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Inward Investment
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many jobs were (a) created and (b) safeguarded; and how many projects were completed as a result of inward investment in (i) the UK and (ii) the areas covered by the regional development agencies over the last five years. [37105]
Nigel Griffiths: The UK is the No. 1 location in the EU for inward investment and the Government will continue to do all they can to maintain the UK's attractiveness as a location so our economy can continue to enjoy the substantial benefits from inward investment.
There is no requirement on companies to notify inward investment decisions to Invest.UK and so the figures include only those projects where Invest.UK or its regional partners were involved or which have come to their notice. They are therefore likely to be an underestimate.
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| Number of: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Region | projects | new jobs | safeguarded jobs |
| 1996–97 | |||
| UK | 497 | 46,400 | 51,939 |
| English RDAs | 352 | 21,940 | 44,544 |
| 1997–98 | |||
| UK | 631 | 46,562 | 82,771 |
| English RDAs | 477 | 30,541 | 73,007 |
| 1998–99 | |||
| UK | 668 | 45,147 | 75,523 |
| English RDAs | 534 | 29,824 | 70,792 |
| 1999–2000 | |||
| UK | 799 | 54,335 | 81,587 |
| English RDAs | 657 | 37,093 | 73,146 |
| 2000–01 | |||
| UK | 884 | 71,585 | 52,358 |
| English RDAs | 751 | 52,885 | 45,385 |
Note:
1. All figures are revised from those published in Invest.UK Annual Reports.
2. The figures in the table above are based on information provided by companies at the time of the announcement of the decision to invest in the UK. They are based on the company's best estimate, at that time, of the number of jobs associated with each investment.
Source:
Invest.UK Database.
Employment Rights Act
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether section 51 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 has been used; and if she will make a statement about its purpose. [37425]
Alan Johnson: Six applications to employment tribunals have been registered under section 51 since 1997. The purpose of the section is to allow employees to seek redress from the tribunals if their employers refuse them time off work for public duties under section 50.
Music Copyright
Mr. Sedgemore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of music copyright. [34232]
Ms Melanie Johnson: The protection of music copyright will be further improved by the EC Directive on copyright in the Information Society which is due to be implemented by 22 December this year. The Government are also supporting a Private Member's Bill
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that increases the criminal penalties for music piracy. The Government will continue to maintain close contact with the music industry on copyright issues.
Barking Power Station
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what dates in the past 12 months Barking power station came within 10 per cent. of its maximum generating output. [36789]
Mr. Wilson: This is a commercial matter for the company involved.
Nuclear Energy Technology
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to host a conference on the future of nuclear energy technology. [36790]
Mr. Wilson: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry nor I have any plans to host a conference on the future of nuclear energy technology. However, on 18–19 February, my Department's officials hosted the fifth in the series of Generation IV International Forum (GIF) meetings in London. Government officials and technical experts from the 10 member countries attended. GIF was started by the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) to promote the development of better longer-term nuclear reactor designs.
Objective 1 Regions
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of progress in delivering objective programmes in each of the four European Objective 1 regions in input of (a) numbers of projects offered support, (b) total amount of money offered, (c) proportion of total seven year European fund budget offered, (d) total amount of money actually drawn down by successful applicants and (e) proportion of total seven year European funding drawn down. [36633]
Alan Johnson: Officials continually monitor European Structural Funds and the four UK Objective 1 programmes are on target to achieve the required expenditure by 31 December 2002. The latest Objective 1 statistics requested by the hon. Member are contained in the table.
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 the region are as set out in the table.
| Objective area | Number of projects | Committed grant (£ million) | Committed grant as percentage of total | Grant paid (£ million) | Grant paid as percentage of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Yorkshire | 192 | 198.2 | 27.96 | 48.5 | 6.84 |
| Merseyside | 674 | 152.0 | 18.00 | 78.9 | 9.34 |
| Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly | 180 | 75.6 | 24.57 | 10.6 | 3.45 |
| West Wales and the Valleys | 441 | 301.2 | 26.4 | 68.2 | 5.98 |
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Biotechnology Companies
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many proposals for the creation and incubation of biotechnology companies have been received from Scottish bidders since the establishment of the Biotechnology Mentoring and Incubation Challenge; and how many have been successful. [36744]
Mr. Wilson: The four calls under the Biotechnology Mentoring and Incubator (BMI) Challenge resulted in four proposals being submitted from Scottish bidders. The BMI Challenge Independent Advisory Panel recommended that the DTI make an award to one applicant. However, due to complications between the 10 collaborating organisations the project did not proceed.
Motor Vehicle Registrations (Edinburgh)
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many motor vehicles were registered to people living in the (a) Edinburgh, west, (b) Edinburgh, central, (c) Edinburgh, east and Musselburgh, (d) Edinburgh, Pentlands, (e) Edinburgh, north and Leith and (f) Edinburgh, south parliamentary constituencies or for the most appropriate geographical areas for which figures are available at the latest date for which figures are available. [35786]
Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
The number of currently licensed motor vehicles registered to keepers with addresses in the Edinburgh constituencies is shown in the table. The totals include vehicles registered to companies and other entities as well as to individuals. The table shows the figures for each ward, as some wards (marked 1 ) straddle two constituencies. The volume data is for December 2000, but the analysis to wards was available only by the pre-1996 definition of wards in Edinburgh. No split of volumes is available for the straddling wards and the total for the ward has been included in the constituency in which the greater part of the ward falls.
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