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Learning and Skills Council

Mr. Pendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the progress being made on the appointment of a Chair for the Learning and Skills Council. [124919]

Mr. Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has today appointed Bryan Sanderson as the Chairman (designate) of the Learning and Skills Council. Mr. Sanderson is currently Group Managing Director of BP Amoco plc and Chief Executive of BP Amoco Chemicals. Subject to the successful passage of the Learning and Skills Bill in Parliament, the appointment will be confirmed in July.

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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Industry Council

Mr. Jim Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the outcome of the Industry Council held in Brussels on 18 May; and if he will make a statement. [123439]

Mr. Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Energy and Competitiveness in Europe represented the UK at the EU Industry Council held on 18 May.

The Council had a debate on competitiveness, focusing on the follow-up actions from the Lisbon European Council and broad consensus was reached on the challenges ahead. There was agreement that the new Multi-Annual Programme should concentrate resources where they could benefit SMEs generally and should be adopted by the end of this year. There was also widespread support from member states for adoption at the Feira European Council on 19-20 June of a European Charter for Small Firms with concrete targets and actions.

Several delegations pointed out the need to benchmark Europe's performance against the best in the world to foster a new enterprise policy and the need for greater co-ordination of all the current EU benchmarking exercises.

The Commission introduced the results of the second report on the situation in world shipbuilding, highlighting the continued problems faced with Korea, and progress made on the "Agreed Minutes" with Korea in an attempt to address this situation. It was agreed that discussion should continue with Korea as a matter of urgency on unfair trade practices and that continuation of operating aid beyond the end of this year in the EU would not resolve these problems. The Council asked the Commission to make a further report by the end of September.

The Commission reported on follow up to the conclusions on integrating sustainable development into EU policy which were agreed at the Helsinki European Council last year and its recent communication on integrating sustainable development into the EU non- energy mining industry.

The Commission gave progress reports on the modernisation of competition rules, the impact of electronic commerce on the automotive industry and the future of the European Observatory for Textile and Clothing. It also presented its: eighth survey of state aid; twenty ninth report on competition; monitoring report on restructuring aid to the steel sector.

The Council adopted conclusions on: information and communication technologies and traditional sectors; the state of competitiveness of the steel industry in the EU; and concerted action with the member states in the field of enterprise policy.

Advertisements

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to strengthen the arrangements in place to protect consumers from fraudulent claims made in advertisements, with particular reference to the penalties which can be brought to bear on those making such claims; and if he will make a statement. [124084]

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Dr. Howells: I am satisfied that the 1988 Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations, together with the self-regulatory system operated by the Advertising Standards Authority for advertisements in the non- broadcast media, are effective in controlling misleading advertising in the United Kingdom.

In respect of false or misleading claims more generally, the White Paper "Modern Markets: Confident Consumers" announced that the Government are considering strengthening the Trade Descriptions Act 1968--which applies to both advertisements and on-pack claims--by making misleading claims about services an offence of strict liability, as is already the case for goods, and by introducing new provisions to cover the future supply of services and false or misleading statements made by traders about a consumer's own property--for example the need for remedial work. The Trade Descriptions Act includes criminal penalties.

Research (Gender Balance)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his policy towards promoting gender balance in research, with particular reference to those areas funded by European Community moneys, following the ETAN report of the European Parliament. [123649]

Mrs. Liddell: The Government are very keen to increase the participation of women in research. The Promoting SET for Women Unit, within the DTI works with the Research Councils, the Higher Education Funding Councils, the Wellcome Trust and the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals to encourage more women to apply for research funds and for membership of the Framework programme expert and advisory bodies. The Unit Head is a member of a Commission working group to help achieve these aims.

OECD Convention on Bribery

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the OECD peer group review of the UK concerning the OECD convention on bribery. [123974]

Mr. Caborn [holding answer 5 June 2000]: The Phase 1 evaluation report of the UK under the OECD Convention on Combating the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions will be made public, along with the reports of all other countries so far reviewed, at the OECD Ministerial meeting at the end of June, as agreed by OECD members.

Ethnic Minority Business Forum

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the Ethnic Minority Business Forum will address the needs of the ethnic minority business community. [124384]

Mr. Byers: My Department is setting up an ethnic minority business forum so that we can find out at first hand the particular needs and concerns of ethnic minority entrepreneurs. With the benefit of the experience of members of the Forum, we hope we will be able to better tailor our policies and support to overcome these concerns and improve the competitiveness of this important sector of our economy.

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Late Payment

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government have to introduce legislation on late payment of accounts by companies. [124749]

Ms Hewitt: The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 was introduced on 1 November 1998 and provides businesses with a statutory right to claim interest on late payment of commercial debt. The legislation is phased and for the first two years-- 1 November 1998 to 31 October 2000--small businesses can claim interest from large businesses and the public sector.

The Government propose to extend the right to claim interest from 1 November 2000 to 31 October 2002, so that small businesses will also be able to claim interest from other small businesses on debts incurred under contracts agreed after that date. From 1 November 2002 it is proposed that all businesses and the public sector will be able to claim interest from all businesses and the public sector on debts incurred under contracts agreed after that date.

Fire Safety

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988; and if he will make a statement. [124674]

Dr. Howells: My Department is undertaking research to evaluate whether the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 have been successful in reducing the number of lives lost and serious injuries suffered as a result of furniture fires.

I plan to publish this research at the end of June 2000 and copies will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Miners Compensation Schemes

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the second stage tests to be available in the North East of England for chronic bronchitis and emphysema under the miners compensation schemes. [123760]

Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 5 June 2000]: The two spirometry centres based in Newcastle and Durham have been converted to carry out in full the Medical Assessment Process and the first MAP appointments have now been made.

Research Funding

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proposals he has to increase funding for research leading to innovation in public bodies and private companies. [124494]

Ms Hewitt [holding answer 5 June 2000]: The Government's first Comprehensive Spending Review resulted in an additional £1.0 billion support over three years for the public science and engineering base. A unique partnership with the Wellcome Trust increased this to £1.4 billion, of which £0.75 billion has been used to renew university research infrastructure through the Joint

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Infrastructure Fund. In addition the DTI's Innovation Budget is being increased by some 20 per cent. over three years to fund a number of programmes designed to drive forward a fundamental change in innovation performance in the UK. This includes for example the Smart scheme which supports R&D activities in private small and medium-sized companies and is being expanded and extended over the period 1999-2002, and the technology transfer scheme known as TCS, for which DTI is doubling its expenditure.

These and other relevant schemes are being considered in the current Spending Review. The Government are also working toward publishing a Science and Innovation White Paper later this year, which will set out our policies in this area.

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