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29 Oct 2009 : Column 539W—continued
Telecommunications: Databases
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of communications covered by the current interception of communications data procedures; and what estimate he has made of the likely proportion of coverage in each of the next 10 years should the Interception Modernisation Programme (a) go ahead and (b) not go ahead. [295824]
Alan Johnson: I have written to the hon. Member with information relating to this answer.
Terrorism
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been convicted of an offence under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006; and if he will make a statement. [296545]
Mr. Hanson: Data relating to the number convicted under Terrorism Legislation since 2001 are contained in the following Home Office Bulletin: Statistics on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes Great Britain-11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008. The bulletin shows that nine people have been convicted for offences under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been convicted of an offence under section (a) 56 and (b) 59 of the Terrorism Act 2000. [296544]
Mr. Hanson: Data relating to the number convicted under Terrorism Legislation since 2001 are contained in the following Home Office Bulletin: Statistics on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes Great Britain-11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008. The number of individuals convicted under section 56 of the Terrorism Act 2000 is grouped together with those convicted under section 54 of that act. The bulletin shows that one person has been convicted under these sections of the legislation. Furthermore, seven people have been convicted of offences under section 59 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Terrorism: Arrests
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) arrested and (b) prosecuted for inciting terrorism overseas in each year since 2000. [296153]
Alan Johnson: Individuals suspected of terrorism offences are arrested under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and not by specific offence. The Home Office does not hold specific data relating to the number of individuals arrested on suspicion of inciting acts of terrorism overseas. A total of 10 people have been charged with inciting acts of terrorism (under section 59 of the Terrorism Act 2000) since 2001. The breakdown of these figures is as follows:
in 2001-02 there were 0 charges;
in 2002-03 there were 0 charges;
in 2003-04 one person was charged;
in 2004-05 there were 0 charges;
in 2005-06 three people were charged;
in 2006-07 one person was charged; and
in 2007-2008 five people were charged.
Data relating to the numbers arrested and charged under Terrorism Legislation since 2001 are contained in the following Home Office Bulletin Statistics on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes Great Britain-11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008.
Terrorism: Convictions
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted under Section 57(4)(a) of the Terrorism Act 2000 in each year since 2001; and what the sentence was in each case. [296152]
Alan Johnson: Section 57 (4) (a) relates to the penalty for offences under section 57. A total of 22 people have been convicted of offences under section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000 since 2001. The breakdown of these figures is as follows:
in 2001-02 there were 0 convictions;
in 2002-03 five people were convicted;
in 2003-04 two people were convicted;
in 2004-05 one person was convicted;
in 2005-06 five people were convicted;
in 2006-07 eight people were convicted; and
in 2007-2008 one person was convicted.
Data relating to the numbers convicted under Terrorism Legislation since 2001 are contained in the following Home Office Bulletin Statistics on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes Great Britain-11 September 2001 to
31 March 2008. Data relating to sentencing for those convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000 are not recorded in a way which shows the sentence passed for offences under section 57.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted under counter-terrorism legislation of fundraising in each of the last five years. [296154]
Mr. Hanson: A total of 10 people have been convicted of fundraising offences (under sections 15-19 of the Terrorism Act 2000). The breakdown of these figures for the last five years is as follows: in 2003-04 there were 0 convictions; in 2004-05 there were 0 convictions; in 2005-06 four people were convicted; in 2006-07 one person was convicted; and, in 2007-08 three people were convicted. Data relating to the numbers arrested and charged under terrorism legislation since 2001 is contained in the Home Office Bulletin: Statistics on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes Great Britain-11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices: Birmingham
Richard Burden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people in Birmingham, Northfield constituency completed an apprenticeship in each year since 2004. [296272]
Kevin Brennan: Apprenticeship Starts for 2003/04 to 2007/08 were published in a statistical first release (SFR) on 25 June:
Supplementary table 5.1 shows apprenticeship starts by constituency, local authority, Government office region and England for 2003/04 to 2007/08. Provisional full-year figures for 2008/09 were published in a statistical first release on 22 October:
Supplementary geographic breakdowns will be available shortly after the main release.
Broadband
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what areas of (a) England and (b) North Yorkshire receive broadband over the BT network but cannot receive digital subscriber line at a speed of at least 512kBits/s. [291983]
Mr. Timms: The Department does not have this information.
Broadband: Lancashire
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase access to broadband services in (a) Chorley and (b) Lancashire. [296750]
Mr. Timms: We have recently set up the Network Design and Procurement Company as we pledged to do in the Digital Britain Report. The company will be responsible for procuring the upgrade and replacement works to deliver the universal service commitment (USC) for 2Mbps to virtually every community by 2012 and, in due course, the administration of the Next Generation Fund outlined in the Digital Britain White Paper.
On take up of broadband and digital inclusion the Government have also appointed Martha Lane Fox as our digital inclusion champion. Her role will be to find ways of helping people without previous experience of computers to develop the skills needed to make use of the internet in order to take advantage of the benefits it offers.
Business Links: Sick Leave
Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff of Business Link have taken time off work as a result of a diagnosis of stress in each of the last five years. [291969]
Ms Rosie Winterton: 'Staff of Business Link' encompasses people who are directly employed in the provision of the Business Link service, by RDAs and their Business Link providers. 'Time off work' has been defined as statutory-recorded sick leave. 'Diagnosis of stress' has been defined as individuals self-certifying as having a stress related illness and individuals whose doctors have signed them off from work with a diagnosis of stress.
Comprehensive national data can only be provided for the year 2008-09 when all RDAs had completed the re-contracting exercise to the current network of Business Link providers. To gather data before 2008/09 would incur disproportionate costs. The number of Business Link staff who have taken time off work as a result if a diagnosis of stress in 2008/09 was 33.
Business: Government Assistance
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what deadlines have been set for repayment of loans offered under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. [294586]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Any facilities offered by lenders and secured under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee should be repaid within the terms agreed between the borrower and the lender up to but not exceeding the maximum period permitted for that particular loan facility.
EFG supports bank lending to businesses with an annual turnover of up to £25 million seeking loans of £1,000 through to £1 million, repayable over a period of between three months and 10 years.
The overdraft borrowing guarantee top-up and the invoice finance guarantee top-up introduced on 30 September 2009 is limited to a maximum repayment term of two and three years respectively.
Accredited EFG lenders have the discretion to agree capital repayment holidays where they deem appropriate.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on what conditions loans are offered to businesses under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. [294587]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are three main conditions for a business being offered an EFG loan application:
The business meeting the lender's normal commercial criteria in relation to the viability of the business and serviceability of the loan. This judgment will vary according to the lender concerned.
The lender determining that use of EFG, rather than a normal commercial loan, is necessary because of no or insufficient security available on the part of the business.
The business meeting the basic EFG eligibility criteria.
Each lender has access to the EFG web portal through which they administer the EFG eligibility criteria. The main EFG eligibility criteria, with respect to the size of loan, purpose of loan, turnover size, business sector, etc., is detailed on the BIS website:
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the reasons for which businesses which were offered loans under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme did not draw down those loans. [294588]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Businesses granted loan facilities backed by the Enterprise Finance Guarantee are given six months within which to draw down the facilities offered.
The current conversion rate from offered to drawn loans exceeds 80 per cent. and is expected to rise. Given the scheme was launched in January, it is too early to make any comprehensive assessment of the reasons behind a few businesses deciding not to draw down loans offered under the scheme.
Further Education
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will place in the Library a copy of the KPMG report for the Learning and Skills Council on learner success rates in further education. [296243]
Kevin Brennan: This is a Learning and Skills Council (LSC) report, commissioned by the LSC/Ofsted Joint Consultative Committee. KPMG were technical advisers for the report. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
Further Education: Finance
Joan Walley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria the Learning and Skills Council requested its consultants to apply in evaluating bids by further education colleges for capital funding. [295836]
Kevin Brennan: In line with Sir Andrew Foster's recommendations, the Learning and Skills Council consulted with the FE sector through a reference panel of college principals convened by the Association of Colleges on the best approach to prioritise projects.
The first stage of prioritisation was 'readiness' to identify those projects sufficiently developed to be able to start work immediately in the autumn.
Projects which passed through the readiness gateway were then assessed against the following prioritisation criteria:
Education and skills impact
Contribution to local economic and regeneration priorities
Co-dependency with third parties
Condition of estate
Value for money.
The LSC has published on its website full details of the Lambert Smith Hampton readiness report and the results of the PricewaterhouseCoopers prioritisation exercise. It can be found at:
Higher Education
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what percentage of university students had not received payments due to them from Student Finance England before the start of the academic year 2009-10; what average length of time elapsed from the start of the academic year until receipt of payments for such students; and if he will make a statement. [293048]
Mr. Lammy: Payments of maintenance grant and loan to higher education students are not made until they have registered on their course and the higher education institution has told the Student Loans Company. Registrations take place throughout September and October.
The Student Loans Company will shortly release figures to show the levels of processing and payment of student support in England for the 2009/10 academic year.
The releases will include the following information:
Total applications received
Applications approved
Applications currently being processed
Ineligible/withdrawn applications
Applications started online but not completed
Further information required from student/sponsors
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