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14 Jul 2003 : Column 21W—continued

Occidental Jetty

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultation she has had with (a) the owners of the Occidental Jetty on Canvey Island and (b) others on future uses of that jetty in connection with the production of energy from wind. [123415]

Mr. Timms: None, although my officials are aware of local press speculation on this subject.

Selby

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the assistance given by the Department in respect of redundancies at the Selby coal complex; and what the redundancy terms are. [125238]

Mr. Timms: On 16 July 2002 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced the Government's intention to pay £10 million to UK Coal plc to support redundancy payments arising from the announced closure of the Selby coal mine complex in North Yorkshire by spring 2004, with the loss of approximately 2,000 jobs. The Government is providing this support as aid to cover exceptional costs under Article 7(2) and 7(3) of the Council Regulation on State aid to the coal industry. The European Commission

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gave formal approval to the state aid on 27 May 2003. A first instalment of £1.8 million was paid to UK Coal in June. The assistance will allow UK Coal to extend pre-privatisation redundancy terms to affected employees until March 2005.

The Government have also set up a regeneration programme for the local area, implementing the agreed recommendations of the report by Lord Haskins, Chairman of the Selby Coalfield Task Force.

Small Businesses

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in establishing a one-stop shop for the allocation of public funds grants and advice for small businesses. [124435]

Nigel Griffiths: As a result of feedback from key stakeholders, DTI has reviewed the support it offers to business. A simpler, more effective set of business support products is being put in place. A new web-based 'Business Support Directory' also provides information to customers and intermediaries on all of the current business support schemes and new business support products.

Street Works

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 9 April 2003, Official Report, column 268W, on street works, what the agenda was for the discussions with telecom operators; what representations were made to her Department; what decisions were made; and if she will make a statement. [109560]

Mr. Timms: The discussions covered a number of regulatory issues of concern to the operators, including the impact of the proposed changes to streetworks legislation on the development of broadband. It was agreed that any new streetworks legislation should have regard not only to increased cost and disruption to the transport system, but also to the compliance cost on telecoms operators and their customers, and in particular its potential to distort or restrict competition in the telecoms market. The regulatory impact assessment required for any new legislative proposals will need to address these issues.

Telecommunications and Broadcasting

Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department has produced a policy statement on inclusive design in relation to consumer equipment in the (a) telecommunications and (b) broadcasting sectors; and if she will make a statement. [111167]

Mr. Timms: The powers and duties of OFCOM under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and the current Communications Bill will enable it to act decisively to further the interests of consumers and the community as a whole. I am sure that the benefits of inclusive design will be one area that OFCOM will be keen to encourage.

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Wood

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what research has been undertaken on the possible distortion of the wood supply market in the UK as a result of the Renewables Obligation; and if she will make a statement; [125113]

(2) what measures she is taking to discourage the burning of wood products used in industry as a raw material as a subsidised biomass fuel for energy production. [125116]

Mr. Timms: The Forestry Commission, working with others, are currently undertaking a Woodfuel Resource Study, which will quantify the resource from traditional forests, sawmill co-product, arboricultural arisings and short rotation coppice. Defra and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have funded studies on the quantity and location of recovered wood.

As a result of market pressures, the forestry industry has been investigating alternative end uses for its products. The forest industry regards energy generation using wood as an important new market to explore.

I am aware that generators are also investigating the possibilities presented through the use of non-wood materials as a source of biomass for use in co-firing. At present, large co-firers are testing the feasibility of using wood as well as imported olive cake and palm oil husks.

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken to promote the use of wood wastes with no commercial value as a biomass fuel. [125114]

Mr. Timms: The Government are providing support for the use of wood waste as a biomass fuel in a number of ways, as outlined in reply on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 683W and 26 June 2003, Official Report, column 927W. This will help to deliver the Government's policy objectives on national energy production. The support schemes do not apply to other uses of wood waste.

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research she undertook prior to the introduction of the Renewables Obligation into its impact on the wood panel industry. [125170]

Mr. Timms: We carried out three full consultations on the Renewables Obligation before its introduction on 1 April 2002. The first consultation paper, "New and Renewable Energy: Prospects for the UK for the 21st Century", was issued in March 1999 and was accompanied by Supporting Analysis produced by ETSU . The report presented an up to date status report on new and renewable energy and flagged up issues concerning forestry wastes and also the socio-economic implications of renewables.

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the wood panel industry regarding the impact on their supplies of basic raw material of electricity generators using wood residues as a green fuel. [125171]

Mr. Timms: My officials are facilitating work between representatives of the UK wood industry and co-firing power stations to explore the opportunities offered by

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co-firing under the Obligation for UK Forestry, and, in particular, the potential for using by-products from existing wood industries. Working groups continue to meet.

It is hoped that this initiative, if successful, will have the dual benefit of reducing imports and making more biomass available for a larger market in the UK, thereby helping to stabilise prices.

We understand from the forestry industry that it can meet demand from power generators from existing surplus forestry material.

TRANSPORT

Air Safety

Mr. Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents there have been in each of the last five years of objects falling from commercial airlines over the UK; and how many falling objects have caused (a) personal injury and (b) damage to buildings in each year. [125341]

Mr. McNulty: During the 5-year period from 1 January 1998 until 31 December 2002 there were 309 reports to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of objects falling from commercial airlines. A breakdown for each of the years is shown in the following table:

	Minor personal injury	Third party building damage	Total objects
1998	1	21	54
1999	0	32	66
2000	1	36	68
2001	1	19	59
2002	0	27	62

Airports

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost was of the consultation exercise on airports policy. [123863]

Mr. McNulty: Since July last year to date, "The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom" consultation is estimated to have cost around £4,200,000, inclusive of VAT.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received about airport expansion. [125479]

Mr. McNulty: The national consultation ended on 30 June. We estimate that at least 300,000 responses have been received from across the UK. This includes formal responses, questionnaires, petitions and other representations.

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