Prisons: Drugs
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what rehabilitation programmes are offered to prisoners with drug addictions in prisons. [100799]
Mr Blunt: A number of programmes have been developed by NOMS and other providers of service, designed to address the needs of offenders with drug addictions.
Offenders who are identified as having a substance misuse issue can access amongst others the following programmes:
Building Skills for Recovery (to be rolled out later this year),
Prisoners Addressing Substance Related Offending (P-ASRO),
P-ASRO for Women,
Short Duration Programme (SDP),
FOCUS Programme,
Prisons Partnership 12 Step,
Prisons Partnership Therapeutic Community Programme,
Rehabilitation of Addicted Prisoners trust 12 Step programme,
Bridges.
In addition the Alcohol Related Violence and COVAID programmes address alcohol and related violence and RAPt also provide an accredited alcohol treatment programme.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total capacity is of each drug-free prison wing. [100801]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service is committed to expand the provision of drug free wings and to assess the potential benefits which may be realised.
There are currently six prisons involved in a pilot study for drug free wings. They are at an early stage in developing the shape of their wings and have yet to decide on their capacity.
There are a number of prisons not in the pilot study that have developed their own framework for drug free wings but information on capacity is not held centrally.
Probation: Cambridgeshire
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in (a) Peterborough constituency and (b) North West Cambridgeshire constituency are being managed under multi-agency public protection arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [100682]
Mr Blunt: Data held centrally on offenders managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) is at police force area level only. Constituency level data is not collected or held centrally; to provide this information now would incur disproportionate costs.
The number of offenders managed in the Cambridgeshire MAPPA area as a whole on 31 March 2011 was 726. These data were published in Cambridgeshire's MAPPA report on 27 October 2011.
A copy of this report is available on the MoJ website at the following address:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/corporate-reports/Mappa/mappa-cambridgeshire-2011.pdf
Procurement
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of contracts issued by (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which he is responsible were rewarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in the latest period for which figures are available. [100373]
Mr Blunt: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has issued 697 contracts from April 2011 to February 2012, of which, 460 contracts where awarded to small and medium sized enterprises.
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The MoJ does not hold contracts issued by its agencies centrally. This information can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost to the Department, by a number of staff manually contacting and reviewing each agency.
Work Experience
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 4 May 2011, Official Report, column 798W, on departmental work experience, how many people (a) worked as an intern, (b) undertook a work experience placement and (c) worked as a volunteer in his Department in accordance with the hiring criteria set out in that answer in the last 12 months for which data are available; and how many such people were employed other than according to those criteria. [100739]
Mr Djanogly: In the answer of 4 May 2011, Official Report, column 798W, it was confirmed that the Ministry of Justice did not currently run its own scheme to offer work experience placements and internships to students. Consequently, there is no published guidance or hiring criteria available and no records are held centrally of the total number of persons undertaking unpaid work experience or as volunteers.
However, the Ministry, as part of the Summer Diversity Internship Programme and the Whitehall Internship Programme, provided six placements in 2011 and plans to offer six placements in 2012.
The Ministry is currently developing policy and guidance for work experience, work placements, graduate placements, internships and academic placements.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to provide a substantive response to Questions (a) 95743, (b) 95744 and (c) 95745 tabled on 17 February 2012 for named day answer on 22 February 2012. [101208]
Mr Blunt: A substantive response was sent to the hon. Member on 19 March.
Young Offenders: Sentencing
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of and how many (a) people, (b) women and (c) members of black and minority ethnic groups aged 18 to 24-years-old were on community and custodial sentences for a first-time offence in each year since 2008. [101173]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of offenders aged 18 to 24 who were sentenced to a community sentence or to immediate custody for an indictable offence and the number and proportion of these who had no previous convictions or cautions. The figures cover offenders sentenced between 2008 and 2010 in England and Wales as recorded on the Police National Computer. These are the latest available figures for a calendar year and are derived from the data used to produce table A7.12 in Criminal Justice System Statistics, England and Wales 2010. Equivalent figures for 2011 are not yet available.
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These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.
Youth Custody: Per Capita Costs
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the Youth Justice Board will pay on average per place in a (a) local authority secure children's home, (b) secure training centre and (c) young offender institution as of 2 April 2012; and if he will make a statement. [100718]
Mr Blunt: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) are in the process of finalising agreements with providers of secure accommodation for the prices it will pay as of 1 April 2012. The average sector prices from 1 April 2011 are set out in the following table.
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| Service | Average cost per place per year as of 1 April 2011 (£) (1) |
| (1) To the nearest £000. Notes: 1. These are costs to the YJB as at 1 April 2011. They are not intended to represent the total cost of providing custody and related services to young people. For example, they do not include YJB funding to NOMS Prisoner Escort Management (PEM) for the provision of Prison Escort and Custodial Services (PECS) for young people. They also do not include YJB funding for Reliance Escorts, who undertake movements for sentenced young people between courts and Secure Training Centres and Secure Children's Homes and for transfers between these sectors. 2. Advocacy Services funded by the YJB are included in STC and YOI costs, based upon a full year's budget allocation calculated using prices as at 1 April 2011. 3. For the YOI Sector price: (a) As at 1 April 2011, the YJB is working with NOMS to decommission young people's places at HMYOI Stoke Heath and 17 of the 26 places on the Rivendell Unit at HMP and YOI New Hall. The full costs for both these establishments have been used; (b) For public YOIs, the NOMS business rates, maintenance charges and capital charges have been estimated based upon 2009-10 levels and revised to reflect changes to the Youth Estate due to decommissioning since that time. The 2011-12 charges are currently being agreed by NOMS and the YJB; (c) YJB funding for the contract for Lucy Faithfull Foundation services is included; (d) YJB funding for the Juvenile Awareness Staff Programme (JASP) is included. | |
Business, Innovation and Skills
Banks
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has had discussions on the creation of regional banking system in the UK based on the model of the (a) Swiss cantonal banks and (b) German Sparkasse. [99381]
Mr Prisk: The Government are committed to a stable financial services sector which meets the need for small firms' access to finance. The Government actively consider the variety of financial systems in place across Europe, and BIS officials frequently meet with representatives from the devolved regions and other countries to discuss differing banking models and their relevance to the UK.
Business
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has met the Federation of Small Businesses to consider its proposals for a Small Business Administration. [99970]
Mr Prisk: I regularly meet with the Federation of Small Businesses, both bilaterally and through the Small Business Economic Forum, to discuss a number of issues relevant to small businesses. While we have not specifically discussed recent calls for the creation of a Small Business Administration (SBA) to represent the interests of small businesses, we are aware of this proposal.
We believe all Government Departments should understand and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and as Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, I and officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' Enterprise Directorate are responsible for promoting small businesses in Whitehall. In addition, the Prime Minister has appointed my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Young of Graffham to advise him on enterprise issues.
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Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what consideration he has given to establishing a Small Business Administration; [99971]
(2) what assessment he has made of the work of the Small Business Administration in the US. [99972]
Mr Prisk: The Government are aware of the Federation of Small Businesses' recent calls for the creation of a Small Business Administration (SBA) to represent the interests of small businesses.
We believe all Government Departments should understand and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and as Minister for Business and Enterprise, I and officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' Enterprise Directorate are responsible for promoting small businesses in Whitehall. In addition, the Prime Minister has appointed my noble Friend, Lord Young of Graffham, to advise him on enterprise issues.
There are three main areas covered by the SBA in the US, namely: government-backed loans to strengthen access to capital for small businesses, the provision of business support and leading federal government's efforts to ensure that 23% of federal contracts go to small businesses. In the UK, we are already active in these areas. We have announced credit easing which will see £20 billion of Government guarantees utilised to increase the supply of affordable credit through the new National Loan Guarantee Scheme and we have extended the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme until 2014/15, providing, subject to demand, over £2 billion of additional lending to viable SMEs. We have transformed the way we enable businesses to access the information, advice and guidance they need to start and grow their business including:
an improved Business Link website:
www.businesslink.gov.uk
which includes a new Growth and Improvement Service, offering a range of business tools and an updated events management system; and My New Business, a comprehensive tailored start-up service providing online tools and training for those looking to start a business;
a Business Link helpline:
0845 600 9006
which will support people who are unable to access the internet or have difficulty in doing so;
a mentoring portal:
www.mentorsme.co.uk
(launched July 2011), provides a single point of access for those seeking mentoring and those seeking to be mentors across the UK. The site connects small businesses with mentoring organisations that can support and guide their development.
And like the US, we have an aspiration that by May 2015, 25% of the value of Government contracts, both directly and via the supply chain, should be awarded to SMEs by removing the barriers faced by small businesses and eliminating complexities and waste in the process.
In addition, the Government have taken action to reduce the burden of regulation on the smallest businesses at both a domestic and a European level, for example through the microbusiness regulatory moratorium announced in the Plan for Growth.
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Business: Regulation
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the Regulatory Policy Committee traffic light system. [99843]
Mr Prisk: The operation of the Regulatory Policy Committee traffic light system is explained in the Committee's most recent report, ‘Improving Regulation’. The report is available at:
http://regulatorypolicycommittee.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/rpc-report-improving-regulation-march-2012-final.pdf
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the remit of the Regulatory Policy Committee in respect of the national minimum wage. [99844]
Mr Prisk: The Regulatory Policy Committee provides independent advice on the quality of analysis and evidence supporting all new regulatory and deregulatory proposals, including the national minimum wage.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will commission a review of the regulatory architecture, including one-in one-out and the Regulatory Policy Committee. [99845]
Mr Prisk: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to him on 9 February 2012, Official Report, columns 399-400W.
Business: Research
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what data is collected by his Department on the level of research, science and innovation in businesses in the UK. [100588]
Mr Willetts [holding answer 19 March 2012]: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills collects data on innovation in businesses through the UK Innovation Survey, which can be found on the BIS website. The Innovation survey is the main source of information on business innovation in the UK, carried out every two years since 2005, and every four years before then. It provides a regular snapshot of innovation inputs and outputs and the constraints faced by UK businesses in their innovation efforts, across the range of UK industries and business enterprises. First results from the next wave of the innovation survey, providing the UK data covering the period 2008-10, are due to be published in the coming months.
Data on the levels of research in businesses are collected by the Office for National Statistics. The Business Enterprise Research and Development survey provides information on Research and Development (R&D) expenditure in the UK by business enterprises, R&D employment and sources of funds. The survey information is broken down into detailed product groups such as aerospace or pharmaceuticals to identify the destination of business expenditure on R&D. The latest figures for the survey were published in November 2011 and indicated that total R&D expenditure by UK businesses in 2010 was £16.1 billion.
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Environmental Protection: Industry
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has any plans to update the low-carbon industrial strategy published in 2009. [100770]
Mr Prisk: The Government published Enabling the Transition to a Green Economy in August 2011, which sets out the policies we are using to support the transition to a green economy and the low carbon and environmental goods and services sector. This publication outlines the range of levers we are using to drive green growth, including the Green Investment Bank.
EU Trade
Mark Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received on protectionism by (a) EU member states and (b) businesses in other member states. [100162]
Norman Lamb: We have not received any recent specific representations on protectionism but the issue does arise from time to time in European Council working group discussions and Trade and Competitiveness Council meetings. However, we are concerned that many barriers remain to a fully functioning single market and we are working with the European Commission and other member states to remove these. We recently had some conspicuous success with this in the January European Council conclusions. This, inevitably, is not a speedy process, but we are working to improve the governance process of the single market to ensure that directives, once transposed, are fully implemented on the ground.
Foreign Investment in UK: Israel
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of Israeli companies investing in the UK. [R] [99961]
Mr Prisk: The Government estimate that over 250 Israeli companies are investing in the UK. Many have a physical presence (office, warehouse, service centre, plant) in the UK; they cover a wide spectrum of sectors, including pharmaceutical, ICT, mining, food processing and plastics manufacturing.
Higher Education
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of students receiving each level of degree classification were enrolled on courses at (a) higher education institutions, (b) further education colleges, (c) not-for-profit higher education providers, (d) for-profit higher education providers and (e) designated courses in the latest year for which figures are available. [100280]
Mr Willetts: The latest information on the class of degree achieved by students obtaining first degree qualifications at UK higher education institutions is shown in the table.
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| Class of degree achieved by students obtaining first degree qualifications (1 ) UK higher education institutions , a cademic year 2010/11 | ||
| Class of degree | Number | Percentage of total classified |
| (1) Covers students of all domiciles qualifying from full-time and part-time courses. Notes : Figures are based on a HESA qualifications obtained population and have been rounded up or down to the nearest five, so components may not sum to totals. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record | ||
More information on qualifiers at UK higher education institutions can be found at this link to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) website:
http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/1897/239/
Figures for the 2011/12 academic year will become available from HESA in January 2013.
Equivalent degree classification information for students registered on degree courses at further education colleges is not available. Degree classification information is not categorised by not-for-profit and for-profit higher education providers; as such it is not available in this format.
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanisms his Department has in place to monitor the quality of (a) provision and (b) teaching and learning available to students in for-profit and not-for-profit higher education providers. [101203]
Mr Willetts: The mechanisms in place to assure quality are not determined by profit status. Universities and other bodies with degree awarding powers are responsible for safeguarding the quality of their provision and teaching and learning, including the quality and standards of any privately funded provider whose awards they validate. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) checks how well individual higher education institutions meet their responsibilities for maintaining academic standards and quality. The QAA also assesses the way in which universities manage the quality and standards of their validating arrangements with other providers.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has a statutory responsibility to provide for the assessment of the quality of education provided in institutions that it funds. HEFCE contracts with the QAA to conduct quality assessments on its behalf. The QAA publishes the findings of its institutional audits and reports annually to HEFCE on activity undertaken against contract.
All institutional audit reports are available on the QAA's website.
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Higher Education: Anti-Semitism
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps he has taken to protect Jewish students attending university from anti-Semitic attacks; and if he will make a statement. [R] [99086]
Mr Willetts: Anti-Semitism and intolerance have no place in our society and no place in higher education. Staff and students from all backgrounds, cultures and communities must be welcome in our higher education sector.
The UK has in place one of the strongest legislative frameworks to protect people from harassment and abuse, and specifically racial or religious persecution. This framework provides protection to the Jewish community alongside other ethnic and religious groups. As independent organisations, higher education institutions are directly accountable for compliance with the law and hold the primary responsibility for ensuring that their staff and students are not subject to threatening or abusive behaviour on campus.
In addition to legal requirements, institutions have access to a range of practical guidance to help them ensure fair treatment of their staff and students, and to help them deal effectively with instances of intolerance, racism and harassment in their institutions.
The Government expect institutions to vigorously tackle intolerance on campus when it arises.
I have met the Union of Jewish Students to discuss anti-Semitism in higher education and assured them that the Government continue to take this issue seriously, and expect universities to use the tools they have to tackle anti-Semitism.
We have seen a fall in the number of incidents in higher education, from 44 in 2010 to 27 in 2011, according to the Community Security Trust. However, no incident is acceptable in higher education, or elsewhere.
Impact Assessments
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that all impact assessments are placed online in the impact assessment library. [99849]
Mr Prisk: Individual Departments are responsible for publishing impact assessments underpinning their policies in the impact assessment library. We have already reminded all Departments to identify and, where appropriate, publish impact assessments missing from the library.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published in the impact assessment library all its impact assessments that have cleared the Regulatory Policy Committee process and are listed in the three statements of new regulation.
Industry
Nadhim Zahawi:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people applied to be a Make it in Great Britain Industry Champion; what criteria his Department used to select the (a) champions and (b) sectors the champions
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represent; how many champions have been involved individually in previous campaigns, initiatives or programmes by his Department; and how many of the businesses they work for have been involved in such campaigns, initiatives or programmes. [101021]
Mr Prisk: An open call was made to manufacturers and manufacturing stakeholders on 24 October 2011 to help find up to 30 Make it in Great Britain industry champions. In total we received around 120 nominations from all sources including third party and self-nominations.
The first tranche of industry champions was announced at the launch of the Make it in Great Britain campaign on 15 November 2011. The remaining 23, bringing the total to 30 industry champions were announced at the manufacturing summit on 23 February 2012.
The industry champions were selected from a broad cross section of UK manufacturing to support and personalise the communication of the campaign as experts and leaders in their field, from a range of businesses including: aerospace; automotive; bicycle manufacturing; ceramics; chemicals; clothing; construction electronics; engineering and precision engineering; food and drink; health care and prosthetics; marine; medical; motorsports; packaging; pharmaceuticals; plastics and software.
A full list of the champions and the companies they represent can be found in the Press Release at
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/Detail.aspx?ReleaselD=423400&NewsArea1D=2
With respect to how many champions have been involved individually in previous campaigns, initiatives or programmes by this Department; and how many of the businesses they work for have been involved in such campaigns, initiatives or programmes, this was not considered as part of the selection process and this information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Lost Property
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what property has been lost or stolen from his Department in the last 12 months; and what the estimated cost was of the replacement of such property. [100884]
Norman Lamb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr MacNeil) on 19 July 2011, Official Report, column 978W.
All other items reported as lost or stolen are personal items including clothing, phones, glasses and rings. It is not possible to differentiate between lost or stolen items or to provide an estimated cost.
Media Monitoring
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what media monitoring services his Department has purchased in each of the last five years. [100883]
Norman Lamb: The information requested is as follows.
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| Central Press Office monitoring costs not including VAT | |||||
| £000 | |||||
| Financial year | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| (1) Extra copyright costs incurred. | |||||
| Newspaper Licensing Authority (Digital Reproduction) | |
| £000 | |
Overseas Trade: Israel
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the value of bilateral trade between the UK and Israel was in 2011. [R] [99959]
Mr Prisk: The value of UK-Israel bilateral trade in goods in 2011 was £3.75 billion. Figures for services will not be available for 2011 until autumn 2012, but the value of bilateral trade in services for 2010 was £851 million.
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the extent of the UK's bilateral trade with Israel. [R] [99960]
Mr Prisk: The Government regularly review the development of the UK's bilateral trade with Israel. Over the past 10 years, the value of bilateral trade in both directions has increased by 60% from £2.3 billion to over £3.7 billion. Over the last three years, it has increased by 75%, and over the last year, by 34%, reflecting the continuing strong state of the bilateral trading relationship. The Government are confident that both the volume and the value of bilateral trade between the UK and Israel will continue to grow in the years ahead.
Prepayments
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will introduce measures to better regulate the prepayments market as recommended in the Consumer Focus Report Pay Now, Pay Later. [101018]
Norman Lamb: The previous administration promised to reassess the regulatory framework for protecting consumer prepayments in light of Consumer Focus Report “Pay Now, Pay Later”. After considering a range of options to see what action would be sensible and practicable in the circumstances, they concluded that this was a very complex area with no straightforward solutions.
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The best option for protecting pre-payments is some form of set-aside or ring-fencing of funds to be used to compensate consumers in the event of an insolvency or some form of insurance with the same effect. However, this can impose significant cost on businesses and therefore raise prices for all consumers. Several industry sectors have concluded that the gains from increased consumer confidence outweigh these costs and have gone ahead with sector schemes on this basis. Government will continue to encourage high risk sectors to self-regulate on this basis.
Government intervention by way of new regulation is fraught with risk. The cost to consumers may outweigh the benefits. The Government will, however, consider any evidence of particular high risk areas of concern which would lead to unacceptable consumer detriment or other economic damage.
Rare Earth Imports: China
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Chinese authorities on rare earth imports into the UK. [101057]
Mr Prisk: Trade is a European Union competence and all negotiations are undertaken by the European Commission on behalf of the member states. For this reason, Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have had no direct discussions with the Chinese authorities on the substance of this issue.
Remploy
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has procured any goods from Remploy factories; and what the value of such procurements was. [99994]
Norman Lamb: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has no contracts with Remploy. Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions his Department has had with Remploy on the procurement of goods. [99995]
Norman Lamb: The Commercial Directorate of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has had no discussions with Remploy in the current financial year (2011-12).
Science: Israel
Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on increasing scientific collaboration. [R] [99962]
Mr Willetts:
I met with the Israeli Minister for Trade, Science and the Environment, Minister Rabbi Professor Daniel Hershkowitz, and Israeli Chief Scientist, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour, Avi Hasson when I
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visited Israel in October 2011. Together with Minister Rabbi Professor Daniel Hershkowitz I announced the establishment of a new, joint fellowship exchange scheme to enhance collaboration between the countries in the area of regenerative medicine.
Student Loans
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanisms his Department has in place to limit the number of students who can be funded via the student loan scheme to study courses with for-profit and not-for-profit higher education providers. [101192]
Mr Willetts: Institutions funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are subject to student number controls. Where those controls are exceeded grant can be clawed back to cover the excess costs of student support.
Student number controls do not apply to those institutions that are not HEFCE funded. Generally, these courses are "specifically designated' on a course by course basis at the discretion of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable). Institutions that wish to have a course specifically designated apply to the Student Loans Company (SLC). Applications for specific designation are assessed by the SLC against the course designation criteria in the Education (Student Support) Regulations which include course type, duration and mode of study. In addition all courses must be validated by a recognised UK awarding body such as a university.
We set out in the White Paper ‘Students at the Heart of the System’ our intention to legislate, subject to parliamentary time, so that all providers which access student support funding would be subject to the same conditions, including reformed student number controls.
Work Experience
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2011, Official Report, column 221W, on departmental work experience, how many people (a) worked as an intern, (b) undertook a work experience placement and (c) worked as a volunteer in his Department in accordance with the hiring criteria set out in that Answer in the last 12 months for which data are available; and how many such people were employed other than according to those criteria. [100728]
Norman Lamb:
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills participated in the two week Civil Service Whitehall Internship Programme which was announced through the Social Mobility Strategy in April 2011. This programme provides Year 12 College level students with an opportunity to undertake a two week work experience placement in a Government Department. The programme is designed to increase professional experience and workplace skills and is aimed at students from under-represented backgrounds. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
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offered four internships on this programme in 2011 and will offer a similar number of placements for the 2012 intake.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also offers internships to graduates and undergraduates through the Summer Diversity Internship Programme (SDIP). The programme is aimed at black and minority ethnic university students and those from lower socio-
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economic groups and seeks to provide talented candidates with six to nine week training placements in Government Departments. BIS offered four internships across the Department in 2011.
Since 1 June 2011, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has employed a further 47 interns through the Graduate Talent Pool.