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30 Mar 2010 : Column 1021W—continued
The Enterprise Finance Guarantee replaced the Small Firms Loan Guarantee in January 2009.
Businesses would apply for a loan from any one of the participating accredited lenders who would assess which form of lending, including a SFLG backed loan, was most appropriate. We do not hold figures for those businesses which were instead offered a normal commercial loan, or were rejected for failing to meet the lender's commercial criteria.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many grants to small firms based in (a) Reading East constituency and (b) Berkshire under the Small Firms Local Guarantee scheme were between (i) £5,000 and £20,000, (ii) £20,001 and £50,000, (iii) £50,001 and £100,000, (iv) £100,001 and £150,000, (v) £150,001 and £200,000 and (vi) £200,001 and £250,000 in each of the last five years. [324576]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Small Firms Loan Guarantee (SFLG) data in the form requested are only available from December 2005. The Enterprise Finance Guarantee replaced the Small Firms Loan Guarantee in January 2009.
The breakdown of the number of loans to small businesses based in the Reading East constituency, and the county of Berkshire in the amounts specified in each full year from 2006 are as follows:
| Reading East Constituency | |||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Total | |
| Berkshire | |||||
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Total | |
Business: Southend-on-Sea
Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to increase investment in industry in Southend-on-Sea; and if he will make a statement. [324387]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) works with local and regional partners to ensure effective investment in Southend-on-Sea and support the business community there. EEDA has committed to invest a further £2.485 million over the coming financial year to further expand the facilities at the university of Essex and encourage the growth of the digital technology sector in Southend. This is in addition to essential business support services like Business Link, support for inward investment and the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), which are available to businesses in the area.
Career Development Loans
Mr. Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the (a) cash cost and (b) resource cost is of career development loans in England for (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11. [324993]
Mr. Lammy: On 1 July 2009, Government began an enhanced version of Career Development Loans (CDLs) called Professional and Career Development Loans (PCDLs). For 2009-10, the cost of administering these programmes across the UK is expected to be £21.8 million. In 2010-11, as more loans are delivered, the programme is expected to cost around £30 million. England accounts for around 90 per cent. of the PCDL market.
These programme costs cover: interest payments made by Government to support the individual while in learning; liability as a result of defaulted repayments; administration costs associated with the devolved administrations and of small-value loans; and marketing.
Final costs are also dependent on a number of other factors, including the Bank of England base rate and the level of take-up of loans offered.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department and its agencies have spent on rooms for staff leisure since it was established. [324431]
Mr. McFadden: This Department has not spent anything to date on rooms for staff leisure since its inception in June 2009.
I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service, Companies House, the National Measurement Office and the Intellectual Property Office and they will respond to the hon. Member directly.
I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 22 March 2010, UIN 324431, to the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Companies House has not spent any money on rooms for staff leisure since the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was established in June 2009.
Letter from John Alty, dated 24 March 2010:
I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 22(nd) March 2010, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Prior to 5 June 2009, when the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was formed, the Intellectual Property Office set aside some rooms for staff leisure. However, since that date the IPO has not incurred any expenditure on rooms for staff leisure other than heating, lighting etc.
Letter from Stephen Speed, dated March 2010:
The Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question how much his Department and its agencies have spent on rooms for staff leisure since it was established.
The Insolvency Service does not have specific rooms set aside for leisure purposes within any of its offices. The Insolvency Service does, however, provide in each of its offices, at least one multi-purpose area for staff to utilise for rest periods or work related meetings.
The Insolvency service was established in 1990 but there are records of a limited number of previous office premises that offered a specific room for leisure purposes, retrieving and collating the information required would incur a disproportionate cost and this information has not been supplied.
Letter from Peter Mason,, dated 30 March 2010:
I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (formerly National Weights and Measures Laboratory) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 22 March 2010 reference 2009/1821 to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, asking how much his Department and its agencies have spent on rooms for staff leisure since it was established.
The NMO has spent a total of £180.33 on rooms for staff leisure. This was for a fridge (£159.99) and a toaster (£20.34).
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department and its predecessor spent on interior design in relation to office refurbishments undertaken in each of the last five years. [324670]
Mr. McFadden: Over the last five financial years, this Department and its predecessors have spent the following amounts on interior design in relation to office refurbishments:
| £ | |
The figures above are inclusive of VAT. The figure for 2009/10 includes costs associated with the major refurbishment of our main ministerial building at 1 Victoria street, enabling the Department to vacate Kingsgate house, London, which currently costs £10 million per annum to run, when the lease on this building expires in March 2012.
Departmental Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) voltage optimisers and (b) equivalent technologies are used within buildings occupied by his Department. [324983]
Mr. McFadden: The Department is currently in the process of implementing a project to install voltage reduction equipment at its 1 Victoria Street HQ building and this work will be completed towards the end of 2010.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost to his Department was of employing press and media officers in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; and what the cost to his Department was of employing such staff in financial year 1996-97, expressed in current prices. [324819]
Mr. McFadden: The total staff costs for press office staff in the financial year 2009/10, up to the end of February 2010, are £1,350,000. This includes staff costs for press officers and support staff working in the press office. A breakdown of costs just for press officers and excluding non-press officers could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
The number of press officers currently at BIS is 29. This combines the press offices from the former BERR and former DIUS. The press office co-ordinates all the media handling for the Department's current 10 Ministers and the Government Chief Scientific Adviser.
The number of press officers in 1997 was 20. The staff costs are not available and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding his Department has allocated for bonuses for staff in 2009-10. [306391]
Mr. McFadden:
An element of the BIS overall pay award for staff below the SCS is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. These payments are used to drive high performance and form
part of the pay award. There are two types of award: in-year bonuses, which consist of special individual performance awards and non-pay rewards that recognise strong performance in particularly demanding tasks for situations. Staff in receipt of a special bonus may also receive an annual performance award. Annual performance awards are paid to members of staff who receive a highly successful performance rating.
Non-consolidated variable pay awards are funded from within existing pay bill controls, and have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.
Performance awards for the SCS are part of the pay system across the whole senior civil service, and are used to reward high performance sustained throughout the year, based on judgments of how well an individual has performed relative to their peers. The performance
related pay scheme is designed to help drive high performance and support better public service delivery. Performance awards are non-consolidated and non pensionable. The percentage of the pay bill set aside for performance-related awards for the SCS is based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
BIS was formed through a MOG change that occurred in June 2009. The Department was created by merging the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). Due to the timing of the MOG change it was decided that both Departments would continue with separate remits for 2009-10 before producing a single BIS remit for 2010-11. The two former Departments have allocated the following amounts of money for performance awards in 2009-10:
| Department | Amount of money allocated for "in year" performance awards | Amount of money allocated for annual performance awards | Total amount of money allocated for performance awards in 2009-10 |
| Notes: 1. The data included covers all staff below the SCS. 2. For the SCS the Senior Salaries Review Body determines the level of expenditure to cover bonuses. 3. The DIUS data for the "in year" performance award budget is currently unavailable as these are held locally at an individual group level. The "in year" performance bonuses that were awarded in 2008-09 totalled £13,855. | |||
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