| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Advisory Committee on Works of Art
Mrs. Roe: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will make a statement about the membership of the Advisory Committee on Works of Art. [116746]
Mr. Kirkwood: Madam Speaker has appointed the hon. Member for West Ham (Mr. Banks) in place of the hon. Member for Dudley, North (Mr. Cranston) as a Member of the Advisory Committee on Works of Art.
Research Assistants
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee how many hon. Members currently have passes for temporary research assistants from overseas. [116957]
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Employment Regulations
13. Mr. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received from businesses on the introduction of employment regulations. [115672]
Mr. Alan Johnson: I receive many representations from business on a variety of employment issues.
Regulation
14. Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to relieve small businesses of regulatory burdens. [115673]
Ms Hewitt:
One of the primary functions of the Small Business Service will be to ensure that the "Think Small First" philosophy is applied across Whitehall. The Small Business Service will also encourage Government Departments to make information on regulations more comprehensible and accessible, including through an SBS gateway.
30 Mar 2000 : Column: 236W
15. Charlotte Atkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's initial response is to the consultation document, "A National Strategy for the UK Textile and Clothing Industry". [115674]
Mr. Caborn:
The Government welcome the production of the consultation document "National Strategy for the UK Textile and Clothing Industry". We shall make a detailed response to the report, including the recommendations, when the final document is produced later in the spring.
16. Mr. Hope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the regulation of employment agencies. [115675]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
Our review of the agency conduct regulations, following last year's consultation, is progressing well. The new regulations will be laid before Parliament shortly. We will streamline and clarify the existing regulations while ensuring workers' and hirers' interests are properly protected.
17. Mr. Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with interested parties relating to cybersquatting. [115676]
Ms Hewitt:
The Department of Trade and Industry has been working for some time both in the UK and in international fora to develop consistent and workable procedures for resolving domain name disputes.
The law applies online just as much as it does offline so, where the UK courts have jurisdiction, owners of trade marks and other well known names can pursue legal remedies against cybersquatters who infringe their rights under UK law.
18. Shona McIsaac:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the Post Office will help tackle financial exclusion. [115677]
Mr. Byers:
The Horizon project to computerise the whole of the post office network will provide an automated IT platform from which basis the Post Office can substantially extend its arrangements to act with banks and building societies on an agency basis. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his recent Budget statement that he has asked the banks to work with the Post Office to offer a universal banking service available at post offices. Development of these measures has the potential to provide banking facilities to the substantial number of people currently financially excluded.
19. Mr. David Heath:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on competition in the milk industry. [115678]
30 Mar 2000 : Column: 237W
Mr. Byers:
I welcomed the voluntary decision by the members of Milk Marque to break up into three independent successors. All sectors of the UK dairy industry will benefit from a more competitive structure.
I have asked the Director General of Fair Trading to advise me by Easter whether the market is now operating competitively. I will make an announcement once I have considered his advice.
21. Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next expects to review the level of the national minimum wage. [115680]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
We are asking the Low Pay Commission, in its new remit, to continue to monitor the minimum wage and advise on a range of issues including whether there is a case for a further increase in the minimum wage rates and, if so, by how much. The Commission has been asked to report again by July 2001, and the Government will implement any rate changes in October of that year.
Meanwhile, in the light of the Low Pay Commission's positive findings in its second report, which we published on 15 February, we have already announced increases in the minimum wage rates later this year. The youth rate increases to £3.20 on 1 June 2000 and the main rate increases to £3.70 on 1 October 2000.
31. Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what account is taken of an employer's provision of board and lodging when calculating the minimum wage payable. [115693]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
The only benefit in kind which counts towards national minimum wage pay is accommodation. The maximum amount which can be offset against national minimum wage pay by employers who provide accommodation is £19.95 per week.
The provision of other benefits such as meals is not taken into account when calculating whether the national minimum wage has been paid. This approach follows recommendations by the Low Pay Commission in its first and second reports and its special report into the accommodation offset.
22. Dr. Palmer:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the role of sub-post offices in supplying electronic services to local communities. [115681]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
The Government are fully committed to a nationwide network of post offices and are contributing nearly £500 million towards the cost of equipping the network with a modern, automated IT platform. The system will be installed at some 18,000 post offices throughout the country by spring 2001, to enable the Post Office to improve services and take advantage of new business opportunities. Creation of an extensive automated infrastructure will facilitate the use of the Post Office network as a delivery channel for electronic Government services.
30 Mar 2000 : Column: 238W
Mr. Kenneth Clarke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to receive the Performance and Innovation Unit report on the sub-Post Office network; and if he will make a statement. [115769]
Mr. Byers
[holding answer 22 March 2000]: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister indicated in his answer to the hon. Member for Torbay (Mr. Sanders) on 17 January 2000, Official Report, column 267W, the Performance and Innovation Unit's report on the Post Office network is expected to be completed this spring.
23. Helen Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the benefits to British manufacturing of membership of the European Union. [115682]
Mrs. Liddell:
For British business, the greatest of all benefits of our membership of the EU is being part of the European single market. This gives all UK manufacturers access to the largest single market in the world--a market of nearly 380 million consumers.
Almost 60 per cent. of the UK's trade, worth nearly £120 billion a year, is with the EU. In addition we attract a huge amount of inward investment as a gateway to the single market, for countries outside the EU.
24. Mr. Peter Bradley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to overcome difficulties in improving access by rural communities to the internet; and if he will make a statement. [115683]
Ms Hewitt:
The Prime Minister recently announced the Government's goal of universal internet access by 2005. People in rural areas can already get such access via a PC and a telephone line. The Government are also making sure that there are public internet access points widely spread across the country, including in rural areas.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |