Low Carbon Vehicle Development Centre
High Temperature Processing Centre
IB Demonstrator Facility
Plugged in Places
NAREC Marine Testing Facility PEF
PeTEC Displays & Photonics Tech Facility
National Blade Test Facility
NAREC Offshore Wind Test Site
Class Actions
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when his Department's panel considering collective redress last met; and which Minister is responsible for work on collective redress. [110077]
Norman Lamb: The Department does not have a panel considering collective redress.
Overall responsibility for collective redress falls to the Ministry of Justice, with responsibility for collective redress in individual sectors devolved to the appropriate Department and Minister. For example, BIS is responsible for collective redress in competition law and on 24 April of this year I published a consultation on that subject.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/consumer-issues/docs/g/12-512-growth-and-competition-regime-government-response
Conditions of Employment
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the contribution by the Minister of State for Business and Enterprise of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 848, whether he personally commissioned or signed off the commissioning of Adrian Beecroft to produce the report. [109585]
Norman Lamb: My right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey) wrote to Mr Beecroft on 29 July 2011 to commission the report. He did so on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and therefore on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable).
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) for what reason references to (a) abolishing regulations applying to the employment of children and (b) the ability of employers to sack employees because their employer did not like them as a price worth paying, contained in the version of the Beecroft report labelled 12 October 2011 were not included in the version labelled 24 October 2011 published by his Department on 22 May 2012; by whom these references were removed; and when they were removed; [109917]
(2) when the draft of the Beecroft report labelled 12 October 2011 was composed; what amendments were made to the document in the version labelled 24 October 2011; when these amendments were made; by whom; and for what reason; [109918]
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(3) for what reason the section on (a) the Right to Request Flexible Working and (b) Flexible Parental Leave contained in the version of the Beecroft report labelled 12 October 2011 was not included in the version labelled 24 October 2011 published by his Department on 22 May 2012; by whom these sections were removed; and when they were removed. [109919]
Norman Lamb: The drafting process is a matter for Mr Beecroft. As with the production of any written document, we would expect Mr Beecroft's report to have gone through various drafting stages as he progressed his study of the issues, until his final version was submitted.
The final version can be found at:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/r/12-825-report-on-employment-law-beecroft.pdf
Mr Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 21 May 2012, Official Report, column 849, on employment law (Beecroft Report), if he will place in the Library (a) a copy of the agreement to which his referred between the Government and the European Commission that small businesses will now be exempted from European legislation as a point of principle unless the Commission can show that they should not be and (b) copies of any such legislation that has already been exempted; whether such exemptions apply from a certain date, and if so, when; and whether such exemptions include repeal of existing legislation. [110135]
Mr Prisk: The European Commission’s commitments are set out in its 23 November 2011 report, “Minimizing regulatory burden for SMEs: Adapting EU regulation to the needs of micro-enterprises” COM(2011)803. This was deposited in the House on 8 December 2011 and an explanatory memorandum was later submitted. The Commission commits in its report to propose exemptions for micro-businesses or lighter regimes for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in legislation prepared from 1 January 2012. Its report provides information at annex 1 on EU legislation that already offers lighter regimes to SMEs. Since the Commission’s report, directive 2012/6/EU amending Council Directive 78/660/EEC on the annual accounts of certain types of companies as regards micro-entities was adopted on 14 March, and could benefit around 1.4 million UK small businesses by simplifying financial reporting requirements. In addition, a provisional agreement has now been reached between the European Parliament and Council of Ministers on a new directive to replace directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), following the European Parliament’s Second Reading on 19 January 2012. 18 months after publication in the Official Journal, a provision will exempt retailers with a selling area of less than 400m(2) from the requirement to take back electrical waste in store at no charge to the consumer and with no obligation being placed on the consumer to buy replacement equipment. Copies of both texts have been deposited in the Libraries of the House.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what evidence was (a) submitted to and (b) reviewed by Adrian Beecroft and officials in his Department in preparing the Beecroft report. [110680]
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Norman Lamb: The evidence used for this report is a matter for Mr Beecroft who was responsible for preparing it.
Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provided de minimis support as a secretariat. This involved setting up meetings with policy officials across Government and responding to factual questions from Mr Beecroft.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to publish a consultation on all the policy recommendations contained in the Beecroft report. [110681]
Norman Lamb: Mr Beecroft's report was one of a range of inputs to the Red Tape Challenge and Employment Law review, and we most recently set out our plans for taking forward reforms to employment legislation at Budget in the Employment Law review annual update.
Further details can be found at:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/e/12-p136-employment-law-review-2012.pdf
In addition, alongside the publication of Mr Beecroft's report, we set out which of the issues in that report Government is considering or taking further and which we are not.
Further details can be found at:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/a/12-830-adrian-beecroft-report-issues-government-is-considering.pdf
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills most recently called for evidence on no fault dismissal for micro firms of fewer than 10 employees, which closed on 8 June 2012. No further calls for evidence are currently planned.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of hours which officials in his Department spent on work on the Beecroft Report. [110682]
Norman Lamb: Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provided de minimis support as a secretariat. This involved setting up meetings with policy officials across Government and responding to factual questions from Mr Beecroft.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether Adrian Beecroft approved the final published version of his report on employment law. [110684]
Norman Lamb: Mr Beecroft was responsible for submitting the final version of his report.
Consultants
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on external consultants, including management consultants, in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [107488]
Norman Lamb: The total spend by BIS on external consultants, including management consultants is:
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| £ | |
As is usual practice in the private and public sector, occasionally the Department requires independent advice on a particular issue which we are unable to provide in house due in main to experience within the required field of expertise. As with all Government spending, officials have to make sure that any future spend of taxpayers’ money displays best possible value for money and return on investment.
BIS acknowledges the increase in the consultancy spend between 2010/11 and 2011/12 but this is managed and monitored in accordance with the tight constraints laid down by the Cabinet Office in its published spending controls. Each freeze exemption consultancy case is approved by a board of senior management, delegated by the Permanent Secretary, to ensure appropriate spend and controls are in place.
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 26 April 2012, Official Report, column 1009W, on consultants, what payments were made to (a) Activa Consulting, (b) Deloitte, (c) Impact Plus, (d) PA Consulting, (e) Fujitsu, (f) Oracle, (g) Gartner and (h) PricewaterhouseCoopers. [108698]
Norman Lamb [holding answer 21 May 2012]: Payments were made to the following consultancies in the period between 2006 and 2011 as follows. Payments to Fujitsu and Oracle included the purchase cost of the IT hardware and software together with implementation costs.
| £ million | |
In addition, as part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills internal audit provision, PricewaterhouseCoopers undertook some work to identify the challenges in respect of the shared service centre (SSC) achieving full stability and the SSC’s readiness for expansion.
Correspondence
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many letters to Ministers in his Department were (a) not answered, (b) not answered within six months and (c) not answered within three months in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; how many such letters were from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement. [109433]
Norman Lamb: I regret that the information requested is not available in the form requested and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
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Furthermore, The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members correspondence. The report for 2011 was published on 15 March 2012, Official Report, columns 30-33WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Libraries of the House.
Dementia: Research
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much the Medical Research Council spent on dementia research in 2010-11. [109506]
Mr Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government supports medical and clinical research. In 2010/11 the MRC spent £18.5 million on dementia research.
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge Key Commitment number 10, what additional investment will be made in Biobank to support brain scanning for dementia research; how many scans will be offered to this group; and with what frequency. [109548]
Mr Willetts: The Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia outlined plans for significant investment in dementia research over the coming years built around a set of specific commitments. Commitment 10 refers to more than doubling overall funding for dementia research to over £66 million by 2015.
Plans to deliver an initiative on brain scanning, building on the opportunities offered by the UK Biobank, are addressed under Commitment 11. This outlines a pilot study involving up to 8,000 volunteers, which if successful, would be rolled out to 50,000-100,000 volunteers.
The additional investment under Commitment 11 will be delivered via the Medical Research Council (MRC) and a funding decision will be announced later this year in partnership with the other UK Biobank partners. Proposals for the brain imaging programme are currently being developed by UK Biobank and will be subject to rigorous peer review. The precise scope of the study funded will be advised by this process and the views of the international experts involved.
Empty Property
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will list the empty or largely empty buildings owned by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [110835]
Norman Lamb: The Department does not own any properties. All the properties the Department occupies are leasehold.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many buildings owned by his Department and the bodies for which he is responsible have been empty for more than two years; and if he will make a statement. [110853]
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Norman Lamb: The Department does not own any properties. All the properties the Department occupies are leasehold.
Information for non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which clauses of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill will require a legislative consent motion from the National Assembly for Wales. [110669]
Mr Prisk: There is one aspect on which we consider that a legislative consent motion is required and one consequential change which could be made if the Welsh Government so wishes. The aspect where we consider it is needed is on the provision which ensures that the UK Green Investment Bank plc will remain bound by an objects clause that is directed at the appropriate “green purposes”. Whilst financial services are non-devolved, the main purpose of this provision is aimed at green purposes, such as energy efficiency and environmental protection, which are excepted from the reservations to Westminster and are thus within the Assembly's competence. The second provision is a consequential amendment on the changes being made to the Equality Act 2006 to clarify the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The consequential change to the Equality Act 2010 at schedule 17, Part 2 paragraph 4(2A), could be made through the Bill if the Welsh Government so wished. I am in touch with the Welsh Government about these issues.
Executives: Pay
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the propensity of institutional investors to challenge excessive executive pay; and if he will make a statement. [109391]
Norman Lamb: I welcome the positive signs that institutional investors are becoming more actively engaged in the debate on this issue and their willingness to be more interventionist and challenge excessive pay. Results from recent Annual General Meetings demonstrate this. It is right that shareholders hold companies to account. That is why the Department is working hard to strengthening the tools they have to do this.
The Government has committed to:
Boosting transparency so that what people are paid is clear and easily understood, and
Giving shareholders more power through binding votes.
A consultation on giving shareholders binding votes closed on 27 April and the Government will announce final legislative proposals later this summer.
Fraud
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the level of (a) procurement and (b) other fraud affecting his Department's spending in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement. [110184]
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Norman Lamb: No procurement frauds affecting the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' spending have been reported or detected in either year. Four incidents of fraud were reported by four of the Department's Partner Organisations amounting to £820,000 in 2010-11. One of the former regional development agencies was discovered to have suffered a fraud of £450,000 in 2011-12. All of these cases are currently under investigation and every attempt is being made to recover the sums involved.
The Department takes fraud very seriously and is actively engaging with its Partner Organisations and the National Fraud Authority in its work to minimise fraud.
Green Economy Council
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish an updated list of the members of the Green Economy Council, together with the date, agenda and minutes of all meetings to date. [110668]
Mr Prisk: The Green Economy Council has met four times since it was convened in February 2011. The dates and agendas for the meetings are as follows:
1. Opening Remarks from Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
2. Introductions
3. Discussion on the Terms of Reference for the Council
4. Roadmap to a Green Economy
5. Any other business
1. Introductions and Updates
2. Roadmap to a Green Economy
3. Forward Work Plan
4. Energy Intensive Industries
5. Any other business
1. Introductions and Updates
2. Energy Intensive Industries
3. Forward Work Plan
4. Any other business
1. Introductions and Updates
2. Green Skills
3. Adaptation to climate change
4. Any other business—Investment
The Council's role is to advise Government on policy development and copies of minutes and papers have not been placed in the Library or on the Department's website.
The members of the Council are:
| GEC Member | Position | Company |
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|
CEO Europe, Middle East and Africa (and Chairman, UK Green Building Council) | ||
Higher Education
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in how many cases a higher education provider has applied to his Department for higher education course designation and been refused; and which courses were so refused. [109186]
Mr Willetts: Since February 2009 a total of 56 applications for course designation have been refused. I have placed a list of the courses that were refused in the House of Commons Library.
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 24 April 2012, Official Report, column 820W, on higher education, on what basis a due diligence report may result in a higher education course not being designated. [109188]
Mr Willetts: The due diligence reports consider the management and governance, financial sustainability and longevity of an organisation. If the report raises concerns relating to any of these issues this may result in the course not being designated.
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the extent and effect of course closures at higher education institutions in England for the 2012-13 academic year. [109592]
Mr Willetts: No assessment regarding higher education course closures for the 2012-13 academic year has been made by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).
Universities are autonomous institutions that make their own decisions about the courses they will provide to meet the changing needs of their student and employer constituencies. To attempt to monitor this at course
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level would place a very significant burden on institutions, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and BIS, and would be highly complex.
We asked HEFCE in the 2012 grant letter to continue to prioritise strategically important and vulnerable subjects (SIVS) when allocating teaching grant. HEFCE is currently undertaking work to monitor early signals of student demand and provision of SIVS.
Higher Education: Private Sector
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 281W, on higher education: private sector, if he will bring forward (a) guidelines and (b) legislation to ensure that private providers provide adequate information on fees for students to make an informed choice; what information such providers are required to provide; and if he will make a statement. [109401]
Mr Willetts: Private providers are not currently required to provide information on fees for students. However, we are committed to encouraging all higher education institutions to focus on ensuring value for money, to be more transparent and to provide improved information to prospective students, so they can make informed choices.
Our reforms put students at the heart of the system as money will flow through students in response to the choices that they make, not the choices that Government makes for them. It is for students to determine whether or not a course provides value for money on the basis of information that is available.
Mature Students
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of applications received by universities from mature students to enter as full-time students for the first time in the coming academic year on (a) 1 April 2012, (b) 1 May 2012, (c) 1 April 2011 and (d) 1 May 2011. [109889]
Mr Willetts: The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is the central agency established by Higher Education (HE) institutions to process applications on their behalf and publishes data on university applications. The latest information on mature applicants was published by UCAS in April and is shown in the following table. Figures for earlier months can be found on the UCAS website at:
http://www.ucas.com/about_us/media_enquiries/media_releases/.
These are not the final figures. It is still possible to apply via the UCAS system, and we know from previous years that some mature applicants tend to apply later in the application cycle.
| Applicants(1) to full-time undergraduate courses in the UK as at April 23 | ||
| 2011 | 2012 | |
| (1) Applicants from the UK and overseas | ||
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Money Lenders
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from consumer organisations on the detriment caused by loan sharks in each region of the UK; and if he will make a statement. [109451]
Norman Lamb: This Department has not received representations from consumer organisations on the level of detriment caused by loan sharks in each region of the UK.
Newspaper Press: Competition
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the balance of evidence considered by the Office of Fair Trading in deciding not to make a referral to the Competition Commission of the newspaper and magazine wholesale distribution sector; and if he will consider using his powers under section 132 of the Enterprise Act 2002 to refer the newspaper and magazine industry to the Competition Commission for a full market investigation. [110049]
Norman Lamb: Issues relating to competition in the newspaper and magazine sector are a matter for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has conducted detailed investigation of the newspaper and magazine distribution sector in the United Kingdom over a number of years. In September 2009, the OFT published its decision not to make a market investigation reference to the Competition Commission. The OFT stated at that time that it would consider, after two years, whether a short update review of the sector would be justified by reference to the OFT Prioritisation Principles, particularly whether such a review could bring benefits for consumers.
On 1 March 2012, the OFT announced that, following a prioritisation assessment, including consultation with trade bodies and companies in the sector, it would not be carrying out an update review of the sector, primarily on the grounds that consumers would not be likely to benefit significantly as a result of such a review.
The OFT's prioritisation decision document and the accompanying press release can be viewed at the following link:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/markets-work/othermarketswork/newspapers-magazines/
Newspaper Press: Retail Trade
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the (a) level of supply within the wholesale distribution sector of the news and magazine market, (b) terms on which services are supplied to retailers and (c) fairness of the level of charges levied upon newsagents; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of arrangements for redress for poor provision of services to retailers. [110029]
Mr Prisk: Issues relating to competition in the newspaper and magazine sector are a matter for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
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The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has conducted a detailed investigation of the newspaper and magazine distribution sector in the United Kingdom over a number of years. In September 2009, the OFT published its decision not to make a market investigation reference to the Competition Commission. In reaching that decision, the OFT specifically considered the issues raised in the question in some detail. The OFT stated at that time that it would consider, after two years, whether a short update review of the sector would be justified by reference to the OFT Prioritisation Principles, particularly whether such a review could bring benefits for consumers. The OFT's 2009 non-reference decision and the accompanying press release can be viewed at the following link:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2009/117-09
Following a prioritisation assessment, which included consultation with trade bodies and companies in the sector, on 1 March 2012, the OFT announced that it would not be carrying out an update review of the sector. This decision was reached primarily on the grounds that consumers would not be likely to benefit significantly as a result of such a review. The OFT's prioritisation decision document and the accompanying press release can be viewed at the following link:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/markets-work/othermarketswork/newspapers-magazines/
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of trends in the size of the independent retail newsagent sector in the last five years; and what steps he plans to take to address the causes of newsagent closures. [110030]
Mr Prisk: Since 2009 the Office for National Statistics has tracked the number of newsagents' local units by sizeband, including large chains (since these are local units each branch is counted separately).
| Number of enterprises by employment band by 4762 | ||||||||
| Class | ||||||||
| Employment size | ||||||||
| 0-4 | 5-9 | 10-19 | 20-49 | 50-99 | 100-249 | 250+ | Total | |
| Source: Business location, size and activity (ONS) | ||||||||
The Government is actively working to help all retailers. Retail is vitally important to local and national economies. This was why it was chosen to be one of the first sectors to be the subject of a Growth Review and was the first sector selected for the Red Tape Challenge. These initiatives identified a number of barriers to successful retail performance and growth, which the Government is working to address.
Through the Growth Review the Government has committed to extending Small Business Rate Relief and announced that 160 regulations impacting on retailers or their customers will be scrapped or simplified. We are also conducting a review of employment law.
In March, the Government's formal response to the recommendations made by Mary Portas in her report, ‘An Independent Review into the Future of our High Streets', was published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
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The report contained 28 recommendations, raising a number of important issues affecting today's high streets and provided some useful and interesting ways in which the Government, local authorities, business and the public can begin to address them.
DCLG took immediate action in implementing some of the recommendations, including on high street pilots. On 26 May the Government announced the first 12 successful winners of the competition, which will receive a slice of the £1.2 million. The first 12 Portas Pilots are Bedford, Croydon, Dartford, Bedminster, Liskeard, Margate, Market Rasen, Nelson, Newbiggin by the Sea, Stockport, Stockton on Tees, Wolverhampton.
The response to the competition was phenomenal, with 371 towns putting in bids. We have been keen to capitalise on the excitement that the competition has generated and, given the high quality of bids, have decided to launch a second round of the competition, which will see a further 15 town centres selected to be Portas Pilots by the end of July. The Greater London Authority has agreed to fund three of these in London. The deadline for applications to round 2 is 30 June.
Retailers are also able to benefit from the same range of support offered by BIS to help small and medium-sized businesses to start and thrive through:
Improved access to finance.
A more positive business environment which supports growth and ease of starting a business, and where new businesses and economic opportunities are more evenly shared between regions and industries.
A major programme to reform the way that people running a business get the information, guidance and support they need to start and grow a business.
Building a more entrepreneurial culture, equipping people with the skills and ambition to start a business.
Overseas Trade: BRIC Countries
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to help small and medium-sized enterprises access markets in (a) Brazil, (b) Russia, (c) India and (d) China. [109452]
Mr Prisk: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 24 May 2012, Official Report, column 880-1W, to my hon. Friend the Member for South Swindon (Mr Buckland).
Patents: EU Action
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make representations to the European Commission to ensure new powers for the Court of Patents does not affect the UK patent industry adversely. [109102]
Norman Lamb: The Unified Patent Court would be established by an intergovernmental agreement between participating member states of the European Union. The EU itself is not a party to the agreement.
Negotiations on the intergovernmental agreement creating the patent court are still ongoing. The Government has put forward a strong case for the UK to host the seat of the central division of the patent court and we are working hard to ensure that the details of the proposals deliver the most effective arrangements for UK business and their representatives who will use the court.
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Post Offices: Rural Areas
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate has been made of the number of operational rural post offices in (a) 2000, (b) 2005, (c) 2010 and (d) 2012. [109294]
Norman Lamb: The information requested is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the chief executive, to respond directly to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Postage Stamps: Prices
Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the cost to small and medium-sized businesses resulting from the recent rise in stamp prices. [108553]
Norman Lamb: Under the Postal Services Act 2011, Parliament gave Ofcom, as an independent regulator, the primary duty of securing the universal postal service. The Act also set out minimum requirements for a universal postal service and this included a service at affordable prices in accordance with a uniform public tariff. It is therefore Ofcom's responsibility to monitor and assess the effect of postal price increases on consumers, which includes small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Following consultation, Ofcom decided to remove traditional price controls on Royal Mail's postal prices and imposed a safeguard cap on second class letters to ensure that a basic universal service remained available and affordable. Given the importance of ensuring that universal services remain affordable over time, Ofcom will closely monitor the effect of future prices on consumers, which Ofcom acknowledged includes small businesses. More information about Ofcom's assessment of affordability can be found in its decision paper “Securing the Universal Postal Service—Decision on the new regulatory framework”, which can be accessed on its website
www.ofcom.org.uk
The Government welcomed Ofcom's decision and the safeguards they put in place to monitor Royal Mail. I, as the Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs, am satisfied that Ofcom made their decision taking into account the effect on SMEs and that further assessment by Government is not necessary.
Regional Growth Fund: Floods
Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills against what criteria his Department would assess a Regional Growth Fund application for funding for flood defences. [110701]
Mr Willetts: All bids to the Regional Growth Fund are assessed against the same criteria. To qualify for support from the Regional Growth Fund, projects should demonstrate that they:
create additional sustainable private sector growth;
rebalance the economy in those areas currently dependent on the public sector;
would not otherwise go ahead without support from the Regional Growth Fund;
offer value for money; this includes sources of wider economic benefit, e.g. flood defences;
be state aid compliant.
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Regional Growth Fund: Housing
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many successful bids to the regional growth fund contained a house-building component; how many of those bids have received their funding; and how many are under review by the Minister for Housing. [110431]
Mr Prisk: Four successful bids to the regional growth fund contained a significant house-building component: two from Round 1 and two from Round 2. The offer letter for one project has been finalised, and the beneficiary can draw down funding as they need it. Two offers are with the beneficiaries for review and due-diligence. One offer is under review by the Minister for Housing due to the amount of demolition involved in the project (the original bid was to support house building on cleared sites).
Retail Trade: Credit Cards
David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to reduce the cost to small retailers of offering card payment facilities to customers. [110287]
Mr Prisk: It is a commercial decision for the individual business whether or not to offer credit or debit card payment facilities to customers, and to decide the goods for which they will and will not accept card payments.
Transaction fees for credit and debit cards are a commercial matter between the merchant (the retailer) and the acquirer (the bank/credit company who provides the transaction services/point of sale machinery).
Skilled Workers: West Midlands
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department has taken to improve manufacturing and research skill levels in the west midlands since 2010. [110098]
Mr Willetts: The Government are increasing manufacturing and research skills in the west midlands through programmes such as the regional growth fund (RGF) and the grant for business investment (GBI) providing funding to a number of firms undertaking major investments in the region, such as Jaguar Land Rover, Ceram and Zytek. These will involve extensive training programmes. Round 3 of the RGF is now open for applications.
Core cities, including Birmingham, have received up to £500,000 from the city skills fund to boost the provision of skills needed by local employers. The Government are also challenging cities to develop apprenticeship city hubs which will help local businesses, particularly small businesses, to take on apprentices.
A network of seven world-leading Catapult centres have now been announced, aiming to transform the UK’s capability for innovation in specific technology areas.
The first Catapult in High Value Manufacturing opened for business in October 2011 and will receive over £140 million over a six-year period. This centre will take a cross-sectoral approach and support all forms of manufacture using metals and composites, process manufacturing technologies and bio-processing. The
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High Value Manufacturing Catapult comprises seven centres, including two in the west midlands—the Warwick Manufacturing Group and the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry—and will make a long-term contribution to UK growth.
The Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) supports investment in improved skills and training support as well as in research and development and capital equipment. Stream 1 of AMSCI is a national scheme available to all advanced manufacturing sectors across England. Stream 2 funding is available to automotive and aerospace suppliers in four LEP areas which include much of the industrial heartland of the west midlands.
The new Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) provides a range of specialist assistance to manufacturing businesses across England, including linking SMEs with the Apprenticeship programme delivering a minimum of 1,250 engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships annually. As one of the UK’s main manufacturing regions, the west midlands is expected to be a major beneficiary of the new MAS.
Social Mobility: Research
Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research he has conducted or assessed on the most significant factor in increasing social mobility in Britain. [108080]
Mr Prisk: The Department has not conducted or assessed research on the most significant factor in increasing social mobility. However, we have published a literature review of research on social mobility, where this relates to the policy responsibilities of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). This review was undertaken as part of the development of the Government's Social Mobility Strategy, published in May 2011.
On 22 May 2012, the Government published a progress report “Social Mobility One Year On”, which included a full set of social mobility indicators. The report explains how Government will build a better understanding of progress on social mobility.
BIS supports research programmes related to social mobility, including funding for the Economic and Social Research Council. This research underpins the Government's understanding of the factors affecting social mobility in the UK. The Department is involved in two key programmes:
The Understanding Poverty programme, led by the Research Centre on Micro-Social Change, has provided significantly increased understanding of how poverty and low pay persist, and the factors influencing social mobility. The findings have informed policies for combating child poverty, the reform of the UK tax system, and the Opportunity for All programme run by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The new Birth Cohort Facility Project, as set out in “Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers”, the Government's 2011 Social Mobility Strategy, is being implemented by BIS. This project will build new world-class capability, which will enable in-depth analysis of data collected from both current and future UK birth cohort studies. The initial findings from the Birth Cohort Study will be published in July 2015.
Students: Finance
Shabana Mahmood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 23 April 2012, Official Report, column 744W, on students: loans, for what reasons his
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Department tracks non-completion rates in institutions that draw down Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) funding but not institutions where there is no HEFCE funding but students are eligible to receive student loans. [109389]
Mr Willetts: Institutions in receipt of grant funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are required to submit data to the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) as a condition of that funding. These arrangements have been in place since HESA was established in 1993. Under current arrangements HEFCE cannot place requirements on institutions that it does not fund. It is one of the anomalies of the current system that our proposed higher education reforms intend to address.
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 23 April 2012, Official Report, column 743W, on students: loans, what mechanism he plans to use to ensure that all higher education providers whose students access student support funding provide sufficient and proportionate information on non-completion rates to students and the public. [109390]
Mr Willetts: We are committed to moving towards a more level playing field for all higher education providers. Further details on our plans will be published shortly.
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Answer of 16 April 2012, Official Report, column 294W, on students: finance, (1) on what basis he estimates the funding required for the student loans of those enrolled on designated higher education course where there is no limit on (a) student numbers and (b) the number of courses designated; [109458]
(2) whether his Department has set a number of enrolments at which it would cease to fund student loans for those enrolled on higher education courses; [109459]
(3) what meetings he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss student loan funding for off-quota student places enrolled on designated higher education courses; [109460]
(4) on what basis his Department budgets for expenditure on student loans where the number of student places on designated courses is not limited. [109461]
Mr Willetts: Expenditure on courses not subject to student number controls will account for around 1% of the student support budgets in 2011/12.
We will manage any additional financial pressures (over and above our cash outlay estimates for student support), including those arising from such courses, as and when they arise from within existing departmental budgets.
I have not had any conversations with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about providing specific funding for these students.
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent on promoting the student support scheme to (a) mature and (b) younger applicants. [109890]
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Mr Willetts: An information campaign about the reforms to higher education (HE) student finance ran from May 2011 to February 2012 and cost £2.61 million. Messaging to mature applicants was a feature of the campaign, but it is not possible to disaggregate this activity as a portion of the total spend.
Campaign targeting was appropriate for both mature and younger applicants. For example the radio advertising featured slots for both audiences, in particular drive-time for mature listeners; the Student Finance Tour targeted mature students studying in further education colleges as well as young people in schools; and the campaign website had a section specifically for those considering part-time HE courses, many of whom would be mature students.
For 2012, we are repeating the Student Finance Tour which will target mature and young people who intend to apply for 2013/14. It will also reach out this year to other 15 to 18-year-olds who will be applying in future years.
BIS has also set up a stakeholder reference group comprised of key representatives from organisations with an interest in part-time students. This group was formed specifically to seek advice and input on tailoring communications for prospective mature part-time students in particular. Working with the group, we have revised and reissued existing part-time communication materials and produced new materials which best reflect mature and part-time students as a target audience.
We continue to work with the HE sector to ensure the messages to mature students about student finance are disseminated as widely as possible.
Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the withdrawal of direct public funding for Level 3 qualifications for those aged 24 or over on the progression of mature applicants to higher education from 2013-14. [109891]
Mr Hayes: The Department has undertaken a regulatory impact assessment for 24+ advanced learning loans, which will be published following clearance by the Regulatory Reform Committee. We will publish an equality impact assessment alongside this.
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students in the (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12 academic year who applied for their student loan within the correct timeframe did not receive it (i) by the start of the first term of the academic year, (ii) within one month of the start of the first term of the academic year and (iii) more than one month after the start of the first term of the academic year. [109910]
Mr Willetts: The Student Loans Company (SLC) do not publish this information in the form requested. SLC do monitor the percentage of core applications received before the student support application deadline and processed for payment before the start of term. Figures for both academic years show that over 99% of core applications were processed before the start of term. Where students did not submit complete financial evidence in time to support their applications, or the university or college could not confirm attendance, this may inadvertently lead to a delay in payment.
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Students: Loans
Mr Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of full-time undergraduate students take out maintenance loans in England; and what the (a) minimum value, (b) maximum value and (c) average value was of such loans in the latest period for which figures are available. [110516]
Mr Willetts: On average, students domiciled in England took out an income-contingent maintenance loan of £3,630 in the 2010/11 academic year compared to £3,600 in 2009/10. This is an average based on eligible students who were paid a maintenance loan. Some 855,300 (or 82%) of students who were eligible for a maintenance loan did so in the academic year 2009/10, the latest year for which estimates are available.
Maintenance loans form only part of the total maintenance support available—students can also apply for means-tested, non-repayable maintenance grants. For students who began courses in the 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 academic years, 28% of the maximum amount of maintenance loan available is dependent on a means test—the remaining 72% is not.
Supermarkets: Prices
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has made an assessment of the findings of the report by Which? on multibuy supermarket offers; and whether he is planning to take any steps to increase consumer protection in relation to such offers. [110670]
Norman Lamb: The Department is currently considering the briefing provided by Which?, including whether there is a need to amend the Department's Pricing Practices Guide in respect of supermarket multi-buy offers. The Government have no plans to change the regulation of price indications under which it is already a criminal offence to mislead consumers as to the price of goods and services, including as to the existence of any price advantage.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Business
Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to encourage growth and competitiveness in rural farms and businesses in Devon. [108449]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA works across Government ensuring measures designed to support economic growth are having proportionate and positive impacts in rural areas.
On 29 November 2011, the Government announced a strong package of new measures, designed to stimulate sustainable growth in the rural economy and to help businesses reach their full potential. The results of this include the establishment of five Rural Growth Networks in 2012-13 (including one in Devon and Somerset) and the targeting of £100 million of Rural Development Programme for England funding at meeting Rural Economy Growth Review priorities.
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Broadband connectivity is also vital for economic prosperity and the Government have invested £530 million to support the roll-out of broadband across all rural areas. Through the £20 million Rural Community Broadband Fund, the Government are also providing grant support to enable communities (including businesses) to access superfast broadband in hard-to-reach locations.
£150 million is also being invested in the UK to improve mobile phone coverage.
Agriculture: Co-operatives
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential for agricultural co-operatives in the UK. [109663]
Mr Paice: By collaborating with each other, farmers will be in a much stronger position to negotiate with the large businesses that buy the majority of farm produce and sell inputs. And by collaborating with others in the food chain they can better understand, and respond to, the needs of the market.
Of course there is no guarantee that collaboration will work for all, or that every collaborative enterprise will succeed. However, there are plenty of good examples of successful co-operatives both in the UK and abroad and specialist bodies exist to provide business advice and guidance to help collaborative enterprises to succeed.
Agriculture: Lancashire
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding her Department has provided for farming schemes in the (a) Lune Valley and (b) Lancaster area in the last 12 months. [109313]
Mr Paice: The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) socio-economic investment programme (2007 to 2013) offers a range of nationally available products to protect and promote the agricultural industry across England, although we are not able to provide detail at constituency level. However, the programme is tailored to the priorities identified in the Rural Economy Growth Review and includes;
Up to £20 million for the Farm and Forestry Improvement Scheme—providing small grants of between £2,500 and £25,000 to enable the development of farm, forestry, and horticulture businesses. To date 17 of these have been from Lancashire, with a further 42 grants offered prior to the launch of this scheme to support livestock farmers in the area.
Up to £60 million for the Rural Economy Grant—providing large grants of over £25,000 up to circa £1 million (no set upper cap) to enable the transformational change in the economic performance of farm, forestry, tourism, and agri-food businesses.
Up to £20 million for a Skills and Knowledge Transfer programme—training providers are currently being procured, with the programme due to commence in the autumn 2012.
The Local Action Group in this area has also invested over £37,000 in a local farm business at Conder Green, Lancaster, for equipment to expand ‘on farm’ milk bottling and egg production.
In total over 60 RDPE grants in and around the constituency area of North and Pennine Lancashire in the last 12 months, totalling over £263,600 of investment.
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Details of EU Common Agricultural Policy payments to all legal persons (i.e. not including natural persons); can be found on the CAP beneficiaries website at:
http://cap-payments.defra.gov.uk/
Funding has also been made available under the Environmental Stewardship Scheme but detailed information is not available for either area.
Agriculture: Land
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to undertake work on the reclassification of farmland as part of less favoured area remapping. [109658]
Mr Paice: In October 2011, the European Commission published proposals for a revised less favoured areas designation—to be called areas facing natural constraints (ANC)—as part of its common agricultural policy reform package. The UK has just established the final elements of data necessary to update our ANC mapping simulations in line with the published proposals. The update will be pursued in each part of the UK in the coming weeks, and we will work closely with the devolved Administrations to produce a UK map. The results are expected later in the summer and we will discuss these with stakeholders as well as the European Commission.
Current proposals require the mapping to be undertaken at land administrative unit 2 scale (electoral wards). The UK is pressing hard for flexibility to map using other administrative units that are compliant with World Trade Organisation rules, to ensure the best possible representation of land which is naturally constrained. We are exploring potential alternative units in our simulations.
The European Commission is currently expected to finalise its requirements for ANC in spring 2013, after which we will commence the production of maps for formal designation of ANC in the UK.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of recent trends in the total area of uncropped land in England. [109659]
Mr Paice: Results from DEFRA’s annual June survey, available at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/landuselivestock/junesurvey/
show that there were 139,000 hectares of uncropped arable land in England in 2011, a 7.2% decrease from June 2010, as shown in the following table, with farmers taking advantage of good planting and market conditions to grow more cereals and oilseed rape, leaving less land uncropped. Official DEFRA figures for June 2012 will be available in August 2012.
| Area of uncropped arable land in England | |
| Area (Thousand hectares) | |
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Agriculture: Minimum Wage
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the Agricultural Wages Board's proposed increases in minimum wages in Scotland. [109660]
Mr Paice: The issue of agricultural wages in Scotland is a devolved issue, and as such it would be inappropriate for DEFRA to comment.
Agriculture: Subsidies
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether farmers in stewardship schemes will be exempted from implementing additional environmental measures in return for payments under the common agricultural policy scheme. [109656]
Mr Paice: One of our stated principles for greening and CAP reform is that there must be recognition of the efforts of those farmers who have already committed to environmental measures under Pillar 2.
In the Pillar 1 context we have discussed the possibility that farmers in agri-environment schemes could be exempt from any greening requirement. But this is only one of a number of options under discussion and agreement remains some way off. At the last Agriculture Council the Commission floated the possibility that agri-environment schemes and other certified schemes could, under certain circumstances, be considered as fulfilling one or several of the greening measures.
We welcome this initiative from the Commission as the basis of further discussion. However, if we are to make cost-effective use of Pillar 2 resources to pay for a range of rural development measures it is important we do not pay twice for those costs and activities already paid for in Pillar 1. All qualifying schemes should also be of sufficient environmental merit.
Air Pollution
Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps her Department takes against local authorities which do not meet EU limits for levels of harmful pollutants in their areas; [109240]
(2) what steps she is taking to ensure local authorities take an active role in reducing the level of harmful pollutants. [109241]
Richard Benyon:
The responsibility to meet EU limit values rests with the Secretary of State rather than directly with local authorities. Under Part IV of the
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Environment Act 1995, local authorities have a duty to review local air quality against national objectives for air pollutants, as set out in the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000. Where these objectives are not met, the local authority must declare an air quality management area and prepare an action plan in pursuit of the standards and objectives in the area using any powers available to it. These measures will also support the achievement of EU limit values. The Secretary of State is a statutory consultee to these action plans and any reports or assessments prepared in accordance with these duties.
The Government work with local authorities to ensure they prioritise local air quality matters and carry out their statutory duties fully. The Secretary of State provides guidance on the assessment of local air quality, on the preparation of air quality action plans and on measures to improve local air quality, including transport measures. The Government also fund a helpline service which local authorities can contact for practical and technical advice on air quality monitoring, modelling, emission inventories and action plan measures. This is to ensure consistency and best practice in the execution of the duties. DEFRA officials are in regular contact with local authorities, to share knowledge and to discuss reports and action plans on local air quality as necessary.
Amphibians and Fish
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the Trade Control and Expert System data held by her Department on imports of amphibians and ornamental fish from (a) inside and (b) outside the EU for the period from 2006 to 2011. [110627]
Richard Benyon: The Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) is the responsibility of the European Commission. The information requested cannot be obtained at this time due to technical difficulties with the system. I will write to the hon. Member with the information when it is available.
Animal Feed: EU Law
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if her Department will consider pushing for a review of the Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002 which bans the feeding of catering and domestic food waste to livestock. [109885]
Richard Benyon: The Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002 was reviewed and replaced by a new Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) No. 1069/2009 which came into force on 4 March 2011. The ban on feeding of catering waste was considered as part of that review with the European Commission stating that:
“the potential risks especially to animal health largely outweigh the benefits from such practice. In addition, the rules on animal by-products offer substantial ways of using catering waste, such as in biogas plants or for the production of bio-fuels”.
This view was accepted by the European Council and Parliament, which maintained the ban in the replacement regulation.
Nevertheless, DEFRA is currently conducting a review on the benefits and risks of using food waste in animal
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feed (Project FO0218) to inform future policy on this issue and the outcome will be reported at the end of 2012.
Animal Welfare
Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many improvement notices were issued by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency inspectors under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for (a) farm animals and (b) other species in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011; and how many of these improvement notices were complied with and required no further action. [109898]
Mr Paice: The information is as follows:
(a) The data in the following table refer to the number of improvement notices served by Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency in England and Wales (where the AWA 2006 applies) at an enterprise(1) level. The number of farms where a notice was served will generally be less than the figures below as multiple farms on the same County Parish Holding number have been recorded with a notice.
(1) An enterprise can be a dairy, beef breeding, laying hen units on a premises (CPH) i.e. usually more than one enterprise per CPH.
| Action | 2010 | 2011 |
| (1) Data extracted from DEFRA Management Information System Vetnet on 25 May 2012. (2) Data extracted from DEFRA Management Information System Vetnet on 25 May 2012. | ||
The AHVLA provides guidance to farmers on how to comply with the Notice and assesses the resultant action taken. It is not possible to uniquely identify where Notices have not been complied with, but where compliance has not been achieved AHVLA will follow up with further inspections and actions including formal cautions, prosecution, and in extreme cases euthanasia of an animal in extremis.
(b) AHVLA has not served any enforcement notices for other species.
Animal Welfare: Circuses
Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what date she plans to implement the ban on wild animals in travelling circuses. [109732]
Mr Paice: I refer the right hon. Member to my written ministerial statement on 1 March 2012, Official Report, columns 41-42WS. A ban will be implemented as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what steps her Department is taking in response to recent research suggesting that the liver fluke parasite could lead to one third of cattle TB tests being ineffective; [110778]
(2) what assessment she has made of the risks of moving cattle following false-negative tests due to the presence of the liver fluke parasite and the potential for transmitting TB to other cattle; [110779]
(3) what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on any correlation between the density of badger population, the levels of
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fluke infestation and the incidence of bovine TB; and whether she has made an assessment of the implications of any such correlations for tackling bovine TB. [110780]
Mr Paice: The hypothesis that concurrent infestations, including liver fluke, may impact on TB test sensitivity is not new. To test their theory that liver fluke impairs the response to the primary screening test for cattle TB in cattle in Great Britain, Liverpool university researchers conducted an experiment co-infecting calves with both liver fluke and Mycobacterium bovis. They found that the standard TB test did not produce false negative results and was able to identify all the experimentally TB and liver fluke-infected calves.
So the low incidence of positive cases of bovine TB in some areas where liver fluke is more prevalent cannot be used to claim liver fluke is hiding cases. Moreover, since cattle carcases are routinely inspected for TB in abattoirs, if such masking was happening at the farm level (when herds are tested for TB), we would expect to see higher rates of bovine TB lesions in carcases of animals from areas where liver fluke is more common, which is not the case.
On the other hand, the evidence has shown that badgers are a reservoir of bovine TB and transmit the disease to cattle. Cattle measures remain the foundation of our TB eradication programme but we will not succeed in eliminating the disease in cattle unless we also tackle the disease in badgers.
Nevertheless, we continue to fund research looking at the effect of other diseases on the current diagnostic tests for bovine TB and we are also funding research to improve the diagnostic tests.
Carbon Emissions
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's total level of carbon emissions was between (a) 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011 and (b) 2 April 2011 and 1 April 2012. [108589]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA's carbon emissions, taken from reported figures in the annual accounts, are as follows:
| Tonnes | |
| Note: Data for electricity and gas that are not available for the fourth quarter at the time of reporting have been substituted with data from the previous year. This is not expected to significantly affect the overall number. | |
The figures include emissions from buildings for the following executive agencies and NDPBs:
Rural Payments Agency
Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency
Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science
Food and Environment Research Agency
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Natural England
Marine Management Organisation
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures her Department introduced to reduce its carbon emissions in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012. [108590]
Richard Benyon: Through its carbon reduction programme core DEFRA is continually identifying and reviewing opportunities for improving energy efficiency and implementing initiatives, to ensure that the Department is on track to meets its CO2 reduction obligations. The delivery plan is updated regularly and informed by regular benchmarking and targeting of energy use, and through in-depth energy surveys. Initiatives fall into four categories:
(1) Improved management of equipment through:
ongoing training and development of facilities management personnel; and
implementation of more effective control mechanisms (timers, thermostats etc); supported by
a ‘temperature set point’ policy in certain buildings;
(2) Implementation of technologies (such as low energy lighting, voltage optimisation) which improve the energy efficiency of buildings;
(3) Staff behavioural change campaigns to encourage staff to consider more energy efficient ways of working;
(4) Input to estate strategy decisions enabling the Department to consider energy and sustainability performance in property rationalisation decisions.
Specific measures implemented by core DEFRA, its executive agencies and certain NPDBs include:
Voltage optimisation devices installed at various locations
Upgrades to some Building Management Systems
Insulation and lagging installations
Lighting upgrades to lower energy lighting
A survey of four major laboratories on the estate to identify areas for energy saving. The recommendations are being developed into a delivery plan for project implementation in 2012-13
Upgrades to further Building Management Systems
Boiler optimisation devices fitted
Window draught proofing
Further lighting upgrades to lower energy lighting
Installation of automatic meter reading (AMR) devices on gas meters
Replacement of autoclaves (sterilisers)
Further lighting upgrades to lower energy lighting
The above information covers core DEFRA, its Executive agencies (Rural Payments Agency, Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Food and Environment Research Agency) and NDPBs Natural England and Marine Management Organisation.
Cattle: Animal Welfare
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the welfare of show cattle. [109657]
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Mr Paice: The UK Government are committed to ensuring that all animals are bred and kept in accordance with high standards of animal welfare. The deputy chief veterinary officer for England, and the presidents of the British Cattle Veterinary Association and the British Veterinary Association wrote to the Veterinary Record and Veterinary Times at the end of May, to raise concerns over certain practices by exhibitors at agricultural shows. They urged show veterinarians to report suspected breaches of animal welfare legislation to the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency so cases could be investigated and the appropriate action taken.
UK agricultural shows and breed society “Showing Rules” support good animal husbandry practices which members and participants are required to abide by when showing registered cattle.
Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats: Contracts
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what (a) grants and (b) contracts her Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who were previously employed in any capacity by (i) the Conservative party or its elected representatives and (ii) the Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised; [107169]
(2) what (a) grants and (b) contracts her Department has awarded to companies or organisations run by individuals who previously held an elected position as a member of the (i) Conservative party and (ii) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (A) value and (B) nature was of these contracts; and whether they were publicly advertised; [107170]
(3) which individuals have been paid by her Department for consultancy or other services who were previously employed in any capacity by the (a) Conservative party or its elected representatives and (b) Liberal Democrat party or its elected representatives since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised; [107171]
(4) which individuals have been paid by her Department for consultancy or other services who previously held an elected position as a member of the (a) Conservative party and (b) Liberal Democrat party since May 2010; what the (i) cost and (ii) nature was of the services provided; and whether they were publicly advertised. [107172]
Richard Benyon: As part of this Government's transparency agenda, since 2010 all contracts over the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder:
http://transparency-archive.number10.gov.uk/transparency/contract-finder/search
Correspondence
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many letters to Ministers in her Department were (a) not answered, (b) not answered within six months and (c) not answered within three months in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; how many such letters were from hon. Members; and if she will make a statement. [109440]
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Richard Benyon: The figures given as follows are for all correspondence (including e-mails) received by core DEFRA (excluding that transferred to other Government Departments). DEFRA's systems do not record correspondence by addressee; letters addressed to Ministers could be separated out only at disproportionate cost.
| (i) 2010-11 | |||||
| Not answered in three months | Not answered in six months | ||||
| Total letters received | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| (ii) 2011-12 | |||||
| Not answered in three months | Not answered in six months | ||||
| Total letters received | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
Of the 109 not answered within three months during 2011-12, only 23 remain outstanding.
Dairy Farming
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to introduce the measures on farmers' contracts contained in the EU dairy package; and what assessment she has made of whether such measures will rebalance the dairy supply chain. [110673]
Mr Paice: It is our preference that the industry develops a robust voluntary code of contractual good practice that could be in place more quickly than the EU dairy package and would keep the industry in control of how contracts deal with all the issues which are critical to farmers and processors.
A voluntary code would offer the best way of industry achieving the improvement sought by all parties.
Dangerous Dogs
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to protect guide dogs from attacks by other dogs. [110096]
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has any plans to tackle the problem of attacks by other dogs on guide dogs for the blind. [110656]
Mr Paice: We are concerned about the reported rising number of attacks on guide dogs and the distress such attacks can cause for their owners.
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The existing law on dangerous dogs makes it an offence to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place or a place it has no right to be. The definition of "dangerously out of control" means on any occasion where there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will injure any person, whether or not it actually does so. As with any other dog owner, I would expect there to be many instances where the owner of a guide dog would have reasonable grounds to believe a dog attacking his dog may also attack him. In addition, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal under the control of man. This could result in the prosecution of a dog owner whose dog has attacked another animal.
The Government announced a package of proposals for tackling irresponsible dog ownership on 23 April, sending a clear signal that dog owners must take responsibility for keeping their animals under control. In addition to these proposals, we are also taking forward other work that we consider will help tackle irresponsible ownership of dogs. In addition, on 22 May the Home Office published a White Paper setting out proposals to reform the way that the police and local communities tackle anti-social behaviour. The White Paper provides details as to how the reforms will lead to a more effective strategy for tackling dog-related antisocial behaviour.
Finally, there are currently a number of initiatives that are undertaken at local level which are designed to promote more responsible ownership of dogs. We want to see more projects of this kind and we feel that those who may be interested in setting up projects need to know what works well and in what circumstances. To enable this to happen, DEFRA are funding innovative projects to provide learning that can be applied more widely.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the timetable is for bringing forward proposals on dangerous dogs. [110097]
Mr Paice: The proposals are subject to consultation and we welcome people's views before the consultation period ends on 15 June. We want to take action as quickly as possible after that.
Debts Written Off
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much bad debt was written off by her Department in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if she will make a statement. [110217]
Richard Benyon: The amount of bad debt written off by the core Department for 2010-11 was £215,460.07.
Figures for 2011-12 will not be available until the publication of DEFRA's 2011-12 Annual Report and Accounts in mid-July.
Disclosure of Information
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on the updating of published data in line with the Government's transparency agenda in each month since September 2011. [110714]
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Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA does not hold detailed information on the cost of updating published data in line with the Government's transparency agenda.
Droughts: Horticulture
Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on exempting landscape gardeners from a hosepipe ban; and if she will make a statement. [109327]
Richard Benyon: The Government continue to work closely with all sectors to understand and mitigate the impacts of the continuing drought. Temporary water use bans are applied by water companies. However, restrictions have been kept under regular review and an exemption was made for landscaping, turf and gardening businesses on 21 May following the recent heavy rainfall. The exemption applies to the first 28 days from the day of planting, sowing or turf-laying.
Empty Property
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the empty or largely empty buildings owned by her Department; and if she will make a statement. [110842]
Richard Benyon: The Department's core property holdings include core DEFRA, the Executive agencies and Natural England's administrative office estate. Within this overall estate, there are three sites owned by the Department defined as vacant or largely vacant—Coley Park in Reading, Quantock House in Taunton and Agricola House in Penrith.
The Department is undertaking disposal action on all sites as they are surplus to business need.
Fisheries
Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to ensure an equitable distinction between the jurisdiction of the Environment Agency Wales and Environment England in shared waters for the purposes of monitoring cockling activity. [108198]
Richard Benyon: I believe this question refers to the cockle fishery on the Dee, which is the only cockle fishery whose boundaries straddle English and Welsh waters.
The management of cockles on the Dee is undertaken by the Environment Agency under a Regulating Order (which is granted to the Environment Agency) and a Management Plan. The management of the Dee is also carried out in accordance with an annual Appropriate Assessment agreed with the Countryside Council for Wales and Natural England. The Environment Agency in Wales leads on the management of the Dee cockle fishery, working closely with English colleagues, including enforcement, and the local fishing industry in both England and Wales. A Sea Fisheries Liaison Group has also been set up. This provides advice on the management of the fishery and comprises representatives from the fishing industry and statutory bodies on both sides of the estuary.
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Fisheries: Conservation
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received about damaging fishing activities in European marine sites; and what discussions her Department has had with the Marine Management Organisation about steps it is taking to protect the conservation status of these sites. [110127]
Richard Benyon: Representations have been received by DEFRA and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on this issue, including most recently from the Marine Conservation Society, Client Earth and the Wildlife Trusts.
DEFRA officials have been in discussion with the MMO in relation to the appropriate management action needed to ensure effective conservation for European marine sites. Information about statutory and non-statutory management measures undertaken by the MMO to further the conservation of European marine sites is routinely placed on its website on a site-by-site basis.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to end scallop dredging in sites recommended for designation as marine conservation zones. [110128]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA will be consulting on all the recommendations for marine conservation zones in December 2012, with a view to designating the first tranche of sites in summer 2013. Decisions on management measures, including those relating to scallop fishing, will be taken by the relevant authorities in line with the conservation objectives for each site, and according to the provisions of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.
Fisheries: Morecambe
David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to protect and police the shell fisheries industry in the Morecambe Bay area. [109304]
Richard Benyon: The management of the Morecombe Bay cockle fishery is the responsibility of North Western Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority (IFCA). The IFCA works closely with the cockle industry, local authorities and the Marine Management Organisation to ensure good management of the fishery.
Flood Control
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which flood defence schemes that were in the planning stage and published by the Environment Agency in 2010-11 have (a) started and (b) not started. [106550]
Richard Benyon: In 2010-11, 137 flood and coastal erosion schemes were in the planning stage i.e. they had some funding for project development but no construction contract had yet been awarded. Of these, 98 schemes are progressing in 2012-13, or have already completed (listed in Table A as follows), 38 schemes have either not yet started or will no longer proceed (listed in Tables B and C as follows), and one scheme was reclassified as primarily delivering navigation benefits.
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Of the 38 schemes not yet started or no longer proceeding:
Seven schemes have not yet progressed because business case approval was not obtained in time for the 2012-13 allocations of funding, and one scheme is awaiting modelling outputs. Six schemes have been identified as regional priorities by regional flood and coastal committees and work is progressing to identify funding to allow them to proceed. These 14 schemes are listed in Table B.
16 schemes offered less benefit compared to other schemes and will either be deferred to later years or will need additional contributions to proceed. The remaining eight schemes either did not pass minimum requirements to qualify for national funding or were no longer needed following project appraisal. These 24 schemes are listed in Table C.
The Government will spend £2.17 billion on managing the risk of flooding and coastal erosion over this spending period (April 2011 to March 2015). Estimates show that risk management authorities are on track to exceed the goal of better protecting 145,000 homes by March 2015.
| Table A: Flood and coastal erosion schemes progressing or already completed | ||
| Scheme Name | Environment Agency Region | Risk Management Authority |
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|
Seaton Carew Northern Management Unit Phase 1 (MA13.1A) and Phase 2 (MA13.1B-E) | ||
|
Northallerton (Sun and Turker Becks) Flood Alleviation Scheme | ||
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|
Strategic Review of Don Catchment Regulators (South Yorkshire) - £100k 12/13 |