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New Deal

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people employed by the non- departmental public bodies for which she is responsible under the New Deal for Young People in each of the last four years have subsequently (a) found unsubsidised employment for more than 13 weeks and (b) returned to jobseekers' allowance or other benefits. [49611]

Ms Hewitt: This information is not available. The Department's non-departmental public bodies do not monitor future employment or otherwise of people taken on under the New Deal for Young People.

Exports (Tanzania)

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she was informed that British Aerospace had received down payments for the Tanzanian Air Traffic Control System prior to an export licence being granted; and if she will make a statement. [49740]

Nigel Griffiths: This information is commercially confidential and exempt from disclosure under Part 2, Exemption 1 and 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Engineering Projects

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the projects undertaken by the Engineering Technology Board that her Department plans to support. [49878]

Mr. Wilson: Discussions between the Department and the Engineering Technology Board about project support have not, as yet, reached this level of detail. There is agreement in principle that some support will be offered.

Draft EU Waste Electrical and

Electronic Equipment Directive

Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what Government policy is on the financial impact on councils of the draft EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive; [50914]

(2) what the Government's policy is on (a) individual company responsibility, (b) collective industry responsibility and (c) community responsibility through the general taxation system for costs of collection and recycling of waste equipment as required by the draft EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. [50919]

Mr. Wilson: The UK's approach to the implementation of the directive will depend on the provisions of the directive when finally adopted.

The Government will consult fully with all stakeholders on implementation options once the final text is available.

In addition, a further regulatory impact assessment will be carried out to assess the financial and other impacts of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

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on local authorities and other stakeholders. Where the costs of EU initiatives fall disproportionately on local authorities, the lead Government Department is responsible for fully funding those costs.

Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment she has made of the impact on the economic viability of (a) individual businesses and (b) defined business sectors from the implementation of the draft EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive; [50916]

(2) what assessment she has made of the cost to UK business of the draft EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. [50912]

Mr. Wilson: The Department submitted its updated Explanatory Memorandum and partial regulatory impact assessment of the proposal to both Houses on 15 March 2002. The regulatory impact assessment suggests that the costs to business lie in the range of £191 million and £391 million per annum in the UK.

The European Commission's Explanatory Memorandum suggests that product price increases could be between 1 and 3 per cent. if the costs of the proposal were to be passed on to consumers. Under these circumstances, economic viability of businesses or sectors would not be significantly affected.

Impacts on the economic viability of businesses or sectors will also depend on domestic implementation structures. The Government will consult all stakeholders while devising implementing legislation.

ITV Digital

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what meetings she has had with representatives of (a) Granada plc and (b) Carlton Communications plc since ITV Digital's entry into administration. [50715]

Mr. Alexander: Neither I nor the Secretary of State have met representatives of (a) Granada plc and (b) Carlton Communications plc since ITV Digital's entry into administration, though DCMS and DTI officials are keeping abreast of the situation.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of ITV Digital's entry into administration on the Government's plans for digital television provision in the UK. [50714]

Mr. Alexander: The policies and targets which the Government have set for digital TV are not predicated on the actions of any one company. The Digital Television Action Plan sets out a wide range of tasks to be undertaken by Government and various stakeholders in order to achieve our aim for the UK to have the most dynamic and competitive market for digital TV in the G7, and to enable us to meet the criteria set for the switchover from analogue to digital terrestrial transmissions. The action plan is kept under review so that it can be developed to reflect changes in the market.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she has met representatives of ITV Digital since it entered administration. [50713]

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Mr. Alexander: Neither I nor the Secretary of State have met representatives of ITV Digital since it entered administration, though DCMS and DTI officials are keeping abreast of the situation.

Solar Panels

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to set a minimum rate at which electricity companies may buy electricity from owners of solar panels. [51194]

Mr. Wilson: I have no current plans to set a minimum rate for electricity purchased from owners of solar panels. In a liberalised electricity market suppliers can choose to offer special tariffs for electricity generated from renewable sources, and one or two are already offering equal tariffs for electricity generated from solar panels.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what incentives are available for people investing in solar energy. [51197]

Mr. Wilson: The £20 million First Phase of the Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme, which I announced on 26 March, offers incentives to a variety of people and organisations to install solar panels.

Applications for individual systems of 0.5–5kWp will be accepted from householders, schools, community groups and SMEs on a rolling basis and 50 per cent. capital grant awards will be automatic, provided that the basic programme criteria are met. Applications for larger individual systems, or for multiple systems (e.g. from housing developers) will be considered on a quarterly competitive call basis. Grant levels will be subject to European Union State Aid rules and will vary from 65 per cent. for public bodies to 40 per cent. for private sector organisations other than SMEs.

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what forecast she has made of the proportion of UK electricity generating capacity which will use solar energy in the next decade. [51192]

Mr. Wilson: DTI energy projections cover installed capacity in the electricity supply industry (ESI), which is defined as major power producers and those 'industrial' generators using renewable sources of energy. Latest DTI ¹ projections for the ESI show zero installed solar PV capacity to 2010.

Installed UK solar PV capacity in building, non-building and off-grid applications was 1.95MW in 2000. Although no formal projections have been made about growth in this area, existing field trials and the First Phase of the Major PV Demonstration Programme (MDP) should add around 10–15MW of installed capacity over the next three years. This could rise to 200MW over the next decade if the full MDP is implemented.

¹ Energy Projections for the UK, DTI Energy Paper 68, "http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/energyprojections.htm"

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will set a target for the installation of solar panels on domestic properties. [51193]

Mr. Wilson: Under the £20 million First Phase of the Major Photovoltaics (PV) Demonstration Programme (MDP), which I announced on 26 March, there is a target for 3,000 domestic roofs to receive solar panels over the

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next three years. The Government will take a decision on whether to proceed with a second phase, and if so the appropriate target for the number of systems, in the light of progress achieved with the first phase.

In addition, my Department's Domestic PV Systems Field Trial, which is already underway, should see PV systems installed on over 500 roofs by the end of this financial year.

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated cost is of extending the enhanced capital allowances scheme for energy saving technologies to include (a) solar photovoltaics and (b) onshore and offshore wind; and if she will make a statement. [51507]

Mr. Wilson: Solar photovoltaics, onshore and offshore wind already benefit from the Renewables Obligation and exemption from the climate change levy. Except for onshore wind energy, which is already a competitive technology, they also benefit from substantial capital grants. We have no plans to extend enhanced capital allowances to these technologies.

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the estimated total value is of her Department's capital funding programmes to the UK solar PV industry in each year from 2001 to 2005 for (a) domestic, (b) commercial and (c) industrial applications; and if she will make a statement. [51511]

Mr. Wilson: The Domestic Field Trial is supporting the installation of PV systems on over 500 homes from 2001–03 with a budget of £5.4 million, and the Large- Scale Field Trial is supporting the installation of large PV systems on 18 non-residential buildings from 2002–04 with a budget of £4.2 million.

In addition, the First Phase of the Major PV Demonstration Programme, which the Secretary of State launched on 26 March, will support the installation of PV systems on at least 3,000 homes and 140 non-residential buildings over the years 2002–05, with a budget of £20 million. The budget will be split roughly 2:1 in favour of domestic applications, and the split between commercial, industrial and other large non-residential buildings will be determined by a selection panel on the basis of proposals received in the quarterly competitive call process.

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