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Employment Tribunals
Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to increase the number of trained people available to provide representation to appellants at employment tribunals. [154424]
Mr. Alan Johnson: No. While I have responsibility for the tribunals, that does not extend to the training of the legal and lay representatives who may appear before them. Applicants can represent themselves at an employment tribunal and many do so, although they may be represented if they prefer.
Miners' Compensation
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miners have died before receiving
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compensation awarded to them as a result of the High Court action brought by NACODS; and if he will make a statement. [154186]
Mr. Hain: The Department's claims handling agents, IRISC, have registered a total of 7,468 claims by former miners who have died and where the date of death is after the date of claim. In all these cases, the claims will be continued by the claimant's widow or dependants. In addition, where the claimant's death certificate shows that one of the respiratory diseases for which British Coal were found liable either caused or materially contributed to the death, the Department will also make bereavement or loss of society awards. To date, the Department has made 5,197 bereavement or loss of society awards, totalling £43.1 million.
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In addition, the Department is also making £2,000 interim payments to those widows who have previously received a bereavement award but still await payment of damages.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many outstanding cases there are of applications for compensation to invalid miners following the High Court action brought by NACODS; what the figure was in November 2000; and if he will make a statement. [154182]
Mr. Hain: As at 26 November, some 127,925 claims were registered for respiratory disease and 115,034 for Vibration White Finger, VWF. Of these, 122,380 and 96,263 respectively remained outstanding.
As at 11 March 2001, some 138,294 claims have been registered for respiratory disease and 117,908 for VWF. Of these, 130,517 and 96,263 respectively remain outstanding.
To date, the Department has paid out £124.6 million in respect of compensation for respiratory disease and £235.3 million in relation to VWF. The Department continues to pay out around £1 million a day in mining compensation.
About 1,000 new claims are being registered each week.
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims have been made in respect of respiratory diseases by (a) the sufferer and (b) widows and dependants where the claimant has died after the date of claim. [147804]
Mr. Hain: The Department's claim handling agents, IRISC, have registered a total of 6,802 claims by former miners who have died and where the date of death is after the date of claim. In all these cases the claims will be continued by the claimant's widow or dependants. In addition, where the claimant's death certificate shows that one of the respiratory diseases for which British Coal were found liable either caused or materially contributed to the death, the Department will also make a bereavement award to the claimant's widow. To date the Department has made 5,200 bereavement awards, totalling £43.1 million. In addition, we announced on 2 March that we propose to make £2,000 interim payments to those widows who have previously received a bereavement award but still await payment on account of damages.
IRISC are not informed by solicitors of the dates of death of widows and dependants and the information is therefore not available.
Green Energy (Thurrock)
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the impact of the Government's new funds for green energy on Thurrock. [152935]
Mr. Hain: The additional £100 million announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 6 March 2001 will be used to encourage a range of renewable energy technologies: photovoltaics (PV), offshore wind, energy crops and other new generation technologies. Allocation of this funding to different renewable technologies will
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take account of the Performance and Innovation Unit's Report on Resource Productivity and Renewable Energy later this year.
The new funds are additional to previously announced support of £89 million in the form of capital grants for the generation of energy from offshore wind and energy crops.
Companies in Thurrock will be eligible to apply for all the support available and also to apply for support under the Department's New and Renewable Energy Programme that supports R and D on renewables.
Manufacturing (Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial support has been given to benefit manufacturing companies in Shrewsbury and Atcham since 1 May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [154648]
Mr. Caborn: Shrewsbury and Atcham is outside the Assisted Area so the main DTI financial support schemes such as Regional Selective Assistance and Regional Enterprise Grants are not available to manufacturing businesses in this area.
However, manufacturing businesses in the Shrewsbury area are able to benefit from assistance available from the Training and Enterprise Council, the Business Link and other DTI schemes such as the Teaching Company Scheme. Unfortunately, it has not been possible in the time available to quantify the extent to which manufacturing businesses in the area will have taken advantage of assistance available from these other support mechanisms.
Departmental Policies (Lincoln)
Gillian Merron: 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 Lincoln constituency, the effects on Lincoln of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [152974]
Mr. Caborn: The Lincoln constituency has benefited from a range of initiatives since May 1997 including:
- 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 Lincoln constituency. However within the Lincoln City Local Authority District, from 1997 to date, Business Link Lincolnshire has assisted 843 existing businesses and 1,066 potential business start ups and contributed to 278 new business start ups.
- Invest UK--an initiative to help investors wishing to set up business in the UK. Over 300 jobs in Lincoln City have been secured under this initiative since 1997.
- Regional Supply Office--an initiative which provides a range of support for supply chain development. It is not possible to isolate data for the Lincoln constituency. However since 1997 the Regional Supply Office (RSO) has matched £65 million of business opportunities to Lincolnshire companies. In addition the RSO has worked with Lincoln City Council to resolve supply chain problems.
- Smart--a discretionary grant available to SMEs to help them develop technologically innovative products and processes. Within the Lincoln constituency three grants worth £149,850 in total have been awarded since May 1997.
- European Regional Development Fund--in 1999 for the first time parts of Lincoln City became eligible to benefit from European Structural Funds under Objective 2, enabling people in the city to
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- share in a regeneration programme worth some £228 million of grant funding over the next seven years. Grants will help with site development and provision of business premises, SME support, improving the skills of the work force and community economic development.
- Enterprise Grants--a new discretionary grant introduced in 2000. Provides support to SMEs investing in capital projects which would not otherwise go ahead. Although SMEs in Lincoln City are eligible to receive Enterprise Grants, no grants have yet been awarded in this area.
Mr. Caborn: Since 2 May 1997 the DTI has made grant offers to businesses in the Dudley metropolitan borough council area including Stourbridge totalling £2.14 million. These grants under the Regional Selective Assistance and Regional Enterprise Grant schemes have helped to create or safeguard 838 jobs and unlock private sector investment totalling over £20 million. During the same period 14 businesses in the Dudley area have received Smart grants totalling £575,233 to assist with research into the development of new products and processes.
In addition to these direct grant mechanisms businesses in the Dudley area will have benefited from assistance available through the local Business Link and other DTI funded initiatives such as the Teaching Company Scheme which will have had a positive impact on the area's economy.
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