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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Office Space

Mrs. Bridget Prentice: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the square footage and cost of office space rented by his Department and its agencies and the number of his Department or agencies' buildings partly or fully unoccupied together with the square footage of that unoccupied office space and its estimated rental value where available in each of the past five financial years. [27720]

Mr. John M. Taylor: Prior to 1 April 1996, Property Holdings--part of the Department of the Environment--was responsible for the vast majority of office space, including any vacant space, rented as part of the Government's civil estate. Retrospective information on the past five years is therefore not readily available and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost.

Within my Department, management of property is now delegated to a series of property centres to maximise synergy with business operations. Rent, rates and service charges for office accommodation rented by DTI headquarters' property centres are forecast to cost £36 million in 1996-97 in respect of 1,257,000 sq. ft. Of this area, 24,000 sq. ft., or 2 per cent., in two partly occupied buildings, is empty and available for sub-letting, with an associated pro rata rent of £0.26 million. Identical information for agencies is not yet readily available except at disproportionate cost.

Taiwanese Companies

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list each Taiwanese company that has invested in the United Kingdom over the last 10 years, indicating the date and location of investment; and if he will make a statement. [27902]

Mr. Oppenehiem: The information is as follows:

Name	Date	Location
Lite-On	1991	Ashington, Northumberland
Synpac Pharmaceuticals Ltd.	1991	Bedlington, Northumberland
Europa Magnetics Corporation	1993	Cramlington, Northumberland
Ringtel Electronics (UK) Ltd.	1995	Cwmbran, Wales
Mitac Europe Ltd.	1988	Telford, Shropshire
Enta Technologies	1990	Telford, Shropshire
Teco Electric Europe	1993	Trafford Park, Manchester
Wan Hai Steamship Co.	1990	Chorley, Lancashire
William and Jones	1995	South Liverpool
Chunghwa Picture Tubes Co. Ltd.	1995	Lanarkshire, Scotland
Chicony	1995	Greenock, Scotland
Hon Hai Precision Co. Ltd.	1995	Erskine, Scotland

To our knowledge, 12 of the 15 Taiwanese companies manufacturing in Europe are in the UK. Many of these companies have expanded their operations since their first investment, demonstrating the excellence of the UK as a base for overseas investment.

8 May 1996 : Column: 152

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many people are employed by companies from Taiwan in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [27944]

Mr. Oppenheim: The numbers of people employed by Taiwanese manufacturing companies in the UK are as follows:

England: 2,010
Wales: 100
Scotland: 60
Northern Ireland: 0

The figure for Scotland is likely to increase by 3,300 jobs within the next three years due to the recent Chunghwa Picture Tubes investment.

Her Majesty's Government welcome inward investment from Taiwan. We firmly believe that the UK remains the ideal base for Taiwanese and other overseas investors to tackle the wider European market. Our outstanding record of attracting inward investment from all over the world bears this out.

Computers

Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of his Department's survey of the effect of the turn of the century on the computers of United Kingdom organisations; what is his assessment of the availability of skills required to respond to the problem and the cost concerned; and what action is being taken to alert and help businesses of all sizes. [27921]

Mr. Ian Taylor: The survey revealed a high level of awareness amongst IT directors of organisations. The technical skills required are not demanding, but the scale of an organisation's problem can be reliably assessed only if an audit is carried out. The cost of fixing the problem depends on the size and age of an organisation's software portfolio. My Department will provide information on our world wide web site, and through the business links, and will be persuading senior management to take the problem seriously. There is time to deal with it if tackled now. The longer it is left, the higher the likely cost of remedial work. I am urging all chief executives to discover now for themselves the extent of the problem in their companies.

Personal Injury Insurance Compensation

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what measures he proposes to reduce the time personal injury insurance compensation takes to be processed. [27905]

Mr. Nelson: This is a matter primarily for the insurance industry. The Association of British Insurers, the industry's principal trade association, has a code of practice which requires member insurers to settle valid claims without delay.

Not only is it in policyholders' interests for claims to be dealt with swiftly, it is also in the interest of insurers. By settling claims quickly they reduce their administrative costs. Failure to do so will encourage customers to turn to insurers offering a better service.

8 May 1996 : Column: 153

Some claim disputes cannot be resolved other than by a legal action. Lord Woolf has already published an interim report addressing cost, delay and complexity associated with the civil justice system. He is due to publish a final report in July this year.

Business Links

Mr. Harvey: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list for each business link (a) its location and (b) the number of staff employed. [28533]

Mr. Page: I am placing a list of business link addresses in the Library of the House.

Business links are partnerships involving all the main business support organisations. As such, their services are provided by staff who are employed by those organisations but co-located in or seconded to the business links, as well as by staff who are directly employed by the business link itself. There is no central record of the numbers of staff employed in each business link and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Harvey: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many DTI civil servants are currently employed in the business links. [28537]

Mr. Page: A total of 107 DTI staff are currently co-located in business links.

Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many civil servants from his Department have been seconded to business links; and where each of them is currently situated. [28154]

Mr. Page [holding answer 7 May 1996]: A total of 107 DTI staff were co-located in business links on 1 May 1996. They are located as follows:

	Number
Abingdon	1
Aykley Heads	2
Barnsley	2
Barrow in Furness	1
Birkenhead	1
Birmingham	6
Blyth	2
Bradford	1
Brighouse	1
Burgess Hill	2
Cannock	2
Carlisle	1
Chelmsford	1
Chester	1
Chesterfield	2
Coventry	4
Derby	2
Dudley	2
Edwinstowe	3
Fareham	1
Gateshead	3
Histon	1
Ipswich	1
Leeds	1
Leicester	3
Lincoln	2
Liverpool	2
Luton	1
Manchester	5
Middlesborough	3
Newport	1
Northampton	2
Nottingham	2
Oxford	1
Peterborough	1
Plymouth	2
Poole	2
Redditch	1
Redruth	2
Rotherham	1
Sandwell	2
Sheffield	1
Slough	2
Solihull	1
St. Helens	1
St. Albans	1
Stoke on Trent	3
Sunderland	3
Telford	3
Wakefield	1
Walsall	2
West Malling	2
Wigan	3
Woking	2
Wolverhampton	1
Worcester	3
Wyre Forest	1

8 May 1996 : Column: 154

Yugoslavia

Mr. Wareing: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what contacts his Department has had with Belgrade with a view to promoting British trading interests since the official recognition of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. [27968]

Mr. Nelson [holding answer 7 May 1996]: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was recognised officially on 9 April, but my Department began promoting actively British interest in the market on 22 November, when UN trade sanctions were suspended. Officials had discussions on promoting UK-Federal Republic of Yugoslavia trade with senior ministers in Belgrade in December. My Department has prepared information on the market which it sends out to interested companies; it also worked closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in arranging the mission of senior business executives which my hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Foreign Office led to Belgrade in February. A trade mission from Montenegro will be visiting the UK in July and there are plans for a major event in London to promote trade with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In taking such measures, and others, to promote British interests my Department has been working closely with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia embassy in London and the British embassy in Belgrade.

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