§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what resources, in addition to the Department's work-life balance fund, she makes available to help employers with work-life issues; [163483]
(2) how many employers, broken down by (a) sector and (b) region, the Department's work-life balance fund has helped in each year. [163485]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThe following table sets out the number of employers who received financial assistance through the Challenge Fund over the five rounds of its operation, by region and by sector.
Figure 1 Rounds 1.5 Breakdown by region North West 52 North East 33 West Midlands 27 East Midlands 45 South West 54 South East 37 Yorkshire and Humber 38 East 38 Scotland 35 Wales — Northern Ireland — London 83 Cross regional projects 15 Breakdown by Sector Manufacturing 22 Science and Research 4 ICT 8 Finance 24 Hospitality 4 Retail 25 Business Services/Consultancy 37 Transport 11 Construction 3 Public Sector Administration 131 Hospitals, LHAs and Trusts 41 Schools and LEAs 62 Voluntary/Charitable bodies and associations including Unions 47 The "Work Life Balance Challenge Fund", which has been one strand of the Work-Life Balance Campaign, is nearing completion and no further rounds are planned. The DTI will continue to help employers establish better practice in their work places. Financial assistance will be accessible through the DTI's new Business Support 1371W Scheme as from April 2004. DTI Business Links will become the first point of contact for companies interested in such support.
DTI will continue to make available a range of resources to assist, inform, and encourage best practice among employers who might wish to pursue Work-Life Balance initiatives in their workplaces. From April 2004 the dissemination of information about Work-Life Balance and Flexible Working policies and practice will be funded through the Business Support Scheme.
A major resource for the campaign has, and will continue to be, an interactive website which offers guidance on establishing initiatives in the workplace, flexible working legislation, and provides research and employer case studies which reflect the experiences of large and small companies across the country who have adopted work life balance policies and practices.
The site allows access to EMAR or the Employment market Analysis and Research (EMAR) site is a Research body fully funded by the DTI. It has an ongoing programme of research, which has complemented the Work-life Balance campaign. New legislation came into effect 6 April 2003. This was accompanied by information and guidance for both employers and employees. An information booklet entitled "New Laws for Working Parents—Key information for employers" was mailed direct to just under 100,000 SMEs (79 per cent. in the 5–49 employee category). The DTI has worked with ACAS to provide further guidance to employers through Acas' national helpline.
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total expenditure of the Department's Work-life Balance Fund has been in each year of its existence. [163541]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThe table at Figure 1 sets out the total financial assistance to date provided through the Challenge Fund for each of the fund's five rounds.
£ thousands 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Health authorities and strategic health authorities 645,339 764,598 755,623 673,817 Primary care trusts n/a n/a 62,116 490,075 NHS trusts 1,289,777 1,286,661 1,306,971 1,306,018 Total 1,935,116 2,051,259 2,124,710 2,469,910