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10 Jul 2003 : Column 886W—continued
Consumer Protection
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what additional measures she intends to provide for consumer protection work. [123497]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The consumer provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 came fully into force on 20 June. Consumers will benefit as these new measures begin to bite from stronger enforcement of the law through the use of Stop Now Orders and sharing of information between enforcers. Consumers will also benefit from the Office of Fair Trading's new role in approving codes of practice. Codes of practice can help consumers to identify reputable traders and provide a swift means to redress on occasions when things go wrong.
In summer 2002 DTI announced up to £30 million funding to implement a new national consumer helpline—Consumer Direct. The helpline will launch in pathfinder areas in 2004.
Estate Agents
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what procedures there are for the payment of compensation to victims of malpractice by estate agents. [119849]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Consumers who suffer a financial loss as a result of malpractice by estate agents may be able to make a claim for compensation in the civil courts. If the estate agent is a member of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents Scheme, consumers may also be able to make a claim for compensation to the ombudsman.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints have been made to the Director General of Fair Trading concerning the conduct of estate agents in each year since 1997; how many such complaints have been investigated by the Director General of Fair Trading in each year since 1997; how many estate agents have been banned as unfit to practise by the Director General of Fair Trading since 1997; and if she will publish the list of banned estate agents. [119850]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The following table contains details of complaints received by the Director General of Fair Trading alleging breaches of estate agent legislation and banning orders issued to estate agents since 1997.
| Number of complaints about estate agents received by OFT | Number of estate agents banned by OFT | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 133 | 3 |
| 1998 | 98 | 3 |
| 1999 | 199 | 6 |
| 2000 | 213 | 4 |
| 2001 | 170 | 0 |
| 2002 | 206 | 6 |
All complaints are initially reviewed to see if a potential breach of the Act has occurred. If there is a breach, then a full investigation will take place and, if the breach is proved, regulatory action is taken. Prior to the year 2000, the Office of Fair Trading did not record details of how many complaints were investigated. Since then, an average of 50 per cent. of complaints made to
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the Office of Fair Trading have resulted in a full investigation, which in turn has led to an average of 80 warning letters being sent each year.
The Office of Fair Trading maintains a Public Register of banned estate agents and will provide a list of banned estate agents which will be placed in the Libraries of the House shortly.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department has undertaken a review of the provisions of the Estate Agents Act 1979 since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [119851]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department has not undertaken a review of the provisions of the Estate Agents Act 1979 since 1997. However, the Office of Fair Trading is currently investigating the market for estate agents in England and Wales, including the effectiveness of the Act.
I will consider carefully any recommendations the Director General of Fair Trading makes about future regulation of this market.
EU Committees
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the names, titles and grades of the officials who sit on the EU advisory committee on the labelling of household appliances, the number of times and the dates on which it has met since January 2002, the agenda items it has considered since January 2002, the decisions it has made since January 2002 and the means used to communicate these decisions to the House. [110500]
Mr. Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
There is no committee that has the responsibility for all the labelling issues that might arise in connection with household appliances. There is however a committee which is concerned with "the indication by labelling and standard product information on the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances". This Committee does not have a fixed membership, but consists of delegates drawn from each of EU member states.
The Committee has met four times since January 2002 (on 18 March, 10 June and 25 September in 2002 and 1 April 2003). Agenda items relate to the implementation of the framework directive for the energy labelling of household appliances (92/5EEC) including proposals for new directives.
Since January 2002, the Committee has voted formally in favour of proposals to amend the current directive on household refrigeration appliances and against proposals to amend the directive on washing machines. The Committee provides advice and comes to conclusions on a range of wider, related issues including, for example, the voluntary provision by manufacturers of energy consumption information on consumer electronic equipment such as TVs and video recorders.
Together with member states, the Commission has been conducting a review to bring existing legislation on the conduct of Comitology Committees into line with Decision 1999/468/EC, to "simplify the requirements for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on
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the Commission". The Working group on the Friends of Comitology is meeting later this month to discuss proposals for interim reform.
As an obligation of this Decision, the Commission undertook to publish an annual report on the Working of the Committee. The second re[port was deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 10 January 2003 ref 5060/03, COM(03)733.
As part of the review process, the UK Government has encouraged the Commission to produce and maintain an electronic database of every comitology committee, its agendas and recent actions to be accessible through its website.
Flexible Working
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received on the operation of the law relating to flexible working hours, with special reference to claims against employers on procedural grounds where the flexible working hours contract has been granted. [123564]
Mr. Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has received no representations on the operation of the new flexible working law which came into effect on 6 April this year. We are committed to commence a review of the impact of the law in three years' time, and in collaboration with key stakeholders, we are currently putting in place a monitoring strategy for gathering ongoing evidence as to how the new law is working in practice.
We understand that the Acas Arbitration Scheme conciliators have been approached for advice on two occasions, the first of which led to the withdrawal of the claim by the employee and the second identified that no breach of procedure had taken place. One claim for unfair dismissal relating to the flexible working legislation was registered with the Employment Tribunal Service in May and this is currently in the initial stage of the process.
Help and advice is available to employers as well as employees. Those who want to speak to an adviser about any aspect of the law, including practical advice on how to apply the law can call the Acas helpline on 08457 47 47 47. Advisers have been specifically trained on the working parents laws. Detailed guidance, including forms based on best practice, is also available on our website at www.dti.gov.uk/workingparents and also in hard copy. This emphasises that it is in both parties' interests to seek to resolve disputes as far as possible within the workplace and that employment tribunals should be treated as a last resort.
Heating Engineers
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures her Department is taking to ensure the training of heating engineers and gas fitters to facilitate a higher take-up of condensing boilers. [123673]
Alan Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
The Learning and Skills Council is working with the Energy Efficiency Partnership and the Gas and Water Industry National Training Organisation (GWINTO)
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to develop a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) unit on Energy Efficiency and Condensing Boilers which can be incorporated into current qualifications. The unit is expected to be available generally from September 2004.
In parallel with this activity, they are also taking steps to further develop their provider base to facilitate the delivery of the anticipated demand for the new unit.
Iraq
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she is seeking repayment of the Export Credit Guarantees Department unrecovered claims from Iraq; and whether she has notified the Coalition administration in Iraq of these unrecovered claims. [124242]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government would like to see a fair and sustainable solution to Iraq's debt problems. We believe the best way to achieve that is through a full assessment by the IMF and the World Bank of Iraq's needs, resources, and obligations, leading to a shared agreement on debt by the Paris Club of official creditors, and comparable treatment by other creditors. The UK is not expecting any payments from Iraq in the near future. The states recognized as occupying powers under unified command are aware of these claims on Iraq.
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