JSA immediately after leaving NDYP is also calculated from data between June 2005-May 2006. 3. All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Source: Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions. | ||
Occupational Pensions
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on occupational pension funds of the increase in longevity assumptions by the Pension Protection Fund. [165825]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is not the PPF’s role to set a standard for other pension schemes. The PPF has recently announced its intention to maintain a stable levy estimate (allowing for indexation) for the next three years, subject to there being no significant change in long-term risk exposure.
Transformation of the Personal Capability Assessment Report
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at what time on 19 November 2007 he placed the Transformation of the Personal Capability Assessment report in the Library. [168356]
Mr. Hain [holding answer 26 November 2007]: It was my understanding at the time I made the statement that the report had been placed in the Library. In fact two copies of the report were delivered to the Statistical Resource Unit in the House of Commons Library at approximately 11 am and 50 copies were available to hon. Members from the Vote Office at the same time. However copies of the report were not available to hon. Members from the Libraries until later in the afternoon. I apologise to the hon. Member if I inadvertently caused any confusion.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what timetable the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has set for the disposal of the nuclear laboratory site at Berkeley. [168175]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him today to his question 167885.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority plans to dispose of the Berkeley Nuclear Laboratory site. [167885]
Malcolm Wicks: The NDA is preparing an overarching property asset strategy for its estate. As part of the consultation process, the Berkeley Site Stakeholder Group was informed in October that there were no current plans to sell the freehold of the Berkeley Centre. During 2008-09 the NDA will seek the Berkeley Site Stakeholder Group's views on the scope for working in partnership with local development agencies and the private sector to develop the site.
Business: Renewable Energy
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has to provide incentives for the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of renewable energy technology manufacture in the UK. [164041]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 15 November 2007]: The Renewables Obligation (RO) is the Government’s main support mechanism for the expansion of renewable electricity in the UK. The RO has driven forward a dramatic growth in the deployment of renewables in the UK. As a result many companies both large and small have taken advantage of the economic benefit and new employment that has resulted.
More than £500 million is being spent between 2002-08 supporting R and D on emerging technologies. Many of the companies supported have been SMEs.
Claimants Pilot: South Yorkshire
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the claimants pilot in Rother Valley; and what criteria he used to make that assessment. [169174]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department received a copy of the report on the Rother Valley pilot project from the Legal Complaints Service on 19 November 2007. We are now considering the outcomes and plan to discuss these further with the Legal Complaints Service and others to agree the best way of taking this work forward in the light of the pilot and other relevant initiatives.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many individuals responded to the claimants pilot in Rother Valley. [R] [169175]
Malcolm Wicks:
Based on information provided by the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) I understand there were 364 individual responses who accepted an invitation to attend an Information Session facilitated by them. Of these, 327 people actually attended the Information Sessions, generating 261 complaints. A further 69 claimants who were unable to attend a Session either rang or wrote to the LCS to make a
complaint. Taken overall the pilot has generated 330 complaints to be followed up for further investigation by the LCS.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the reasons are for the time taken to give names of claimants to the Legal Complaints Service to advise on solicitors’ charges following the Rother Valley pilot. [169191]
Malcolm Wicks: In reaching agreement to take forward the Rother Valley pilot project with the Legal Complaints Service the Department was concerned to make sure our obligations under the Data Protection Act and other considerations in using claimant data were taken fully into account. We are now considering the outcomes from the pilot and discussing with the Legal Complaints Services and others the best way of taking this work forward in the light of the practical experience and other relevant initiatives.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on what date he is expecting to give names of claimants to the Legal Complaints Service to advise on solicitors’ charges following the Rother Valley pilot. [169192]
Malcolm Wicks: The Legal Complaints Service was given some claimant data for the Rother Valley pilot project. We are now considering the outcomes from the Rother Valley pilot project and discussing with the Legal Complaints Services and others the best way of taking this work forward in the light of the experience gained from the project and other relevant initiatives.
Companies House: ICT
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he has any plans to review the IT systems of Companies House. [166698]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 21 November 2007]: No.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether his Department has adopted the Carbon Trust’s carbon management programme. [165935]
Malcolm Wicks: BERR are not currently working with the Carbon Trust, however the Department for Trade and Industry engaged with the Carbon Trust from 2003-04 to 2006-07 through its carbon management (energy efficiency) programme, which delivers technical assessment and energy efficiency advice, detailed in a customer specific action plan.
Energy
Mr. Laurence Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much electricity was generated in the UK from
(a) coal, (b) gas, (c) nuclear, (d) renewable and (e) other sources in the most recent year for which figures are available. [170643]
Malcolm Wicks: Electricity generated in the UK in 2006 (the last year for which data are available) is summarised as follows:
| Source | Electricity generated (GWh) |
| (1) Other sources include oil, hydro pumped storage, coke oven gas, blast furnace gas and waste products from chemical processes. Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2007 | |
Energy: Fees and Charges
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to ensure that all customers of an energy supplier have access to the cheapest tariff provided by that supplier. [169419]
Malcolm Wicks: In respect of gas and electricity, each supplier has a range of tariffs which are generally related to payment method. While these will be available to all customers, there will be circumstances where a customer cannot access a particular tariff, for instance, an internet-based tariff or, where a customer is repaying debt through a prepayment meter. Most suppliers now offer social tariffs to their fuel poor customers, while others offer a range of measures designed to assist these customers. Among other things, these activities help low-income households reduce their energy costs. I am in continued discussion with suppliers to encourage them to maintain and build on these activities.
Ofgem and Energywatch have undertaken activities to inform consumers about the range of tariffs available and the benefits of switching. A number of intermediaries now also exist to inform customers about different tariffs and provide an easy means of switching. In respect of the cheaper tariffs that are available through direct debit, the key is access to a bank account. The Government are tackling this through their work on financial inclusion and specifically work with the banking sector to improve access to bank accounts.
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