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5 Mar 2010 : Column 1443W—continued
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many unique visitors there were to the FlyingStart-Make it Happen website in each month since it was launched. [319917]
Mr. Lammy: The total number of unique visitors to the Flying Start-Make it Happen website since it was launched on 24 September 2009 is 23,863. The figures by month are:
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Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been spent on (a) roadshow Make it Happen events, (b) creating and maintaining the Make it Happen website and (c) other activities involved in the FlyingStart - Make it Happen campaign. [319918]
Mr. Lammy: The total spend to date on the Flying Start-Make it Happen programme is £350,000. This is broken down as follows:
£68,000 for the Make it Happen days and programmes;
£69,000 for the creation and maintenance of the Make it Happen Website; and
£213,000 for other activities.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people have began a Make it Happen self-employment and business start-up programme. [319920]
Mr. Lammy: 1,570 people have begun a Flying Start-Make it Happen self-employment/business start-up programme.
Innovation: Finance
Adam Afriyie:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what programmes and initiatives received funding from the other innovation programmes budget referred to in
Table 11 of his Department's Departmental Report for 2009; and how much such funding was allocated to each such programme and initiative in the latest year for which figures are available. [318920]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 3 March 2010]: The following received funding in 2008/09 from the "other innovation programmes" budget, referred to in Table 11 of the 2009 Departmental Report:
Music
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to assist the music industry, with particular reference to intellectual property rights relating to that industry. [320604]
Mr. Lammy: This Department conducted a review of copyright last year. The resulting strategy: 'Copyright-the way ahead: A Strategy for Copyright in the Digital Age' was published in October 2009. It can be found at:
This covered copyright issues relating to a range of creative industries, including the music industry, and made a number of commitments which we are working to deliver. These include measures in the Digital Economy Bill to combat online infringement of copyright.
The music industry is of course an integral part of the creative economy, for which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has responsibility. DCMS works closely with the music industry on a wide range of issues and, among other things, is setting up a number of community music rehearsal spaces around England in order to encourage and develop grass-roots talent. 'Creative Britain-New Talents for the New Economy', published in February 2008, and 'Digital Britain', published in June 2009, set the strategic direction for the Government's work to support the creative and digital sectors respectively and a programme of work in these areas is ongoing.
Photographs: Copyright
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on mandatory attribution of photographs to the photographer. [320581]
Mr. Lammy
[holding answer 4 March 2010]: I have recently received a number of representations from photographers about Clause 42 of the Digital Economy
Bill which covers the treatment of Orphan Works and Extended Licensing. Some of these have also referred to the question of attribution.
UK law provides certain "moral rights", including that photographers and creators of other works may assert their right to be identified as the author when their work is used for certain purposes. There are, however, a number of exceptions including where a work is intended for use in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical. I am aware that some photographers would like to see the law changed to require attribution in all cases.
As my Noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Postal Affairs and Employment Relations explained in the debates on the Digital Economy Bill, the Government have noted the concerns of creators (including photographers) and will be keeping the issue under review. The Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property is already looking at the broader issue of moral rights.
Royal Mail
Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for the future of Royal Mail sorting centres. [320740]
Mr. McFadden: I have asked Adam Crozier, chief executive of Royal Mail, to respond directly to the hon. Member as Royal Mail management has responsibility for the company's operations. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mail volumes continue to decline, by 8 per cent. in the first half of the financial year (April to Sept 2009), due to increased use of digital methods of communication. It is vitally important that Royal Mail can structure its operations as efficiently as possible so that it can compete in a competitive communications market while continuing to maintain the universal postal service at affordable prices. Royal Mail and the CWU are currently discussing a wide ranging agreement covering modernisation of the postal network.
Students: Loans
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many borrowers had a Student Loan Company debt cancelled or written off in each of the last five years; and in how many such cases action was taken because of (a) bankruptcy and (b) completion of an individual voluntary arrangement. [319902]
Mr. Lammy: The available information is shown in the table. Figures reflect the year in which the processing of the write-off took place and not necessarily the year in which the circumstances surrounding the write-off occurred.
The number of student loan borrowers has increased each year since loans were introduced in 1990, and it is therefore expected that the number of loans cancelled or written-off will increase annually.
Student loans have been exempt from bankruptcy arrangements since 2004, therefore the figures provided for write-offs due to bankruptcy in 2007-08 and 2008-09 all relate to bankruptcy in earlier years. The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 contains the provision to exclude student loans from Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs).
Technology Strategy Board
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) projects and (b) companies have received funding from the Technology Strategy Board in each month since its creation; and how much funding was provided for each. [307911]
Mr. Lammy: Since it was established in July 2007 the Technology Strategy Board has provided grant funding to companies and collaborative R and D projects, and to knowledge transfer partnership projects.
A copy of the tables will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Politics and Government
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition of corruption his Department uses in respect of Afghanistan; and what steps he is taking to ensure that officials of his Department based in that country are trained to recognise and report any such corruption. [319019]
Mr. Michael Foster: I have been asked to reply.
Both the UK and Afghan Governments are party to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) which defines corruption as;
(a) the promise, offering or giving to a public official, directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage, for the official himself or herself or another person or entity, in
order that the official act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her official duties;
(b) the solicitation or acceptance by a public official, directly or indirectly, of an undue advantage, for the official himself or herself or another person or entity, in order that the official act or refrain from acting in the exercise of his or her official duties.
HMG officials based in Kabul and Lashkar Gah include Governance and Rule of Law advisers, who are able to identify and advise on how to tackle corruption. The UK government also provides annual guidance to all embassies and overseas offices on reporting suspected corruption.
Arms Control
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on negotiations on the content of the proposed UN Arms Trade Treaty; when he expects negotiations to be completed and a text to be laid before the House; what discussions his Department has had with Shorts Bombardier on the effects of such a treaty on (a) that company and (b) the defence industry; and what steps will be taken to consult representations of the defence industry if a draft Treaty is agreed by the UN. [320941]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We have made very good progress in securing overwhelming global support to start formal negotiations on an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in the UN in July this year. These negotiations will continue through 2011 and culminate in a UN Conference in 2012. We would hope to lay a text before the House following this.
We maintain a regular dialogue with a large number of states in support of the UN ATT process, and with a wide range of UK stakeholders. We have not had discussions with Shorts Bombardier, but we are pleased to be working closely with the UK defence industry trade associations to ensure there is no unintended impact on the legitimate trade in arms.
British Indian Ocean Territory: Environment Protection
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2010, Official Report, column 211W, on the British Indian Ocean Territory: environment protection, what proposals were made by each of the bodies represented at the meeting on (a) 14 January and (b) 21 July 2009; what response the Government made to each of those proposals; and what his policy is on relations between the UK and Mauritius. [320128]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: During the 14 January meeting the delegations discussed the latest legal and policy developments relating to the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)/Chagos Archipelago. Both delegations set out their respective positions on sovereignty and the UK also set out how the UK needed to bear in mind its treaty obligations with the US and our ongoing need of the British Indian Ocean Territory for defence purposes. There was mutual discussion of fishing rights, environmental concerns, the continental shelf and future visits to the Territory by Chagossians.
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