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18 Mar 2003 : Column 691W—continued
Miners' Compensation
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid since 31 December 2002 in respect of (a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger to former miners; how much has been paid to (i) solicitors and (ii) handling agents; and how much has been paid for medical assessments. [102850]
Mr. Wilson [holding answer 17 March 2003]: The information is as follows:
| COPD | VWF | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total damages paid (1 January 2003 to 9 March 2003) | 94 | 46.1 | 140.1 |
| Total solicitor costs (1 January 2003 to 9 March 2003) | 26.4 | 4 | 30.4 |
| Other costs which include payments to contractors* (1 January 2003 to 28 February 2003) | — | — | 14.3 |
* Due to commercial confidentiality, the Department is unable to provide a breakdown of the figures paid to individual contractors.
Motor Fuel
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many motor fuel retailers were trading in (a) 1997 and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available. [103047]
Mr Wilson: The Institute of Petroleum's (IP) annual "Retail Survey 2002" provides the following data on the number of retail petrol filling stations in the UK.
- End of 1997—14,824
End of 2002—12,201
Nuclear Industry
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes she plans to make in the security regulations covering the civil nuclear industry; what costs will be incurred in the proposed changes; what additional resources she is making available to the Office of Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) to implement the regulations; and when she expects to receive the next annual report of the OCNS. [103089]
Mr. Wilson: On 26 February I made the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations which will update and consolidate the regulation of security in the UK's civil nuclear industry. The regulations carry forward the main substance of the current regulatory regime, but bring the existing requirements together to provide a single, comprehensive legislative basis for regulation. They set requirements for the protection of nuclear and radiological material, whether on sites or in transit, against the risks of theft or sabotage, and for the
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protection of sensitive nuclear information, such as site security arrangements and proliferation-sensitive information.
The regulations were laid before Parliament on 28 February and most of the provisions are due to come into force on 22 March.
It is likely that the regulations will lead to minor additional one-off compliance costs to industry as a whole of around £190,000, and annually recurring costs to industry as a whole of around £115,000. There are also likely to be minor additional one-off costs to Government. The likely costs and benefits of the regulations are set out in a Regulatory Impact Assessment. Copies of this were placed in the Libraries of the House when the regulations were laid before Parliament.
Seven additional posts were made available in the Office for Civil Nuclear Security from 2002–03, to increase capacity in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in the United States in September 2001 and in anticipation of the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 coming into force.
The Director of Civil Nuclear Security intends to submit his next annual report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in May.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps have been taken to engage stakeholders in discussion of proposals to create a nuclear decommissioning agency (NDA); what funds are available to defray the costs of participation in discussion forums by stakeholders of the NDA; and if she will make a statement. [103090]
Mr. Wilson: My officials are actively engaging with interested stakeholders, in particular through a planned rolling series of meetings at regional level. The first round of these meetings is focusing on explaining progress to date and identifying the issues which stakeholders wish to discuss. The second round, in the summer, will focus on how the NDA might work with stakeholders with a view to developing a draft stakeholder engagement framework which the NDA can build on once it is in place. This programme of regional events supplements existing arrangements for bilateral dialogue with stakeholders through the BNFL Stakeholder Dialogue and regular meetings with the nuclear regulators, trade unions, BNFL and UKAEA staff, Interested local authorities, environmental groups and the local liaison committees for individual sites.
I recognise that some stakeholders incur costs through their participation in such meetings. We have previously reimbursed any reasonable costs on a case by case basis and will continue to do so.
Nuclear Pollution
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how much has been levied in fines by the Nuclear Inspectorate against (a) companies, (b) local authorities and (c) individuals, with regard to incidences of pollution, broken down by the type of pollution incidence (i) in total, (ii) in each region and (iii) per fine, in each year since 1995; [99210]
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- (2) what assessment has been made or is planned of the effectiveness of fines levied by the Nuclear Inspectorate on polluters preventing (a) further incidences of pollution by the polluters and (b) incidences of pollution from others who have not previously polluted; what changes are planned; and if she will make a statement; [99211]
(3) how many (a) complaints, (b) court actions and (c) fines against the nuclear 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. [99212]
Mr. Wilson: The DTI does not hold information broken down according to the categories set out in these questions with respect to complaints or court actions arising from instances or alleged instances of pollution and any ascribed effects on health.
Office of Fair Trading
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she plans to advertise for the positions of chairman and board members to replace the Director General of Fair Trading; and if she will make a statement. [102784]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) was advised in his appointment letter dated 13 July 2000 that he would be appointed chairman if the Enterprise Bill was enacted. He was formally appointed chairman (and therefore executive member of the Office of Fair Trading) from 6 January 2003, following royal assent to the Enterprise Act 2002, under section 13 of the Interpretation Act 1978. This appointment ends on 30 September 2005.
Advertisements for the non-executive members appeared in June 2002, with a closing date of 26 July 2002. Following the interview process, and then consultation with the chairman, four selected appointees were announced in a press notice P/2003/32 dated 21 January 2003 available in the Libraries of the House. These roles will commence under the Enterprise Act 2002 with the new Office of Fair Trading and the end of their appointment terms are staggered between 2007 and 2008.
The current deputy of the DGFT is also being appointed as an executive member from 1 April 2003 for four years (in same press notice).
The department will consult the new board on plans for the appointments of separate Chair and Chief Executive when John Vickers leaves in 2005, but no further action is required this year.
Pressure Equipment Directive
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the difficulties of professional copper boiler makers in complying with the Pressure Equipment Directive. [102759]
Alan Johnson: The Department is aware of the problems of small businesses operating in the heritage sphere that need to comply with CE marking directives. Arrangements were put in place last year offering help to them with the start up costs they incur in respect of
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third party verification and inspection services required to CE mark some of their products. In the case of copper boilermakers and the Pressure Equipment Regulations 1999, the Department also engaged the services through much of last year of an independent consultant, at public expense to assist them in their compliance efforts. The Department continues to offer advice as appropriate.
Self-employment Pensions
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from what date the Department of Trade and Industry ensured that life offices that offered Guaranteed Annual Returns for self-employed pensions were matching assets against guarantees given. [103478]
Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
There are no specific requirements relating to pensions for self-employed people. Life insurers offering personal and stakeholder pensions are subject to the same prudential supervision as other regulated firms.
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