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24 Mar 2003 : Column 27W—continued
Departmental Website
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost of her Department's website was in the last 12 months; and how many hits it received in the same period. [104190]
Ms Hewitt: The support costs for the Department's websites are included in the overall service charge paid monthly under the IT service contract in place since 1 April 1999. There is no separation of website costs in this charge.
The DTI site www.dti.gov.uk was redesigned in April 2002, at a cost of £60,294 including VAT.
The number of hits to the site www.dti.gov.uk in the months February 2002 to January 2003 was 196,359,744.
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Energy Production
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of power was produced by (a) coal, (b) oil and (c) nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available; how many (i) coal, (ii) oil and (iii) nuclear power plants operate in the UK; and what the lifespan is of each. [103925]
Mr. Wilson: The available information on electricity supplied from particular types of plant is as follows and relates to 2002.
| Percentage of electricity supplied | Number of power plants(6) | |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | 32 | 20 |
| Oil | 1 | 29 |
| Nuclear | 22 | 14 |
(6) Only covers stations of more than 1MW capacity. Mixed fired coal/oil and coal/gas fired stations have been included under coal and similarly mixed oil/gas fired stations are counted under oil. Oil plants include single cycle gas fired stations as well as diesel and kerosene fired stations. Data are as at end May 2002.
Source:
Energy Trends Table 5.1 and Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2002, Table 5.10. Generation data for 2002 are provisional.
Information on the lifespan of coal and oil plants is not available as it is a technical and commercial matter for the individual companies concerned. Nuclear plants operate under licences and the latest published company information on expected station closure dates is as shown below.
| Power station | Expected date of closure |
|---|---|
| British Energy | |
| Dungeness B | 2008 |
| Hunterston | 2011 |
| HinkleyB | 2011 |
| Heysham 1 | 2014 |
| Hartlepool | 2014 |
| Heysham 2 | 2023 |
| Torness | 2023 |
| Sizewell B | 2035 |
| British Nuclear Fuels | |
| Calder Hall | End March 2003 |
| Chapelcross | 2005 |
| Sizewell A | 2006 |
| Dungeness A | 2006 |
| Oldbury | 2008 |
| Wylfa | 2010 |
EU Enlargement
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the benefits of EU enlargement for small and medium enterprises in Britain. [103352]
Ms Hewitt: UK companies, including many SMEs, will benefit from the creation of the largest single market in the world, as it expands to include the fast growing economies of central and eastern Europe. Our trade with the new member states , from a low base, is growing much faster than UK's trade overall. Over 14,000 companies, many of them SMEs are already exporting
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to the region. Further analysis of the trade and investment impact is being finalised and will be published shortly.
Fireworks Bill
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she intends to produce a regulatory impact assessment for the Fireworks Bill. [102133]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 10 March 2003]: A partial Regulatory Impact Assessment is currently under production and will be available as soon as possible. A full RIA is required when regulations are laid in due course, if the Bill reaches the Statute Book.
Genetically Engineered Animals
Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what UK patents relating to genetically engineered animals and processes for creating such animals have been (a) applied for and published since 9 November 2001 and (b) granted since 9 November 2001. [103294]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Since 9 November 2001 13 UK patents relating to genetically engineered animals and processes for creating them have been applied for and published. These were GB 2362383 A, GB 2362384 A, GB 2362885 A, GB 2367295 A, GB 2367555 A, GB 2367823 A, GB 2369828 A, GB 2370275 A, GB 2374870 A, GB 2376468 A, GB 2375110 A, GB 2376024 A, and GB 2377221 A. Since 9 November 2001 there have been three UK patents granted relating to genetically engineered animals and processes for creating them. These were GB 2370275 B, GB 2362885 B, and GB 2350613 B. This information does not include applications filed at the European Patent Office which may have the effect of UK patents if granted by that office.
Globalisation
Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contribution the UK Government are making to the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation. [99927]
Malcolm Wicks : I have been asked to reply.
Through the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), officials from this Department offer advice and guidance to the World Commission. They have also participated in a European Union-organised joint consultation event to inform the World Commission about how EU member states address social and economic change, and the challenges of globalisation. The Department for International Development is supporting a workshop for the World Commission, on 8 April, on the effects of globalisation on employment and wages in developing countries, with particular reference to low-income groups and low income countries. In addition, Ministers and officials from both Departments regularly offer support and advice on the work of the Commission in meetings with the ILO.
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Insolvency
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) individuals and (b) firms are licensed by recognised professional bodies to carry on their business as insolvency practitioners. [100915]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Individuals, not firms, are authorised to act as an insolvency practitioner by either one of seven recognised professional bodies or by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. As at 31 December 2002 (the latest date figures are available) there were 1603 insolvency practitioners authorised by the recognised professional bodies.
New Energy Technologies
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans there are to (a) establish a national energy research centre and (b) encourage the research and development of new energy technologies. [103549]
Mr. Wilson [holding answer 20 March 2003]: The information is as follows:
(a) The Research Councils are developing proposals for a new UK energy research centre as part of the new £28 million cross-Council programme "Towards a Sustainable Energy Economy". The councils intend that the centre will be established by 1 April 2004. They announced a call for expressions of interest to operate the centre on 18 March 2003. Further information is available from: www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/programmes/sustenergy.
(b) A programme to support renewables is already in place and is worth £250 million between 2002–03 and 2005–06. The 2002 Spending Review also allocated an additional £38 million for energy policy objectives in 2005–06 compared with 2002–03. This will now be increased by a further £60 million. The programme comprises a range of measures, including funding for R&D and demonstration projects, to accelerate the uptake of renewables.
The Carbon Trust, which leads on low-carbon technology and innovation, is spending £75 million over the next three years to support R&D, development and other activities to bring forward new and emerging technologies. Funding for energy-related technology has also been available via the DTI's Innovation and Business Support programmes and though various European programmes.
The Research Councils will spend over £11 million on energy-related research in 2002–03 and have been allocated an additional £28 million under the 2002 Spending Review for further research in support of a sustainable energy economy, including the establishment of the UK energy research centre.
Office of Fair Trading
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to ensure that the Office of Fair Trading (a) more closely polices companies which may be in breach of the Consumer Contracts Regulations and (b) enforces stricter penalties on companies in breach of this contract. [104104]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: Under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, the Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) has a duty to consider complaints about unfair terms in standard contracts between sellers or suppliers and consumers. The DGFT can and does act to stop terms he considers unfair. Action usually results in the terms being revised or deleted by agreement but the DGFT can if necessary apply to the Courts for an injunction to prevent the continued use of the term(s) concerned.
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