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UK Sports Institute

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many athletes have to date received assistance from the UK Sports Institute. [125]

Tessa Jowell [holding answer 25 June 2001]: The number of athletes to date that have received assistance from the UK Sport Institute is 1,416. This is broken down as 855 at UK level, 139 in Wales, 172 in Scotland and 250 in England.

HEALTH

Palliative Care

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support his Department gives services for palliative care; and how such funds are to be distributed. [12]

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Yvette Cooper: The National Health Service supports the provision of specialist palliative care services by NHS service providers and voluntary organisations. The NHS Cancer Plan set out our commitment to increase NHS investment in specialist palliative care by £50 million by 2004 to end inequalities in access to care and enable the NHS to make a realistic contribution to the cost that hospices incur in providing agreed levels of service.

Cancer networks are currently developing detailed service delivery plans, which will identify current provision and set out action plans for further development across all services including palliative care. These will be completed by the autumn.

Haemophiliacs

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when recombinant genetically engineered haemophiliac treatment will be available to all patients in England. [306]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 26 June 2001]: We have already instructed National Health Service trusts to provide recombinant clotting factors to new haemophilia patients and those under 16. Earlier this year we met representatives from the Haemophilia Alliance to discuss the case for extending this provision to all haemophilia patients in England and we are giving this careful consideration. However there is currently a worldwide shortage of recombinant clotting factors and, while this continues, it will not be possible to increase the availability of these products.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Departmental Services

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has for the services and functions carried out by her Department. [1165]

Ms Hewitt: I want to ensure that my Department is fully able to play its part in meeting the Enterprise and Productivity Challenge which the Government set last week for this Parliamentary session. I am therefore announcing today a review of the priorities and structure of my Department. I have asked to receive initial recommendations by mid September.

In addition, on 13 June I announced a major review of my Department's support for business. Some £1 billion a year of support is made available to business and I want to ensure that this funding is properly targeted as part of my drive to help UK businesses get to the future first. The review of business support will focus on two strands: industrial support and manufacturing; and then wider business support. I hope to be able to announce first results by late summer.

Both of these reviews will be undertaken in consultation with business and the Department's other stakeholders.

Power Generation

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what plans the Government have to increase use of gas-fired power; and if she will make a statement; [838]

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(2) what plans the Government have to reduce dependence on coal-fired power; and if she will make a statement. [839]

Mr. Wilson: The Government have no plans to do either. Rather, the Government have established a fully competitive market structure for electricity generation in which both coal and gas are competing well.

Yesterday my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that he has asked the Performance and Innovation Unit to undertake a review of the strategic issues surrounding UK energy policy. The aim of the review will be to define objectives within that framework and to develop a strategy consistent with longer-term goals. Competitive markets will continue to be central to energy policy.

Packaging Waste Regulations

Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what responsibility her Department has for the packaging waste regulations; and if she will make a statement. [808]

Mr. Wilson: The UK packaging waste regulations implement European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC on Packaging and Packaging Waste. This Directive aims both to reduce the environmental impact of waste packaging and to ensure the functioning of the single market with respect to packaging. The single market provisions of the Directive require member states to ensure that packaging may be placed on the market only if it complies with certain essential requirements and heavy metals limits. These measures are implemented in the UK through the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations SI 1998 No. 1165 and enforcement powers have been given to local Trading Standards Departments. These regulations fall under my area of responsibility.

In addition to my responsibilities for these regulations my department represents the UK at meetings of the technical adaptation committee set up under Article 21 of Directive 94/62/EC.

The other provisions of Directive 94/62/EC are implemented in the UK through the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations SI 1997 No. 648 (as amended in 1999 and 2000) and through similar legislation in the devolved administrations. My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment has the responsibility for these regulations.

Petrol Prices

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what powers she intends to take to control retail petrol prices in response to a fall in world supply prices. [17]

Mr. Wilson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry does not intend to seek further powers.

The Government believe that free and open competition between fuel suppliers provides consumers with supplies at the best available prices. We are in regular contact with the industry on this and other issues.

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Icelandic Fisherman

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many former Icelandic fisherman have been paid compensation for the loss of their jobs, port by port; and what total sums have been paid out in each port. [1045]

Nigel Griffiths: The information requested, broken down by where claimants now live, is in the following table:

Port	Number of payments	Compensation (£)
Hull	842	10,247,847
Grimsby	194	1,492,361
Fleetwood	170	1,792,209
Blackpool	24	205,933
Cleethorpes	46	370,155
Newcastle	151	1,873,305
West Yorkshire	84	958,988
Aberdeen	17	139,187
Others	142	1,324,359

Greenhouse Gases

Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what further action she will be taking to encourage businesses to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases. [411]

Mr. Wilson: The UK's Climate Change Programme, published last November, sets out the Government's approach to tackling climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For business this draws together a range of policies and measures. These include:

Regulation, such as the implementation of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive through the Pollution Prevention and Control regulations, requiring major industrial plants to take up best available techniques for energy efficiency;

The Climate Change Levy package, which was introduced in April this year, including the associated climate change levy agreements for energy intensive industries and exemption for renewable sources of energy and good quality combined heat and power; and an enhanced capital allowances scheme;

A UK Emissions Trading Scheme, due to start in April 2002, with Government funding of £215 million (net of corporation tax) over a five year period. to encourage companies to participate;

Technology development through the formation of the Carbon Trust to deliver an integrated programme of support to accelerate the take up of low carbon technologies, and help business to prepare for a low carbon future.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-resident parents have been affected by the formula for the calculation of child support as outlined in schedules 1 and 2 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000. [368]

Malcolm Wicks: The new child support rates set out in schedules 1 and 2 to the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000 are intended radically to simplify the calculation of child maintenance due. These new rates will be introduced for new cases by April 2002,

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with existing cases transferring once the new system is shown to be working well. No parents have yet been affected by these changes.

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