---

Energy Review

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations she has received from BP in relation to her Department's energy review; what has been the nature of such representations; and if she will make a statement. [21401]

Mr. Wilson: It is the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) of the Cabinet Office, not the Department of Trade and Industry, that is carrying out the energy review. The PIU is due to report to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister by the end of the year and as such it would be inappropriate for me to make a statement at this time. BP has made two submissions to the energy review, both of which are on the PIU website.

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the increase in the departmental expenditure limit from 2001–02 to 2002–03 will be accounted for by wage costs. [20673]

Ms Hewitt: Decisions on the funding of wage costs for 2002–03 will be taken as part of my Department's internal resource allocation process early in the new year. It is therefore not possible to say how much of any increase in the departmental expenditure limit will be accounted for by wage costs.

However, figures on my Department's spending plans for 2001–02 and 2002–03 were set out in the 2001 Expenditure Plans Report (Cm 5112), a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Over the 2001–02 to 2002–03 period, pay costs for the Department (including gross and net controlled agencies and ACAS but excluding trading funds) were planned to increase from £256 million to £271 million, as shown in table B9.

EU Procurement Directive

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the estimated cost to public funds of the proposed EU directive on procurement. [20361]

Ms Hewitt: The proposals to amend the EC procurement directives are still under discussion. The emerging proposals are unlikely to have any net costs for public funds. As they stand the proposals for amending the rules provide the flexibility needed for the award of effective contracts, in particular the dialogue that is necessary when involving the private sector in the delivery of public services.

10 Dec 2001 : Column: 649W

New Deal

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people were employed by her Department under the new deal for over-25s; and at what cost to public funds in 2001–02. [21680]

Ms Hewitt: My Department has employed 13 members of staff under the new deal for the over-25s during the current financial year. None was based within my executive agencies. New deal recruits take up existing vacancies so extra costs are limited to the subsidy, where appropriate, and any additional training and development which may be needed. The cost of the latter cannot readily be identified.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are employed by the Department under the new deal for young people; and at what cost to public funds. [21327]

Ms Hewitt: My Department currently employs six members of staff under the new deal for young people, with a further 12 being employed within my executive agencies. New deal recruits take up existing vacancies so extra costs are limited to the subsidy, where appropriate, and any additional training and development which may be needed. The cost of the latter cannot readily be identified.

External Consultants

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost was to her Department of the use of external consultants in each of the last four years. [21247]

Ms Hewitt: This information is not readily available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Sickness

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many days were lost owing to sickness absence in the Department in each of the last four years. [21337]

Ms Hewitt: Average number of staff days lost per staff year through sick absence in the DTI group:

1996: 8.8

1997: 8.2

1998: 8.0

1999: 7.8.

The DTI Group, in addition to DTI HQ, consists of: ACAS, Companies House, Patent Office, Insolvency Service, National Weights and Measures Laboratory, Employment Tribunals Service, and The Radiocommunications Agency.

The figures are taken from the annual reports on public sector sick absence commissioned by the Cabinet Office each year. Various adjustments are made to the figures to take account of factors such as flu epidemics that may occur in any given year.

The figure for the year 2000 is not yet available.

10 Dec 2001 : Column: 650W

Sub-Post Offices

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) of 27 November 2001, Official Report, columns 859–60W, on the rural White Paper, what the criteria are for financial support for projects to refurbish and improve rural sub-post offices; and if this support is a one-off payment. [20029]

Mr. Alexander [holding answer 3 December 2001]: The £2 million sub-post office start-up capital subsidy fund is intended to support initiatives by volunteer or community groups to maintain or reopen post office facilities in areas where the traditional post office is closing or has recently closed. The scheme provides a framework for payments of top-up grants towards the initial capital cost of setting up a sub-post office as many proposals to save rural sub-post offices fail because of lack of a small amount of start-up capital. Eligible costs are widely drawn to cover all categories of one-off costs necessary to secure the future of the sub-post office. The scheme is flexible, recognising that every case for funding will be different and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

This scheme is one part of a package of measures designed to secure the future of the post office network. Funding arrangements for the rural network beyond 2003 are being developed in the context of advice recently received from the Postal Services Commission on the best way to channel financial assistance to rural post offices from 2003. The £2 million fund targets a specific problem that exists now but will cease to exist when those longer-term funding arrangements are in place from 2003.

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the measures taken by Consignia to prevent sub-post office closures in the Huntingdon constituency; and if she will make a statement. [17481]

Mr. Alexander [holding answer 26 November 2001]: The formal requirement placed on Consignia last November to maintain the rural network and to prevent avoidable closures remains in place and will apply in the first instance until 2006. Post Office Ltd. has set up a team of rural transfer advisers to explore all options for keeping rural sub-post offices open and is administering the £2 million Government fund to assist volunteer and community initiatives to maintain or re-establish post office services in rural communities. Through such measures, Post Office Ltd. is continuing its efforts to reopen sub-post offices where there have been recent closures in the Huntingdon constituency.

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the measures taken by Consignia to prevent sub-post office closures in the constituency of Galloway and Upper Nithsdale; and if she will make a statement. [18032]

Mr. Alexander [holding answer 26 November 2001]: The formal requirement placed on Consignia last November to maintain the rural network and to prevent avoidable closures remains in place and will apply in the first instance until 2006. Post Office Ltd. has set up a team of rural transfer advisers to explore all options for keeping rural sub-post offices open and is administering the £2 million Government fund to assist

10 Dec 2001 : Column: 651W

volunteer and community initiatives to maintain or re-establish post office services in rural communities. Through such measures, Post Office Ltd. is continuing its efforts to reopen sub-post offices where there have been recent closures in the Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency.

European Structural Funds

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to obtain structural funds assistance for UK domestic routes. [20210]

Alan Johnson [holding answer 6 December 2001]: I have no such plans since the structural funds programming documents for the current period 2000–06 have all been agreed, and there is no specific provision in them for assistance for UK domestic routes.

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what level of structural funds are available from the European Union for subsidising domestic UK flights. [20211]

Alan Johnson [holding answer 6 December 2001]: None of the structural funds programming documents for the period 2000–06 includes specific support for subsidising domestic UK flights.

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the experience of France, Spain and Greece in gaining European structural funds for their domestic flights. [20213]

Alan Johnson [holding answer 6 December 2001]: No such assessment has been made, nor is one envisaged.

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria have to be met by an air route in order to receive European structural funds. [20212]

Alan Johnson [holding answer 6 December 2001]: Whatever its sector of activity, for a project application to be successful in gaining European structural funding, the programming document for the region concerned has to include the ability to fund such a project. The project would have to be wholly contained within the region, and score highly against the selection criteria which have been agreed for each of the sectors within the programming document.

---