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Dounreay

Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the safety impact on residents in the North of Scotland of the decommissioning of Dounreay. [150938]

Mr. Hain: The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) published last year a comprehensive plan for the decommissioning of the Dounreay site and its environmental restoration. A key objective of this plan is to remove the major hazards from the site as soon as practical.

UKAEA and its contractors are subject to strict safety procedures for the decommissioning process and are governed by the regulations and guidelines laid down by the independent regulators, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Office of Gas and Electricity Markets

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will provide a more detailed breakdown of the £5,512,000 expenditure by Ofgem in 2000-01 on the regions. [151178]

Mr. Hain: Ofgem's budget for expenditure on regional activities in 2000-01 was £5,350,513 (the figure of £5,512,000 includes internal staff costs attaching to HQ staff responsible for the regions). Of this budget, Ofgem spent £2,771,592. Expenditure was principally divided between Ofgem's regional offices (£2,149,565), the Electricity Consumer Committees (£297,490) and a consumer helpline (£293,952). The remaining budget of £2,578,921 was transferred to the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council following its establishment in November 2000.

Trade Tariffs

Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations his Department has made to the European Commission regarding the Everything but Arms proposal; and if he will make a statement. [150980]

Mr. Caborn: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr. Cohen) on 15 November 2001, Official Report, column 438.

Ultra-low Sulphur Fuel

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on encouraging the provision of ultra-low sulphur fuel. [150688]

Mr. Hain: Ultra-low sulphur diesel is already widely available and my Department is monitoring the continued roll out of ultra-low sulphur petrol across the country. I have recently had a series of meetings with the industry to take this forward.

Vishakhapatnam Project

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what level of cover the Export Credits Guarantee Department has provided for the

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Vishakhapatnam project in Andhra Pradesh; on what date this cover was provided; and if he will make a statement. [151205]

Mr. Byers: No cover has been provided by ECGD for the Vishakhapatnam project in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on which dates (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in the Export Credits Guarantee Department held meetings with (i) the HNP Corporation and (ii) International Power regarding the Vishakhapatnam project in Andhra Pradesh; if he will place the minutes of such meetings in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [151206]

Mr. Byers: ECGD was actively engaged in development of the Vishakhapatnam project from 1994 onwards, with a concentration of meetings and commercial negotiations with the Hinduja National Power Corporation Ltd. (HNPCL) and its legal advisers between December 1997 and December 1999. HNPCL is a joint venture consisting of the Hinduja Group and National Power. International Power evolved from National Power in October 2000.

It is not the normal practice of the Government to release details of meetings or discussions with private individuals or companies. Similarly, under Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information it is not appropriate to place in the Library the minutes of such meetings which record positions given in confidence by commercial entities.

Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date and by which organisation the Export Credits Guarantee Department was first approached for export cover for the Vishakhapatnam project in Andra Pradesh; and if he will make a statement. [151207]

Mr. Byers: The Vishakhapatnam project was first proposed in 1993 and generated preliminary inquiries from National Power Plc, interested bankers and potential UK power equipment suppliers during 1994 and 1995.

National Power joined with the Hinduja Group to form Hinduja National Power Corporation Limited ("HNPCL"), sponsors of the project. HNPCL first approached ECGD for a formal indication of support for the UK element of the project on 8 September 1995.

White Paper (Leak Inquiry)

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) who is heading the inquiry into the premature disclosure of the White Paper on Enterprise, Skills and Innovation; what are its terms of reference; and from whom evidence is to be sought; [151220]

(2) when, and by what means, he intends to report to the House on the outcome of his investigations into how the details of the White Paper on Enterprise Skills and Innovation appeared in the press before the White Paper had been published. [151216]

Mr. Byers: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, North East (Dr. White) on 15 February 2001, Official Report, columns 283-84W.

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Near Earth Objects Taskforce

Mr. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will respond to the report of the Near Earth Objects Task Force headed by Dr. Harry Atkinson. [151266]

Ms Hewitt: The Government's response to this report was published on Saturday 24 February. The Government are broadly in agreement with the majority of the Task Force's recommendations. The Government endorse the view of the Task Force that since the possible dangers posed by Near Earth Objects are not limited to any one nation, an international approach is essential. At a European level, the European Space Agency is to work to devise a European Strategy on Near Earth Objects. The Government are investigating with the OECD their offer to set up an international forum for discussion of and action on the threat to earth from Near Earth Objects. The British National Space Centre will continue to act as lead unit within Government on Near Earth Object policy.

Copies of the Government's response to the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Employment Relations Act (Clergy)

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has declared that clergy can be deemed to be employees under section 23 of the Employment Relations Act 1999; and if he will make a statement. [150992]

Mr. Alan Johnson: I intend to publish later this year a discussion paper on all the legal issues relating to employment status as they affect the coverage of statutory employment rights. I envisage that the position of members of the clergy will be one of the issues raised. Any future proposals for changes in the legislation in this regard will be considered in light of responses to the discussion paper.

Departmental Policies (North-East Derbyshire)

Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the North-East Derbyshire constituency, the effect on North-East Derbyshire of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [150883]

Mr. Caborn: The constituency of North-East Derbyshire has benefited from a range of initiatives since May 1997 including:

Regional Selective Assistance--a discretionary grant which provides assistance towards capital projects which would not otherwise go ahead and will create or safeguard employment in an Assisted Area. Grants of £2.001 million given to support capital expenditure of £21.589 million to create 385 new jobs and safeguard a further 146 jobs.

Enterprise Grants--new initiative introduced in 2000. A discretionary grant to SMEs investing in capital projects which would not otherwise go ahead. £162,000 in grant offered to support project costs of £1.389 million. Grants expected to safeguard or create approximately 35 jobs.

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Smart--discretionary grant available to SMEs to help them develop technologically innovative products and processes. Six offers of grant made worth £475,000 in total.

Business Link--the Business Link network provides a wide range of business advice and support to SMEs. It is not possible to isolate Business Link data for the North-East Derbyshire constituency area. However, from 1997 to date, Business Link North Derbyshire, which includes the North-East Derbyshire constituency, has helped a total of 4,987 businesses and assisted 1,422 business start ups.

Invest UK--an initiative to help investors wishing to set up business in the UK. No inward investors have come to North-East Derbyshire under this scheme since 1997. However, five investors have been attracted to Chesterfield, providing access to jobs for people living within the Chesterfield Travel to Work Area.

Regional Supply Office--an initiative which provides a range of support for supply chain development. It is not possible to isolate data for the North-East Derbyshire constituency alone. However companies from the north Derbyshire area have actively benefited from this initiative. £70 million of business opportunities have been matched to north Derbyshire companies and 73 companies have benefited from a European Regional Development Fund backed project designed to improve supply chain performance and make them more competitive.

European Regional Development Fund--in addition to its domestic initiatives, the Department of Trade and Industry is also the lead Department for European Structural Funds in the UK. Under ERDF Objective 2 (1997-99) North-East Derbyshire has benefited from 70 projects totalling £11.617 million. Under RECHAR II, four projects totalling £120,000 have been supported. These projects have delivered a range of business support and vocational training activities. In some instances, where projects cover the whole of the eligible programme area in the East Midlands, not all of the grant will have been spent inside the North-East Derbyshire constituency.

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