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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 27 July 2000
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Post Offices
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices are within (a) three miles and (b) five miles of a digital telephone exchange; and if he will make a statement. [131802]
Mr. Alan Johnson: I understand from the Post Office that all but around 500 post offices are within approximately 3 km of a digital telephone exchange, enabling ISDN connections. At those offices where a normal ISDN connection is not possible an equivalent satellite link will be installed.
Regional Selective Assistance
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many offers of regional selective assistance made since May 1997 have received EU approval. [131826]
Mr. Byers [holding answer 21 July 2000]: Under the RSA scheme the vast majority of offers do not require approval. Of those that do, four have been approved since May 1997.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for which Ford plant regional selective assistance was offered. [131827]
Mr. Byers [holding answer 21 July 2000]: Bridgend and Swansea.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which non-motor companies have received offers of regional selective assistance; and how many have received their first payment. [131823]
Mr. Byers [holding answer 21 July 2000]: For reasons of commercial confidentiality, details of offers are not routinely published until after the first payment of grant. Information on such offers of £75,000 or more can be found in "Labour Market Trends".
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the payments of regional selective assistance to Vauxhall Motors Ltd. and Ford Motor Co. Ltd. have received EU approval. [131828]
Mr. Byers [holding answer 21 July 2000]: Yes.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) when Toyota received (a) offers and (b) payment of Regional Selective Assistance as detailed in a press release on 14 June 1999; [131825]
- (2) how much Regional Selective Assistance (a) Rover Group Ltd., (b) Jaguar Cars Ltd., (c) Peugeot Motor Co. plc, (d) Vauxhall Motors Ltd. and (e) Ford Motor Co. Ltd. have received since May 1997; [131822]
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(3) what payments have been received and grants given to (a) Rover Group Ltd., (b) Jaguar Cars, (c) Peugeot Motor Co. plc, (d) Vauxhall Motors Ltd. and (e) Ford Motor Co. by his Department since May 1997; and which of these received European Commission approval. [133144]
Mr. Byers [holding answer 21 July 2000]: The policy under successive Governments has been that payments of Regional Selective Assistance are a commercial matter between the company and the Government and are not normally disclosed. Details of offers of grant of £75,000 or more are given in "Labour Market Trends". The offer to Toyoda Gosei Company Ltd. (part of the Toyota group) was made in May 1999 and did not require EC approval. The Rover engine project (Hams Hall) and Jaguar Cars project received EC approval.
ECGD
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what the planned net profit is of the ECGD for each year of the 2000 Spending Review (2001-2004); and how this figure would differ if loans by the ECGD were required to earn a 6 per cent. return; [132452]
- (2) if he will list the net profit or loss for the ECGD in the last three years; and how this would have varied had the agency been required to record returns below 6 per cent. as a loss. [132457]
Mr. Caborn [holding answer 25 July 2000]: ECGD is set the financial objective by Ministers of breaking even over the longer term on its new business account. Given the nature of ECGD's business and the highly uncertain nature of the risks which it covers, it will clearly be many years before the outcome of any particular year's business can be known. In recognition of this, Ministers have set ECGD a more measurable objective of achieving a ratio (Reserve Coverage Ratio) of at least 1.5 between its reserves and estimates of expected losses on amounts at risk under its guarantees.
ECGD is currently preparing its 1999-2000 accounts, which will be laid before the House in the autumn. The in-year surplus/deficit for the previous three years is as follows:
| Surplus/deficit | Reserve coverage | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 1,032.3 | 2.4 |
| 1997-98 | (514.3) | 1.0 |
| 1998-99 | 136.9 | 1.3 |
ECGD does not currently operate to a capitalised regime. This will be introduced by April 2002 as announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in its Mission and Status Review. The House will have an opportunity to debate the specific proposals for the ECGD Trading Fund including the proposals for the capital-charging regime.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the Review of the ECGD to be published. [132795]
Mr. Caborn [holding answer 26 July 2000]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Eccles (Mr. Stewart) on 25 July 2000, Official Report, columns 520-21W.
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Dounreay
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library the assessment made by the UKAEA of the potential routes by which radioactive particles could have reached the beaches on and near Dounreay, Caithness. [132037]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 26 July 2000]: I am happy to meet this request. UKAEA prepared a report, "Dounreay Particles" for the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) earlier this year. UKAEA has agreed that a copy of this report should be placed in the Library.
Export Promotion
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the size is of the joint DTI-FCO budget for export promotion referred to in paragraph 15.2 of the Spending Review 2000; and how much was spent by these two Departments on export promotion in (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999. [132453]
Mr. Caborn [holding answer 25 July 2000]: The total budget for 2000-01 for the trade development and promotion activities of British Trade International (branded as Trade Partners UK) is approximately £187 million. This includes administration costs and programmes of support for business, but excludes certain FCO overheads. A breakdown is provided in the answer given to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Mr. Prior) on 21 June 2000, Official Report, columns 184-85W.
For previous years the information is:
| £ million | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | |
| DTI | |||
| Programme expenditure | 54 | 58 | 57 |
| Administration costs | 24 | 24 | 25 |
| FCO | |||
| Administration costs(1) | (1)-- | 130 | (1)139 |
(1) Including overheads
(1) The FCO did not collate information on budgets for export promotion only prior to 1998-99. Expenditure for commercial work in 1997-98, which was primarily for export promotion, was £156 million
(1) Estimated
Universal Bank
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role the proposed Universal Bank within the Post Office will play in relation to the sale of financial products, with particular reference to (a) ISAs and (b) stakeholder pensions. [132799]
Mr. Alan Johnson [holding answer 26 July 2000]: We await the Post Office's business plan for the Universal Bank later in the year.
Wind Generation
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list for each year since 1995 (a) the installed United Kingdom wind generation capacity and (b) the electricity it generated; and if he will make a statement. [132581]
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Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 26 July 2000]: The information required is as follows:
| Year | Contracted capacity (MW)(1) | Electricity Generation (GWh)(1) |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 76.224 | 379.510 |
| 1996 | 97.491 | 482.953 |
| 1997 | 132.288 | 656.935 |
| 1998 | 137.748 | 873.047 |
| 1999 | 148.722 | (1)492.597 |
(1) The totals for contracted capacity (in Megawatts) are cumulative
(1) One Gigawatt hour (GWh) = 1,000 Megawatt Hours (MWh)
(1) The total for 1999 is less than that of 1998 because the contracts of wind projects supported under the First and Second Rounds of the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation ceased at the end of 1998 and the compilation of further statistical data on their operation for 1999 and subsequent years has been discontinued
The Government have a target of generating 10 per cent. of the UK's electricity from renewable sources by 2010, subject to the cost to consumers being acceptable. We expect both onshore and offshore wind to be needed to meet this target. The Government are taking a range of measures to encourage renewables including a proposed obligation on electricity suppliers, exemption of renewable energy from the Climate Change Levy and an expanded research and development programme. We are also considering the scope for limited additional support for more expensive technologies, including offshore wind.
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