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Limited Liability Partnerships Law (Jersey)

Mr. Bernard Jenkin: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he intends to take in response to the draft limited liability partnerships law in Jersey with particular reference to United Kingdom professional firms moving their nominal registration to Jersey. [3406]

Mr. Lang: I am well aware of the concerns of many within the professions about the possible consequences of the unlimited liability of partners in the modern commercial environment. In a big modern partnership advising on large commercial transactions it may be impossible for partners to know all other partners and their work--yet their personal assets can be put at risk by the actions of their partners. The Government are determined to maintain a competitive and up-to-date legal framework for business in the UK. We are aware of recent developments in partnership law in other jurisdictions such as the United States of America and Jersey, and responses to a recent consultation were strongly in favour of dealing with this issue. The Government therefore intend to bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity to make limited liability partnership available to regulated professions in the UK, subject to appropriate safeguards to protect the interests of those doing business with the limited liability partnership. To keep a level playing field with companies and partnerships registered in the UK, limited liability partnerships registered abroad but operating from a place of business in the UK will be required to file financial information equivalent to that to be required from limited liability partnerships registered

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in this country. The Government will publish before Easter full and detailed proposals for legislation, for consultation with all interested parties.

Marketed Services (Productivity)

Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the United Kingdom's average level of productivity in marketed services; and what are the equivalent levels in other OECD countries. [548]

Mr. Lang: There are no published figures for average levels of productivity in market services in the UK. There is some evidence that our productivity across market services is still roughly a third less than in the US, France and Germany, but, on average, the gap has narrowed since 1979.

Butte Mining

Mr. Byers: To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what dates during 1993 and 1994 the then Minister for Corporate Affairs attended meetings to discuss whether disqualification proceedings should be taken against certain directors of Butte Mining arising from their conduct as directors of Butte Mining; and on what date the Minister decided that no proceedings should be brought. [2983]

Mr. Lang: It is not my Department's practice to comment on the affairs of individual companies.

Information Technology Projects

Ms Church: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many information technology projects have been undertaken since 1992 and are planned for the coming year, in cost bands of £1,000,000. [1897]

Mr. John M. Taylor: The information requested on IT projects undertaken by my Department since January 1992 is set out. Projects approved by the Department's next step agencies and funded from their budgets are not included. This information provided on projects below £200,000 and on planned projects is limited to that readily available from central records.

	Number approved	Number planned
Less than £200,000	141	7
£200,000-£1 million	7	3
£1 million-£2 million	4	1
£2 million-£3 million	2	2
£3 million-£4 million	1	0
£4 million-£5 million	2	0
£5 million-£6 million	1	0
£6 million-£7 million	0	0
£7 million-£8 million	0	0
£8 million-£9 million	2	0
£9 million-£10 million	0	0
Over £10 million	1	0

Privatised Utilities (Redundancies)

Mr. Clapham: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many workers have been made unemployed by the privatised gas, water, electricity and telecoms utilities between April 1992 and April 1996; and what is the estimated cost to public funds. [2974]

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Mr. John M. Taylor: This is a commercial matter for the companies concerned. There are long-term benefits to the whole economy from allowing resources, including labour, to move to more productive uses, and to the extent that redundant employees find alternative employment there would be benefits to public funds as well as to the economy.

British Energy

Mr. Clapham: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last discussed matters with British Energy. [2977]

Mr. Page: Under the UK nuclear site licensing regime, nuclear operators must demonstrate the safety of nuclear installations to the satisfaction of the nuclear industry's independent regulator, the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate. Therefore, while Ministers might discuss, in general terms, safety issues with nuclear licensees such as British Energy, operational safety at nuclear installations is a matter for licencees in consultation with the regulator.

Mr. Clapham: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what guarantees British Energy has given that its proposal to shed jobs over the next three years will not affect safety standards. [2976]

Mr. Page: For British Energy, ensuring safety at its nuclear installations is an absolute prerequisite for its future business success. In announcing its proposals to reduce staff numbers as part of its aim of reducing costs and improving the overall efficiency of the company, British Energy made it clear that these staff reductions will in no way compromise the company's commitment to safety. The nuclear industry's independent regulator, the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate, is being fully consulted on the proposed changes and will need to be satisfied that the proposals remain consistent with arrangements for the management of safety within British Energy.

Alco-pop

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has to ensure that alco-pop drinks are not marketed to under-18s. [1804]

Mr. John M. Taylor: The Government believe that self-regulation is the most effective way to control alcohol advertising. We welcome the responsible approach taken by the Portman Group and its members in drawing up a voluntary code of practice for the packaging, marketing and sale of alcoholic soft drinks in response to concerns about these drinks and their appeal to young people. There is, therefore, no need for action by Government in this area.

Competition Law

Dr. Howells: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of submissions received in 1996 by his Department on proposals for competition law reform were broadly in favour of (a) the incorporation of measures similar to article 85 of the treaty of Rome into United Kingdom law and (b) the introduction of a prohibition approach to anti-competitive agreements. [2245]

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Mr. John M. Taylor: Responses were almost universally in favour of a prohibition approach to anti-competitive agreements following the broad framework of article 85, with a majority preferring that the prohibition set out in article 85(1) should be narrowed in scope along the lines suggested in the consultation document.

Dr. Howells: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress his Department has made since the publication of the Green Paper "Abuse of Market Power" in 1992; and if he will make a statement. [2244]

Mr. Taylor: The Government announced in April 1993 that they intended to strengthen the existing provisions in the Fair Trading Act 1973 and the Competition Act 1980 to deal with abuse of market power A consultation document issued in March 1996, "Tackling Cartels and the Abuse Market Power--a consultation document", set out specific proposals on how the existing framework should be strengthened. Draft clauses which would give effect to the proposals to strengthen the fair trading and competition Acts were published in August 1996 as part of a draft competition Bill.

Dr. Howells: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the advantages of introducing a prohibition approach to United Kingdom competition law. [2248]

Mr. Taylor: The Government believe that their proposals to replace the present Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1977 with a prohibition of anti-competitive agreements will be a more efficient and effective way of dealing with the control of anti-competitive agreements.

On a prohibition of abuse of market, the Government remain of the view that no compelling case has been made in favour of a prohibition-based system for the economy at large. The difficulties of clearly defining abuse risk deterring genuinely competitive behaviour. The Government are, however, happy to promote further public debate on this matter.

Dr. Howells: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many submissions have been received to date following the publication of the consultation paper "Tackling Cartels and the Abuse of Market Power". [2246]

Mr. Taylor: My Department has published two consultation documents under this heading this year, the first a consultation document on the detailed policy options for implementing the Government's proposals, the second a document containing a draft Bill.

In response to the first document, we have received 109 submissions. In response to the second document, we have received 91 submissions to date.

Dr. Howells: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much departmental time was spent in preparation of the consultation paper "Tackling Cartels and the Abuse of Market Power." [2247]

Mr. Taylor: My Department has issued two consultation documents under this heading this year, the first a consultation document on the detailed policy options for implementing the Government's proposals, the second a document containing a draft Bill: 1.4 man years were spent in preparing the first document, 3.2 man years in preparing the second.

7 Nov 1996 : Column: 621

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