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Staff Training
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Department has spent on staff training and development in each of the last five years. [61053]
Ms Hewitt: The DTI is a recognised Investor in People.
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The following table provides detail of the spend on staff training and development for the period for which the information at the level requested is readily available, together with the percentage of the total gross running costs this represents.
| Year | Total staff training and development expenditure (£ million) | Staff training and development as a percentage of gross running costs(1) |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 3.2 | 1.3 |
| 1999–2000 | 4.5 | 1.7 |
| 2000–01 | 4.0 | 1.4 |
| 2001–02 | 4.9 | 1.6 |
(1) Excludes ACAS, Employment Tribunals Service, Insolvency Service, Radiocommunications Agency and the National Weights and Measures Laboratory.
Meetings
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Ministers and officials had meetings with representatives of (a) the Confederation of British Industry, (b) the Engineering Employees Federation, and (c) the Engineering Marine Training Authority during the last year; who they met; and what the subjects and outcomes of their discussions were. [62210]
Ms Hewitt: Ministers and civil servants have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals as part of the process of policy development and analysis.
As with previous Administrations it is not this Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings. All such contacts are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code and Guidance for Civil Servants: Contacts with Lobbyists.
Members of Parliament (Personal Data)
Mr. Forth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information is held by her Department on each hon. Member in relation to (a) personal relationships, both current and past, (b) financial status and dealings, (c) connections with companies and interest groups, (d) connections with Governments and (e) published works; and what was held in January 2002. [61833]
Ms Hewitt: Ministers and officials in this Department have access to published reference sources, as well as to the information about hon. Members made publicly available by the House authorities, for the purpose of parliamentary business.
Telecommunications (Lane Rentals)
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has made to the Department of Transport regarding section 74A of the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991 and the potential effects the powers will have on the ability of telecommunication companies to build high bandwidth networks. [62632]
Mr. Timms: Pilot schemes to test powers under which local authorities can charge utility companies lane rental, whenever the latter dig up highways to install or maintain their apparatus, began in Camden and Middlesbrough on 4 March 2002 and are due to continue until March 2004.
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The Department for Transport have appointed consultants to produce a balanced assessment of the impact of the lane rental pilots, both in terms of the effect of lane rental on the disruption caused by utility works and the costs which it imposes on those utilities. We await their first monitoring report which is due to be delivered in late autumn.
The effects on the roll out of broadband and 3G mobile networks will be taken into account before any final decision on the national implementation of lane rental charging is made.
Coal Industry
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to maintain aid to the UK coal industry. [62850]
Mr. Wilson: I am very pleased that we have reached agreement on a new European coal state aid regime. We fought hard to secure the flexibility to pay investment aid, and I am delighted that we have been successful. We are currently considering how the flexibility might most appropriately be used.
Correspondence
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) for what reason she has not answered the letters of 30 November 2001 and 10 January, from the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West; [65365]
- (2) for what reason she has not answered the written question from the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West (ref 51382), of 18 April. [65364]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I have today responded to the hon. Member's letter which does not appear to have been previously received by this Department.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answers of 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 796W; 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 678W; and 14 February 2002, Official Report, column 518W, when she expects to reply to the letters of 30 November 2001 and 10 January 2002 from the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West. [51382]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I have today responded to the hon. Members' letter which does not appear to have been previously received by this Department.
World Trade
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 26 February 2002, Official Report, column 1128W, on GATS, if she will make a statement on progress in her Department's meetings with WTO members on the drafting of a clarification of the GATS exclusion of public services. [63428]
Ms Hewitt: My Department's contacts with other WTO members suggest that most prefer to rely on the "bottom-up" approach to scheduling commitments as the means of ensuring the exclusion of public services.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 26 February 2002, Official Report, column 1128W, on GATS, if she will
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make a statement of progress on the WTO services negotiations as to whether Article VI of the GATS will apply to all service sectors. [63427]
Ms Hewitt: There has been no substantive progress on this issue, which remains under discussion among WTO members.
Consignia
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many directors of Consignia plc have (a) resigned and (b) been replaced in the past two years. [63643]
Mr. Timms: Neville Bain, chairman since March 1998, left the company on 31 December 2001. He was replaced by Allan Leighton. Other recent changes are that David Mills joined the board on 15 April 2002 as chief executive of Post Office Ltd., a subsidiary of Consignia plc. Marisa Cassoni joined the board on 1 February 2001 as finance director. Allan Leighton joined the board as a non-executive director on 2 April 2001. Mike Kinski, non-executive director, left the company on 12 February 2002. The company is currently recruiting new non-executive directors. Also worth noting is that John Roberts, chief executive officer, has announced that he will retire by the end of 2002 and the process of recruiting his successor is now under way.
Post Office
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she will publish the terms of the Chairman's performance linked remuneration at the Post Office; [63341]
- (2) whether the Chairman of the Post Office will receive a bonus if the Post Office loses less than it did in the current year. [63342]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 20 June 2002]: Allan Leighton's basic fee for part-time Chairmanship of Consignia is £20,000 per annum. The performance-related element of his remuneration package, linked to delivery of the company's strategic plan, is being finalised and will be made public.
Post Office Network
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 28 January 2002, Official Report, column 66W, on the Post Office network, if she will list the funding allocated to each initiative under the sub-post office scheme. [63577]
Mr. Timms: The funding allocated to each initiative approved under the Sub-Post Office Start-Up Capital Subsidy Scheme as at end May 2002 was as follows:
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