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2 Jun 2009 : Column 341W—continued
Small Businesses: Bank Services
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of access to credit for small businesses; and if he will make a statement. [242742]
Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 February 2009, Official Report, column 1456W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Central (Mr. Sarwar).
In relation to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, since its launch on 14 January, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee has over £400 million of eligible applications from over 3,600 firms that have been granted, are being processed or assessed.
Visteon: Enfield
Mr. Burrowes:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether his Department had discussions with Visteon UK Ltd (a) before and (b) after the closure of
its plant in Enfield on the closure of that plant; what information his Department holds on redundancy and pension payments to former employees of that plant; and if he will make a statement. [272393]
Ian Pearson: BERR has been in contact with Visteon UK's management on a range of matters over a number of years, as the company has attempted to put its loss-making UK operations on a sound financial footing. BERR has received correspondence from Members of Parliament and others relating to the circumstances of UK Visteon plant closures which touch on redundancy and pensions matters and the issue was the subject of an Adjournment debate on 30 April. I am pleased to note that since the debate, the unions and Visteon Corporation have agreed a significantly improved redundancy package and that staff at the three Visteon UK plants voted overwhelmingly to accept it. I hope that the necessary payments can be made as soon as is possible to help those affected by the closures. The Department does not hold information on individuals.
Western Sahara: Overseas Trade
Joan Walley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2009, Official Report, column 414W, on Morocco: overseas trade, what advice UK Trade and Investment has provided on Western Sahara. [276380]
Mr. Thomas: Some general advice on Western Sahara is contained in UK Trade and Investment’s Portal pages on Morocco:
https://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk/
No other advice has recently been given on Western Sahara.
Home Department
Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many penalty notices for disorder were issued in 2004; for what offences such penalties were issued; and what percentage of penalty notices for disorder were paid in each year. [276185]
Mr. Straw: I have been asked to reply.
We are not able to identify how many and the percentage of those penalty notices which remain unpaid after (a) six and (b) 12 months, as it is not possible to provide separate enforcement rates for unpaid PNDs once they have been registered as fines by the courts.
Information held by the Ministry of Justice for the number of Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) issued to persons in England and Wales aged 16 and over, by offence type, and the number paid within the suspended enforcement period, for the years 2004 to 2007 (latest available) are shown in the following tables 1 to 4.
Under the PND Scheme, recipients have 21 days (the suspended enforcement period) in which either to pay the penalty or opt to have their case heard in court. If no action is taken a fine of one and half times the penalty amount is registered against the recipient.
PND data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
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