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1 July 2009 : Column 317W—continued
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications for Homeowners Mortgage Support have been granted to residents of (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire. [282432]
John Healey: The aim of Homeowners Mortgage Support is to prevent repossessions, where households suffer a temporary income shock. After taking money advice, homeowners apply to their lenders to join the scheme, which allows them to defer up to 70 per cent. of the interest due. The Government have published an impact assessment, which estimates how many borrowers, at UK level, could be eligible. Official figures on the number of households entering the scheme will be published later this year.
In the current economic conditions, we have acted rapidly to put in place help and support for households struggling with their mortgage at every stage: from free debt advice when problems start, to free support for cases that reach court. Advice is available to all households struggling with their mortgage, with targeted schemes for those in most need.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to assist households ineligible for the Mortgage Rescue Scheme to avoid repossession. [282760]
John Healey: In the current economic conditions, we have acted rapidly to put in place help and support for households struggling with their mortgage at every stage: from free debt advice when problems start, to free support for cases that reach court.
The Mortgage Rescue Scheme is a targeted scheme aimed at helping the most vulnerable homeowners to avoid homelessness. Further targeted help is available through Support for Mortgage Interest or Homeowners Mortgage Support. Local authorities provide advice and information on the range of help available, and this information is also available from the DirectGov website.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications for Homeowners Mortgage Support have been granted to residents of (a) Merseyside and (b) Crosby constituency. [283172]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Mr. Jenkins) today (PQ 282432).
Non-domestic Rates: Ports
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Valuation Office Agency made a separate assessment for business rates for each port operator working in the hereditament of a statutory port in 2005. [283351]
Ms Rosie Winterton: An entry in the 2005 rating lists was made for each of the statutory port operators where they were in occupation of a hereditament within a designated port. In some cases there is more than one rating list entry where the statutory port operator occupied more than one separately rateable hereditament.
Where any part of a port is occupied by another business operator, who is not the statutory designated port operator, their hereditament within the port falls to be separately rated. For the 2005 rating list about 1,600 separate hereditaments were rated within ports in England.
The recent rating review of ports found that around 600 hereditaments in England should be separately assessed as these hereditaments were not occupied by the designated port operator as at 1 April 2005.
Social Rented Housing: Energy
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the eligibility criteria for social housing providers are in respect of the Social Housing Energy Saving Programme scheme. [282385]
John Healey: The eligibility criteria for the Social Housing Energy Saving Programme housing delivery scheme is included in the guidance notes for the scheme and published on the HCA website at:
Supporting People Programme
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding was allocated by (a) his Department and (b) local authorities in Supporting People grants in each of the last five years. [283330]
Mr. Ian Austin: Communities and Local Government is responsible for the Supporting People programme and makes all programme and administrative grant payments to local authorities, in respect of this. Information on the amount of Supporting People grant allocated to 152 top tier local authorities for the last five years can be found on the Supporting People website at:
A summary of the Supporting People grant allocated to local authorities in the last five years is provided in the following table.
| Supporting People grant allocation | ||
| Programme grant allocation (£ billion) | Admin grant allocation (£ million) | |
The Supporting People programme is administered by local authorities and it is up to them to decide how the funding is allocated based on their local needs and priorities identified in their five year Supporting People strategies. Further information is available at:
Temporary Accommodation: Merseyside
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households were in temporary accommodation in (a) Merseyside and (b) Crosby constituency in each of the last five years; and what the average time spent in such accommodation was. [283181]
Mr. Ian Austin: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected at local authority level. Merseyside comprises Knowsley, St. Helens and Wirral Metropolitan borough councils, Liverpool city council and Sefton council. The constituency of Crosby falls within Sefton.
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 23 June 2009, Official Report, column 843W, given to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink).
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices: Child Care
Mr. Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people (a) enrolled on and (b) completed an apprenticeship in the childcare sector in each year since 2005; and if he will make a statement. [280243]
Kevin Brennan: The following table shows the number of apprenticeship starts and completions in each compete academic year since 2005, in the apprenticeship framework ‘Children's Care, Learning and Development’.
| Apprenticeship starts and completions in child care | |||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
| Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100. Source: WBLILR | |||
Banks: Finance
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage banks to participate in the Export Credit Guarantees Department guaranteed finance packages. [268609]
Ian Lucas: Since the start of 2009, the Government have introduced a number of initiatives which will provide real help to exporters, as well as other businesses, during the current economic downturn. These have included the Working Capital Scheme, and ECGD is currently consulting with banks as well as exporters on proposals for a Letter of Credit Guarantee Scheme. The Government are considering other measures to provide real help to UK exporters, including a possible export trade credit insurance scheme along the lines of that announced for domestic business in the Budget which will address the cash flow, credit and investment needs of businesses. The Government have and will continue to involve the banks in its initiatives.
Broadband
Mr. Evans: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effects of provision of universal broadband access at 2Mbps on the global competitiveness of businesses in rural areas. [282000]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 25 June 2009]: Faster and more reliable broadband can help rural businesses to develop and adopt more productive, efficient and innovative ways of working enabling them to compete more effectively in the global economy. It can also enable rural businesses to gain access to new markets which may not have been previously possible due to the existence of high barriers to entry and exploit the new business opportunities created by the rapid growth in e-commerce which can extend beyond the UK’s geographical borders.
An initial impact assessment on Universal Service Commitment was published as part of the Digital Britain, but deliberately did not contain any quantitative information on the expected costs and benefits of the Government’s proposals for a Universal Service Commitment for broadband of 2 Mbps, as this may distort the procurement process. A full impact assessment will be carried out after the competitive procurement process has taken place.
Broadband: Rural Areas
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people in rural areas receive the same access to high speed broadband as their urban counterparts. [278698]
Mr. McFadden: The Digital Britain final report was published on 16 June and contained more detailed information on Government's commitment to providing universal broadband access to virtually UK homes and businesses at a speed of 2Mbps by 2012. In addition to this, a 50p per month levy will be imposed on all fixed telephone lines to create a Next Generation Fund to ensure Next Generation Broadband reaches the final third of homes that the market will not otherwise deliver to.
Departmental Billing
Mr. Philip Hammond:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much each of his Department’s non-departmental
public bodies paid in interest to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 in the last three years. [282336]
Mr. McFadden: The Department does not hold information regarding payments made to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1988 by the Department’s non-departmental public bodies (NDPB). Each NDPB is required to publish such payments in their independent annual accounts.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which buildings the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills took a lease on; and how long each such lease was for. [282852]
Mr. McFadden: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills did not take any leases on buildings that it occupied. Responsibility for buildings in which DIUS staff were located rested with either Department for Children, Schools and Families or the former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, with the exception of Polaris House in Swindon which is owned by the research councils.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many breaches of information security there have been at (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) its agencies in the last five years. [281081]
Mr. McFadden: In the last five years there have been 14 breaches of information security recorded in my Department.
The Department and its agencies report all significant data security breaches to the Cabinet Office and ICO. Information on data security breaches are published on an annual basis in the Department’s annual resource accounts as was announced in the Data Handling Review published on 25 June 2008.
Additionally, all significant control weaknesses including other significant security breaches are included in the Statement of Internal Control which is published within the resource accounts.
The Department takes its data security responsibilities very seriously. We have strict security policies in place, and ensure staff have sufficient information and are trained to meet their responsibilities.
BIS Agency chief executives will be responding separately.
Departmental Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which official is responsible for the energy efficiency of his Department's estate. [280565]
Mr. McFadden: The Department’s Permanent Secretary, Simon Fraser, is the responsible official.
Departmental Food Supplies
Tim Farron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what percentage of the (a) meat, (b) fruit and (c) vegetables procured by his Department in the last 12 months was produced in the UK. [281949]
Mr. McFadden: A second report on the proportion of domestically produced food used by Government Departments and also supplied to hospitals and prisons under contracts negotiated by NHS Supply Chain and HM Prison Service was published in November 2008, covering the year from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008. This report and the first one covering the previous year can be found at:
The report gives details of the proportion of individual meat, fruit and vegetable categories purchased.
Although it is too early to show a trend, the report indicates that the amount of domestically produced food consumed by Government Departments in England is increasing. The proportion of domestically produced food procured by BIS’s predecessor’s contracted service partner was 87.5 per cent. in 2006-07 and 87 per cent. in 2007-08. A third report is expected to be published at the end of 2009.
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