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Competitiveness Council
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the report of the Competitiveness Council. [158532]
Mr. Byers: The terms of reference for the Competitiveness Council were to advise the Secretary of State. This it has done without producing a report.
Departmental Policies (Plymouth)
Mrs. Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to (a) Plymouth, Sutton constituency, (b) Plymouth, Devonport constituency and (c) South-West Devon constituency, the effects on the Plymouth unitary authority area of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [158027]
Mr. Caborn: The Department has provided the following support for businesses in (a) Plymouth, Sutton constituency, (b) Plymouth, Devonport constituency and (c) the part of South-West Devon constituency in the Plymouth unitary authority area, since May 1997.
Regional Selective Assistance (RSA)
RSA is a capital investment grant linked to the creation or safeguarding of jobs in designated areas of need (the Assisted Areas). The following RSA grant offers have been made to businesses in the Plymouth unitary authority area:
(a) Seven offers totalling £2.01 million made to businesses in the Plymouth, Sutton constituency, to support projects with total capital expenditure of £19.8 million, and to create and safeguard a total of 1,211 jobs.
(b) Twenty offers totalling £10.16 million have been made to businesses in the Devonport constituency, to support projects with total capital expenditure of £83.2 million, and to create and safeguard a total of 3,183 jobs.
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(c) One RSA grant offer of £0.24 million has been made to a business in the Plymouth unitary authority area of South-West Devon constituency, to support a project with capital expenditure of £1.3 million, and to create 55 new jobs.
The Enterprise Grants scheme is a simplified scheme that was introduced in April 2000 to help small firms undertake fixed capital investment projects. Two offers totalling £42,000 have been made to firms in the Plymouth, Devonport constituency.
Smart awards are designed to help small firms with the introduction of new products and processes. Seven Smart awards totalling £343,437 have been made to firms in the Plymouth, Devonport constituency.
PROSPER Business Link has provided services to small businesses in the Truro and St. Austell constituency since 1997. These include general and specialised advice to help businesses grow, export development counselling, ICT advice, and a full range of specialist information. From April 2001 these services will be provided by the Small Business Service operating through a franchise awarded to a PROSPER led partnership. This new service will be more customer focused ensuring that services are driven by local need.
Ilisu Dam
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to be able to publish the Environmental Impact Assessment report on the Ilisu hydro-electric project in Turkey. [158780]
Mr. Byers: We have not yet received a copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report. When we do, I intend to make the report public.
Property Market
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will assess the effect of the operation of the property market on small independent retailers; and if he will make a statement. [157242]
Ms Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
I am aware of my hon. Friend's concern about the position of small businesses competing for premises with larger, more established businesses. While direct intervention could create difficulties for the retail markets, we are concerned about the quality of information and advice that is available to occupiers of small business premises. We are currently working with the Small Business Service to ensure that better information is available.
The issue of advice for small businesses arose in the course of our review of the property industry's Code of Practice on Commercial Property Leases, along with more general issues about the degree of choice and flexibility in the commercial property market. Representatives of landlords, occupiers and the professional bodies undertook to address these concerns, but have failed to reach consensus on the key issues. We are disappointed
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at this lack of agreement, and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning is now considering future options.
Civil Aircraft Projects
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Government aid has been granted by his Department, and its predecessor, in support of civil aircraft projects since 1971, excluding Airbus projects; and if he will set out the amounts (a) granted in respect of each project and (b) recovered by way of sales and licensing levies. [157377]
Mr. Alan Johnson [pursuant to reply, 6 April 2001, c. 306W]: Unfortunately two of the figures given in the original answer are incorrect. These should read:
| (a) | (b) | |
|---|---|---|
| To Rolls-Royce for the Trent 600/900 in 2001 | 250 | (1)-- |
| To Rolls-Royce for the Trent aeroengine in 1997 | 200 | 7.7 |
(1) Not yet due
NORTHERN IRELAND
Appointments (Age Limits)
Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what age limit is placed on appointments to public bodies in his Department; if this limit is mentioned in advertisements for such posts; and what the basis for this limit is. [158127]
Dr. Reid: The Government are committed to equality of opportunity and to increasing the diversity of those appointed to public bodies. There are no such limits in this Department.
Police Ombudsman
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been made available to the Police Ombudsman's Office for education and publicity purposes; and if he will make a statement. [157798]
Mr. Ingram: The Ombudsman's budget for this financial year currently stands at £4.7 million, to what, and how that budget is allocated is a matter for the Ombudsman to decide.
Plastic Baton Rounds
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date he was informed of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council statement on the comparative injury potential of the L547 baton round with the L21A1 baton round issued on 21 August; and what steps he took to bring this to the attention of each of the bodies engaged in finding an alternative to the plastic baton round. [158052]
Mr. Ingram: The development of the new baton round (the L21A1) was the result of extensive research and included a report by the Defence Scientific Advisory Council on the comparative injury potential of the L547 baton round and the L21A1 baton round. Ministers became aware of the report shortly after it was completed
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and, confirming as it does the greater safety of the new round over the old one, it was a key factor in the decision to introduce the new round for operational use from 1 June.
Each of the organisations currently represented on the "Alternatives to Baton Rounds" project was either represented on the Baton Rounds Steering Group or were briefed at an early stage.
Police Officers
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will indicate for each rank for each of the police sub-divisions of (a) Coleraine and (b) Limavady the number of officers in post on (i) 1 January 2000, (ii) 1 January 2001 and (iii) 1 April 2001. [157834]
Mr. Ingram: The table provides the information requested. It should be noted that manpower figures for 1 January 2000 are not readily available therefore the nearest possible date of 17 February has been used.
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RUC
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will indicate for each month since 1 January 1999 (a) the number of RUC officers in post at each rank, (b) the number who retired at each rank in each month and (c) his projection of (a) and (b) until the end of June. [157885]
Mr. Ingram: The tables show (a) the number of RUC officers in post at each rank for each month since 1 January 1999 and projected figures until the end of June 2001 and (b) the number of RUC officers who retired at each rank in each month since 1 January 1999 and projected figures until the end of June 2001.
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| CC | DCC | ACC | Ch Supt | Supt | Ch Insp | Insp | Sergt | Con | Total | R Con FT | R Con PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 December 1998 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 120 | 169 | 482 | 1,399 | 6,237 | 8,456 | 2,936 | 1,238 |
| 31 January 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 121 | 168 | 486 | 1,392 | 6,315 | 8,531 | 2,884 | 1,230 |
| 28 February 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 122 | 168 | 490 | 1,401 | 6,290 | 8,520 | 2,874 | 1,226 |
| 31 March 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 121 | 168 | 489 | 1,398 | 6,271 | 8,496 | 2,862 | 1,217 |
| 30 April 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 121 | 167 | 489 | 1,398 | 6,247 | 8,471 | 2,858 | 1,212 |
| 31 May 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 121 | 167 | 487 | 1,397 | 6,234 | 8,455 | 2,850 | 1,209 |
| 30 June 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 40 | 121 | 167 | 491 | 1,407 | 6,254 | 8,490 | 2,823 | 1,204 |
| 31 July 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 40 | 121 | 168 | 490 | 1,408 | 6,242 | 8,479 | 2,813 | 1,200 |
| 31 August 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 121 | 168 | 489 | 1,405 | 6,282 | 8,514 | 2,775 | 1,194 |
| 30 September 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 120 | 171 | 495 | 1,398 | 6,268 | 8,501 | 2,762 | 1,188 |
| 31 October 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 120 | 169 | 499 | 1,406 | 6,245 | 8,488 | 2,753 | 1,181 |
| 30 November 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 119 | 168 | 499 | 1,395 | 6,225 | 8,455 | 2,727 | 1,176 |
| 31 December 1999 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 40 | 119 | 167 | 499 | 1,396 | 6,214 | 8,445 | 2,719 | 1,174 |
| 31 January 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 120 | 168 | 496 | 1,395 | 6,195 | 8,423 | 2,708 | 1,169 |
| 29 February 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 121 | 172 | 495 | 1,394 | 6,182 | 8,413 | 2,698 | 1,157 |
| 31 March 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 123 | 170 | 498 | 1,390 | 6,163 | 8,393 | 2,688 | 1,152 |
| 30 April 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 123 | 171 | 499 | 1,396 | 6,177 | 8,415 | 2,668 | 1,145 |
| 31 May 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 123 | 170 | 498 | 1,394 | 6,159 | 8,393 | 2,654 | 1,140 |
| 30 June 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 123 | 169 | 498 | 1,397 | 6,138 | 8,374 | 2,643 | 1,137 |
| 31 July 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 122 | 168 | 498 | 1,400 | 6,115 | 8,352 | 2,623 | 1,131 |
| 31 August 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 39 | 121 | 168 | 498 | 1,397 | 6,104 | 8,337 | 2,606 | 1,121 |
| 30 September 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 40 | 122 | 168 | 494 | 1,394 | 6,090 | 8,318 | 2,593 | 1,118 |
| 31 October 2000 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 40 | 122 | 168 | 496 | 1,389 | 6,078 | 8,303 | 2,579 | 1,112 |
| 30 November 2000 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 40 | 121 | 168 | 492 | 1,378 | 6,037 | 8,245 | 2,567 | 1,106 |
| 31 December 2000 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 40 | 122 | 169 | 493 | 1,382 | 6,053 | 8,268 | 2,555 | 1,097 |
| 31 January 2001 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 33 | 107 | 162 | 456 | 1,334 | 5,938 | 8,038 | 2,530 | 1,089 |
| 28 February 2001 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 36 | 93 | 157 | 442 | 1,299 | 5,878 | 7,913 | 2,514 | 1,083 |
| 31 March 2001 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 33 | 91 | 150 | 433 | 1,278 | 5,819 | 7,810 | 2,496 | 1,073 |
| 30 April 2001 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 39 | 72 | 135 | 412 | 1,211 | 5,632 | 7,506 | 2,461 | 1,071 |
| 30 May 2001 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 38 | 68 | 130 | 400 | 1,187 | 5,586 | 7,414 | 2,434 | 1,071 |
| 30 June 2001 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 37 | 67 | 130 | 397 | 1,174 | 5,553 | 7,363 | 2,427 | 1,071 |
Note:
Actual strength does not include police personnel on secondment.
Note:
Leavers include all cessation reasons eg medical retirement, voluntary early retirement, resigned etc., however the figures for April, May and June 2001 are projections based on known severance figures and do not take account of normal and medical wastage not yet notified.
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23 Apr 2001 : Column: 9W
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show how many (a) inquiries were made about joining the RUC and (b) applications were received for each intake to the RUC broken down by gender; and what was the (i) gender and (ii) religious breakdown of each intake in each of the last five years. [156585]
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Mr. Ingram: The tables show the breakdown of applications for recruitment to the Royal Ulster Constabulary from 1996 to the last recruitment campaign in December 1998 and the corresponding number of successful applicants. The total number of inquiries received for each campaign are not available.
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| CB1 | CB2 | CB3 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | M | F | T | M | F | T | M | F | T | Total |
| Applications | ||||||||||
| Comp E 1996 | 983 | 588 | 1,571 | 236 | 133 | 369 | 129 | 26 | 155 | 2,095 |
| Comp F 1996 | 1,312 | 742 | 2,054 | 261 | 145 | 406 | 242 | 27 | 269 | 2,729 |
| Comp G 1997 | 1,368 | 804 | 2,172 | 253 | 159 | 412 | 188 | 25 | 213 | 2,797 |
| Comp H 1998 | 1,332 | 802 | 2,134 | 270 | 161 | 431 | 228 | 32 | 260 | 2,825 |
| Comp I 1998 | 1,414 | 898 | 2,312 | 470 | 280 | 750 | 246 | 51 | 297 | 3,359 |
| Acceptances | ||||||||||
| Comp E 1996 | 103 | 22 | 125 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 143 |
| Comp F 1996 | 75 | 19 | 94 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 122 |
| Comp G 1997 | 79 | 17 | 96 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 120 |
| Comp H 1998 | 80 | 45 | 125 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 144 |
| Comp I 1998 | 72 | 38 | 110 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 133 |
Notes:
CB1--Perceived Protestant
CB2--Perceived Roman Catholic
CB3--Others
23 Apr 2001 : Column: 11W
23 Apr 2001 : Column: 11W
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