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Departmental Staff

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development in the last five years, what proportion of women employees in (i) her Department, and (ii) executive agencies under the control of her Department, (a) returned to work after childbirth, (b) returned to work after childbirth before the end of maternity leave, indicating the (i) time-range and (ii) mean time, (c) returned to work after childbirth on reduced working hours, indicating the average hours worked and (d) returned to work after childbirth full-time and subsequently reduced their hours. [109235]

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Clare Short: I am unable to provide an answer to this question as the information is not held in an easily extractable form and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost to the Department.

TREASURY

Remploy

Mr. Caton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Remploy products his Department has purchased in the last three years. [109938]

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Miss Melanie Johnson: We have no record of any contract or payment to Remploy during the last three years.

National Minimum Wage

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each constituency the number and percentage of adults in full-time work who received a wage increase in April 1999 as a consequence of the introduction of the national minimum wage. [109686]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 1 February 2000:


TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Land Mines

Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assistance his Department is giving to the development of new technology for the clearance of anti-personnel land mines; [108592]

Dr. Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence on 10 February 2000, Official Report, column 244W, and the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development on 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 91W.

Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next plans to meet representatives from Edinburgh University to discuss the funding of the Dervish anti-personnel land mines clearance project. [108595]

Dr. Howells: I have no such plans. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development on 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 91W.

Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received concerning the Dervish anti-personnel land mines clearance project. [108594]

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Dr. Howells: Any such representations received in this Department would be passed to the Ministry of Defence or the Department for International Development.

Telecommunications Masts

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures his Department has taken to enforce the conditions of telecommunications licences that operators provide details of the expected locations of all telecommunications apparatus before giving notice of the installation of any apparatus in a particular planning authority area; what penalties are applicable when this condition is breached; and if he will list the instances in which this condition has been broken in each of the last five years, by each operator. [108501]

Ms Hewitt: Enforcement in relation to these conditions is a matter for local planning authorities. Failure to pre- notify expected locations of apparatus to the local planning authority would deprive the operator of permitted development rights under Part 24 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 and would subject him to normal planning law. The local planning authority would then be responsible for taking action under normal planning enforcement procedures. Remedies could include a requirement to remove the apparatus concerned. As this is a matter for planning authorities, DTI does not receive details of breaches.

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who is responsible for monitoring the level of power densities produced by telecommunications masts; what proportion of masts were checked in 1999; and if he will list by operator the masts found to produce power densities in excess of the limits set by the NRPB in each of the last three years. [108496]

Ms Hewitt: The responsibility for monitoring the level of power densities produced by telecommunications masts rests with the operators of the masts in accordance with their duties under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974. The Health and Safety Executive requires operators to prevent access by members of the public to areas, usually within a couple of metres of the antennae, where power densities may exceed NRPB guidelines.

The Radiocommunications Agency will investigate complaints about emissions from telecommunications masts, though the cost of any report on a particular site must be borne by the complainant. To my knowledge, no mast has been found where members of the public are exposed above NRPB guideline limits. No information is held on the proportion of masts checked in 1999.

E-commerce

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to assess the energy and environmental implications of the development of e-commerce and greater use of teleworking and video conferencing. [108686]

Ms Hewitt: As I announced last week, my Department, with the DETR, is supporting a year long inquiry into the environmental and social impacts of the development of e-commerce. This project, called "Digital Futures", will

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be managed by Forum for the Future and has the support of business as well as Government. It will report in early 2001.

The Government continue to develop and keep under review their information about the nature of energy consumption and projections of future energy demand, taking into account a range of social and economic trends, including e-commerce, teleworking and video conferencing.

Regeneration Partnership Programme

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those local authorities or partnership schemes which have recently been awarded support under the RECITE-II regeneration partnership programme, giving the size of each award and the main focus of the scheme supported. [108687]

Mr. Caborn: RECITE II is a Community Initiative run by the European Commission. The programme is aimed at encouraging and promoting co-operation between regional and local authorities.

A table showing the projects which have been awarded support and the size of each project grant is being placed in the House of Commons Library.

Departmental Secondments

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff were seconded from the private sector to his Department from (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to the latest date for which figures are available, stating in each case the companies from which staff have been seconded. [109070]

Dr. Howells [holding answer 8 February 2000]: From the information that is held centrally within the Department, the details we have on inward secondments are as follows:


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