| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Regional Assistance and Investment
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions she has had with the Deputy Prime Minister over responsibility for regional assistance and investment; and if she will make a statement. [6884]
Mrs. Beckett: I have ministerial responsibility for regional selective assistance which supports investment in the Assisted Areas of Great Britain. My Department and DETR are in regular contact about the carrying forward of the Government's policies for RDAs.
Minister for Trade and Competiveness in Europe
Mr. Redwood: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe has any remaining interests in BP through the long-term performance plan described in Note 36 to the BP 1996 report and accounts. [8329]
Mrs. Beckett: Lord Simon is no longer an active member of BP's long-term performance plan. In accordance with the rules of the scheme, he gave up his active membership when he took over as Chairman in 1995. The plan continues to hold shares in trust for Lord Simon which relate to the period prior to his Chairmanship. He cannot influence these holdings in any way. These shares cannot be released under the terms of the plan before 7 May 1998 and 1 January 1999. These trigger dates relate to the required retention period in the rules for performance plans entered into before 1995.
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe complied with the procedures set down in "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" relating to (a) his shareholding and (b) other requirements relating to financial interests. [7551]
16 Jul 1997 : Column: 229
Mrs. Beckett:
The Minster for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe put in hand arrangements to do so from the day of his appointment.
Mr. Fallon:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will set out the Post Office's external financing limit for 1997-98 together with (i) the returns on capital employed by Royal Mail and Parcelforce, (ii) the returns on finance for Post Office Counters and (iii) the real unit cost reductions for Royal Mail. [8769]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
The 1997-98 external financing limit for the Post Office is minus £313 million; the 1997-98 return on capital employed targets for Royal Mail and Parcelforce are respectively 20 per cent. and 3.5 per cent.; the 1997-98 return on turnover target for Post Office Counters Ltd. is 2.5 per cent. and the real unit cost reduction target for Royal Mail is a 6.2 per cent. reduction by 1998-99 over 1995-96. These targets are, however, under review.
Mr. Fallon:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many applications for membership of the Low Pay Commission had been received by the closing date. [7697]
Mr. Ian McCartney
[holding answer 14 July 1997]: By the closing date of 10 July 1997, some 475 applications for membership of the Low Pay Commission had been returned.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment her Department has made of the potential contribution of European Territorial Employment Pacts to the creation of new jobs; and if she will make a statement. [8680]
Mrs. Roche:
The Government is committed to new partnerships which will attack long-term joblessness. Territorial Employment Pacts are a potentially innovative mechanism for bringing together the relevant partners in a local area to focus and co-ordinate their job-creation efforts. The pilot projects which the Government intends to nominate the European Commission, together with others in the United Kingdom and those going forward in other parts of Europe, will provide useful experience for future partnerships.
Mr. Bennett:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much notice Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council was given of the request to bid for a pilot territorial employment pact by the Government Office for the North West. [8578]
Mrs. Roche:
A letter, with written guidance, inviting regional partners including Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council to submit proposals for pilot projects to set up Territorial Employment Pacts was sent out by the Government Office for the North West on 4 July. Responses were requested by 9 July to meet DTI's deadline of 11 July. Stockport's response was the first of 13 proposals which the Government Office for the North West received. The short amount of time resulted from
16 Jul 1997 : Column: 230
the new Government's desire to meet the European Commission's timetable for nominating up to 10 pilot projects from the UK.
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make an assessment of the potential for misuse through biological warfare of the Human Genome Project; if she will assess the national and international legislative framework for the output of this project; and if she will make a statement. [7210]
Mr. Battle
[holding answer 8 July 1997]: There is no potential misuse, through biological or other warfare, directly from the Human Genome Mapping Project (HGMP) whose purpose is strictly the mapping and sequencing of the entire complement of human genes.
However, the British Medical Association have recently announced that they have commissioned an investigation into whether there could be any threat of genetic weapons being developed capable of biological ethnic cleansing. These forms of weapons do not exist but the BMA fears that developments in genetic therapy to cure disease could in principle, in future, be turned to attack certain body sites. The report is expected in 12 months.
There is no legislative framework, national or international, specifically relating to this project.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what factors led her to exclude overseas trade fairs from future rounds of the Sector Challenge; and if she will put copies of all representations she received from industry recommending that Sector Challenge should be abolished for export promotion programmes in the Library. [7680]
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 10 July 1997]: As my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade said in her answer on 21 May, Official Report, column 67, "industry has told us that it believes that a separate scheme is more appropriate for trade fairs than a challenge approach". There were over 350 individual letters from or on behalf of industry following the previous administration's announcement on 17 January 1997, Official Report, columns 392-93. In every case the correspondent was objecting to the inclusion of trade fairs support in Sector Challenge. Extracting and copying all those letters would cost over £450. I will place in the Library a list of the organisations and individuals who wrote in.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many UK jobs are supported by the ATP projects in Chile, China, Ghana, Indonesia, Lesotho, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Zimbabwe. [8144]
16 Jul 1997 : Column: 231
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 11 July 1997]: As over the past three years 21 ATP projects have started in these markets it will take a little time to collate the information requested. When it is available I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what budget has been allocated to trade fair services support in 1998-99 [7681]
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 10 July 1997]: In a move which has been widely praised by businesses the Government removed the trade fair services support from the Sector Challenge Scheme.
The Government is committed to maintaining existing Departmental spending ceilings until March 1999. A comprehensive spending review is being carried out. It will review all aspects of public expenditure, including export promotion. As the hon. Member will appreciate, I cannot discuss individual items within the spending review prior to its conclusions. I can confirm however that industry has been invited to bid for trade fairs and seminars to be supported in 1998-99.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the terms and conditions, including the price, of the contract with Metra Martech Ltd. for analysing responses to the Support for Overseas Trade Fairs and Seminars consultation paper. [8143]
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 11 July 1997]: The terms and conditions for this contract with Metra Martech Ltd. are the standard DTI contract terms and conditions for service contracts. Details of these terms and conditions can be found in the DTI Procurement Manual, copies of which are held by the Libraries of both Houses. Other details of the contract with Metra Martech Ltd. are commercially confidential. Paragraph 13 of the Code of Practice on Open Government permits the withholding of such information.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |