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A3XX Project
Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he took to establish whether private finance would be available for development of the A3XX project; and what reasons were given for its not being forthcoming. [118259]
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Mr. Alan Johnson:
As part of the assessment of the BAe Systems application for launch investment, my Department received independent advice from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). In their report, PWC looked at the case for Government investment in the A3XX, including the other alternatives open to BAe Systems. Although the details of the report are commercially confidential, the conclusion was that, in the absence of launch investment from the UK Government, BAe Systems would not undertake the A3XX work in the UK. This would have had a major impact on the UK civil aerospace industry, and would have put in jeopardy the tens of thousands of UK jobs which currently depend on Airbus work.
Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department briefed Rachel Sylvester of the Daily Telegraph on the contents of the Competition Commission report on car pricing. [117613]
Dr. Howells:
No. Neither I, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State or my ministerial colleagues nor my officials did so.
Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department met Rachel Sylvester on (i) Monday 27 March and (ii) during the week beginning 20 March. [117614]
Dr. Howells:
I met Rachel Sylvester on 27 March. The contents of the Competition Commission's report on new cars was not discussed. No other Ministers or officials met Ms Sylvester on the dates mentioned.
Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has ordered an internal inquiry into the leak of the contents of the Competition Commission report on car pricing to the Daily Telegraph. [117615]
Dr. Howells:
No. The article was speculation and I propose to treat it as such.
Mr. John M. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has held with potential buyers of Land Rover on the pension rights of former employees. [117692]
Mr. Byers:
This issue has been raised with both BMW and Ford who are the potential purchasers.
Mr. Wyatt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will call upon the Office of Fair Trading to publish the research underlying the Office of Fair Trading's definition of the home personal computer market; [117320]
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(3) what is his definition of the market for home personal computers in relation to the review of this market undertaken by the Office of Fair Trading in 1999. [117327]
Dr. Howells:
Under UK competition law in the first instance it is the responsibility of the Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) to investigate allegations of anti-competitive behaviour and possible abuses of a dominant position. The Director General of Fair Trading has recently investigated the market for home personal computers and concluded that no individual retailer or manufacturer has market power in the home PC market, market entry to retailing is relatively easy and there is no evidence that supra-normal profits are being made.
It is a matter for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to set out the research behind the reasons for its decision. They are looking at ways of increasing transparency in merger decisions. I welcome that. I am today placing a copy of the OFT's press notice of 28 October 1999 announcing its conclusions in the Library of the House.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many meetings he held with members and officials of the United States Government during his visit to Washington on 10 to 12 September 1998; and if he will list the date of each meeting, the location of each meeting and the names of the US officials and members who took part in each meeting. [117060]
Mr. Byers:
I did not visit Washington on the dates mentioned.
Mrs. Brinton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effect on competition in the packaging waste compliance market of the volume discount structure applied to statutory registration fees for packaging waste compliance schemes. [117947]
Ms Hewitt:
The registration fee structure for packaging waste compliance schemes is currently under review, and the effect on competition is among the issues being looked at. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions plans to conduct a consultation exercise on the fee structure shortly.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 3 April 2000, Official Report, column 277W, if, at the time when he took his initial decision to site the new synchrotron at Daresbury, he had been informed of the French Government's view, expressed in October 1999, that it should be sited in Oxfordshire. [117978]
Mr. Ian Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what effect the announcement by 3COM that they are to quit the high-end networking market will have on Government Departments' existing and planned computer systems. [R] [117624]
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Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 4 April 2000]: The Department of Trade and Industry's IT networking facilities are provided by Unitas (a consortium of ICL and CMG) under a Public Private Partnership. My officials have reviewed the 3Com announcement with Unitas and have confirmed that 3Com equipment is not currently used in the Department's network infrastructure and therefore no impact on the Department's IT systems is anticipated.
Mr. Green:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when his Department will answer the letters of 7 September 1999, 13 October 1999, 24 November 1999, 22 December 1999 and 1 February 2000, from the hon. Member for Ashford, concerning regulations under the Employment Agencies Act 1973; and if he will make a statement. [118394]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
My Department has no record of any such correspondence being received at the time. The hon. Gentleman provided copies on 6 April and I will now ensure this correspondence is dealt with promptly.
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will announce the Structural Fund Objective 2 areas. [118088]
Mr. Byers:
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade to my hon. Friend the Member for Wigan (Mr. Turner) on 5 April 2000, Official Report, columns 480-81W.
Mr. Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the likely impact on farmers' incomes of the proposed takeover of Unigate's milk production facility by Dairy Crest; and if he will make a statement. [118213]
Dr. Howells:
On 6 April, I announced that I had decided not to refer Dairy Crest's proposed acquisition of the liquid milk and cheese business of Unigate to the Competition Commission for investigation.
My decision was in accordance with the independent advice of the Director General of Fair Trading who advised me that the merger did not raise competition concerns which would warrant reference to the Competition Commission under the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973.
The DGFT consulted widely before offering me his advice. I considered it very carefully, and was persuaded that the merger will not have an adverse effect on competition. While the merger will lead to increased concentration in the market for the procurement of raw milk, the parties will continue to face significant competition from alternative purchasers. Farmers and raw milk marketing groups will still have a good choice of customer.
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Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which museums and galleries in London provide free admission to pensioners. [117839]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
As of 1 April 2000, all the national Museums and Galleries in London sponsored by my Department, with the exception of the Cabinet War Rooms and HMS Belfast, provide free admission to the over 60s. As for other Museums and Galleries in London, practice varies from institution to institution.
(2) if he will refer exclusive supply arrangements in the market for home personal computers to the Competition Commission; [117323]
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