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23 Oct 2008 : Column 484W—continued
The figures given for 2008 in all tables are for 1 January to 30 September 2008.
These figures do not include time spent in harbour, alongside training, self maintenance and periods of leave.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Post Office Network
6. Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on the network change programme for the post office network in Greater Manchester and High Peak. [229221]
Mr. McFadden: Following local consultations, Post Office Ltd announced its decisions on the Greater Manchester and High Peak area plan on 12 August. These confirmed that 316 branches would be retained in the area, and that four closure proposals, including Spotland Road in Rochdale, had been withdrawn. To date, 63 post office closures have been confirmed for Greater Manchester and High Peak with decisions on two other closure proposals still awaited.
7. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made on the post office network change programme. [229222]
Mr. McFadden): Local consultations on all 42 of Post Office Ltd's area plans have closed and decisions have been announced on 41 area plans. To date, 87 closure proposals and five outreach proposals had been withdrawn in the light of responses to local consultations. Following the network change programme, on average, over 90 per cent. of customers nationally will see no change to their local post office.
8. Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance his Department gave to community groups on participating in the Post Office consultation on network change; and if he will make a statement. [229223]
Mr. McFadden: The arrangements for local consultation on Post Office Ltd's Network Change Programme area plans were the responsibility of the company, operating within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding agreed with Postwatch, and monitored closely by the consumer body. I understand that there was extensive participation and levels of response to the network change proposals put forward to local consultation from local authorities and other community and representative groups.
Construction Industry
9. Mr. Mackay: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of the level of activity in the construction industry. [229226]
Ian Pearson: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby some moments ago.
Glass Industry
10. Mr. Illsley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of the competitiveness of the British glass industry; and if he will make a statement. [229228]
Ian Pearson: No such assessment has been made recently, however the most recent figures show that the glass industry contributes £1.2 billion to the UK economy, and employs around 28,000 people directly.
Business Environment: Essex
11. Mr. Burns: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many meetings Ministers in his Department have had with the Minister for the East of England to discuss the business environment in Essex since 1 July 2007. [229229]
Mr. McFadden: Ministers from the Department regularly meet with my hon. Friend the Minister for the East of England to discuss a range of issues.
Small Businesses
12. John Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he is taking to promote and protect growth in small businesses. [229230]
Ian Pearson: The Government are committed to promoting enterprise. Our policies have ensured that internationally the UK is now recognised as among the best in the world to start and grow a business. The Government are determined to build on that success. That is why we published a renewed Enterprise Strategy in March that sets out a framework of five drivers to inform and structure the Government’s enterprise policy: Culture, Knowledge and Skills, Finance, Innovation and Regulation. My hon. Friend will also be aware of the package of measures to support small businesses that were announced this week.
Internet Governance Forum
13. Alun Michael: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he is taking to support the work of the Internet Governance Forum. [229231]
Ian Pearson: The Government are committed to ensuring the success of the multi-stakeholder Internet Governance Forum (IGF) process. We are a leading donor, with £50,000 committed to supporting the IGF Secretariat this year. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) works in partnership with Nominet in the UK IGF, which is identifying key messages for the third IGF in Hyderabad in December. In addition to promoting the contributions of UK parliamentarians, Nominet and other UK stakeholders in Hyderabad, BERR will hold a workshop on virtual worlds for delivering public service and innovation.
Alcoholic Drinks: Prices
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) what assessment he has made of the relationship between the price of alcohol and drinking behaviour; and if he will make a statement; [227293]
(2) what plans he has to regulate the sale of low-cost alcohol as a loss leader in supermarkets; and if he will make a statement. [227294]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
The Department commissioned the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), at the university of Sheffield to produce an independent review on the effects of alcohol price, promotion, consumption and harm. The review has two phases:
Phase 1 systematically identified, appraised and synthesised international evidence on the relationship between alcohol price, promotion, consumption and harm. Summary of the first phase, published on 22 July, found significant links between price and youth and heavy drinkers but it has less of an impact on moderate and occasional drinkers; and
Phase 2 explored the potential impact of potential policy changes in this area, especially the population-based impact on health, crime, and wider economy for the population as a whole and also with a focus on: young people under 18 who drink alcohol; 18 to 24-year-old hazardous drinkers; and, harmful drinkers whose patterns of drinking damage their physical/mental health or causes substantial harm to others.
Findings from the review are expected to be published this year and are intended to inform understanding of retail practices, whether they are linked to excessive drinking, and whether Government intervention is likely to be proportionate and have a significant beneficial impact.
Energy: Business
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assistance his Department makes available to help rural businesses meet energy bills. [227739]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
We have a range of support to assist rural SMEs as part of the Government’s support to the SME sector as a whole. We have developed information for our Businesslink.gov portal to consolidate and provide one-stop shop advice to SMEs on energy efficiency. We intend to have measures in place by the end of this year to enable SMEs to access energy efficiency advice and support though information and services provided by all energy suppliers. The Carbon Trust offers a range of interest-free energy efficiency loans and advice.
Retail Trade
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of the future competitiveness of the retail sector. [229224]
Mr. Thomas: Assessments of the competitiveness of different parts of the retail sector are undertaken from time to time including in the recent Competition Commission investigation into the grocery sector.
It is clear that the grocery sector is still a strong, competitive market. Other parts of the retail sector are facing tougher times.
We are continuing to work through what farther action, Government can take to help all businesses through the current economic downturn.
Small Businesses: Economic Situation
Ben Chapman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department is taking to protect small businesses in the current economic climate; and if he will make a statement. [229214]
Ian Pearson: Small businesses are central to the UK economy and the Government are fully committed to supporting business at this critical time.
We have committed to pay firms within 10 days, and to ensure banks make funds available to small businesses.
An enhanced training offer through Train to Gain;
Free “Health Checks” through Business Link; and
New finance guides with the Institute of Credit Management.
Communities and Local Government
Community Relations: Islam
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2008, Official Report, column 989W, on terrorism, what progress has been made on point 11 of the 12-point plan of 5 August 2005 in respect of consulting Muslim leaders with regard to those clerics who are not British citizens to draw up a list of those not suitable to preach who will be excluded from the UK. [227938]
Mr. Khan
[holding answer 17 October 2008]: On progress against the 12-point plan, I refer the hon. Member again to the update provided by my right hon.
Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department on 1 September 2008, Official Report, column 1594W. This sets out that all counter-terrorism work has now been subsumed into the United Kingdom’s long-term strategy for countering terrorism (the CONTEST strategy).
On point 11 in the 12-point plan, I refer the hon. Member again to the statement made by the then Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke) on 15 December 2005, Official Report, columns 167-71WS. No further action was taken in respect of drawing up a list of ‘clerics’ to be excluded from the UK.
Since August 2005, 79 individuals have been excluded from the UK on the basis that they have engaged in unacceptable behaviours. The statistics are not broken down according to the professional background of the individuals concerned. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, East and Saddleworth (Mr. Woolas) on 20 October 2008, Official Report, column 14W.
Council Housing: South West
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authority-owned, non-decent dwellings there were in (a) the South West and (b) Stroud district in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [229735]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department collects figures on local authority non-decent homes through the published annual Business Plan Statistical Appendix. According to the latest returns available, the number of non-decent local authority homes as at 1 April 2007 in South West England as a whole was 27,128 (22 per cent. of stock). The figure for Stroud was 510 (10 per cent. of stock). The regional figure includes non-decent homes in local authorities which had established an arm’s length management organisation to manage their homes.
Council Tax
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much council tax liability was written off by local authorities in each year since 1985; and what proportion of council tax liability this represented in each such year. [229416]
John Healey: Details of the amount of council tax expected to be collected within the year by local authorities in England since 2002-03 (in £ millions), the amount of council tax written off each year, and the proportion of the amount to be collected this represents are shown in the following table. The data are reported annually by all billing authorities and were first collected in 2002-03.
| Amount of council tax to be collected (£ million) | Amount written off (£ million) | Proportion of council tax to be collected written off (percentage) | |
The amounts written off relate to council tax payable for both the current year and for previous years.
Some authorities net off against write-offs moneys collected that had previously been written off. This can result in a negative total figure for amounts written off in a particular year.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of council tax liability was not collected by local authorities in England in each year since 1985. [229417]
John Healey: Details of the percentage of council tax liability collected in year by local authorities in England, since the introduction of council tax in 1993-94 and 2006-07, are available in table 2.2m of “Local Government Financial Statistics No 18 2008” which is available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
Data for 2007-08 were published in a Statistical Release on 18 June 2008 and are available at:
Collection of council taxes continues once the financial year to which they relate has ended. This means that the percentage collected will eventually be higher than the figure shown.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average Band D council tax increase was in England in each year since 1985. [229418]
John Healey: Details of the average Band D council tax increase in England since the introduction of council tax in 1993-94, are available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
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