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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Biotechnology
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how much her Department has spent in each year since 1995 (a) as a Department and (b) through grants to external bodies on (i) the promotion of and (ii) research into biotechnology; [121655]
- (2) how much her Department has spent in (a) sponsorships, (b) grants and (c) other financial assistance to biotechnology companies in the UK. [121656]
Ms Hewitt: [holding answer 25 June 2003]: For the most recent financial year (2002–03), the Department's expenditure on sponsorships, grants and other financial assistance for the biotechnology industry sector in the UK was approximately £18 million.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) spent approximately £81 million on biotechnology in 2001–02. Further information is available in the BBSRC's "Annual Report and Accounts 2001–2002".
The Medical Research Council (MRC) expenditure on biotechnology in 2001–02 came to approximately £140 million. Further information is in MRC's "Annual Report 2001–2002".
It is not possible to give precise information, due to the lack of a generally accepted definition of biotechnology and the differences in the ways individual Research Councils analyse their annual expenditure.
Information about expenditure dating back to 1995 is not readily available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Broadband
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made in implementation of broadband in (a) Cleethorpes, (b) Great Grimsby, (c) Scunthorpe and (d) Brigg and Goole. [119440]
Mr. Timms: BT ADSL broadband is available in Scunthorpe and Brigg and the Great Grimsby exchange will be enabled on 20 August. Goole reached its trigger
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level on 25 February and is awaiting an enablement date. Cleethorpes currently has 177 registrations (70 per cent.) towards its trigger level of 250.
Cable broadband is also available through NTL who operate in the areas of Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Scunthorpe.
Early-day Motion 1390
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on early-day motion 1390. [120934]
Mr. Timms: Subscribers should not have to pay to be removed from fax marketing mailing lists and existing regulations already give subscribers the right to opt out of this form of marketing free of charge. Under the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999, no one may send an unsolicited direct marketing fax to any subscriber who has been registered with the Fax Preference Service (the FPS) for at least 28 days, or who has previously instructed the sender not to fax them. There is no fee for registering with the FPS and this can be done by phone, fax, post or e-mail. Further information about the Regulations and plans to update them is available on: http://www.dti.gov.uk/indiistries/ecomniiinications/telecom data protection directive 9766ec.html
Electricity Industry
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she last met the regulator to discuss investment criteria in the electricity transmission sector. [115819]
Mr. Timms: My ministerial colleagues and I and departmental officials have regular discussions with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) on a range of issues, including the electricity transmission sector.
The Transmission Issues Working Group, on which DTI and Ofgem officials sit with transmission licensees, was set up to look at the issues surrounding connecting up to 12 GW of new renewable generation to the existing transmission system and has recently reported on the costs entailed. It continues to monitor the progress of work recently started by the Scottish Transmission Owners.
In addition, the Government continue to engage with Ofgem and industry on matters relating to the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA). This includes ensuring that the arrangements under a GB market will provide fertile conditions for new investment in renewables generation, a key lynchpin of our objectives outlined in the Energy White Paper.
Employers' Liability Insurance
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to publish her Department's review of the employers' liability insurance system. [120388]
Mr. Browne: I have been asked to reply.
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The Department published a First Stage review of the employers' liability insurance system on 3 June 2003. Copies are in the Library.
The report identifies a number of areas for further action. We will report in the autumn on the progress that has been made and any further steps we intend to take.
Waste Management
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether in the last 24 months the Minister of State for Energy and Construction has received invitations to visit facilities which extract energy from municipal waste; how many meetings the minister has had in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003 with companies which operate waste management facilities extracting energy from waste; and how many times in each of these years the minister met the trade association responsible for waste management. [121196]
Mr. Timms: My hon. Friend, the then Minister for Energy and Construction, received a number of invitations to visit facilities which extract energy from waste, and visited CPS Civic Ltd.'s Energy from Waste plant in Sheffield in March this year. He had two meetings with companies operating energy from waste facilities during 2001, one such meeting during 2002, and two meetings during 2003. He met the Energy from Waste Association on one occasion in 2001 when he gave a speech at their Annual lunch in May 2001.
Fair Trade
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the cost to developing countries of implementation of regulations that arise from General Agreement on Trade in Services negotiations. [121363]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 25 June 2003]: The GATS process is based on a positive list, bottom up approach. Countries decide for themselves in which sectors and to what extent they wish to liberalise. Therefore, it will be for them to assess if potential costs will outweigh potential benefits. However, HMG recognises that developing countries require support in this assessment, and this is why the Department for International Development is co-ordinating with the World bank and UNCTAD to conduct research in this area, which will help inform the position of developing countries in the negotiations.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how WTO investment rules apply to (a) multinationals and (b) national Governments. [121365]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 25 June 2003]: Some existing WTO Agreements, for example, the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures, the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, contain rules which may affect the way Governments offer incentives to invest in their country or specific sectors, but these rules do not form a complete set of multilateral rules governing investment. WTO agreements apply only to measures taken by
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Governments or public bodies and not to multinationals. Any future agreements negotiated in the WTO are likely to be concluded on the same basis.
Gas Meters
Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason data gathered from the testing of gas meters that have been reported as faulty by consumers are not published. [121299]
Mr. Timms: This is a matter for Ofgem. I have asked the Chairman to write to the hon. Member.
ISO 9001:2000
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of ISO 9000 certified companies have (a) transferred and (b) are in the process of transferring to ISO 9001:2000; and what plans there are to encourage UK companies and their suppliers to do so before the deadline. [120287]
Ms Hewitt: My Department does not collect information on the numbers of UK businesses certified to the ISO 9000 standards but contacts with certification bodies indicate that approximately 50 per cent. of certified UK businesses have transferred to ISO 9001:2000 and a further 25 per cent. are in the process of transferring. The ISO 9000 standards are voluntary and it is a matter for the companies involved to make any changes to their quality management systems to meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2000. My Department has, however, been providing general advice on the new standard and certification bodies have been encouraging UK businesses to transfer to ISO 9001:2000 since it was adopted in December 2000.
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the number of companies in the UK which are ISO 9000 certified; how many are certified by UKAS accredited companies in the UK; what reports the Government have received that some have been certified inappropriately; and what percentage her Department estimates have been certified inappropriately. [120288]
Ms Hewitt: My Department does not collect information on businesses certified to ISO 9000. However, figures produced by the International Standards Organisation indicate that in, December 2001, there were 66,760 ISO 9000 certifications in the UK. Neither my Department nor UKAS collect information on the number of UK businesses certified to ISO 9000 by UKAS accredited companies. My Department is made aware from time to time of certifications which might be deemed inappropriate for various reasons (for example because the certifier is unaccredited and the certificate is not accepted in the market as a result) but keeps no record of the precise numbers of such cases.
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's policy is on change of ISO 9000 certification to the latest version of ISO 9001:2000. [120289]
Ms Hewitt: All ISO standards are reviewed at least every five years to ensure they continue to meet the needs of business and industry. ISO 9001:2000 is the
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most recent version of the ISO 9000 series of quality management systems and has been produced by quality and industry experts working under the aegis of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). From 15 December 2003 it is the intention of the certification organisations only to issue certificates against the new standard. It is a matter for individual businesses to decide whether to be certified against the new standard.
However, ISO 9001:2000 is intended to reflect modern management approaches and the experience gained in industry and commerce over the past 25 years, with the focus moving from compliance to achieving results, and as such it is welcomed by the government. We hope that businesses will use the new standard to improve their productivity and competitiveness and that as many as possible will transfer to the new standard.
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice the Government is giving to ISO 9000 certified companies about the need to transfer to ISO 9001:2000, by 15 December this year. [120290]
Ms Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers to his questions answered today PQs No. 120287 and 120289.
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