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6 Apr 2010 : Column 1290W—continued
Employment Agencies: EU Law
Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance his Department plans to provide on (a) the steps an agency must undertake to establish the parameters for equal treatment from an end-user of agency workers under the Agency Worker Regulations 2010, (b) the extent to which measures undertaken by an agency to ascertain the information needed to provide equal treatment will be considered reasonable steps under section 14(3)(a) of the regulations and (c) safeguards for agencies from unreasonable liability where an end-user of agency workers does not accurately provide the information required to determine equal treatment under the regulations or attempts to indemnify against such liability. [325384]
Mr. McFadden: The Government fully understand the importance of providing clear, comprehensive guidance on the agency workers regulations prior to their entry into force. This will be drawn up in consultation with stakeholders and will address these and other issues.
Paul Rowen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to monitor the effects of the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 on the agency worker industry once they have entered into force. [325385]
Mr. McFadden: The Government are committed to post-implementation review (PIR) of new legislation in line with better regulation principles. The PIR would be used to identify whether the policy change is achieving the desired results. In the case of the agency workers regulations, a post implementation review is planned for 2013. It is expected that this will feed into the overall review of the Agency Workers Directive that the European Commission is required to carry out by December of that year by virtue of article 12.
Further Education: Finance
Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Learning and Skills Council news release of 9 February 2010, entitled "Learning and Skills Council Honours Commitment to Help Colleges with Financial Problems", which of the 41 colleges to receive funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) are in London; which colleges in (a) England and (b) London were identified by the LSC as facing financial difficulty as a direct result of aborted capital spending; what assessment has been made of the extent of the financial difficulty faced by such colleges in (i) England and (ii) London; and how much funding will be provided to each college. [325568]
Kevin Brennan: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is committed to ensuring that no college experiences financial difficulty as a result of decisions taken on capital. As a result the LSC has now paid all contractual obligations and has granted £43 million in additional support to 42 colleges identified as experiencing or anticipating serious financial problems as a result of the programme. The LSC will continue to work with the sector to ensure that no further colleges get into financial difficulty as a result of developing a capital proposal. I am unable to provide financial details relating to individual colleges as they are commercially sensitive to the colleges involved.
Licensing Laws: Music
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many licensees of (a) pubs, (b) restaurants and (c) bars (i) applied for and (ii) were (A) granted and (B) refused licences to perform live music in (1) Montgomeryshire and (2) England in each year since 2007; and if he will make a statement. [325153]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not collate data specifically on premises licence applications for the provision of live music, and does not collate data by premises type. This is because the Licensing Act 2003 defines activities not premises type.
The number of premises licences with live music provisions in the Licensing Authority of Powys was 505 on 31 March 2007, 528 on 31 March 2008 and 559 on 31 March 2009.
The estimated total premises licences with live music provisions in England and Wales was 75,200 on 31 March 2007, 79,800 on 31 March 2008 and 83,600 on 31 March 2009.
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications to vary licences for the provision of regulated entertainment in (a) pubs, (b) restaurants and (c) bars have been made in each year since 2007; and if he will make a statement. [325155]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not collate data specifically on applications to vary licences for the provision of regulated entertainment and does not collate data by premises type. This is because the Licensing Act defines activities not premises type.
The total number of applications to vary a premises licence in England and Wales is shown in the table.
| Financial year | Number of applications to vary premises licences | Number granted | Licensing authorities responding to the question (percentage) |
Opposition
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has undertaken costings of the policies of (a) the Conservative Party and (b) the Liberal Democrat Party at the request of Ministers or special advisers in the last 36 months. [324400]
Mr. McFadden: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 30 March 2010, Official Report, column 1044W.
Optics: Technology
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the Hauser review of the current and future role of technology and innovation centres in the UK considered the establishment and development of the Optic centre at St. Asaph Business Park. [325393]
Mr. Lammy: The Hauser review was not established with a view to identifying and prioritising centres that should receive support in the future and as such no assessment has been made of the Optic centre at St. Asaph Business Park. However, the report and recommendations provide a broad framework for future investment in technology and innovation centres. My noble Friend the Secretary of State has accepted these recommendations and has commissioned the Technology Strategy Board to work with industry, stakeholders, and wider government on how to implement the recommendations in the Hauser review and to report back by the pre-Budget report on the process, priority areas, scale of investment required and governance structure.
Student Loans Company: Redundancy
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with officials from the Student Loans Company regarding the redundancies at the company's Glasgow offices announced in January 2010. [324237]
Mr. Lammy: The Student Loans Company (SLC) is a non-departmental public body and decisions about staffing matters are for the company and its board. The chairman and senior executives of the company have discussions regularly with Ministers about the service the company provides for its customers. I was told by the chair of the SLC on 26 January 2010 that the company intended to announce its restructuring on the following day; and attended a meeting requested by the SLC branch of the Public and Commercial Services trade union on January 26.
UK Space Agency
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of (a) the number of officials at each pay band and (b) the administration costs of the UK Space Agency in 2010-11. [324901]
Mr. Lammy: The final staffing structure will be completed only when all discussions on post transfers are finalised. The current estimate of full-time equivalents translated to BIS grades is:
| Number | |
The above remains an estimate pending final agreement. Back office support for HR, finance and grants will be contracted from one or more of the existing partners.
The estimated administration costs, including staff costs for 2010/11 will be £3.2 million plus the back office function costs, which are funded by existing partners and the necessary transfers are still in negotiation.
There will be no increase in BNSC costs.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the remit of the UK Space Agency is; when he plans to appoint a Space Agency director; what resources he has allocated to the Space Agency in (a) 2009-10 and (b) each of the next three financial years; and from which existing budgets such resources will be drawn. [324902]
Mr. Lammy: The remit of the United Kingdom Space Agency is to manage UK Government civil space programmes as an executive agency. The agency will also represent the UK in European and international forums. Dr David Williams, the Director General of the British National Space Centre (BNSC), will be the acting CEO from 1 April 2010.
A competition will be held to fill the new post of CEO for the UK Space Agency later this year. The agency will begin its role from 1 April 2010, so all 2009/10 budgets resided with existing BNSC partners and not the agency.
In 2010/11, the estimated budget is £230 million, but this is subject to final negotiations with existing BNSC partners.
The resources for 2010/11 will be drawn from programmes in BIS, the Technology Strategy Board, the Natural Environment Research Council, the Science and Technology Facilities Council, DEFRA, DfT and MOD.
Budgets beyond 2010/11 have not yet been set.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost of launching the UK Space Agency was; and what the cost of developing the Agency's (a) website and (b) logo was. [324903]
Mr. Lammy: The direct cost of creating the new UK Space Agency and re-branding the British National Space Centre is £46,500, relating to the launch event itself-note that this event also included the launch of the Government response to the Space IGT-the development of the logo, the protection of trademarks on the name and logo within the UK, and the website revamp. Of this £46,500, £1,000 was to revamp the website for its launch by 1 April, and £18,000 was for the logo design and its protection.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department commissioned external organisations to assist with the launch of the UK Space Agency. [325459]
Mr. Lammy: Yes, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills commissioned external organisations to assist with the launch of the UK Space Agency. These organisations helped handle interview requests from national, regional and trade media; and also captured video and photos of the event which will be used in future publications and online.
Treasury
Council Tax
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Glenrothes of 20 January 2010, Official Report, column 391W, on council tax, whether his Department has estimated the cost of a council tax freeze in (a) year one and (b) year two taking into account council tax benefit savings; [324496]
(2) pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Chorley of 26 January 2010, Official Report, column 673, on council tax, what estimate he has made of the cost of a council tax freeze in England net of savings from council tax benefit payments. [324817]
Mr. Byrne: The estimates referred to on 20 January 2010, Official Report, column 391W, and 26 January 2010, Official Report, column 673, are the cost to central Government of providing every council in England with top-up funding to compensate for freezing council tax for two years. This costing considered only the direct costs of providing a top-up, assumed to be equivalent to a 2.5 per cent. increase in band D bills in England.
The impact on council tax benefit of a two-year freeze on council tax has not been estimated.
Council Tax: Valuation
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 22 November 2005, what the purpose and function is of Project 1.5; and what enhancements it has made to Project 1. [324119]
Ian Pearson: The purpose and function of Project 1.5 was to deliver a series of enhancements to Project 1. These enhancements did not alter the fundamental operation of the Automated Valuation Model (AVM) system but were a refinement of processes within, and outputs from, the system, together with the generation of additional management reports.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 31 March 2003, paragraph 1.05, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Project Timetable. [324122]
Ian Pearson:
The minutes refer to 'the "Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Project Timetable" (V01 14/03/2003)'.
This timetable was for initial scoping activity and is headed "Proof of Concept". A copy of the document is being placed in the Library.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 22 November 2005, if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the Programme Closure documents PRMP-12, PRMP-37 and PRMP-38, redacting the names of junior civil servants. [324162]
Ian Pearson: Copies of these documents will be placed in the Library.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which opinion research company conducted the People's Panel research for the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme; what reports they produced; and what the cost was of that research. [324163]
Ian Pearson: ORC International conducted the People's Panel research work at a cost of £75,968. Two reports were produced, one presenting the output of focus groups and the other presenting that of in-depth interviews conducted with a sample of council taxpayers.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 20 January 2004, paragraph 3, if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of the Omnibus survey. [324164]
Ian Pearson: A copy of the results of the Valuation Office Agency's (VOA) Council Tax Omnibus Survey 2004 has been placed in the Library.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 17 February 2004, paragraph 5, if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) presentation from the Welsh office of the Valuation Office Agency and (b) paper from statisticians. [324166]
Ian Pearson: The papers requested are not held by the Valuation Office Agency.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 24 May 2004, paragraph 3, if he will place in the Library a copy of Handout 1 and Handout 2. [324167]
Ian Pearson: Copies of these documents will be placed in the Library.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation 2007 Programme Board minutes of 23 November 2004, paragraph 7, if he will place in the Library a copy of the revised version of the Benefits Analysis document. [324171]
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