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6 May 2009 : Column 256W—continued
Local Government: Manpower
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what records the Office of National Statistics holds on the number of people employed by individual local authorities. [271225]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009;
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what records the Office for National Statistics holds on the number of people employed by individual local authorities. (271225).
The Office for National Statistics collects employment statistics for the public sector, including Local Authorities in England and Wales as part of the Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (QPSES).
The results of this survey are published in aggregate as part of the Public Sector Employment First Release. The latest published statistics are for December 2008 and copies are available in the library of the House.
The published statistics provide totals for the UK by sector classification, industry and Civil Service department. Statistics are not available for individual Local Authorities.
Employment totals of individual Local Authorities, collected by the QPSES, will be published for the first time by Local Government Association (LGA) in June 2009.
Pensioners: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners with a net household income of less than £130 a week in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point constituency in each of the last five years. [273374]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated May 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners with a net household income of less than £130 a week in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point constituency in each of the last five years. (273374)
The information requested is not available.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Ammunition: Exports
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009, Official Report, column 19W, on ammunition: exports, how many of the 67 licences related to exports to each country. [272318]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 5 May 2009]: The Government publish summary details of export licences issued, refused and revoked in their annual and quarterly reports on strategic export controls. This is broken down by destination, including a summary of the items covered by these licences.
The Government’s annual reports, published since 1997, and quarterly reports, published since 2004, are available from the House of Commons Library and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at
The latest date for which information is available is 31 December 2008.
The annual report summary for munitions that are designed to create illumination or to act as an incendiary fall under the following goods descriptions:
Smoke hand grenades, smoke ammunition, signal flares, signal hand grenades, signal flares, incendiary hand grenades and illuminators.
The reports do not break down goods descriptions beyond this level of detail.
Better Regulation Executive: Manpower
John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the (a) annual budget and (b) number of staff employed by or in support of (i) the Better Regulation Executive and (ii) the Local Better Regulation Office has been in each year since their creation. [266931]
Ian Pearson: The Better Regulation Executive (BRE) was established in May 2005. Its budget was £7.6 million in 2006-07; £7.0 million in 2007-08 and £6.7 million in 2008-09. In 2005-06, the BRE inherited a budget of £3.9 million from the Regulatory Impact Unit (RIU). However, the BRE's workload was greater than the RIU and therefore in this year the BRE incurred an overspend.
The BRE employed 96 employees in 2005-06; 94 in 2006-07, 94 in 2007-08 and 99 in 2008-09.
The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) was established in September 2007 and had a budget of £2.0 million in 2007-08 (£4 million pro rata); and £4.4 million in 2008-09. Additionally, the Welsh Assembly Government have commissioned the LBRO to undertake further specific work in Wales. In 2008-09, this grant was £234,000.
The LBRO employed a total of 24 employees in 2007-08 and 29 employees in 2008-09.
Business: Government Assistance
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether individuals are eligible to apply for a loan through (a) the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme and (b) the Working Capital Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [259067]
Ian Pearson: Businesses with a turnover of up to £25 million seeking loans of between £1,000 and £1 million are eligible to apply for a loan through any of the 26 lenders approved to administer the Enterprise Finance Guarantee. Since its launch on 14 January, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee has nearly £300 million of eligible applications from over 2,600 firms that have been granted, are being processed or assessed.
Businesses cannot apply for direct support through the Working Capital Scheme. The scheme provides banks with guarantees covering 50 per cent. of the risk on existing and new working capital portfolios worth up to £10 billion, thereby freeing up lender capital for onward lending and benefiting businesses.
Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much has been spent on promoting the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme to potential borrowers since its creation; and if he will make a statement. [253632]
Ian Pearson: The Government are running a multi-media advertising campaign, “Real Help for Businesses Now”, to raise awareness by businesses of the whole range of advice and support available to help them. Promotion of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee is integral to this campaign and it is therefore not possible to isolate a discrete figure.
Exports: Power Stations
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will make it his policy that fossil fuel plants exported with support of the Export Credits Guarantee Department include integrated carbon capture and storage technology. [271812]
Ian Pearson: It is ECGD’s policy that projects it supports should comply with the relevant international standards.
The most recently published international standard relating to fossil fuel fired power stations is “Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines for Thermal Power Plants” published by the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group) in December 2008.
Financial Reporting Council
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on which dates in the last three years his Department held meetings with the Financial Reporting Council to discuss the accounting practices of banks. [263436]
Ian Pearson: We have no records of any meetings specifically to discuss the accounting practices of banks, but there have been numerous contacts between BERR officials and members and officials of the FRC and its operating bodies over the last three years at which the matter of the accounting practices of banks will have been raised as one of the matters discussed.
Manufacturing Industries
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the (a) terms of reference, (b) estimated cost and (c) planned final reporting date are of Mark Gibson's review of engineering and construction industry productivity; what Mr Gibson's fee and expense arrangements are for conducting the review; and if he will make a statement. [271595]
Ian Pearson: The terms of reference of the review of productivity and skills in the engineering construction sector (the Gibson Review) are:
Building on the previous (2005) study commissioned by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board the review would:
Assess the state of productivity in engineering construction in the UK (as 2005)
Identify the key inhibitors to productivity including skills aspects (as 2005)
Compare productivity levels with those experienced on overseas sites (as 2005)
Identify changes in practice, and factors, and their effect on productivity in the period since the ECITB 2005 review
Identify specifically the factors influencing success for UK-based companies bidding for UK and foreign, especially other European Union, engineering construction contracts (over the last six years)
Ways to improve skills and productivity in the UK engineering construction industry.
What steps small firms can take to compete and to develop new skills and technologies in process
Strengthening the links between procurement of major public projects and provision of training through methods such as contracting
How procurement practices can be geared to support productivity in UK firms.
The estimated costs of the review are £250,000. The majority of these costs relate to staff time for BERR and DIUS officials in the review team.
There is no firm deadline for the completion of the review, although this is expected to be around autumn, 2009.
Mark Gibson is employed by the Whitehall and Industry Group (WIG). Mr. Gibson's services in connection with the review are covered by a contract between BERR and WIG to the value of £6,375 plus expenses, plus VAT.
WIG is an independent, not for profit, politically neutral organisation, whose purpose is to encourage better understanding between business and Government. Mr. Gibson will not benefit personally from the contract.
Minimum Wage
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people aged (a) 16, (b) 17, (c) 18, (d) 19, (e) 20 and (f) over 20 years old have been in receipt of the national minimum wage applicable to them in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK in each year since its inception. [270219]
Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated April 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people aged (a) 16, (b) 17, (c) 18, (d) 19, (e) 20 and (f) over 20 years did have been in receipt of the national minimum wage applicable to them in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK in each year since its inception. (270219)
Estimates for the number of jobs paid at the national minimum wage are not available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, estimates for the number of employee jobs paid below the national minimum wage are available. The lowest geographical breakdown of estimates of all employee jobs paid below the national minimum wage published by the ONS is Government Office Region. Furthermore, estimates for the number of employee jobs paid below the national minimum wage by region by age are not available, but UK estimates are published for employees aged 16 to 17, aged 18 to 21 and aged 22 and over.
I attach a table showing the number of jobs earning less than the national minimum wage in the UK for all employees, for employees aged 16-17, aged 18-21 and aged 22 and over and for all employees only in the North East Figures are provided for each year since the inception of the national minimum wage in 1999.
A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles can be found on the National Statistics website at:
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