| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of the use his Department, its agencies and public bodies will make of the powers relating to the authorised
20 Apr 2000 : Column: 644W
obtaining of communications data in Part I, Chapter II of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill once the Bill is enacted. [119517]
Ms Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department on 19 April 2000, Official Report, column 509W.
Regional Selective Assistance
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria the Towers Consortium need to fulfil to be eligible for regional selective assistance. [120094]
Mr. Byers: The criteria are set out in the booklet on the scheme, which is freely available. A copy is in the Library of the House.
Rover
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how quickly he could pay regional selective assistance to Rover following receipt of a valid application. [120093]
Mr. Byers: No such application has been received.
Electricity Industry
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress the Steering Group on Electricity Security and Stability Issues has made in following up the recommendations made by the Consultants Merz and McLellan in the White Paper, Conclusions of the Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation and Government Response to the fourth and fifth reports of the Trade and Industry Committee (Cm 4071), published in October 1998. [120544]
Mrs. Liddell: In the White Paper, the Government proposed a two-tier approach: an open consultancy group open to all interested parties, and a smaller steering group which would carry out most of the detailed work. The Steering Group, chaired by my Department, has published its findings today in the form of a consultation document. The group has concluded that the further work recommended by Merz and McLellan has been undertaken or is in hand and that there do not appear to be any immediate problems for the security and stability of the electricity grid system arising from the possible high levels of gas-fired generation. They have recommended that the Regulator should keep system security under review since the industry is undergoing a period of enormous change. The consultation document also addresses the individual recommendations by Merz and McLellan. Comments have been invited by Friday 16 June.
Copies of the consultation report are being circulated, in the first instance, to all those who responded to the consultation document on the Review of Energy Sources (listed in Annex G of Cm 4071). I am placing copies in the Libraries of the House. The document is also available on the DTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/ and on request from Natalia Hill, EPTAC1b, DTI, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H OET (Phone: 020 7215 6488).
20 Apr 2000 : Column: 645W
Regeneration
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the number and value of (a) bids for and (b) grants made in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available, for each (i) area-based and (ii) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible. [119800]
Mr. Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to the Annual report presented to Parliament pursuant to sections 11 and 15 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 and published on 26 July 1999.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list for each (a) area-based and (b) other regeneration-related initiative for which his Department is responsible (i) the amount budgeted and (ii) the total expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of each initiative. [119790]
Mr. Caborn: I refer the hon. Member to my Department's expenditure plans, Command 4611, published earlier this month.
Homeowner Compensation (Mining Areas)
Mr. Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what compensation has been paid to homeowners whose properties (a) are rendered unsaleable and (b) have suffered undue financial loss in value due to their proximity to disused mineshafts in the last five years. [119782]
Mrs. Liddell: No compensation has been paid in these circumstances.
Radiocommunications Agency
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what targets he has set his Department's Radiocommunications Agency for 2000-01. [120543]
20 Apr 2000 : Column: 646W
Mr. Byers: I have set the Radiocommunications Agency the following quality of service targets for 2000-01 in respect of its licensing and enforcement activities and correspondence. These are in addition to achieving an overall efficiency improvement of five per cent. over 1999-2000.
Licensing Targets
Category A
Licences that involve no frequency assignment site clearance or international co-ordination: 100 per cent. of applications for new or varied services to be awarded or rejected (with explanation) within five working days.
Category B
Licences that involve frequency assignment but no site clearance or international co-ordination: 90 per cent. of applications for new or varied services to be awarded or rejected (with explanation) within 15 working days; the remainder to be awarded or rejected within 25 working days or an explanation of the delay to be given.
Category C
Licences that require frequency assignment and site clearance and/or international co-ordination: 90 per cent. of applications for new or varied services to be awarded or rejected (with explanation) within 40 working days; the remainder to be awarded or rejected within 60 working days or an explanation of the delay to be given.
Enforcement
100 per cent. of safety of life services reports of interference to be investigated within 24 hours.
98 per cent. of business customers reports of interference to be investigated within five working days; the remainder within a further five days.
98 per cent. of domestic customers reports of interference to be investigated within one month; the remainder within a further month.
Correspondence
I also expect all correspondence from hon. Members delegated to the Chief Executive by Ministers or otherwise for reply, and all written complaints addressed to him about agency services, to be answered within 10 working days of receipt; the agency's inquiry point to respond to 95 per cent. of calls within 30 seconds; and 100 per cent. of valid invoices to be paid within 30 days of receipt (or as agreed with the supplier).