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Inward Investment

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the levels of inward investment into (i) the South East Government Office Region, (ii) the West Midlands Government Office

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Region and (iii) the Yorkshire and the Humber Government Office Region for the last five years for which figures are available. [89384]

Mr. Wills: The figures in the table are based on information provided by companies at the time of the announcement of the decision to invest in the UK. They are based on the companies' best estimates, at that time, of the number of jobs to be created/safeguarded by the investment in its first three years.

There is no requirement to notify the Department and so the figures include only those projects where the Department's Invest in Britain Bureau and its regional partners were involved or which have come to their notice. Comprehensive capital expenditure details are often not available at the time of the decision to invest, and are therefore not included.

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Region	Number of projects	Number of new jobs	Number of safeguarded jobs	Number of associated jobs
South East
1993-94	20	916	5,950	6,866
1994-95	37	3,248	14,895	18,143
1995-96	50	5,385	13,482	18,867
1996-97	46	3,775	2,756	6,531
1997-98	56	5,534	7,442	12,976
West Midlands
1993-94	84	3,370	46,069	46,439
1994-95	62	4,797	7,469	12,266
1995-96	77	7,072	4,479	11,553
1996-97	76	4,350	15,351	19,701
1997-98	81	5,631	12,546	18,177
Yorkshire and Humber
1993-94	41	2,829	3,998	6,827
1994-95	26	3,152	3,867	7,019
1995-96	45	1,964	7,515	9,479
1996-97	36	1,887	3,503	5,390
1997-98	65	2,874	15,131	18,005

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Biotechnology

Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are currently employed in the medical and pharmaceutical applications of biotechnology in the United Kingdom; and what has been the annual financial contribution of this area of biotechnology to the United Kingdom's gross domestic product from 1992 to date in actual terms and in terms of a percentage of gross domestic product. [89715]

Mr. Battle: This information is not available from official statistics.

Kosovo

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the potential for incorporating renewable energy sources in the rebuilding works in Kosovo. [89919]

Mr. Battle: During my brief visit to Kosovo on 28 and 29 June heading the Taskforce it was clear that rehabilitation of the power sector was urgently required. However, it is too early to assess the extent to which the potential exists to incorporate renewable energy resources in the refurbishment of Kosovo's power generation capacity; this will have to await more detailed assessment studies of all aspects of the power sector.

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Small and Medium Enterprises

Mr. McNulty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for stimulating the availability of finance for SMEs through the regional venture capital funds element of the Enterprise Fund. [89955]

Mr. Byers: I have today published a consultation paper, "Addressing the SME Equity Gap--Support for Regional Venture Capital Funds" which sets out our proposals and seeks views on the design and form of the support for the Regional Venture Capital element of the Enterprise Fund. Depending on the results of the consultation, I will be making up to £50 million available over the next three years to support the creation of Regional Venture Capital Funds. I expect this to lever in significant amounts of matching private sector finance.

The intention of our support is to provide a model which regional partnerships, working with Regional Development Agencies, can use to stimulate venture capital funds to address the equity gap. The purpose of this intervention is to increase the amount of equity finance available to growing SMEs to enable them to compete in a global economy and ensure that each region in England has access to a viable, regionally based venture capital fund. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already have in place mechanisms for venture capital support.

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The Government are seeking views from entrepreneurs, representatives of Small Firms, the venture capital and finance industries, Regional Development Agencies and business support organisations.

Copies of the consultation document have been placed in the Library. I look forward to receiving comments from those interested by 30 September.

Milk Marque

Mr. McNulty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he intends to publish the MMC report on the Supply in Great Britain of raw cows' milk. [90250]

Mr. Byers: I have today published the MMC report on the supply in Great Britain of raw cows' milk.

I am requiring major changes to the conditions of sale of raw milk by the dominant supplier, Milk Marque, to prevent it from exploiting its monopoly position, but have rejected the MMC recommendation to enforce a break-up of Milk Marque.

The MMC have found that Milk Marque, which was responsible for nearly half of the raw milk sales in Great Britain in 1997-98, is exploiting its monopoly in the supply of raw milk, using a variety of practices which raise the price of raw milk. Consumers pay more for fresh milk than they should, and the competitiveness of the dairy processing sector is being damaged.

This is a thorough and detailed examination of Milk Marque's selling practices and their effects, and I accept the Commission's findings.

With regard to the remedies necessary to stop these damaging effects, the MMC have explored the possibilities of either reforming Milk Marque's auction sales system, or of restructuring of Milk Marque into several independent producer bodies. Both of these options present difficulties, as the MMC recognises.

The MMC recommends the restructuring of Milk Marque, by dividing it into independent and competing quota-holding bodies, able to sell their milk on an ordinary commercial basis and to engage in milk processing, that is the making of milk products, if they wish. I have not accepted this recommendation.

An imposed restructuring of Milk Marque would be a drastic step which would affect a large proportion of the farmers of England and Wales. I am also conscious that this remedy would take a considerable time to put fully into effect: perhaps as long as two years. This would itself introduce worrying uncertainties for the industry. There is a strong possibility that by the end of the period the market may have changed considerably. I believe a wider debate about the future of Milk Marque is appropriate, informed by the analysis provided by the MMC report.

In the meantime the raw milk market must continue to function, and it must do so on as fair a basis as possible. The report found that Milk Marque has been able to exploit its position by using its selling system to price discriminate and control the supply of milk available to the market. It is clear that Milk Marque must reform its sales procedures. I am therefore asking the Director General of Fair Trading to consider and advise me by the end of this year what changes should be made, after consulting with Milk Marque and its customers.

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Milk Marque will be aware that from 1 March next year it will be subject to the prohibitions on anti-competitive behaviour and abuse of market power introduced under the Competition Act 1998. The DGFT will have interim relief powers to stop behaviour which is damaging third parties.

The MMC also recommends (paragraph 2.400 of the report) a number of interim remedies to prevent Milk Marque abusing its market power. I accept these recommendations.

I am aware that, in its recent auctions, Milk Marque has relied increasingly on sales on undisclosed contract terms to dispose of its milk. The undertakings I am seeking will apply to both auction and private sales.

The MMC have concluded that Milk Marque's planned increase in its milk processing capacity may be expected to operate against the public interest, by enhancing its ability to exploit its monopoly power.

Milk Marque, while it remains a monopoly supplier of raw milk to the processing sector, should not be allowed to extend its milk processing activities in this way. I am therefore also asking the Director General to seek undertakings from Milk Marque that it will not take any further steps towards making or carrying out any agreement to acquire or build processing plant without prior agreement by the Director General, as the MMC have recommended.

Copies of the report have been laid before Parliament.

Climate Change Levy

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on progress made through negotiated agreements with energy intensive industries as part of the climate change levy to improve energy efficiency; and what measures his Department is taking to safeguard the international competitiveness of manufacturing firms in the United Kingdom. [89458]

Mr. Battle: The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) is leading for the Government on the development of negotiated agreement with a number of energy intensive sectors. We have said that significantly reduced rates of the climate change levy will be available to those energy intensive sectors which enter negotiated agreements with the Government to deliver targets covering energy efficiency improvements and/or cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The eligible sectors are those covered by the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control regulations (IPPC). Negotiations are under way between DETR officials, with some assistance from DTI, and the sectors concerned. DETR initiated discussions with an initial group of the nine main energy intensive sectors following the budget, and is also now holding meetings with around twenty further sectors. The negotiations are progressing in a constructive manner. The aim is to have negotiated heads of agreement with proposed targets by the autumn, when the levels of discounts from the levy will be determined, taking account of the stringency of the targets offered.

The Government have previously stated that they aim to avoid taking action on climate change which damages business competitiveness. In this context, I welcome the

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intention to recycle revenues from the climate change levy, primarily via reduced employers National Insurance Contributions, and also the promised support for promotion of energy efficiency and new and renewable energy technologies, as well as the special arrangements proposed for intensive energy sectors. DTI is contributing to interdepartmental discussions both on the development of the levy proposal and also on the draft national climate change strategy, which is intended for publication later this year for consultation, and which will set the broader policy framework for business's response to climate change.

It is the case that the UK is not alone in having to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or in using economic instruments to do so. Since 1990, seven European countries have introduced carbon or energy taxes. On current projections, most OECDS countries will have to introduce new measures of one form or another to meet their Kyoto targets.

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