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Railtrack
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date he expects to make an application to the court for the discharge of the Railtrack administration order; and if he will make a statement. [66539]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 2 July 2002]: I refer the hon. Member the statement about Network Rail made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport on 27 June 2002, Official Report, columns 971–73.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what basis Railtrack Group will waive its claims for compensation against Her Majesty's Government, the Secretary of State, his Department and others in respect of the making of the administration order; if he will place copies of related documentation in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [66499]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 2 July 2002]: This is a matter for Railtrack Group plc. Their reasoning is explained in the press release they issued on 27 June 2002.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under the administration order, whether Railtrack Group will be permitted to carry out the planned rollover of chargeable gains arising in the year, in connection with certain contingent tax liabilities arising from transactions entered into before 7 October 2001, for which no provision has been made; and if he will make a statement. [66532]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 2 July 2002]: This is a matter for Network Rail, Railtrack Group and the administrators of Railtrack plc.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Industrial Support
Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what industrial support resources, including staff and direct financial investment, are invested in the (a) automotive, (b) environmental industry, (c) construction, (d) metals, (e) aerospace, (f) chemicals and (g) water industrial sectors. [63806]
Ms Hewitt: The DTI's role is to work with business, employees and consumers to drive up UK productivity and competitiveness. Our planned expenditure on resources for the promotion of enterprise, innovation and increased productivity is £1.23 billion for 2002–03, as set out in Table 2, Annex A, of the Trade and Industry Expenditure Plans Report 2002, Cm 5416. This will include advice and support for the sectors in question and the development of policy to promote the success of those sectors. The detailed information requested cannot be provided without incurring a disproportionate cost.
Departmental Waste
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of waste produced in her Department was (a) recycled, (b) composted and (c) re-used, broken down into (i) paper, (ii) plastics, (iii) aluminium cans and (iv) other, in each year since 1997; what plans there are to increase the proportions; and if she will make a statement. [65693]
Ms Hewitt: Up to June 2002 the DTI used a variety of waste contractors, who operated their own waste minimisation techniques, including minimisation at source, re-use, recycling and energy recovery. An accurate figure for the proportion of waste recycled, composted, reused and segregated from 1997 to date could be obtained only at disproportionate expense. However, I attach a high importance to monitoring and improving on current waste outputs, and a total waste management tender has been developed and has taken effect from July 1 2002. The successful contractor will be required to report on the percentage of waste streams that are recovered, while ensuring that the following targets are achieved:
| Recovery target (As a percentage of waste handled) | Recycling/ composting target (As a percentage of waste recovered) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 60 | 45 |
| 2003–04 | 70 | 55 |
| 2004–05 | 80 | 65 |
Initially the targets will be achieved through paper and card recycling but the tender specification requires the contractor to investigate innovative techniques for recovering other waste streams, including metals, plastics and glass.
General Agreement on Trade in Services
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the European Union's negotiating demands for the General Agreement on Trade in Services, indicating which ones her Department (a) supports and (b) does not support. [64719]
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Ms Hewitt: In line with the end-June benchmark date set in the WTO Doha ministerial declaration for the exchange of initial requests between WTO members for liberalisation under the current General Agreement on Trade in Services negotiations, the European Community's requests were finalised on 28 June following consultation between the Commission and member states. They are being transmitted this week to individual WTO members to whom they are addressed.
In the case of the EC's major trading partners, both developed and developing countries, requests are made in most services sectors. The main exceptions are health, education (with the exception of the US, to whom requests are made in the area of privately funded higher education services) and audio-visual services.
As regards developing countries, requests are made in line with their levels of development. In the case of the least developed countries, requests are in the main limited to three to five sectors, with the sectors identified being those where liberalisation is most likely to contribute to development—primarily business, financial, telecommunications and transport services.
Throughout the requests, the EC emphasises that it is not seeking the dismantling of public services or the privatisation of state owned companies. The requests also make clear that the EC recognises the importance of liberalisation being underpinned by domestic regulatory frameworks designed to ensure the achievement of public policy objectives.
The requests are not demands. They are an opening basis for negotiations. Nor, as WTO Director-General Mike Moore has confirmed last week, do requests constitute agreements by WTO members to include such sectors as part of their commitments.
Regional Development Agencies
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the members of each of the regional development agencies, together with any declared party political affiliation. [64454]
Ms Hewitt: The names of the board members of each of the eight English regional development agencies outside London, together with any political affiliations declared in response to the political activity questionnaire required by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) are as follows:
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The OCPA declaration covers political activities undertaken during the previous five years, including the name of the party or body for which the board member has been active. Political activities are defined by OCPA as follows:
- obtained office as a local councillor, MP, MEP etc;
stood as a candidate for one of the above offices;
spoken on behalf of a party or candidate;
acted as a political agent;
held office such as chair, treasurer or secretary of a local branch of a party;
canvassed on behalf of a party or helped at elections;
undertaken any other political activity which the applicant considers relevant;
made a recordable donation to a political party (the requirement for publishing a register of recordable donations, as defined under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, became effective from 16 February 2001).
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