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7 Apr 2003 : Column 15W—continued
Employment Rights Consultation
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2003, Official Report, column 341W, to the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she intends to publish the results of the consultation on employment rights in relation to statutory employment rights, particularly as it affects the right of registration officers to be heard at industrial tribunals when they are unfairly dismissed. [106814]
Alan Johnson: The responses to the consultation on employment status in relation to statutory employment rights are being analysed. The DTI plans to publish its response later this year. This will outline any proposed changes, which would be subject to further consultation.
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Entertainment Costs
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she has entertained Labour hon. Members at public expense in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [106394]
Ms Hewitt: There have been no occasions when Labour hon. Members have been entertained at public expense in my Department.
Export Licences (India)
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria she uses to establish whether replacement component parts for nuclear power stations in India are capable of being diverted to military use; and whether these criteria changed between January 2001 and January 2003. [106183]
Nigel Griffiths: All export licence applications for India are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria, and in the light of the statement made by my hon. Friend, the Member for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw) the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on 15 March 2002, Official Report, columns 1296–98W. The consolidated criteria include a specific reference to the existence of a risk that the equipment will be diverted within the buyer country or re-exported under undesirable conditions.
As part of the rigorous assessment process, specialist advisers in relevant advisory Departments consider all reliable information available at the time an application is submitted, to determine the risk of the items being used or diverted in contravention of the consolidated criteria.
Nuclear Decommissioning
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the adequacy of resources held by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate to carry out its additional responsibilities required by the decommissioning programme planned for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; and what discussions she has had with the Chief Nuclear Inspector on this matter. [107664]
Mr. Wilson: Resourcing of the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate is a matter for the Health and Safety Commission and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. I understand the Health and Safety Executive is currently considering its resource requirements in the light of proposals for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Health and Safety Executive's Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations on this matter.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which institution will hold the site licence for (a) the Sellafield MOX plant and (b) THORP, when their ownership is transferred to the new Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. [107665]
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Mr. Wilson: As the White Paper on Managing the Nuclear Legacy (Cm5552) explained, for regulatory and operational reasons Sellafield will remain a single licensed site. As and when the NBA is established, I would expect the licence to remain with BNFL plc.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the policy commitment to transparency in the White Paper on the proposed nuclear liabilities management arrangements will apply to the publication of future contracts negotiated for (a) THORP and (b) the Sellafield Mox plant, once their operation is transferred to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. [107668]
Mr. Wilson: The basis on which the commitment to an open and transparent NBA should be implemented is one of the issues on which we will be seeking views from stakeholders prior to the NDA being established. The starting point is that information should be published unless there are good reasons for not doing so. It will be for the NDA to make those judgements and justify them as and when necessary.
Nuclear Waste Liabilities
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost to store Britain's nuclear waste in sites around the country was in the last year for which figures are available. [105593]
Mr. Wilson: Figures are not readily available in all cases but I understand the cost to store the UK's public sector nuclear waste to be of the order of £128 million last year. For some sites the capital cost of new stores and waste processing has been included.
Post Offices
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices there are in each parliamentary constituency; and how many of them transact more than 40 per cent. of their work from paying benefits and pensions. [107044]
Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 9 January 2003, Official Report, column 299W.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices there were in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) each region in March (A) 1999, (B) 2000, (C) 2001 and (D) 2002. [107045]
Mr. Timms: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that the total numbers of post offices in the United Kingdom and each region/country is only available from
March 2000 and are as follows:
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Utility Disconnections
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many households (a) in England and Wales and (b) in the Buckinghamshire constituency have been disconnected by (i) water companies, (ii) electricity companies and (iii) telecommunications companies in each year since 1999. [106986]
Mr. Wilson: The number of disconnections by electricity companies in England and Wales was:
| For debt | For theft | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 373 | 3,219 | 3,592 |
| 2000 | 300 | 3,004 | 3,334 |
| 2001 | 375 | 1,959 | 2,334 |
| 2002 | 995 | 2,494 | 3,489 |
Note:
Disconnection data for telecommunications operators other than BT are not available, nor are the data available by regions.
The total number of BT residential disconnections in the United Kingdom were:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 1,000,161 |
| 2000 | 1,060,993 |
| 2001 | 1,068,416 |
| 2002 | 1,034,390 |
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 645,941 |
| 2000 | 705,738 |
| 2001 | 718,509 |
| 2002 | 571,112 |
Note:
Some households were disconnected more than once in a year.
Information on disconnections on a constituency basis is not available.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has responsibility for the water industry. I understand that under the Water Industry Act 1999, water companies do not have the power to disconnect various categories of premises, including private dwellings.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Parliamentary Questions
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Solicitor General when she will reply to the Question from the hon. Member for Cynon
7 Apr 2003 : Column 19W
Valley of 24 February on a meeting on the prosecution of leading members of the Iraqi regime. [107573]
The Solicitor-General: The Attorney General is happy to meet the hon. Member as he always said he was. A meeting was arranged but had to be cancelled and a new one will now be fixed.
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