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Electrical Safety
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes have been made to (a) the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and (b) the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 since their implementation; and if he will make a statement. [126023]
Mr. Alan Johnson [holding answer 15 June 2000]: The information is as follows:
- (a) The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 are national Regulations and no amendments have been made since they came into force. However, the Regulations recognise that British Standards that are referenced in the Regulations may need to be revised or amended from time to time and they therefore make provision for such reference to be construed as a reference to the revised or amended standard where the amendment or revision has been approved by the Secretary of State. Ministerial approval of the revision of a number of British Standards was granted in 1998. The Department will be initiating a review of the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 before the end of the year, and will be consulting with industry and other interested parties.
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- (b) The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 implement into UK law the European Council Directive 73/23/EEC, normally referred to as the Low Voltage Directive. No amendments have been made to the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 since they came into force, and as the appropriate measures are in place I have no plans to review the Regulations.
Mobile Phones
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he plans to take to inform consumers about technical matters including the absorption rate of radio frequencies on mobile phones, to ensure they can make informed choices regarding mobile phone use; and if he will make a statement. [126274]
Mr. Byers: The Government are committed to providing consumers with sufficient information on mobile phones and health in order that they may make informed choices when purchasing and using a mobile phone.
The Government are supporting the European electrical standard setting body, CENLEC, in developing a standard for measuring the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) values of mobile phones. (The SAR refers to the rate of absorption by the human body of electromagnetic radiation). The standard will be adopted in the UK once it has been finally approved. The Government believe that the consumer should have access to the SAR values when considering purchasing a mobile phone. The Government will expect SAR measurements to be displayed at all points of sale and with each mobile phone and on the world wide web. The Government consider that the SAR value should be viewed in context, for example, by comparing the SAR value against the recommended exposure limits. We will work with industry to ensure this information is provided.
In addition, we have already started discussions on the provision of information on health aspects of mobile phone technology. This information will be provided in a widely available leaflet and will include details of how the technology works, including a description of what is meant by "Specific Absorption Rate". We will be working with the industry to provide the technology information in easy to understand language.
Young Entrepreneurs
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is putting in place to support young entrepreneurs (a) nationally and (b) in Teeside; and if he will make a statement. [126494]
Mr. Byers: My Department is committed to helping young entrepreneurs throughout the UK. For example, we are supporting Enterprise Insight the business-led campaign, which is informing young people about the challenges and rewards of starting a business as well as developing entrepreneurial skills and helping businesses to grow. Enterprise Insight has set up a Regional Team for the North East which is currently developing a calendar of events.
My Department is also supporting the Young Enterprise Innovation Awards final in July and helping Young Enterprise with the pilot development of Graduate Enterprise into a national programme. Teeside University is taking part in the pilot scheme.
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This month the awards ceremony for the European Awards for the Spirit of Enterprise took place, which DTI supported. Young people from every region participated.
Workplace Bullying
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is being taken by his Department to address the problem of bullying in the workplace, what recent representations he has received on this matter; and if he will make a statement. [126495]
Mr. Alan Johnson: My Department receives occasional representations about workplace bullying, which I strongly deplore. Existing legislation can address it in a number of ways. For instance, the Public Order Act 1986 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 provide remedies against harassment, while the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 places a duty on all employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees. In addition, we would always encourage employers to put in place disciplinary and grievance procedures which allow employees to raise concerns and employers to address them. The Employment Relations Act 1999 contains a provision giving workers the right to be accompanied at disciplinary and grievance hearings by a fellow worker or trade union official of their choice, and workers who choose to exercise their right will be protected against victimisation by their employer, as will those who accompany or seek to accompany a worker. Our intention is to bring the new right into force on 4 September.
Post Offices
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices there were in (i) Great Britain and (ii) each parliamentary constituency in (1) 1999 and (2) 2000; and if he will make a statement. [126293]
Mr. Alan Johnson: I understand from the Post Office that at end March 1999 there were 600 crown post offices and 18,175 sub-post offices in the United Kingdom and that the corresponding figures for end March 2000 were 598 crown offices and 17,795 sub-post offices.
I also understand that the most recent data on the numbers of post offices in parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain relate to October 1999. These figures for England and Wales were published on 29 November 1999, Official Report, column 22W, and for Scotland on 20 December 1999, Official Report, column 382W.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices there were in (i) Great Britain and (ii) each region in each year since 1987; and if he will make a statement. [126295]
Mr. Alan Johnson: I understand from the Post Office that the total numbers of Crown post offices and sub-post offices in the United Kingdom at the end of March of each year since 1987 were:
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I also understand from the Post Office that figures for post offices by Post Office Counters regions are only available from April 1994. I have obtained lists of the figures from that date and have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.
EU Nickel Directive
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will publish regulations required under the EU Nickel Directive (94/27/EC). [126815]
Mr. Alan Johnson: I plan to sign and lay before Parliament by the end of June the Dangerous Substances and Preparations (Nickel) (Safety) Regulations 2000, which will implement the Nickel Directive (94/27/EC).
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Electricity Supply
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the supply obligation on electricity generators; and what plans he has to review the buy-out option available to companies supplying electricity. [126099]
Mrs. Liddell: The Utilities Bill will provide the powers to place an obligation on licensed suppliers of electricity to supply a proportion of their supplies from renewable sources of energy. The new provisions will enable suppliers to buy-out all or part of their obligation as an alternative to supplying renewables electricity as a means of protecting consumers from excessive costs. Later this year, I intend to consult on the level of the obligation, the level of the buy-out price option and the system of allocation by which the proceeds from the buy-out payments will be recycled.
Business Links
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses used Business Links during 1998-99 in each region, counting each business only once. [123534]
Mr. Caborn [holding answer 24 May 2000]: The table shows the total number of businesses assisted in each region by Business Links in each quarter during 1998-99, England figures and averages are also included.
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Part of the SBS performance Information requirement is to count all businesses using Business Link services for non-trivial activity. Only one use per business is recorded during each quarter. The first repeat use by a business of Business Link Services in a later quarter is also recorded. Because a business can appear more than once during the year, figures cannot be totalled across quarters to provide cumulative figures without double counting.
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