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5 July 2010 : Column 121W—continued
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners he expects to be in prison on 1 May (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013. [5138]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice produces annual projections of the prison population in England and Wales, most recently in August 2009. These project the prison population under three different scenarios (high, medium and low), based on different assumptions about future sentencing trends. Separate projections of foreign national prisoners are not calculated.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made on making a prisoner transfer agreement with (a) South Africa, (b) China and (c) Nigeria. [5139]
Mr Blunt: A prisoner transfer agreement with South Africa is unlikely to be concluded in the near future. It is the policy of the South African Government not to enter into such agreements.
The possibility of a prisoner transfer agreement with China is under review.
Nigeria and the United Kingdom are signatories to the Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders within the Commonwealth. The scheme allows for the transfer of prisoners between Nigeria and the United Kingdom where the consent of both states and the prisoner is obtained. A separate compulsory transfer agreement is under consideration. We expect negotiations to be completed once the Nigerian National Assembly has passed the necessary legislation.
Prisoners: Nigeria
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Nigerian citizens held in UK prisons he expects to be returned to Nigeria in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12. [5137]
Mr Blunt:
The United Kingdom and Nigeria are both participants to the Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders within the Commonwealth. This scheme provides for the voluntary transfer of prisoners between participating states. 24 Nigerian nationals in prisons in England and Wales have submitted applications to be repatriated to Nigeria. These applications are under consideration by the Nigerian Government. Because of the voluntary nature of the current transfer scheme and the need for the consent of the Nigerian Government
in each case it is not possible to indicate how many prisoners will be transferred in the years 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Prisoners: Repatriation
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners have been returned to their home countries under the provisions of the Council of Europe Convention on Prisoner Transfer since the inception of the agreement in November 2009. [5656]
Mr Blunt: On the 1 November 2009 the United Kingdom ratified the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The protocol provides for the compulsory transfer of prisoners between signatory states where a prisoner is to be deported or where the prisoner has fled the sentencing state.
Under the Additional Protocol the United Kingdom has transferred to Austria the enforcement of a sentence of an Austrian national who had fled from custody here having absconded from an open prison. In addition, 12 prisoners have been referred to the UK Borders Agency for deportation action. Once deportation orders have been served consideration will be given to their transfer under the Additional Protocol.
Probation Boards
Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many probation boards have assumed trust status; and which probation boards have had their application for trust status rejected. [5670]
Mr Blunt: Six trusts were vested in the first wave of probation trusts in April 2008. These were South Wales, Dyfed Powys, Humberside; Leicestershire and Rutland, West Mercia and Merseyside. Two further trusts were vested in April 2009. These were Lancashire and Greater Manchester. All probation boards were required to apply for trust status and a rigorous examination took place of their performance and management capability. All areas were successful in this application process. During 2009 a number of probation boards decided that they would be better placed by proposing voluntary amalgamations. All remaining probation boards achieved trust status on 1 April 2010 with the following succeeding as amalgamated trusts: Durham Tees Valley, Norfolk and Suffolk, Wales Probation Trust (the former South Wales and Dyfed Powys Trusts) and the Probation Boards of Gwent and North Wales; Surrey and Sussex; West Midlands and Staffordshire.
In total there are 35 probation trusts for England and Wales.
Rape: Rights of Accused
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department plans to grant anonymity to defendants in court cases involving allegations of sexual abuse of children. [5192]
Mr Blunt:
The Government have made clear that they will carefully consider all the options before bringing proposals to Parliament on the question of extending
anonymity in rape cases to defendants. This includes consideration of the period which would be covered by the anonymity, and the possible extension of coverage beyond rape to other offences. It also includes the possibility of special provision for teachers and others in positions of trust. Our Coalition agreement includes a further commitment to give anonymity to teachers accused by pupils and to take other measures to protect against false accusations.
Voluntary Work
Mr Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours of unpaid work requirements were supervised by (a) the public sector, (b) the private sector and (c) the voluntary sector in each of the last three years. [5660]
Mr Blunt: The number of unpaid work (Community Payback) hours imposed during the last three years is given in the following table (to the nearest thousand).
| Unpaid work hours | |
The hours supervised by the public, private and voluntary sectors are not recorded separately. The majority of hours worked by offenders are undertaken in groups, supervised by probation service staff.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Banks: Finance
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency have participated in the Working Capital Scheme since its inception. [6167]
Mr Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stirling (Mrs McGuire) on 30 June 2010, Official Report, column reference 564W.
Business: Government Assistance
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses (a) in Great Yarmouth constituency, (b) in the east of England and (c) nationally have received loans under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee since that scheme's inception. [6171]
Mr Prisk: Under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, as of 30 June 2010, 9,087 businesses have drawn down loans totalling £910.93 million. Of which, in the east of England, 948 businesses have drawn down loans of £85.94 million, and the constituency of Great Yarmouth, eight businesses have drawn down loans totalling £287,207.
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many projects (a) in Great Yarmouth constituency, (b) in the east of England region and (c) nationally have been supported by the Strategic Investment Fund since that fund's inception. [6173]
Mr Prisk: The Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) is funding around 45 different projects and programmes.
The SIF is a UK-wide fund, and a number of projects supported by the SIF are themselves UK-wide in geographical scope. They will benefit companies across the UK, including those in Great Yarmouth.
A number of other projects supported under the SIF can be identified to specific geographical locations, though the benefits of the projects will often be felt over a much wider area. In the east of England, SIF is funding Stevenage Bio-park. There are no SIF projects specifically in Great Yarmouth.
Departmental Buildings
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what properties his Department and its non-departmental public bodies (a) own and (b) lease overseas; whether those properties are shared with other Government Departments and non-departmental public bodies; and whether he plans to (i) sell the property or (ii) cancel the lease in each case. [3521]
Mr Davey: The information requested is as follows:
BIS does not own or lease any overseas properties.
The following lists all overseas foreign direct investment offices leased by the RDAs. This does not include "serviced office facilities" where there is no lease, or employees or consultants who work from home:
North West Development Agency, Chicago-shared with One North East; One North East-offices in Chicago (shared with NWDA), Tokyo and Shanghai; South East England Development Agency-offices in Kanagawa (Japan), Shanghai and Seoul (the latter shared with Think London);
Yorkshire Forward-Offices in Hangzhou and Tokyo. No decisions have been taken as yet on the cancellation of the leases for these properties.
The Medical Research Council maintains two overseas research units: MRC Laboratories, The Gambia and MRC/UVRI Research Unit in Uganda. To facilitate the running of these units, the MRC leases various properties in both countries, including laboratory facilities, clinic and patient care facilities, office and staff accommodation. None of the properties leased by the MRC are shared with other UK Government Departments or NDPBs and there are no current plans to sell or cancel any of the leases as the properties are currently in use for ongoing research programmes. In addition, the MRC leases office premises in Beijing on behalf of RCUK China. The property is shared with the other research councils and there are currently no plans to cancel the existing lease.
Science and Technology Facilities Council
The Science and Technology Facilities Council has 15 apartments/houses occupied by staff in La Palma, Canary Islands, owned by STFC, plus three telescopes owned by STFC but on land leased from the Government of Spain, plus a leased office building. The office is shared with telescope administrations from other countries. All have a current planning lifetime through to the end of 2013 and will be sold or given up on that timescale.
The Anglo-Australian Observatory has one telescope-the UK Schmidt Telescope, owned by STFC on land leased from the Australian National University. This is not shared. The lease will be given up in July 2010.
The Joint Astronomy Centre in Hawaii has 2 telescopes (UKIRT, JCMT) owned by STFC and one office building also owned by STFC. The leases for the land are with the University of Hawaii
and run to 2033. However STFC planning is only until 2013. None is shared with other Departments. STFC also lease rooms at a hostel on an annual basis. This facility is shared with telescope users form other countries.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
The BBSRC leases an office in Brussels on behalf of the UK Research Office. There are no plans to cancel the lease.
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
EPSRC operates the Research Council UK (RCUK) Washington office. This space is based within the UK embassy and rented from the FCO. There are no current plans to cease this arrangement.
Economic and Social Research Council
ESRC manages the RCUK India office in Delhi. Space is leased within the British high commission in India and this is planned to continue. ESRC also rents two priorities (housing) through the high commission for UK staff at the RCUK India office. These leases are planned to continue and will be reviewed when due for renewal.
Natural Environment Research Council
NERC leases a property in Ny-Alesund, Norway. This is a research station for seven scientists and NERC are currently reviewing whether to continue with this facility. NERC also own four British Antarctic Survey sites (Rothera, Halley, Bird Island and Signy) and have no plans to sell them.
Departmental Catering
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on catering in each year from 1997 to 2009. [4850]
Mr Davey: This Department does not separately itemise catering costs from entertainment and hospitality generally, and to disaggregate the figures could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much each directorate of his Department and its predecessor spent on each type of catering in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [5519]
Mr Davey: The Department does not separately itemise catering costs from entertainment and hospitality generally, and to disaggregate the figures could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what catering facilities for internal meetings have been available in his Department and its predecessors for internal meetings in each year since 1997; how much his Department spent on catering for each internal meeting in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [5520]
Mr Davey: Catering for internal meetings has been available via our contracted service suppliers in BIS and its predecessors since 1997. However, since May of this year BIS staff have been requested not to book catering for internal meetings as part of our cost saving measures.
It is not possible to provide figures on catering spend for internal meetings as this information is not recorded separately and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2010, Official Report, column 82W, on departmental manpower, what the salary range is of staff employed at each grade in the private office of each Minister in his Department. [3243]
Mr Davey: The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was formed through a Machinery of Government 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). Staff in grades below the Senior Civil Service within BIS have different pay arrangements depending on which of the former Departments they came from.
Pay arrangements for staff that work within the Senior Civil Service (SCS) are part of the pay system that operates across the whole Civil Service. The salary levels are based on recommendations from the independent Senior Salaries Review Body.
The pay scales that operate within the Department are in the following tables:
| BERR: | ||||
| (£) | ||||
| London | National | |||
| Grade | Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum |
| DIUS: | ||||
| (£) | ||||
| London | National | |||
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| SCS: | ||
| (£) | ||
| Grade | Minimum | Maximum |
Departmental Translation Services
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) documents and (b) other information for which (i) his Department and (ii) its associated public bodies are responsible are published or provided in the UK in languages other than English; for what reason each such publication is required to be made available in a language or languages other than English; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the translation work so incurred in the latest period for which figures are available. [1780]
Mr Davey: Since 1 April 2009 the Department has published 103 items in 26 different languages. This includes hard copy publications and items published only on the Department's website, together with items produced by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). A full list of these publications, showing each title and in which language it was published, will be placed in the libraries of the House. Other items translated into foreign languages include business cards and letters.
Items published in Welsh were produced to comply with the Department's Welsh Language Scheme which states that for the conduct of public business in Wales the Department will treat the English and Welsh languages on a basis of equality.
Other items have been produced to inform people whose first language is not English about issues such as employment rights and entitlements, or for specific overseas markets.
Figures are available for spend on items procured via the translation service of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and via the Central Office of Information (COI). This covers a wider range of material than just the publications identified.
2009/10 (including spend by the former BERR and former DIUS before the creation of BIS in June 2009):
| (£) | |
Information about items produced by the Department's partner organisations could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Employment Agencies: EU Law
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to amend or replace the Agency Workers Regulations 2010. [5101]
Mr Davey: The Government are aware of the different points of view expressed by the business community about certain aspects of the agency workers regulations and are currently considering the way forward.
Higher Education: Anti-Semitism
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to protect Jewish university students from anti-Semitic attacks; what recent reports he has received of incidents of anti-Semitism on university campuses; what discussions he has had with representatives of the Jewish community on the matter; and if he will make a statement. [4327]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 29 June 2010]: There is no place for racism of any form, including anti-Semitism, in higher education. Universities have the primary responsibility for ensuring that their students are not subject to threatening or abusive behaviour on campus and have access to a strong legislative framework and guidance to help them deal effectively with instances of intolerance, racism and harassment in their institutions. Government would expect them to vigorously tackle these issues when they arise and report criminal attacks to the police when they occur on campus, or support students to do so.
I have received correspondence on this issue, and I have had no discussions so far with representatives of the Jewish community. However, I am due to meet with representatives of the Jewish community and the HE sector to discuss anti-Semitism and higher education.
Iraq
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what projects in Iraq are being funded by his Department; what the budget of each such project is; and if he will make a statement. [4014]
Mr Willetts: This Department currently supports two education programmes with Iraq:
(i) A programme of capacity building and support for the rebuilding of a modernised and robust technical and vocational education system responsive to the economic and social needs currently facing Iraq-the Rawabit Programme. This programme has been running since 2004. BIS has contributed funding of £950,000 towards the programme since 2006. A further £300,000 will be provided this financial year bringing the total to £1.2 million.
(ii) The Higher Education Leadership and Management for Iraq programme (HELMI). Two year programme started in 2009/2010 to strengthen academic and leadership management in Iraqi HE. The budget for this programme over the two years is £237,144. The programme will finish in March 2011.
Local Enterprise Partnerships
Ms Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the responsibilities of his proposed local enterprise partnerships will be. [5427]
Mr Prisk: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough (Mr Blunkett) on 1 July 2010, Official Report, columns 646-47W.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what timetable has been set for (a) the submission of bids for local enterprise partnerships and (b) the coming into operation of local enterprise partnerships. [6038]
Mr Prisk: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote jointly with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, inviting outline proposals from partnerships of local authorities and businesses, reflecting the coalition Government's agenda, as soon as possible, and no later than 6 September. A copy of the letter is available in the Libraries of the House.
As set out in the Budget, the Government will publish a White Paper later in the summer, which will set out the Government's approach to sub-national growth. Legislation to abolish RDAs and enable local enterprise partnerships was announced in the Queen's Speech and is expected to be introduced to Parliament in the autumn.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what incentives will be offered for local enterprise partnerships to raise some of their own funding under his proposals for such partnerships. [6039]
Mr Prisk: As set out in the Budget, the Government will publish a White Paper later in the summer, which will set out the Government's approach to sub-national growth. The White Paper will also consider the most appropriate framework of incentives for local authorities to support growth, including exploring options for business rate and council tax incentives, which would allow local authorities to reinvest the benefits of growth into local communities.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what mechanisms will be used to determine the funding for each local enterprise partnership; [6040]
(2) what the economic objectives will be of local enterprise partnerships; [6041]
(3) whether a local enterprise partnership could cover a single higher tier authority area under his proposals for such partnerships; [6042]
(4) what his policy is on the minimum size of population to be covered by a local enterprise partnership; [6043]
(5) whether he plans to provide further guidance on local enterprise partnerships to local authorities and business. [6044]
Mr Prisk: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote jointly with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, inviting local groups of councils and business leaders to come together to consider how they wish to form local enterprise partnerships. A copy of the letter is available in the Libraries of the House.
As set out in the Budget, we will publish a White Paper later in the summer, which will set out the Government's approach to sub-national growth.
Newton Scholarships
Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students receive Newton scholarships; and what estimate he has made of the number of students who would not be able to afford to attend university if Newton scholarships were abolished. [5194]
Mr Willetts: No students are in receipt of a Newton scholarship. The scheme, primarily for international research students, was announced by the previous Administration as part of the March 2010 Budget and an initial cohort of around 100 students was planned for entry in October 2010.
On 17 June the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced that a number of unfunded projects would be cancelled or suspended. This included the Newton scholarships, on which any decision will now be taken during the spending review. No university or organisation will lose money as a result of this suspension. The Government's considerable levels of support for PhD students, through the Research Councils, mean it is unlikely that there will be any increase in students unable to afford to attend university following this decision.
One NorthEast
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of One North East's capital programme budget has been spent in each year since its inception. [6168]
Mr Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 June 2010, Official Report, column reference 534W to my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon).
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of One North East in attracting investment into the region from (a) other parts of the UK, (b) non-UK, EU-based companies and (c) companies based outside the EU. [6181]
Mr Prisk: Recent assessment into the effectiveness of One North East in attracting investment into the region shows that investment attracted from (a) other parts of the UK-these figures are projects to which One North East responded following inquiries from UK companies-RDAs cannot target proactively companies already based elsewhere in the UK under the RDA guidelines- (b) for non-UK, EU-based companies and (c) companies based outside the EU figures show the total number of projects that invested into the north-east and in which One North East (ONE) were involved were:
| Financial year | |||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| Notes: 1. FDI performance assessment of One North East was undertaken by Arthur D Little in 2006-07. It found that One North East was involved in 82% of all inward investment activity in north-east England and that its work generated £385 million of GVA for the region. 2. (a), (b) and (c) figures supplied by ONE; EU* and Rest of World* project numbers confirmed by UKTI. | |||
Postal Services Bill
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many officials of his Department are working on preparations for the Postal Services Bill. [5113]
Mr Davey: There are three officials working in the core Bill team on the preparations for the Postal Services Bill. This team is supported by a range of officials from across the Department with relevant expertise, in particular a team of four lawyers, eight policy officials, and an economist. Most of these officials continue to have other responsibilities outside of their work on the Bill itself.
Redundancy Pay
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on the uprating of statutory redundancy pay. [5257]
Mr Davey: Section 34 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 established a mechanism for the annual changes in award limits (up or down as appropriate), in line with the retail prices index. We have no current plans to change this mechanism.
Retail Trade: Regulation
Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) which regulations introduced by the previous Government he plans to repeal to reduce the regulatory burden on small retailers; and if he will make a statement; [5493]
(2) what steps he plans to take to reduce the regulatory burden on small retailers; and if he will make a statement. [5494]
Mr Prisk: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has a range of mechanisms to ensure that the needs and concerns of retailers and small businesses are given due attention. These mechanisms include meetings between Ministers and representative bodies and trade associations, regular policy discussions with officials, the small firms consultation database and through a series of formal meetings, including the Retail Policy Forum. In the Budget the Government announced plans for reducing the regulatory burdens on business, including the introduction of a one-in-one-out system for new regulations and a fundamental review of all regulation inherited from the previous Government scheduled for introduction over the coming year. These regulations will not be implemented until they have been reviewed and re-agreed by the Reducing Regulation Committee. Also, seven key reviews have been announced which will tackle the burden of regulation:
Lord Young of Graffham will lead a review of Health and Safety regulation;
a new industry-led Task Force chaired by Richard McDonald will consider ways to reduce the regulatory burden on the farming industry;
each relevant Department will be reviewing the employment laws in their policy areas to ensure they maximise flexibility for both parties while protecting fairness and providing the competitive environment required for enterprise to thrive;
the Home Office has postponed all new registrations with the Independent Safeguarding Authority while it carries out a review of the vetting and barring scheme;
a joint OCS/BIS Civil Society Regulation Taskforce has been established to reduce the burden of red tape on small civil society organisations;
and the Department for Food and Rural Affairs has announced a review of waste policy in England.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles will shortly be asking Councillors and Council staff to suggest how outdated and obsolete secondary legislation can be cut down to size.
These reviews will report in due course. The Your Freedom website will also give members of the public the opportunity to suggest existing regulations for removal, in order to reduce the burden on business.
Sheffield Forgemasters: Finance
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what advice his Department obtained from third parties on the £80 million loan to Sheffield Forgemasters (a) before and (b) after 6 May 2010; [5877]
(2) what cost-benefit analysis and other evaluation was undertaken in respect of the £80 million loan to Sheffield Forgemasters (a) before and (b) after 6 May 2010; [5878]
(3) whether Ministers or officials of his Department discussed with potential developers of replacement nuclear power stations the matter of the £80 million loan to Sheffield Forgemasters between 7 May and 17 June 2010; [5879]
(4) pursuant to the answer of 29 June 2010, Official Report, column 540W, on Sheffield Forgemasters: finance, whether (a) Ministers or (b) officials of his Department had discussions with Sheffield Forgemasters on the proposed £80 million loan between 7 May and 17 June 2010. [6142]
Mr Prisk: Prior to 6 May, the independent statutory Industrial Development Advisory Board provided advice regarding support for the Sheffield Forgemasters (SFIL) project at meetings in June 2009, September 2009 and February 2010. The Department also commissioned a report from Deloitte examining the potential market opportunities from the project, and received advice from Allen & Overy relating to the terms and conditions of the conditional offer.
In considering the case for providing public support to SFIL, the Industrial Development Advisory Board was supported by the following evaluations: (a) additionality-an assessment of whether the project would go ahead without public support; (b) an assessment of the costs and benefits of Government support; and (c) an assessment of commercial considerations. No additional cost-benefit analysis, over and above these evaluations, has been undertaken.
My Department did not take advice from third parties between 7 May and 17 June 2010 on the subject of the loan. Officials from the Department met with Westinghouse on 3 June 2010 to discuss project planning issues.
The decision not to pursue the loan was taken on the grounds of affordability.
Summer Time
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what evidence his Department holds on the relationship between the change from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time and the number of robberies occurring on the day upon which the change took place in each of the last five years. [5288]
Mr Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is responsible for overall policy regarding changes between British Summer Time and Greenwich Mean Time and related matters. The Home Office is responsible for the collation of crime statistics, including robberies. The information requested is not held by the Home Office and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
Working Hours: EU Law
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to amend or replace the Working Time Regulations 1998. [5099]
Mr Davey: Some minor amendments to the Working Time Regulations may be necessary in the relatively near future in light of recent European Court judgments. As stated in the coalition agreement, the Government are committed to limiting the application of the working time directive in the UK. This will of course include maintenance of the flexibility provided by the right of individuals to opt out of the maximum 48-hour working week.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance he has issued on the maximum number of on-call hours that an employee may be required to stay on their employer's premises during a working week. [5100]
Mr Davey: Detailed guidance on the Working Time Regulations is available for workers on the Direct Gov website. This guidance clearly states that the maximum working week (for those not choosing to opt out) is 48 hours and that, as required as a result of decisions by the European Court of Justice, time spent on call at work would count towards this. Enquirers requiring more detailed or tailored guidance can contact the ACAS helpline.
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