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GATT
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the benefits to the United Kingdom economy in (a) output and (b) jobs of the Uruguay round of trade and investment talks. [71757]
Mr. Wilson:
In 1994, the GATT secretariat estimated that, by the year 2005, the Uruguay Round Agreement could boost world incomes by up to 1.4 per cent. per annum and European Union incomes by up to 1.7 per cent. per annum.
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No reliable estimates have been made of the output or employment benefits of the Agreement to the UK alone. However, as the second largest trader with non-EU economies among EU Member States, the UK is likely to be a major beneficiary of these projected income gains.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the draft Precious Metals Directive to be discussed next by EU ministers. [71370]
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 15 February 1999]: The draft directive is under consideration at Council Working Group level and is unlikely to be discussed by Ministers unless a greater degree of consensus can be reached. I have had no indication as to whether Germany intends to convene meetings of the Council Working Group to consider the proposal during her Presidency.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received concerning competition between financial intermediaries to which small businesses can apply for venture capital; and if he will make a statement. [71527]
Mr. Wills:
I am not aware of any representations concerning competition between financial intermediaries to which small businesses can apply for venture capital.
I am aware that growing businesses have faced difficulties in raising venture capital in small amounts. We therefore announced, in the Competitiveness White Paper (Cmd 4176), the creation of the Enterprise Fund. One of the functions of this Fund will be to stimulate the availability of venture capital for smaller businesses.
We are also working with the key players in the informal investment or "business angel" markets to stimulate the availability of venture capital from individual investors.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many copies of "New Hallmarks", a consumer guide, have been printed; and by what means it is being distributed. [71364]
Dr. Howells:
One million copies have been printed. The Assay offices are sending copies to their entire client base and DTI is also asking the principal retail trade associations to make their members aware of the leaflet. Individual retailers will then be able to order copies free of charge to be displayed at the point of sale. Further copies are being made available to Citizens Advice Bureaux, Consumer Advice Centres and public libraries.
Mr. Ennis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses in the Barnsley MBC area are registered at Companies House; and how many of these businesses have fewer than 20 employees. [71141]
Dr. Howells:
There are 242 companies registered at Companies House in Barnsley (S71) area. Companies House has no information on how many of these have fewer than 20 employees.
22 Feb 1999 : Column: 94
Mr. Ennis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses in the Doncaster MBC area are registered at Companies House; and how many of these businesses have fewer than 20 employees. [71140]
Dr. Howells:
There are 598 companies registered at Companies House in the Doncaster DN1 area. Companies House has no information on how many of these have fewer than 20 employees.
Mr. Wilkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when his predecessor, the right hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Mandelson), met as Secretary of State (a) the Chairman and (b) the Chief Executive of British Aerospace plc during 1998; and what subjects were discussed on each occasion. [70651]
Mr. Byers
[holding answer 15 February 1999]: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool to the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) on 3 December 1998, Official Report, column 291. These described all his meetings as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry with British Aerospace in 1998 up to that date.
Subsequently, my right hon. Friend also met the Chairman and Chief Executive of British Aerospace on 15 December at a reception to mark the twenty-first anniversary of the creation of that company. DTI officials were also present.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he plans to introduce to encourage UK manufacturing companies to adopt the best practice techniques of their international competitors. [71644]
Mr. Battle:
There is a wide variety of existing measures available to manufacturing companies to learn from and adopt the best practice of their international competitors. New measures include the CBI-led "Fit for the Future" Campaign, launched by the Secretary of State in December 1998 and featured in the recently published Competitiveness White Paper. The Campaign will provide an umbrella to enable business to get help and advice when and where is it needed. The Campaign is business led and is supported by the Department to ensure coverage of all sectors and sizes of industry.
The White Paper announced other measures designed to increase competitiveness through the process of "Business learning from Business". Two examples are the adaptation of the successful automotive sector project where "world-class" engineers work within the supply base to make significant improvements in manufacturing practice. The Department will be investing £15 million to support projects in up to 10 new sectors. A further example is the Department's work to gather international data based to the UK Benchmarking Index. This development will enable SMEs to compare their own business performance with peer groups in the UK and world-wide.
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Mr. Gray:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the parliamentary constituencies which he has visited in an official capacity in the past 12 months. [71349]
Mr. Byers
[holding answer 15 February 1999]: Paragraph 79 of the Ministerial Code makes clear that Ministers should inform hon. Members in advance of planned visits to their constituencies. I and my Ministers undertake visits to all parts of the country but records of official visits are not held on a constituency basis.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out the conventions governing the propriety and cost of press releases issued by his Department, its agencies and non-departmental bodies; and what is the total cost of the press releases issued since May 1997. [71470]
Mr. Byers
[holding answer 16 February 1999]: Rules governing the work of the GICS are laid down in the Guidance on the Work of the Government Information Service published by the Cabinet Office in July 1997. More specific guidance on the writing and issuing of press releases is given in the Working Guide for Government Information Officers. Copies of both documents are in the Library of the House.
Since April 1997 my department has spent £399,000 on distributing press releases through the Central Office of Information's News Distribution Service.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the liberalisation of the airline industry and on the potential exploitation of monopoly positions at certain British airports. [71656]
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 16 February 1999]: The liberalisation of the airline industry is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. My Department has received a number of representations in relation to competition cases involving airlines.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received over the take-over of City Flyer Express by British Airways; and if he will make a statement. [71655]
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 16 February 1999]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has received a number of representations on the proposed acquisition by British Airways plc of City Flyer Express Ltd. He announced on 20 January that, in accordance with the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading, he had referred the merger to the Monopolies
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and Mergers Commission under the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973. The MMC are to make their report by 28 April 1999.
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