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9 Jun 2003 : Column 633W—continued

Working Conditions

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in developing management standards on policies (a) to tackle bullying and (b) to improve relationships in the workplace. [116822]

Alan Johnson: As a part of its priority programme on work-related stress, the Health and Safety Executive is currently working with organisations from the public and private sector to develop and pilot standards of good management practice designed to act as a yardstick to organisations in measuring their success in tackling work-related stress. One of these Standards, the Relationship Management Standard, will address the issue of bullying.

During June 2003 the draft standards and supporting tools and guidance will be placed on the Health and Safety Executive's website to encourage all sizes and types of companies to try out this innovative approach and take action. Any feedback they provide will be incorporated when the system is formally developed for launch next year. The Draft standards can be found at: www.hse.gov.uk/stress.

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WALES

Agriculture

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales regarding agriculture in Wales. [109967]

Peter Hain: I have regular bi-lateral meetings with the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales of which agriculture is one of the many subject areas we cover.

Animal By-products

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact of the Animal By-products Regulations on farming in Wales. [115061]

Peter Hain: None. Responsibility for this matter rests with the National Assembly for Wales and as such it would be inappropriate for me to make an assessment.

Council of Ministers

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list each occasion Ministers from the Department have attended the Council of Ministers since 1979. [115057]

Peter Hain: Records prior to 1999 are not available and no Wales Office Ministers have attended the Council of Ministers since then. Since my appointment as Secretary of State for Wales, neither I nor the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Wales have attended any such meetings.

Departmental Staff/Expenditure

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) the number of staff and (b) the annual expenditure of his Department for each year since 1997. [115056]

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the information at pages 23 and 26 of my Department's annual report (Cm 5928), copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.

Digital Broadcasting

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to his answer of 20 May 2003, Official Report, columns 720–21W, on digital broadcasting, what the membership is of the Spectrum Planning Group; and what professional qualifications the members have. [116796]

Peter Hain: Membership of the Spectrum Planning Group comprises those organisations responsible for spectrum planning and co-ordination in the UK. This includes representatives from the ITC, BBC, Radiocommunications Agency, DCMS and DTI. It also includes, as sub-contractors working for the ITC, NTL and Crown Castle. The Digital Network (the digital terrestrial broadcasters) are also represented as observers.

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As membership is conferred upon organisations and not individuals, it is for those organisations to decide on the necessary qualifications of those who represent them.

Education and Learning Wales

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has held with Secretaries in the National Assembly for Wales concerning the expenditure of Education and Learning Wales this year. [115060]

Peter Hain: I meet the First Minister and the Assembly Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning regularly and discuss a range of issues.

I know that the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning made a statement to the Assembly on 21 May welcoming the report from the Audit Committee of the National Assembly for Wales, and its investigation into ELWa's accounts to 31 March 2002.

This is of course a matter for the Assembly but I am aware that the matter is being investigated thoroughly and action has been taken to strengthen the control framework and the risk management systems within the Council.

Eurofighter

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) direct and (b) indirect jobs have been created in (i) Wales and (ii) the UK as a consequence of the UK's involvement in the development of the Eurofighter. [113119]

Peter Hain [holding answer 13 May 2003]: It is estimated that, in the UK, at peak production some 5,600 skilled engineering and production jobs will be created, with an estimated 16,000 jobs sustained or created in the supply chain.

Figures are not available on a regional basis, which means I am unable to provide this information for Wales.

Freedom of Information

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many requests for information were received by his Department in each month since 1999; and how many were responded to within the target period as outlined in his Department's annual report. [115222]

Peter Hain [holding answer 22 May 2003]: Information is requested from the Department in a number of ways, of which the principal ones are:

Letters: for the levels of general correspondence, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 3 June, Official Report, column 311W. Of letters requiring an answer from Ministers, or from officials on their behalf: in the calendar year 2000, 50 per cent. were answered on time; in the financial year 2001–02 it was 80 per cent. and in 2002–03 it was 95 per cent.

Subject access requests under the Data Protection Act: the first such requests were made during 2002–03 when the Department received 91 requests, all of which were answered on time.

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Requests under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information: in 2002–03 there were 11 requests of which three were answered within 20 working days; in 2001–02 there were three requests, all of which received a substantive or interim answer within 20 days; and in 2000–01 there were no requests.

Phone calls/informal e-mails: these are answered as promptly as possible.

Parliamentary questions: these are answered in accordance with parliamentary procedures.

Liquefied Gas

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) whether he has issued guidelines to local authorities in Wales on the introduction of facilities for provision of retail and fleet liquefied gas; [96456]

(2) whether he has issued guidelines to local authorities in Wales on the introduction of facilities for the provision of compressed natural gas. [96457]

Peter Hain: Facilities for the provision of liquefied natural gas (LNG), like all hydrocarbon fuels, are licensed by local petroleum authorities (LPAs) under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) constitutes the Competent Authority (CA) that enforces the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations which apply to such facilities. Those facilities are also subject to the land-use planning system administered by local planning authorities subject to guidance issued by the National Assembly for Wales.

Ministerial Visits

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make an assessment of the success of each official visit overseas by Ministers in his Department since 1997. [116629]

Peter Hain: My Department was created in July 1999. I cannot answer for the period before that date. Since its creation, each official visit overseas has had clear objectives which have informed the choice of calls made. Every visit has fulfilled its objectives.

Outsourcing

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what incentives the Government offer to (a) encourage businesses in Wales to remain in Wales and (b) discourage the use of outsourcing outside the UK. [115055]

Peter Hain: Business support is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales, which funds a number of schemes to help Welsh businesses to flourish and thus encourage those businesses to remain in Wales.

In turn, the Government ensure that Wales, and the UK as a whole, is a place where businesses wish to remain through maintaining economic stability, low inflation, high standards of education and training and flexible employment laws—enabling UK businesses to be competitive on the world stage.

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Youth Pay

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many young people in Wales under the age of 18 are employed for less than £3.80 per hour. [113117]

Peter Hain [holding answer 13 May 2003]: The New Earnings Survey (NES) provides the primary data in this area. NES figures are not grossed up to give a number of people within the total population who earn a certain amount per hour. On this basis neither a figure for Wales nor a comparable UK figure are available.

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