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Engineering

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what representations she has received from the engineering profession on changes to the UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician; [107970]

(2) what criteria were used in deciding on the proposals for changes to the UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician; [107968]

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(3) what recent discussions she has had with the Engineering Council on the changes in the UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician; [107963]

(4) how far the proposed UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician will be compatible with those in other EU countries; [107965]

(5) what assessment she has made of the extent to which the proposals for changes to the UK Standards for Registration as a Professional Engineering Technician meet the recommendations of the Deering Report. [107969]

Ms Hewitt: I have not had any discussions on this matter nor received any representations.

I understand that the Engineering Council (UK) is consulting extremely widely through major trade associations, training organisations and the engineering institutions about proposals to develop the standards applied in registration of profession engineers and Engineering Technicians in the UK. The intention is to make them more consistent with industry needs. However, no formal proposals yet exist.

I know that the Engineering and Technology Board is also considering perceived shortages of Engineering Technicians in order to try and address possible threats to the future productivity of UK industry. The two organisations are working closely together on this and other issues.

Insurance Premiums

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effect of increased insurance premiums on the competitiveness of British businesses; and if she will make a statement. [109174]

Nigel Griffiths: In a recent 'omnibus' survey of SMEs for the Small business Service, 28 per cent. of the sample said insurance was an issue for them, although only 3 per cent. said it was the greatest obstacle they faced (competition/sales was most frequently cited as the greatest obstacle, by 24 per cent. of firms). Difficulties with insurance were reported by 19 per cent. of firms surveyed based in England, 22 per cent. in Scotland, 17 per cent. in Wales and 32 per cent. in Northern Ireland. The most common difficulty encountered was high premiums (82 per cent.) , followed by non-renewal of cover by an existing insurer (9 per cent.) and inability to obtain cover (5 per cent.). Problems with insurance were most common in the manufacturing (31 per cent. of firms surveyed) and construction (26 per cent.) sectors.

The Government also announced on 12 December 2002 details of a review of the operation of the Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance system, one of the objectives which is to

"Assess the scale and nature of the current difficulties being experienced in relation to ELCI, in particular the extent to which these difficulties are likely to be short-term only, repeated in the future or permanent."

The review is due to report in spring 2003.

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Iraq (Reconstruction)

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the system for awarding commercial contracts for reconstruction in post-conflict Iraq under interim arrangements before a representative Iraqi Government is in place. [108687]

Ms Hewitt: The awarding of any commercial contracts for reconstruction in post-conflict Iraq will be made in order to assist the rehabilitation of essential infrastructure and related efforts until such time as a representative Iraqi authority is in place.

Langage Power Station Site

Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with Wainstones Ltd. about the power station site at Langage, Plymouth; and if she will make a statement. [104709]

Mr. Wilson: The Department has had no recent discussions with Wainstones Ltd.

Nuclear Decommissioning

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to engage stakeholders in plans to create the new Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. [107577]

Mr. Wilson: My officials are actively engaging with interested stakeholders, in particular, through a 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. Subject to their views, the second round in the summer is expected to 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, local authorities, environmental groups and the local liaison committees for individual sites.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value is of the decommissioning and liabilities management fund held by British Energy; and what discussions she has had with British Energy on the release of the decommissioning and liabilities management funds British Energy invested in Sizewell B construction. [107669]

Mr. Wilson: The value of the Nuclear Decommissioning Fund (NDF) is reported annually in British Energy's report and accounts. I understand from the company that none of the NDF has been spent on the construction of Sizewell B.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2003, Official Report, column 628W, on radioactive waste, if she will list the places identified as possible disposal sites for intermediate level nuclear waste by Nirex in addition to Sellafield and Dounreay. [107699]

Mr. Wilson: I cannot agree to this request.

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The Department does not hold, and has never held, Nirex's list of these locations.

The reason given to the House on 10 June 1997 by the then Minister for Science, Industry and Energy, namely that revealing the location of potential sites could unnecessarily cause anxiety to people living nearby, in any case means that it would not be appropriate to disclose the list's contents.

Parental Leave

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of (a) the number of people in the United Kingdom labour movement and (b) the number of people in her Department who have used their leave entitlement under the Parental Leave Directive. [108359]

Ms Hewitt: (a) According to the Autumn 2001 Labour Force Survey there were 7.6 million people in employment who were trade union members. (b) The uptake of parental leave is not centrally recorded within the Department of Trade and Industry: it is agreed locally between staff and their managers.

Post Offices

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices and sub-post offices there are in each Suffolk constituency; and how many of them transact more than 40 per cent. of their work from paying benefits and pensions. [108626]

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.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices and sub-post offices there were in Suffolk in each year since 1996. [108629]

Mr. Timms: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that historic data on the post office network are not held on a county basis, as the company does not require these data for operational reasons.

Coal Industry

Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much coal fired generation capacity she estimates will be taken out of the system by (a) 2008 and (b) 2015. [107981]

Mr. Wilson: The amount of coal fired generation capacity taken out of the system in future will depend on a range of factors, including energy prices and economic conditions generally, together with any impacts from environmental legislation.

In the CH case contained within the most recent official energy projections, published in November 2000 as Energy Paper 68, it was projected that around 14GW of coal plant, including some with dual firing capacity, would close between 2000 and 2010, with little further change by 2015. Since the publication of EP68, coal's competitive position has improved somewhat, leading to relatively high generation from coal plants, in excess of the levels anticipated in Energy Paper 68. My officials are currently beginning the process of formally reviewing the projections and it is expected that the

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results will feed into other work, including preparations for carbon trading and the review of the UK Climate Change Programme, due in 2004.

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