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Cable Television Contractors

Mr. French: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the cost of the damage done to roads and pavements as a result of the installation of television cables by contractors operating under the licence granted by his Department. [7719]

Mr. Ian Taylor: The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 sets the standard of work for cable operators and other undertakers, and provides that both interim and permanent reinstatements must conform to the statutory national specification. All cases of defective reinstatement which are identified by the local highway authority must be rectified at the undertaker's expense; additionally, the undertaker must for each proven defect bear the cost of the initial investigation and three further follow-up inspections. The estimated cost of repair for damage to roads and pavements is therefore a matter for the individual cable companies concerned.

Mr. French: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received about the quality of work undertaken by cable television contractors under the licence granted by his Department. [7721]

Mr. Taylor: A number of complaints have been received expressing displeasure about various aspects of cable operators' street works. During 1995, four complaints by residents in United Artists' Cheltenham and Gloucester franchise were passed to my Department.

Mr. French: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to make more rigorous the guidelines requiring cable television contractors to achieve certain standards when reinstating roads and pavements dug up to facilitate the installation of cables. [7720]

Mr. Taylor: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has overall policy responsibility for the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, the legislation relating to street works carried out by undertakers including cable companies. He is currently reviewing the situation in the light of a public consultation carried out in the first half of 1995. The responses are now being examined in order to decide what changes, if any, are needed to existing procedures under the Act. My right hon. Friend hopes to be in a position to announce his conclusions during the first half of this year.

Internet

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what web site his Department maintains on the Internet; what information is provided there; how often it is updated; what is the address; and if he or his Department answers questions and supplies additional information through the Internet. [7575]

9 Jan 1996 : Column: 22

Mr. John M. Taylor: I can confirm that the DTI has maintained its own web server since 14 June 1995. This contains the Guide to Business, which provides an overarching structure to our presence on the web detailing the DTI organisation, key activities and contracts in relevant areas of expertise and geographic locations. Ministerial speeches and other departmental publications are also available at our web site. In addition, DTI press releases and information on the Queen's Awards to Industry are available via links to Central Office of Information and CCTA web sites respectively.

Individual management units in the Department are encouraged to place information on the server, examples of which are the report for the Multimedia Industry Advisory Group, the Buy IT campaign, Microelectronics in Business and guidance on bids for radio broadcasting licences. All information is updated as and when necessary, often against specific revision dates.

Questions and requests for further information are directed to the DTI using the auto-feedback option on the homepage of the web server. All DTI Ministers offices are now contractable by Internet email. Their addresses are:

	Minister	Post
[e-mail]	Mr. Lang	President of the Board of Trade
[e-mail]	Mr. Eggar	Minister for Industry and Energy
[e-mail]	Lord Fraser of Carmyllie	Minister of State
[e-mail]	Mr. Nelson	Minister for Trade
[e-mail]	Mr. Oppenheim	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Company Affairs
[e-mail]	Mr. Page	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Industry and Energy
[e-mail]	Mr. Ian Taylor	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science and Technology
[e-mail]	Mr. John Taylor	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Competition and Consumer Affairs

Small Firms

Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the Ministers who have had responsibility for small firms since 1979. [7550]

Mr. Page: The following Ministers have had responsibility for small firms since 1979:

David Mitchell
John MacGregor
David Trippier
John Cope
Timothy Eggar

9 Jan 1996 : Column: 23

Eric Forth
Baroness Denton
Lord Strathclyde
Lord Ferrers.

I am the current Minister with responsibility for Small Business.

Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what publicity business links undertakes to bring to the attention of small and medium-sized enterprises the existence of training and development national vocational qualifications. [7585]

Mr. Page: Business links tailor their services and publicity to meet the needs of local firms. They promote training and development, including national vocational qualifications, as an essential component of a broader strategy to help small and medium-sized enterprises achieve business competitiveness.

Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many business mentors are currently available to small firms through business links. [7548]

Mr. Page: There are currently around 460 personal business advisers and 60 specialist advisers--export development counsellors, innovation and technology counsellors and design counsellors--employed or contracted by business links to provide independent advice and help to smaller firms with growth potential.

Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the initiatives which his Department has begun for small firms since 1979, stating when they (a) began and (b) ended. [7582]

Mr. Page: Initiatives introduced since 1979 with the aim of assisting small firms are outlined in the annual report, "Small Firms in Britain". Copies of the 1995 report and previous years' reports are in the Library of the House.

Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated regarding the relative rules for the creation and survival of small firms in (i) Scotland and (ii) England and Wales. [7549]

Mr. Page: My Department is currently undertaking, or has recently conducted, research on a range of topics which can influence the creation and survival of small firms in England and Wales. Topics covered include: why small firms' growth rates differ, management training, franchising, networking, the use of information technology by small firms.

Information on the research evaluated by my Department can be obtained from the departmental report in the Library of the House.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland can supply information on the particular situation in Scotland.

Disposable Lighters

Mr. Salmond: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the compliance with United Kingdom safety requirements of disposable lighters from China; what plans he has to ban their import; and if he will make a statement. [8260]

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Mr. John M. Taylor: All smokers' lighters intended for supply in the UK, whatever their country of manufacture, are subject to the General Product Safety Regulations 1994, which place a general duty on suppliers of consumers products to supply safe products. In assessing the safety of lighters, account is taken of a number of factors, including relevant safety standards for the product, such as BS 6908: 1990, and the level of safety which consumers may reasonably expect. Local authority trading standards departments, which have the day-to-day responsibility for enforcement of the regulations, have the necessary powers to deal with unsafe products.

Mr. Salmond: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he is taking to review the safety of imported disposable lighters; and if he will make a statement. [8259]

Mr. Taylor: My Department is represented on the technical committees of the British Standards Institution and the International Standards Organisation, which are reviewing the current international standard for smokers' lighters on which BS 6908 is based. A revised standard is expected to be published shortly.

Mr. Salmond: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what mechanisms his Department has for monitoring incidents relating to the safety of imported items such as disposable lighters; and if he will make a statement. [8258]

Mr. Taylor: The DTI routinely collects statistics on accidents involving consumer products from a representative sample of hospital accident and emergency departments and makes use of any other relevant complementary statistics--for example, Home Office fire statistics. In addition, officials are in close touch with trading standards departments and monitor press reports to identify possible areas of concern.

Where areas of concern are identified, further information will be sought, including matters such as source of supply.

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