BMI
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether any consideration of competition issues arising from the sale of British Midland International would be considered by the (a) UK and (b) EU competition authorities. [81203]
Mr Davey: The parties will need to consider whether the transaction qualifies under the EU merger regulation for a mandatory review by the European Commission or whether a filing needs to be made to the Office of Fair Trading. At this stage no filing has been made to the competition authorities, however preliminary discussions are taking place between the Office of Fair Trading, the European Commission and the merging parties.
Business: Females
Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the extent to which the cost of child care acts as a deterrent to women entrepreneurs. [80702]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 15 November 2011]: The Department has made no formal assessment of the extent to which the cost of child care acts as a deterrent to women entrepreneurs. However, we continue to collect and evaluate evidence on women’s entrepreneurship and we are already taking action in areas where the evidence supports intervention, specifically on enterprise education and mentoring.
Research in the UK and Norway shows that hands-on enterprise experience can be transformative and that is why I have announced this week two initiatives to support enterprise in schools: working with the Schools Network to develop resources for teachers to build and develop school businesses, and working with Inspiring the Future to recruit 2,500 local enterprise champions to engage with schools (with part of the intention being to provide positive role models of female entrepreneurship).
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The Government have also recently announced funding to recruit and train 5,000 mentors to support female entrepreneurs. We know that female entrepreneurs typically have a different approach in some areas of business compared to their male counterparts, including risk and financial management. We also know that third party advice is a key ingredient in business growth.
Earlier this month, the Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), announced that the Government will establish a Women’s Business Council, to provide advice to Government on what can be done to maximise women’s contribution to future economic growth. I look forward to working with the Home Secretary in developing the council.
Business: Trade Fairs
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds on comparative spending by the UK Government and other EU member states on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises' international tradeshow access. [80754]
Mr Prisk: It is not possible to provide a detailed comparison of spending as this information is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate cost to provide. However, we know that Germany spends above €40 million per year on supporting international tradeshow access and the UK spends £6 million through UK Trade & Investment’s Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP).
Conditions of Employment
Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department's employment law review will give consideration to the (a) trends in the number of and (b) suitability of regulation for employees on atypical contracts and their employers. [81316]
Mr Davey: The Employment Law Review is being led by my Department and lasts for the lifetime of the Parliament. All employment-related policies are in scope, including those of other Government Departments that impact on businesses by virtue of their being an employer.
Atypical workers are a key component of the UK's flexible labour market and as part of the Employment Law Review we will continue to monitor trends and suitability of regulation that affects atypical working.
Data Protection
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of the acquisition of Autonomy by Hewlett-Packard on the privacy and security of UK public and private organisations and their data. [78790]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 7 November 2011]: It is inappropriate to comment on this particular case, given the ongoing acquisition negotiations.
However, the Government take the protection of personal data very seriously. There are a number of measures in place to protect UK public and private data
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held by organisations and these are set out in the Cabinet Office's Security Policy Framework (SPF). Departments are required to seek assurance from third party organisations that they are managing personal data in accordance with these standards.
The Information Commissioner takes issues of data protection extremely seriously and regulates and enforces the Data Protection Act 1998.
Defence: North-west England
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with colleagues in the Ministry of Defence about the effect of defence spending on the economy of the north-west; and if he will make a statement. [80461]
Mr Prisk: Ministers and officials from this Department hold regular discussions with their counterparts in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) on a range of issues; but there have been no recent discussions on the issue of the specific effect of defence spending on the economy of the north-west.
We recognise that the potential job losses announced by BAE Systems will impact on the north-west although that decision was made largely in response to changes in international defence programmes and pressures on defence budgets globally. The Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response Service is providing support, training and careers advice to individuals whose jobs may be at risk and we are working with the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership on the potential new enterprise zone to support the local economy.
Consultants
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what procedures his Department uses when engaging external consultants. [73095]
Mr Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills utilises a strict internal approval process to ensure that Government policy on the use of consultants is adhered to. A business case is submitted with justification for external expertise with appropriate sign-off from finance and senior management. Competitive tendering, most commonly against existing framework agreements, is undertaken to ensure value for money and due diligence carried out against the costs to ensure compliance with framework and agreed Government mandates.
To ensure continued value for money any consultants engaged by core BIS, Executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies who cost above £20,000 require approval every three months by the Consultancy Exemption Board. Subsequently if a consultancy is expected to last longer than nine months there is an additional requirement to obtain Cabinet Office approval prior to signing the contract.
Design Services
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what contracts his Department has awarded for design services since May 2010; and what information his Department holds on the location of such companies. [80187]
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Mr Davey: The Department has only one accounting code within its central finance system addressing “design”. This code descriptor is for “Media and Design Services”.
Central records indicate that the Department has spent £12,686,618 on such services since May 2010.
It is not possible within cost thresholds to differentiate between payments for “Media” and “Design” services.
Payment addresses for suppliers of media and design services since May 2010 are contained within the central finance system. I will be placing the relevant extract from the finance system in the Libraries of the House.
Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Judicial Review
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what applications for judicial review have been made against his Department (a) in the last Parliament and (b) since May 2010; whether each such application (i) succeeded, (ii) failed and (iii) remains pending; what legal costs were incurred by his Department for each such application; in each failed application whether he applied for costs against the applicant and whether they were (A) awarded and (B) paid; whether his Department (1) paid for and (2) offered to pay for the legal costs incurred by each such applicant; and what the total cost to the public purse was of payment of the legal costs for each such applicant. [80706]
Mr Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was set up in June 2009.
16 new cases were opened in the last Parliament (June 2009 to April 2010) and 19 opened since May 2010. 13 of these cases have been closed.
The Department engages the Treasury Solicitor's Department to conduct all its judicial review litigation. The Treasury Solicitor's Department charges for this. The following table sets out the charges made by the Treasury Solicitor's Department to BIS for the financial year 2009-10 and from May 2010 to date.
| Judicial reviews | Total fees, charges and Disb (£) |
They include both fees charged by the Treasury Solicitor's Department and disbursements, which included counsel's fees. They relate only to judicial reviews in which BIS was involved.
Details relating whether applications have been successful, failed or remain pending, costs and awards could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Manpower
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many civil servants were (a) directly and (b) otherwise employed by non-departmental public bodies for which his Department and its predecessors were responsible (i) in 2000, (ii) in 2005, (iii) in 2007, (iv) in 2010 and (v) on the most recent date for which figures are available. [76387]
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Mr Davey: With a few exceptions, non-departmental public bodies do not employ civil servants.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service is one of those exceptions and currently employs 850 civil servants. Historical data on staff numbers can be found in past ACAS annual reports and accounts which are available on the ACAS website:
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1473
Public Sector: Pay
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many civil servants in his Department received a bonus in each year since 2007. [76391]
Mr Davey: The Department for 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).
The following information has been drawn from various data sources and provides details for both of the former Departments that were merged to create BIS. We do not hold information prior to 2008 due to the merger as detailed above.
| Financial year | Number of bonuses |
| (1) This is not the final figure, some awards are outstanding. | |
Departmental Research
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's budget for research and development was in each of the last five years; what the sciences component of that budget was in each such year; and what he expects such budgets to be in each year of the spending review period. [78777]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 7 November 2011]: Information on science and research spending is published in the Department's Annual Reports and Accounts for the relevant year:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/about/performance-reports/annual-reports
The 2010-11 Annual Report and Accounts contains historic data for the years 2006-07 to 2010-11 at Annex D:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/docs/b/11-p102-bis-annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11.pdf
The allocation of science and research funding over the spending review period was published in the following document:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/science/docs/a/10-1356-allocation-of-science-and-research-funding-2011-2015
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Departmental Secondment
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, columns 301-2W, on departmental secondment, what steps he has taken to ensure that industry plays a more active role in the business and policy-making of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [80918]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]:As the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Ministers and officials have frequent contact and discussions with business on a range of issues.
We have expanded and strengthened industry specific forums, to actively pursue growth and remove barriers which are restricting enterprise.
Domestic Workers: Conditions of Employment
Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of General Agreement on Trade in Services Mode 4 on the employment terms and conditions of domestic workers; and if he will make a statement. [80743]
Mr Davey: Both the existing EU commitments in Mode 4 under the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the EU offer in Mode 4 in the Doha Round contain provisions clarifying that all other requirements of EU and member state laws and regulations regarding entry, stay, work and social security measures shall continue to apply.
Employment: Environment Protection
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what support the Government provide to companies in the low-carbon and environmental goods and services sector to help them export overseas; and if he will make a statement. [80023]
Mr Prisk: UK Trade and Investment helps companies with low carbon technologies and environmental goods exports through its core services for businesses, such as trade missions, trade shows and exhibitions both overseas and in the UK.
In addition, the green export campaign positions the UK as a leading provider of low carbon solutions in markets where there are strong, clear commercial opportunities. The campaign promotes the UK’s low carbon capabilities to international buyers and investors.
UKTI work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s overseas network to promote green growth including identifying new opportunities for UK businesses stemming from international agreements and overseas Governments’ policies in carbon reduction.
Employment: India
Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Indian Government on the employment of foreign nationals in the UK on terms and conditions that differ from those applied to UK workers. [80742]
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Mr Davey: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has met with relevant Ministers in the Indian Government in June, September and October 2010 and June 2011. A variety of matters were discussed, including immigration policy.
EU Grants and Loans
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he will take to ensure that areas which fall within a Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 (County) Region for funding purposes under the draft EU regulations relating to the 2014 to 2020 EU Structural Fund, and which have a lower gross domestic product than the rest of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 region will not be disadvantaged in funding terms as a result of the banding system used. [80235]
Mr Prisk: Although the allocation system is designed around the nomenclature for territorial units for statistics (NUTS 2) classification, the Government will seek to ensure the UK programme reflects the needs of individual areas within it. The Government are currently considering the approach they will take to the funding in the 2014 to 2020 round.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the administrative structure used to allocate funding allocated to the UK under the draft EU regulations relating to 2014-2020 EU structural fund and match funding will not exclude local communities and organisations from the allocation process. [80255]
Mr Prisk: The Government are currently considering their response to the draft regulations relating to the 2014-20 structural funds. As negotiations progress and the shape of the regulations for the 2014-20 round becomes clearer, we will further consider the administrative structures that we will use to deliver the funding, consulting with delivery partners.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what response the Government intend to make to the draft EU regulations relating to 2014-2020 EU structural fund. [80256]
Mr Prisk: The UK supports the aim of cohesion policy in reducing disparities in development between the different regions of the EU, so that every part of the EU is able to develop to its full potential. The Government are currently considering the detail of the Commission's draft regulations for the 2014-20 structural funds and the implications for the UK, much of which is still to be clarified by the Commission. However, the Government have already published their position in relation to the Commission's Fifth Cohesion Report earlier this year, which set out some of the principles underpinning the draft regulations.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make representations to the European Commission in relation to the draft EU regulations relating to the 2014-2020 EU Structural Fund, to ensure that significant funding is provided to support rural environments as well as urban development. [80257]
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Mr Prisk: The Commission's draft regulations propose that at least 5% of the European Regional Development Fund should be allocated to the use of integrated territorial investments in urban areas. The Commission has yet to publish full details of its methodology for allocating funds but it is likely the bulk of the funding will continue to be allocated using objective criteria such as GDP.
EU Grants and Loans: Torbay
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the exception applying to regions with less than 75 per cent. of EU gross domestic product under the draft EU regulations relating to 2014-2020 EU Structural Fund will be applied to Torbay requiring it to allocate 60 per cent. instead of 80 per cent. of its funding to the thematic objectives laid down by the regulations. [81111]
Mr Davey: Torbay falls within the Devon NUTS 2 region. The most recent Eurostat GDP figures for the Devon NUTS 2 region show its GDP per capita as 89.6% of the EU average for the period 2006-08. As such, under the Commission's draft regulations, it would currently be classified as a transition region. The Commission's draft regulations would require at least 80% of the European Regional Development Fund for transition regions nationally to be allocated to three thematic objectives, and at least 70% of European Social Fund for transition regions nationally to be allocated to four investment priorities. It is too early to determine how funding will be allocated between regions. It should also be noted that the final regulations are likely to be based on more recent GDP data for regions across Europe, which are not yet available through Eurostat.
European Union
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many members of his Department are working on the Government's examination of the balance of existing EU competences. [79812]
Mr Davey: The examination of these issues draws on existing resources.
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many ministerial-level meetings have been held in his Department during the Government's examination of the balance of existing European Union competences. [80246]
Mr Davey: The Department routinely hosts ministerial meetings on issues covered in the coalition agreement.
Export Controls: Arms Trade
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps he has taken to implement Council Regulation (EC) No. 1236/2005 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment or torture; and if he will make a statement. [81336]
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Mr Prisk: Council Regulation (EC) No. 1236/2005 has direct effect in the UK and is binding in its entirety. The only implementing measures necessary were to provide for offences and penalties for breaches of the provisions relating to technical assistance. These measures were implemented at the time the regulation came into force on 30 July 2006.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to develop a control mechanism to be incorporated into Council Regulation (EC) No. 1236/2005 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment or torture to allow Governments to prohibit the trade of any items not specifically listed in the Regulation that have no use other than for the purposes of inflicting the death penalty, torture or other ill-treatment, or where there are reasonable grounds to believe that such items would be used for such purposes; and if he will make a statement. [81337]
Mr Prisk: The Government do support this idea in principle and have invited the European Commission to work on a proposal. This would require an amendment to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1236/2005, and therefore require a proposal from the Commission, which would then need to be approved by the Council and European Parliament. The Commission has indicated that it will begin discussions on possible amendments to the regulation in 2012.
Export Credit Guarantees: Egypt
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much is owed to the UK by Egypt through the Export Credits Guarantee Scheme; and in what categories of expenditure. [78802]
Mr Davey: Outstanding debts owed by Egypt to the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) amount to £94.25 million. Egypt defaulted on the payment of its external debt in 1986 which resulted in ECGD paying claims in respect of export contracts it had supported prior to this date. ECGD (and other official creditors) is recovering the claims it paid through a debt restructuring with Egypt arranged by the Paris Club, an informal network of official creditor nations whose role is to achieve co-ordinated solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries. There are two rescheduling agreements dated 1987 and 1991.
Green Investment Bank
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) whether the green investment bank will have a function to invest in measures to improve air quality; and if he will make a statement; [80231]
(2) whether the green investment bank will have a role to invest in measures to protect and restore biodiversity; and if he will make a statement; [80310]
(3) whether the green investment bank will have a role to invest in measures to improve air quality; and if he will make a statement. [80445]
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Mr Prisk: The UK Government are committed to setting the UK firmly on the transition to a green and growing economy and the green investment bank will become a key component of this progression, complementing other green policies to help accelerate additional capital. Our intention is for the bank to be given a broad remit, with Ministers and the board agreeing priority sectors periodically and the bank making individual investment decisions against a double bottom line of green impact and financial return.
Higher Education: Admissions
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UCAS applications have been submitted by residents of (a) Sheffield Central constituency, (b) Sheffield, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) Yorkshire and the Humber in the 2011-12 admissions cycle to date; and how many such applications had been submitted during the equivalent period of the 2010-11 admissions cycle. [80419]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 14 November 2011]: The latest information is in the following table and has been provided by the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS).
UCAS have stated that year-on-year changes for all courses at this early stage in the cycle are often different from the position later in the cycle, and that it is too early in the cycle to extrapolate applicant volumes forward. The second table includes only those applicants who applied to courses with a deadline of 15 October. The main deadline for the majority of UCAS courses is 15 January.
| Applicants to UCAS as at 15 October by parliamentary constituency/region | ||
| Application cycle | ||
| Area of domicile | 2010-11 (1) | 2011-12 (2) |
| (1 )Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (2 )Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013. (3 )Parliamentary constituency has been identified using the home postcode, regardless of the declared area of permanent residence. | ||
| Applicants to courses with an 15 October deadline (1 ) by parliamentary constituency/region | ||
| Application cycle | ||
| Area of domicile | 2010-11 (2) | 2011-12 (3) |
| (1) These cover medical, dentistry and veterinary science courses, and courses at Oxbridge. (2 )Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (3 )Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013. (4) Parliamentary constituency has been identified using the home postcode, regardless of the declared area of permanent residence. | ||
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Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applicants to each higher education institution held an access to higher education qualification in each of the last 10 years. [80874]
Mr Willetts: The latest available information is given in the table. The identification of Access to Higher Education qualifications on the UCAS application system was improved from 2009 onwards. Earlier years are not comparable and have not been reported. Final end of year data for 2011 have not yet been released. Due to low cell counts for individual institutions, data have been aggregated up to the country of institution where the applicant applied.
| Applicants holding access to higher education qualifications by institution country applied to (1) | ||
| Year of entry (2) | ||
| Institution country applied to: | 2009 | 2010 |
| (1) Each applicant can submit up to five applications (or tour If they apply to medical, dentistry or veterinary courses). In this table, applicants have been counted once for each country they applied to. (2) Includes applicants who applied in each of these years for deferred entry in the following year. | ||
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many UCAS applications have been submitted by residents of (a) Leicester South constituency, (b) the City of Leicester, (c) Leicestershire and (d) the East Midlands in the 2011-12 admissions cycle to date; and how many such applications had been submitted on the same date in the 2010-11 admissions cycle. [81236]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 15 November 2011]: The latest information is in the following tables and has been provided by the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS).
UCAS have stated that year-on-year changes for all courses at this early stage in the cycle are often different from the position later in the cycle, and that it is too early in the cycle to extrapolate applicant volumes forward. The second table includes only those applicants who applied to courses with a deadline of 15 October. The main deadline for the majority of UCAS courses is 15 January.
| All applicants to UCAS as at 15 October by parliamentary constituency/region | ||
| Application cycle | ||
| 2010-11 (1) | 2011-12 (2) | |
| (1) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (2) Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013. | ||
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| Applicants to courses with a 15 October deadline(1 )by parliamentary constituency/region | ||
| Application cycle | ||
| Area of domicile | 2010-11 (2) | 2011-12 (3) |
| (1 )These cover medical, dentistry and veterinary science courses, and courses at Oxbridge. (2 )Applicants applying to enter courses stating in autumn 2011, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2012. (3 )Applicants applying to enter courses starting in autumn 2012, including those who applied for deferred entry in 2013. | ||
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applicants accepted to each higher education institution held an access to higher education qualification in each of the last 10 years. [81618]
Mr Willetts: The latest available information is given in the table. The identification of Access to Higher Education qualifications on the UCAS application system was improved from 2009 onwards. Earlier years are not comparable and have not been reported. Final end of year data for 2011 have not yet been released. Due to low cell counts for individual institutions, data have been aggregated up to the country of institution where the applicant was accepted.
| Accepted applicants holding Access to Higher Education qualifications by institution country | ||
| Institution country | Year of entry (1) | |
|
|
2009 | 2010 |
| (1) Includes applicants who applied in each of these years for deferred entry in the following year. | ||
Higher Education: Diabetes
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many universities have research units in diabetes that are publicly funded. [81184]
Mr Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) does not fund any units or centres devoted exclusively to diabetes research. However, the MRC has funded diabetes research projects in 38 organisations between 2008-09 and 2010-11, including 27 external organisations and 11 of the MRC's institutes, units and centres. These are listed in the following table.
| Medical Research Council organisations | External organisations |
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The MRC's biggest investment in diabetes research is at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, which is based on the Addenbrookes Hospital site in Cambridge. Further details on this unit can be found at:
http://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/
Full details of research funded by the MRC can be found on the MRC's research portfolio at:
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/ResearchPortfolio/index.htm
The Department of Health funds National Institute for Health Research biomedical research centres within leading NHS and university partnerships. Centres with a research theme in diabetes are shown in the following table.
| NHS organisation | Academic partner |
21 Nov 2011 : Column 149W
In addition, the Higher Education Funding Council for England provides funding to support excellent research across the breadth of disciplines within universities, which is used at individual universities' discretion.
Nuclear Suppliers Group
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanism has been put in place to monitor the actions of countries who are members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group when the Government notifies them of the refusal of export licences. [80639]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]: Consultations on denial notifications between members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) are an established feature of the regime. Issues of concern with NSG partners over denial notifications are raised on a bilateral basis or more widely in the various meetings of the NSG.
Office for Life Sciences
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what the resource budget of the Office for Life Sciences was in each year since it was established; [80558]
(2) how many full-time equivalent staff in each pay band were employed in the Office for Life Sciences in each year since it was established. [80559]
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Mr Willetts [holding answer 14 November 2011]: The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) was established in January 2009 comprising officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), HM Treasury, the Department of Health (DH) and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). The OLS had a remit to work with the life sciences industry to build a sustainable and integrated industry in the UK in the future. Its work culminated in the ‘Life Sciences Blueprint’, published in July 2009, followed by ‘Life Sciences 2010: Delivering the Life Sciences Blueprint’, published in January 2010.
In May 2010, the OLS was restructured with all staff now funded by the Department. The OLS continues to work closely and collaboratively with the Department of Health to ensure the UK maintains and builds on its world leading position in life sciences.
Table 1 contains details of the cross-departmental staff resources secured to run the OLS from February 2009 to May 2010. Table 2 contains details of staff allocated to the work of the OLS from May 2010 through to present day. The discrete numbers for OLS (in the second table) are thus, however, in addition we have a virtual team network across BIS and DH (and associated non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) which reaches out to some 25-30 people on an “as needed” basis for project work which crosses departmental and divisional boundaries.
| Table 1 | |||
| Grade | OLS | Dedicated to policy function in DH | Dedicated to function in BIS Bioscience Unit |
| Table 2 | |||||||
| Grade | May 2010 | June 2010 | September 2010 | November 2010 | April 2011 | July 2011 | November 2011 |
Given the cross-departmental working arrangements prior to May 2010, data relating to the resource budget are only available from that point, as follows:
| Financial year | Month | Budget (£) |
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Overseas Trade: South America
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to increase bilateral trade with (a) Chile, (b) Peru, (c) Uruguay, (d) Paraguay and (e) Bolivia; and if he will make a statement. [75288]
Mr Prisk: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)’s 2010 Canning Lecture confirmed the UK Government's plan to look again at Latin America in terms of political co-operation and trade and investment.
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) supports British companies by identifying opportunities, potential clients and partners in the market. Visits and business events are arranged to promote specific opportunities and raise the profile of UK companies. Over the last year, UKTI has helped companies in a wide range of sectors in Chile and Peru, including education, financial services, mining, energy, defence and security.
UKTI targets its overseas network, to ensure that resources are deployed in those markets where there is demand. A number of diplomatic positions have been created in Latin America to focus on the Government's prosperity and commercial diplomacy agenda.
UKTI does not have a presence in Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay. However, high-level support from our ambassadors in those countries is available, particularly in respect of contract negotiations or market access issues.
Pollution Control
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the (a) turnover, (b) level of employment and (c) level of exports attributable to the transport pollution control sector in each year to 2020. [80024]
Mr Prisk: HM Government have made no estimates regarding projected turnover, employment or exports relating to transport pollution control mechanisms.
Post Offices: Guisborough
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from Guisborough Town Council on Royal Mail privatisation. [80767]
Mr Davey: This Department's records do not show any representation from Guisborough Town Council on Royal Mail privatisation other than the petition presented to Parliament by the hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland on 9 November 2011 (P000977).
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the closure of the Guisborough Royal Mail Delivery Office on businesses in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. [81148]
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Mr Davey: Ensuring that Royal Mail has the right facilities in the right places to enable it to collect, process, and deliver mail is an operational matter for the company. I have therefore asked the chief executive of Royal Mail, Moya Greene, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Post Offices: Suffolk
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been paid in Post Office Network Subsidy to (a) each county in England, (b) Suffolk and (c) Suffolk Coastal constituency in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011. [81410]
Mr Davey: The Government provide an annual subsidy to Post Office Ltd. This is in recognition of the important social and economic role that post offices play in communities across the country in providing access to services in communities where other providers do not. This subsidy is granted to enable Post Office Ltd to maintain a national network of around 11,500 branches and to meet the strict Government access criteria. The subsidy is not distributed by country, county, or constituency.
In the last financial year (2010/11) the Government made a subsidy payment of £150 million. This financial year (2011/12) the Government will make a subsidy payment of £180 million.
Public Sector Employee Bids
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what steps he is taking to put in place a right to provide for public sector workers to take over the running of services; and if he will make a statement; [74772]
(2) what steps his Department has taken to encourage the development of public service mutuals in its area of responsibility; and if he will make a statement. [74841]
Mr Davey: The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), announced in November 2010 that every Department will put in place Rights to Provide to take over the running of services. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), is working with Cabinet Office to consider whether areas of central Government work, and other work areas for which BIS has responsibility, are appropriate for developing public sector mutuals.
Within BIS work is being carried out on:
The Government believe Post Office Ltd could be ideally suited to a mutual model, with those that know it best working together, with a greater say in how the business is run, as well as a stake in its success.
A public consultation, “Building a Mutual Post Office”, was launched on 19 September and sets out options to move the Post Office from Government ownership to a mutual model.
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It proposes mixed membership to give sub-postmasters, employees, post office customers and local communities a direct role in setting the strategic direction of the business. The Postal Services Act 2011 requires any mutualised Post Office Ltd to act for the public benefit.
Converting Post Office Ltd—the national company that sets the strategy for the post office network and operates some of the larger, ‘Crown' branches—to a mutual would not affect the ownership of the thousands of privately-owned post office branches up and down the country.
Subject to consultation, the Government believe that the Post Office could be on a clear path to mutualisation by the end of this Parliament.
Forms of mutualisation are part of the wide range of delivery models that further education colleges, as independent providers of publicly-funded further education services, can consider when determining how best to meet the needs of their local communities. A number of colleges are considering mutualisation approaches and this Department is following their progress with interest.
Regional Growth Fund
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2011, Official Report, columns 111-12W, on Regional Growth Fund, what procedures (a) he and (b) his officials have used to verify the estimates of indirect job creation supplied by successful bidders to the second round of the Regional Growth Fund. [81054]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]: All of the figures for indirect job creation from the winning bids announced from the second round of the Regional Growth Fund on 31 October 2011 were taken directly from the bids submitted from successful bidders. Where direct or indirect jobs were incorrectly classified, jobs were put under the correct heading. Successful bidders who have completed due diligence and have received final grant offer letters, will provide the Department with reports on the progress of their projects including the number of jobs created (as provided in their bid) against which they will be able to draw down funding.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2011, Official Report, columns 111-12W, on Regional Growth Fund, how many of the recommended bids put forward for the second round of the Regional Growth Fund by its independent advisory panel were rejected by the Ministerial Group chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister. [81055]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]: The independent advisory panel was set up to provide advice to Ministers to inform their decisions. This advice was not public, but Ministers took this advice into account when deciding which bids should be supported.
In line with the constitutional convention of collective decision-making, and section 2 of the Ministerial Code, the Government do not disclose details of the internal process through which decisions are taken.
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Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when recipients of the first round of Regional Growth Fund awards were notified in writing of the amount they will receive; and when due diligence for each award was completed. [81105]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]: All successful bidders from the first round of Regional Growth Fund were notified of the outcome of their bid by e-mail on 11 April 2011. So far, nine individual bids have completed due diligence and have been issued with final offer letters.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when due diligence for the award of monies from the first round of the Regional Growth Fund was started; when such due diligence was completed; and when recipients were notified in writing that due diligence had been completed. [81106]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]:It is for successful bidders to initiate due diligence upon receipt of a conditional offer letter from the Department. A majority of successful bids from the first round are going through due diligence and we expect the reports to be sent to the Department soon. So far, nine individual bids have completed due diligence and have been issued with final offer letters.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what the cost was of due diligence associated with each of the recipients of the first round of Regional Growth Fund awards; and what proportion such costs represented of the respective amount of the award; [81107]
(2) whether recipients of Regional Growth Fund awards are liable for due diligence costs associated with respective projects. [81108]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]:It is for successful bidders to pay the cost of due diligence.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which of the recipients of the first round of Regional Growth Fund awards provide onward distribution of financial awards. [81109]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]:Of the successful bids from Round 1 of the Regional Growth Fund, six bids will provide onward distribution of financial awards. They are:
Community Development Finance Association
RBS and NatWest Regional Growth Scheme
Capital for Enterprise Ltd
HSBC
Liverpool Echo
University of Plymouth (The South West Aspire Fund)
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when completion of due diligence by recipients of the first round of Regional Growth Fund awards will be completed where it has not yet been completed; what funds have been received by recipients of such awards; and when recipients will receive any outstanding monies. [81229]
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Mr Prisk [holding answer 15 November 2011]:Time scales for due diligence are driven by the individual commercial considerations of the beneficiaries, so it is not possible to give a date for completion.
Instalments of Regional Growth Fund funding are normally transferred to beneficiaries within 30 days of receiving a valid claim. There are no beneficiaries with a claim for funding outstanding at this time.
Regional Growth Fund: Warrington
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many bids for money from the Regional Growth Fund were made by organisations in Warrington in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many of those were successful. [80332]
Mr Prisk: 28 bids that will have an impact in the Warrington area (this includes bids from organisations in Warrington which could have an impact in more than one area) were received in the second round of the Regional Growth Fund. Of these, 15 bids were successful.
Research: Costs
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the rate at which research costs are changing. [79764]
Mr Willetts: The Government have protected research spending by ring fencing the annual £4.6 billion resource budget for science and research for this spending review period, committing itself to investing over £20 billion in science and research by 2015.
At the time of the settlement, the Government were using the GDP deflator which came close to 10% by the end of SR10. The Government recognise that general inflation forecasts will vary over time and calculations of specific inflation rates in particular sectors will give variations around those.
Science: Higher Education
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage universities to offer more science, technology, engineering and mathematics qualifications in higher education. [78359]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 7 November 2011]:Following the publication of the Higher Education White Paper in June, Ministers wrote to Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) instructing the Council that meeting the additional costs of high cost subjects remains a priority for teaching funding for 2012/13. Ministers asked HEFCE to consult, over the summer, on how this might best be achieved and will issue final instructions in the grant letter, due around the turn of the year. Ministers also asked HEFCE to consult, in winter, on the longer term approach to allocating teaching funding, for 2013/14 and beyond, and, in particular, on how to ensure that this funding continues to support a healthy mix of subjects (including science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
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The Government also understand that science, technology, engineering and maths skills are vital to businesses, health and research, and want to ensure that students are more aware of the value of undertaking these courses at HE institutions. The Higher Education White Paper also outlined a strategy for improving the information published by HE institutions which have been asked to do more to explain the benefits of studying different subjects so that potential students can make informed choices about what to study.
Scotland
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of contracts issued by (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which he is responsible were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in (i) Scotland, (ii) South Lanarkshire and (iii) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in the latest period for which figures are available. [60194]
Mr Davey: Information on the Department's procurement spend level with small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in September 2011 will shortly be compiled and placed in the Libraries of the House in December. This will include details of the proportion of spend with SMEs in (i) Scotland, (ii) South Lanarkshire and (iii) Rutherglen and Hamilton West for that period.
I have asked chief executives of the Executive agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member.
Letter from Geoff Russell, dated 14 June 2011:
Thank you for your parliamentary question addressed to the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, asking what proportion of contracts issued by the Skills Funding Agency (the Agency) were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in (i) Scotland, (ii) South Lanarkshire and (iii) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.
Please be advised the Agency has not awarded any contracts to small and medium-sized enterprises in any of the areas stated above in the latest period for which figures are available.
Letter from Dr David Williams:
Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills asking what proportion of contracts issued by (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which he is responsible were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in (i) Scotland, (ii) South Lanarkshire and (iii) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in the latest period for which figures are available. (60194)
The UK Space Agency became an executive agency on the 1st April 2011 and no contracts have been awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in (i) Scotland, (ii) South Lanarkshire and (iii) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency since 1st April 2011.
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question what proportion of contracts issued by (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which he is responsible were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in (i) Scotland, (ii) South Lanarkshire and (iii) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.
Although The Insolvency Service contracts for goods and services in Scotland, its organisational presence there is limited. The centrally-managed contracts serving our Edinburgh office are mainly with companies too large to be considered SMEs. However in financial year 2010 to 2011, one of the six legal
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services providers on our legal services framework, total value estimated at £20 million, is an SME and falls into category (i) above.
Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 8 (th) July 2011:
I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 13 June 2011, UIN 60194 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
As Companies House's main office is in South Wales only 2.4% of our contracts in the last financial year were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in Scotland, and none in South Lanarkshire or Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituencies.
Letter from Peter Mason, dated 28 September 2011:
I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (formerly National Weights and Measures Laboratory) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 13 June 2011 (reference 2010/5788) to the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills asking what proportion of contracts issued by (a) his Department and (b) Agencies for which he is responsible were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in (i) Scotland, (ii) South Lanarkshire and (iii) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.
The National Measurement Office does not maintain details of the contracts it awards in a manner which can readily be analysed to identify whether the supplier is a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).
However, having identified invoices we have paid during the Financial Year 2010/11 to Scottish suppliers directly, we are able to confirm the following:
Several invoices were paid in respect of work carried out by TUV NEL Ltd. They are based in South Lanarkshire but not in your constituency. They are not an SME.
One invoice was paid in respect of work carried out by what appears to be an SME in Scotland (but not in South Lanarkshire or your constituency).
One invoice was paid in respect of work carried out by what appears to be an SME in South Lanarkshire (but not in your constituency).
In addition, we make a large number of purchases using the Government Procurement Card but we would not be able to identify Scottish suppliers from our data without incurring disproportionate costs.
Letter from John Alty, dated 10 November 2011:
I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 13th June 2011, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Intellectual Property Office has had no contracts awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in (i) Scotland, (ii) South Lanarkshire and (iii) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.
Students: Finance
John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many cases of non-payment of tuition fee loans by EU students are being pursued by Student Finance England. [78735]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 8 November 2011]: The figures are available at table 1 (iii) within the Official Statistics for the tax year 2000-01 to 2009-10 inclusive which is accessible at:
http://www.slc.co.uk/pdf/SLCOSP022011.pdf
The Student Loan Company (SLC) has established repayment arrangements for former students who move abroad, whether temporarily or permanently. In such cases the SLC requests evidence of earnings and gives the borrower a monthly repayment schedule under the terms of the contract of the loan.
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If any borrowers are due to repay and are not doing so, the SLC will not write off loans but will continue to recover arrears and outstanding balances until they expire. SLC use tracing agents to locate borrowers and will pursue any such borrowers through the courts, if necessary.
EC Regulation 44/2001 enables the SLC to obtain judgments in UK courts, which can be enforced by courts in other EU countries. These judgments can be enforced against any borrower who has moved to another EU member state, regardless of nationality.
SLC is currently in the process of raising court action against a number of overseas residents. The actual number who will be taken to court is not yet known, because raising such action often leads to borrowers contacting the SLC to arrange repayment.
Students: Loans
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from former students with student loans on the service they have received from those administering their loan repayment. [79769]
Mr Willetts: We do receive complaints about problems encountered with the collection of student loans. However, this Department does not hold records of the number of representations we receive from borrowers on the service they have received from those administering their loan repayment. To put this into context, at the end of 2010-11, there were 3.5 million borrowers and, of these, 2.3 million had accounts liable for repayment.
Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure the efficient administration of student loans. [79770]
Mr Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills reviews the performance of the Student Loans Company (SLC) regularly. SLC is committed to improving the quality of service it delivers. Steps this year included the introduction of an electronic link with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to verify household income, meaning SLC was able to process the majority of new students' applications for means-tested support without asking customers to send in paper copies of financial evidence.
Supermarkets: Competition
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the Groceries Code Adjudicator to be in place. [78648]
Mr Davey: The draft Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill has undergone pre-legislative scrutiny, and Parliament published the Government's response to the BIS Select Committee report on 15 October 2011. We now aim to introduce a Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows.
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TICC Skillcentres: Redundancy
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many employees were made redundant when the Training for Industry and Commerce Company skills training centres went into liquidation; and how many of such employees received ex-gratia payments from the public purse. [81359]
Mr Davey: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 29 October 2008, Official Report , column 1077W; 16 October 2008, Official Report, column 1428W; and 6 October 2008, Official Report, column 292W.
Training: Internet
Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the criteria are for mentors to be considered appropriate to be featured on the Mentors Me website. [81007]
Mr Prisk: All of the organisations available via the portal have been assessed to ensure that they meet certain quality standards including:
a programme of training and development of mentors;
a robust process for identifying and matching mentors and mentees; and
a code of conduct or code of ethics.
Any organisation wishing to be listed on the portal must sign up to and adhere to these requirements. The type of training for individual mentors will be determined by the mentoring organisation to which they belong and will vary according to the way in which that mentoring organisation works, the type of mentoring being delivered, and the experience of the mentor. All mentoring organisations on the portal train and develop their mentors and many organisations also encourage their mentors to move towards accreditation.
UK Trade & Investment: Expenditure
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much UK Trade & Investment spent in (a) the EU and (b) each other European country in the last year for which figures are available. [80984]
Mr Prisk [holding answer 14 November 2011]:The full economic cost of UKTI operations in 2010/11 was:
(a) £49.5 million in the EU; and
(b) £14.1 million in wider Europe, comprised of:
|
|
£ million |
| (1) Separate figures unavailable | |
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UK Trade & Investment: Finance
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding the Government plan to provide to UK Trade & Investment to promote the UK's low-carbon and environmental goods and services sector in each year to 2014-15. [80011]
Mr Prisk: It is not possible to provide details of UK Trade and Investment funding in future years as these budgets have yet to be finalised.
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Government have provided to UK Trade & Investment to promote the UK's low carbon and environmental goods and services sector in each year since 2000. [80012]
Mr Prisk: UK Trade & Investment promotes UK low carbon and environmental goods and services across all sectors of the economy through its overseas posts, sectors group and regional networks. Given the breadth of activity across sectors and teams within UKTI it is not possible to dissociate the exact funding provided to deliver these services.
Utilities
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times he has met representatives of (a) EDF Energy, (b) RWE nPower, (c) E.ON, (d) Scottish Power, (e) British Gas and (f) Scottish and Southern Energy since May 2010; and if he will publish minutes of such meetings. [80017]
Mr Davey: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has had one meeting with each of EDF Energy and RWE nPower, and no meetings with any of the other companies listed.
We do not propose to publish the notes of these meetings as they contain commercially confidential information. It is essential to the trust on which meaningful dialogue with business is founded that companies are assured that Government will respect commercial confidentiality.
Vocational Education
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students in (a) England and (b) the United Kingdom began a course in (i) Level 2 Certificate in Electrotechnical Technology, (ii) Level 3 Certificate in Electrotechnical Technology, (iii) Level 2 Certificate in Basic Plumbing Studies, (iv) Level 3 Certificate in Plumbing Studies, (v) Level 2 Certificate in Heating and Ventilation and (vi) Level 3 Certificate in Heating and Ventilation in academic year 2011-12; and what the cost to the public purse was of funding each such course. [79016]
Mr Hayes: Table 1 shows the number of Government-funded further education and skills enrolments on certificates in electrotechnical technology, plumbing studies, and heating and ventilation installation courses by level in 2009/10, the latest year for which final data are available.
The figures include enrolments across all further education learning routes, including further education, apprenticeships, workplace learning, adult safeguarded learning and university for industry funding streams.
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| Table 1: Further education enrolments on certificates in electrotechnical technology, plumbing studies and heating and ventilation installation courses by level in 2009/10 | |||
| Enrolments | |||
| Learning aim title | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total |
| Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, totals may not sum to due to rounding. 2. These data include Further Education, Apprenticeships, Work Based Learning, Adult Safeguarded Learning and University for Industry funding streams. 3. These data represent the number of enrolments matching these aim titles only. Source: Individualised Learner Record | |||
Information on further education and skills participation, enrolments and achievements is published in a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27 October 2011:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
Information on further education and skills enrolments by aim title for academic years 2007/08 to 2009/10 is available in the National Aims Report:
http://mireportslibrary.thedataservice.org.uk/learners/
Table 2 provides the funding rates for certificates in electrotechnical technology, plumbing studies, and heating and ventilation installation courses by level in the 2009/10 academic year.
| Table 2: Funding rates for certificates in electrotechnical technology, plumbing studies and heating and ventilation installation courses by level in 2009/10 | |||||
| £ | |||||
| Skills Funding Agency (19+) | |||||
| Learning aim title | Level | Young People's Learning Agency (16-18) | Adult Learner Responsive | Workplace Learning | Apprenticeships (19+) |
| (1) Not funded Note: The rates represent the notional level of funding for a particular qualification. They do not necessarily represent the actual amount of funding paid to providers. This is because allocations are made at provider level based on aggregated data, so can not be disaggregated to qualification level. Source: Young People’s Learning Agency (for ages 16 to 18) and Skills Funding Agency (for ages 19+) | |||||
In the 2011/12 academic year further education colleges and providers had an adult skills budget with earmarked investment for 19+ apprenticeships. We believe that only those qualifications which are aligned with the needs of employers, and recognised by them, should be funded. This is supported by the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF). Therefore, in line with the migration of qualifications onto the QCF, from the 2011/12 academic year, only the certificates in electrotechnical technology at levels 2 and 3 remain eligible for funding through 19+ apprenticeships.
Justice
Bereaved Organisations Committee
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2011, Official Report, column 256W, on coroners, whether representatives of any faith groups will sit on his proposed Bereaved Organisations Committee. [81284]
Mr Djanogly: We are currently considering the composition of the Bereaved Organisations Committee. If it is not practicable for faith groups to be represented on the committee itself then we will work with it to determine how faith issues will be properly represented in its work.
Equality and Diversity
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent steps his Department has taken to increase equality in his Department; and what the cost was of any such steps. [80826]
Mr Blunt: As a Department, MoJ is working to embed equality and diversity as a normal part of everyday business. As an employer the MoJ is committed to ensuring that our policies are fair and accessible to all, and as a provider of services, that this is done so in a way that meets the aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty (Equality Act 2010).
Recent initiatives have included: the launch of a Reasonable Adjustment Support Service to help ensure disabled staff are effectively supported and able to contribute fully to delivering the business of the Department; in-house development of e-learning to support staff in challenging discrimination; Prison Service and Agency Instructions on ensuring equality of treatment for staff in National Offender Management Service
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headquarters and public sector prison establishments; new guidance to ensure staff performance management is effective and fair; and work to better understand the demographic make up of our staff and any specific needs that will help us ensure they are fully engaged and performing at their best. This work has been undertaken as part of normal business as usual activity and is not costed separately.
Departmental Internet
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many unique hits his departmental website has received in each of the last 12 months. [80836]
Mr Djanogly: The following table shows the number of unique visitors to www.justice.gov.uk in each of the last 12 months, the total number of visits made by them and the number of pages viewed. Traffic to the website has increased following the closure of a number of other websites, such as Her Majesty's Courts Service and Her Majesty's Prison Service, and incorporation of the content of those websites in www.justice.gov.uk
|
|
Visits | Visitors | Page views |
Judicial Review
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what applications for judicial review have been made against his Department (a) in the last Parliament and (b) since May 2010; whether each such application (i) succeeded, (ii) failed and (iii) remains pending; what legal costs were incurred by his Department for each such application; in each failed application whether he applied for costs against the applicant and whether they were (A) awarded and (B) paid; whether his Department (1) paid for and (2) offered to pay for the legal costs incurred by each such applicant; and what the total cost to the public purse was of payment of the legal costs for each such applicant. [80716]
Mr Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was created in June 2007 when some functions of the Home Office (probation, prisons and prevention of reoffending) were combined with those of the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA). We have therefore provided data for the MoJ, and the DCA and the relevant functions of the Home Office transferred to the MoJ prior to its creation.
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The information provided only covers those judicial review applications where Treasury Solicitor (TSol) represented the Department. It does not include those matters that are dealt with directly by individual courts or tribunals, or those few in which TSol were not instructed. This information is not recorded centrally or in a manner that is easily retrievable and the cost of collating it would be disproportionate.
The following data from 2007 include MoJ Corporate and Headquarters, National Offender Management Service, HM Prison Service, Legal Services Complaints Commissioner, National Probation Service, Special Educational Needs Tribunal, Youth Justice Board and HM Courts and Tribunals Service when TSol have acted. Some cases included in the data commenced before the creation of MoJ but were carried across to the new Department as ongoing matters. For consistency those case data have been mapped across as appropriate.
An assumption has been made that the last parliamentary period began in May 2005 and ended in April 2010, a precise breakdown of information requested for the actual parliamentary dates would require more a detailed examination of the files which would incur disproportionate costs.
The number of judicial review applications against the MoJ and the areas of the Departments that were moved across to it opened by TSol in the applicable time periods are:
For the period May 2005 to April 2010: 2,316 judicial review case files were opened.
Since the creation of MoJ in May 2007 to April 2010: 1,675 judicial review case files were opened.
Since May 2010: 1,054 judicial review case files have been opened.
The outcome of judicial review applications is not recorded centrally and can not be provided without searching through each file individually which would incur disproportionate costs.
As of 15 November 2011 TSol had 874 open files relating to applications for judicial review against the Department. It should be noted that there is no correlation between this figure and the number of opened cases in any period.
Information on the legal costs of each application is not kept centrally or in a manner that can be easily broken down without searching through each file individually which would incur disproportionate costs.
The total costs for the cases on file with TSol include VAT, TSol fees, charges and disbursements but do not include costs of other parties or any damages paid. This information is not recorded centrally or in a manner that can be easily collated without incurring disproportionate costs.
Costs on the 2,316 cases opened between May 2005 and April 2010 are £11,778,598.
Since the creation of MoJ in May 2007, costs on the 1,675 cases opened to April 2010 are £7,753,116.
Since May 2010 costs for the 1,054 cases opened are £3,261,433.
Departmental Manpower
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees his Department had in each year since 1997. [80837]
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Mr Kenneth Clarke: Since 1997 there has been a significant number of machinery of government changes, which resulted in the establishment of the Ministry of Justice in May 2007. These changes included the establishment of the Department of Constitutional Affairs from the Lord Chancellor’s Department in June 2003; the creation of Her Majesty's Courts Service from the Magistrates Courts Service and the Court Service in April 2005; the setting up of the Tribunals Service from other Government Departments in April 2006; and the establishment of HM Courts and Tribunal Service in April 2011.
Along with the organisational changes, the management information systems and the data they hold have been subject to significant change. As a consequence, any information on numbers of staff in all the Department's predecessors for 1997 onwards can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
However, it is possible to provide recently published information on civil servants for the Ministry from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) website. The following links provide workforce statistics and profiles (including working patterns) for the Ministry and other Government Departments:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/civil-service-statistics/2007/civil-service-statistics.xls
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/civil-service-statistics/2008/civil-service-statistics.xls
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/civil-service-statistics/2009/civil-service-statistics.xls
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/civil-service-statistics/2010-results/civil-service-statistics-2010-data-summary-tool.xls
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-229310
Disability Living Allowance: Appeals
Mrs McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the average waiting time was between submission of an appeal against a decision on the award of disability living allowance and the date of the appeal hearing in each local authority area or at the lowest available recording level; [81022]
(2) how many people are awaiting a tribunal hearing after having been refused disability living allowance in each local authority area or at the lowest available recording area for the most recent period for which figures are available; [81023]
(3) how many people appealing against the withdrawal of disability living allowance have had the date of their appeal hearing brought forward on grounds of hardship in each local authority area or at the lowest available recording area for the most recent period for which figures are available. [81024]
Mr Djanogly:
Data for the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tribunal cannot be provided by local authority area. All appeals to the tribunal are registered
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in the processing centre in the region where the appellant lives, and data can be broken down to the level of these processing centres.
The following table shows the average time from receipt at HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to hearing for disability living allowance (DLA) appeals for the area served by each processing centre. The information covers 1 April 2011 to 30 September 2011, the latest period for which figures are available.
| Disability living allowance appeals average waiting time by processing centre | |
| Processing centre | September 2011 —Y ear to date (week s ) |
Claimants can appeal to the tribunal on a number of different grounds, such as the rate of benefit awarded or refusal of benefit. The tribunal does not record the issue under appeal and, therefore, cannot isolate data relating to appeals on the basis of having been refused DLA. The total number of “live” DLA appeals (appeals at various stages of the process before hearing or decision) at 30 September 2011, the most recent period for which statistics have been published, was 42,600, down from 44,500 at the end of June 2011.
A regional breakdown of those data has not previously been published. As the management information system for SSCS is a live system which is continuously updated, it is not possible to provide retrospective data on the number of live cases by region which would be consistent with the official published statistics. I will, therefore, arrange for the numbers of live appeals in each area at end December to be provided to the right hon. Lady when those data are published as official statistics in March 2012.
The tribunal does not record the number of appeals rescheduled for an earlier hearing. Information on the number of people appealing against the withdrawal of disability living allowance that have had the date of their appeal hearing brought forward on grounds of hardship is, therefore, unavailable.