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Manufacturing Industries

Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what level of Government financial assistance is paid to manufacturing industries in (a) Worcestershire and (b) Herefordshire. [20655]

Alan Johnson: Businesses in Worcestershire and Herefordshire can be eligible for assistance under the smart scheme as follows:

All SMEs (fewer than 250 employees)

Exceptional Projects—up to 30 per cent. of eligible project costs to a maximum of £450,000.


Development Projects—30 per cent. of eligible project costs to a maximum of £150,000.


Technology Reviews—up to a maximum of £2,500.


Technology Studies—up to a maximum of £5,000. Small Enterprises (fewer than 50 employees)


Feasibility Studies—75 per cent. of eligible project costs to a maximum of £45,000. Small Enterprises (fewer than 10 employees)


Micro Projects—50 per cent. of eligible project costs up to a maximum of £10,000.

SME businesses in certain local authority wards in Herefordshire and Worcestershire may be eligible under the enterprise grant scheme for grants of up to £75,000 or 15 per cent. of eligible project costs for projects involving fixed capital expenditure of up to £500,000.

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Herefordshire

Backbury; Bateman; Berrington; Bircher; Border; Bringsty; Broad Oak; Bromyard; Burghill; Burmarsh; Butterley; Castle; Cradley; Creden Hill; Dinmore Hill; Doward; Eardisley; Fownhope; Frome; Frome Vale; Garron; Golden Cross; Golden Valley; Gorsley; Hagley; Hampton Court; Harewood End; Hatfield; Hegdon; Hergest; Hollington; Hope End; Kingsland; Kingsthorne; Kington Town; Leadon Vale; Ledbury; Ledbury Ward (DET NO1); Leintwardine; Leominster North; Leominster East; Leominster South; Lyonshall with Titley; Mansel; Marcle Ridge; Merbach; Mortimer; Olchon; Old Gore; Pembridge; Penyard; Pontrilas; Pyons with Birley; Ross-on-Wye East; Ross-on-Wye West; Stoney Street; Thinghill; Tram Inn; Upton; Walford; Weobley; Whitfield; Wilton; Wye. Worcestershire


Bayton and Mamble; Cofton Hackett; Kyre Vale; Lindridge; Martley; Temeside; Tenbury Town; Uffdown; Vale of the Teme.

In addition, businesses in the wards of Cofton Hackett and Uffdown in Worcestershire may be eligible under the regional selective assistance scheme for grants of up to 20 per cent. of eligible project costs for projects involving eligible costs of more than £500,000. The minimum level of grant is £75,000. SMEs may be eligible for a supplement to the 20 per cent. aid ceiling.

Since 1 April 2000 to date grant has been paid to businesses in Herefordshire and Worcestershire as follows:

	£
Smart	657,000
Enterprise grant	32,000
RSA	232,000

Food Supplements Directive

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the implications for trade with (a) the United States of America and (b) other non-European Union countries of the forthcoming EU food supplements directive. [21692]

Nigel Griffiths: Officials have looked into the trade implications of the forthcoming EU food supplements directive. In negotiations the Government argued for a safety based approach to regulation of these products that ensured any adverse impact on trade was kept to a minimum. We have received no adverse comments from the US or other non-EU countries about the trade implications of the directive.

Mobile Phones (VAT)

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the rates of VAT are in each EU member state on mobile phone (a) handsets and (b) services. [21555]

Mr. Alexander: Information on the topic is published by the European Commission in a document entitled "VAT Rates Applied in the Member States of the European Community" (DOC/2905/2001), a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.

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Ethnic Minority Business Forum

Mr. Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she has responded to the Ethnic Minority Business Forum's report to her of 18 September. [23033]

Nigel Griffiths: I have today put a copy of my response to the Ethnic Minority Business Forum's report in the Library of the House.

The Government welcome the report and look forward to working with the Ethnic Minority Business Forum to ensure that our policies and business support address the needs of ethnic minority businesses.

Sellafield

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many person days per annum safeguards inspectors from (a) Euratom and (b) the International Atomic Energy Agency have spent at Sellafield since December 1993; if she will list the facilities inspected; and if she will list the reports arising from the application of safeguards at Sellafield over this time [19886]

Mr. Wilson: The safeguards provisions of the Euratom Treaty apply to all civil material in the UK and the Euratom Safeguards Office therefore inspects all parts of the BNFL Sellafield facility where such material is located. Since 1994 these inspections have involved between 1,400 and 1,750 person days of inspection each year. Reports on Euratom Safeguards Office activities are published periodically by the European Commission, most recently in July of this year (report reference COM(2001)436 final, accessible at the website of the European Parliament—Department of Trade and Industry Explanatory Memorandum 11669–01 refers).

In addition to ongoing Euratom Safeguards Office inspections, civil material at UK nuclear facilities is subject to the terms of the tripartite safeguards agreement between the UK, Euratom and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), under which the IAEA designates certain civil UK nuclear facilities, or parts of them, for inspection. In the period in question, the IAEA has chosen to inspect the following parts of the BNFL Sellafield facility: the THORP Fuel Receipt and Storage area, the Special Nuclear Materials Store 9, the Oxide Fuel Storage Ponds, and the THORP Plutonium Store. The number of person days of inspection effort involved in these inspections has reduced from some 290 per year in 1994 to about 190 in 2000—reflecting moves by the IAEA to focus its efforts on the facility's major plutonium storage areas. Reporting on IAEA safeguards activities is included in the IAEA's Annual Reports (accessible at the IAEA's website).

Venture Capital Funds

Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 29 November 2000, Official Report, column 1039–40W, on venture capital funds (RDAs), which companies SEEDA has invested in using the regional venture capital funds. [22330]

Alan Johnson: Regional Venture Capital Funds (RVCFs) are being established to ensure that appropriate small businesses in each of the English regions are able to access equity based finance in amounts below £500,000

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and to demonstrate to institutional investors that robust returns can be made in this sector. All RVCFs will be commercially focused and experienced private sector fund managers will make all investment decisions.

Following a competitive bidding process a SEEDA sponsored proposal to establish a fund in the south-east region received a conditional offer of support from the Small Business Service (SBS). The fund in the SEEDA region is expected to begin investing in spring 2002.

Gender Pay Gap

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment she has made of the gender pay gap in the private sector for women in (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment; [21780]

(2) if she will publish the most recent figures to show women's mean hourly earnings as a proportion of men's broken down by occupation. [21777]

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Vernon Coaker, dated 12 December 2001:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the earnings of women compared to men. (21777, 21780).

The New Earnings Survey (NES) can provide hourly earnings data for full-time and part-time employees, broken down by gender. The release of NES data is restricted to figures that are derived from a sufficiently large sample of employees, and have an acceptable level of accuracy. In the attached table, data has been provided for average hourly earnings for males and females and female earnings as a proportion of male earnings by occupation and for the private sector. These are based on the 2000 NES, the latest survey for which data are available.

Average hourly earnings⁽³⁾ of men and women and women's hourly earnings as a proportion of men's hourly earnings by occupation and in the private sector by full-time and part-time⁽⁴⁾

	Men (£)	Women (£)	Proportion
All occupations(5)	11.26	9.13	0.81
Managers and administrators	17.80	12.83	0.72
Professional occupations	16.44	14.98	0.91
Associate professional and technical occupations	13.78	10.96	0.80
Clerical and secretarial occupations	7.47	7.28	0.97
Craft and related occupations	8.41	6.13	0.73
Personal and protective service occupations	8.60	6.19	0.72
Sales occupations	9.04	6.45	0.71
Plant and machine operatives	7.43	5.83	0.78
Other occupations	6.41	5.22	0.81
Private sector
Full-time	11.16	8.50	0.76
Part-time	7.14	6.09	0.85

⁽³⁾ Earnings are for employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey period was unaffected by absence and exclude overtime.

⁽⁴⁾ Great Britain, April 2000, not seasonally adjusted.

⁽⁵⁾ The earnings data by occupation is for full-time employees only.

Source:

New Earnings Survey.

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