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3 Jun 2009 : Column 495W—continued
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to reply to the letter of 13 November 2008 from the hon. Member for Wycombe concerning his constituents, Houshab and Nitesh Patel of Biofuel Refineries, regarding unfair overseas competition in the biodiesel trade. [275507]
Mr. McFadden: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding. The hon. Member will receive a response shortly.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he will reply to the letters of 23 February and 17 April 2009 from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean, on credit for small leisure business, reference SP2151. [275957]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 15 May 2009]: The Minister for Competitiveness and Small Business responded to the hon. Member on 15 May. I apologise for the delay which was caused by the current high volumes of correspondence.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to reply to the letter of 6 April 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. D. Healey. [276508]
Mr. McFadden: I apologise to my right hon. Friend for the delay in responding. I will endeavour to respond shortly.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when a reply will be sent to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford’s letter of 9 March 2009 concerning his constituent, Mr Allan Jasson, of Chelmsford. [277671]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 1 June 2009]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding. The hon. Member will receive a response shortly.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when his Department plans to respond to the letter of 19 April 2009 from the hon. Member for North East Milton Keynes on his constituent, Mr. Robert Bluffield. [277857]
Mr. McFadden: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding. The hon. Member will receive a response shortly.
New Businesses
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assistance is available from his Department for a person who wishes to start a business as a sole trader. [263963]
Ian Pearson: Advice for those wishing to start up as sole traders, or in other corporate forms, is available from the Business Link website
which provides a wide range of advice and support tools for new business start ups.
Non-Profit Making Associations
Margaret Moran: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of support provided to social enterprise by regional development agencies. [271425]
Mr. McFadden: The RDAs produce corporate plans setting out corporate objectives and expenditure plans across all major activities including social enterprise. Progress against these plans is subsequently reviewed and reported in the RDA's annual report and accounts. RDAs are also required to undertake impact evaluations of their major projects. That work was recently collected together in a report “Impact of RDA Spending” carried out on the Department's behalf by PriceWaterhouseCoopers which provided an overall assessment of RDAs’ effectiveness. The report concluded that RDA expenditure produced economic benefits in all regions.
The Office of the Third Sector's Social Enterprise Action Plan announced £5.9 million for the regional development agencies to March 2011 to improve social enterprise support via Business Link. A formal evaluation of the programme by the Office of the Third Sector has begun, with BERR involvement, and will provide a
mechanism to share results across the country, with central Government and with the sector. A draft report on the early stages of the programme is currently being considered by OTS, BERR, the RDAs and a group of social enterprise experts.
Post Offices: Bank Services
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what post office services are operated with the Bank of Ireland. [269075]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 20 April 2009]: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). Alan Cook, managing director of POL, wrote directly to the hon. Member on 27 April 2009.
Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Regional Development Agencies
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what funding streams are provided by each regional development agency. [277362]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 1 June 2009]: Since April 2002, the RDAs have been financed through a Single Programme budget (the “Single Pot”). Money from the seven contributing Departments (BERR, CLG, DIUS, DECC, DEFRA, DCMS and UKTI) is pooled into one single budget.
The funding, once allocated, is available to the RDAs in order to achieve the regional priorities identified in their regional economic strategies (RES) and the challenging targets set by them in their corporate plans. The corporate plans are approved by Ministers. Each region’s plan will differ according to the needs, opportunities, and priorities for economic growth in each region.
Regional Planning and Development
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much funding each regional development agency plans to give to each regional design panel in 2009-10. [270126]
Mr. McFadden: The following table shows RDA proposed funding for regional design panels in 2009-10.
| RDA | Proposed funding for regional design panel in 2009-10 (£000) |
Royal Mail
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether Deutsche Post has informed him of the reasons for which it decided not to seek a stake in the Royal Mail. [274701]
Mr. McFadden: Deutsche Post’s decision in relation to a partnership with Royal Mail Group Limited is a matter for them.
Small Businesses: Procurement
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for what reasons each of the recommendations in the Glover Review on small and medium-sized enterprises and public procurement cannot be implemented during 2009; and if he will make a statement. [264376]
Ian Pearson: Working with the Office of Government Commerce, this Department expects to implement 10 of the 12 recommendations contained in Anne Glover’s report “Accelerating the SME economic engine” before the end of 2009. The two remaining recommendations concern the provision of a free procurement portal recommended by Anne Glover for delivery by 2010. Consideration is currently being given to delivery options which may involve a procurement exercise involving advertising in the “Official Journal of the European Union”.
Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many businesses have made successful applications for a Small Firms Loans Guarantee; and how much has been guaranteed under the scheme in each year from 2002-03 to 2007-08. [267578]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 27 March 2009] : For figures on the value and volume of loans made under SFLG in each of the last five years, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 November 2008, Official Report, column 1947W, to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan Duncan). Figures on the distribution of SFLG lending across all regions of England for financial years 2000-01 to 2006-07 are set out in the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Annual Report to Parliament 2006-07. Copies of the Annual Reports are placed in the Libraries of the House.
International Development
Afghanistan: Overseas Aid
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations he has received on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [277330]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
The Department for International Development (DFID) is in regular consultation with development agencies and other donors
on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. These include the Government of Afghanistan, the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN World Food Programme (UN-WFP) and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA).
DFID monitors closely the effectiveness of the delivery of humanitarian aid through assessments made by agencies who deliver aid on the ground such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and UN-WFP.
Cayman Islands: Hurricanes and Tornadoes
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the cost of reconstruction required in the Cayman Islands following Hurricane Paloma. [276809]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) continues to monitor the situation through the Governor's Office and the Cayman Islands hazard management agency.
In April the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean submitted their detailed study of economic damage and losses to the Cayman Islands Government. This indicates that the cost of reconstruction, based on replacement costs for direct damage caused by Hurricane Paloma, to be US$124.5 million, or 7.4 per cent. of gross domestic product. DFID provided support for this study.
On 15 May, the Governor visited Cayman Brae, finding that all critical facilities are functioning, including Government buildings, schools and hospitals. Housing repair is well under way and is a priority.
Departmental Pay
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff employed in London on work contracted out by his Department earn less than £7.45 per hour. [275175]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: 26 individuals employed in London on work contracted out by the Department for International Development earn less than £7.45 per hour. We are currently reviewing these contracts.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department paid in end-of-year performance bonuses to (a) all staff and (b) senior Civil Service staff in 2008-09; and how many such payments were made. [275251]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 26 March 2009, Official Report, column 656W.
Departmental White Papers
Mr. Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent progress his Department has made towards the publication of its White Paper; and if he will make a statement. [275068]
Mr. Thomas: The forthcoming White Paper on International Development is on track to be laid before Parliament before both Houses rise for the summer recess in July. The consultation period finished on 27 May. Through events, online discussions and written submissions, the consultation received contributions from approximately 3,000 organisations and individuals.
Employment Tribunals Service
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many actions under employment law have been brought against his Department in each of the last three years; how many such actions were brought under each category of action; and how many such actions were contested by his Department at an employment tribunal. [277419]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development was subject to less than five actions under employment law in each of the last three years; no actions were contested at an employment tribunal.
Providing specific information on such a small number of cases could potentially breach the confidentiality of individuals concerned.
Sri Lanka: Internally Displaced Persons
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of Sri Lankans in camps for the internally displaced; what estimate he has made of the number of such camps hosting such people; and what reports he has received on the access of UN officials to such camps. [277230]
Mr. Michael Foster: The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the camps is growing rapidly as thousands of civilians leave the conflict zone. The United Nations (UN) has stated that approximately 280,000 people have now been security screened and registered. IDPs are currently accommodated in 41 sites situated in Vavuniya, Jaffna and Trincomalee. The UN has generally had better access to the camps than NGOs, particularly in Jaffna.
Culture, Media and Sport
Public Libraries
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure that there is a comprehensive and efficient library service in (a) Wirral and (b) England. [277692]
Barbara Follett:
Local authorities have a duty under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to provide a “comprehensive and efficient” library service. On 3 April 2009, the Secretary of State announced his intention to use his powers under the Act to hold an inquiry to test whether the Wirral MBC's plans for its library service, arising from its strategic asset review, are consistent with its statutory duties. If the council is found to have fallen short of these duties, the inquiry
will recommend the actions necessary to rectify that breach. The inquiry has now been launched and will report in due course.
In considering the findings of both the Wirral inquiry and the DCMS Library Service Modernisation (which will determine the Government's vision for a modern, world-class public library service and set out some of the necessary steps to support all local authorities in providing continuously improving, excellent library services) the Secretary of State will consider what further guidance is needed by local authorities on the interpretation of “comprehensive and efficient”.
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