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22 Jan 2003 : Column 364W—continued

Business Insurance Costs

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of the impact of insurance costs on the competitiveness of British industry. [91841]

Nigel Griffiths: In a recent 'omnibus' survey of SMEs for the Small Business Service, 28 per cent. of the sample said insurance was an issue for them, although only 3 per cent. said it was the greatest obstacle they faced (competition/sales was most frequently cited as the greatest obstacle, by 24 per cent. of firms).

The Government also announced on 12 December 2002 details of a review of the operation of the Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance system, one of the objectives of which is to

"Assess the scale and nature of the current difficulties being experienced in relation to ELCI, in particular the extent to which these difficulties are likely to be short-term only, repeated in the future or permanent."

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Miners' Compensation (Newton-le-Willows)

Mr. Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miners in Newton-le-Willows have received (a) offers and (b) final offer settlements for their white finger and pneumoconiosis claims. [91877]

Mr. Wilson: The figures are as follows:

	COPD	VWF
Number of full and final offers made	68	50
Number of full and final settlements	34	37

Note:

Newton-le-Willows was defined using postcode WA12.

Consumer Credit Act

Mr. David : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what plans she has to amend the Consumer Credit Act 1974; [92091]

(2) what the scope is of her review of the Consumer Credit Act 1974; [92092]

(3) when the Government intends to publish its review of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 [92093]

Miss Melanie Johnson: In July 2001 I announced a review of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. As part of this review I have already published consultations to extend the provisions of the Act by removing the financial limit, to make the terms for early settlement of loans fairer to consumers and to enable agreements to be concluded on line.

In August 2002 I published a progress report which can be found along with all other publications related to this review on the DTI website. This can be found on: http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topicsl/consumer_finance.htm

I will be publishing further consultations on reviewing the licensing regime, the provisions on extortionate credit and on simplifying the advertising regulations.

Credit Cards

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will introduce measures to require credit card providers to include a comparative box in their marketing material setting out the key features and costs of the credit cards they provide. [92565]

Miss Melanie Johnson: A review of the Consumer Credit Act was announced in July 2001 and as part of this review I will be publishing a consultation on the simplification of the credit advertising regulations.

In preparation for that, my Department is in regular discussion with the credit industry and consumer bodies on the calculation and advertising of APRs on credit cards, and the provision for other key information.

Debt Management Companies

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what measures she plans to introduce to ensure good practice among debt management companies; [91833]

22 Jan 2003 : Column 366W

(2) what assessment she has made of the Office of Fair Trade's guidance for debt management companies and the level of protection they offer to consumers. [91834]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Companies providing debt management services, whether they charge or not, are required to be licensed under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Under the Act the Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) has a duty to ensure applicants for a licence are fit to engage in the activities for which they are licensed.

In December 2001 the DGFT issued guidelines to debt management companies to ensure they deal fairly and openly with consumers—the Debt Management Guidance (December 2001). A copy of the guidance can be found in the Libraries of the House.

The guidance requires that companies offering debt management services should comply with the best practice identified in it. Where the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has evidence of practices breaching the guidelines the DGFT can take action to refuse or revoke the consumer credit licence, or take such other action as appropriate under other legislation (e.g. Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations etc).

I am satisfied that the guidance ensures consumers a good level of protection; and I am looking forward with interest to the results of the Compliance Review which the OFT is currently undertaking.

Electricity Industry

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with Ofgem about modification P95A, P100, P102, P103 and P114 to the Balancing and Settlement Code; and if she will make a statement. [92353]

Mr. Wilson: The Governance Procedures for the industry Codes are under the locus of the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, Ofgem, as the independent regulator. I have not had discussions with the authority regarding these modification proposals.

Modifications P102, P103 and PI14 to the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) are currently in the assessment phase. Following the assessment phase, the BSC panel will make a recommendation to the authority on whether the modifications better achieve the BSC objectives. At the BSC Panel meeting on the 16th January 2003, the Panel rejected modification P95A and recommended that modification P100 be made. The authority will now make a final decision on their implementation on the basis of the BSC objectives and their wider statutory obligations.

Post Boxes

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of red post boxes in urban areas. [92179]

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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New Cars

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how she intends to monitor the effect of the new EU block exemption regulations for the sale of motor vehicles that come into force on 1 October 2003. [92653]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 21 January 2003]: The Department is in regular contact with businesses and representatives of the car retailing and servicing sector, and organisations representing the consumer interests, and will be working to ensure that if there is evidence that the new block exemption is being infringed, that evidence is brought to the attention of the relevant enforcement authority.

The regulation places responsibility on the Commission to monitor its operation on a regular basis, and to report in May 2008. From May 2004, the regulation will also be enforced in the UK by the Office of Fair Trading under the new modernisation of enforcement of European Union Competition rules.

Post Office Card Account

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultation took place with the Department for Work and Pensions before the delay imposed on the issue of personal invitation documents for the post office card account. [91138]

Mr. Timms: Ministers and officials of the Department of Trade and Industry are working closely with colleagues from the Department for Work and Pensions on all aspects of the migration of benefits and pensions to ACT and the introduction of universal banking services.

Postcodes

Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what use her Department and its agencies make of postcode areas for (a) the collection and publication of data, (b) devising formulae for the distribution of grants and awards and (c) the delivery of services; and when such usages were last reviewed. [87740]

Ms Hewitt: This information is not held centrally by the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I have asked the relevant agencies to respond to my hon. Friend.

Letter from A. Brimelow to Mr. Paul Truswell:

HOUSE OF COMMONS PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS: 2002/563

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question 563 tabled on 13 December 2002, about the use made of postcode areas for (a) the collection and publication of data, (b) devising formulae for distribution of grants and awards, (c) the delivery of services; and when such usages were last reviewed.

The Patent Office publish an annual facts and figures booklet which includes a breakdown of the number of patent, trade mark and design applications filed and granted or registered by region based upon postcode data provided by the applicant. The Patent Office Search and Advisory Service also uses postcode analysis on an ad-hoc basis to answer general Intellectual Property enquiries made under that service. The last review was in 2001.

We do not distribute grants or awards to our customers.

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Letter from Ms R. J. R. Anderson to Mr. Paul Truswell:

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION ON THE USE OF POST CODES

As Chief Executive off the Radiocommunications Agency, I have been requested to reply directly to your question of 13 December 2002 to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

The Radiocommunications Agency does not use post codes for (a) collecting or publicising data, other than for collecting customer addresses; or (b) devising formulae for the distribution of grants or awards. For (c) the delivery of services, the Agency only uses post codes as a customer search aid and for defining which of its national or regional offices has responsibility for particular customers.

Letter from Dr. R. Heathcote to Mr. Paul Truswell, dated January 2003:

RE: Review and use of postcode information for the data processing, distribution and delivery of services.

You tabled a Parliamentary Question on 13 December 2002 to Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, concerning what use was made of post code areas for (a) the collection and publication of data, (b) devising of grants and awards and (c) the delivery of services; and when such usages were last reviewed. I have been asked to reply in respect of the Employment Tribunals Service (ETS), which is an executive agency of the DTI, providing the administrative support for the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Great Britain.

The ETS does not use postcode areas for the collection and publication of data. The agency's work does not involve devising formulae for the distribution of awards and grants, although the tribunals do make awards of compensation on the cases which they deal with, these are not determined according to postcode.

Prior to 1996, each office had a regional boundary which was defined, with some exceptions, along county borders. These borders were realigned along postcode area boundaries as a result of the de-centralisation of the applications process. This meant that applications were sent direct to the appropriate office, according to the post code of the place where the applicant either worked or applied to work. Since then, changes to the boundaries between offices have been made to accommodate changing workloads particularly the opening of a new tribunal office at Watford in July 2000, whose regional area was carved out of neighbouring regions by transferring post code areas to it.

Employment Tribunals in Scotland have retained their centralised system with all applications being sent to the Glasgow office, with cases then being generally assigned to a local office or hearing centre on the basis of the postcode of the applicant's home address. EAT has only two offices (London and Edinburgh) covering England & Wales and Scotland respectively, dealing with appeals split along the border between the two countries, not according to postcodes.

The agency is presently undertaking a review of the distribution of workloads with regards to the geographical match between the origin of tribunal cases and the present spread of its 33 offices and hearing centre around the country. This review was initiated as a result of a recommendation contained within 'Moving Forward: the report of the Employment Tribunal System Taskforce'. A full copy of the taskforce report can be accessed at www.employmenttribunalsystemtaskforce.gov.uk The work that is currently being done in support of the analysis of postcodes will also consider public transport links to our existing network of offices.

Letter from D. Flynn to Mr. Paul Truswell, dated 20 January 2003:

The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question (2002/563) as to what use The Insolvency Service makes of postcode areas for (a) the collection and publication of data, (b) devising formulae for the distribution of grants and awards and (c) the delivery of services; and when such usages were last reviewed.

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The Insolvency Service has made no use of postcode areas for the collection and publication of data, devising formulae for the distribution of grant and awards or the delivery of services.

Letter from Dr. J. W. Llewellyn to Mr. Paul Truswell:

The Secretary for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question on what use her Department and its Agencies makes of postcode areas for (a) the collection and publication of data, (b) devising formulae for the distribution of grants and awards and (c) the delivery of services; and when such usages were last reviewed.

NWML does not use postcodes in any of the ways described.

Letter from C. Clancy to Mr. Paul Truswell:

I am responding on behalf of Companies House, Executive Agency to your Parliamentary Question on the Department of Trade and Industry's policy on the usage of postal code areas.

Companies House does not make use of postcodes in the collection and publication of data or in devising formulae for the distribution of grants and awards.

In the delivery of services, postcodes are used to target invitations for company directors and their professional advisers to attend regionally held seminars on directors' legal responsibilities under the Companies Act. This was last reviewed in February 2002. In the last twelve months they have also been used to target invitations to customers to take part in regionally based focus groups, where they can give face to face feedback on Companies House services and its relations with customers. It will be reviewed in April 2003.

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