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2 Apr 2009 : Column 1438W—continued
East of England Development Agency: Equality
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of conducting equality impact assessments in respect of the East of England Development Agency in 2008-09; and if he will make a statement. [267755]
Mr. McFadden: Equality impact assessments form an integral part of the East of England Development Agency’s project planning process, and as a result a disaggregated figure is not available.
Economic Situation
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent steps the Government has taken to work with trade unions and employers to minimise the effects of the economic downturn on employees. [258235]
Mr. McFadden
[holding answer 23 February 2009]: My noble Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform meets regularly with Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC and other union leaders. BERR Ministers have also met with trade union leaders to discuss sector specific issues (e.g. automotive). Union representatives may also be
present at discussions on company specific issues. Other Government Departments also work with trade unions and employers.
Electoral Commission: Codes of Practice
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2008, Official Report, column 601W, on regulation: departmental co-ordination, whether the Code of Practice on Guidance applies to the Electoral Commission when it issues regulatory guidance that affects (a) political parties and (b) other voluntary organisations. [250218]
Ian Pearson: The code of practice on guidance is not intended to apply when guidance is issued to political parties by the Electoral Commission.
Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many firms have applied for funding under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme since its creation; and how much has been lent under the scheme to date. [253633]
Ian Pearson: Since the launch of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee on 14 January 2009, as of 25 March, over 1,600 businesses have made eligible applications for a value of nearly £175 million which has been offered, being assessed or processed.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many applications have been made to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme. [256176]
Ian Pearson: Since the launch of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee on 14 January 2009, as of 25 March in total there have been 1,882 cases recorded on web portal inquiring about the guarantee. As of 25 March, over 1,600 businesses have made eligible applications for a value of nearly £175 million which has been offered, assessed or processed.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the monetary value of secured loans under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme is. [256177]
Ian Pearson: Enterprise Finance Guarantee was launched on 14 January 2009 and is available from 26 approved lenders including all the main UK high street banks. EFG enables businesses to secure loans of between £1,000 and £1 million.
Since the launch of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, as of 25 March, over 1,600 businesses have made eligible applications for a value of nearly £175 million which has been offered, assessed or processed.
Farmers: Government Assistance
Tim Farron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for what reasons farmers are not eligible for assistance under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme. [257503]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 23 February 2009]: The eligibility criteria are based primarily on the business type and/or loan purpose rather than the profession of the borrower. There are no EFG restrictions in relation to farmers. There are, however, eligibility criteria and restrictions in relation to agriculture and horticulture which are based on the relevant EU de minimis state aid rules (1535/2007 and 1998/2006).
From 1 March 2009, the general EFG eligibility criteria in relation to businesses in the agricultural sector will be as follows:
Activities related to primary agricultural and horticultural production are eligible for EFG, will be is subject to a lower de minimis aid threshold. The exception being:
When the amount of aid is fixed on the basis of the price or quantity of products put on the market.
The processing and marketing of agricultural products (beyond simply preparation for sale and packaging) is eligible for EFG, subject to the full de minimis aid threshold. Exceptions:
When the amount of the aid is fixed on the basis of the price or quantity of such products purchased from primary producers or put on the market by the undertakings concerned.
When the aid is conditional on being partly or entirely passed on to primary producers.
Ultimately, however, decisions on individual lending rest with the lender. After making the commercial decision to lend according to their own criteria, all lenders use a common web portal to administer the eligibility criteria. Lenders also assess the extent of the ‘grant equivalent’ de minimis state aid to the borrower arising from the guaranteed loan and this is communicated to the borrower in the state aid letter.
Housing: Construction
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much each regional development agency contributed to housing schemes in each year since 2000. [265277]
Mr. McFadden: Apart from the LDA, the RDAs do not provide specific funding for housing schemes. In some cases, RDAs will have contributed indirectly through supporting mixed-use developments but where this has been the case, housing schemes have been ancillary to commercial space and delivered as a secondary benefit. Therefore, to separate these costs on a consistent basis would incur disproportionate cost.
The following table shows LDA figures. Figures from 2003-04 onwards include contributions made on behalf of Olympic Land Assembly.
| £ million | |
India: Overseas Trade
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much trade with India contributed to the UK's gross domestic product in each of the last five years. [268509]
Mr. Thomas: Due to the difficulty of differentiating between the impact of trade and other factors, it is not possible to quantify precisely the impact of trade with another country on GDP.
The following table indicates the scale of UK trade in goods and services with India for the years 2004-08 as a proportion of GDP:
| Percentage | |||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
|
UK imports from India: percentage of UK GDP at market prices | |||||
| Source: BERR Statistics and Analysis Unit | |||||
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) his officials last met the Chairman of the UK-India Business Council to discuss trade between the UK and India; on what dates the next such meetings are planned; and if he will make a statement. [268518]
Mr. Thomas: I last met with the chairman of the UK India Business Council on 11 February 2009. My noble Friend the Secretary of State last met him on 1 December 2008.
Officials last met him on 10 March 2009 at a UK India Business Council Board meeting and will continue to meet him on a regular basis.
Insolvency
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment his Department has made of the effects of the practice of pre-pack administration on the creditors and customers of companies which undertake the practice. [259870]
Mr. McFadden: Whether to do a pre-pack is a matter for the commercial judgment of the administrator, on a case by case basis. Administrators have a duty to act in the best interest of creditors and a pre-pack can often be the best way of preserving the business and jobs of the insolvent company.
The Government have not undertaken research or made any assessment of the impact pre-packs have on creditors or consumers.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many liquidations which commenced (a) 10 or more and (b) 15 or more years ago have not been finalised; and if he will make a statement. [261584]
Mr. McFadden: There are 20,721 liquidations that commenced more than 10 years ago and have not been finalised, of which, 17,058 commenced more than 15 years ago.
LDV: Finance
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much funding has been provided to the LDV Group for investment in lower carbon technology since 27 January 2009. [264536]
Ian Pearson: None, but as with other automotive companies with a turnover in excess of £25 million, LDV is eligible to apply to the Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP) which opened for applications on 27 February 2007.
Maternity Leave
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of employed women who are employed and have no entitlement to maternity leave. [268637]
Mr. McFadden: All pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave.
Motor Industry: Government Assistance
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress his Department has made on its scheme for administering loans from the European Investment Bank to companies in the automotive industry for lower carbon initiatives; and if he will make a statement. [261624]
Ian Pearson: BERR does not administer automotive loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB). However, the UK’s Automotive Assistance programme (AAP) which opened for business on 27 February could potentially receive applications for the provision of guarantees for EIB loans to UK automotive companies.
Motor Vehicles: Government Assistance
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) HM Treasury and (b) the Bank of England on action to safeguard the motor industry; for what reasons the Secretary of State said on 12 March 2009 that he wished that such discussions had gone quicker than they had; and if he will make a statement. [264417]
Ian Pearson:
BERR Ministers and officials have had a number of discussions with the Treasury and the Bank of England about action to safeguard the motor industry. In particular, Lord Davies has met with various stakeholders as part of his work on possible options to help improve the flow of liquidity to car finance companies. The Secretary of State’s comments that he wished
discussions had progressed faster reflect BERR’s aim of helping viable businesses overcome the current difficult circumstances.
Motor Vehicles: Waste Disposal
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he plans to introduce a car scrappage scheme. [261431]
Ian Pearson: The Government have received proposals from the automotive industry for a scrappage scheme—where individuals are given a financial incentive for purchasing new vehicles in exchange for scrapping old, less environmentally friendly vehicles—as a way to increase demand. Government are considering the costs and evidence on positive and negative impacts; including the experiences in other European member states such as Germany.
Regional Development Agencies
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the Pre-Budget Report 2008, what recent assessment he has made of the progress of each regional development agency in allocating the £100 million brought forward from their budgets to assist regional economic development; and if he will make a statement. [261512]
Mr. McFadden: As part of the pre-Budget report, RDAs were enabled to bring forward, on a voluntary basis, up to £100 million capital spend from 2010-11 to 2009-10 as part of the Government’s fiscal stimulus. BERR and CLG are working with RDAs to agree the projects they might be able to bring forward. RDAs expect to be able to use most of the flexibility allowed.
Risk and Regulation Advisory Council
John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on how many occasions the Risk and Regulation Advisory Council has met since its creation; what recommendations it has made to Ministers; and how many of these recommendations have been implemented. [266929]
Ian Pearson: The Risk and Regulation Advisory Council has met formally 15 times since it was established in January 2008. In addition council members have led a significant number of other events and meetings.
Part of the methodology of the RRAC is to work with diverse stakeholders in government and across British society to build consensus in public risk issues through workshop-based experiential learning. The council's focus has been on building that consensus rather than making formal recommendations.
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