| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
16 Sept 2003 : Column 639W—continued
Asbestos
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many UKAS asbestos surveyors are registered in the UK. [129934]
Nigel Griffiths: The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the Health and Safety Executive, which holds the data.
British Energy
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she intends to take in the event that British Energy is unable to reach agreement with its creditors by 30 September. [129939]
Mr. Timms: British Energy continues to work on implementing its restructuring plan and the announcement on 11 September of its sale of Amergen was a further step in that process. But, British Energy
16 Sept 2003 : Column 640W
still needs to work hard to implement the plan in full, and, as we have made clear since last year, the Government is prepared for administration should it fail.
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes in the time deadlines originally set for British Energy to sell off its North American assets in the restructuring plan have been made since the plan was announced; and what the reasons are for those changes. [130306]
Mr. Timms: With regard to British Energy's 50 per cent. interest in its US joint venture, Amergen, I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, on 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 3WS. British Energy announced on 11 September that it had agreed the sale of its interest in Amergen.
British Energy completed the sale of its interest in Brace Power within the deadline set out in its restructuring plan.
BSkyB
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will instruct the Office of Fair Trading to reopen its investigation into BSkyB's pricing structure for licensed premises; and if she will make a statement. [129036]
Mr. Sutcliffe: For the Office of Fair Trading to launch an investigation into this matter they must have reasonable grounds to suspect that there has been an infringement of the Competition Act 1998. This is entirely a matter for the Office of Fair Trading to determine.
Building Standards
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are in place to assist people who are victims of poor standards of work by builders; if she will take steps to set up a national list of reputable builders and plumbers; and if she will make a statement. [129152]
Nigel Griffiths: The best protection against cowboy builders is not to give work to casual workers that house holders meet in pubs, but rather to use someone reputable and qualified to carry out the work. The Quality Mark scheme has been established in England to achieve quality, and in Scotland the Construction Licensing executive has developed a new registration scheme.
Company Records
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will allow Companies House to amend publicly available company records if a company is subject to a police investigation. [130243]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Companies Act and not the Secretary of State governs the maintenance of the register of companies. The Companies Act does not allow the registrar to amend publicly available company records if a company is subject to a police investigation.
16 Sept 2003 : Column 641W
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will require Companies House to amend its website and correspondence material with a disclaimer stating that the reliability of company records cannot be guaranteed. [130244]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Companies House has had a disclaimer on its website for a number of years. However, I can confirm that the website has recently been amended to state that information is accepted by Companies House in good faith, and that the fact that it has been placed on the public record should not be taken to indicate that Companies House has validated it in any way. Companies House issues such a wide range and high volume of correspondence material, that it would not be appropriate to annotate it in this way.
Competition Act
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the occasions when she has used her powers under Chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998 to amend Schedule 3 to that Act; what her reasons for doing so were in each case; and if she will make a statement. [130654]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The powers under Chapter 1of the Competition Act 1998 to amend Schedule 3 to that Act have not been exercised.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the occasions when she has provided an exemption to Chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998; what her reasons for doing so were in each case; and if she will make a statement. [130655]
Mr. Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry provided for an exemption to Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 for public transport ticketing schemes, under the Competition Act (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) Order 2001, SI 2001/319, which came into force on 1 March 2001.
The Order was made on the recommendation of the Director General of Fair Trading, that the category of agreements concerned were likely to meet the criteria for exemption under section 9 of the Competition Act 1998.
Competition Commission/Competition Appeal Tribunal
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when each of the present members of (a) the Competition Commission and (b) the Competition Appeal Tribunal were appointed; and what procedure was used. [130651]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows.
16 Sept 2003 : Column 642W
| Name | Date of first appointment |
|---|---|
| Morris, Sir D | 1 October 1991 |
| Freeman, Mr P | 6 May 2003 |
| Geroski, Prof PA | 2 March 1998 |
| Kingsmill, Mrs. D | 14 April 1997 |
| Trelford, Prof D.G. | 11 February 1999 |
| Ahmed, Mr. S | 4 March 1999 |
| Gibson, Mr. W | 4 March 1999 |
| Holbrook, Mr. G.L. | 4 March 1999 |
| Christmas, Ms L.I. | 11 February 1999 |
| Hopkirk, Mrs. M.J. | 4 March 1999 |
| Pollard, Ms E. | 4 March 1999 |
| Wilson, Mr. C.M. | 11 February 1999 |
| Klemperer, Prof P. | 10 September 2001 |
| Hamlin, Prof A. | 10 September 2001 |
| Moizer, Prof P. | 10 September 2001 |
| Elks. Mr. L. | 10 September 2001 |
| Haskel, Prof J. | 10 September 2001 |
| Wilks. Prof S. | 10 September 2001 |
| Goodall, Mr. C. | 10 September 2001 |
| Stoddart, Mr. P. | 10 September 2001 |
| Walzer, Mr. S. | 10 September 2001 |
| Holroyd, Mr. R. | 10 September 2001 |
| Clarke, Mr. C. | 10 September 2001 |
| Collings, Dr. J. | 10 September 2001 |
| Gregory, Prof A. | 10 September 2001 |
| Prof John Baillie | 9 January 2002 |
| Peter Hazell | 9 January 2002 |
| Turgoose, Mr. R. | 1 February 2002 |
| Lyons, Prof B. | 1 July 2002 |
| Rawlinson, Mr. R.A. | 5 January 1998 |
| Henderson, Mr. C.E. | 5 January 1998 |
| Darke, Mr. C. | 2 February 1998 |
| Garthwaite, Mr. N(1) | 27 March 2000 |
| Hadley, Mr. G.H.(1) | 27 March 2000 |
| Parker, Prof D.(1) | 27 March 2000 |
| Webster, Mr. M.(1) | 27 March 2000 |
| Seddon, Mr. E.J.(1) | 27 March 2000 |
| Young, Mr. A.M.(1) | 27 March 2000 |
| Graham, Prof C.(1) | 27 March 2000 |
| Smallwood, Mr. C. | 10 September 2001 |
| Brown, Mrs. S.E. | 1 February 1998 |
| Monck, Dr. E.(1) | 27 March 2000 |
| Mills, Dame B. | 10 September 2001 |
| Coyle, Ms D. | 10 September 2001 |
| Waddams, Prof C. | 1 November 2001 |
| Guy, Ms D. | 1 December 2001 |
| Rickford, Mr. J. | 9 December 1997 |
| Stark, Mr. J.D. | 2 March 1998 |
| Shovelton, Mrs. H. | 11 December 1997 |
| Garthwaite, Mr. N. | 1 June 1998 |
| Hadley, Mr. G.H. | 1 June 1998 |
| Macdonald, Mr. N. | 1 June 1998 |
| Parker, Prof D. | 1 June 1998 |
| Young, Mr. A.M. | 1 July 1998 |
| Hadfield, Mr. A. | 1 July 1998 |
| Seddon, Mr. E.J. | 1 July 1998 |
| Graham, Prof C. | 31 March 1999 |
| Monck, Dr. E. | 31 March 1999 |
| Foster, Mr. T. | 1 September 2003 |
(1) Specialist panel members also appointed to the reporting panel following a limited competition in 2000.
16 Sept 2003 : Column 643W
These appointments were made, under the Competition Act 1998, to the Competition Commission Appeal Tribunals, the forerunner of the Competition Appeal Tribunal created by the Enterprise Act 2000. The members were transferred to the new body on 1 April 2003.
Except as indicated, all appointments to the Competition Commission and the Competition Appeal Tribunal were made by open advertised competition following and, since 1996, in accordance with the guidelines of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the duties and responsibilities of (a) the Competition Commission and (b) the Competition Appeal Tribunal are; and if she will make a statement. [130652]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows.
The Competition Commission is responsible for conducting investigations, after referral by the Office of Fair Trading, the Secretary of State or various regulators into markets, mergers licence modifications and other matters involving competition issues under the following legislation:
- Enterprise Act 2002
Fair Trading Act 1973
Water Industry Act 1991
Broadcasting Act 1990
Telecommunications Act 1984
Gas Act 1986
Gas (N. Ireland) Order 1996
Electricity Act 1989
Electricity (N. Ireland) Order 1992
Airports Act 1986
Airports (N. Ireland) Order 1994
Railways Act 1993
Postal Services Act 2000
Transport Act 2000
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
16 Sept 2003 : Column 644W
The responsibilities of the CAT are:
- to hear appeals in respect of decisions made under the Competition Act 1998 by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the regulators in the telecommunications, electricity, gas, water, railways and air traffic services sectors;
to hear actions for damages and other monetary claims under the Competition Act 1998;
to review decisions made by the Secretary of State, OFT and the Competition Commission in respect of merger and market references or possible reference under the Enterprise Act 2002;
to hear appeals in respect of decisions made by the Office of Fair Trading under the EC Competition Law (Articles 84 and 85) Enforcement Regulations 2001 (as amended) in respect of air transport services and international maritime tramp vessel services.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |