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20 Jun 2003 : Column 497W—continued
Foreign Direct Investment
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many jobs have been created by foreign direct investment into the United Kingdom in the last (a) year, (b) five years and (c) 10 years. [120292]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Figures for 2002–03 are currently being finalised and will be published on 9 July when Invest-UK announces its annual results. Copies of the report will be placed in the House of Common Library.
Invest-UK recorded 107,706 jobs created by foreign owned companies between 1997 and 2002.
Invest-UK recorded 182,819 jobs created by foreign owned companies between 1992 and 2002.
The figures are based on information provided by companies at the time of announcement of the decision to invest in the UK. There is no requirement to notify Invest-UK of such decisions, so these figures include those projects only where Invest-UK and its regional partners were involved or which have come to their notice.
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Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many manufacturing jobs have been created in the United Kingdom as a consequence of foreign direct investment in the last five years. [120294]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The number of manufacturing jobs created by inward investment in the UK that Invest-UK has recorded was 97,974 between 1997 and 2002.
Figures for 2002–03 are currently being finalised and will be published on 9 July when Invest-UK announces its annual results. Copies of the report will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
The figures are based on information provided by companies at the time of announcement of the decision to invest in the UK. There is no requirement to notify Invest-UK of such decisions, so these figures include those projects only where Invest-UK and its regional partners were involved, or which have come to their notice.
GATS Negotiations
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on (a) the GATS negotiations and (b) the advantages of full trade liberalisation as a means to achieving development goals. [119588]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 18 June 2003]: The Government are working to ensure that GATS offers real benefits both to the UK, as the world's second largest exporter of services, and to developing country members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). We believe that the progressive, properly managed, liberalisation of services can stimulate economic growth and help reduce poverty. The World Bank estimates that a liberalising trade round could bring 300 million people out of poverty by 2015. Developing countries could increase their annual income by up to $60 billion for a relatively modest degree of services liberalisation. This is greater than total annual aid flows to developing countries ($50 billion).
Hotel Accommodation
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the amount spent by (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies on hotel accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad for (A) Ministers, (B) staff and (C) others, and if she will list the average cost per hotel room, in each year since 1997. [117566]
Ms Hewitt: The Government publishes an annual report of ministerial travel overseas, which provides figures for the total cost of ministerial travel including accommodation. The information sought in respect of accommodation in the UK is not held centrally. All ministerial travel is conducted in line with the requirements of the Ministerial Code.
So far as staff are concerned, my Department has devolved to local management the authorisation of staff travel claims, subject to checking procedures. Travel and subsistence expenditure, including on accommodation, for DTI HQ (excluding British Trade International and the DTI Agencies) amounted to
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£8,061,894 in 2002–03, but the Department does not record centrally expenditure specifically on hotel accommodation, in the UK or otherwise, incurred by staff in HQ or the agencies, or the non-departmental public bodies which DTI sponsors. To provide the information requested would entail disproportionate cost.
Inward Investment Companies
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many inward investment companies have located in the United Kingdom (a) in the past year, (b) in the past five years and (c) in the past 10 years. [120285]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Figures for 2002–03 are currently being finalised and will be published on 9 July when Invest-UK announces its annual results. Copies of the report will be placed in the House of Common Library.
Invest-UK recorded 1,548 new inward investment projects between 1997 and 2002.
Invest-UK recorded 2,188 new inward investment projects between 1992 and 2002.
The figures are based on information provided by companies at the time of announcement of the decision to invest in the UK. There is no requirement to notify Invest-UK of such decisions, so these figures include those projects where only Invest-UK and its regional partners were involved or which have come to their notice.
Iraq
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to improve the UK's trading relationship with Iraq. [119316]
Ms Hewitt: British Trade International has set up an Industry Working Group, which will act as a channel of communication to industry in our work to help companies access opportunities in Iraq in the immediate future. We have increased the number of staff working on Iraq in the BTI HQ in London. We are planning to attach three UK-based commercial staff to the British Office in Baghdad as soon as the situation permits, in order to re-establish our trading relationship with Iraq.
Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with its US counterparts to secure a role for UK companies in the reconstruction of Iraq; and if she will make a statement. [119512]
Ms Hewitt: We expect UK companies to play a significant role in the redevelopment of Iraq. In the short-term US funding is likely to be the main source of opportunities for UK companies. Full details of the US contracts are available on US Government websites.
Andrew Natsios of US AID has confirmed to me that UK companies will be allowed and indeed encouraged to bid for US funded sub-contracts. My right hon. and noble Friend, the then Minister for Trade visited Washington on 15 and 16 May 2003 when she held talks with US AID, the State Department and, the US Army Corps of Engineers on redevelopment work in Iraq. We
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have also held a joint seminar with the US authorities in London on 23 May 2003. This demonstrates that US is interested in ensuring that UK companies are involved.
Jewellery (Manufacture and Sales)
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of (a) manufacturing and (b) consumer spending on jewellery in (i) the UK and (ii) the EU was in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement on her analysis of the trends emerging. [114860]
Ms Hewitt: Official figures for the UK are shown in the following table. Manufacturers' sales do not include jewellery made by retail jewellers. The figures available for consumer spending do not distinguish between jewellery and watches and clocks. Equivalent figures are not available for the EU.
| UK manufacturers' sales(6) | Consumer spending(7) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jewellery | Watches and clocks | Jewellery, watches and clocks (£ million) | |
| 1997 | 599 | 87 | 3,295 |
| 1998 | 571 | 86 | 3,320 |
| 1999 | 597 | 91 | 3,398 |
| 2000 | 629 | 72 | 3,479 |
| 2001 | 518 | 59 | 3,452 |
| 2001 | — | — | 3,497 |
(6) Product Sales and Trade (Prodcom) reports PRA 36220 Jewellery and Related Articles, PRA 36610 Imitation Jewellery and PRA 33500 Watches and Clocks
(7) Consumer Trends—Household Final Consumption Expenditure
Source:
Office for National Statistics
Ministerial Conference (Cancun)
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) UK and (b) EU priorities for the Fifth World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Cancun in September are. [119004]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 13 June 2003]: The mid-Round Ministerial Conference in Cancun is our main opportunity to provide increased political momentum towards a successful outcome to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) by the current target of 1 January 2005.
The UK and EU priority for Cancun is to seek an outcome which keeps all aspects of the DDA negotiations on track and within the single undertaking.
As part of the DDA we are determined to reform agricultural trade, as agreed at Doha, by substantially improving market access, substantially reducing trade distorting domestic farm support and reducing, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies, which do so much harm to developing countries.
On market access for non-agricultural goods we will be seeking significantly improved access market by tackling high tariffs, tariff peaks, tariff escalation and non-tariff barriers, in order to significantly increase trading opportunities for all WTO members, including between developing countries.
We are hopeful that the services negotiations will bring considerable market opportunities for business as well as benefits to consumers world-wide. However, we
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are not seeking general deregulation or privatisation of sectors where principles of public interest are at stake, such as healthcare, education and the provision of water.
We are committed to finding solutions to justified developing countries' concerns about implementation of existing WTO agreements, to their proposals for specific actions for Special and Differential Treatment and to providing trade-related assistance to help their participation in WTO negotiations, to implement the results of the DDA, and to build up their trade capacity.
We believe that launching negotiations on the "Singapore Issues" (investment, competition, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation) at Cancun will help provide predictability, transparency, secure market access gains, and level a playing field for all WTO members.
In addition, we strongly welcome G8 leaders' commitment to securing a resolution to the issue of access to affordable medicines for developing countries, before Cancun.
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