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22 Apr 2008 : Column 1979W—continued
the Manchester Central for a ministerial road show on 18 October 2007;
the Excel Conference Centre, Docklands for the UK Motor Show on 18 July 2006 and for the Boat Show Exhibition on 11 January 2007;
The QEII Conference Centre for the Chancellor's Advancing Enterprise Conference on 23 January 2005, to make a speech at the CBI Diversity Conference on 14 March 2005, for a Stakeholders Event and Reception on 20 June 2005, to launch the Energy Review on 23 January 2006, for the Annual Conference of the British Chambers of Commerce on 4 April 2006, for a speech to the Russian Economic Forum on 25 April, for the British Chambers of Commerce Annual Conference on 16 April 2007, and for a speech to the Russian Economic Forum on 24 April 2007.
Departmental Information and Communications Technology
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2008, Official Report, column 328W, on departmental ICT, how many missing or stolen (a) laptops, (b) mobile telephones and (c) personal digital assistants have been replaced by his Department; and at what cost. [198280]
Mr. Thomas: All those items which were departmental property will have been replaced. The estimated replacement costs of laptops and PDAs for each year since 2001 are set out in the following table.
| Replacement costs | ||
| £ | ||
| Laptops | PDAs | |
Mobile phones would have been replaced as routine upgrades at no additional cost to the Department.
Departmental Pensions
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many and what percentage of staff in his Department were making additional voluntary contributions to their pension in each of the last two years. [193549]
Mr. Thomas:
100 members of staff in the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2.85) per cent. of the total number of staff employed by the Department) were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions
from their pay in February 2007. This has decreased to 94 members of staff (2.96 per cent. of total number of staff employed by the department) who were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2008.
Departmental Publications
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance is issued to members of his Department on the authorship and publication on the internet of material relating to their official duties; and if he will make a statement. [196736]
Mr. Thomas: The Civil Service Code, the Civil Service Management Code and Propriety Guidance on Government Communications, all provide guidance to staff on the publication of material relating to their official duties. Copies of each of these are in the libraries of the House. They are also available on the Cabinet Office website at:
Departmental Sustainable Development
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement. [195866]
Mr. Thomas: The Department has published its sustainable development action plan for 2006-07 and is in the process of producing its action plan for 2007-08.
Discrimination
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many claims for discrimination based on (a) sex, (b) race and (c) sexual orientation were brought by members of his Department and settled (i) in and (ii) out of court in each of the last five years. [194991]
Mr. Thomas: The information requested is in the following table.
| Employment Tribunal cases 2003-07 | ||||||
| Settled at ET | Settled outside ET | |||||
| Sex | Race | Sexual orientation | Sex | Race | Sexual orientation | |
Hearing Impaired
Mr. Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what provision is made for deaf people to access services provided by his Department through call centres. [194952]
Mr. Thomas: The Department provides access to its services for deaf people via a minicom number in its Central Enquiry Unit.
The Arbitration and Conciliation Service (ACAS) and Companies House, who are Executive Agencies of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, also provide access via minicom numbers.
JP Morgan
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its predecessors paid to JP Morgan in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of the payment was in each case. [199593]
Mr. Thomas: Central records indicate that no contracts have been awarded by the Department and its predecessors to JP Morgan since 1997.
Karian and Box
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value was of each contract awarded by his Department and its predecessors to Karian and Box since 1997. [199636]
Mr. Thomas: Our central records indicate that no contracts have been awarded by the Department and its predecessors to Karian and Box since 1997.
Minimum Wage
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people were recorded to be receiving less than the minimum wage in each year since its introduction. [198001]
Mr. McFadden: Estimates of employee jobs paid below the national minimum wage are produced by the Office for National Statistics. These estimates are presented in the following table.
These figures do not provide an accurate estimate of the extent of non-compliance with the national minimum wage. There are a number of circumstances in which an individual may legitimately be paid less than the national minimum wage, for example apprentices and those provided with accommodation as part of their jobs.
| Number of employee jobs (and percentage of UK employees jobs) paid below the national minimum wage in the UK | ||
| Thousand | Percentage | |
| Notes: 1. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.00 per hour (aged 18-21) or £3.60 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 1998 to 2000. 2. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.20 per hour (aged 18-21) or £3.70 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2001. 3. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.50 per hour (aged 18-21) or £4.10 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2002. 4. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.60 per hour (aged 18-21) or £4.20 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2003. 5. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.80 per hour (aged 18-21) or £4.50 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2004. 6. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.00 per hour (aged 16-17) or £4.10 per hour (aged 18-21) or £4.85 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2005. 7. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.00 per hour (aged 16-17) or £4.25 per hour (aged 18-21) or £5.05 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2006. 8. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.30 per hour (aged 16-17) or £4.45 per hour (aged 18-21) or £5.35 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2007. 9. Before 2005 the estimates are for employees aged 18 and over, from 2005 the estimates are for those aged 16 and over 10. The following link is for the ONS web page containing the aforementioned information. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lpay1107.pdf | ||
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its predecessors paid to Morgan Stanley in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of each such payment was. [199683]
Mr. Thomas: Central records indicate that the Department and its predecessors have paid the following to Morgan Stanley since 1997:
| Amount (£) | Purpose | |
Political Parties: Finance
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance (a) his Department and (b) the Certification Officer has issued on those ineligible to donate to UK political parties or to contribute to political parties via trade union funds. [198076]
Mr. McFadden: Neither the Department nor the Certification Officer has produced guidance on those ineligible to donate to UK political parties or to contribute to political parties via trade union funds.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance (a) his Department and (b) the Certification Officer has issued on the use of paid leave for trade union duties being used for political campaigning and related activities. [198077]
Mr. McFadden: Neither the Department nor the Certification Officer has produced specific guidance on this issue. The Certification Officer has no statutory duties regarding paid time off for trade union duties.
Post Offices: Closures
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to ensure that Post Office Ltd. does not prevent sub-postmasters, whose post offices are threatened with closure, from consulting their Member of Parliament. [192009]
Mr. McFadden: I understand that Post Office Ltd. only asks sub-postmasters to maintain confidentiality about the proposed closure of their own or neighbouring offices to avoid speculation which could be commercially damaging to the offices concerned until the relevant area plan closure proposals have been finalised for public consultation.
Once proposals have been finalised for public consultation there is nothing to stop sub-postmasters discussing their views on the network change programme with their MP.
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