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Bank of Credit and Commerce International

Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when she plans to meet the liquidators of BCCI; and when she expects the next payment to be made to the creditors of BCCI. [14252]

Mrs. Beckett: I have no plans to meet the joint liquidators. The timetable for future payments to creditors is a matter for the liquidators but I understand that they hope to pay a substantial further dividend as soon as possible.

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Yemen (Trade Mission)

Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on the recent trade mission to Yemen led by HRH the Duke of Gloucester. [14228]

Mrs. Roche: HRH the Duke of Gloucester visited Yemen from 28 September to 3 October in his capacity as President of the British Consultants Bureau. He was accompanied by 29 representatives of UK companies on a DTI supported trade mission jointly sponsored by the BCB and the Middle East Association. The DTI export promoter and country officer for Yemen were also in attendance.

During this high profile and successful mission, HRH met the President and Vice President of Yemen, the Governors of Taiz and Aden as well as five Ministers, senior Government officials, businessmen and diplomats. HRH attended the missioners' meetings with the Sana's chamber of commerce and the seminar organised by BCB. He also visited Taiz and in Aden he inaugurated the premises of the new consulate-general and opened the new British Council teaching centre. Missioners held a meeting with Aden chamber of commerce and attended briefings on Aden's infrastructure development needs and the port/free zone development.

Small and Medium Enterprises

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action she is taking to encourage the establishment and growth of small firms in Staffordshire.[13890]

Mrs. Roche [holding answer 3 November 1997]: The Government recognises the vital role that small firms play in a successful enterprise economy and is firmly committed to providing the right conditions for the sector to compete and grow.

Government funding supports initiatives which help both the establishment and growth of small firms in Staffordshire.

Under the first round of the single regeneration budget challenge fund up to £1.28 million over six years has been committed towards establishing 2,000 new businesses and 3,600 jobs in Staffordshire. The Government Office for the West Midlands has contracted with Staffordshire training and enterprise council to manage this programme.

The Government Office also holds an annual contract with the training and enterprise council, worth approximately £1.7 million, to fund Business Link Staffordshire. The purpose of the Business Link is to help small businesses become more competitive, more successful and better able to meet challenges of the next decade. The Business Link offers independent specialist advice to help businesses identify and address their problems through a tailored package of support.

Partnership Legislation

Mr. Timms: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when further progress is planned on limited liability partnership legislation. [14580]

Mr. Ian McCartney: We are working towards a policy announcement and publication of draft legislation as soon as possible next year.

4 Nov 1997 : Column: 126

Regional Challenge

Mr. Derek Twigg: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if there will be a further round of the regional challenge competition for the allocation of European structural funds grants. [14582]

Mrs. Beckett: The Government has decided that the further round of the regional challenge competition will not go ahead and the prize fund of £160 million will return to the regions eligible for structural funds grants. This will restore decision-making on funding allocations to the regions and relieve local partners of the considerable burden involved in the administration of the challenge approach.

The first round of regional challenge did, of course, produce some imaginative projects with potentially significant regional benefits, and we wish these projects every success. However, the original aims of the challenge can now be achieved through other mechanisms. The new "action plan" approach, to be introduced on a flexible basis in England, will encourage a strong strategic focus on high quality projects which can make a real difference to the regional economy and attract private sector contributions, whilst avoiding the additional administrative burdens of regional challenge.

Computers (Century Date Change)

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the President of the Board of Trade which (a) Minister and (b) civil servant has overall responsibility for ensuring millennium computer compliance in his Department and its associated public bodies. [13586]

Mrs. Roche: The President of the Board of Trade has overall responsibility for the Department's work including that related to the year 2000 compliance of its computer systems. The Department's director of information management and technology, Dick Wheeler, has management responsibility for the core Department's programme of compliance projects and related activities. Chief executives of agencies and other public bodies have similar responsibilities for their programmes.

EU Enlargement

Mr. Coaker: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she plans to consult United Kingdom businesses on the enlargement of the EU to the countries of central and eastern Europe. [14579]

Mrs. Roche: Today Lord Simon is publishing a consultation document which seeks the views of UK businesses, consumers and employees on the enlargement of the EU to the countries of central and eastern Europe.

The Government is committed to successful EU enlargement. It will not only enhance the security and stability of the continent, but also introduce 100 million extra consumers into the internal market, bringing greater opportunities for British businesses and greater choice and value for British consumers. We think British businesses appreciate this--indeed, they are already increasingly turning towards these important emerging markets. But enlargement presents major challenges as well as great opportunities for the EU, and we want to be sure that we are representing the interests of UK businesses, employees and consumers as accurately as we can in

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discussions in Brussels and elsewhere. So I urge all those with an interest in the future development of the EU to take this opportunity to let us know what they think.

I have placed a copy of the consultation document in the library of the House. Copies can be obtained from:

EU Enlargement Consultation

EU Enlargement Unit

Department of Trade and Industry

66-74 Victoria Street

LONDON

SW1E 6SW

Tel. [phone]

Fax [phone]

Comments should be sent to the same address, to arrive by 20 March 1998.

The document can also be found on the DTI internet homepage at: http://www.dti.gov.uk

Bio-Technology

Mr. Flynn: To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date the ethical and welfare review of bio-technology and the patenting of animals began; and if she will make a statement. [13678]

Mr. Battle: A report produced in 1995 by a committee chaired by Professor Michael Banner and appointed by the then Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food produced a report which considered the ethical implications of emerging technologies in the breeding of farm animals. The committee's review included the question of patenting genetically modified animals.

The DTI is in the process of consulting widely on the question of animal patenting in the context of the proposed directive for the protection of bio-technological inventions.

Export Forum

Mr. Goggins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will publish the conclusions of the Export Forum. [14581]

Mrs. Beckett: "Towards an Export Initiative"--the report of the Export Forum--has today been published and a copy placed in the Library of the House.

The Export Forum was established by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in July of this year. Its remit was to examine the effectiveness of current Government support for UK exporters and to make recommendations for a new export initiative.

The forum has concluded that government has a vital and essential role to play in export promotion. It recommends that the Government could discharge this role more effectively by taking action in the following areas.

focusing additional effort on a small number of key overseas markets, as opposed to dividing all its effort between 80 "priority markets";

selecting these markets both with a view to the needs of the new and inexperienced exporter and with a view to helping all exporters attack difficult but promising markets where the UK is currently underperforming;

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incorporating the strengths and priorities of key sectors of UK industry into the planning process, with a better focus on service industries in particular;

enhancing the support that it gives to UK firms seeking to invest overseas;

ensuring greater consistency and improved quality in the export services delivered by Business Links and in the chargeable work of FCO posts;

strengthening the marketing and branding of Government export support to obtain greater coherence and a more customer-friendly interface;

making greater use of IT and the Internet in delivering services to UK exporters;

restructuring and strengthening the British Overseas Trade Board as the Government's key advisory body on export promotion.

The Government welcomes the forum's report and the thrust of its recommendations. We will be looking to respond positively and to start work now in many of the areas outlined by the forum as requiring change. Our response in respect of some of the forum's recommendations will need to await the completion of the DTI and FCO comprehensive spending reviews.

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