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20 May 2003 : Column 716W—continued
US Trade
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her Department's policy is on the United States of America's Foreign Sales Corporations provision; and if she will make a statement. [113292]
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Ms Hewitt: The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has already found that the US Foreign Sales Corporation Tax is in breach of WTO rules on subsidies.
The EU, which brought the case on behalf of the member states, has been authorised by the DSB to take countermeasures against US goods to the value of $4 billion.
Whilst the EU has completed the technical process of finalising a list of US goods on which additional duties could be imposed should the US not comply with the ruling against it, we very much hope that the situation can be resolved without the need to resort to such countermeasures.
The Department of Trade and Industry consulted the UK business community on the contents of the countermeasures list and successfully achieved changes to it, reflecting the comments that we received.
No decision has been taken by the EU on whether or not to initiate countermeasures. Any decision to do so will only be taken if the US should fail to comply with the WTO ruling.
The US has signalled that it intends to comply with the ruling by amending its legislation. So long as it does so, the introduction of countermeasures will be unnecessary.
Working Hours
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many individuals have opted out of the limit of 48 hours on the working week. [114567]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 19 May 2003]: The Labour Force Survey indicates that there are around 3.8 million employees who work more than 48 hours per week.
However, some of these employees will not be covered by the 48-hour weekly working limit in the Working Time Regulations. Those that are covered should have signed an 'opt out' agreement with their employer.
There is no central record kept of how many workers in the UK who have signed such agreements.
However, all employers must keep records of their workers who have signed an opt out, and must make this information available to the enforcement agencies on request.
WALES
Chernobyl (Farms)
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many farms in Wales are still affected by the radioactive fall out from the 1986 Chernobyl accident; and what land area they cover. [111365]
Peter Hain: There are currently 359 holdings in Wales within the restricted area with 180,000 sheep under restriction arising from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
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There are no details of the total land area under restriction because not all the land attributed to a holding is necessarily under restriction. The areas affected are mountain grazings, the farm low land is generally free from restrictions.
Counselling Services
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements are made in his Department to allow staff to access counselling services. [111946]
Peter Hain: The staff at the Wales Office are secondees from other Government Departments and in particular the National Assembly for Wales. The Assembly Staff Welfare Service provides Wales Office staff with help, support and advice on personal and work-related problems.
The Assembly is currently running a pilot scheme, for which Wales Office staff are eligible, which enables staff to access external counselling services.
Departmental Events
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by his Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in the last 12 months, broken down by title, purpose, date and cost. [104278]
Peter Hain: My Department has sponsored no events of this type in the last 12 months.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of regional variations in staff turnover in his Department. [112761]
Peter Hain: The working patterns of my Department between London and Cardiff are such that a regional analysis would not be meaningful.
Digital Broadcasting
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what access residents of Blaenau Gwent will have to digital terrestrial television; and when analogue broadcasting will be withdrawn from viewers in Wales. [114807]
Peter Hain: The Government issued a statement on 30 January 2003 on the principles on which planning the use of the UHF spectrum after switchover will proceed. The Spectrum Planning Group within the Digital Television project is proceeding with this planning work. It will allow more detailed advice to be given on the digital television service that will be available in Blaenau Gwent and elsewhere on switchover by the end of 2004.
The Government are committed to ensuring that terrestrial analogue broadcasting signals are maintained until:
- Everyone who can currently get the main public service broadcasting channels in analogue form can receive them on digital systems,
Switching to digital is an affordable option for the vast majority of people.
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Health Service
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales regarding the health service in Wales. [109966]
Mr. Touhig: I regularly meet the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales to discuss a variety of topics including health.
Knowledge Network Project
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the progress being made on Wales Office participation in the Knowledge Network project. [103814]
Peter Hain: As a Department with no responsibility for policy making, the Wales Office does not contribute policy briefing to the Knowledge Network Central Brief. The Department does have a presence on Knowledge Network—there is an entry on the role of the Wales Office and the Secretary of State for Wales; and two entries on the Electronic List of Ministerial Responsibilities
National Assembly
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people whom he met, during his recent tour of Welsh constituencies, who expressed views in favour of increasing the power of the National Assembly for Wales. [114075]
Peter Hain: During the election campaign, I regularly met members of the public and discussed a range of issues. However, I do not recall anyone raising increased powers for the Assembly.
Promoting Wales
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the work his Department has undertaken in the last year to promote Wales abroad, with particular reference to (a) overseas visits, (b) meetings with overseas delegations in the UK and (c) events promoting Wales held in the UK. [103375]
Peter Hain: I refer my hon. Friend to page 12 of the Wales Office annual report for 2003 (Cm 5928) which lists the principal representational achievements of my Department.
Public Service Agreements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps the Department has taken to publicise its Public Service Agreement targets; and at what cost to public funds. [114447]
Peter Hain: My Department does not have a Public Service Agreement.
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Sickness Absence
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff in his Department were on long term sick leave in each of the last five years. [109253]
Peter Hain: Since the establishment of the Wales Office on 1 July 1999 to date there have been only two staff on long term sick leave.
Long term sick leave is defined as continuous sickness absence of 30 days or more.
Terrorism
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for what reason Welsh ports are not being provided with counter terrorism technology to identify the import of radioactive materials. [114808]
Peter Hain: All ports and airports receiving foreign traffic will be covered by equipment to detect the import of radioactive materials. Large ports and airports will have permanently installed equipment; others will be covered by mobile equipment. No decision has yet been taken as to which ports and airports will be served by permanent equipment and which by mobile equipment.
Youth Pay
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the average hourly wage is for people under the age of 18 working in Wales. [113116]
Peter Hain [holding answer 13 May 2003]: The New Earnings Survey (NES) is a sample of around 1 per cent. of employees across the UK. The 2002 NES suggests that the average hourly wage for under 18s in the UK is £3.89, based on a limited sample of under 18s. No regional breakdown is produced, and on this basis a Wales figure is not available.
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