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5 Mar 2003 : Column 1097W—continued
Carbon Dioxide
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the environmental consequences of depositing carbon dioxide on the seabed. [99794]
Mr. Wilson: We have, of course, no plans to deposit carbon dioxide on the seabed. We are, however, currently investigating the environmental impact and associated risks of the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide deep beneath the seabed and its use in enhancing the recovery of oil from our reserves in the North Sea. We expect to report our findings on this in the Spring when the Report of the Feasibility of CO2 Capture and Storage in the UK is published.
Company Financial Statements
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to propose legislation to make company directors personally liable for the authenticity of company financial statements. [100763]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: This is already the case under section 233 of the Companies Act 1985.
E-Commerce
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the total UK GDP was constituted by e-commerce transactions in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [97234]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 11 February 2003]: Sales and purchases over the internet are measured by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) as a proportion of the total value of sales and purchases. For statistical reasons this is more useful than measuring them as a proportion of GDP. GDP is a measure of economic activity, and therefore includes only the value added at each stage of development of a product or service. Data for 2002 will not be available until October 2003.
| Year | Sales over the internet £ billion | Sales over the Internet as % of total value of sales | Purchases over the internet £ billion | Purchases over the internet as % of total value of purchases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 18.4 | 1.0 | 23.4 | 1.7 |
The 2000 ONS survey only covered enterprises with 10 or more employees, and slightly fewer areas of the economy
(28). The 2001 figures shown below are on a consistent basis to give year on year comparability.
| 2001 | £17 billion | 1.0% | £19.5 billion | 1.7% |
| 2000 | £12 billion | 0.9% | £15.6 billion | 1.6% |
Notes:
(29) There are particular measurement difficulties associated with capturing e-commerce activity and turnover in the financial sector, preventing the calculation of a reliable estimate for the value of e-commerce in this sector. ONS is working with international organisations (Eurostat, OECD) to help identify a solution but as yet no agreed method has been identified.
(30) The 2000 survey also covered slightly fewer areas of the economy, with the following sectors added for 2001: health and social work; recreational, cultural and sporting activities; other service activities. Sectors covered in both years were: manufacturing, utilities, construction, wholesale and retail, hotels and restaurants, transport and communication, finance and other business services.
Enron
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the inquiries that her Department made into the auditing standards of Arthur Andersen as a result of the Enron case. [100544]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has made no such enquiries. The Joint Monitoring Unit of the Consultative Committee of Accounting Bodies and the ACCA Monitoring Unit are currently responsible for monitoring audit firms.
Arrangements for monitoring and disciplining audit firms are to be strengthened as a result of the recent Review of the Regulatory Regime of the Accountancy Profession. Copies of the Review Report have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
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Equal Treatment Directive
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress she has made on implementing the EU Equal Treatment Directive. [100649]
Ms Hewitt: We are currently carrying out a detailed analysis of the amended Equal Treatment Directive to identify all changes which may be needed to the Sex Discrimination Act. We used the recent consultation exercise on implementing the Article 13 Employment and Race Directives to consult at the same time on those provisions in the amended Equal Treatment Directive where the line taken is similar.
Magnet Sales
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what investigations her Department has conducted into the end use to which magnets sold by the British company Endshire Export Marketing were put by the German buyer. [100073]
Nigel Griffiths: None. These allegations relate to 1992 and earlier, and any investigations are the responsibility of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.
Mobile Phones
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment she has made of the response of mobile phone operators to the Competition Commission's proposals on mobile phone charges, seeking to reduce their charges; [100091]
- (2) what assessment she has made of the effect of the Competition Commission's proposals on mobile phone charges on the rollout of third generation mobile phones; [100094]
(3) what assessment she has made of the impact of implementing the Competition Commission's proposals on mobile phone charges on the mobile phone operators in the United Kingdom. [100090]
Mr. Timms: This is a matter for the Competition Commission. The report itself is currently subject to judicial review. The Competition Commission is independent from Government.
All mobile operators across Europe are facing financial constraints due to the overall state of the industry.
However the UK will be the first major market in Europe to roll out 3G with all five operators still on track to launch in 2003. This is in marked contrast to other European markets where operators have postponed their 3G launch—Orange for example have delayed their 3G roll-out across Europe except in the UK—and this is a vindication of the Government's policy in bringing in a new entrant to increase competition.
Money Laundering
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she has taken against accountancy firms who do not report suspicions of money laundering to the National Criminal Intelligence Service. [100542]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: This Department is not responsible for prosecutions for failure to report suspicions of money laundering to the National Criminal Intelligence Service.
It is a matter for HM Treasury.
PLC Accounts
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the steps that her Department takes to monitor the quality of accounts published by public limited companies. [100905]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Financial Reporting Review Panel has responsibility for the enforcement of accounting standards for both listed and large private companies.
Pollution
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) complaints, (b) court actions and (c) fines against industry for problems related to (i) odours, (ii) water pollution, (iii) air pollution and (iv) human health impact (A) in total, (B) in each region and (C) per site there have been in each year since 1995. [99213]
Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
The Environment Agency does not collect all the requested information and has relevant data only since 1999. All the pollution control systems listed below address human health impact, although figures are not kept separately for offences relating to actual or potential human health impacts. No data are held on complaints. The following information is available from the Agency's database.
Data on odours are not kept separately but are included in data for waste licensing, the total fines for which were as follows:
| Date | Total (£) | Regional breakdown (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 46,650 | Anglian 8,000, Midlands 11,750, NE 11,000, NW 6,400, Southern 9,500 |
| 2000 | 226,400 | Anglian 27,000, Midlands 107,500, NE 8,000, NW 43,200, Southern 16,200, Thames 1,500, Welsh 23,000 |
| 2001 | 124,834 | Anglian 3,000, Midlands 72,500, NE 4,334, NW 7,500, Southern 23,500, Welsh 14,000 |
| 2002 | 176,800 | Anglian 30,500, Midlands 12,600, NE 6,000, NW 72,500, SW 2,500, Southern 41,450, Thames 6,000, Welsh 5,250 |
Of these fines below, the following related to offences under section 33(1)(c) of the Environmental Protection Act: to treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
Total fines in England and Wales in respect of integrated pollution control and integrated pollution prevention (which also includes odour offences) were as follows:
Total fines in England and Wales in respect of water pollution were as follows:
5 Mar 2003 : Column 1101W
| Date | Total (£) | Regional breakdown (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 46,450 | Anglian 8,000, Midlands 11,750, NE 11,000, NW 6,400, Southern 9,500 |
| 2000 | 226,400 | Anglian 27,000, Midlands 107,500, NE 8, 000, NW 43,200, Southern 16,200, Thames 1,500, Welsh 23,000 |
| 2001 | 124,834 | Anglian 3,000, Midlands 72,500, NE 4,334, NW 7,500, Southern 23,500, Welsh 14,000 |
| 2002 | 176,800 | Anglian 30,500, Midlands 12,600, NE 6,000, NW 72,500, SW 2,500, Southern 41,450, Thames 6,000, Welsh 5,250 |
Of these fines below, the following related to offences under section 33(1)(c) of the Environmental Protection Act: to treat, keep or dispose of controlled waste in a manner likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
| Date | Total (£) | Regional breakdown (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 123,100 | Midlands 30,350, NE 81,500, NW 5,500, Southern 2,500, Welsh 3,250 |
| 2000 | 47,835 | Midlands 24,135, NW 2,500, SW 4,000, Soutehrn 3,000, Thames 1,000, Welsh 3,200 |
| 2001 | 85,950 | Anglian 6,000, Midlands 51,050, NE 1,000, NW 2,500, Southern 4,000, Thames 12,000, Welsh 9,400 |
| 2002 | 123,700 | Anglian 52,000, Midlands 33,000, NW 10,000, SW 16,000, Thames 3,000, Welsh 9,700 |
Total fines in England and Wales in respect of integrated pollution control and integrated pollution prevention (which also includes odour offences) were as follows:
| Date | Total (£) | Regional breakdown (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 704,755 | Anglian 145,000, Midlands 28,950, NE 64,700, NW 148,500, SW 19,305, Southern 91,050, Thames 137,000, Welsh 70,250 |
| 2000 | 1,178,450 | Anglian 226,250, Midlands 188,500, NE 81,600, NW 78,400, SW 77,800, Soutehrn 123,000, Thames 264,350, Welsh 138,550 |
| 2001 | 1,306,700 | Anglian 233,300, Midlands 112,100, NE 125,950, NW 175,150, SW 96,150, Southern 101,950, Thames 243,600, Welsh 218,500 |
| 2002 | 1,943,766 | Anglian 267,950, Midlands 214,700, NE 69,000, NW 391,900, SW 181,550, Southern 85,580, Thames 387,586, Welsh 145,500 |
Local authorities also regulate air pollution from industry. The Department does not collect information about numbers of complaints or distinguish between the different court actions. Data on prosecutions from the Department's annual statistical report on the Local Air Pollution Control regime, available from 1997, is as follows.
5 Mar 2003 : Column 1102W
| Date | Total (£) | Regional breakdown (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 62,400 | West Midlands 17,750, NW 9,000, Yorks & Humber 1,000, NW 16,500, Wales 12,500, East Midlands 650, East of England 5,000 |
| 1998–99 | 88,900 | NE 10,000, West Midlands 38,250, NW 7,000, East of England 8,000, Wales 5,000, SE 12,650, East Midlands 8,000 |
| 1999–00 | 175,500 | South East 4,000, Yorks & Humber 21,500, East Midlands 4,000, Wales 146,000 |
| 2000–01 | 87,510 | East of England 72,400, West Midlands 2,000, Yorks & Humber 5,500, SW 7,250 |
| 2001–02 | 62,500 | Yorks & Humber 10,500, West Midlands 15,000, SE 29,000, Welsh 8,000 |
The Department holds no data on odour. This information is available from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
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