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1 Sept 2003 : Column 696W—continued
Council of Ministers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on (1) how many occasions since May 1997 the Department's vote in the Council of Ministers against a legislative proposal (a) was and (b) was not sufficient to achieve with other member states a blocking minority; [117208]
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- (2) on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department abstained in the Council of Ministers on a legislative proposal which was passed by qualified majority voting; [117223]
(3) on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department has been outvoted by qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers; and if she will list the legislation by year; [117247]
(4) on how many occasions since May 1997 the Department indicated dissent from a proposal in the Council of Ministers but did not register a vote or abstention. [117260]
Ms Hewitt: It is not possible to identify these occasions when a blocking minority has been assembled against a proposal in the Council of Ministers; it is agreement that triggers the recording of a vote. For the same reason it is not possible to identify these occasions when the UK indicated dissent without abstaining or voting against the proposal.
It is good practice for the UK to work closely with the other member states and the Commission to influence and have our views taken into account prior to any vote at the Council of Ministers.
Credit Card Industry
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she will review the practice of differential charging structures for credit card cheque books as part of the review of the Consumer Credit Act 1974; [116718]
- (2) if her Department will ban the issuing of unsolicited credit card cheque books as part of its review of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. [116719]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Miss Johnson) gave him on 5 June 2003, Official Report, columns 531–32W. However I should emphasise that I believe that the practice of sending unsolicited credit card cheques should be discouraged but that this issue should be addressed by the credit industry changing its codes of practice rather than by regulation.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has for redeployment of members of her Department out of London and the South East. [125362]
Ms Hewitt: The scope for relocating Government activity is being considered by Sir Michael Lyons. His independent review was announced in the Chancellor's budget statement on 9 April.
Details of the review, including the consultation launched on 19 June, can be found on the HM Treasury website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk Sir Michael will report his findings on the scope for relocating Departments and other public sector bodies before the end of the year.
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Deregulation
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the deregulation measures enacted since 1997. [126071]
Ms Hewitt: The Government are committed to removing unnecessary regulatory burdens on business. This commitment is shown through the Regulatory Reform Action Plan, which includes over 250 reforms, with 25 of these being from the DTI. They include:
- the recently enacted Communications Act, which replaces five existing regulators with a single regulator;
the Enterprise Act, involving insolvency reform, which will lead to significant improvements for business; and
abolition of the 20 Partner Limit.
In addition, of the 300 recommendations to Government in the 25 major reports from the Better Regulation Taskforce, we have accepted in full or in part all but 10 recommendations. We continue to identify further areas for action.
Economic Partnership Agreements
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the likely impact of economic partnership agreements signed between the European Union and southern African countries on the economies of African, Caribbean and Pacific states. [126258]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department has not yet made an assessment of the likely impact of economic partnership agreements (EPAs) signed between the European Union (EU) and southern African countries on the economies of ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) states.
Negotiations of EPAs began in September 2002. As part of these negotiations, each ACP state is required to decide with which regional organisation it wishes to enter into an EPA with the EU; many ACP states are still in the process of exploring the options available to them. Any assessment of the likely impact of EPAs signed between the EU and southern African countries on the economies of ACP states will need to consider the resulting geographical configurations.
EU Directives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the EU directives implemented by the Department since 8 June 2001. [126588]
Jacqui Smith: Between 8 June 2001 and April 2002, my Department implemented the following two EU Directives:
| Number | Title/subject matter |
|---|---|
| Directive 96/29 | Laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public concerning the dangers arising from ionising radiation. |
| Directive 97/80 | On the burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex |
For those EU Directives implemented between April 2002 and April 2003,1 refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 28 April 2003, Official Report, columns 178–79.
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Since April 2003, my Department implemented the following two EU Directives:
| Number | Title/subject matter |
|---|---|
| Directive 2000/34 | Amending Council Directive 93/104 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time to cover sectors and activities excluded from that Directive. |
| Directive 2000/78 | Establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation |
EU Regulations
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many regulations originating from the EU have been implemented by her Department over each of the last five years. [120817]
Ms Hewitt: Regulations are, in general, directly applicable in the member states, without the need for implementation in national law. Figures for those which fall within this Department's area of responsibility are not held centrally.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe on 30 June 2003, Official Report, columns 64–65 W which gives estimates for the total number of EC, ECSC and Eurotom Regulations.
Euro
Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment the Government have made of the impact on employment of membership of the single European currency, on each region, by Standard Industrial Classification. [125424]
Mr. Boateng: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to "UK membership of the single currency: An assessment of the five economic tests" (Cm 5776) and the EMU study "EMU and business sectors", which were published on 9 June 2003.
European Working Groups
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress with achieving transparency in respect of the European working groups for which the Department is responsible. [105733]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government have long been committed to greater openness in the EU Institutions. This was a key theme of the UK Presidencies in 1992 and 1998. Making it easier to gain access to non-sensitive documents is crucial to this. The Government welcomed Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. As a result, more documents are released to the public, while genuinely sensitive documents are given the protection they need.
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Much of the Council's work takes place in preparatory bodies, including working groups. Accountability and transparency of Council business to Parliament are ensured by the scrutiny process, to which the Government are also firmly committed.
We strongly supported the measures agreed at the Seville European Council to make the Council more open when in legislating mode. We remain committed to increasing transparency. The Future of Europe Convention is also looking at ways to make the EU more open.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 626W, regarding the three cases in which covenants and other conditions relating to environmental and social impacts were included, what (a) host country legislation and (b) international environmental standard requirements which the Export Credits Guarantee Department stipulated that the relevant projects, goods or services had to comply with to ensure cover was provided. [126087]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Taking each of the projects listed in the answer of 9 June 2003, Official Report, column 626W in turn:
All the participating Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) insisted that covenants were inserted which committed the project to comply with the environmental laws of Nigeria and the environmental guidelines and standards of the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank. In addition, a detailed Environmental and Social Management Plan agreed by ECGD, the participating EGAs and the African Development Bank committed the company to a range of project-specific standards and mitigation measures.
Covenants committed the company to implementing the standards and recommendations set out in the Environmental Impact Assessment and to compliance with Brazilian environmental laws (which we consider to be more stringent than those of the World Bank Group).
Offshore exploration drilling, Brazil
The covenants required the company to regularly provide evidence that it had obtained all relevant environmental permits from the Brazilian authorities, and to notify ECGD of any material environmental incidents.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 13 June 2003, Official Report, column 1103W, excepting host country legislation, whether there are international environmental standard requirements which the Export Credits Guarantee Department makes requisite for every application if it is to be awarded cover. [126088]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: ECGD has, since 2001, sought to ensure that all the civil, non-aerospace cases it supports comply with relevant World Bank Group environmental guidelines and policies.
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Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications deemed to have high potential impact the Export Credits Guarantee Department has (a) received and (b) refused cover for; and what the project type was of those applications (i) received and (ii) refused. [126110]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information is as follows:
(a) ECGD has received 12 applications relating to projects deemed to have high potential impacts. Of these, six are oil and gas projects, four involve power distribution or generation, one is a steel project and one is a bridge.
(b) None of these applications has been refused cover. Two have been approved and both were in the oil and gas sector. The others are either still being assessed or have not progressed because the UK exporter did not win the contract.
Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 25 June, Official Report, column 798W, on the Export Credit Guarantees Department, if she will list, for each country, the amounts (a) which relate to military and defence products, contracts or services and (b) which do not.[125930]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The amounts are detailed by country and split between defence and non-defence in the tables (which have been placed in the Library) by reference to ECGD's exposure as at 30 June 2003. Given the way ECGD's records are held it is not possible to split claims outstanding for recovery in respect of Account 1 (pre-1992 business) between defence and non-defence nor amounts in respect of moratorium interest accrued on claims paid.
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