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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 4 March 2002
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Departmental Expenditure
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 18 January 2002, Official Report, column 508W, on departmental expenditure, whether the figure provided was net of the additional annually managed spending that was incurred because of the refinancing scheme; and if she will make a statement. [38307]
Ms Hewitt: The savings figure quoted in my answer of 18 January 2002 was net of the additional annually managed spending that was incurred because of the refinancing scheme.
The capital spend, together with interest, will be recovered through future loan repayment flows to ECGD.
Capita
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much public money Capita- administered schemes within the Department have paid out since 1997–98. [38383]
Ms Hewitt: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many contracts the Department has with Capita; and how much they are worth. [38382]
Ms Hewitt: Central records indicate that there are currently three live contracts with Capita with a total value of £43,785.
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the contracts that have been awarded to the Capita Group by the Department. [39339]
Ms Hewitt: Such historical information is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
LNM Group
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she received from other Ministers requests for advice in connection with the attempted acquisition of Sidex by the LNM Group. [37935]
Ms Hewitt: I received no such requests.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what policy objectives were furthered by her predecessor's visit to India to discuss the purchase of Air India by LNM Holdings. [39204]
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Ms Hewitt [holding answer 28 February 2002]: The objective of my right hon. Friend's visit to India in January 2001 was to further strengthen the bilateral trade and investment relationship between the United Kingdom and India.
Refurbishment
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 24 January 2002, Official Report, column 1059W, what the cost of refurbishing each Ministerial private office was in each year since May 1997. [37898]
Ms Hewitt: The costs of refurbishing the ministerial private offices, since May 1997, is set out in the table. All costs are inclusive of VAT.
| Financial year | £ |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 12,605 |
| 1998–99 | 16,780 |
| 1999–2000 | — |
| 2000–01 | 6,571 |
| 2001–02 | 4,500 |
EU Directives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the European Union directives and regulations relating to her Department that have been implemented in each of the last four years, specifying (a) the title and purpose of each, (b) the cost to public funds of each and (c) the cost to businesses of each. [39128]
Ms Hewitt: The information requested is not held centrally and would involve disproportionate cost to produce. Regulatory impact assessments are produced for all proposals, including those originating in European legislation, likely to impose significant costs on businesses in the UK and are generally made available in the Libraries of the House. We do not hold information on the costs to public funds of implementation.
Dams
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list applications for export credit guarantee for dams, indicating the stage each application has reached. [39519]
Ms Hewitt: There is one current application for ECGD support for dams.
| Project | Stage reached |
|---|---|
| Yusufeli (Turkey) | Awaiting information on environmental and social impacts of the project before further consideration of the application |
No decision has been made by ECGD. ECGD cover will only be considered if key impacts—including social, environmental and human rights factors—are properly addressed and if the financial risk is acceptable.
External Consultants
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which non-accounting and non-information
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technology external organisations, who previously held contracts with the Department won new contracts at (a) the culmination of the existing contracts and (b) after a period of inactivity with the Department in each of the past five years. [38719]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 28 February 2002]: This information is not held centrally and could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.
Steel Industry
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of over-capacity in the global steel industry; and if she will make a statement. [38844]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 28 February 2002]: There is no precise estimate of global over-capacity as this can vary considerably according to the basis on which it is assessed. Estimates vary widely from under 80 million tonnes a year to over 200 million tonnes a year.
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received about the future of the Nova Hut steel plant in the Czech Republic. [39667]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 1 March 2002]: I receive representations from many groups eager to press their case.
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions officials and Ministers in her Department have had with LNM Holdings about the future of the Nova Hut steel plant in the Czech Republic. [39668]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 1 March 2002]: Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and analysis. All such contacts are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code and Guidance for Civil Servants: Contacts with Lobbyists. Some of these discussions take place on a confidential basis, and in order to preserve confidentiality, it is not the normal practice of Governments to release specific details of specific meetings with private individuals or companies.
Enterprise Grants (Coalfield Areas)
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many bids under the Enterprise Grant scheme have been made by businesses within the former coalfield area of south Derbyshire since 1999; and what the value was of grants awarded. [39419]
Alan Johnson: Since the scheme start date in January 2000 GOEM has received four applications from business in eligible wards within southern Derbyshire. The total value of grants awarded is £70,000.
Telecommunication Services
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her latest estimate is of the percentage of UK households and businesses able to receive ADSL telecommunication services. [39627]
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Mr. Alexander: Oftel's broadband brief published in February 2002 states that 60 per cent. of UK consumers and businesses are within the area of a DSL enabled exchange, and that 90 per cent. of those can obtain ADSL services with current technology. In addition, cable networks pass approximately 50 per cent. of UK households, providing an alternative route to broadband.
Knowledge Transfer Initiatives
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the value and effectiveness of regional knowledge transfer initiatives. [38520]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 28 February 2002]: My Department sponsors a number of targeted programmes which seek to help business access and use knowledge gained from research in British and overseas universities and research and technology organisations. We also provide support to help the science base grow its capability to interact with business and realise the business opportunities offered by science. For example, the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), which incorporates the earlier Higher Education Reach-Out to Business and the Community Fund (HEROBC), has incorporated a regional assessment alongside other criteria.
As the earliest HEROBC projects have only been running for just over two years it is still too soon for full evaluation. Early indications suggest that these initiatives are helping to improve the capacity of higher education institutions to carry out knowledge transfer.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the value and effectiveness of knowledge transfer initiatives sponsored by her Department. [38510]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 28 February 2002]: My Department sponsors a number of targeted programmes which seek to help business access and use knowledge gained from research in British and overseas universities and research and technology organisations. We also provide support to help the science base grow its capability to interact with business and realise the business opportunities offered by science. Each of these programmes is evaluated on a regular basis and, if necessary, the programme may be amended or terminated if it fails to achieve its targets.
I am presently conducting an intensive review of the totality of business support within DTI which will further ascertain whether there is scope for improving the effectiveness of all our programmes, including those dealing with knowledge transfer. The results to date indicate that business end-users are broadly satisfied with the aims and effectiveness of knowledge transfer programmes but that there is scope for reducing their number to reduce confusion and to increase critical mass of the major programmes.
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