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Post Offices

20. Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will publish the details of the financial package for post offices outlined in his statement on 28 June. [128960]

Mr. Alan Johnson: Funding provision for the measures in support of the post office network were referred to by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in his statement of 28 June 2000, Official Report, columns 907-09. The provision is being set aside and precise amounts will be announced once detailed proposals have been drawn up and approved.

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24. Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many parishes lost their sub-post office (a) in the period between 1 May 1997 and 30 April 2000 and (b) in the previous three years. [128964]

Mr. Alan Johnson: I understand from the Post Office that it does not hold data on the location of sub-post offices by parish. The total number of post offices closed between end March 1997 and end March 2000 was 850 and in the three years between end March 1994 and end March 1997 the total number was 277.

Mrs. Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of sub-post office closures in each year since 1997 met the definition of unavoidable closures set out in the Performance and Innovation Unit's report into the post office network. [129419]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 6 July 2000]: That information is not available as the PIU report gives a definition based on events which have not yet taken place.

Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many sub-post office closures in each year since 1990 were unavoidable as defined in his oral statement of 28 June 2000, Official Report, column 907-20, on the Post Office network. [129984]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 10 July 2000]: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given above to the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Mrs. Browning) today.

Small Business Service

21. Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made by the Small Business Service in developing links with the Small Business Administration in the United States. [128961]

Ms Hewitt: David Irwin, Chief Executive of the Small Business Service, and I visited the SBA in March this year. We went to see first-hand the work of the SBA and to identify lessons from it and other business support initiatives which could be applied to the SBS.

As announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 5 July 2000 at the joint UK-US conference "Enterprise and Technology for All: Seizing the Opportunity" David Irwin is taking forward with Aida Alvarez, Head of the SBA, a number of initiatives for further collaboration such as staff twinning possibilities and liaison between the Small Business Council and the SBA's National Advisory Council.

Business Regulation

22. Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the level of regulation of business. [128962]

Ms Hewitt: According to the recent research by the OECD and the Economist Intelligence Unit the UK is already more lightly regulated than most of our competitors. We will continue to reduce the level of regulation on business wherever possible.

33. Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is taking to simplify and reduce regulations affecting business. [128975]

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Ms Hewitt: We are continually looking for opportunities to reduce burdens on business. For example, we have increased the statutory audit threshold for companies from £350,000 to £1 million, benefiting up to 150,000 companies, with potential savings of up to £180 million a year.

EU Applicant Countries

23. Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which EU applicant countries he or his predecessors have visited since May 1997. [128963]

Mr. Byers: DTI Ministers have visited a majority of the applicants since 1997 reflecting the importance of EU enlargement for business. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade has just returned from Hungary.

Civil Aircraft

25. Mr. Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the future of the Civil Aircraft Research and Demonstration programme. [128965]

Mr. Alan Johnson: The Department's support for Civil Aircraft Research and Demonstration makes an important contribution to the competitiveness of the aerospace industry. Decisions on future funding will be made in the light of the Government's spending review.

36. Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes he proposes to make to the Civil Aircraft Research and Demonstration programme. [128978]

Mr. Alan Johnson: The Department's support for Civil Aircraft Research and Demonstration makes an important contribution to the competitiveness of the aerospace industry. Decisions on future funding will be made in the light of the Government's spending review.

Creative and Communications Industries

26. Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the contribution of the creative and communications industries to the UK economy; and if he will make a statement. [128967]

Ms Hewitt: The creative and communications industries contributed an estimated £25 billion to the economy in 1995. Work in this area is currently under review, with an update of its assessment planned for later this year. Early indications, drawing on National Statistics, are that the corresponding estimate for the most recently available data 1997 is £33 billion, accounting for approaching 5 per cent. of Gross Domestic Product. In addition the telecommunications services industry contributed 1.9 per cent. to GDP.

The creative and communications industries are vitally important to the future economic prosperity of this country. We have joined together with DCMS and other Government Departments to try to help to maximise their competitive position. We have closely involved senior figures from the creative and communications industries in fora such as the Information Age Partnership, chaired

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by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and the Creative Industries Task Force, chaired by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

European Charter for Small Firms

27. Mr. Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the European charter for small firms. [128968]

Ms Hewitt: The Government welcome the commitments in the European Charter for Small Enterprises agreed at the Feira Council to take action, both at the European and member state level, on areas such as better regulation, strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship, improving access to finance and enhancing business support. The Charter sends a clear signal of the European Union's positive attitude to enterprise and gives substance to the recent commitment to make the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world.

Miners (Compensation)

29. Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress he has made in meeting retired miners health-related compensation claims. [128970]

Mrs. Liddell: The Handling Agreement for settling claims for respiratory disease were formally signed in September last year. To date we have received around 108,000 claims. So far over 52,000 spirometry tests, the first part of the medical tests, have been carried out. A further 12,000 appointments have been made at 34 centres nationwide. Together this represents over 90 per cent. of the total live claims received. Over 9,000 claimants have received full and final offers based on their spirometry result; of these 2,600 have been accepted. The remainder will progress to the full MAP.

The full Medical Assessment Process, the second part of the tests, began in December. Healthcall, the Department's contractors, now have 26 centres operational. Initially some GPs and hospitals were uncertain about releasing the miners' medical records which are essential prior to making a MAP appointment. However we are now making appointments at a rate of 2,000 a month. We expect this to rise into the autumn. To date the Department has made damages payments totalling in excess of £63 million.

We signed the Handling Arrangement for settling claims for Vibration White Finger in January last year. To date we have received some 80,000 claims. Nearly 15,000 claims have been settled, with damages totalling nearly £130 million.

Mr. Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases have been lodged to date by former miners living in Barnsley, East and Mexborough for compensation for (a) vibration white finger and (b) chronic bronchitis and emphysema. [129798]

Mrs. Liddell: In the Barnsley and Mexborough area, as at 10 July, the Department has lodged some 4,000 claims for vibration white finger and 5,200 for respiratory disease from former miners and their families. IRISC, the Department's claim handling agents, are not able to provide a breakdown for Barnsley, East.

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To date in the Barnsley and Mexborough area the Department has made general damages payments in interim and full and final settlement for both diseases totalling over £10 million.

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