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20 Jan 2003 : Column 9W—continued
New Employees
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the needs of employers with regard to new employees. [87457]
Ms Hewitt: I assume the question concerns the needs of employers employing staff for the first time.
I firmly believe that new employers need clear, accessible advice and guidance on good employment practice and regulatory requirements. This is made available by ACAS and the Small Business Service, working with my Department and other key Departments and agencies.
In addition, I plan to take forward the helpful recommendations of the Better Regulation Task Force in this area: to run pilots to identify ways in which businesses, particularly small businesses, can participate in shared human resources schemes; to provide advice visits to employers, free seminars to businesses with less than five employees and easier access to mediation and arbitration services.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations she has received from businesses about their requirements with regard to new employees. [87458]
Ms Hewitt: Ministers regularly meet businesses and their representatives to discuss a range of issues, including employment matters.
Nuclear Industry
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the
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costs to British Energy of (a) storage of all AGR nuclear fuel and (b) continuation with current reprocessing contracts in each year of the projected life of each of British Energy's advanced gas-cooled reactors. [91920]
Mr. Wilson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Chaytor) by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 8 January 2003, Official Report, column 242W.
Nuclear Security
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will ask the Director of her Department's Office for Civil Nuclear Security to review the security of British nuclear power plants and other nuclear installations with special reference to the invasion of Greenpeace protestors at the Sizewell B nuclear plant on 13 January. [91966]
Mr. Wilson: The Director of Civil Nuclear Security is reviewing security at Sizewell B following the incident on 13 January. The Director and the Government take security very seriously and are concerned that any lessons to be learned should be applied to all civil nuclear power stations. Security at civil nuclear sites will continue to be kept under regular review.
Oil Reserves
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of the (a) extent and (b) accessibility of oil under Iraqi sovereignty; and what recent (a) representations she has received from and (b) discussions she has had with BP on this matter. [90790]
Mr. Wilson: Iraq's proven oil reserves are estimate to be 112.5 billion barrels which amounts to over 10 per cent. of the world's total reserves. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is in regular contact with all the major UK oil companies, but "Under Exemption 13, third party commercials confidences of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on access to government information", I am not able to comment on specific commercial issues.
Personal Business Advisers
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Business Link Personal Business Advisers there were in each year since 1999; and if she will make a statement. [91650]
Nigel Griffiths: This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Post Boxes
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received concerning changes in the number of red post boxes in rural areas; and if she will make a statement. [91325]
Mr. Timms: These are matters that fall within the day to day responsibility of Royal Mail and I have therefore asked the Chairman to reply direct to the hon. Member.
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Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the Post Office on the continued provision of red post boxes in rural areas. [91326]
Mr. Timms: These are matters which fall within the day to day responsibility of Royal Mail and I have therefore asked the Chairman to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Post Office (Losses)
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list (a) the losses, broken down by operational activity, for (i) Royal Mail, (ii) Parcelforce and (iii) Post Office Counters, and (b) non-operational charges, broken down by (A) write-offs and (B) pension costs at (1) Royal Mail, (2) Parcelforce and (3) Post Office Counters. [91938]
Mr. Timms: Losses for Royal Mail, Parcel Force and Post Office Counters in 2001–02 are set out in the table:
| Losses from: | Losses from operations | Exceptional costs | Losses after exceptional items before tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Mails | 74 | 74 | 148 |
| UK Parcels | 94 | 397 | 491 |
| Post Office Ltd. | 163 | 78 | 241 |
It is not possible to provide more detailed figures as these are commercially confidential.
The Department's officials are working with Royal Mail to provide the information requested on write-offs and pension costs. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as this is available, and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.
Post Office (Benefits)
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Post Office will receive for each benefit and tax credit transaction paid via the (a) universal bank and (b) Post Office Card Account. [91297]
Mr. Timms: Remuneration for benefit and tax credit transactions is a commercial matter between the Post Office and its clients.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Post Office receives for each benefit transaction that is processed. [91298]
Mr. Timms: Remuneration for benefit transactions is a commercial matter between the Post Office and its client.
Postcomm
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the members of Postcomm. [92002]
Mr. Timms: The Commissioners appointed to Postcomm are:
- Graham Corbett, CBE
- Robin Aaornson
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- Tony Cooper
- Julia Kaufmann
- Ken Olisa
- Janet Lewis-Jones
- Martin Stanley
PV Solar Panels
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many grants have been awarded for PV solar power panels in each of the last three years; and what the total value of such grants is. [91563]
Mr. Wilson: Year 2000—Domestic PV Systems Field Trial, First Round: £1.4 million to support nine projects totalling 166 homes.
Year 2001—Domestic PV Systems Field Trial, Second Round: £4 million to support 23 projects totalling 380 homes.
Year 2002—Large Scale BIPV Field Trial for Public Buildings: £4.2 million to support 18 projects on schools, universities, council offices, leisure centres etc.
Major PV Demonstration Programme, First Phase—Stream 1 (small-scale up to 5kWp)—118 grants awarded, worth £880,000; Stream 2 (medium and large-scale up to 100kWp)—27 grants awarded, worth £3.52 million.
Total value of grants for last three years is £14 million.
Renewable Energy
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of Britain's current energy requirements she estimates could be met from renewable sources by 2020 if the sector were to benefit from the level of financial support currently made available to the nuclear industry. [91582]
Mr. Wilson: Scope for the expansion of renewable energy and the question of future renewable energy targets will be discussed in the Energy White Paper, which will be published shortly. The White Paper will also address the issue of the future of nuclear power.
Sickness Absence
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many working days were lost due to illness in her Department in (a) 2002 and (b) each of the preceding five years. [90744]
Ms Hewitt: The average number of staff days lost per staff year in the DTI Group have been:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 8.2 |
| 1998 | 8.0 |
| 1999 | 7.8 |
| 2000 | 7.5 |
| 2001 | 7.8 |
The DTI Group, in addition to DTI HQ, consists of ACAS, Companies House, Patent Office, Insolvency Service, National Weights & Measures Laboratory, Employment Tribunals Service and the Radiocommunications Agency.
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The figures are taken from the annual reports on public sector sick absence commissioned by the Cabinet Office each year and which enable interdepartmental comparison.
Central figures for 2002 will not be available for some months but will be announced by Ministerial statement and copies placed in the Libraries of the House.
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