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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Accident Group

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had concerning payment of redundancy payments to employees of the Accident Group; and if she will make a statement. [121284]

Jacqui Smith: The Birmingham Redundancy Payments Office has received 1,870 claims from former employees of the Accident Group. Most of these workers have received payments or will do so in the next few days.

Russian Northern Fleet

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her role in the recent grant of financial aid to the Russian Northern fleet in respect to nuclear decommissioning; and from which budget this assistance came. [128167]

Mr. Timms: The Department manages a £32.5 million per annum programme of financial and technical assistance to Russia and other Former Soviet Union countries to address nuclear legacy issues. It includes a number of projects to help Russia deal with Spent Nuclear Fuel from decommissioned nuclear submarines as well as contributing to their dismantlement as part of the initiative launched by G8 leaders at the Kananaskis summit in 2002. Our initial portfolio of projects was announced during President Putin's state visit to the UK in June 2003. These include the dismantlement of two nuclear submarines, the construction of a new storage facilities for Spent Nuclear Fuel, and a series of projects to assist in the eventual safe removal of Spent Nuclear Fuel from Andreeva Bay—a former Russian Navy storage site for Spent Fuel from navy vessels and ice breakers. During this visit the Foreign Secretary signed a bilateral Agreement with the Russian Foreign Minister, which provides the legal cover for these projects to proceed. During the visit the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Hove (Mr. Caplin) also signed the Arctic Military Cooperation Agreement (AMEC) that will allow a number of environmental nuclear clean up projects associated with submarine dismantlement to proceed. The AMEC assistance projects will be managed and provided with financial support under the DTI managed FSU Programme. In undertaking all these projects , the Department is working closely with both the MOD and FCO together with our Moscow embassy. We plan to publish by the end of the year a detailed report setting out the achievements in establishing this programme over the past two years. Further information on the programme and projects in Russia is available from the DTI website—www.dti.gov.uk/energy/nuclear/fsu/index.shtml

Arms Exports

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the export licences on the Military and Dual Lists granted to companies in the UK or to a (a) UK registered company and

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(b) overseas national which have been (i) varied and (ii) revoked in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [125666]

Nigel Griffiths: The details of export licences that have been revoked are published in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls, copies of which are the available from the Libraries of the House. The Annual Report also contains details of Open Individual Export Licences that have been varied so as to exclude a particular destination.

Variations to licences may be made for a number of reasons and it would entail disproportionate cost to list all export licences that have been varied since 2 May 1997.

The Department of Trade and Industry's Export Control Organisation does not record the nationality of applicants for an export licence.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the licences granted for the export of military equipment to Indonesia since 2002. [127042]

Nigel Griffiths: Between 1 January 2003 and 11 July 2003, the Department of Trade and Industry's Export Control Organisation issued 54 Standard Individual Export Licences and two Open Individual Export Licences, authorising the export of items on the Military List, where the end users were in Indonesia, with the following ratings:

ML1


ML4


ML5


ML6


ML10


ML11


ML13


ML22


PL5017.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what vehicle models are specified in the open licence for the export to Indonesia of armoured all wheel drive vehicles; what the terms are of the licence; and for what reason an open licence was granted. [127043]

Nigel Griffiths: The Department of Trade and Industry's Export Control Organisation issued an Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) on 4 March 2002, authorising the export of no more than 3 CAMAC CAV 100 armoured all wheel drive vehicles to provide protection for BBC correspondents in Indonesia.

The standard conditions set out in every OIEL include, for example, the right of the Department of Trade and Industry to revoke the licence at any time.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what components or associated equipment for Hawk aircraft and Scorpion tanks were licensed for export to Indonesia in 2002. [127044]

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Nigel Griffiths: The details of all relevant export licences are published by destination in the Government's Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls. A copy of the 2002 Annual Report is available from the Libraries of the House.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she will list the model and value of (a) aircraft cannons and (b) military use vehicles for which licences were granted for export to Indonesia in 2002; [127045]

(2) if she will list the models of (a) aircraft cannons, (b) armoured fighting vehicles, (c) armoured personnel carriers, (d) combat aircraft, (e) combat helicopters and (f) general military aircraft for which components or associated equipment were licensed for export to Indonesia in 2002; and what the nature was of the components or associated equipment in each case. [127046]

Nigel Griffiths: The details of all relevant export licences are published by destination in the Government's Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls. A copy of the 2002 Annual Report is available from the Libraries of the House.

It would entail disproportionate cost to provide information on the models, values, components and associated equipment for which licences were granted for the proposed export to Indonesia since 2 May 1997.

BNFL

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much public money has been invested by BNFL in the US Nuclear Energy Institute in each year from 1997 to date. [119537]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 16 June 2003]: Subscriptions made by BNFL Inc. and Westinghouse Electric Company to the US Nuclear Energy Institute are a matter for BNFL.

Departmental Costs

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost was to her Department for (a) ministerial cars and drivers, (b) taxis, (c) train travel, (d) the use of helicopters, (e) airline tickets and (f) chartered aeroplanes in each year since 1997. [123078]

Ms Hewitt: For parts (a and f) of the question I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 17 July 2003, Official Report, column 500W.

For parts (b, c, d and e) the DTI has devolved to local management the authorisation of travel claims for its staff, subject to checking procedures. It does not record the cost of taxis, train travel, helicopters or airline tickets used by staff separately. To obtain accurate data for the information requested would entail disproportionate cost.

Egg Industry

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the impact of possible reductions in European Union import tariffs on the UK egg industry. [127617]

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Mr. Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.

The Government are in favour of substantial market liberalisation and it is our policy to encourage international trade. Reductions in import tariffs will open the EU market to greater competition but the UK egg industry is in a strong position to compete through its ability to adapt quickly to market needs including through the operation of quality assurance schemes.

Electricity Supply Companies

Mr. Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the companies supplying electricity to domestic consumers, indicating the nationality of the individuals and organisations holding a controlling interest. [128299]

Mr. Timms: The largest domestic electricity supply companies are Powergen, Innogy, Centrica, EDF Energy, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Energy.

Centrica, Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy are British owned. EDF Energy is owned by Electricite de France; Powergen is owned by German utility; EON and Innogy is also owned by a German company, RWE.

There are also many smaller independent companies providing electricity to consumers.

Further details of all the companies licensed to supply domestic electricity in the UK can be found on the Ofgem website: www.ofgem.gov.uk

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