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National Minimum Wage

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 11 June 2003, Official Report, column 897W, on the national minimum wage, if she will break down by region the number of employers not complying with the minimum wage regulations; if she will list the provisions empowering enforcement officers to take action; under what circumstances offenders are prosecuted; and if she will make a statement. [120013]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Further to my earlier answer on 11 June, 1,996 employers were found not to be complying with the minimum wage regulations in 2002–03 and these can be broken down by region as follows:

Region	Number
East	122
East Midlands	94
London	236
Merseyside	27
North East	127
North West	181
Northern Ireland	212
Scotland	183
South East	94
South West	136
Wales	142
West Midlands	152
Yorks/Humberside	207
Unknown	83
Total	1,996

There are a small number of cases (83) where unfortunately the regional details have not been recorded on the central database.

The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (NMWA 1998) contains a number of enforcement provisions: Section 14 deals with the production of staff records; Section 19(1) deals with Enforcement Notices; Section 20 covers tribunal and court proceedings where an Enforcement Notice is not complied with; Section 21(1) deals with Penalty Notices; Section 31 deals with prosecutions.

As I said in my earlier answer, the Inland Revenue successfully resolves the great majority of cases (around 99 per cent.) without enforcement action being needed.

Office of Fair Trading

Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what basis her Department is leading the Government's response to the OFT report and leading in the development of a package of measures to change regulations made under the National Health Service Act 1977; and if she will make a statement. [117412]

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Mr. Sutcliffe: Ministers have agreed that the Department will coordinate the Government's responses to all market investigations by the OFT or the Competition Commission, which make regulatory recommendations and also monitor progress to follow up action. This reflects the Department's responsibility for consumer and competition matters. Any changes to regulations to be made under the National Health Service Act as a result of the Government's decisions on the merits of the recommendation on control of entry for pharmacies will be for the Department of Health to lead on.

Personal Loan Charges

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans her Department has to abolish the rights of financial institutions to charge customers who repay personal loans early. [121908]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The early settlement of personal loans is one of the priority areas being covered under the current review of the Consumer Credit Act.

It is our intention to revise the current provisions to make them fair and equitable to both lenders and borrowers, and that consumers are better informed about these terms. A consultation document on proposed changes was issued last year to industry, consumer bodies and other interested parties and the responses are currently being evaluated.

Robbin Rigg Wind Farm

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on the Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm (Navigation and Fishing) (Scotland) Bill. [121769]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 26 June 2003]: I understand the Bill receives its final hearing in the Scottish Parliament on 26 June 2003. The Department of Trade and Industry will, of course, consider any relevant aspects of the Parliament's deliberations.

Sunset Clauses

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to include a sunset clause in all new legislation unless a specific case can be made to exclude a sunset clause. [120818]

Ms Hewitt: Revised guidance on Regulatory Impact Assessments, "Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment", was published by the Cabinet Office on 28 January 2003. It advises officials to consider time-limiting or a sunset clause at an early stage of policy development, and gives specific examples of where a sunset clause may be appropriate.

The Department of Trade and Industry actively promotes the better regulation agenda and the use of sunset clauses where appropriate.

Unsolicited E-mails

Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government have to bring forward legislation to prohibit the distribution of unsolicited e-mails in the UK; and what steps may be

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taken against companies who relocate to countries where the legislative framework covering the distribution of unsolicited e-mails is less strict. [122148]

Mr. Timms: There will be new controls on the distribution of unsolicited commercial e-mails (UCE) under the UK's implementing regulations for the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (Directive 2002/5 8/EC) which are due to come into force by 31 October.

Under these regulations, commercial e-mails may only be sent to individuals with their prior consent, except where there is an existing customer relationship between the sender and the addressee.

The new measures will apply to all EU member states and to instigators as well as senders of commercial e-mails within the EU. UK and other EU advertisers will therefore be unable to avoid the rules by using third part e-mail bureaux located outside the EU.

Where a business decides to relocate its operations entirely to another country outside the EU, and no longer maintains a UK presence, it does become very difficult to enforce the UK rules. However, the fact that the European regime has now been agreed and is being implemented opens the door to agreements between the EU and other countries, which should result in a more unified approach towards the distribution of unsolicited e-mails.

Veterinary Surgeons

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultation was carried out with veterinary surgeons on the effects of the Competition Commission's inquiry into veterinary prescription only medicines. [121858]

Mr. Sutcliffe: During the course of its inquiry, the Commission received submissions from veterinary surgeons and veterinary organisations such as the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the British Veterinary Association and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association. A full list of those who gave evidence, and details of their evidence, can be found in pages 273 to 537 of Volume I of the report.

On 17 September 2002, the Commission published a statement of provisional conclusions and hypothetical remedies. Interested parties were invited to comment on these.

At the request of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry the Office of Fair Trading has written to veterinary organisations to consult informally on the appropriate terms of the order to implement the Commission's proposed remedies under the Fair Trading Act 1973. This will be followed by a public consultation where veterinary organisations, veterinary surgeons and any other interested parties can make their views known on the terms of such an order.

Waste Management

Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action her Department has taken since 2000 in its role as the sponsoring Department of the waste management industry. [122509]

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Mr. Timms: As sponsoring Department, DTI has had regular liaison with representatives of the waste management industry including the Environmental Services Association (ESA) and the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM). In particular, DTI has played an active role in the development of good practice initiatives by the National Resource and Waste Forum (NRWF)—a cross-sectoral forum led by the waste management industry, which was instigated by DTI following a study of industry competitiveness.

The Department takes careful account of the views of the waste management industry in consideration of waste policy. This enables us to bring a waste industry perspective to discussions with other Government bodies such as Defra, the Environment Agency and HM Treasury.

The Joint Environmental Markets Unit (JEMU)—which is jointly staffed by DTI and Defra—continues to promote the UK's waste management industry in international markets. An extensive programme of activities, including seminars and outward and inward trade missions, has benefited around 20 to 30 waste management companies over the past couple of years, and is beginning to achieve a far greater appreciation in the industry of global trade and investment opportunities.

During 2002, an industry-Government Innovation and Growth Team (IGT) for the Environmental Goods and Services Sector (IGT-EGS) was set up to identify actions to help the UK environmental sector take advantage of changes in UK and overseas markets over the next 15 years. As a result, JEMU will expand its role, taking forward those actions that are of common interest across waste, water, energy and other sub-sectors and are not already being dealt with effectively elsewhere. This will include a particular focus on the innovation-related aspects of the IGT work.

To this end, DTI and Defra have established an Environmental Innovations Advisory Group which will meet for the first time on 14 July 2003. The Group will bring together companies from different levels in three supply chains—waste recycling, energy efficient technology and water management—as well as people involved in supporting the innovation and commercialisation process. This theme of innovation in resource efficiency is consistent with policy goals, while the findings would be transferable to other areas of innovation in environmental technologies.

The Department is also represented on the Defra-led Hazardous Waste Forum, and is currently considering options for a possible industry forum on waste, in line with a recommendation in the Strategy Unit report, "Waste Not Want Not".

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