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14 Jul 2003 : Column 17W—continued
EU Contracts
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she is taking to reduce the procedural requirements involved in bidding for EU public sector contracts. [125298]
Jacqui Smith: The UK has taken an active part in the negotiations on the European Commission proposals to simplify, clarify and modernise the existing public procurement directives. The proposals have just completed their second reading by the European Parliament. Once adopted, the new public procurement directives will provide an up-to-date framework within which efficient and non-discriminatory procurement can take place.
Everything but Arms Agreement
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 329W, on the Everything but Arms agreement, if she will assess the impact of the Everything but Arms agreement on trade exports to the United Kingdom by non-least developed countries in sub-Saharan Africa. [124219]
Ms Hewitt: Comparing figures for calendar year 2000 with the year to March 2003 shows trade exports to the United Kingdom by non-least developed countries (non-LDCs 1 ) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) increased by 27 per cent. to £5.15 billion. Over the same period, the total value of exports to the United Kingdom from least developed countries (LDCs) in SSA increased by 82 per cent. though still at a relatively low level of £265 million. We hope to see these figures grow further as their economies adjust to the greater export opportunities offered by EBA, which came into effect in March 2001.
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1 Non-LDCs in SSA are: Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia, St Helen, Seychelles, British Indian Ocean Territories, Mayotte and Mauritius
Innovation Budget (Textiles)
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the projects supported by her Department's Innovation Budget involving technical textiles. [121944]
Ms Hewitt: My Department has supported the following individual technical textile projects under the Innovation Budget:
- Innovative non-woven rail foundation materials that will help to drain rainwater and stabilise the rail track-bed.
Durability of geosynthetics to investigate the durability of geotextiles used in road construction.
Flexible fire barriers that are light and strong to replace traditional construction materials.
Conductive materials including 'qwerty' keypad for use as pressure sensors.
Electrically conductive fabrics for use in the "wearable computer"
Technical textile bandages which provide a measured pressure to help treat leg
Venous ulcer patients and to prevent deep vein thrombosis in long flight passengers
Technical textile-based limb protectors and ballistic helmets, to provide lighter and stronger equipment for the armed forces and police
Double cloth technology—to develop the capabilities of double cloth weaving for use in various fibres
Fire resistant polypropylene yarns for use in cheap carpets and furnishing fabrics used in public spaces
Hybrid laminates from adhesive thermo-bonding Universal insulation system to provide an improved balance in performance clothing between comfort and protection from heat
Laser seaming of performance textiles to provide cloth seams of predictable and consistent strength
Impact-resistant non-wovens for use as motorcycle protective clothing and body armour
Fire resistant fabrics based on rare animal fibres that combine high performance with luxury finish for example in aircraft and yachts
Designing advanced fibre ropes, e.g. for mooring oilrigs in very deep waters
Technical textile CAD, develop and implement a Computer Aided
Engineering (CAE) system in the technical textiles sector
Textile-reinforced composites
Warp/weft-knitted fabrics with metal wire content, for electromagnetic shielding that can fit around bodies
Novel lap joint for non-wovens, which ensures the join is as strong as the rest of the material
Long-staple yarn for technical textile applications, combining the best properties of natural and man-made fibres in high-strength materials
3D seamless flatbed knitting with various applications e.g. in healthcare: seamless whole body bandages for burns victims and other skin treatments
3D nonwovens—A project that will allow manufacturers to predict more closely the porosity and weight of a finished product such as a dust filter
Technical Textile Project Co-ordinator, to help companies find partners and funding for R and D
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National Advisor on Technical Textiles to the industry-led Textile and Clothing Strategy Group
Technical textile database, in order to help suppliers and manufacturers in the industry find partners for commerce and R and D.
Media Training
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost was to her Department of media and voice training for Ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [123138]
Ms Hewitt: There has been no cost to the Department for media and voice training for Ministers since 1997.
For DTI officials, the majority of the Department's training budget is allocated to individual Directorates. Each Directorate has responsibility for managing, monitoring and evaluating at training events in line with the Departmental business and training plans. Disproportionate costs would be incurred to collate the data centrally for the purposes of answering this question.
Mobile Phones
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost was to her Department of mobile phones supplied to Ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [123144]
Ms Hewitt: Responsibility for the provision of mobile telephones for official purposes and for payment of the associated call charges was devolved to individual directorates, agencies and NDPBs at the end of March 1993. Since August 1997, the DTI has increasingly made use of the central Mobile Telecommunications contract managed by the Office for Government Commerce. This contract provides a call-off arrangement for DTI users at advantageous prices ensuring that the Department obtains good value for money. Due to the devolved responsibility for mobile telephone management the only information that can be provided at non-disproportionate cost is expenditure with DTI's main suppliers of mobile telephony.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 90,881 |
| 1999 | 263,123 |
| 2000 | 226,695 |
| 2001 | 342,964 |
| 2002 | 342,881 |
Figures are not available for 1997 due to a change in the Department's Accounting System over that period.
Post (Lost Items)
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many lost items of post there have been (a) so far in 2003 and (b) in each of the last five years. [125196]
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Mr. Timms: This is an operational matter for Royal Mail Group plc, I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of Royal Mail to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Post Office
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effect on the level of subsidy payable to post offices if the number of Post Office card accounts opened exceeds the Government's estimates; and if she will make a statement. [125271]
Mr. Timms: Government financial support for the Post Office network is not affected by any particular number of Post Office card accounts. Universal banking went live in post offices on 1 April 2003 as scheduled. There is an effect on payments to the Post Office through its contracts with government departments, but the Post Office is now providing electronic access to a wide range of bank accounts and is looking to extend these further.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have closed in Leicester since 1997; what research has been done by her Department into the closure of post offices in Leicester; and what representations she has received from honourable Members concerning the closure of post offices in Leicester. [125272]
Mr. Timms: Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd and I have asked the Chief Executive to respond directly to the hon. Member about closures in Leicester. In addition to representations from the hon. Member for Leicester East, my hon. Friend has received one representation from Leicester city council.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the biomass fuel burnt under subsidy as an energy resource in the last 12 months came from (a) new sources of material, (b) material that would otherwise go to waste and (c) raw materials that can serve a useful purpose in industry; what the expected figures are for (i) 2005 and (ii) 2010; and if she will make a statement. [125164]
Mr. Timms: In 2002 the following amounts of biomass fuel were used in the UK. Biomass used for electricity generation may be eligible for support under the Renewables Obligation or the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation and Climate Change Levy exemption.
(1) No payments are made under the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation, the Renewables Obligation or the Renewables (Scotland) Obligation for the burning of biomass fuels for the provision of heat.
Source:
Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics.
14 Jul 2003 : Column 21W
A more detailed breakdown is not available because it would disclose data for individual companies that are given to the Department in confidence. Only short rotation coppice is classed as "new sources of material". Information on the amount of wood and wood waste that could be used by industry as a raw material is not centrally available, but the Forestry Commission is currently undertaking a Woodfuel Resource Study. Estimates for 2005 and 2010 are not available.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 5 June 2003, Official Report, column 298, on renewable energy, if she will to meet the Director of the Wood Panel Industries Federation to discuss the impact on the industry of subsidised biomass fuel. [125280]
Mr. Timms: As the Minister for Energy I am in discussion with the Chairman of the Trade and Industry Select Committee about a meeting with a deputation of MPs and representatives of the Wood Panel Industries Federation to discuss the impact of the Government's renewable energy policy on UK wood-based panel manufacturing.
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