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Adoption Regulations

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received about the Statutory Paternity Pay (Adoption) and Statutory Adoption Pay (Adoption from Overseas) Regulations. [107789]

Alan Johnson: The Statutory Paternity Pay (Adoption) and Statutory Adoption Pay (Adoption from Overseas) Regulations set out how Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay will apply to those adopting a child from overseas. This scheme is broadly the same as that for domestic adopters but for practical reasons there are some technical changes.

We held three formal public exercises on the scheme for domestic adopters—on the initial Work and Parents Green Paper, on subsequent detailed framework documents and finally on draft regulations—as well as holding numerous meetings at both ministerial and official level with the key interested parties.

As part of our formal consultation on the domestic adoption provisions, we asked interested parties to give us any suggestions for the overseas adoption process. We have since been working closely with those who identified themselves—including adoption agencies and adoption support groups, employer groups, specialist lawyers, the Inland Revenue and the Department of Health to devise a suitable way to apply the legislation to those who adopt a child from overseas.

Animal Welfare

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2003, Official Report, columns 1068–69, on animal welfare, if she will ban the import of products containing dog or cat fur. [107687]

Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 7 April 2003]: No. My noble Friend, the Minister for Trade and Investment, is investigating possibilities for labelling any such products.

Arms Exports

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many arms licences have been revoked as a result of investigations into breaches of licences since the Export Control Act 2002 came into force; and how many such investigations have (a) opened and (b) been completed since the Act came into force. [106033]

Nigel Griffiths: The Export Control Act 2002 is not yet in force.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reasons underlie the provisions in the draft Orders under the Export Control Act 2002 which provide for an extraterritorial

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element in certain circumstances, but not for the (a) sale and (b) brokering of sales in military or paramilitary equipment. [106078]

Nigel Griffiths: The draft secondary legislation does provide for controls on persons in the UK and UK persons, wherever they are located, who traffic or broker in military equipment to embargoed destinations, or in torture equipment or certain long-range missiles and their component parts to any destination.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will replace the flat-rate penalties in the draft Order under the Export Control Act 2002, for the deliberate flouting of controls on (a) arms exports, (b) technology transfer and (c) technical assistance, with fines that use an equation that ensures fines are commensurate with a company's market capitalisation. [106080]

Nigel Griffiths: The penalties for deliberate breach of the transfer of technology and technical assistance controls are set out in the Draft Export of Goods, Transfer of Technology and Provision of Technical Assistance (Control) Order, on which consultation is currently under way. The penalties for deliberate breach of export controls are set out in the Customs and Excise Act 1979 (CEMA).

Under the draft order, deliberately flouting the transfer of technology or technical assistance controls carries a penalty, upon conviction on indictment of an unlimited fine and/or a custodial sentence of up to ten years imprisonment. On summary conviction the offence carries a maximum of £5,000 fine and/or a custodial sentence of up to six months. Deliberate breach of export controls carries the same penalties under CEMA.

It is a matter for the courts to determine the level of the fine.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the benefits of extending the Trade in Controlled Goods (Control) Order and the Embargoed Destination (Sanctions) Control Order to companies and individuals involved indirectly in the trading of arms, with particular reference to (a) transportation, (b) financial services and (c) promotion. [106086]

Nigel Griffiths: The draft Trade (Control) Order provides for controls on activities, such as transportation, financial services and general advertising and promotion services, which facilitate the supply of equipment used in torture and Long Range Missiles to any destination. Likewise, the draft [Embargoed Destination] (Sanctions) Order provides for control on these activities which facilitate the supply of military equipment to embargoed destinations.

The Department of Trade and Industry is presently consulting on the proposed secondary legislation to be made under the Export Control Act 2002.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the end-use arms control system used by the US State Department; and what assessment she has made of the merits of adopting a similar system in the UK. [106097]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.

The Government are aware of the US State Department's system of post-export checks on strategic goods. We believe that the current system of careful pre-licensing checks is the best suited for the UK. We are looking into the US system to help inform the Government's view of its merits, in comparison to the system which the Government already operate.

Cuba

Mr. Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on trade relations with Cuba. [106666]

Nigel Griffiths: The UK's trade relations with Cuba are good. UK exports to Cuba were worth £11.3 million in 2002, against imports of £8.1 million. The UK's principal exports were industrial machinery and manufactured goods, while the main imports were sugar, citrus, rum and cigars.

European Regional Policy

Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what responses she has received from other European countries to her paper on the future of European Regional Policy; [107491]

(2) what steps the Government are taking to gather support among other European countries for their recently published paper on the future of EU regional policy. [107492]

Alan Johnson: "A modern regional policy for the United Kingdom" was published on 6 March and opened a UK-wide consultation on the future of EU regional policy after 2006. The consultation paper has been sent to representatives of both current member states and the accession countries, inviting their views.

No formal responses to the paper have yet been received from other European countries. However, the Department and others will continue to meet with representatives of other member states during the consultation period to discuss the future of EU regional policy and beyond.

Foreign Direct Investment

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the amount of foreign direct investment in the south-east region in 2001–02. [107153]

Nigel Griffiths: The Invest-UK recorded 139 inward investments decisions in the south-east region in 2001–02. This is based on information provided by companies at the time of announcement of the decision to invest in the UK. To avoid more bureaucracy, there is no requirement to notify Invest UK of such decisions, so these figures include only those projects where Invest UK and its regional partners were involved or, which have come to their notice. There is no requirement to notify Invest-UK of such decisions, so these figures include only those projects where Invest-UK and its regional partners were involved or, which have come to their notice.

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Market Research

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what expenditure has been incurred by her (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental bodies in 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if she will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each. [106258]

Ms Hewitt: The Department does not centrally collect the information sought at the required level of detail, and to provide it would entail disproportionate cost. Where surveys are conducted which may be considered to contain an element relating to opinion polling, focus groups, or other forms of market research, it is not generally possible to identify separately the costs of that element.

Letter from Graham Jenkins to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 April 2003:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Question 1955 tabled on 28 March 2003, about the expenditure incurred by the (a) the Secretary of State's department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research and to list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each survey.

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In 2002, as an Agency, the Patent Office did not incur any expenditure on opinion polling, focus groups or other forms of market research. The Intellectual Property Advisory Committee (IPAC) which is a NDPB for which the Patent Office provides funds and secretarial support incurred expenditure of £3300 on market research.

Surveys commissioned in 2002 were a telephone survey of customers using the Patent Office Central Enquiry Unit to determine grass-roots intelligence on customer needs, and a survey on enforcement run by the Intellectual Property Advisory Committee.

Letter from Martin Wyn Griffith to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 April 2003:

Your Parliamentary Question to Mrs Hewitt asked what expenditure has been incurred by her (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental bodies in 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if she will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each. I am replying on behalf of the Small Business Service (SBS).

Relevant expenditure by the SBS is set out in the Table attached.

I should explain that the Table covers work commissioned by the SBS itself. Business Link Operators, who provide local advice to small businesses under contract to the SBS and other organisations, also carry out surveys of their small business customers to identify their customers' needs and to assess customer satisfaction. The attached Table does not cover work commissioned by Business Link Operators.

Opinion Polling, Focus Groups and other Market Research undertaken by SBS during 2002

Type of work	Purpose	Cost £000
Opinion Polls	No opinion polls undertaken
Focus Groups:
Productivity	How SMEs(1) define and measure productivity	15
Regulation	The impact of regulations (including minimum wage) on SMEs	53
Views of small businesses on the recommendations in the Patrick Carter Payroll Review report	To find out the views of small businesses on the recommendations in the Patrick Carter Payroll Review report	10
Development of "No Nonsense Guide"	To check that "No-Nonsense Guide" for people who set up in business meets their needs	52
Creative Development	SME reaction to proposed advertising	38
Website Development	To test concepts and content of businesslink.org and business.gov website developments	190
Other market research:
SBS Omnibus Survey	To gauge the needs of SMEs, their concerns and barriers to achieving their potential	120
Follow-up to SBS Household Survey of Entrepreneurship	To re-contact respondents to the 2001 SBS Household Survey and find out how many of those planning to go into business had actually done so and their experiences over the year	40
National Client Survey 2002–03	To measure the client experience across the Business Link Operator network, Business Link website(2)and national services; to provide information on the factors which influence client satisfaction and dissatisfaction	53
Tracking Survey	To check improved awareness of Business Link brand following advertising campaign	41
Advice dividend PR research work	To identify the value to SMEs of business advice	29
Total		641

⁽¹⁾ Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

⁽²⁾ www.businesslink.org

Letter from Claire Clancy to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 April 2003:

I am responding to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on expenditure incurred on behalf of Companies House, an Executive Agency of the DTI.

Companies House has commissioned one piece of market research in 2002 as part of our microfiche migration project. The research was conducted into our existing microfiche customers to establish the purchasing habits of those customers and to enable us to migrate them onto electronic delivery. The research was conducted by DVL Smith which is part of the Incepta Group at a cost of £40,825.

There has been no expenditure on opinion polling or focus groups.

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Letter from Desmond Flynn to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 April 2003:

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to your question requesting information on expenditure incurred in 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and to list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each.

The Insolvency Service maintains a National Consultative User Group and an Insolvency Practitioner User Group. Members of those groups give their time and travel costs at no expense to The Service. During 2002 we spent a total of £186 on light refreshments at user group meetings. No market research or survey's have been commissioned.

Letter from Iain MacGregor to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 April 2003:

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 expenditure has been incurred by her (a) Department, (b) Agencies and (c) non-departmental bodies in 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research.

The National Weights and Measures Laboratory has not incurred any expenditure in the year 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research.

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Letter from Roger Heathcote to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 April 2003:

You tabled a question on 28 March 2003 to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, asking what expenditure has been incurred by her (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental bodies in 2002 on (i) opinion poll, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if she will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each. I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Employment Tribunals Service which is an Executive Agency of the DTI.

The Employment Tribunals Service has incurred no expenditure on opinion polls, focus groups or other forms of market research in 2002.

Letter from Rolande Anderson to Mr. John Bercow, dated 8 April 2003:

The Secretary of State has asked me to provide the following information in respect of the Radiocommunications Agency in response to your Parliamentary Question 2002/1955 asking her what expenditure has been incurred by her (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental bodies in 2002 on (i) opinion polling, (ii) focus groups and (iii) other forms of market research; and if she will list the surveys commissioned and the purpose of each.

The Radiocommunications Agency commissioned the following studies in 2002. They all fall under the category of 'other forms of market research':

Name of Survey	Purpose	Cost/£000
Survey of current radio-related research in UK and Europe	Purpose: to identify organisations that have radio expertise in industry, academia and consultants	39
Demand study on Digital TV	To help estimate the demand of radio spectrum caused by digital TV	77
Demand study on Cellular Mobile	To help estimate the demand of radio spectrum by cellular mobile devices	53
Private Mobile Radio Survey	To help estimate the demand of radio spectrum by private business radio users	60

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