§ Mr. PearsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what information his Department collects on(a) the numbers of those directly employed through the single regeneration budget programme and (b) the proportion of those directly employed who are in occupational pension schemes or receive personal pension contributions; [64393]
(2) if he will make a statement on pensions for staff directly employed by the Single Regeneration Budget programme; [64394]
629W(3) what restrictions are placed on bodies receiving SRB funding who employ people directly from offering occupational pension schemes or contributions to personal pensions from the SRB programme. [64392]
§ Mr. MealeThe SRB provides support for between one to seven years for regeneration schemes by locally based partnerships. The SRB contribution towards management and administration costs has a ceiling of 5 per cent. of total SRB grant for the scheme. It is for the partnerships themselves to determine the terms and conditions of any staff they employ directly and there are no restrictions imposed by the SRB. My Department does not collect information on the number of staff directly employed through the SRB programme. It is the Government's view, as recently reaffirmed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security, that everyone who can save for their retirement has a responsibility to do so.