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3 Jun 2003 : Column 344W—continued
Rural Proofing
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she last met the Chairman of the Countryside Agency to discuss rural proofing. [115581]
Alan Johnson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, last met the Chairman of the Countryside Agency to discuss rural proofing in December 2001. I last met him in February this year.
Scottish Enterprise
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times she has met the Chairman of Scottish Enterprise in each of the last five years; and when her last meeting was. [114904]
Ms Hewitt: I have not met the present Chairman of Scottish Enterprise, Sir Ian Robinson. My predecessor, the right hon. Member for North Tyneside, met Sir Ian Robinson twice and the past Chairman of Scottish Enterprise, Sir Ian Wood, three times. At the time of those meetings, however, neither gentleman held the post of Chairman of Scottish Enterprise.
Sellafield
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what response she made to the requests made in March 2003 by Ireland's Environment Minister for details of security measures applied at Sellafield. [115670]
Mr. Wilson: I responded to Martin Cullen, Ireland's Environment Minister's requests for information in my letter of 16 April 2003. For obvious reasons, I was not able to disclose details about the threats or about the measures taken to address them, but set out the issues in as much detail as possible. In my letter I expressed the hope that my reply helped to reassure people in Ireland that we are not complacent about the threat of terrorist attack and have taken appropriate steps to ensure the security and safety arrangements in place are robust.
I also understand that Mr. Cullen has subsequently published the text of that letter in response to a recent parliamentary question in Ireland on this issue.
3 Jun 2003 : Column 345W
Sickness Absence
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff in the Department have been on long-term sick leave in each of the last two years. [115850]
Ms Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to his earlier question on this subject answered on 16 May 2003, Official Report, column 476W.
SMEs
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many small and medium sized enterprises have been incorporated since 1997; and how many of these companies no longer trade owing to insolvency. [115084]
Ms Hewitt: Companies House publishes data on new incorporations. However there is no information on the size breakdown of incorporations. The number of incorporations each financial year since 1997 is shown as follows.
| Financial year | £000 |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 205.3 |
| 1998–99 | 215.2 |
| 1999–2000 | 225.6 |
| 2000–01 | 238.3 |
| 2001–02 | 225.5 |
| Total 1997–02 | 1,109.9 |
Source:
Companies in 2001–02, Companies House
Official insolvency statistics do not identify the year of incorporation of the insolvencies, nor categorise them according to business size
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what actions she plans to take to address the difficulties faced by small and medium sized enterprises in obtaining public sector contracts identified by the Better Regulation Task Force and Small Business Council, with particular reference to (a) payment practices, (b) bundling or aggregation of contracts and framework agreements, (c) degree of openness about lower value contract opportunities and (d) pre-qualification processes that demand a large amount of information with each tender. [115275]
Nigel Griffiths: My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has agreed to provide a cross Government response on 4 August.
Solar Energy
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 3 April 2003, Official Report, columns 793–94W, on solar energy, whether her Department's review of the solar PV Major Demonstration Programme will take place within the 2003–04 financial year; and if she will make a statement. [114603]
Mr. Wilson: Yes, it is expected that the review of the first phase of the Major PV Demonstration Programme will take place within the 2003–04 financial year.
3 Jun 2003 : Column 346W
Staff Turnover
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of regional variations in staff turnover in her Department. [112757]
Ms Hewitt: My Department has made no assessment of regional variations is staff turnover. However, such issues will be considered in preparing the DTI's pay and workforce strategy and in responding to Sir Michael Lyons' review on the relocation of civil service and other public sector workers.
State-owned Golden Shares
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what employment rights have been introduced since May 1997. [114620]
Alan Johnson: In its first term (1997–2001), the Government introduced a foundation of minimum standards in the workplace. Every employee now has, for example, the right to a minimum wage, paid holidays, rest breaks, time off for family emergencies, and a cap on the working week. Part-time workers have the same rights as their full-time colleagues. Since October 2002 there have also been specific protections for fixed- term employees not to be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees on the grounds that their employment is for a fixed term. We have also reduced the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from two years to one year.
The Government has strengthened trade union rights. For example, trade unions have the right to be recognised for collective bargaining purposes where a majority of the relevant workforce wants it. We have also placed union learning representatives on a statutory footing giving them clear time off rights. The law now enable workers to be accompanied at a disciplinary and grievance hearing by a trade union official or a fellow worker. To complement this right, the Employment Act 2002 introduced statutory grievance and disciplinary procedures, which will ensure that all employees have access to decent workplace procedures.
In its second term the Government is building on all these measure, including a range of changes to the tax credit system such as the new Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit which will provide a simpler and more streamlined system to support families and to make work pay. Around six million families are expected to benefit from the new credits.
The Government has also improved existing maternity rights and introduced paid paternity and adoption leave for the first time. For example the payment period of Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance has been extended to 26 weeks.
The Government has recently laid before the House regulations to tackle discrimination in employment on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation and disability. In the Employment Act 2002, the Government also brought in measures to encourage the mutual resolution of workplace disputes.
A recent key development was the introduction of the right for working parents with children under six, or disabled children under 18, to request flexible working.
3 Jun 2003 : Column 347W
This new right builds on existing best practice and further enforces or aim to promote greater dialogue in the workplace to find flexible solutions which suit both employers and employees.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the purpose of state-owned golden shares in privatised industries. [114874]
Ms Hewitt: Several Government departments currently hold special shares in a number of privatised industries. These shares were designed to protect what was perceived to be the public interest by the government of the time.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of the recent ruling of the European Court of Justice on the legality of state-owned golden shares for (a) BAA, (b) National Grid, (c) Rolls Royce, (d) BAE Systems, (e) NATS, (f) British Energy and (g) the general economy. [114969]
Ms Hewitt: Following the European Court of Justice ruling of 13 May 2003 on state-owned 'golden' shares, we are reviewing the situation in regard to special shares held by the Department of Trade and Industry (including those for National Grid, Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and British Energy) to ensure that such share holdings comply with EU law and continue to be in the public interest. State-owned shares in BAA and NATS are a matter for the Department for Transport.
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