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14 Dec 2009 : Column 936W—continued
Under the 'Working Capital Scheme', £2 billion of guarantees has been provided to two banks to free up regulatory capital for new lending to UK companies. Companies themselves do not apply for guarantees under the Working Capital Scheme (WCS) and are not aware that their loans are guaranteed under the WCS. No records are kept by parliamentary constituency or region of companies who have loans underpinned by WCS guarantees.
As a result of action by the Government and the regulatory authorities leading to improvements in capital markets since the introduction of the WCS, the Government have been able to allocate resource provision for the WCS to other measures to support businesses.
As of 20 November, 72 suppliers have purchased 'Trade Credit Insurance' under the Government Top-up Scheme, in the following Government offices/constituencies. We do not analyse the information per local authority area:
| Government Office | Constituency | Number of suppliers |
As of 26 November, with respect to the £75 million Capital for Enterprise Fund equity scheme, the appointed fund managers have so far made offers totalling £68.2 million to 44 businesses. 11 businesses have accepted the terms of the funding offered with a total value of £17.9 million. The fund managers continue due diligence on these, and the further proposals that have been put forward. Eight businesses have received investment totalling £12.2 million, two based in the East Midlands, one in London, two in Scotland, two in the South East and one in Yorkshire and Humber. I am not providing a breakdown by parliamentary constituency or local authority as this could make it possible to identify the individual companies that have received support.
With regard to the Automotive Assistance Programme, on 18 September 2009, BIS announced the offer of a £10 million loan to Tata Motors European Technical Centre to support £25 million of investment in the Coventry area to develop and manufacture electric vehicles in the UK.
Climate Change Projects Office
Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the aims and objectives are of his Department's Climate Change Projects Office. [304472]
Mr. McFadden: The Climate Change Projects Office (CCPO) is the UK Government's primary contact for business involved in the international carbon market (particularly climate change projects under the Kyoto Protocol-Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation projects that generate tradable carbon credits). The CCPO supports and promotes UK private sector involvement in the market. The CCPO is based in the Department for Business and is joint-funded by the Department for Energy and Climate Change. Details about the CCPO's work can be found in the UK CCPO annual report 2008/09, copies of which have been placed in the House Libraries.
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department since its inception; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference. [305865]
Mr. McFadden: The Department does not centrally record details of conferences held overseas attended by civil servants. To obtain this information would require searching through four departmental and IT systems and entail disproportionate costs.
The Department will soon publish details of expenses of senior staff on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website, overseas conferences attended will be included.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Mr. Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since its inception; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens. [306085]
Mr. McFadden: This Department's Estates section has not purchased any plasma screen televisions since its inception in June.
Information is not held centrally for any purchases of plasma screens that may have been made by individual Directorates within the Department.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost to the public purse was of the review of employee engagement commissioned by his Department and conducted by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke. [304573]
Mr. McFadden: The external costs (excluding VAT) associated with conducting the employee engagement review, and with publication of the report in July 2009, were £192,678.
Electric Cables: Standards
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to protect the public from the risks posed by installation of electrical cables which do not meet approved standards. [304007]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
Where examples of electrical cables which do not meet the recognised approved standards are reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the matter is investigated by inspectors who enforce, among other supply legislation, the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 (EESR). Inspectors have the power to prohibit further supply of electrical cables whose foreseeable use represents a risk of serious harm to persons. Where defective products are already in the supply chain action can be taken to require suppliers to warn and advise their customers.
Examples of defective electric cables imported from Asia are currently under investigation. More generally, inspectors will shortly be carrying out an exercise to examine samples of cables in use on construction sites in the UK. Depending on the findings, besides prohibiting the supply and use of any found to be seriously defective, the HSE will propose a wider market surveillance project to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the supply of cables into the industrial and domestic market.
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