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Parental Leave
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice he received from the European Commission when he discussed with it excluding parents of children under five years old but born before 15 December 1999 from the new rights to parental leave; and what legal advice he obtained on the subject. [98241]
Mr. Byers: The Government's discussions with the European Commission cover a wide range of issues. In discussing the extension of the Parental Leave Directive to the UK, we agreed to implement it by 15 December this year, which we are doing through the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations, in line with our legal advice.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he has discussed excluding parents of children aged under five years but born before 15 December 1999 from the new right to parental leave with the European Commission. [98096]
Mr. Alan Johnson: The Parental Leave Directive is based on a Social Chapter agreement which was concluded by the Social Partners. The Directive was adopted by the other member states in June 1996, before the UK opted in to the Social Chapter. The UK Government were not therefore able to influence the discussions and negotiations which led to the conclusion of this Directive. As incoming Government in 1997, we undertook to implement the Directive by 15 December 1999.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he took legal advice about excluding parents of children aged under five years but born before 15 December 1999 from the new right to parental leave; and what advice he was given. [98090]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
The Government are implementing the Parental Leave Directive in accordance with legal advice. The Directive is required to be implemented by 15 December this year.
11 Nov 1999 : Column: 726
Mr. Jim Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the outcome was of the Consumer Affairs Council held in Brussels on 8 November; and if he will make a statement. [98157]
Dr. Howells:
The Council debated the proposed Directive on the Distance Marketing of Financial Services. It was agreed that further work would be needed in order to prepare for a common position. The Council also held an open debate on Services of General Interest. The Commission agreed to look at all the options expressed during the debate. Portugal undertook to take this work forward as a priority under their forthcoming Presidency.
Other matters covered included reports from the Commission on the implementation and enforcement of both the Timeshare and Package Travel Directives, information from the Presidency on the outcome of the Tampere Special European Council on Citizens access to justice and on the recently held European Food 2000 seminar.
Mr. Alasdair Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the total amount which has been paid in compensation to ex-miners in Scotland with chronic bronchitis and emphysema; and how much of this is made up of interim payments. [98341]
Mrs. Liddell:
The Department has made payments totalling some £2.6 million to ex-miners in Scotland, of which some £2.4 million is made up of interim payments to those ex-miners and their widows who are in receipt of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit for Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema.
Mr. Alasdair Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many ex-miners in Scotland have completed spirometry tests; and of those how many are currently in receipt of industrial injuries benefits. [98342]
Mrs. Liddell:
A total of 2,240 ex-miners have completed Spirometry tests at one of the four centres established in Scotland, with a further 1,200 invited to attend. The Department does not hold any figures for the number of claimants in receipt of industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
Mr. Alasdair Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims he has received from ex-miners in Scotland for compensation related to chronic bronchitis and emphysema. [98340]
Mrs. Liddell:
The Department's claim handlers have received some 6,900 claims from ex-miners in Scotland.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost was of his Department's investigations into the alleged insider dealing by Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare in respect of Anglia TV shares. [97209]
11 Nov 1999 : Column: 727
Dr. Howells:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the then Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths), on 29 June 1998, Official Report, column 50.
Mr. Ian Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures the Government propose to take to enhance the competitive environment in the UK for divisions of multinational companies to stimulate them to continue to make major investments in the UK, with particular reference to those operating in the ice-cream industry. [97752]
Dr. Howells:
This Government aim to ensure that the UK is an economy where both indigenous and overseas-owned companies can thrive and compete effectively in world markets. This can only be achieved by maintaining macro-economic stability, and fair and open markets which promote competition. In addition, as detailed in our Competitiveness White Paper launched in December last year, we are actively pursuing a wide range of measures designed to promote the UK as a leading knowledge driven economy.
The UK's strong position as an environment for business continues to be demonstrated by our record levels of inward investment success. We are the market leader for inward investment in Europe, with over 30 per cent. of the total, and second only to the US in terms of inward investment stock.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals he has to fund research in respect of the possible long-term effects of prolonged exposure to extremely low-intensity radiation from telecommunication masts; and if he will make a statement. [98103]
Ms Hewitt:
The Government will be responding to all the recommendations and conclusions of the Science and Technology Committee Report, including those on research.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will establish a vibration white finger test centre in North Staffordshire; and if he will make a statement. [97800]
Mrs. Liddell:
There are currently seven centres in operation, including a centre in Barnsley which opened this week, and we expect a total of twelve centres to be up and running during January 2000. The locations for this initial tranche of centres were determined by balancing the geographic distribution of claimants against the availability of the medical resource needed to undertake the testing. We are assessing the options for opening further centres early next year. I recognise the very strong claims for a centre to serve the North Staffordshire miners, and would certainly hope that we will be able to open a centre in the North Staffordshire area early next year.
11 Nov 1999 : Column: 728
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment he has made of the impact of telecommunication costs on the development of e-commerce; and if he will make a statement. [98394]
Ms Hewitt:
The Cabinet Office's report e-commerce@its.best.co.uk (http://www.cabinet-office. gov.uk/innovations) provides a useful analysis of the issue of access costs. It confirms that the structure and level of tariffs affects on-line behaviour and that some UK tariffs are disadvantageous, but concludes that action is being taken. It recommends that telecoms operators be encouraged to offer a wider range of tariff options.
The Government are committed to ensuring the wide availability of fast and affordable Internet access and believe that competition is the best way to deliver this. The Government want to see operators responding to competitive pressures by offering a broader range of Internet tariff options to allow heavy e-commerce users and light users to choose the optimum package for their usage profile.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reports he has received of variations in the costs of maintaining and operating the telecommunication infrastructure in different parts of the United Kingdom; and what assessment he has made of the economic impact of such variations. [98395]
Ms Hewitt:
OFTEL, the UK's independent telecommunications regulator, carried out a thorough study of the cost of providing a universal telecommunications service throughout the United Kingdom in 1997. This included consideration of the costs of serving areas of the country which would be uneconomic on a normal commercial basis. OFTEL issued a further consultation on universal service in July this year which considered whether the conclusions of the 1997 study were still valid. The consultation period on this document closed on 29 October. OFTEL intend to publish their conclusions early next year.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) advice and (b) guidance he has issued to the regulator regarding telecommunication charges; and if he will make a statement. [98396]
Ms Hewitt:
Telecommunication charges are crucial to the development of e-commerce in the UK. I discussed this issue when I met with the Director General of Telecommunications on 28 October. However, OFTEL is an independent regulator and it would not be appropriate for me to give him guidance on such issues.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the relationship between the cost of high speed telecommunication and data links and the location of disaster recovery centres; and if he will make a statement. [98397]
Ms Hewitt:
I will write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy in the Libraries of the House.
11 Nov 1999 : Column: 729
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