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End of Life Vehicles Directive

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost implications of the End of Life Vehicles Directive for car manufacturers; and if she will make a statement. [13884]

Mr. Wilson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 6 November 2001, Official Report, column 159W.

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the implications of the End of Life Vehicles Directive; and if she will make a statement. [13883]

Mr. Wilson: The Directive is complex, with implications for car and component manufacturers, importers, dismantlers, shredders, materials reprocessors,

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and car owners. The DTI consultation paper on options for implementing the Directive, which included a partial regulatory impact assessment, had resulted in around 100 responses by the closing date of 2 November. These responses are now being assessed, and will be taken into account when deciding on the precise method of implementation.

Structural Funding

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) amount and (b) proportion of overall EU objective 1 budget for the UK has been (i) committed and (ii) spent according to the latest records in each of the four objective 1 regions. [14452]

Alan Johnson: The figures in the table are the latest available commitments and payments made under the EU structural funds for each of the objective 1 regions. Payments under the programmes lag behind commitments because the fund regulations require ERDF expenditure to be defrayed before it is claimed. ESF projects may receive an advance payment at the beginning of the project but subsequent ESF payments take place after expenditure has been defrayed.

The management of the objective 1 programme for West Wales and the Valleys is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales. However, I understand from the National Assembly that the figures for this region are as set out in the table.

Region	Committed grant (£ million)	Spent grant (£ million)	Proportion of regional objective 1 budget (Percentage)
Cornwall and the Scilly Isles	60	5.98	19.53/1.95
Merseyside	164.73	30.68	20.14/3.75
South Yorkshire	92.5	13.046	12.86/1.81
West Wales and the Valleys	260	30.4	24/2.7

Equal Pay

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many equal value claims have failed for being over the six-month time limit rule since the Equal Pay Act 1963 became law. [14287]

Alan Johnson: It would not be possible to provide the number of equal value claims that have failed for being over the six month time limit rule since the Equal Pay Act became law.

Such information is not available from the Employment Tribunals Service database, which only records the outcome of each case and not the reasons for the outcome.

Source:

Employment Tribunals Service

Photovoltaic Energy

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement about the sale price of photovoltaic energy for national grid purposes; and how this price compares with those in other EU member states. [14372]

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Mr. Wilson: In our liberalised energy market, the price paid to generators for electricity, including electricity from photovoltaics (PV), is a matter for negotiation between the generator and the supplier, and is subject to market fluctuation. We therefore have only limited and anecdotal information about prices paid to generators for PV energy. The best price recently mentioned to the Department has been 6.5p per kilowatt hour paid by a company offering a "net metering" deal, that is a deal in which the supplier buys PV energy from generators at the same price that they would charge them for electricity purchases. The best price obtainable at any time will vary with the market.

Some European countries have taken steps to encourage net metering, and some, notably Germany and Spain, have gone further by legislating for the utilities to pay renewable generators a premium price for all the electricity they wish to export to the network. In the case of PV, this is about 33p per kilowatt hour in Germany and 25p per kilowatt hour in Spain.

The Government are encouraging the uptake of PV in the UK through both domestic and large-scale field trials, soon to be followed by a major PV demonstration programme to rival the German and Japanese PV roofs programme. It is also working to overcome infrastructural barriers through simplified grid-connection, fairer tariffs and more positive planning guidance.

Employment Tribunal Claims

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the number of employment tribunal claims in the last five years; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce the extent of non-compliance with regulations by employers. [14374]

Alan Johnson: The number of applications were:

1996–97: 88,961

1997–98: 80,435

1998–99: 91,913

1999–2000: 103,935

2000–01: 130,408.

The Employment Bill, introduced in Parliament on 7 November 2001, aims to reduce recourse to employment tribunals through a better understanding of employment rights and responsibilities. In particular, the Bill will set new minimum standards for dealing with workplace disputes and a penalty on employers for failure to comply with the requirement to provide a written statement of employment particulars. The changes will be supported by advice and guidance to help employers meet the requirements of the law.

Routes to Resolution

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the responses received to her consultation document, "Routes to Resolution". [14373]

Alan Johnson: The respondents to the "Routes to Resolution: Improving Dispute Resolution in Britain" consultation are listed in Annexe B of "Routes to Resolution—the Government Response" issued on 8 November 2001. A copy is lodged in the House of

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Commons Library. The text is also available on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk/er/individual/etresponse.pdf. Copies of individual responses are held in the DTI and House of Commons Libraries. I am grateful to those who responded.

WALES

Bus Travel

8. Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales about co-ordinating measures to facilitate bus travel for pensioners and the disabled. [12474]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I meet the First Secretary on a regular basis and discuss a range of issues, including transport.

As the Prime Minister stated during his address to the Assembly, policy on concessionary travel was made in Wales and is now being extended to England.

27. Mrs. Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales about measures to facilitate bus travel for pensioners and the disabled. [12495]

Mr. Touhig: My right hon. Friend meets the First Secretary on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues, including transport.

As the Prime Minister stated during his address to the Assembly, policy on concessionary travel was made in Wales and is now being extended to England.

From 1 April this year free passes have been available to pensioners and disabled passengers guaranteeing at least 50 per cent. concessions on local buses, a move estimated to have benefited some 600,000 pensioners and disabled passengers. From 1 April 2002 these passes will guarantee free local bus travel for pensioners and disabled people.

A Bill is currently progressing in the House of Commons to equalise the entitlement to concessionary travel for men and women at the age of 60. It is estimated it will bring to some 8 million nationwide the number of people who benefit from the Government's statutory requirements for travel concessions, including some 75,000 men in Wales. It is currently planned to introduce these measures in England in April 2003. The Assembly will have its own commencement powers and could introduce earlier if it wished.

Special Educational Needs

10. Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales concerning the influx from English border areas of pupils with special needs into north Wales schools. [12476]

Mr. Touhig: Although my right hon. Friend and I have regular meetings with the First Secretary to discuss a range of issues relating to educational provision in Wales, the influx from English border areas of pupils with special needs into north Wales schools has not been raised.

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I am, however, aware that the National Assembly for Wales places a high priority on achieving the best possible opportunities for children with special educational needs in order to give them a rewarding school life and to equip them for adult life.

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