School Meals: Nutrition

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that children receive a healthy diet from school dinners. [169033]

Elizabeth Truss: On 12 July 2013, the Department published the school food plan¹, which is the outcome of the review of school food commissioned by the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) in July 2012. The plan recommended extending entitlement to free school meals, particularly for primary school children. The Deputy Prime Minister announced on 17 September 2013 that free school meals will be provided to all infant pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 in maintained schools and academies from September 2014.

The plan also contains 16 specific actions that will further increase the quality and take up of school meals; develop a whole-school food culture in every school; and excite children about good food and cooking so that they can lead healthy lives.

To support the implementation of these actions, the Department for Education is investing £16.1 million over the next two years. This includes £11.8 million to help increase take-up of meals in schools where it is low, and £3.15 million to support the introduction of school breakfast clubs where they are most needed.

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We will also be testing and introducing revised food based standards (built on a nutritional framework) which will apply to maintained schools and all new academies and free schools.

¹ Available at: http://www.schoolfoodplan.com

Schools: Disadvantaged

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many times (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have visited the schools with the highest proportion of students in poverty since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [169064]

Mr Laws: Since 2010, a majority (65 of 125) of the schools the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has visited are in the top half of schools ordered by the proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. This does not include political or constituency visits.

It is not possible to say on how many occasions officials from the Department have visited schools in this group, as this information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Schools: Discipline

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent steps he has taken to better integrate children with challenging behaviour into schools. [169062]

Elizabeth Truss: We have strengthened teachers' disciplinary powers; simplified guidance so it is clearer to schools what they must and can do in relation to behaviour; and made schools more accountable for managing behaviour through the new Ofsted inspection regime.

We are addressing the causes of challenging behaviour by: improving the quality of teaching; investing in the pupil premium; overhauling the special educational needs system; supporting schools to address children's weaknesses in literacy and numeracy; improving the quality of alternative provision; and trialling a new approach to school exclusion that encourages early intervention.

Schools: Playing Fields

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much revenue has accrued to the public purse through the sale of sports fields in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England since May 2010. [169034]

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Mr Laws: Details of school playing field sales are not held centrally. Schools and local authorities do not apply to sell playing fields, they seek consent to dispose. In July we published a list of Department for Education decisions on applications for consent to dispose of school playing field land since May 2010¹. This will be placed in the House Library.

It is not the Government or the Department for Education that instigates the disposal of school playing fields. It is the schools themselves and their local authorities that propose to convert these fields to invest in school sport or education.

This Government will only give local authorities and schools permission to dispose of school playing fields if the sports and curriculum needs of the school and its neighbouring schools can continue to be met. All proceeds of any sales must be put back into improving sports or educational facilities.

¹ Available at:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/schoolscapital/landandproperty/a00226771/school-playing-field-land-decisions

Security

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many departmental identity cards or passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in his Department since May 2010. [168607]

Elizabeth Truss: Since May 2010, 261 Department for Education passes were reported lost or stolen by staff.

In all cases passes were cancelled and replacements were issued in line with departmental security procedures.

For comparison, a previous PQ revealed that 597 passes were lost or stolen between 2004 and 2006.

Sickness Absence

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months. [169008]

Elizabeth Truss: Overall absence rates due to ill health have fallen from 6.0 average working days lost in 2010-11, to 5.5 in 2011-12, to 4.3 in 2012-13.

Average working days lost for each pay grade in each of the last 12 months were:

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Social Workers: Training

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many placements will be made available to social work students as part of the Frontline project in the next 12 months. [169538]

Mr Timpson: Training for the Frontline project will begin in summer 2014. The Department estimates that there will be 100 students placed with local authorities from September 2014. Actual numbers will depend on the extent of local authority participation and their commitment to take on students.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how much funding will be provided to the Frontline project by his Department in the next 12 months; [169591]

(2) how much funding has been provided to the Frontline project by his Department to date. [169592]

Mr Timpson: Grant funding for the Frontline pilot is negotiated on a yearly basis.

The maximum funding available in the 2013-14 financial year is £1,182,494, of which to the end of August £325,486.96 had been issued.

Standards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the reasons are for the time taken to publish his Department’s quarterly data summary for the second quarter of 2012-13 and the third quarter of 2012-13. [168818]

Elizabeth Truss: The quarter 2 and quarter 3 quarterly data summary (QDS) returns of all 17 Departments participating in the QDS process were delayed owing to the development of the Cabinet Office’s Government Interrogating Spending Tool (GIST). The GIST was developed in response to recommendations made in Dr Martin Read’s independent report entitled “Practical Steps to Improve Management Information in Government”. The GIST is an online tool that allows the public to access a breakdown of Government expenditure through the gov.uk website. It makes the process of accessing and analysing complex QDS and OSCAR data easier and quicker, and for these reasons was seen to justify a short delay in publishing QDS data. The GIST can be found at the following web address:

http://www.gist.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/index.html

Teachers: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2013, Official Report, column 550W, on teachers: Lancashire, when exact numbers of teachers and special educational needs support staff in Pendle constituency and Lancashire awarded scholarships by Round Three (2013-14) of the National Scholarship Fund will be finalised. [169593]

Mr Laws: The number of teachers and special educational needs support staff in Pendle constituency and Lancashire who have been awarded scholarships by Round Three (2013-14) of the National Scholarship Fund was announced on 1 October 2013. The numbers of successful applicants are as follows:

Teachers: Training

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to ensure that older teachers can retrain and rejoin the profession. [169032]

Mr Laws: The National College for Teaching and Leadership offers support to qualified teachers seeking to re-enter the profession through specialist advisers at the Department for Education's Teaching Line and through resources made available on its website.

According to the latest available data, around 23,000 people re-entered teaching in the maintained sector in 2010/11 or entered it for the first time having initially pursued a different career.

Televisions

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many flat screen televisions have been purchased by his Department in the last 24 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of such purchases. [168750]

Elizabeth Truss: The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) purchased three TVs costing £2,170 in August 2012; and one was purchased at 2 St Paul's Place at a cost of £312.

Transport: Schools

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the current status is of the Government's review of school transport; and what conclusions have been reached on the role of walking in home to school transport. [169499]

Mr Laws: We conducted the last review of school transport in 2011, with some supplementary research in 2012. We will be consulting on new home-to-school

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transport guidance this autumn and propose to incorporate the best practice identified in the earlier review when we publish the new guidance early in 2014. We intend to strengthen guidance on transport appeals arrangements to provide greater clarity for both parents and local authorities.

We encourage walking to school for those children able to do so, because of the health and environmental benefits, but currently, there are no plans to review the statutory walking distances.

Travel

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on travel for departmental officials in each of the last five years. [169011]

Elizabeth Truss: The amount that the Department has spent on travel¹ for departmental officials in the previous five years is detailed in the following table:

Data for 2011-12 are not comparable to data for earlier years. Data for 2012-13 are not comparable to data for 2011-12 or for earlier years. This is because over this period the Department has brought a number of arm's length bodies (ALBs) within the Department as executive agencies, with part of their remit transferring to the Department. Taking these changes into account, spend on travel excluding executive agencies has fallen from £4.4 million in 2009-10 to £3.7 million in 2012-13.

¹ The Department has taken travel expenditure as being all costs classed as staff travel in its financial systems.

Trillium Group

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on contracts with Trillium Group in each year since 2008. [169253]

Elizabeth Truss: The Department has no recorded spend with the Trillium Group.

Young People: Unemployment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many school leavers are not in employment, education or training within 12 months of leaving school. [169051]

Matthew Hancock: Estimates based on data from the Labour Force Survey show that 30,000 young people who completed compulsory education in summer 2012 were not in education, employment or training (NEET) when the Quarter 2 survey took place during the period 1 April 2013 to 30 June 2013, which is the lowest number for this age group since consistent records began in 2000. This does not mean that these young

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people have been NEET since leaving school in 2012; many may have participated in education, employment or training at some point during that year.

Business, Innovation and Skills

Accountancy

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent on accountants in each year since 2010. [168585]

Jo Swinson: BIS accounting systems do not identify spend on accountants separately within its staff costs. The information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Air Travel

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many individual domestic air flights were undertaken within Great Britain by representatives of (a) his Department and (b) its associated public bodies in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what the cost to the public purse of each such flight was. [168764]

Jo Swinson: The number of domestic air flights within Great Britain taken by staff from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (including UKTI) during 2012-13 is 1062. The total cost of these flights was £185,860.

Due to the remit of our responsibilities, BIS does have a requirement to travel between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland so there is a need for some domestic flights. However, domestic flights are seen as an exception and are actively discouraged where these involve flights of less than 250 miles or involve flights solely between English departure and destination airports.

The details of domestic air flights taken by BIS associated bodies are not held centrally within the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Apprentices

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of additional lifetime earnings of apprentices. [169532]

Matthew Hancock: The latest analysis published by the Department shows that those who achieve an intermediate apprenticeship earn on average between £48,000 and £74,000 more over their lifetime, in today's valuation, compared to similar individuals with Level 1 or other Level 2 qualifications. Those who achieve an advanced apprenticeship earn on average between £77,000 and £117,000 more over their lifetime, compared to similar individuals with Level 2 qualifications.

The full report—“Returns to Intermediate and Low Level Vocational Qualifications”—is published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32354/11-1282-returns-intermediate-and-low-level-vocational-qualifications.pdf

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Apprentices: Essex

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people started apprenticeships in (a) Essex and (b) Harlow in the last five years; and what proportion of those people go on to full-time employment. [169541]

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):

http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/69EFC69B-C189-46C4-93C4-6B161D744073/0/March2013_Apprenticeship_Starts.xls

Information on the future employment status of apprentices is not available from the Individualised Learner Record, the data source of apprenticeship statistics used in the SFR. We plan a more comprehensive link to employment and earnings data in future.

The 2013 Apprenticeship Evaluation Survey shows that, of apprentices who finished in the last year 68% were employed full-time, 18% were employed part-time, 7% were unemployed, 3% were self employed and 3% were in full-time learning. Due to the sample size of the survey we can not provide local level figures.

Apprentices: Income

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the additional lifetime earnings of apprentices. [168418]

Matthew Hancock: The latest analysis published by the Department shows that those who achieve an intermediate apprenticeship earn on average between £48,000 and £74,000 more over their lifetime, in today's valuation, compared to similar individuals with Level 1 or other Level 2 qualifications. Those who achieve an advanced apprenticeship earn on average between £77,000 and £117,000 more over their lifetime, compared to similar individuals with Level 2 qualifications.

The full report—“Returns to Intermediate and Low Level Vocational Qualifications”—is published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32354/11-1282-returns-intermediate-and-low-level-vocational-qualifications.pdf

Buildings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many square metres of office space his Department (a) owns and (b) rents in London; and what the value is of that property. [169413]

Jo Swinson: The Department does not own any properties in London. The Department rents 59,290 sq m of office space in London, of which approximately 27,992 sq m is let to other Government bodies. There is no property value recorded against office space rented in London.

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the expenditure on office refurbishment by (a) his Department and (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies in each year since 2010-11. [169442]

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Jo Swinson: The expenditure incurred on office refurbishment has enabled the Department to rationalise our office estate and has helped the Department achieve the Cabinet Office target of 10^m per full-time equivalent (FTE) by 2015. For example the refurbishment of 1-19 Victoria street, London has already enabled the building to exceed this target in 2012-13. Refurbishment of surplus buildings has also allowed the Department to sublet space to other Government Departments, thus helping Government reduce the size of its property portfolio. In some instances refurbishment was required to ensure we were compliant with the terms of our lease agreements and to meet modern building regulations.

The information requested on the Department's non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the number of office relocations made by staff of (a) his Department and (b) his Department's non-departmental public bodies (i) within the original building and (ii) to other buildings in each year since 2009-10; what the cost of (A) removals and (B) refurbishments related to such moves has been; and on how many occasions offices refurbished by his Department in that period have been used by his Department's staff for less than four years before a further move. [169456]

Jo Swinson: This Department has made a number of office relocations since 2009-10 in order to rationalise its property estate and to comply with mandated Cabinet Office Property Controls. The Department has spent £14.03 million (inclusive of VAT) on relocating its staff, with the majority of this expenditure incurred on refurbishing its London HQ 1-19 Victoria street, in 2009/-10 and 2010-11. This allowed Kingsgate House, London to be returned to the Landlord saving £9.55 million per annum from operating costs. It is not possible to split out removal costs as these were captured as part of the refurbishment project, but they would form a very small percentage of the costs incurred.

The Department has not refurbished any space which has been used for less than four years before a further move was instigated.

The information requested on the Department's non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Business: Government Assistance

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what amount spent under the Growth Accelerator Fund has gone on (a) marketing the scheme, (b) administration costs, (c) paying consultants and (d) investment in business. [168427]

Michael Fallon: Of the total £51.5 million spend on the Growth Accelerator programme since launch in 2012 to end June 2013 costs were:

Marketing the scheme—£2.5 million

Administration costs—defined as premises, facilities, Human Resources and Information and Communication Technology costs—£1.5 million

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Paying consultants—defined as funding for coaching of participants, provided by a network of over 1,000 independent coaches—£16 million

Investment in business—defined as the contribution from BIS towards leadership and management skills development, which is 50% match-funded by participants—£10 million.

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many jobs have been created under the Growth Accelerator scheme since its inception. [168845]

Michael Fallon: The Growth Accelerator annual report, published in July 2013, shows that of the 6,000 clients supported, more than 3,100 are creating employment at a faster pace because of Growth Accelerator.

Data on jobs created by clients who participated in the first year of the scheme will be reported in the interim evaluation of the scheme to be published by end March 2014.

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support small businesses in (a) Brighton, Kemptown and Peacehaven and (b) the UK. [169194]

Michael Fallon: This Department has introduced a range of schemes to help small businesses across the country. This is in addition to local support provided by organisations such as county councils and local enterprise partnerships.

Coast to Capital local enterprise partnership covers Brighton and working with local authorities and business plays a central role in determining local economic priorities and undertaking activities to drive economic growth and the creation of jobs.

The Government have provided funding to local businesses and organisations through the Regional Growth Fund (RGF). To date, 2,700 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have benefited from over £100 million of support through the RGF. Through rounds one to four of the RGF, SMEs throughout England have access to hundreds of millions of pounds of further RGF support through a range of locally and nationally run programmes

Through UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the Government have stepped up their work to encourage significantly more UK businesses to export. In the last 12 months, the UKTI South East International Trade Team supported 59 small businesses from Brighton, Kemptown and Peacehaven to export overseas. A total of 102 services were delivered to these businesses comprising 11 supported through the Passport to Export Programme, four through the Gateway to Global Growth Programme, 34 received a significant assistance, 22 received the overseas market introductory service, five took part in the export market research scheme, three received an export communications review and 23 were assisted at UKTI events.

Over the last year, UKTI has helped over 31,000 SMEs nationally to export and break into high growth markets, generating over £33 billion of additional sales. In doing so, UKTI has taken its campaign across the

8 Oct 2013 : Column 266W

country in order to achieve its target to double its client base to 50,000 companies per year by 2015, which it is on target to achieve.

The Government are also helping to support new entrepreneurs through the start up loan scheme which provides funding and mentoring to anyone over 18 looking to start a business. 68 loans totalling just over £400,000 were provided in Brighton and a little over 8,000 loans totalling just over £40 million have been made available nationally.

For viable businesses that have been turned down for a normal commercial loan due to a lack of security or a proven track record, there is the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) loan guarantee scheme. 30 loans have been offered to businesses in my hon. Friend's constituency with approximately £2 million drawn by businesses. 22,518 loans have been offered nationally with almost £2 billion drawn by businesses.

Finally, the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), which is funded by this Department, provides manufacturing business support for companies in England helping them to improve and grow. MAS has assisted seven companies in Brighton and 12,116 companies nationally since its launch in 2012.

Christmas Cards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his private ministerial office spent on sending Christmas cards in 2012. [168674]

Jo Swinson: For Christmas 2012, electronic Christmas cards, designed by children of BIS staff, were sent via email to stakeholders at no cost to the Department.

Direct Mail: Fraud

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to protect vulnerable people from scam mail. [169016]

Jo Swinson: The Government are very aware of the damage and severe distress that can be caused by mass marketing scams, particularly in relation to vulnerable consumers who can get drawn in to long-term fraudulent relationships which impact on their financial and physical health. The Government advise consumers through agencies to be very wary of any kind of unsolicited offer that sounds too good to be true.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) works with local authorities, the Trading Standards Service, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the Citizens Advice Service and Citizens Advice Scotland to put in place arrangements to give consumers confidence and help them know how to spot a scam. The National Trading standards Board and Trading Standards Scotland also have specific enforcement teams in place to target criminals who mislead and defraud consumers, including through scam mail. In addition, BIS has set up the Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP)—a group of key stakeholders—to co-ordinate a joint strategy for sharing information, and it has prioritised work to tackle mass marketing scams.

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Among other things, the CPP identifies opportunities for targeted consumer and business education campaigns which can be used to further reduce the detriment caused by mass marketing scams.

Scams can be easily reported to ‘Action Fraud’ online via the Action Fraud website:

www.actionfraud.org.uk

This service also provides help and advice over the phone via the Action Fraud contact centre. Consumers can also report concerns over any mailings promoting prize draws or competitions to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for investigation:

www.asa.org.uk

and scam mail can also be reported direct to Royal Mail by emailing or by reporting concerns by phone. This can be done by either the direct recipient or someone on behalf of a potential victim. More information about Royal Mail's helpline can be found on its website:

http://www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/what-can-I-do-about-scam-mail

Employment Agencies

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many visits to employment agencies the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has made in each of the last five years; how many breaches of the law were found through such visits; what estimate he has made of the number of people found to have been underpaid through such visits; and how many successful prosecutions his Department has made against employment agencies and businesses found not to be operating within the law as a result of such visits. [168974]

Jo Swinson: Information on the number of breaches and the number of successful prosecutions by the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate (EAS) is published in its annual report, which can be found on:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employment-agency-standards-eas-inspectorate-annual-report-for-2011-to-2012

EAS uses the most appropriate route to investigate complaints, which can include dealing with them by telephone or correspondence, as well as visits. Between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2013 EAS helped recover more than £860,000 for work seekers which included, for example, non-payment of wages, recovery of fees charged for work-finding services, and ‘up-front' fees charged in the entertainment and modelling sectors. EAS does not keep a record of the number of people that have been underpaid.

For completeness, I am setting out the information available in the EAS annual report in the following table for the years 2008/09 to 2012/13:

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Note:

There were no unsuccessful prosecutions during this period.

Engineering: West Midlands

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the provision of basic engineering training in the West Midlands. [169620]

Michael Fallon: The Government fully recognise the importance of the supply of skilled engineers to the country's current and future economic performance. The Department's chief scientific adviser, Professor John Perkins is leading a review to identify practical measures to improve the supply of engineering skills.

At local level, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have the lead role in setting strategies for skills within their overall Strategic Economic Plans, which they are developing as part of the Growth Deals process. Those plans will identify skills priorities of local businesses in making the most of growth opportunities.

All West Midlands LEPs are now engaging in the provision of skills in response to local demands, with engineering being a high priority for most.

Exports

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase UK exports. [169192]

Michael Fallon: Through UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) the Government have stepped up their work to encourage significantly more UK businesses to export.

UKTI is delivering an ambitious package of support designed to get more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exporting, to help UK companies access the highest value trade opportunities and to link high-potential firms to trade finance, credit insurance and venture capital.

This means, among other things:

Doubling the number of SMEs supported on UKTI's Passport to Export scheme;

Doubling the number of companies supported at overseas exhibitions;

Increasing the number of International Trade Advisors in the English regions; and

Doubling the number of companies given financial support towards the cost of exhibiting at their first few overseas trade shows.

Over the last year, UKTI has helped over 31,000 SMEs to export and break into new high growth markets, generating over £33 billion of additional sales. In doing so, UKTI has taken its campaign across the country in order to achieve its target to double its client base to 50,000 companies per year by 2015, which it is on target to achieve.

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Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much public expenditure he estimates supports exports (a) of military and security equipment and (b) from all other industrial sectors. [169604]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment's (UKTI) total net budget for 2013/14 is £203 million. This includes staff cost and capital, but excludes BIS overhead and FCO apportionment costs. Of the £203 million:

£11 million has been allocated to Defence & Security Organisation (DSO). DSO is the group within UKTI responsible for helping the UK defence and security sectors succeed internationally, and

£140 million has been allocated to support export to other industrial sectors.

UKTI records spend at a programme and team level. To provide the figures on what was spent on export of military and security equipment and on other industrial sectors can be done only at disproportionate cost.

Exports: West Midlands

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new jobs were generated in the West Midlands as a direct result of the work of UK Trade and Investment West Midlands in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [169478]

Michael Fallon: UKTI has national figures. Quarterly results from April 2013 show that in 2012 UKTI helped to create 38,080 jobs and safeguard 83,780 jobs, making a total of 121,860 jobs. In 2011 UKTI helped to create 36,400 jobs and safeguard 68,500 jobs, making a total of 104,900 jobs.

Flexible Working: Grandparents

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to introduce flexible working hours for grandparents helping to care for their grandchildren. [169203]

Jo Swinson: Currently the right to request flexible working is only available to parents and carers, which excludes many grandparents, even those who are closely involved with caring for their grandchildren. This is why we intend to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees through the Children and Families Bill. Subject to Royal Assent we intend to roll out the extension from April 2014.

Foreign Investment in UK

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much inward foreign direct investment UK Trade & Investment and its private sector partners have secured in the year to date. [168503]

Michael Fallon: Results, published in June 2013, show that 1,559 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects landed in the UK in 2012/13, an increase of nearly 11% on 2011/12.

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Those projects resulted in an estimated 170,000 jobs being created or safeguarded. The number of new jobs increased by 12% over the previous year, to reach almost 60,000.

Foreign Investment in UK: Greater London

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the London UK Trade and Investment Office and its private sector partners maintain a list of the top ten inward investment opportunities in London. [168445]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) does not maintain a list of the top 10 investment opportunities in London.

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with which (a) foreign companies, (b) investors, (c) sovereign wealth funds and (d) other governments UK Trade & Investment London and its private sector partners are currently working to secure inward investment into London. [168446]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and its partners work with a very wide range of foreign-based companies, investors, sovereign wealth funds and governments to attract inward investment into the UK. At any one time, UKTI and its partners may be engaged in discussions with several tens of thousands of organisations, a number of which will have regard to potential investment in London. These organisations undertake discussions with UKTI on the basis of commercial confidentiality.

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with which (a) foreign companies, (b) investors, (c) sovereign wealth funds and (d) other governments UK Trade & Investment worked to secure inward investment into London in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012. [168447]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and its partners work with a very wide range of foreign-based companies, investors, sovereign wealth funds and governments to attract inward investment into the UK, including London. Potential investors engage with UKTI on the basis of commercial confidentiality.

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how often the London UK Trade & Investment office has contacted hon. Members representing constituencies in London to help it secure inward investment into London this year. [168448]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is not aware of any cases of Members of Parliament representing London constituencies being contacted in order to help secure inward investment into London.

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many new overseas contracts were won by businesses in London as a direct result of the work of the London UK Trade & Investment office in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [168449]

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Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has recently started to measure Trade Growth Value. This measure was designed to record cases where an enterprise has progressed in its pursuit of overseas business opportunities to the point of successfully winning contracts. During the financial year 2012-13, six London small and medium-sized enterprises completed Trade Growth Value (TGV) forms totalling £14.3 million. Between 1 April and 31 August 2013, 13 TGV forms have been received with a value of £75.2 million. The assistance provided to exporters by the UKTI team in London also involves help at earlier stages in this export development process.

Foreign Investment in UK: Northamptonshire

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UK Trade & Investment in attracting inward investment to (a) Corby constituency and (b) East Northamptonshire. [169186]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) measures the effectiveness of its services to attract inward investment on a national basis. It reports at the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) level. The UKTI Annual Report, published on 24 July 2013, shows UKTI played an active role in attracting 1,322 projects in the UK in 2012-13 creating or safeguarding almost 100,000 jobs.

The Northamptonshire LEP (including the Corby constituency, and East Northamptonshire) attracted six projects in 2012-13, creating 66 new and 3,215 safeguarded jobs.

Foreign Investment in UK: Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprise exporters in Shropshire contributed to the Trade Growth Value metric through reporting receiving significant assistance from UK Trade & Investment in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [168501]

Michael Fallon: UKTI did not start to record the Trade Growth Value (TGV) metric until April 2013. However, 128 companies in Shropshire reported that they had received Significant Assistance from UKTI West Midlands International Trade Advisers as follows:

This figure includes a small number of mid-sized businesses and has been de-duplicated as some companies reported Significant Assistance in both periods.

Since UKTI West Midlands started recording Trade Growth Value figures in April 2013, three companies in Shropshire reported Significant Assistance, with a total TGV of £2.1 million.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much inward foreign direct investment UK Trade & Investment and its private sector partners attracted into Shropshire in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [168502]

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Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) does not hold these data at a regional level. However, at The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) level, which includes the unitary council areas of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, inward investment was:

2012-13: Three projects, creating or safeguarding 154 jobs;

2011-12: Three projects, creating or safeguarding 89 jobs.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the return on investment to the public purse from UK Trade & Investment's private-sector partners through the inward investment they attract into Shropshire in the latest period for which figures are available. [168519]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) calculates the return on investment of its trade and investment related activity on a financial year basis using a range of measures including jobs created and safeguarded. The contribution of private sector partners is subsumed within this activity.

The latest Annual Report and Accounts shows that UKTI spent a total of £316.8 million in 2012-13 (of which £235.6 million was spent in trade support and £81.2 million on inward investment). For inward investment, UKTI, including its private sector partners, played an active role in attracting 1,322 projects in the UK in 2012-13, creating or safeguarding almost 100,000 jobs.

For further detail on UKTI's measurement systems please see UKTI Trade & Investment Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13:

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/item/534440.html

The latest inward investment results were published in the Inward Investment Report 2012-13:

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/aboutukti/item/553980.html

Foreign Investment in UK: West Midlands

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the return on investment to the public purse from the West Midlands UK Trade & Investment office through inward investment and exports in the latest period for which figures are available. [168521]

Michael Fallon: UKTI calculates the return on investment of its Trade and Investment related activity on a financial year basis using a range of measures including jobs created and safeguarded and additional sales and profit generated by export services. Data at either the regional or service level are not available.

The latest Annual Report and Accounts shows that UKTI spent a total of £316.8 million in 2012-13 (of which £235.6 million was spent in trade support and £81.2 million on inward investment). On the trade side, UKTI supported 29,230 companies, with reported additional sales of £49.6 billion, creating or safeguarding over 120,000 additional jobs. For inward investment, UKTI played an active role in attracting 1,322 projects in the UK creating or safeguarding almost 100,000 jobs.

For further detail on UKTI's measurement systems please see UKTI Trade & Investment Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13:

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/item/534440.html

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Lip Reading: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to increase the provision of lip reading teaching (a) nationally and (b) in Leeds. [169575]

Matthew Hancock: The Adult Skills Budget (ASB) is used to fund adult skills provision including lip-reading qualifications for eligible adults. Colleges and providers have the freedoms and flexibilities to use the ASB as best fits the needs of their local learners and businesses, including lip-reading qualifications where there is a local need for these.

Manufacturing Industries

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 30 November 2012, Official Report, column 526W, on manufacturing industries (1) and with reference to his Department’s announcements on the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative of 6 November 2011 and 26 November 2012, how much of the £125 million announced has been (a) allocated and (b) spent in the latest accounting period available; and if he will make a statement; [168962]

(2) how much funding of each round of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative has been (a) allocated and (b) provided to the applicant business; how much allocated to each round has been spent; and how many jobs have been (i) created or (ii) safeguarded through allocations in each round. [168963]

Michael Fallon: 21 successful bids from rounds 1 and 2 of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative are projected to create or safeguard over 18,000 jobs, through over £237 million in joint public and private investment. AMSCI bids come from consortia of businesses in a supply chain, so in total, more than 180 organisations have benefited from AMSCI so far, including 108 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Up to 6 September 2013, AMSCI rounds 1 and 2 have committed public funds totalling £89.7 million from the £100 million available for national projects. AMSCI supports successful bids over a period of up to five years, with funding released in tranches throughout that time, in line with bidders’ needs. Projects from rounds 1 and 2 are in their early stages—so far, £3.6 million funding has been drawn down, 68 jobs have been created and 929 jobs safeguarded.

Up to £25 million was also available in AMSCI rounds 1 and 2 for local projects based in the four participating local enterprise partnership (LEPs) areas—Black Country, Coventry and Warwickshire, Greater Birmingham and Solihull. The four LEPs led on encouraging bids to the scheme, and have recently launched a further bidding round called the West Midlands and Liverpool City Region Scheme to allocate the remaining £19 million.

On 11 September 2013, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), announced the results of AMSCI round 3. Five successful bids secured a total of £116 million joint Government and industry investment, which is projected to create and safeguard 1,500 jobs in 30 different organisations including 13 SMEs.

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Round 4 of AMSCI is open for applications. The closing date is noon on 16 October 2013.

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to support the UK manufacturing industry. [169193]

Michael Fallon: Manufacturing is crucial to our recovery, export and future growth in productivity. The Government are working with manufacturers and their supply chains, and are taking steps to strengthen and grow modern manufacturing in the UK by encouraging innovation, business investment, technology commercialisation, skills and exports. There is a focus on advanced manufacturing in the Government's Industrial Strategy—11 sector strategies have already been published.

In his last autumn statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced a number of measures which will benefit manufacturing. These include a significant temporary increase in the annual investment allowance, from £25,000 to £250,000 for two years from 1 January 2013; £120 million for two further rounds of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative; and increased funding of £140 million to help UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) deliver an ambitious package of support to get more companies exporting and attract more, high value investment into the UK.

UK based manufacturers can also access financial support through the regional growth fund (RGF), which is a flexible and competitive £3.2 billion fund operating across England from 2011 to 2017. It supports projects and programmes that are using private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment. Round 5 of the RGF will open on 11 October 2013.

The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) is the principal direct business support vehicle for small and medium-sized enterprise manufacturing and engineering companies. More than 11,000 firms have received specialist support from MAS with long-term strategy, securing efficiencies, developing new products and supply chain development since the national offer was introduced in January 2012. This assistance is set to safeguard 30,000 jobs with the potential to create over 11,000 new positions over the next year and generate economic growth in excess of £900 million.

Innovation is one key area where the Government have a role in ensuring that UK manufacturing's future is a prosperous one. Seven “Catapult” innovation and technology centres have been launched, including one focused on high value manufacturing, and £600 million of support was announced in the last autumn statement to develop the “eight great technologies”.

On skills, we are improving technical education at a young age by setting up a new generation of university technical colleges. 45 have now been announced. Apprenticeship starts in engineering and manufacturing technologies reached over 59,000 in 2011/12—up 22% on the previous year. The Employer Ownership programme allows employers to develop their own vocational training programmes, creating thousands of apprenticeship and training opportunities for young people. With respect to skills shortages in engineering, Professor John Perkins (BIS Chief Scientist) is leading discussions with industry and learned bodies to ensure we understand the scale of

8 Oct 2013 : Column 275W

the challenge and take sufficient action so that manufacturers can secure the skilled engineers they need. His report will be published later this year.

Medicine: Education

Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students (a) started and (b) graduated from medical degree courses in England in each year since 1997. [169205]

Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England's (HEFCE) Medical and Dental Students (MDS) Survey aims to measure the number of students beginning studies in these areas. The data help HEFCE and the Department of Health assess the need to recruit more medical and dental students, and help the Government plan the workforce in these professions. The data are also used as a basis for funding activity that supports medical and dental studies.

Figures on the number of students starting and graduating from medical schools in England in each year since 1997/98 are shown in the table.

More information on the Medical and Dental Students Survey can be found at the following link:

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/crosscutting/healthcare/mds/

Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many students have undertaken a six year programme consisting of a foundation year followed by a five year programme of medical studies leading to a degree in medicine in each of the last 20 years; how many such students completed their course; and how many students at each medical school started such a course in the latest year for which figures are available; [169206]

(2) what the drop-out rate of students commencing a (a) five year and (b) six year course leading to a degree in medicine is; and what the drop-out rate in such courses was in each medical school in the latest year for which figures are available. [169208]

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Mr Willetts: The information requested could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Information on enrolments and continuation rates for specific subsets of students can be requested via its bespoke query service. Contact information is available at the following link:

http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2/52/

Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the average cost is of (a) a five year and (b) a six year course leading to a medical degree. [169207]

Mr Willetts: It is not possible to calculate the separate average cost of five year and six year courses leading to a medical degree.

However, the personal social services research unit at the university of Kent estimates that the average cost of training an undergraduate medical student in 2012 was £269,526. This figure reflects the total cost of training and therefore includes costs funded through the public purse and by the student.

This figure includes the costs of tuition; infrastructure costs (such as libraries); costs or benefits from clinical placement activities; and lost production costs during the period of training where staff are away from their posts, as follows:

£57,433 for tuition;

£60,301 for living expenses/lost production costs and

£151,792 for clinical placements.

Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students entered medical school without any (a) A-level grades and (b) A grades in comparable qualifications in the latest year for which figures are available. [169273]

Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Information on the prior qualifications of young entrants to medicine, dentistry and veterinary science subjects is included in table SP2 of its publication “Performance Indicators in Higher Education in the UK”. The latest statistics refer to entrants in the academic year 2011/12 and are available at the following link:

http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2060&ltemid=141

Further information on the performance indicators, including more detailed breakdowns of the statistics, can be requested from HESA's bespoke query service. Contact information is available at the following link:

http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2/52/

Ministers' Private Offices

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many full-time equivalent staff of each Civil Service grade are currently employed in the private office of each Minister in his Department; and what the pay band of each such member of staff is. [168711]

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Jo Swinson: Staffing for Ministers' Offices where BIS is responsible for their pay, is shown in the table:

Details of pay grades are published on the Gov.uk website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-innovation-skills/series/bis-organogram-and-staff-pay-data

Overseas Trade: Taiwan

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the value of trade between the UK and Taiwan has been in each year since 2010. [169398]

Michael Fallon: Estimates of the value of UK trade in goods and services with Taiwan since 2010 are shown in the following table, sourced from the latest Office for National Statistics Pink Book publication, released on 31 July 2013.

Overseas Trade: Western Sahara

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2013, Official Report, column 584W, on Overseas Trade: Morocco, what the value of the UK's (a) exports to and (b) imports from Western Sahara has been since 1 January 2013. [169388]

Michael Fallon: Estimates of the value of the UK's trade in goods with Western Sahara since 1 January 2013 are shown in the following table, taken from HMRC's Overseas Trade Statistics database:

https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/BuildYourOwnTables/Pages/Table.aspx

Data on UK trade in services with Western Sahara during this period are not available.

8 Oct 2013 : Column 278W

Post Offices

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will give consideration to closing the London headquarters of the Post Office and relocating it to an area that has a lower land value. [168518]

Jo Swinson: The premises occupied by Post Office Ltd's London headquarters are leased. Any consideration of relocation would be a commercial and operational matter for the company.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse through the Crown Post Office closure and relocation programme. [168506]

Jo Swinson: Post Office Ltd's Crown Network Transformation programme, which includes the merger of six Crown offices into neighbouring Crown branches and proposals for franchising 70 branches including Rhyl, will contribute substantially to the elimination by 2015 of the Crown network losses—£37 million in 2012-13.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much was paid in bonuses to senior management in Post Office Ltd in each of the last 10 years. [168507]

Jo Swinson: Bonus payments to staff and management are a commercial and operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the chief executive, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of the Post Office's (a) financial and (b) other services were processed through (i) Crown post offices and (ii) sub-post offices in each of the last five years. [168508]

Jo Swinson: Post Office Ltd is responsible for commercial and operational matters concerning the Post Office network, which includes the information requested. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the chief executive, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value of (a) the London headquarters of the Post Office and (b) the Post Office estate as a whole. [168514]

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Jo Swinson: None. Post Office Ltd is responsible for commercial and operational matters concerning the Post Office network, which includes the information requested. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the chief executive, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of agency post office closures have been halted following public consultation in the last three years. [168516]

Jo Swinson: Post Office Ltd is responsible for commercial and operational matters concerning the Post Office network, which includes the information requested. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the chief executive, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

This Government have made a commitment that there will be no closure programme, planned or otherwise, and are investing to create a sustainable network of at least 11,500 branches which is also compliant with the Government-set access criteria. The Post Office network has experienced a high level of stability since 2010, halting over two decades of closures and decline. The size of the network is at its most stable for over 20 years.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many Crown post office closures have been halted following public consultation; [168517]

(2) how many post office managers were employed in each of the last 10 years; [168928]

(3) how many Crown Post Office closures have been halted after public consultation in each of the last 5 years; [168937]

(4) what the projected saving is from the closure of Crown post office buildings in Rhyl; [168940]

(5) what discussions he has had with local authorities on reducing rates and rents for the 70 Crown Post Offices proposed for relocation. [168957]

Jo Swinson: Post Office Ltd is responsible for commercial and operational matters concerning the Post Office network, which includes the information requested. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive, to respond directly to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library of the House.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what measures are in place to deal with a situation when a Crown post office moves to the premises of a retail business which subsequently closes down. [168524]

Jo Swinson: In the event of a post office operator resigning or closing down, Post Office Ltd will seek an alternative retail partner to provide post office services in that community. Government-set access criteria are in place to maintain network coverage and to ensure reasonable access to post office services.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether any Crown post offices will be relocated to retail premises which do not have disabled access. [168525]

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Jo Swinson: No. Disabled access will be a key criterion for Post Office Ltd in formulating any franchise proposal.

Post Offices: Pensions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to protect the pensions and other rights of employees who work in Crown post offices. [168515]

Jo Swinson: Under the Postal Services Act 2011, Government assumed responsibility for the historic deficit in the Royal Mail pension plan. The Act set out protections for the benefits accrued by members, including Crown post office staff, up to 1 April 2012. Ongoing provision of pensions after that date is a matter for the company.

Public Relations

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department and its associated public bodies spent on (a) external public relations consultants and (b) public affairs consultants, in each of the past three years; and for what purposes such consultants were engaged. [168656]

Jo Swinson: Spend on external public relations and public affairs consultants is not accounted for separately in the Department's advertising and marketing spend and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Publications

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will list (a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to his Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by his Department in each year since 2010. [168779]

Jo Swinson: This information is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Our default position is to publish reports online only unless there is a requirement for hard copies to be printed.

Publishing

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent in each of the last three years on hard copy printing of documents for external audiences. [168621]

Jo Swinson: This specific information is not held centrally in the Department and to determine this would be at disproportionate cost.

Regional Growth Fund: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how many projects in Ashfield constituency have been (a) selected to receive funding and (b) received final offer letters from the Regional Growth Fund in the latest period for which figures are available; [169003]

8 Oct 2013 : Column 281W

(2) how many applications were received from businesses in Ashfield constituency for funding from the Regional Growth Fund in the latest period for which figures are available. [169004]

Michael Fallon: Regional Growth Fund (RGF) applicants are not required to report the parliamentary constituency within which the majority of their activity will take place. Once a bid has been selected and further details made available, we are able to confirm where the primary impact will be at the parliamentary constituency level.

One project in the Ashfield constituency has been selected to receive funding from the RGF. This Round 4 award was made conditionally on 11 July 2013 and the company is now agreeing terms with us.

In addition, two final awards from previous rounds were made to RGF programmes to which small and medium-sized enterprises in the Ashfield constituency may bid.

Research: EU Grants and Loans

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely benefits to the UK of the Horizon 2020 programme. [169292]

Mr Willetts: The Horizon 2020 programme reflects key UK objectives, which were established after extensive consultation with stakeholders in academia and business as well as independent evaluations of previous programmes. Key features include: a focus on supporting world-leading research and innovation, notably via the European Research Council; mobility of researchers through training schemes; funding along the innovation spectrum to help address major societal challenges; public-private partnerships in key sectors; and dedicated support to small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, all participants should benefit from simplified administrative arrangements. The Government believe that the UK is well placed to play a leading role in Horizon 2020 and we will monitor implementation carefully.

Rover Group

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make a statement on the Financial Reporting Council Final Report of Disciplinary Hearing: MG Rover Group, Deloitte and Touche and Mr Maghsoud Einollahi. [169658]

Jo Swinson: Deloitte has appealed and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

Royal Mail

Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when the prospectus for privatisation of Royal Mail will be drawn up and made available to the (a) public and (b) Royal Mail workforce. [169535]

Michael Fallon: The prospectus was published by Royal Mail on 27 September and is publicly available via the Royal Mail Group's website:

www.royalmailgroup.com

or via:

www.gov.uk/royalmailshares

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The initial public offering gives financial institutions and members of the public (either through direct application to Government or through intermediaries) the opportunity to buy shares. Institutional offer bookbuilding and the retail offer commenced on 27 September; and both close on 8 October.

Satellite Broadcasting

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what subscriptions his Department has for premium satellite television channels; and what the cost of each such subscription was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [168638]

Jo Swinson: The Department has no subscriptions for premium satellite television channels.

Security

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many departmental identity cards or passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in his Department since May 2010. [168603]

Jo Swinson: There have been 205 passes reported lost or stolen from January 2011 to August 2013. We do not hold information prior to January 2011.

Standards

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the reasons are for the time taken to publish his Department's Quarterly Data Summary for the second quarter of 2012-13 and the third quarter of 2012-13. [168814]

Jo Swinson: The quarter 2 and quarter 3 Quarterly Data Summary (QDS) returns of all 17 Departments participating in the QDS process were delayed owing to the development of the Cabinet Office's Government Interrogating Spending Tool (GIST). The GIST was developed in response to recommendations made in Dr Martin Read's independent report entitled ‘Practical Steps to Improve Management Information in Government’. The GIST is an online tool that allows the public to access a breakdown of Government expenditure through the Gov.UK website. It makes the process of accessing and analysing complex QDS and OSCAR data easier and quicker, and for these reasons was seen to justify a short delay in publishing QDS data.

BIS compiled and submitted its QDS reports for Q2 and Q3 2012-13 to Cabinet Office within the required timeframe.

Televisions

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many flat screen televisions have been purchased by his Department in the last 24 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of such purchases. [168746]

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Jo Swinson: The Department has purchased 14 flat screen televisions in the last 24 months. The cost of the televisions was £19,489 inclusive of VAT.

Nine of the TV sets are for the 1 Victoria Conference Centre, a very public facing area. These sets were to a high specification to form a montage and promote UK plc to various trade delegations and stakeholders.

Trade Missions

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many trade missions to which countries his Department has conducted in each year since 2010. [169400]

Michael Fallon: The information sought by my hon. Friend will be placed in the Library of the House. Every effort has been made to ensure completeness, but it is possible there may be omissions or inaccuracies.

Travel

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much was spent on travel for his Department's officials in each of the last five years. [169001]

Jo Swinson: Since 2009/10 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has spent the following amounts on travel through the departmental travel framework contract.

A new set of principles on staff travel were recently introduced within BIS to help staff make the correct choices when undertaking travel, including whether there is a business need to do so.

All staff within BIS are expected to travel at standard class and to travel only when it is both necessary and appropriate.

Exceptions to this are only permitted where there is a clear and approved business need or where individual health issues demand an exception to be applied. All travel is to be booked using the central Government travel management service framework contract (CG TMS). This will ensure that best value is achieved and additionally that sufficient travel management information is obtained in order to effectively manage and monitor staff travel throughout the Department.

It is anticipated that these new principles will reduce the volume and cost of travel within BIS.

BIS does not hold travel data centrally for periods prior to 2009/10 and could provide these details only at disproportionate cost.

Trillium Group

Mr Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent on contracts with Trillium Group in each year since 2008. [169248]

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Jo Swinson: The Department has not paid any amounts during the period 2008 to date to Trillium Group.

UK Trade & Investment

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that the work of regional UK Trade & Investment offices is accurately measured and monitored. [169083]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) uses its Performance and Impact Monitoring Surveys (PIMS) to measure the performance and impact of its support. The PIMS evidence is periodically complemented by independent impact evaluations, for the most recent example see

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/download/123593_174060/UKTI%20Response%20to%20Evaluation%20of%20the% 20impact%20and%20cost%20effective.html

PIMS covers all significant customer-facing trade services and provides evidence about service quality and what differences UKTI makes to businesses. It uses a range of measures, including information on the overall performance of UKTI against its performance measures. These results are provided at a regional level on a quarterly basis, more information can be found on the UKTI website:

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/aboutukti/ourperformance/performanceimpactandmonitoringsurvey/quarterlysurveys.html

The robustness of UKTI's monitoring system was recognised by the National Audit Office in the conclusions of their 2009 value for money study of UKTI trade services, the full report can be found here:

http://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/uk-trade-investment-trade-support-2/

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that the effectiveness of, and results achieved by, UK Trade & Investment offices are accurately measured and monitored. [169678]

Michael Fallon: The effectiveness of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is robustly assessed routinely. UKTl uses an independent monitoring survey (the Performance and Impact Monitoring Survey, PIMS) to measure the performance and impact of its support. Full results of these surveys, and detailed discussions of the methodology, including the questions used to derive the measures, are published on the UKTI website at:

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/aboutukti/ourperformance/performanceimpactandmonitoringsurvey.html

In addition to the programme of monitoring surveys, UKTI also commissions an annual programme of independent evaluations of the economic impact and rationale for specific services. More information on these can be found on the UKTI website:

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/aboutukti/ourperformance/evaluation.html

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the depth and range of data collected on regional UK Trade & Investment offices. [169680]

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Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) collects company information through its Customer Data Management System (CDMS). CDMS provides staff with a history of transactions, allowing teams to share relevant customer information across the organisation. The data collected through CDMS underpin UKTI's Performance and Impact Monitoring Survey (PIMS) which is a client interview-based survey providing evidence about the impact and effectiveness of UKTI support.

Management information derived from PIMS is provided at the regional level, the latest results can be found on the UKTI website:

http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/aboutukti/ourperformance/performanceimpactandmonitoringsurvey/quarterlysurveys.html

In 2009, the National Audit Office (NAO) value for money review of UKTI concluded that UKTI had a robust system for assessing delivery. The copy of the NAO report is available at:

http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/0809297.pdf

UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff were employed by the UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation on 1 April 2013. [169597]

Michael Fallon: UKTI is not an employer in its own right. For the majority of its human resource requirements it draws on civil service staff employed by one of its two parent Departments, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). UKTI Defence & Security Organisation also draws on civil service staff and serving military members of UK armed forces on loan from the Ministry of Defence.

At 1 April 2013 the UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation had 128 staff in post.

UK Trade and Investment: Berkshire

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much inward foreign direct investment UK Trade & Investment South East and its private sector partners attracted into Berkshire in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [169082]

Michael Fallon: The value of foreign direct investment UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and its private sector partners attracted for Berkshire county is not available. At the Thames Valley Berkshire (LEP) level, which includes the unitary council areas of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham inward investment in project terms was as follows:

2012-13: 56 projects, creating new (or safeguarding) 2,782 jobs;

2011-12: 48 projects, creating new (or safeguarding) 1,199 jobs.

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises in Berkshire have started

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exporting for the first time as a direct result of the work of UK Trade & Investment South East in the last

(a)

12 months and

(b)

two years. [169084]

Michael Fallon: In the last 12 months (from September 2012 to August 2013), the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) South East International Trade Team supported 175 enterprises from Berkshire to export overseas. 30 of these were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 21 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 124 through other significant one-to-one assistance by the South East International Trade Advisers.

In the 12 months prior (from September 2011 to August 2012), the UKTI South East International Trade Team supported 114 enterprises from Berkshire to export overseas. 17 of these were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 18 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 79 through other significant one to one assistance by the South East International Trade Advisers.

We do not capture data on companies who export for the first time, but to be eligible for the Passport to Export programme a company must not have had exports that are greater than 25% of turnover, or proactive exports that are greater than 10%. They must also meet the EU definition of a small and medium-sized enterprise which is less than 250 employees. Companies are accepted onto the programme after a thorough assessment by an International Trade Adviser to ensure they meet the criteria and are likely to benefit from the programme.

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises in Berkshire have started exporting to a new market for the first time as a direct result of the work of UK Trade & Investment South East in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [169085]

Michael Fallon: In the last 12 months (from September 2012 to August 2013), the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) South East International Trade Team supported 175 enterprises from Berkshire to export overseas. 30 of these were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 21 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 124 through other significant one-to-one assistance by the South East International Trade Advisers.

In the 12 months prior (from September 2011 to August 2012), the UKTI South East International Trade Team supported 114 enterprises from Berkshire to export overseas. 17 of these were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 18 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 79 through other significant one-to-one assistance by the South East International Trade Advisers. We do not capture data on new export markets.

UK Trade and Investment: Greater London

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises in London have started exporting to a new market for the first time as a direct result of the work of the London UK Trade & Investment office in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [169065]

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Michael Fallon: The information requested is as follows:

(a) Last 12 months:

In 2012-13 the UK Trade & Investment London International Trade Team supported 1,101 enterprises export overseas. 156 were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 206 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 739 through other significant one-to-one assistance by the London International Trade Advisers. We do not capture data on new export markets.

(b) Last two years:

2012 enterprises

This is based on above figures for 2012-13 and in 2011-12 the UK Trade & Investment London International Trade Team supported 911 enterprises export overseas. 161 were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 156 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 594 through other significant one to one assistance by the London International Trade Advisers.

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises in London have started exporting for the first time as a direct result of the work of the London UK Trade & Investment office in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [169066]

Michael Fallon: In 2012/13 the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) London International Trade Team supported 1101 enterprises export overseas. 156 were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 206 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 739 through other significant one to one assistance by the London International Trade Advisers.

In 2011/12 the UK London International Trade Team supported 911 enterprises export overseas. 161 were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 156 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 594 through other significant one-to-one assistance by the London International Trade Advisers.

We do not capture data on companies who export for the first time, but to be eligible for the Passport to Export programme a company must not have had exports that are greater than 25% of turnover, or proactive exports that are greater than 10%. They must also meet the EU definition of a small and medium sized enterprise which is less than 250 employees. Companies are accepted onto the programme after a thorough assessment by an International Trade Adviser to ensure they meet the criteria and are likely to benefit from the programme.

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much additional export volume has been generated for businesses in London as a direct result of the work of the London UK Trade & Investment office in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years. [169095]

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment's (UKTI) Performance and Impact Monitoring Survey measures the value of additional sales resulting directly from its export services, as reported by the UK businesses using the services. Value figures at regional level are not available.

For UKTI trade services as a whole, the total additional sales reported in the most recent UKTI Annual report for a 12 month period was £49.6 billion.