---

18 Sept 2003 : Column 878W—continued

Personnel Administration

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff were employed in personnel administration within the Department in each year since 1997. [130815]

Nigel Griffiths: Given the changes to the structure and organisation of the Department since 1997, I am unable to provide comparative figures immediately. I will write to the hon. Member giving her what information we have available.

Postal Services

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the closure of the post office at Priors Park, Tewkesbury. [129527]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 15 September 2003]: Consultation on a proposal to close Priors Park post office was announced by Post Office Ltd. on 4 July. Their decision to proceed with closure was notified on 22 August, and I understand that the office is due to close on 29 September.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on post office closures in the south-east. [130375]

Mr. Timms: Post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. I understand from them that in the year to end March 2003, there were net closures of 39 post-offices in south-east England, of which 19 were under the urban reinvention programme. In the quarter to end June 2003, there were 56 net closures of which 50 were under the urban reinvention programme.

Property Ownership Rights

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the impact of delays in establishing property ownership rights in developing countries upon British companies trading in such countries. [129429]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have not made an assessment in these terms.

18 Sept 2003 : Column 879W

Renewable Obligation Certificates

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to reform the arrangements for renewable obligation certificate trading, with specific reference to the protection of traders affected by losses caused by a supplier going out of business. [130585]

Mr. Timms: I am aware of the concerns of traders likely to affected by the potential shortfall in the Renewables Buy-Out Fund, as a consequence of TXU's going into administration.

However since the extent of any possible shortfall will not be clear until 1 October, it is too early at this stage to assess the impact on the renewables market or to assess whether there is a need to make any changes to the renewables obligation.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to ensure compliance under arrangements for renewable obligation certificate trading. [130586]

Mr. Timms: Under the Renewables Obligation Order 2002, Ofgem have responsibility for monitoring compliance with the Renewables Obligation. Licensed electricity suppliers must demonstrate compliance to Ofgem by 1 October either through redeeming Renewable Obligation Certificates or paying the buy-out price.

Thorp

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the value of investments in Thorp. [129396]

Mr. Timms: An assessment of the economics of Thorp was published in 1993 as part of the public consultation process concerning operation of the plant. This assessment may be found in the Library of the House. It states that the costs associated with constructing Thorp amounted to £5.5 billion. It also explains that the contracts for the baseload period of the plant's operation provide for recovery of full capital costs as well as the on-going operating costs and provide for the operator, BNFL, to make a profit. Details of BNFL's financial performance—including the performance of its spent fuel management business—are provided in the company's annual reports which are also in the Libraries of the House.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations she has received from the Irish Minister for the Environment on projected closure dates for the Thorp nuclear plant at Sellafield. [128808]

Mr. Timms: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry received a letter dated 26 August from Ireland's Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government which seeks information about the future operation of Thorp in the light of extensive recent media reports on this matter in Ireland.

18 Sept 2003 : Column 880W

Unsecured Loans

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what powers there are to restrict young adults in borrowing large amounts of money in unsecured loans; and what plans she has for further action to limit the amount of money young adults are allowed to borrow in unsecured loans; [129752]

(2) whether financial services companies are required to assess a young adult client's ability to repay loans before allowing a loan; [129753]

(3) how many people under 25 are being prosecuted for non-payment of loans. [129754]

Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 17 September 2003]: There are currently no powers to restrict the access of any individual over the age of 18 to credit.

Lenders, who have signed up to voluntary codes of practice such as the British Banking Code or the Finance and Leasing Association Code, provide the majority of credit. These require them to assess a consumer's ability to repay any credit they are seeking to borrow. I intend to publish a White Paper on consumer credit this autumn, which will include proposals to require all lenders lend responsibly.

Figures are not collated centrally for how many individuals are prosecuted for non-payment of loans and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

World Trade Negotiations

Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to promote the interests of developing countries in world trade negotiations; and if she will make a statement. [130821]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry made a statement to the House on Wednesday 17 September 2003, Official Report, columns 861–63 and I refer the hon. Member to that statement.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she will make at Cancun with respect to improving property ownership structures and recognition in developing countries. [130036]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 16 September 2003]: The Government have always made clear that the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) should provide real benefits for developing countries. We took the opportunity of the World Trade Organisation Ministerial talks in Cancun to press for progress in the various trade and development issues contained in the DDA.

I refer my hon. Friend to the oral statement made in the House on 17 September.

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether (a) the EU Commissioner and (b) she asked the Chairman to reconsider the closure of the WTO meeting at Cancun. [131246]

Ms Hewitt: I and a number of EU colleagues asked Commissioner Lamy at a meeting of the EU Council on Sunday to urge the Chairman to reconsider the closure

18 Sept 2003 : Column 881W

of the conference. The EU along with other WTO members felt that with more time, it would have been possible to reach an agreement which would have benefited both developing and developed countries.

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the United Kingdom tried to change the EU policy at the Cancun Summit in the light of the views of developing countries. [131247]

Ms Hewitt: The UK played a major role in supporting the EU's negotiating mandate at Cancun. We were able to use our particular links with Commonwealth countries and others to understand their concerns and to explain to them the EU position and vice versa. We and others were able to relay to the Commission the concerns which some developing countries had on some issues e.g. the Singapore issues. I myself have for some time made it clear publicly and privately that, while I strongly support developing countries receiving more foreign direct investment, it is not a priority of this government to launch negotiations on an investment agreement.

It was Commissioner Lamy who took the decision, with agreement of all EU members states to drop the proposal to launch negotiations on the WTO agreements on investment and competition.

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the United Kingdom delegation to the Cancun Summit departed from the EU line during the plenary sessions. [131248]

Ms Hewitt: No. We fully supported the EU position during the plenary sessions at Cancun.

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she had with the EU Trade Commissioner during the course of the Cancun Summit. [131249]

Ms Hewitt: I met Commissioner Lamy at two European Councils. I also had informal discussions with him.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the cost to the UK economy of the recent collapse of the talks at the World Trade Organisation Fifth Ministerial in Cancun. [131254]

Ms Hewitt: The lack of progress at Cancun was disappointing, but it does not mean that the Doha Development Round of trade liberalisation is over.

The benefits to developing and developed world economies from a successful round which achieves real liberalisation are considerable.

A number of studies have attempted to quantify these gains. The size of the estimated gains vary significantly depending on, among other things, the scale of liberalisation assumed to be implemented, the timing of liberalisation and the range of benefits taken into account.

These studies do not separately identify the effects on the UK economy, but they do suggest that the EU as a whole would benefit from trade liberalisation. A study by the European Commission ¹ , for example, estimated the gains to the EU from a global 50 per cent. cut in

18 Sept 2003 : Column 882W

protection would be in the region of $92 billion. A reasonable assumption is that the gains to the UK would be roughly proportional to our share of EU GDP and external trade (around 17 per cent.). This would imply annual income gains in the region of $16 billion. Another study by Michigan University ² suggests that global elimination of trade barriers could increase EU incomes by as much as $500 billion. Again, assuming the UK gains proportionately, this could mean an annual boost to UK incomes of over $70 billion. The benefits would feed through gradually as liberalisation is implemented in many scenarios taking over a decade.

In addition, a successful round of trade liberalisation is likely to have a more immediate effect by providing a boost to global economic confidence. The scale of this benefit is impossible to predict but would certainly be considerable.

¹ The Millennium Round: An economic appraisal by Nigel Nagarajan 1999.

² "CGE Modelling and Analysis of Multilateral and Regional Negotiating Options" Drusilla Brown, Alan Deardoff and Robert Stern Michigan Discussion Paper number 468 2001.

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her attendance at the Fifth World Trade Organisation Ministerial held recently in Cancun. [131255]

Ms Hewitt: I made a full statement to the House, on my attendance at the recent 5th World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference held in Cancun, on Wednesday 17 September.

---