§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what value for money assessment she has made of expenditure by her Department and its agencies; and if she will make a statement; [95807]
67W(2) what assessment she has made of the value for money of expenditure on (a) ACAS, (b) the Patent Office and (c) British Trade International; and if she will make a statement. [95810]
§ Ms HewittValue for money assessment of expenditure is determined by whether the Department meets its Public Service Agreement targets alongside specific operational targets for the central Department, its agencies and ACAS, which is a non-departmental public body. Achievement against these targets is published annually in the Department's annual expenditure plans report (EPR) and in individual agency's own annual reports and accounts. The Department's EPR for 2003–04 to 2004–05 is due to be published in April 2003. British Trade International produces a separate EPR which is also due to be published in April 2003. Major new proposals for expenditure are subject to appraisal as well as monitoring and evaluation. Evaluations are published on the DTI's website at www.dti.gov.uk/about/evaluation/
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what her estimate is of her Department's direct financial support for the construction industry in each year from 1990–91 to 2004–05 (planned); and if she will make a statement; [95813]
(2) what her estimate is of the cost to her Department of the Strategic Forum for Construction in 2002–03; and if she will make a statement. [95814]
§ Mr. WilsonOver the period 1990–91 to 2000–01, responsibility for the construction industry rested with the former Department of the Environment and then the former Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. Expenditure over this period related to responsibilities which are now divided between the Department of Trade and Industry, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and British Trade International. The figures are:
Year £ million 1990–91 20.0 1991–92 23.9 1992–93 25.3 1993–94 26.2 1994–95 26.9 1995–96 27.6 1996–97 27.5 1997–98 27.4 1998–99 28.3 1999–2000 25.4 2000–01 26.7 Figures for the following two years, covering the Department of Trade and Industry's expenditure only, are:
Year £ million 2001–02 22.2 2002–03 21.5 Final allocations have not yet been made for 2003–04 or 2004–05; as the Secretary of State has announced, the Department is conducting a major review of all its 68W business support, including that for the construction sector. However, we expect the budget for construction next year to be close to that for this year.
In addition to hosting and administering the meetings of the Strategic Forum for Construction during the development of its report, "Accelerating Change", the Department supported the Forum's work financially by funding the development, publication and launch of the report, the consultation process, which preceded it, and the dissemination of its conclusions. The Department's total expenditure in support of the Strategic Forum in 2002–03 is expected to be approximately £110,000.
Following the launch of "Accelerating Change" on 12 September 2002, day to day responsibility for the administration of the Strategic Forum passed from the Department to the construction industry. Officials and I in the Department continue to work closely with the Forum, its members and its new chairman, Peter Rogers. We will continue to identify areas where financial support from Government will allow the Forum to meet its aim of implementing the "Accelerating Change" proposals.
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of expenditure on ACAS in each year from 1990–91 to 2004–05 (planned); and if she will make a statement. [95823]
§ Ms HewittInformation covering expenditure on ACAS is available in DTI's and prior to 1995 the Employment Department's expenditure plans. All documents are available in the Libraries of the House. The estimate for 2004–05 will be published shortly in my Department's expenditure plans report for 2003–04 to 2004–05.
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of total spending on the Export Credits Guarantee Department in each year from 1990–91 to 2004–05 (planned); and if she will make a statement. [95829]
§ Ms HewittThe following table shows ECGD net operating income or expenditure (Column 1), voted payments or contributions on its trading operations (Column 2) and voted loan advances or income in respect of refinancing of loans underwritten (Column 3). Forecasts for 2004–05 have not been prepared at this stage.
69W
£000 Year Net operating income (expenditure) Column I Trading operations — contribution to consolidated fund/(voted payments) Column 2 Loan refinancing — (voted payments)/ repayments Column 3 1990–91 (649,500) (504,631) 0 1991–92 169,900 (413.755) 0 1992–93 570,100 (137,427) 0 1993–94 407,500 396,860 0 1994–95 208,200 149,612 0 1995–96 342,400 496,066 0 1996–97 1,032,300 565,985 0 1997–98 (514,300) 464,684 0 1998–99 136,900 416,429 (263,000) 1999–2000 19,029 228,976 (979,100) 2000–01 204,298 314,798 (1,345,356) 2001–02 132,113 72,323 (388,740) 2002–031 (58,700) 148,315 (557,000) 2003–041 101,000 105,736 405,000 1 Estimate