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Electrolysis Process
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of people employed (a) directly and (b) indirectly in UK companies who use the electrolysis process; and if he will make a statement. [88197]
Mr. Battle: This information is not available from official statistics. One of the main industries which uses electrolysis is the chloralkali industry, and estimates from the Chemical Industries Association for employment in the chloralkali industry suggest that 4,000 people are directly employed in this industry.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the amount of energy used by UK companies in the electrolysis process within the chemical industry; and if he will make a statement. [88173]
Mr. Battle:
ETSU, part of AEA Technology, estimate that 16 peta joules of energy were used in the manufacture of chlorine through the electrolysis process in the UK in 1990. This represented roughly 1 per cent. of the amount
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of energy used by manufacturing industry in 1990. No later information is available and it should be noted that the figures for energy consumption for the manufacture of chlorine through the electrolysis process may have changed significantly since 1990.
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes the Government plan in the extent of assisted areas coverage. [88111]
Mr. Wills:
We will announce the results of the review as soon as we are ready to do so.
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the percentage increase in the consumption of oil, gas and electricity by (a) industry and (b) the general public since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [88000]
Mr. Battle:
The percentage changes in, and levels of, final consumption of fuels between 1990 and 1998 are as follows:
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| Petroleum | Gas (29) | Electricity | Coal (30) | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage change between 1990 and 1998 (28) | ||||||
| Industry(31) | -15.4 | 23.8 | 2.8 | -26.6 | 0.0 | |
| Domestic | 42.9 | 19.9 | 16.6 | -46.8 | 13.5 | |
| Transport | 9.8 | -- | 46.6 | -- | 10.1 | |
| Other users(32) | -25.6 | 39.6 | 21.4 | -64.8 | 12.8 | |
| All final consumers | 5.3 | 24.1 | 13.4 | -35.7 | 8.8 | |
| Energy consumption by final users 1998 (28) (thousand tonnes of oil equivalent) | ||||||
| Industry(31) | 6,973 | 16,734 | 8,898 | 6,044 | 38,648 | |
| Domestic | 3,544 | 30,983 | 9,404 | 2,325 | 46,267 | |
| Transport | 52,892 | 0 | 667 | 0 | 53,562 | |
| Other users(32) | 3,275 | 10,281 | 7,804 | 325 | 21,684 | |
| All final consumers(33) | 66,684 | 57,999 | 26,774 | 8,695 | 160,162 | |
| Energy consumption by final users 1990 (28) (thousand tonnes of oil equivalent) | ||||||
| Industry(31) | 8,242 | 13,522 | 8,655 | 8,237 | 38,655 | |
| Domestic | 2,480 | 25,835 | 8,066 | 4,368 | 40,758 | |
| Transport | 48,179 | 0 | 455 | 2 | 48,635 | |
| Other users(32) | 4,402 | 7,364 | 6,426 | 922 | 19,217 | |
| All final consumers(33) | 63,302 | 46,720 | 23,601 | 13,529 | 147,265 | |
(28) Based on final consumption of energy as given in table. 1998 figures are provisional. 1990 figures are published in the "Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 1998" and 1998 provisional figures are published in "Energy Trends" May 1999
(29) Includes coke oven gas used by industry
(30) Consists of coal and other solid fuels
(31) Manufacturing industry, construction, mining and quarrying of non energy materials and water supply industries
(32) Comprises of public and commercial services and agriculture
(33) Totals may not sum due to rounding
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Vibration White Finger
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many validating doctors to examine claims for vibration white finger have been approved; and if he will list the location of each of these doctors. [87454]
Mr. Battle:
Many claims received by the Department are accompanied by reports from Vascular Consultants. However, many of these reports contain insufficient detail on which to assess a claim. The Department is making offers on the basis of reports, wherever possible, but only where we are satisfied that the resulting offer is fair and properly reflects the individual's entitlement. The Department has satisfied itself that it can make offers
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based on the reports of 19 consultants. These consultants are based in Chesterfield, Sheffield, Doncaster, Nottingham, Cardiff, Dundee, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Paisley, Washington Tyne and Wear and Edinburgh.
The Department has always made clear to the plaintiff solicitors that making offers, based on acceptable consultant's reports, was an interim measure to allow payments to be made until the tendering process for the delivery of the agreed Medical Assessment Process (MAP) was completed. We hope to award the contract for the delivery of the medical assessments shortly and are hopeful that significant offers of full and final payments will start flowing in the late summer.
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Joan Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the (a) agricultural and (b) pharmaceutical biotechnology industry in (i) 1997-98, (ii) 1998-99 and (iii) 1999-2000. [87769]
Mr. Battle:
This information is not available from official statistics.
A report published earlier this year by the BioIndustry Association 1 estimates employment in dedicated biotechnology companies to be between 35-40,000 (with the sector growing annually by over 20 per cent. over the period 1995-98). Of these it estimates that 8-10,000 are employed in the biopharmaceuticals sector, and 3,000 in the biotechnology dedicated area of agriculture.
In addition there is a significant number of people engaged in biotechnology related-work among the 60,000 UK employees of established pharmaceutical companies 2 and the 615,000 employed in the UK agriculture sector 3 .
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Government are preparing to implement the recommendation of the report of the Foresight Process Industry Group, "Processing the Future". [87266]
Mr. Battle:
The Process Industry Group has made a valuable contribution to the Foresight programme. We welcome their "Processing the Future" report. We are pleased that they are willing to develop their ideas in the second round of Foresight. These will be of special interest to the new Manufacturing 2020 and Chemicals Foresight Panels.
The Government emphasised the importance which it attaches to multi-disciplinary research and closer joint working between the Research Councils in allocating the Science Budget last autumn. The Research Councils are implementing these policies, and are taking account of the report's recommendations in their planning.
As the process industries are so diverse, there is a wide range of innovation initiatives supported by Government and the Research Councils. For example, 21 per cent. of the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council's research grant support is of relevance to process industries. EPSRC also have a number of joint activities in the process industries with other Research Councils. These include the process industries sector of the Innovative Manufacturing Initiative (EPSRC with the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council), Biomolecular Science (BBSRC) and a Medical Engineering LINK programme (EPSRC, BBSRC and the Medical Research Council). In the chemicals sector (perhaps the biggest process industry), DTI and EPSRC support initiatives on process plant instrumentation, catalysis, polymer processing and colloid technology.
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Industries
1 "Industrial markets for UK biotechnology--trends and issues"
2 Monitor Company: The UK Pharmaceutical Industry at a Crossroads
3 MAFF Statistics
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