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Regulatory Impact Unit
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many members of staff her Department employs in its regulatory impact unit; and if she will make a statement. [39976]
Ms Hewitt: Two members of staff currently work in the departmental regulatory impact unit (DRIU). Of the two staff, one member works full-time and the other member spends three days of the week with the DRIU team. A new full-time member of staff will be heading the DRIU team from Wednesday 20 March. In addition there are 11 members of staff who work in the Small Business Service on better regulation for small business across Government.
Export Promotion
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the level of support provided for UK export promotion by the Government; and what information she has collated on the level of support provided by other members of the European Union. [40257]
Nigel Griffiths: Government funding for trade development and promotion is the responsibility of Trade Partners UK, an arm of British Trade International which is a joint operation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department of Trade and Industry. Programme funding for 2001–02 is £68 million. For a more detailed breakdown of Government support for trade development and promotion, please refer to the Expenditure Plans Reports of British Trade International (Cm 5123), the Department of Trade and Industry (Cm 5112), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Cm 5110) and British Trade International's Resource Accounts for 2000–01 (HC 526).
The export support provided by members of the European Union is broadly similar to that provided by Trade Partners UK. However, member states use different management systems and structures to provide their export promotion services, which make direct comparisons between individual countries very difficult.
Gas Supplies
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will publish a list of the priority end users under the network gas supply emergency procedure. [40051]
Mr. Wilson: DTI does not hold copies of these lists. As the procedures to which my hon. Friend refers state, these lists are held and maintained by Transco Local Distribution Zones. The lists are kept up to date locally with advice from gas shippers and suppliers to ensure that the details are as accurate as possible.
The prioritisation process was agreed after an extensive public consultation period. As the Network Gas Supply Procedures make clear, the first priority is to maintain domestic supply. If it is possible and necessary to
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implement the priority gas consumer arrangements, generally speaking, hospitals and those caring for the sick will receive priority.
I have placed copies of the categorisation of priorities in the Libraries of the House.
Credit Union
Mr. Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research her Department has commissioned to (a) assess the potential contribution of the credit union movement to financial inclusion for disadvantaged households and (b) assess the role credit unions might have in progress towards meeting the objectives of the Government's fuel poverty strategy. [40070]
Mr. Wilson: The Department has not commissioned research on credit unions. Officials have participated in the steering group of a research project commissioned by Ofgem under its Social Action Plan, and sponsored by Innogy, which includes a study of the feasibility of promoting credit unions as part of a wider strategy to tackle fuel poverty. The report on this work, "Ending Financial Exclusion and Fuel Poverty—A Factor 4 Approach" was published by Ofgem on 5 March.
Parliamentary Question
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will reply to the question from the hon. Member for Cynon Valley of 15 October 2001 (Ref 6545). [40380]
Nigel Griffiths: My response of 15 October 2001, Official Report, columns 981–82W said:
- "Inquiries are being made and I shall respond to my hon. Friend as soon as possible".
Components and associated equipment for armoured vehicles are controlled under entries ML1, ML2, ML3, ML4, ML5, ML6, ML11, ML13, ML15 and ML17 in Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order, commonly known as the Military List. From 1 January 2001 to 24 January 2002, 69 SIELs and no OIEL were issued covering the export of items with the relevant ratings. During that same period one SEIL and one OIEL application were refused. In addition 22 SIEL and one OIEL applications were still awaiting a decision as of 24 January 2002.
In addition, goods on the Military List may have been exported to Indonesia since May 1997 under certain open general export licences; copies of all open general export licences are placed in the Libraries of the House.
Information relating to licences for components and associated equipment for specific armoured vehicles is confidential information, which is exempt from disclosure under Part 2, sections 1, 13 and 14 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
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EU Delegations (Scottish Ministers)
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether a Scottish Executive Minister will be a member of the UK delegation to the forthcoming Research European Union Council of Ministers meeting on 11 March; and what information is being provided by her Department to guarantee effective pre-council scrutiny by the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament. [40320]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 4 March 2002]: My noble Friend the Minister for Science normally attends Research European Union Council of Ministers meetings for the UK. A Scottish Executive Minister will not be a member of the UK delegation to the Research Council meeting on 11 March. It is the responsibility of the European Committee of the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise the Scottish Executive's involvement in preparations for EU Council meetings. These arrangements are a matter for the Committee and the Scottish Executive. My Department provides information to Scottish Executive officials as part of that process. In developing the UK Government's position on European research issues, the Office of Science and Technology regularly consults the devolved administrations.
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Rail Journeys (Staff)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy that rail journeys undertaken by staff in her Department should ordinarily be on standard class tickets. [40430]
Ms Hewitt: The Department's policy on travel is set out in its staff handbook "The Guide" which states:
- Need for economy (minimum expenses rule)
- Staff travelling on official business must take advantage of any cheap facilities which may be available (e.g. special offers, day returns or season tickets) wherever practical. Line managers and staff should keep total expenses to the minimum, consistent with efficiency.
Road Transport Fuels
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the (a) names, (b) locations, (c) owners, (d) total output of refined road transport fuels and (e) number of employees of each of the oil refineries in UK. [39853]
Mr. Wilson [holding answer 5 March 2002]: The following table is taken from the 2001 Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics, published by the DTI in July 2001.
| Owner | Name | Location | Distillation capacity(12) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shell UK Ltd. | Stanlow | Ellesmere Port, South Wirral | 11.5 |
| Esso Petroleum Co.Ltd. | Fawley | Southampton | 15.6 |
| BP Ltd. | Coryton | Stanford-le-Hope, Essex | 9.6 |
| Grangemouth | Grangemouth, Stirlingshire | 10.1 | |
| TotalFinaElf Ltd. | Lindsey | Killingholme, North Lincolnshire | 10.0 |
| TotalFinaElf Ltd./Murco Ltd. | Milford Haven | Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire | 5.3 |
| Conoco Ltd. | Killingholme | Killingholm, North Lincolnshire | 9.4 |
| Texaco Refining Co. Ltd. | Pembroke | Pembroke, Pembrokeshire | 10.1 |
| Petroplus International Ltd. | North Tees | Port Clarence, Cleveland | 5.0 |
Three smaller specialist refineries at Harwich, Eastham and Dundee do not directly produce road transport fuels, and have a combined distillation capacity of 2.3 million tonnes per annum.
The output of refined road transport fuels at each location is commercially sensitive, but some information is available on the UK Petroleum Industry Association website www.ukpia.com.
For the UK as a whole, provisional data for 2001 was made available on the DTI Internet site at the end of February 2002. This indicates that total intake to petroleum refineries in 2001 was 82,323 thousand tonnes, from which a total production of Motor Spirit (petrol) of 21,455 thousand tonnes and Gas diesel oil of 26,564 thousand tonnes was obtained, of which 15,045 thousand tonnes was road diesel (DERV).
According to the Annual Business Inquiry for 2000 carried out by the Office for National Statistics, a total of 13,799 people are employed in the oil refining sector in Great Britain. This survey does not identify employment at individual refinery level for confidentiality reasons, and we have not been able, in the time available, to identify publicly available data at individual refinery level on employment numbers.
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