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30 Nov 2009 : Column 560W—continued
Higher Education: Radicalism
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many suspected instances of extremism have been reported by university staff as taking place on campus in each of the last three years. [302498]
Mr. Lammy: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold this information centrally. Our guidance to Vice-Chancellors of January 2008 advised that any concerns about extremist groups or individuals should be discussed in the first instance with the university's designated police contact and decisions on appropriate action would be taken by the police in discussion with university authorities.
Insolvency
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many insolvencies started more than 15 years ago remain unresolved; and what steps he is taking to identify the reasons for the time taken to resolve such cases. [300724]
Ian Lucas: According to the case database maintained by the Insolvency Service, there are 25 bankruptcy and compulsory liquidation cases where the insolvency order was made more than 15 years ago where the official receiver has not applied for release as trustee or liquidator. All bankruptcy and compulsory liquidation cases are regularly monitored to ensure that they are progressed appropriately and administered in a timely fashion.
There are two IVAs currently ongoing that are 15 years or more old.
Companies House records show that for other (non compulsory) insolvencies the number starting more than 15 years ago but not concluded is 3,717.
My noble Friend the Secretary of State has no role in monitoring the progress of insolvency cases dealt with by licensed insolvency practitioners. That is properly a matter for the creditors (or in the case of solvent liquidations, the members) and, ultimately, the courts.
Insolvency Service: Finance
John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on which projects the £23,489.94 funding provided to the Insolvency Service by his Department in 2007-08 was spent other than on the Enabling the Future programme. [301773]
Ian Lucas: During the year 2007-08, £23,489.94 (the actual figure spent in 2007-08 was £23,572.22) 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 to raise awareness of the agency's organisational values promoting awareness of acceptable behaviour, to ensure all staff were treated fairly at work.
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. It is 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 assigned to the agency's organisational values includes £3,500 spent on mugs ordered by the service and issued to staff, with the agency's logo and text reading 'Your Views Matter'. The mugs were used to remind and encourage staff to complete the staff attitude survey. This is important because by seeking to increase take-up of the staff survey the service is able to develop a better understanding of staff needs in relation to performing their roles more effectively. By addressing
these needs the service is able to drive up performance and provide a better service to customers. The mugs also encouraged staff to support the agency's environmental policies by using fewer disposable cups.
Part of the figure also includes £3,000 relating to sticky note pads designed to raise awareness of the service's organisational values, promoting awareness of acceptable behaviour, to ensure all staff were treated fairly at work. This item featured the service's logo and the strapline 'Working Well Together'.
Set out in the table is the list of promotional products purchased to raise awareness of the agency's organisational values, promoting awareness of acceptable behaviour at work.
| Promotional item | Approximate cost (£) |
In response to my previous reply to the hon. Member on 9 September 2009, Official Report, column 2077W, the service stated that £23,489.94 was spent on promotional products in 2007-08. The correct figure should have been £23,572.22. This figure consists of £11,892.22 on the service's EtF programme and £11,680 on the service's organisational values, the total cost of which was £23,572.22.
KBR
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions officials of the Export Credit Guarantee Department have met representatives of Kellogg, Brown and Root and its subsidiaries since February 2009. [301916]
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Gordon of 14 December 2004, Official Report, column 1055W, on LNG Plant (Nigeria), whether the Export Credit Guarantee Department (a) sought and (b) received from MW Kellogg and Kellogg, Brown and Root clarification of (i) the role and appointment of the TSKJ consortium's agent, (ii) the payment of commissions and (ii) the extent to which the companies had been in contact with the French and US investigations with regard to allegations of bribery in connection with the liquefied natural gas plant at Bonny Island in Nigeria (A) prior and (B) subsequent to its provision of guarantees. [301917]
Ian Lucas:
ECGD was not provided with information about the role and appointment of the TSKJ consortium's agent prior to ECGD committing its support for the Bonny Island project. MW Kellogg Ltd., the exporter who benefited from ECGD support for the LNG project,
provided a warranty to ECGD that no one, including any of its employees, acting on its behalf had engaged in corrupt activity with regard to its contract for the supply of goods and services to the TSKJ consortium. When, after ECGD had provided its support for the project, allegations of corrupt activity came to ECGD's attention, Halliburton, the parent company of Kellogg, Brown and Root, provided ECGD with information regarding the French and US investigations and said that they had been contacted by investigatory bodies in those countries. Halliburton also said that MW Kellogg Ltd. had not been involved in the payment of any agent's commission or the appointment of the TSKJ agent.
Natural Gas: Carbon Monoxide
Tom Levitt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that all registered gas fitters carry with them when working a device to detect carbon monoxide. [301369]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
The carrying of carbon monoxide detection devices by registered gas fitters will be discussed at the new cross departmental gas safety group. This group will consider the experiences of gas providers in using this type of equipment before making any recommendations for future use.
Post Offices: Finance
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department has allocated to post offices in (a) urban and (b) rural areas in each of the last 10 years. [302348]
Mr. McFadden: In the last 10 years, the Department has provided over £3.3 billion in support of the post office network. This includes the current annual £150 million subsidy which supports otherwise loss-making post offices in urban and rural areas.
Public Sector: Procurement
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanisms exist within his Department for companies to raise complaints regarding compliance with the rules governing EU tender processes; and if he will make a statement. [302832]
Ian Lucas: The Office of Government Commerce has outlined a commitment in the 2007 paper, Transforming Government Procurement to improve professional standards, to be a more intelligent client for suppliers and for the OGC to be an avenue of recourse should these standards not be upheld. The Supplier Feedback Service was set up in order for OGC to achieve these goals.
The role of the Supplier Feedback Service is to provide a clear, structured and direct route for suppliers to raise concerns about public procurement practice when attempts at resolving issues with a contracting authority have failed. OGC's Supplier Feedback Service will provide reasoned feedback to enquirers on their
concerns and help OGC identify areas of poor procurement practice so it can work with the contracting authority to put them right, and help ensure similar cases do not arise in future.
More widely, any UK citizen or business who feels that their access to the EU Single Market is being restricted through the mis-application of EU legislation can make a compliant to the UK SOLVIT Centre which is located in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
Shell
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on what dates representatives of his Department and its predecessors have met Royal Dutch Shell executives in each year since 2002. [301578]
Mr. Lammy: Representatives of the Department regularly meet with a range of companies. However, the Department does not have a central record of the dates when meetings with executives of Royal Dutch Shell have taken place. To separately identify them over the specified period of time would incur disproportionate cost.
Students: Loans
Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects all eligible students waiting for loan payments to have received such payments; and what assistance (a) Student Finance England and (b) his Department provides to students who are waiting for such payments. [301654]
Mr. Lammy: The Student Loans Company (SLC) has released figures on its website to show the levels of processing and payments made for Student Finance England for the 2009-10 academic year. I am advised that the Student Finance England is currently processing paper applications received from end of October, and on-line applications received from 15 November. Student Finance England expects to clear new cases within a four to six week turnaround time, subject to receipt of the appropriate evidence.
Every year a number of students apply after the deadline by which payment at the start of term is guaranteed. Student Finance England will have made interim payments to a number of these students to ensure that they can start their courses. In such cases, provided the applicant has supplied the relevant evidence by the end of October, Student Finance England will re-assess these applications and confirm whether any additional payments can be made, by 14 December 2009.
I am also assured by SLC that it is working closely with student support staff in the universities to resolve issues on cases where the student has not yet received their full entitlement.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students who have had their student loan applications approved in respect of the 2009-10 academic year had not received their payments on the latest date for which figures are available. [303045]
Mr. Lammy: The Student Loans Company (SLC) has released figures to show the levels of processing and payment of Student Support in England for the 2009/10 academic year. The information is available on the SLC website.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications for student support received by the Student Loans Company in respect of the 2009-10 academic year have not been assessed on a (a) full and (b) interim basis; and how many such applications have not been considered on either basis. [303046]
Mr. Lammy: The Student Loans Company (SLC) has released figures to show the levels of processing and payment of Student Support in England for the 2009/10 academic year. The information is available on the SLC website.
Work Experience
Mr. Willetts:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what
internship schemes his Department (a) partially and (b) fully funds; how much his Department plans to spend on each such scheme in 2009-10; and how many places there are on each such scheme. [302506]
Mr. Lammy: The Department has developed the Graduate Talent Pool, a one stop matching service for employers who have internships to advertise and graduates seeking suitable placements. We have so far provided funding of £1,184,000 in 2009-10 to cover infrastructure and publicity costs, and over 11,000 vacancies have been advertised on the website.
In addition, BIS is working with the Department of Work and Pensions to deliver 5,000 graduate internship opportunities under Backing Young Britain, and with the Federation of Small Businesses and HEFCE to generate 5,000 more in small and medium sized businesses. The total cost of these places will be around £16 million. HEFCE has also funded over 2,000 graduate internship opportunities for 2009-10 through its Economic Challenges Investment Fund.
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