§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list(a) the allocations to area-based Business Link teams, (b) the expenditure per head of populations in each area and (c) the basis formula for the distribution of resources to each area for (i) 2003–04 and (ii) 2004–05.
§ Nigel Griffiths[holding answer 22 January 2004]A breakdown of Business Link Operator (BLO) Core Services allocations for the 2003–04 financial year, together with a breakdown of the allocations divided by resident adult (16+) population data, by individual BLO is shown in the following table
The allocation formula for 2003–04 and 2004–05 is the same. However the data which make up the constituent parts of the formula was updated where possible for 2004–05, resulting in changes between these years. The formula is made up of the following four elements.
- 1.£99.5 million is allocated in line with current business population (indicator used is the Inter Departmental Business Register for all PAYE and VAT registrations).
- 2. £20 million for Business Start-ups. Funding is awarded in line in reverse proportion to an aspirational rate of 75 VAT registrations per 10,000 adult population (indicator used is VAT Registrations published by SBS and Resident Adult (16+) population data supplied by the ONS)
- 3.£10 million is allocated in line with Social Deprivation Index (indicator used is Deprivation data, weighted 2000 indices, produced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister).
- 4.£10 million is allocated in line with population (indicator used is latest Resident Adult (16+) population data supplied by the ONS).
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£ Business Link Area BLOCS Allocation 2003–04 BLOCS Expenditure per head of population1 County Durham 1,159,764 2.90 Northumberland 823,758 3.28 Tees Valley 1,460,480 2.88 Tyne and Wear 2,473,608 2.85 Cheshire and Warrington 2,427,030 3.48 Cumbria 1,472,109 3.70
£ Business Link Area BLOCS Allocation 2003–04 BLOCS Expenditure per head of population1 E. Lancashire 1,294,306 3.21 Manchester 3,712,759 3.46 Merseyside 3,609,837 3.06 N and W Lancashire 2,482,841 3.41 North Manchester 2,868,225 3.13 Humberside 2,310,105 3.32 N. Yorkshire -2,309,061 3.76 S. Yorkshire 3,045,706 3.00 W. Yorkshire 5,222,016 3.16 Derbyshire 2,502,742 3.24 Leicestershire 2,460,230 3.42 Lincolnshire and Rutland 1,960,561 3.49 Northamptonshire 1,721,966 3.41 Nottinghamshire 2,562,962 3.11 Birmingham and Solihull 2,989,291 3.24 Black Country 2,724,755 3.18 Coventry and Warwickshire 2,202,117 3.36 Hereford and Wores 2,152,122 3.69 Shropshire 1,277,861 3.58 Staffordshire 2,743,968 3.26 Bedfordshire 1,515,800 3.39 Cambridgeshire 2,075,620 3.61 Essex 4,582,147 3.53 Hertfordshire 3,145,262 3.83 Norfolk 2,298,503 3.49 Suffolk 1,979,534 3.66 London 23,655,555 4.00 Kent 4,287,157 3.40 M. Keynes, Oxon, Bucks 4,093,239 3.97 Surrey 3,536,940 4.14 Sussex 4,440,986 3.63 Hampshire 5,025,619 3.49 Dorset 2,079,099 3.62 Berkshire 2,447,040 3.83 Devon and Cornwall 4,649,136 3.58 Gloucestershire 1,715,191 3.76 Somerset 1,527,832 3.76 West 2,759,881 3.45 Wiltshire 1,715,281 3.50 1 BLO CS allocations are divided by the resident adult (16+) population (latest data is mid-year 2002 (rounded to the nearest hundred) Source:
Office for National Statistics (ONS)