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Electricity

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what figures she has collated on the percentage of electricity generated lost in (a) transmission and (b) distribution in each EU country. [122217]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 30 June 2003]: Information on electricity transmission and distribution losses in 2000 is to be found in "Electricity Information 2002" published by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The information requested is given in the following table. Transmission and distribution losses are not separately identified by the IEA.

Country	Electricity supplied (TWh)	Transmission and distribution losses (TWh)	Losses as a percentage of electricity supplied
Luxembourg	5.9	0.1	1.7
Finland	79.1	2.8	3.5
Netherlands	104.9	4.1	3.9
Belgium	82.8	3.7	4.5
Germany	530.6	25.2	4.7
Italy	298.5	19.2	6.4
Denmark	35.3	2.3	6.5
France	440.6	29.9	6.8
Austria	57.4	4.1	7.1
Sweden	142.4	11.7	8.2
United Kingdom	369.3	30.8	8.3
Portugal	42.6	3.6	8.5
Greece	49.3	4.3	8.7
Ireland	22.3	2.0	9.0
Spain	214.8	20.0	9.3

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Electronic Banking

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will visit Wales to assess the effectiveness of the introduction of electronic banking at post offices. [122582]

Mr. Timms: Universal banking went live in post offices on 1 April 2003 as scheduled. The Post Office is now providing electronic access to a wide range of bank accounts and is looking to extend these further. The provision of electronic banking services at post offices is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I understand from the company that its introduction has gone extremely well and that the systems are working effectively. The Government's investment of £480 million on computerising the post office network means that the Post Office can achieve a new role as a convenient place for people to do their banking.

Employers' Liability Insurance

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate her Department has made of the legal costs of dispute resolution associated with employers' liability insurance. [120389]

Mr. Browne: I have been asked to reply.

The Department published a first stage report on employers' liability insurance that looked at the issue on 3 June.

This report and separate research in Scotland noted that definitive evidence on legal costs was not available. However an indication was given from the analysis of one leading insurer. They reported that legal costs represented on average 36 per cent. of the total claims cost for employers' liability insurance. This proportion varied by size of claim:

Claim size	Legal cost (Per cent.)
Less than £10,000	51
£10,000-£25,000	45
Greater than £25,000	23

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate her Department has made of compliance rates for British firms for employers' liability compulsory insurance. [120390]

Mr. Browne: I have been asked to reply.

The Department published a first stage report on employers' liability insurance that looked at the issue on 3 June.

The information collated suggests that levels of compliance are high but not comprehensive. The report therefore suggests a range of measures to improve enforcement.

Euro Roadshow

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the events she plans to attend as part of the Government's euro roadshow. [121395]

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Jacqui Smith: Ministers will be holding a series of meetings around the country, campaigning for a pro-European consensus.

Flexible Working

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans there are to monitor and record the number of workers (a) requesting and (b) being granted flexible working in (i) central Government, (ii) local government, (iii) the public sector and (iv) the private sector; and if she will make a statement. [122224]

Mr. Sutcliffe: We are actively promoting flexible working policies across the workplace through the Government's Work-Life Balance Campaign, which aims to encourage best practice by demonstrating the benefits to both employers and employees in all sectors and size of business. To support and help speed up the spread of best practice, on 6 April 2003 we introduced new flexible working legislation, to ensure that employees with children under six or disabled children under 18 will only have their requests for flexible working turned down where there are valid business reasons.

We are committed to commence a review of this legislation in three years' time, and as a baseline for this, we have already carried out two major surveys covering employers and employees, giving a clear picture of the current levels of flexible working in both public and private sectors. We are currently developing a detailed monitoring strategy for the next three years and are working closely with key employer and employee stakeholders. As part of this strategy we will be repeating the two baseline surveys in 2005.

For further evidence on the numbers of people working flexibly, disaggregated into the public and private sectors, we are repeating the large scale Workplace Employment Relations Survey in 2004, and asking specific questions on flexible working to both employers and employees. The spring and autumn modules of the quarterly Labour Force Survey also provide some information on flexible working practices.

We will be working with other Government Departments to gain information on how the new legislation is being implemented and the levels of take up across central Government. We are also establishing links with the Employers' Organisation for Local Government (EO) and the Local Government Association (LGA) in order to gather information specifically relating to flexible working practices within local government.

Government Aid

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been recovered by her Department from regional aid grants made to industrial projects which have subsequently failed in the last five years. [121901]

Jacqui Smith: £26.1 million of regional selective assistance was recovered between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2003. Much of this relates to offers and payments made in earlier years.

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Recoveries of grant under the Enterprise Grant scheme (introduced in January 2000) to date total £95,000.

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much regional aid has been given by the UK Government since 1997 in terms of (a) cash grants, (b) tax relief and (c) other subsidies to industries investing in the UK; how many jobs were expected to have been created as a result; how many jobs were delivered; and if she will make a statement on the proportion of aid which has been given to projects that have subsequently failed. [121907]

Jacqui Smith: Since 1997, £119 million of grant offered under the Regional Selective Assistance scheme was accepted by companies in support of projects in England which have now been completed. These projects were expected to create or safeguard 38,997 jobs.

The total amount of RSA that was eventually paid was £103 million and 39,841 jobs were created or safeguarded.

In addition, £8 million has been paid for projects where there has been some recovery or write-off action. Of this, £1.5 million has been recovered. Many of these projects will have involved some investment and jobs but not on the scale anticipated at the time of offer.

Under the Enterprise Grant scheme (introduced in January 2000) £56.4 million was offered to companies by 31 March 2003. £184,000 went to projects where there has been some recovery or write-off action. To date, £95,000 has been recovered. Job creation and safeguarding are not among the national criteria for Enterprise Grants.

The Department is not responsible for tax issues nor for subsidies or grants given by other departments.

Home Accident Surveillance Systems

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has for the future of the Home Accident Surveillance Systems; what representations she has received regarding the future of HASS; and if she will make a statement. [116355]

Mr. Sutcliffe: On 2 May, my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield the then Minister for Competition, Consumer and Markets, announced that the DTI will no longer collect statistics on the causes and nature of home and leisure accidents. Following increased pressure on resources and the need to focus on the Department's core priorities, hard decisions had to be made on what to stop. HASS did not fit with these priorities and I have no plans to replace it.

I have received representations from several organisations regarding the impact of this decision.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the ending of the Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance System. [122479]

Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 30 June 2003]: On 2 May 2003, my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield, the then Minister for Competition, Consumer and Market, announced that the DTI will no longer

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collect statistics on the causes and nature of home and leisure accidents. Following increased pressure on resources and the need to focus on the Department's core priorities, hard decisions had to be made on what to stop. The collection of accident statistics did not fit with these priorities.

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