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Miners' Pensions

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if an asset liability study has been carried out by (a) the Mineworkers Pension Schemes and (b) the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme. [48301]

Mr. Wilson: Yes. The Trustees of both schemes commissioned asset and liability modelling studies last year.

Miners' Compensation

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 671W, on miners' compensation, what performance and quality targets are given to Healthcall to secure delivery of accurate reports within acceptable time scales. [48035]

Mr. Wilson: Healthcall should provide a fit for purpose report within 28 days of an assessment.

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how she will ensure that claims for special damages from mineworkers suffering from vibration white finger are settled rapidly. [47972]

Mr. Wilson: The main outstanding issue concerns claims for "services" which compensates those who need additional assistance in carrying out household tasks. The pilot to progress these claims has been completed and the Department is currently working closely with the claimants' solicitors in reviewing the results. All parties concerned are interested in settling claims as soon as possible.

Multilateral Environmental Agreements

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how existing multilateral environmental agreements will be incorporated into the new trade round. [48621]

Ms Hewitt: Under paragraph 31 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, WTO Members agree to negotiations on the relationship between existing WTO rules and specific trade obligations set out in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and to procedures for regular information exchange between MEA Secretariats and the relevant WTO Committees. These negotiations will take place in the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment meeting in special session.

10 Apr 2002 : Column 370W

The EU tabled a paper exploring this important issue at the first meeting of the Committee on Trade and Environment since Doha several weeks ago. This will shortly be available on the WTO website at www.wto.org

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what meetings she has had with (a) DEFRA and (b) the Sustainable Development Commission to discuss the impact of multilateral environmental agreements on current trade negotiations. [48620]

Ms Hewitt: I liaised closely with the Minister of State for Environment on this issue during the fourth Ministerial meeting in Doha last November and my Department works very closely with all interested Departments, particularly DEFRA on the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and World Trade Organisation Rules. I have not discussed this particular issue with the Sustainable Development Commission.

European Directives

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many European regulations and directives affecting businesses were implemented in the last calendar year; and what assessment she has made of what the total cost of their implementation was on business. [45317]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 26 March 2002]: The Department was responsible for 92 regulations introduced in the calendar year from 1 March 2001. Of these regulations 71 imposed negligible or no costs on business and 11 have saved costs.

Records relating to the origin of regulations are not held centrally. The information requested could be obtained and collated only at disproportionate cost.

All Government Departments and agencies are required to produce regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) for proposed regulations that could impact on business, charities or the voluntary sector. This is the case for legislation emanating from Europe. Copies of all RIAs are published and are available from the Libraries of the House.

Export Credit Assistance

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if it is possible for companies receiving ECGD assistance for their involvement in a project, to subcontract work to other companies without affecting their agreement with the ECGD. [44619]

Ms Hewitt: Yes, companies in receipt of ECGD support are free to subcontract work to others, but under the terms of that support they must remain responsible for the overall performance of the contract, and for any failures by their subcontractors. This responsibility includes ensuring compliance with any environmental, social, financial, or other covenants and pre-conditions specified by ECGD.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list by name and location the fossil fuel power projects that the ECGD has approved for support, but which have not yet been built. [44621]

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Ms Hewitt: There are seven cases that ECGD has supported which are still under construction. These projects are as follows:

Project name	Country	Fuel type
Shandong	China	Coal
Manjung	Malaysia	Coal
Afsin-Elbistan	Turkey	Coal
Nantong	China	Coal
Blackpoint	Hong Kong	Gas
Ghubrah	Oman	Oil
San Pedro	Dominican Republic	Oil

In addition, ECGD has provided Overseas Investment Insurance support for one case which is under construction but details are commercial in confidence.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which UK companies have received ECGD services since 1997 for contracts involving fossil fuel power transmission in the energy sector, in (a) Thailand and (b) the Philippines; and what projects are involved. [44618]

Ms Hewitt: ECGD has not supported any export contracts involving fossil fuel power transmission since 1997 in Thailand and the Philippines. However, support was provided for an overseas investment insurance case, which is not disclosed, since such cases are treated as commercial in confidence.

Urban Post Office Network

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when her Department lodged an application with the European Commission for permission to use state aid to subsidise the urban post office network. [44712]

Mr. Alexander: A notification was made to the European Commission on 27 March relating to the proposed programme of reinvention of the urban post office network.

Postal Charges

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what annual revenue would accrue from a one pence increase in the price of (a) first and (b) second class stamps; if Consignia plans to increase postal charges; and if she will make a statement. [45959]

Mr. Alexander: Increases in the prices of first and second class stamps require the approval of Postcomm. The company estimates that an increase of one pence on both first and second class stamps would generate additional income of £170 million over the financial year.

Postal Services

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she had made of the costs and benefits of Postcomm's proposals to bring in market opening in postal services in advance of other EU member states. [47580]

Mr. Alexander: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Geraldine Smith) on 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 803W.

10 Apr 2002 : Column 372W

Bank Holidays

Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she next intends to review the pattern of bank holidays in England and Wales. [47128]

Alan Johnson: There are no current plans to review the existing bank holiday arrangements.

Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will maintain 2002 arrangements under which the spring bank holiday falls on the first Monday in June for future years. [47127]

Alan Johnson: Changes that were made to existing bank holiday arrangements in 2002 as part of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations will not be maintained in future years and the spring bank holiday will revert to the last Monday in May in 2003.

Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the implications for the length of school terms when deciding bank holiday dates. [47176]

Alan Johnson: The timing of school terms is the responsibility of local education authorities, who were consulted on the one-off bank holiday arrangements for the forthcoming Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Supermarket Competition

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list recommendations received from the Meat and Livestock Commission and other bodies designed to improve competition in the supermarket sector, stating for each (a) from whom received and when and (b) what action is (i) planned and (ii) in place to implement such recommendations. [48270]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department of Trade and Industry has not received any such recommendations. However, evidence from the Meat and Livestock Commission and a number of other bodies was considered by the Competition Commission in their investigation into the supply of groceries from supermarkets. Views of interested parties are listed primarily in Chapters 14 and 15 of the Commission's report "Supermarkets: A report on the supply of groceries from multiple stores in the United Kingdom", Cm 4842, published October 2000).

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