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29 Apr 2009 : Column 1358W—continued
Business: Wales
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many health checks on businesses in Wales have been carried out under his Department's Flexible Support for Business service in each of the last six months. [261934]
Mr. Paul Murphy: I have been asked to reply.
Responsibility for business support is devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government and is delivered through its Flexible Support for Business service, which includes regular health checks for over 1,700 clients.
Competition: Newspapers
Kerry McCarthy:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will use his powers under the memorandum
of understanding with the Office of Fair Trading to request it to re-examine competition issues in the newspaper distribution industry. [271448]
Mr. Thomas: There have been a number of announcements recently about competition within the market for the distribution of newspapers in England and Wales after significant investigation. They include my noble Friend the Secretary of State's release of the statutory undertakings underpinning the Code of Practice given by wholesale distributors, and the Office of Fair Trading' opinion on the legality of distribution agreements between wholesalers and publishers. The Office of Fair Trading is currently consulting on its preliminary decision not to refer the market to the Competition Commission and it is expected to announce its final decision in the autumn.
My noble Friend the Secretary of State's decision on the Code of Practice can be found at the following URL link:
And the Office of Fair Trading's opinion on the legality of wholesaler distributors’ agreements with publishers can be found at:
Council of Business Advisers
John Mason: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many times the Business Council for Britain has met; when it last met; who the members of the Council are; how many civil servants have attended each meeting of the Council; and how much the Council has spent on (a) travel, (b) hospitality and (c) other expenses since June 2007. [268858]
Mr. Thomas: The Business Council for Britain has met formally five times, the most recent meeting being on 14 January 2009. The executive chair of the Better Regulation Executive is invited to attend Business Council meetings and the officials attending the meetings have been: the PM's Private Secretary; the Permanent Secretary, BERR; two officials from the Business Council's Secretariat and an official from the Cabinet Office. In addition, the joint head of the UK Government Economic Service also attended the meeting in January 2009.
There are currently 16 members of the Business Council, a full list is attached as follows. The Business Council has incurred a sum of £870 for hospitality, but no other costs for travel or other expenses.
Business Council for Britain, membership as at 3 April 2009:
Stephen Green, Chairman, HSBC (and Chairman of the Business Council)
Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin
Damon Buffini, Chairman, Permira
Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive, Anglo American
Sir William Castell, Chairman, Wellcome Trust
Sir Rod Eddington, Director, News Corporation
Dr Tony Hayward, CEO, BP
Sir Terry Leahy, CEO, Tesco
Ian Livingston, Chief Executive, BT
Sir John Parker, Chairman, National Grid
Sir John Rose, CEO, Rolls-Royce
Sir Stuart Rose Executive Chairman, Marks and Spencer
Dame Marjorie Scardino, CEO, Pearson
Sir Alan Sugar, Chair and CEO, Amshold
Paul Walsh, CEO, Diageo
Andrew Witty, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline
Departmental Assets
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when his Department last reviewed its assets and land and property holdings with a view to identifying and disposing of surpluses. [269856]
Mr. McFadden: This Department's published Asset Management Strategy can be found on the BERR website at the following address:
The Department does not own any material or significant non-property related assets.
The Department does not own any land.
The Department owns the freehold to only one building, the Core Store, situated in Edinburgh, which is currently fully occupied and let to the British Geological Survey. All other buildings are leased.
Since 2003-04, the Department's estate has undergone substantial rationalisation and BERR staff now occupy only 1.5 buildings in central London. Where buildings have been vacated, they have either been let to other Government Departments or the leases have expired.
Departmental Training
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much has been spent on media training for each Minister in his Department in each of the last three years; how many sessions have been provided; and which organisations provided such training. [268552]
Mr. McFadden: Training is provided to Ministers as necessary in order to carry out their duties effectively under the Ministerial Code.
Evening Standard
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what communications (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department received from (i) Finsbury and (ii) Roland Rudd in connection with the sale of the London Evening Standard to Alexander Lebedev before the decision was taken on whether to issue an intervention notice under the Enterprise Act 2002. [269052]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 20 April 2009]: No communications were received by Ministers or officials in connection with the sale of the Evening Standard from either Roland Rudd or Finsbury.
Free Trade: Burma
John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what progress has been made in securing an EU-ASEAN free-trade agreement; and whether Burma will be party to this agreement. [271109]
Mr. Thomas: EU-ASEAN free trade agreement negotiations were launched in May 2007 in Brunei. ASEAN, due to its competitiveness, is a very important market with which to further deepen trade relations. However, since 2007 progress on starting substantive negotiations has been very slow. This has been a result of ASEAN finding it difficult to agree a common negotiating position.
The UK position is that Burma should not benefit from a future EU-ASEAN FTA. This is an issue to which the UK attaches great importance.
Insolvency
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many corporate insolvencies there were in each (a) local authority area, (b) region and (c) parliamentary constituency in each quarter of each of the last 12 years; and if he will make a statement. [271757]
Mr. McFadden: Statistics covering corporate insolvencies are not currently available at sub-national level within England and Wales.
Overseas Trade: Israel
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assistance his Department provides to Israeli businesses wishing to (a) invest in the UK and (b) take part in joint ventures with UK companies; how much was made available for these purposes in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement. [268514]
Mr. Thomas: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) provides a range of information and business services to Israeli companies wishing to invest in the UK, through its teams based in both the UK and the British Embassy in Tel Aviv.
As part of UKTI's role to facilitate investment in the UK, the Global Partnerships programme offers a research service to foreign companies interested in joint ventures and long term collaborations.
It is not possible to quantify accurately the costs available for these purposes solely in Israel.
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 Israel Britain Chamber of Commerce to discuss trade between the UK and Israel; on what dates the next such meetings are planned; and if he will make a statement. [268515]
Mr. Thomas: I have not yet had the opportunity to meet Len Judes, Chairman of the Israel-British Chamber of Commerce.
Contacts in Tel Aviv are regular and ongoing. UKTI officials based in London who are responsible for business with Israel meet representatives of the Israel-Britain Chamber of Commerce when they travel to Israel. UKTI officials met Mr Judes on one of his recent visits to the UK.
My noble Friend the Minister of State for Trade and Investment will be visiting Israel in a private capacity later in the year, although he will spend some time on official business. He hopes there will be an opportunity to meet Mr Judes during that visit.
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what support (a) his Department and (b) UK Trade and Investment are providing (i) to support UK business activities in Israel and (ii) support the attendance of UK businesses at business fairs and conferences in that country. [271412]
Mr. Thomas: On behalf of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and HM Government more widely, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) provides a range of support services to British companies wishing to trade with or invest in Israel, principally through its commercial team based in the British embassy in Tel Aviv.
UKTI support focuses, in particular, on business opportunities in high technology sectors, including Biotechnology, Healthcare, Aerospace, Information and Communication Technology, the Environmental Industries and Financial and Legal Services. Information on commercial events in Israel is posted on the UKTI website
along with details of specific business opportunities in the market.
UKTI offers a full range of support services to British companies attending trade fairs and exhibitions in Israel. These include pre-travel market research and in-country assistance with programme arranging and logistics.
Minimum Wage
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of workers receiving a wage below the national minimum wage. [271603]
Mr. McFadden: The Government are committed to simple, effective enforcement of the national minimum wage (NMW) which deters non-compliant employers from underpaying their workers and removes the unfair competitive advantage that underpayment can bring. New measures brought in under the Employment Act 2008, which took effect from 6 April this year, include automatic penalties of up to £5,000 for employers found not to be complying with the NMW, a new system for calculating repayment of arrears of NMW to a worker which takes account of the length of time the arrears have been outstanding and greater powers for officers enforcing the NMW in obtaining records. In 2006 the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, announced an increase of £2.9 million per year for enforcement of the national minimum wage, each year for four years.
The Government also run an extensive publicity campaign aimed at informing workers and businesses about the national minimum wage. In 2007-08 the Government helped to restore £3.9 million in arrears to over 19,000 workers.
Trade Promotion: Expenditure
Mr. Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost to his Department was of the UK Trade and Investment “Take it to the World” programme on the latest date for which figures are available. [269026]
Mr. Thomas: UK Trade and Investment's “Take it to the World” programme, has the objective to raise awareness amongst businesses of its role and the benefits of exporting, in line with the recommendation in the National Audit Offices recent value-for-money report.
The programme has cost £780,982 (0.25 per cent. of total budget).
This has helped achieve an additional 46,000 visitors to UKTI's website when comparing March to the previous month.
Communities and Local Government
Community Development
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the final data are for the educational Key Stage 3 target for the performance of schools in Neighbourhood Renewal Fund areas, as referred to on page 44 of her Department’s 2008 Annual Report. [271540]
Mr. Khan: There are no plans to release 2008 Key Stage 3 final data for Neighbourhood Renewal Fund areas.
On 16 October 2008, the Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families announced to the House significant changes to the school assessment and accountability system, including the end of compulsory Key Stage 3 tests. Following this widely welcomed announcement it was subsequently decided and announced to the House on 16 December 2008, not to proceed with collating and publishing Key Stage 3 performance tables at the school-level for 2008, as to do so would place a disproportionate burden on secondary schools.
Community Relations
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Community Leadership Fund in contributing to the development of capacity among faith and civic leaders to confront extremism. [271641]
Mr. Khan: Each piece of work funded by the Community Leadership Fund is assessed individually according to the proposed measures for effectiveness of the specific activities and objectives of each project.
All projects funded through the Community Leadership Fund are monitored with interim and annual evaluation reports.
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