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Centres of Excellence

20. Mr. Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on progress made in establishing centres of excellence in United Kingdom universities. [139552]

Ms Hewitt: The Government want to see a diversity of excellence in universities, with universities adopting a variety of missions, building on their strengths. The Government believe that all universities should focus on producing excellent teaching, though the nature of teaching may vary. Some universities will also want to focus on excellent research, some on excellent knowledge transfer, and some on a combination of these, so there is a diversity of excellence. The Government have supported the development of centres of excellence through a number of programmes.

European Social Agenda

21. Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussion he has held with the Secretaries of State for Education and Employment and for Social Security about the potential costs to business of the European social agenda. [139553]

Mr. Alan Johnson: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities and I attended the Employment and Social Policy Council at which proposals for a new European Social Agenda were agreed on 28 November. The Agenda will now be considered by Heads of States at the Nice European Council in December. The Government made clear our support for a European Social Agenda which takes forward the Lisbon European Council objective that the European Community should become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. The agreed text will take forward this objective.

The impact on business, including potential costs, is one of the factors that the Government as a whole take into account in their responses to proposals for the agenda and any measures brought forward to effect its implementation.

Single European Market

22. Ms Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the benefits to manufacturing industry of membership of the single European market in the last 12 months. [139554]

Mrs. Liddell: Our membership of the European Single Market gives all UK business access to the largest Single Market in the world--a market of nearly 380 million consumers. Over 55 per cent. of the UK's trade, worth over £200 billion a year, is with the EU.

We attract a huge amount of inward investment as a gateway to the Single Market, from countries outside the EU.

The European Union is the world's largest trading bloc and membership of that bloc is crucial for British trade, investment and prosperity.

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Receivership

23. Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to review the law relating to the disposal of company assets following receivership; and if he will make a statement. [139555]

Dr. Howells: I have no such plans.

Enterprise Promotion

24. Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to promote enterprise among disadvantaged communities. [139556]

Mr. Caborn: My Department recognises the importance of promoting enterprise among disadvantaged communities. The Small Business Service's remit includes tackling social exclusion, by ensuring that Business Links' plans take account of the needs of their local communities and by utilising the Phoenix Fund to promote enterprise in deprived areas. We offer regional selective assistance to eligible investment projects and, in conjunction with HM Treasury and the Inland Revenue, we are considering the recommendations of the Social Investment Task Force on ways of introducing new sources of private and institutional investment into disadvantaged communities.

Dounreay

25. Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the management of the prototype fast reactor fuels at Dounreay. [139557]

Mr. Byers: Following a public consultation I have been considering the arguments for and against each of the options for this fuel. I expect to announce my decision soon.

Family-friendly Employment

26. Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has held with business and industry about family-friendly employment policies; and if he will make a statement. [139558]

Mr. Alan Johnson: The ongoing review of maternity pay and parental leave has included extensive discussions with employers, employees and interest groups. The Confederation of British Industry, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Business, and industry specific bodies, have all participated in these meetings. Individual business, both large and small, have also been consulted.

Procurement

27. Mr. St. Aubyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has held with the Secretary of State for Defence on the extent to which his procurement policies are open to competition. [139559]

Mr. Alan Johnson: My Department maintains a close dialogue with that of my right hon. Friend on the wider industrial implications of defence procurement decisions. This ensures that when individual decisions are made these implications are fully taken into account.

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Car Industry

28. Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make statement on the future of the motor car industry in the United Kingdom. [139560]

Mr. Alan Johnson: The UK motor industry continues to have good prospects, with new production lines coming on stream in 2001. 1999 car production was the highest since 1972; sales were the fourth highest on record and UK exports were the highest ever. Since 1997, some 9,600 new jobs have been announced with over £3 billion of new investment.

Fireworks

29. Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to review the law concerning the sale of fireworks. [139561]

Dr. Howells: The Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1997 introduced comprehensive controls on the types and sizes of fireworks which can be sold to the public. I have no plans to introduce further controls on fireworks or to review the existing Regulations.

Regional Development Agencies

30. Mr. Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the role that RDAs will play in supporting local business forums. [139562]

Mr. Caborn: The RDAs have a statutory purpose to promote business efficiency, investment and competitiveness in their regions. As part of this, they work closely with the full range of business organisations in their area.

Iran

31. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to improve trade with Iran. [139563]

Mr. Caborn: The Government are committed to strengthening the commercial relationship with Iran to our mutual benefit. TradePartnersUK are currently running an extensive programme of exhibitions, seminars and outward trade missions to Iran. We are also funding visits by UK experts, to identify areas where UK companies can assist Iran develop her economy. The sectors where opportunities have already been identified include; hydrocarbons, mining, power generation, automotive, water and waste management, and agriculture including the packaging industry. In addition my officials, both in the UK and in Tehran, continue to provide information and advice to allow companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to make informed decisions about exporting to this important market--indeed we have just strengthened the commercial team in Tehran in recognition of the improved relations between Britain and Iran.

I visited Iran in October to support the 48 UK companies that exhibited at the Tehran International Trade Fair. During my visit, I was pleased to announce that the Export Credits Guarantee Department will now provide medium term cover to help UK exporters win business in Iran. My visit, the first by a UK Minister for Trade in

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20 years, underlines this Government's commitment to building on the strong commercial relationship that goes back many years.

Business Opportunities

32. Mr. Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action his Department is taking to support the development of new business opportunities linked to universities. [139564]

Ms Hewitt: A key aim of the Government's White Paper, "Excellence and Opportunity: a science and innovation policy for the 21st century", which was published in July of this year, is to strengthen the links between business and universities to realise the business opportunities offered by science. The White Paper sets out a range of measures to support these stronger links which build on the success of schemes such as Science Enterprise Centres to bring business skills into the curriculum and University Challenge to provide seed funding. These will provide our scientists and engineers with more incentives and skills, and strengthen the links between them and industry, so that they can play a greater role in wealth creation.

The White Paper announced a Higher Education Innovation Fund of £140 million over three years to further enhance university-business knowledge transfer. This will triple existing HEROBAC funding by the third year. It will be a permanent funding stream to build on universities' potential as drivers of growth in the knowledge economy, and will, therefore, help universities to respond to the needs of business--especially SMEs. We are also providing funding for one more round of University Challenge and putting £15 million more into Science Enterprise Centres. We are also doubling the number of new starts for Faraday Partnerships, from four to eight a year, to link the science base to business networks.

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