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17 Jul 2003 : Column 506W—continued
China/Japan
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the volume of trade between the UK and (a) China and (b) Japan was in 2002, broken down by (i) imports and (ii) exports; and what percentage of total UK trade volumes trade with (A) China and (B) Japan accounted for in 2002. [126543]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Information on UK trade in goods with individual countries is not available in volume terms. The value of UK trade in goods with China and Japan in 2002, along with their share of total UK trade was as follows:
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| Value of trade (£ billion) | Share of total (Percentage) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | Japan | China | Japan | |
| UK imports | 6.7 | 8.2 | 2.9 | 3.5 |
| UK exports | 1.5 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 1.9 |
Source:
Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, Office for National Statistics
Coal Investment Aid
Mr. Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications have been received in respect of Coal Investment Aid; from which companies the applications were received; how many applications have been successful; and what aid was awarded in respect of each of the applications. [126726]
Mr. Timms: The deadline for applications for support under the first period of Coal Investment Aid is 31 July 2003. The details supplied at Section 9 of each application received, which includes the name of the applicant, a description of the project and the amount of money applied for, will be posted on the website—www.dti.uk/energy/coal/invest aid—in early August. This information will be updated in due course to indicate which applications have been successful and what aid has been awarded. One application has been received to date.
Consultation Documents
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the consultation documents issued by her Department in each of the last four years; what the cost was of producing each of these; how many documents were issued in each consultation; and how many responses were received in each consultation. [124565]
Ms Hewitt: The Government recommend that policy development should be done in close consultation with stakeholders. Formal consultation documents are only one part of this process, which includes:
It is standard practice for Departments to evaluate the policy development process, including the use of consultation. The specific information requested is not collated on a central basis and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, consultation exercises run by the Department of Trade and Industry since the Code of Practice came into force in January 2001, have been published on the Department of Trade and Industry website.
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Consumer Credit Act
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to publish the results of the recent consultation on the licensing regime under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. [126264]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Reforming the licensing regime of the Consumer Credit Act is a key element of my review of that Act. I anticipate that I will be making an announcement very shortly on how I intend to reform the regulation of consumer credit including those aspects of the regulations that relate to the licensing regime.
Correspondence
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Minister with responsibility for competitiveness and e-commerce will reply to the letter dated 21 May from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan on the Competition Commission inquiry into veterinary-prescription only medicines. [126775]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I responded to the letter dated 21 May from the hon. Member on 30 June 2003.
Crossrail
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the impact on businesses in London and the south-east of (a) a decision not to go ahead with the Crossrail project and (b) the delays which have been experienced to that project; and if she will make a statement. [124735]
Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
The business case proposals for the east-west Crossrail project, which have been submitted to the Department by Cross London Rail Links (CLRL), include an appraisal of the impact of a decision to go ahead against a wide range of criteria, including the economy. This is an extremely complex issue, which is the subject of continuing discussions between CLRL and the Government.
We are not aware of any estimates of the impact of the delay caused by the failure to secure parliamentary approval for a private Bill, deposited in November 1991, which had sought powers to build an earlier version of the scheme.
Energy Imports
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry where the gas delivered to the UK will come from in (a) 2005, (b) 2010 and (c) 2015; and what percentage of the gas will be delivered from each location. [125578]
Mr. Timms: Future gas supplies to the UK will be a commercial matter for energy companies in the competitive marketplace.
The most recent view of the future gas supply demand balance anticipates that the UK will again become a net gas importer (on an annual basis) after 2005. We have already depended on imported gas in some winter
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quarters. It is anticipated that the UK will remain self-sufficient until 2005, with our import dependency expected to rise to around 50 per cent. in 2010 and 80 per cent. in 2015.
The UK already receives imports from Norway, and there are active treaty discussions with Norway that would facilitate further imports. A proposed gas interconnector from the Netherlands would enable gas from there to be supplied to the UK. In the longer term, British suppliers may contract for pipeline gas from Russia, from other former Soviet Union countries, from Middle Eastern suppliers such as Iran, and from elsewhere.
The Energy White Paper noted that expansion of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market would contribute to diversity and security and would provide competition to piped gas. There are three active projects considering LNG imports to the UK. One aims to bring LNG from Qatar; the other two have not yet publicly committed to particular sources of gas. LNG imports could come from a variety of Atlantic Basin or Middle East sources. Some of the closest include Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria—countries all with significant LNG expansion plans.
The Energy White Paper also sets out our strategy for encouraging the development of a competitive international market place, and for monitoring developments affecting the reliability of energy supplies.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contingency plans she will put in place to ensure that energy is delivered to households in the UK in the event that future foreign gas supplies are interrupted. [125580]
Mr. Timms: The Government are committed to attracting diverse and reliable future sources of gas supply to the UK.
In the event of gas shortage, Transco, the operators of the national gas transmission system, have well-established procedures. These procedures are designed to ensure that domestic supplies are taken off only as a last resort.
These plans are tested regularly and, under the auspices of the Gas Industry Emergency Committee, they are reviewed continually to ensure that they take account of changes in the market and infrastructure.
Copies of the plans are available in the Libraries of the House.
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