| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
9 Sep 2009 : Column 2070W—continued
Departmental Publications
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what expenditure his Department incurred in (a) producing and (b) publishing its document, Better Deal for Consumers; and how many copies were printed. [286914]
Mr. McFadden: The total cost of designing, printing and translating (where necessary) the White Paper were £23,022.15. 1,000 copies of the White Paper were printed.
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has met Lord Paul of Marylebone on matters relating to his departmental responsibilities since October 2008; and if he will make a statement. [281958]
Mr. McFadden: My noble Friend the Secretary of State has had no meetings with Lord Paul of Marylebone.
Departmental Secondment
Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many employees of his Department and its predecessors have been posted to work in offices of hon. Members of each political party in each of the last five years. [284977]
Mr. McFadden: Civil servants are required to act in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code.
Civil servants may shadow MPs as part of a programme run by the industry and Parliament Trust. Details on numbers of civil servants from this Department (and its predecessors) that have had such an attachment are not held centrally.
Departmental Trade Unions
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2009, Official Report, column 394W, on trade unions, what office facilities are provided for the exclusive use of each trade unions recognised by the Department; and what the notional yearly value of such provision is in each case. [288721]
Mr. McFadden: This Department provides office facilities for the exclusive use of the trade union side at its building at 1 Victoria street, London and at Moorfoot in Sheffield. The current cost per annum of providing this space is £22,000 in London and £3,950 in Sheffield.
Departmental Work Experience
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many work placements his Department and its predecessor offered to (a) school pupils, (b) university students and (c) graduates in each of the last five years. [274493]
Mr. McFadden: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills was created on 5 June 2009 with the merger of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (DIUS).
(a) DIUS offered 12 work experience places which were taken up by school pupils in 2008.
BERR and its predecessor DTI did not keep central records of the number of work placements offered to school pupils. Any such opportunities are arranged by individual business groups.
(b) and (c) Work placements in both DIUS and BERR for university students and graduates were arranged by the individual business groups. No central records were kept of the placements that were offered or the numbers that took up these positions.
BERR participated annually in the Cabinet Office Diversity Internship Programme for undergraduates and graduates from ethnic minority backgrounds which are under represented in the civil service. The scheme provides six to eight week paid placement scheme for students who are considering the civil service as a future career.
Based on the information available from 2003 to 2009, a total of 32 students have been placed in the Department as part of the scheme.
Derek Draper and Charlie Whelan
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when the Secretary of State last (a) met and (b) communicated with (i) Mr Derek Draper and (ii) Mr Charlie Whelan in the course of his official duties. [287350]
Mr. McFadden: My noble Friend the Secretary of State met Mr. Charlie Whelan on 15 January in the course of his official duties.
Economic Situation
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what initiatives announced by his Department since November 2008 to assist (a) small and medium-sized enterprises and (b) individuals (i) have been implementend and (ii) remain to be implemented; on what date each was implemented; and if he will make a statement. [268508]
Kevin Brennan: The Government acted swiftly at the beginning of the year to help small businesses survive the current economic downturn. The package of support to address the cash flow, credit and capital needs of businesses announced by my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of Sate on 14 January under the Real Help campaign provided:
£1 billion of guarantees supporting £1.3 billion of lending to smaller businesses through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme;
Up to £10 billion of guarantees through the Working Capital Scheme that will secure new and existing credit lines worth up to £20 billion-and free up new capital for lending; and
A £75 million capital (£50 million from HMG and £25 million from banks) fund to invest in businesses that need equity or quasi equity.
Enterprise Finance Guarantee became operational on 14 January and as of 12 August lenders have logged over £680 million of eligible applications from over 6,000 businesses which have been granted, being processed or assessed.
Capital for Enterprise Fund was open to registration from 14 January, the two fund managers have since been appointed to appraise propositions for potential investment. Funds managers have made offers totalling almost £36 million to 24 businesses, of which four businesses have accepted the terms of the offer issued with a value of £5 million. Two businesses have received investment totalling £3 million.
The Working Capital Scheme was announced on 14 January and formally launched on 2 March.
The Government have also recently launched the UK Innovation Fund as part of Government's strategy for Building Britain's Future.
Employment Agencies: Conditions of Employment
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2009, Official Report, columns 438-39W, on employment agencies: conditions of employment, on what charges employment agencies were convicted in January and June 2009 as a result of complaints made to the Employment Agency Standards helpline. [285530]
Mr. McFadden: In January 2009, a recruitment agent in the entertainment sector was prosecuted for failing to pay workers £3,500 for their performances.
In June 2009, a recruitment agency consultant supplying rail workers was prosecuted for failing to pay workers £11,000.
Higher Education
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many additional student places have been provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in each year since 1992. [288583]
Mr. Lammy: Table 1 shows full-time equivalent (FTE) student numbers allocated through HEFCE's main Additional Student Number (ASN) exercises for the years 1998 to 2009. Figures prior to 1998 are not included because places were allocated under a different system.
Higher Education: Admissions
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2009, Official Report, columns 1330-31W, on higher education: admissions, how many applications for full-time undergraduate courses in England were (a) submitted and (b) accepted in each year since 1979; and how many such applicants were domiciled (i) outside the EU, (ii) in the EU but not in the UK and (iii) in the UK. [278875]
Mr. Lammy: The information is in the tables. Comparable information, which separately identifies non-UK students applying to institutions in England, is not held centrally for years prior to 1994. Prior to the formation of UCAS in 1994, figures were published separately for the two admission systems, the Universities Central Council on Admissions (UCCA) and the Polytechnic and College Admission Service (PCAS), but they did not separately identify non-UK students applying to institutions in England.
| Applicants to full-time undergraduate courses in England via UCAS 1994-2008 | ||||
| Domicile | UK | EU | Non-EU | Grand total |
| Source: UCAS | ||||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |