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3 Nov 2009 : Column 966W—continued
Details of any other expenditure on advertising are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Spending on external public relations procured by the Strategic Marketing team via the Central Office of Information (COI) or placed directly with PR companies for BERR and DTI in the last five years is as follows:
| Amount spent (£) | |
Spending on public relations, including contracts placed by DIUS using a framework agreement and by COI on behalf of the Department, is as follows:
2007-08 total: £261,072
2008-09 total: £193,300.
Departmental Official Cars
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether Government cars have been provided for the use of special advisers in his Department in the last 12 months. [297743]
Mr. McFadden: Special advisers in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform are not provided with Government cars.
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which companies are under contract to his Department to provide mail services; and when each such contract expires. [296178]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 27 October 2009]: This Department uses Royal Mail's first and second class services for its external standard mailings, although these services are not provided under contract.
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the procurement budget of his Department and its predecessor was in each of the last five years; and what proportion of that budget was spent on contracts placed with small and medium-sized enterprises in each such year. [290001]
Mr. McFadden: The Department does not separately identify a procurement budget within its total allocation of resources and neither did its predecessor departments, BERR and DIUS.
Information on the percentage of procurement spend with SMEs is not generally recorded but in 2007-08, an exercise was undertaken that showed that SMEs accounted for the following percentages of total procurement spend:
BERR-13 per cent.
DIUS-32 per cent.
The definition of an SME is taken from the Glover Report, which refers to EU Recommendation 2003/361/EC and stipulates that an SME is an organisation with a headcount of less than 250 and a maximum turnover of £40 million.
Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what percentage of procurement contracts (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) its agencies awarded to small businesses in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [293247]
Mr. McFadden: The Insolvency Service awarded the following percentage of procurement contracts to small businesses in each of the following financial years:
| Percentage | Contracts awarded | To SMEs | |
Letter from Sarah Glasspool, dated 14 October 2009:
The National Measurement Office does not currently record company information as to whether they are SME's therefore it would take a disproportionate amount of time to obtain the information required for this PQ.
I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 12 October 2009, UIN 293247, to the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The percentage of procurement contracts awarded to small businesses by Companies House was as follows:-
| Percentage | |
Letter from Ian Fletcher, dated 15 October 2009:
I am responding on behalf of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 12 October 2009, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The percentage of procurement contracts awarded to small businesses by the Intellectual Property Office is (i) 2006-07: 69%, (ii) 2007-08: 67%, (iii) 2008-09: 60%, and (iv) 2009-10: 46%
The Minister of State, for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has asked me to reply to you directly in respect of your question, what percentage of procurement contracts (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) its agencies awarded to small businesses in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.
The Insolvency Service awarded the following percentage of procurement contracts to small businesses in each of the following financial years:
| Percentage | Contracts awarded | To SMEs | |
Digital Broadcasting: Birmingham
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of (a) households and (b) businesses in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency which will be liable for payment of the levy proposed in the Digital Britain White Paper. [291563]
Mr. Timms: This Department has made no specific estimate of the number of (a) households and (b) businesses in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath liable for payment of the levy proposed in the Digital Britain White Paper.
Ofcom estimates that there are 1,145,411 fixed lines in the West Midlands area. Ofcom does not have estimates for Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath. We recognise that those on the lowest incomes might have difficulty paying the fixed line levy and that is why we have confirmed that those on social telephony schemes will be exempt. The social telephony schemes are available to those on income support, income-based job seeker's allowance, employment support allowance (income rated) or guaranteed pensions credit.
Entry Clearances: Students
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when he last met the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration to discuss student visas. [297088]
Mr. Lammy: On 20 July I hosted a roundtable meeting with my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration and a group of university vice chancellors to discuss migration issues and higher education, including student visas. As a result of that meeting UKBA stepped up their preparations for dealing with the summer surge of applications from international students.
Export Credit Guarantees: Nigeria
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Export Credits Guarantee Department has requested information from (a) MW Kellogg Limited and (b) Halliburton regarding Mr Jeffrey Tesler in connection with the LNG Plant at Bonny Island in Nigeria. [293951]
Ian Lucas: ECGD has not made any such requests as it is not an investigatory body and, as the SFO is already conducting its own investigation into the Bonny Island project, it would not have been appropriate for ECGD to pursue inquiries of its own.
High Pay Commission
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will establish a high pay commission. [291733]
Mr. McFadden: There are no plans to do so.
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