| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 Feb 2008 : Column 407W—continued
UK Trade and Investment reviews its overseas network resource on an ongoing basis to ensure it is deployed appropriately in support of the objectives in its strategy “Prosperity in a Changing World”, published in July 2006, and to achieve efficiency savings. The number of posts in each UK embassy in Europe to be discontinued as a result of this work, and the resulting cost savings, remains to be determined but UKTI is currently seeking efficiency savings of £4.4 million overall from its overseas network.
Union Modernisation Fund
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2007, Official Report, column 1480W, on the union modernisation fund, what the membership is of the independent supervisory board; and by what criteria they were appointed. [186094]
Mr. McFadden: The members of the Independent Supervisory Board are: Sir Bill Connor, Bruce Warman, Willy Brown, Jeannie Drake, Danny Carrigan and Adrian Askew.
Members of the Supervisory Board were selected by open competition. Recruitment was conducted in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies, with support from the Office of the Commissioner for Public appointments (OCPA). The Nolan Principles of Public Life, which are the foundations of the public appointments process and provide guidance on the standards expected of public appointees, applied to these appointments.
The applicants were assessed against the following criteria:
team working skills;
knowledge of trade union modernisation issues and the broader employment relations context;
experience of working in or with trade unions; and
Analytical skills and judgment.
Union Modernisation Fund: Audit
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 23 January 2008, Official Report, column 2036W, on the union modernisation fund: audit, if he will place in the Library a copy of each independent accountant’s report produced so far for each completed project. [186085]
Mr. McFadden: The independent accountant is appointed in accordance with the Standardised Terms of Engagement as published on the BERR website:
Under these terms the independent accountants’ reports are commercially confidential between the Department, the grant recipient and the accountant.
Video Games
Mr. Olner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the market share of UK computer games developers in (a) the UK, (b) the US and (c) Europe in 2006-07. [182949]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform does not currently have access to figures giving the share of UK games developers of markets in Europe and the US in 2006-07. However, we are aware the market analysts ChartTrack estimate that in 2007 UK developers’ share of the UK video games market was 19.2 per cent.
To help address the lack of reliable data available on the UK computer games industry, in October 2007 UK Trade and Investment published “Playing for Keeps”, a report by independent consultants Games Investor which includes a range of valuable new data on the competitiveness of the UK games sector compared to key competitor territories including the US and Canada. This research confirmed that the UK had the second largest number of games development studios, after the US, and was the fourth most revenue generative games development market in the world.
Video Games: Research
Mr. Olner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the average proportion of turnover invested in research and development by UK companies in the computer games development sector. [182948]
Malcolm Wicks: Very few figures for investment in research and development (R and D) by UK companies in the computer games sector are currently collected.
The 2007 R and D Scoreboard published by DIUS and BERR lists the top 850 UK companies from all sectors by R and D investment. The list includes only companies who publish their annual reports and who then specify their R and D spend in those reports. Three games companies appear in the scoreboard as follows:
| Company name | R and D spend (£ million) | As a percentage of sales |
This sample is too small to calculate a reliable average R and D spend for the UK games development sector which comprises some 160 studios, the vast majority of which employ fewer than 100 staff.
Wind Power
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make an estimate of (a) how much wind energy the National Grid can manage and (b) the total capacity of wind the UK can absorb for energy use. [184408]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is as follows.
(a) Work by National Grid indicates that there are no major technical barriers to accommodating wind on the GB electricity system. The costs associated with maintaining system balancing and system reliability will, however, be important considerations. All indications are that the GB’s electricity networks can operate reliably with high penetrations of wind and other intermittent forms of renewable generation.
(b) Limitations to the amount of energy from renewable sources that can be used (i.e. supplied to consumers) are principally dependent on levels of demand in relation to the amount of renewable electricity being produced. This is not currently an issue, but looking forward to much higher levels of wind generation it is possible that potential wind generation may exceed demand for some periods. The implications of this will be considered during the development of the Renewable Energy Strategy.
Wind Power: Housing
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what is the minimum permitted distance from housing at which windfarms may be constructed in England and Wales; and what studies of comparable standards in Germany have been undertaken. [185488]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department has not issued standards on specific minimum distances between wind farms and occupied buildings. The distances that will be appropriate will depend on the particulars of each case and issues such as expected noise levels, visual impact and safety requirements. Guidance on these matters in England is provided in the Companion Guide to Planning Policy Statement 22 on Renewable Energy. No comparative studies with Germany have been undertaken.
Winter Fuel Payments
Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent representations he has received on raising the winter fuel allowance. [184007]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply
There have been a number of representations on increasing the Winter Fuel Payment. These have been in the form of correspondence and parliamentary questions.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Ambient Assisted Living
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his policy is on participating in ambient assisted living projects at EU level; and if he will make a statement. [181722]
Ian Pearson: The UK supports the objectives of the European Commission proposal under Article 169 of the EC treaty for the Joint Programme for Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), which are to support applied research and the demonstration of potential AAL solutions for the elderly in their home/ambient environment through effective co-ordination between national support schemes.
Negotiations are currently progressing under the co-decision procedure in the council and the European Parliament. The UK has indicated it will participate. UK enterprises participating in successful projects will be funded via the Assisted Living Innovation Platform recently established by the Technology Strategy Board.
Apprentices: Admissions
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the entry requirement is for a programme-led apprenticeship in each subject. [184037]
Mr. Lammy: There are no set national entry requirements for a programme-led apprenticeship. Any entry requirement would be set by the institution providing the learning based on its assessment of an individual’s prospects of completing.
As set out in “World-class Apprenticeships: Unlocking Talent, Building Skills for All” published on 28 January 2008, a young person will need to meet a new minimum entry threshold to qualify for the entitlement to an apprenticeship place from 2013. This
new threshold will apply to learners in the entitlement group who are placed in a programme-led apprenticeship because no employed apprenticeship place is immediately available.
Departmental Data Protection
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether personal data for which his Department is responsible are (a) stored and (b) processed overseas; and if he will make a statement. [176018]
Mr. Lammy: The information is as follows:
(a) As far as we are aware, none.
(b) As far as we are aware, none.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what obligations his Department and its agencies place on contractors in relation to the audit of personal data and IT equipment. [176465]
Mr. Lammy: Any requirements placed on contractors in relation to the audit of personal data and IT equipment would be included in the contractual terms for the specified service, which would include compliance with HMG and departmental security policies.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what audits his Department and its agencies have carried out in relation to personal data and IT equipment in each of the last 10 years. [176477]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created by the Prime Minister on 28 June 2007.
Since the creation of the Department, no formal audit of personal data has yet been completed.
Auditing of the service provider’s IT equipment is the contractual responsibility of the service provider.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people are employed by his Department as apprentices. [162713]
Mr. Lammy: The Department has five staff undertaking Advanced Apprenticeships and one undertaking an Apprenticeship. This arrangement was set up by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) which predates the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills set up in the recent Machinery of Government changes.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many posters or displays there are in the offices of his Department and its agencies displaying the names and photographs of Ministers; and what the cost has been of producing such posters or displays since it was established. [179913]
Mr. Lammy: One photographic panel has been produced at a cost of approximately £500.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (1) what the name is of each special adviser in his Department; [166871]
(2) what the estimated cost is of (a) expenses, (b) salary, (c) office space, (d) administrative support and (e) special advisers for the two new Ministers of State in his Department in 2007-08. [166872]
Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement from my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 November 2007, Official Report, column 148WS.
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will list the special advisers employed in his Department and its predecessor since 6 May 1997; and what the (a) start and (b) end date of employment was in each case. [184372]
Mr. Lammy: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and numbers of special advisers in each pay band. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 November 2007, Official Report, columns147-50WS.
Departmental Pay
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people in his Department and its predecessors earned over £100,000 in each year since 1997. [167195]
Mr. Lammy: The Department was created as a result of the June 2007 Machinery of Government changes and no employees have earned over £100,000. Information on predecessor Departments is listed in the answer given to the hon. Member on 27 November 2007, Official Report, column 381W.
Departmental Recruitment
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether the policy of British jobs for British workers will affect his Department's recruitment policy. [179884]
Mr. Lammy: As a new department, created from elements of BERR (formerly DTI) and DCSF (formerly DfES) DIUS is in the process of defining, consulting and communicating Department-specific policies and procedures. Recruitment and selection policies will be part of this project and will be established in 2008. In the meantime the policies of the two former Departments are maintained supported by interim guidance notes for managers.
This guidance and the formal policies ensure that the following points are taken into account when filling posts within DIUS:
1. The need to utilise, wherever possible, surplus staff in the civil service. This requires that suitably qualified and experienced civil servants are given opportunities to apply for
new jobs, prior to them being advertised externally. This ensures that human resources are used as efficiently as possible and saves on severance and recruitment costs.
2. The adherence to rules governing nationality and the right to take up employment in the UK civil service. These rules require that applicants for any job in the civil service must be a UK national or have dual nationality with one part being British.
In addition, about 75 per cent. of civil service posts are open to Commonwealth citizens and nationals of any of the member states of the European economic area (EEA). The remainder, which require special allegiance to the state, are reserved for UK nationals. This includes most fast stream posts. Please see
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |