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Senator Pinochet
Mr. Lepper: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement concerning the Crown Prosecution Service as prosecuting authority and the case of Senator Pinochet. [106948]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service as prosecuting authority for England and Wales has advised the Metropolitan Police Service that the material provided by the Kingdom of Spain for the purposes of the extradition proceedings would not be admissible in a criminal prosecution in England and Wales and could not be put into admissible form without a full police investigation. On the material presently available to the CPS, therefore, there is no realistic prospect in this jurisdiction of convicting Senator Pinochet of any criminal offence.
The Crown Prosecution Service has also advised the Metropolitan Police Service that, in view of the independent medical report on Senator Pinochet commissioned by the Home Secretary and taking into
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account representations made to the Home Secretary concerning the reports, no court in England and Wales would allow a trial of Senator Pinochet to take place, whatever the evidence.
The CPS advised the police further that the allegations contained in the Swiss, both French and both Belgian requests did not disclose offences which could be tried here since the conduct alleged in each of the requests occurred before the relevant legislation came into force.
I was consulted about this matter by the DPP and agree with these conclusions.
1. Mr. Ottaway:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received regarding the adequacy of the consultation period for statutory trade union recognition. [111530]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
I have received no representations on this matter.
22. Mr. Connarty:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he is taking to provide a network of support for those businesses which trade on the internet. [111553]
25. Ms Moran:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what further measures he intends to take to assist small businesses to take advantage of e-commerce. [111556]
Ms Hewitt:
We have established a network of 100 support centres throughout the UK under the Information Society Initiative (ISI) at which businesses can get impartial, jargon-free advice and support. In England, these Centres will be fully integrated into the new Small Business Service.
We have also worked with the digital content sector--which includes many key service and content providers for e-commerce based businesses--to agree with them an Action Plan for Growth. This was published on 29 February and copies are available in the Library of the House. We are now working in partnership with the newly formed Digital Content Forum to take forward the Plan's proposals.
Beyond this, work is under way to develop a new, industry led mentoring scheme for internet based start-ups, building on recommendations in the Performance and Innovation Unit's report e-commerce@its.best.uk.
23. Mr. Todd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the use of surpluses from the mineworkers pension funds. [111554]
Mrs. Liddell:
Surpluses in the coal pension schemes (The Mineworkers' Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme) are split 50/50 between the membership of the schemes and the Government in our role as guarantor to the schemes.
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In accordance with Coal Industry Act 1994 (Sch.5, paragraph 2(10)), all surpluses received by the Secretary of State must be paid into the Consolidated Fund. However, under Government Accounting rules, receipts can be used to offset related expenditure by the Department concerned. In this case, the Treasury has agreed that DTI may, for the present, retain pension fund receipts to help offset expenditure on liabilities inherited from British Coal.
26. Helen Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress he is making on encouraging businesses to adopt family-friendly employment policies. [111557]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment will shortly be announcing details of the Government's campaign to promote good practice that both benefits the business and enables employees to balance work and the rest of their lives better. It will be delivered in partnership with leading employers and others.
The campaign will build on the framework of rights to maternity leave, parental leave and emergency time off which came into force last December.
28. Mrs. Fyfe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy that the purchasing power of the national minimum wage including the 10p increase recently announced is maintained in future. [111559]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
The Government have always made clear that there should be no automatic mechanism for making changes to the national minimum wage rate.
We have asked the independent Low Pay Commission to continue monitoring the minimum wage and to examine the case for an increase.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate how many 21-year-olds would be entitled to the full minimum wage if they were treated as adults rather than young people; what estimate he has made of the impact of such a change (a) nationwide and (b) in the constituency of Hereford; and if he will make a statement. [112430]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
The total number of 21-year-olds entitled to the national minimum wage is, according to Autumn 1999 Labour Force Survey figures, around 440,000. Of these fewer than 20,000 would benefit from being entitled to the full national minimum wage rate rather than the rate for young people, according to the Low Pay Commission's estimate, which covers Great Britain. There are no figures available for individual constituencies.
I also refer the hon. Member to the Government's detailed response to the Low Pay Commission's report, placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament on 22 February 2000, which explains the Government's position on 21-year-old workers and the national minimum wage.
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29. Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure safety at nuclear installations. [111560]
Mrs. Liddell:
The primary responsibility for ensuring safety at nuclear licensed sites falls to the licensee. Safety is independently monitored and regulated by the Health and Safety Executive's Installations Inspectorate.
Both for licensees and for Ministers, safety at nuclear installations is the top priority. In particular, in their capacity as shareholder of BNFL and sponsor of UKAEA, Ministers make it clear they expect licensees to respond in a constructive and timely way to any regulator concerns.
30. Mr. Steen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to assist the development of a centre for high technology electronics firms in South Devon; and if he will make a statement. [111561]
Ms Hewitt:
Although I am not aware of a proposal for such a development, my Department, through the Government Office for the South West, stands ready to advise on assistance that may be available, for example, through the Enterprise Fund.
34. Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Government's consultation on its proposals to extend the rights of part-time workers. [111565]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
The consultation on part-time work began on 17 January and ended on 27 February. We will now be looking closely at the responses before taking the next steps in implementation of the Directive.
35. Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next plans to meet chairmen of the regional development agencies to discuss their role in encouraging higher levels of investment in design and innovation. [111566]
Mr. Caborn:
The Secretary of State met Regional Development Agency Chairmen on 13 December 1999. He has no immediate plans for further meetings. However, I meet with them regularly to discuss a broad range of economic development issues, including both investment and innovation.
36. Gillian Merron:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what account he takes of the interests of consumers in forming his Department's policies. [111567]
Dr. Howells:
Our White Paper "Modern Markets: Confident Consumers" set out how we would bring the interests of consumers to the heart of government. We recognise that well-informed, empowered consumers are good for business. They help promote innovation and stimulate better value. Our policies reflect this important role of consumers in a modern economy.
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