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2 Dec 2002 : Column 505W—continued
Sustainable Timber
Ms Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has that timber provided by Jewson is obtained from sustainable sources. [83932]
Mr. Boateng: Jewson is committed to the responsible sourcing of timber. Through its parent company, Saint-Gobain Building Distribution Ltd., Jewson is a major member of the Timber Trade Federation and the WWF 95+ Group.
Saint-Gobain Building Distribution has declared that it will not source any timber prohibited under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Jewson has been actively working toward achieving Chain of Custody for its internal timber supply sites at Hull and Newport. Hull was inspected by The Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) in October 2002 and is awaiting its formal certification reference, while Newport is due for inspection by TRADA on 18 December 2002.
Ms Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence is required by the Office of Government Commerce from companies to prove they are obtaining timber from legal and sustainable sources; and if he will make a statement. [83933]
Mr. Boateng: In line with the Government commitment made in July 2000 following a statement by the Minister for the Environment, Mr. Michael
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Meacher, the Office of Government Commerce, including OGCbuying.solutions, is actively seeking to ensure all timber supplied through its contracts is from legal and sustainable sources.
Wherever possible third party independent evidence from organisations such as the Forest Stewardship Council and the Timber Research and Development Association is provided. The exact form of this varies from contract to contract.
Treasury Publications
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much it cost to (a) publish and (b) distribute the explanatory leaflet that accompanied (i) the Budget and (ii) the pre-Budget report; and if he will make a statement. [83838]
Ruth Kelly: The Budget 2002 summary leaflet cost around £72,000 to publish and around £136,000 to distribute. The pre-Budget report summary leaflet is estimated to have cost around £77,000 to publish and around £128,000 to distribute. All costs have been met from within Departmental Expenditure Limits.
ADVOCATE-GENERAL FOR SCOTLAND
Right to Buy (Agricultural Holdings Bill)
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Advocate-General whether she has been asked to advise the Scottish Executive on the human rights implication of an absolute right to buy under the Agricultural Holdings Bill. [82450]
The Advocate-General for Scotland: The Advocate-General is the principal legal adviser to the Government on matters of Scots law, and it is not her role to provide legal advice to the Scottish Executive. The Scottish Executive has its own Law Officers, the Lord Advocate and Solicitor-General for Scotland.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Credit Card Debt
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what plans she has to address levels of credit card debt; [80737]
- (2) what discussions her Department has had with credit card companies regarding levels of credit card debt. [80738]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I recently published the results of research commissioned by the DTI into the cause, extent and effects of overindebtedness, which includes data on credit card use. The Task Force on Tackling Overindebtedness, which includes representatives from the credit industry as well as from consumer groups and Government, have considered this research as well as the results of several working groups looking at different ways of achieving more responsible borrowing and lending, including some relating to credit card facilities. I am now considering their recommendations for further action, in the light of the work we are doing on reviewing the consumer credit act, and will publish my response in due course.
Fishermen's Redundancy Scheme
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was paid out in the ex-gratia redundancy scheme for redundant fishermen in the 1990s; and how much was paid to fishermen in (a) Hull, (b) Grimsby and (c) Fleetwood. [83843]
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Nigel Griffiths: The total amount paid out under the ex-gratia arrangements that operated between 1993 and 1995 was just under £14 million. No breakdown by port was kept at that time.
Nuclear Safeguards
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the occasions since the 1977 Tripartite Safeguards Agreements between the UK-Euratom-IAEA came into force, that nuclear materials have been withdrawn from safeguards under the provisions of Treaty Article 14; what type and quantity of nuclear materials were involved in each case; and which withdrawals were permanent. [84135]
Nigel Griffiths: A paper containing detailed information on advance notifications of the withdrawal of nuclear material from safeguards up to the end of 1999 was placed in the Library of the House on 28 July 2000, Official Report, column 1094W. Information on notifications during the period January 2000 to February 2001 was given in a written answer on 1 March 2001, Official Report, columns 732–33W, and information covering the period February to December 2001 is available on the non-proliferation section of the DTI website www.dti.gov.uk/non-proliferation.
The website will be updated annually and data for withdrawals during 2002 will be available there early in 2003. Information on withdrawal notifications made so far during 2002 is however contained in the following table. The withdrawals involved only small quantities of nuclear material used in radiation detectors or to be used for analytical purposes or as radiological shielding. All are regarded as permanent, except that from High Technology Sources Ltd.
| Number of withdrawal notifications (by type of nuclear material involved)(7) | Reason for withdrawal |
|---|---|
| Two notifications involving plutonium (Pu), g quantities | Material to be used for analytical purposes (eg samples, standards/tracers and/or instrument calibration)(8) (both from NPL Teddington) |
| Three notifications involving high enriched uranium (HEU), total ~6g | Material contained in radiation detectors(8)(all from Centronic Ltd.) |
| Four notifications involving depleted natural and low enriched uranium (DNLEU), total ~17kg | Two for material to be used for analytical purposes (eg samples, standards/tracers and/or in instrument calibration)(8) and two for material for use as radiological shielding (two from NPL Teddington and one each from UKAEA Harwell and High Technology Sources Ltd.) |
(7) The tabulated information covers advance notifications of withdrawal approved by DTI and which resulted in the eventual withdrawal of nuclear material from safeguards.
(8) There are no facilities outside safeguards which manufacture material in such quantities and forms, and defence establishment requirements for these specialist materials have therefore been met by supply from civil organisations.
Arms Exports (India)
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information the Government collates on the final destination of shipments of military aircraft spares shipped to India in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [81727]
Mr. Straw [holding answer 27 November 2002]: I have been asked to reply.
For all export licence applications, the exporter is required to provide details of the end user. The stated end user is one of the factors taken into account when assessing the application. We do not collate information on the final destination of shipments of military aircraft spares to India but our overseas posts have standing instructions to report on allegations of misuse, diversion or re-export of any UK-origin defence equipment, including aircraft spares.
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what ECGD funds have been approved for purchases of products on the military list shipped to India during (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [81728]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 27 November 2002]: ECGD has provided no support for defence exports to India since 1998.
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Brownfield Land (London)
Ms Oona King : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will increase the target set for the London Development Agency to recover 30 hectares of vacant brownfield land per year in London. [83896]
Alan Johnson: LDA corporate plan targets are approved by the Mayor of London, in agreement with central Government. The LDA target for brownfield land for 2002–03 was 30 hectares.
I understand that the LDA has already reclaimed some 32.6 hectares of brownfield land for development this year and that it is revising its forecast for the remainder of 2002–03.
The LDA is currently preparing a new corporate plan for 2003–06 and will shortly be agreeing new targets with the Mayor and Government for the remediation of brownfield land during this corporate plan period.
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