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22 Jun 2010 : Column 188W—continued


This Government are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships, in particular, advanced and higher apprenticeships. British employers currently face a work force with insufficient skills at intermediate technician and associate professional level, critical to many industries of the future. Expanding Level 3 and Level 4 apprenticeships will make a significant contribution to remedying the shortage of people with this level of qualification.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to assist companies to offer apprenticeships. [3788]

Mr Hayes: We are determined to make it easier for companies to take on apprentices so that more businesses can access the tremendous benefits they can bring to the workplace. That is why we are redirecting £150 million of Train to Gain in 2010-11 to create an additional 50,000 high quality employer-led places.

We are committed to increasing the number of genuine, high-quality, employer owned apprenticeships based on real jobs in the workplace, and are working with Sector Skills Councils to ensure that our apprenticeship frameworks meet the needs of the real economy.

We are also working to reduce bureaucracy and make the system simpler for employers, colleges, and learners alike. My ambition is no less than to build a system that facilitates more apprenticeships in England than we have ever seen before.

Apprentices and Work Experience

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of apprenticeships, work pairings and training placements in (a) the UK, (b) Staffordshire and (c) Tamworth constituency. [3795]

Mr Hayes: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is seeking to drive up the skills levels of the work force by directing public funding where it will bring the clearest benefits. As we stated in the coalition agreement, we will seek ways to support the creation of apprenticeships, internships, work pairings, and college and workplace training places as part of our wider programme to get Britain working.

We have begun to rebalance skills provision by redeploying £150 million of Train to Gain funding to create 50,000 high-quality, employer-led apprenticeship places. We are also taking action to set colleges and training organisations free from excessive bureaucracy and direct state control, to give them the freedom to respond better to local needs.

Cumbria University

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times the Minister of State for Universities has (a) met, (b) spoken on the telephone and (c) corresponded with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cumbria since his appointment. [3169]

Mr Davey [holding answer 21 June 2010]: The Secretary of State wrote to all vice chancellors in England, including Professor Graham Upton, interim vice chancellor of the university of Cumbria, on 26 May 2010, regarding the Government's plans to make £6 billon savings this year. A letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Manpower

Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) front-line and (b) other staff were employed by (i) his Department and (ii) each of its agencies in the latest year for which figures are available; and what his most recent estimate is of the annual cost to the public purse of employing staff of each type at each of those bodies. [529]

Mr Davey: The latest figures published by the Office of National Statistics for Q4 2009 show total BIS staff numbers at 4,100 which includes 353 BIS staff in regional offices that are not paid by BIS. These figures are not yet broken down by frontline and other staff. The pay costs of employing BIS staff for 2009-10 was £186 million.

I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service, Companies House, the National Measurement Office, the Intellectual Property Office and the Skills Funding Agency and they will respond to the hon. Member directly.

Letter from Peter Mason, dated 22 June 2010:


22 Jun 2010 : Column 189W

Letter from Geoff Russell, dated 21 June 2010:


22 Jun 2010 : Column 190W

FTE Payroll costs (£ million)

Staff employed and charged to the programme budget (includes ESF funding)(1)

834

42.0

Other staff employed by the Skills Funding Agency and charged to the Skills Funding Agency's budget

944

50.2

Staff employed by Skills Funding Agency and seconded to RDAs

32

1.8

Staff employed by Skills Funding Agency within the shared service whose costs are funded by the YPLA (Department for Education)

46

2.2

Total

1,856

96.2

(1) Staff employed and charged to the programme budget are those we classify as front line staff.

Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 3 June 2010:

Letter from John Alty, dated 2 June 2010:

Letter from Gareth J ones :

Departmental Public Expenditure

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to analyse the distributional effect of the options for reductions in his Department's expenditure. [2860]

Mr Davey: The Government set out in their document "Spending Review Framework" that they will

(2.4, page 7)

Further information will be available at the spending review.

Fossil Fuels: Export Credit Guarantees

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps the Export Credits Guarantee Department is taking to end support for fossil fuel projects. [3744]

Mr Prisk: Plans have not yet been developed, including considering the practical implications taking account of ECGD's powers and duties under its statute, to implement the coalition Government's agreement that ECGD and UKTI should become champions for British companies that develop and export innovative green technologies around the world, instead of supporting investment in dirty fossil-fuel energy production.

ECGD has not supported a coal-fired power station since 2002; were it to consider doing so, it would apply the 'OECD Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits' which addresses the environmental impact of projects supported and requires compliance with international standards, usually those of the World Bank Group. Meanwhile, ECGD is participating on behalf of the UK in negotiations to agree export credit terms and conditions within the OECD that will encourage the use of low carbon goods and services.


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22 Jun 2010 : Column 192W

22 Jun 2010 : Column 193W

22 Jun 2010 : Column 194W
Fossil fuel projects( 1)
Country UK exporter Project Original level of support provided (£) Liability start date (est) Contract completion date (est)

Indonesia

NEI Power Projects Ltd

Combined cycle power plant

36,647,273

December 1994

December 2001

Indonesia

Allen Power Engineering Ltd

Power station extension. Supply and installation of 11 diesel generating sets

18,955,088

December 1997

December 2000

Turkey

Allen Power Engineering Ltd

Bilkent

6,799,523

October 1998

September 1999

Venezuela

2

Oil and gas project

50,668,873

(2)-

(2)-

Philippines

ABN Amro Bank NV

San Lorenzo-500MW gas power station at Batangas

44,382,802

March 2000

September 2015

Dominican Republic

Motherwell Bridge Engineering Ltd

San Pedro-Conversion of oil power station to gas-fired power station

15,783,542

April 2000

February 2002

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Skanska Construction UK Ltd

Tabas coalmine

29,524,244

March 2001

June 2005

Algeria

Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd

Supply of pumping and generating sets for the OZ2 pipeline

22,282,064

October 2001

October 2003

Brazil

Man B & W Diesel Ltd

4 x diesel generating sets

6,884,401

November 2001

December 2002

Israel

Alstom Power Ltd

Refurbishment of existing power station. Low emission boiler and converter

7,094,427

March 2002

October 2003

Turkey

Alstom Power Plants Ltd

2 x 160 MLO power station

7,262,428

April 2002

February 2004

Nigeria

M W Kellog Ltd

LNG project. Addition of trains 4 and 5 to existing LNG plant

119,033,808

December 2002

September 2005

Algeria

Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd

Supply of turbine generator sets for the OZ2 pipeline

23,061,936

September 2003

September 2005

Brazil

Diamond Offshore Drilling (UK) Ltd

P52 oil platform. Drilling offshore exploration wells/charter of an offshore drilling unit

42,767,276

January 2004

February 2004

Azerbaijan

BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Ltd

BTC pipeline project

56,354,403

February 2004

August 2006

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Salzgitter Mannesmann (UK) Ltd

South Pars Phases 9 and 10. Steel-related products for the downstream development of a gas field

12,630,693

July 2004

July 2008

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Man Ltd

South Pars Phases 9 and 10. Mechanical, piping and electrical engineering equipment for the downstream development of a gas field

32,529,092

July 2004

July 2008

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Doncasters Middle East Ltd

Provision of services and tooling to refurbish turbine generator blaes

14,373,935

August 2004

March 2006

Kazakhstan

Kellogg Brown & Root

Ali Bekmoia oil field development

6,839,754

November 2004

December 2004

Mexico

Odebrecht Oil and Gas Services Ltd

Living quarters on oil platform

6,189,505

November 2004

December 2004

Brazil

INVSAT Ltd

P52 oil platform: Telecommunications

1,318,153

October 2005

October 2007

Brazil

Koch Chemical Technology Group Ltd

P52 oil platform: Vacuum deaeration equipment

2,099,502

October 2005

October 2007

Brazil

Rolls Royce Power Engineering plc

P52 oil platform: Power generation equipment

26,695,937

October 2005

October 2007

Brazil

VWS Westgarth Ltd

P52 oil platform: Sulphate reduction equipment

6,488,282

October 2005

October 2007

Korea (Republic of)

Alstom Power Conversion Ltd

Shin Wolsuing power station

1,127,299

January 2006

January 2009

Turkey

Brush Electrical Machines Ltd

50MW generators sets

684,163

March 2006

May 2006

Mexico

SLP Engineering Ltd

KMZ oil field platform: Accommodation platforms

12,468,774

June 2006

January 2008

Nigeria

GENTEC Energy plc

5MW gas-fired power plant

7,891,229

May 2008

June 2009

Nigeria

GENTEC Energy plc

12.75MW power station and gas plant

13,669,924

September 2008

September 2009

Russian Federation

Rolls Royce plc

Portovaya compressor station: Compressors and related equipment for the Nordstream pipeline

376,450,274

May 2010

June 2011

(1) Includes oil and gas transportation, coal, oil and gas extractions, power generation and energy exports that involve the use of fossil fuel. Excludes petrochemical projects. (2) Information withheld to protect the commercial interests of the company and ECGD.

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