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Mr. Heseltine: Last year, the Government set out the UK's competitive position in the White Paper, "Helping Business to Win". The Government plan to publish soon a second White Paper on competitiveness. This will report on progress over the last year, extend the analysis of the UK's competitiveness and bring forward new initiatives to help business to win.

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Column 513

Newspapers

37. Mr. Spellar: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received regarding carriage charges by news wholesalers to newsagents; and what action he has taken.      [21980]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: I have recently received a number of representations from Members of Parliament on behalf of newsagents, regarding increased carriage charges. I have also received representations from the National Federation of Retail Newsagents. In the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's 1993 report on newspapers the commission reached no adverse findings in relation to carriage charges. Accordingly, I have no power to act.

Crown Post Offices

Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the future of Crown post offices.      [21977]

Mr. Page: The Post Office has a policy of converting Crown offices to agency status as and when suitable opportunities arise. The policy has advantages for customers--who have access to the full range of services but usually during longer hours and from more accessible premises--and for the network--which can offer clients a competitive service. For these reasons the Government support this policy. Its implementation is a matter for the Post Office.

National Vocational Qualifications

Mr. Barron: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many, and what proportion of, vacancies advertised by his Department, and by each of his Department's agencies, in the last three years have listed the attainment of NVQs as an acceptable entry requirement; and, of those, how many have required(i) level 1 NVQs, (ii) level 2 NVQs, (iii) level 3 NVQs and (iv) other level NVQs.      [22975]

Mr. Ian Taylor: None of the vacancies advertised by my Department has listed NVQs as an entry qualification.

Of the Department's agencies, only the Radiocommunication Agency has advertised vacancies with NVQs listed as an acceptable entry requirement. It has advertised 20 posts--32 per cent. of total advertised vacancies--all requiring only level 1 NVQs.

Military Training Assistance Scheme

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the annual cost to his Department of the United Kingdom military training assistance scheme in each of the last five financial years.      [23241]

Mr. Ian Taylor: The United Kingdom military training assistance scheme is funded and controlled by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and my Department bears no cost associated with the scheme.

Business Links

Mr. Fisher: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, how many staff are employed in business link (a) at his Department in London and (b) in business link centres around the United Kingdom.      [22294]

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Column 514

Mr. Page: Forty-eight staff in my Department in London are employed directly in business link development. In addition a large number are involved indirectly in respect of the activities of business link partner organisations and the integration of DTI funded services into business links.

My Department does not keep information on the numbers of staff employed by business links or those employed by, or located by partner organisations and co-located within business links.

Mr. Fisher: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many inquiries for information were received by (a) business link and (b) the marketing information centre in the past 12 months.      [22292]

Mr. Page: Information is not held centrally on the figures relating individual enquiries made to business link. However, my Department collects figures on the numbers of firms assisted in each quarter. Companies are recorded only once even though several enquiries may be made in the monitoring period.

During April and December 1994 the latest period for which figures are available--51,710 companies were assisted on at least one occasion.

In the 12 months April 1994 to March 1995 the Export Market Information Centre received 20,233 visitors, approximately 37,000 telephone calls and 1,343 written inquiries.

Mr. Fisher: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the cost, in the last year for which figures are available, of (a) business link and (b) the marketing information centre.      [22295]

Mr. Page: In the financial year 1994 95 DTI contributed £13.1 million to the establishment of business link. This was in addition to contributions from partner organisations.

In the financial year 1994 95 the net cost of the export market information centre was £1.7 million.

Mr. Fisher: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a list of the business link centres in the United Kingdom.      [22291]

Mr. Page: One hundred business link outlets are open in England: 1. Alnwick

2. Aykley Heads

3. Aylesbury

4. Barnsley

5. Barrow in Furness

6. Batley

7. Berwick upon Tweed

8. Birkenhead

9. Birmingham

10. Blyth

11. Bootle

12. Boston

13. Brighouse

14. Brunswick Dock

15. Carlisle

16. Central Devon

17. Chester

18. Chester le street

19. Coalville

20. Congleton

21. Coventry

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Column 515

22. Crewe

23. Derby

24. Derby Inner City

25. Derwentside

26. Doncaster

27. Dorset

28. Dudley

29. Durham City

30. Easington

31. East Manchester

32. Gainsborough

33. Gateshead

34. Gloucestershire

35. Grantham

36. Great Sutton

37. Halifax

38. Hereford

39. Hexham

40. Hinckley

41. Hoole Bridge

42. Huddersfield

43. Isle of Wight

44. Kendal

45. Knowsley

46. Leamington Spa

47. Leicester

48. Leominster

49. Lincoln

50. Liverpool

51. Loughborough

52. Louth

53. Macclesfield

54. Middlesborough

55. Malvern

56. Manchester (central)

57. Market Harborough

58. Melton Mowbray

59. Mount Pleasant

60. Newcastle upon Tyne

61. North Dorset

62. North Hertfordshire

63. North Tyneside

64. Nuneaton

65. Oakham

66. Oldbury

67. Oswestry

68. Pershore

69. Reading

70. Ross on Wye

71. Rotherham

72. St. Albans

73. Salford

74. Sedgefield

75. Skegness

76. Sleaford

77. Slough

78. Southport

79. South Tyneside

80. South Devon

81. Spalding

82. Stratford upon Avon

83. Sunderland

84. Swadlincote

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