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26 Oct 2009 : Column 120W—continued
Insolvency Service: Publicity
John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the reasons were for the higher expenditure by the Insolvency Service on promotional items in 2007-08 than in the previous two years. [294077]
Ian Lucas: During the year 2007-08, £23,489.94 was spent. Of this, £11,892.22 was assigned to the service's Enabling the Future (EtF) programme and £11,680 was assigned to the rest of the service.
EtF is a major change programme which is enabling Insolvency Service staff to provide the best possible service to customers. It represents a major programme of investment in the service's systems and the way it works, aimed at: providing modern tools and processes to support the highest quality of customer service; reducing costs and so improving the value for money the service offers; and making the service a better and more rewarding place for staff to work in. The money was spent on internal publicity material designed to ensure that the changes in working practices were embedded within the organisation.
The £11,680 was assigned to the rest of the service.
Insolvency: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies in Leeds West constituency have become insolvent in each year since 2005. [294025]
Ian Lucas: Statistics covering corporate insolvencies are not currently available at sub-national level within England and Wales.
Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the US administration on its plans for the Joint Strike Fighter and its jet propulsion system. [293177]
Ian Lucas: BIS Ministers have had no such recent discussions with the US Administration. However, officials in the British embassy in Washington, MOD officials and MOD Ministers routinely discuss all aspects of the Joint Strike Fighter programme with their US counterparts.
KBR: Export Credit Guarantees
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications for cover from (a) Kellogg, Brown and Root and its subsidiaries and (b) MW Kellogg Limited and its subsidiaries the Export Credits Guarantee Department has considered since 2000. [293555]
Ian Lucas: Since 2000, ECGD has considered applications in respect of the following business:
2004-works in connection with an oilfield development in Kazakhstan.
2002-works in connection with the construction of two gas liquefaction units in Nigeria.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many placements under Knowledge Transfer Partnerships there have been in the last three years. [294935]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 22 October 2009]: The number of live Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) as at 31 March for the last three years was 1,048 (31 March 2007), 976 (31 March 2008) and 977 (31 March 2009).
The number of new KTPs approved in these years was 352 (2006-07), 322 (2007-08) and 408 (2008-09).
Mabey and Johnson: Export Credit Guarantees
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what support has been provided to Mabey and Johnson Ltd by the Export Credits Guarantee Department; and what the (a) project or product involved, (b) date of approval, (c) amount of exposure at the date of approval and (d) destination country for the export was in each case. [293554]
Ian Lucas: ECGD has provided support in respect of the contracts listed as follows involving Mabey and Johnson since 1985. The exports were for steel bridges and flyovers.
| Country | ECGD's original maximum liability (million) | |
| (1)Japanese Yen | ||
Manufacturing Industries
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the implications for manufacturing industry in the UK of levels of foreign ownership of that industry; and what discussions he has had with trade union representatives on the subject. [293885]
Ian Lucas: The UK economy benefits very substantially from its openness to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Research was carried out for UKTI by Professor Richard Harris of the University of Glasgow in 2008/09 looking at the effects of FDI on both services and manufacturing, focusing specifically on the effects of mergers and acquisitions, but also looking at other types of FDI. The full final report is now available from the UKTI Economics and Evaluation team, and is due to be published on the UKTI website in November, under the title "The Effect of Foreign Mergers and Acquisitions on UK Productivity and Employment".
We have regular discussions with a range of stakeholders, including trade unions, about manufacturing, including on topics such as foreign investment.
Manufacturing Insight
Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) schools and (b) universities have been visited by representatives of the Manufacturing Insight office since its inception. [295123]
Ian Lucas: Nick Hussey was appointed director of Manufacturing Insight on 1 September 2009 and has not yet visited schools or universities. He is expected to make contact with key players in education establishments once the Manufacturing Insight business plan has been agreed. The business plan is currently being agreed with the board and is expected to be finalised in autumn 2009.
Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department has made available to Manufacturing Insight for the promotion of manufacturing in the UK in the last three years. [295124]
Ian Lucas: Manufacturing Insight was established in 2009 and will be formally launched to business in October 2009. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has allocated £50,000 per annum for two years towards start-up costs, as part of a package of core funding, which is to come from the wider business community.
Manufacturing Insight: Manpower
Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many full-time employees there are in the Manufacturing Insight office. [295121]
Ian Lucas: At this time Nick Hussey is the sole employee of Manufacturing Insight. He was appointed as Director on 1 September 2009.
Mobile Phones: Unfair Practices
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with mobile telephone operators on the compatibility of their policy of mobile termination rates with fair trading practices; and if he will make a statement. [293672]
Mr. Timms: I meet regularly with all the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to discuss a range of issues, including Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs).
With the independent industry regulator Ofcom, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is committed to reducing mobile termination rates and making the cost of calling more affordable for all consumers. MTRs are set to fall by about a quarter between 2007 and 2011. Earlier this year Ofcom undertook a further public consultation on how mobile termination rates should be set after the current pricing system ends in 2011.
A range of options, from removing them altogether to maintaining the current system and radical options in between, are being considered to ensure the best outcome is secured for consumers and a changing mobile market.
Motor Vehicles: Innovation
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department and its predecessors have taken to support research and development in the automotive industry in the last five years. [293950]
Ian Lucas: BIS and its predecessors have worked with other Government Departments, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and other organisations to support research and development (R&D) by the UK automotive sector in a range of ways over the last five years. In particular, the Technology Strategy Board's Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform, launched in May 2007, is the key delivery agent for the Government's R&D funding on low carbon vehicles. The Low Carbon Vehicles Integrated Delivery Programme is a key tool that the Innovation Platform will use to achieve its goal over the coming five years. The programme involves about £250 million of joint Government and industry investment and co-ordinates the UK's low carbon vehicle activity from initial strategic academic research through to industry-led collaborative R&D. £25 million has been allocated to highly innovative, industry-led collaborative research projects in the field of ultra low carbon vehicle development and demonstration.
Government have also supported automotive R&D through the Centres of Excellence on Low Carbon and Fuel Cells (CENEX) and Intelligent Transport Systems and Sustainable Mobility (InnovITS) which have received total funding from this Department of over £13 million. The Foresight Vehicle programme ran from 1997 to 2007 and supported R&D through the associated LINK programme.
Government provided over £45 million funding which supported 100 collaborative R&D projects with a value in excess of £100 million. In addition, the £2.3 billion Automotive Assistance Programme has been designed, among other things, to help support the development of cutting-edge technology in the longer term.
Motor Vehicles: Manufactering Industries
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate has been made of the maximum number of car purchases which may be supported by the car scrappage scheme; and how much of the funding allocated to the scheme has been disbursed. [291886]
Ian Lucas: Following the extension announced on 28 September 2009, the vehicle scrappage scheme will now, subject to parliamentary approval, cover up to 400,000 transactions. 253,364 orders have been placed (covering the period from 23 April to 11 October) and £135,188,000 has been paid out under the scheme as at 21 October. BIS payments are made once orders are fulfilled and transactions are completed.
Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which applications for funding from the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform had been successful on the latest date for which information is available. [293033]
Mr. McFadden: To date, the successful applications for funding under the Technology Strategy Board's Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform are:
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