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20 Oct 2003 : Column 443W—continued
Construction Industry
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions her Department has had with trade associations in the construction sector regarding the impact of increasing insurance premiums. [132868]
Nigel Griffiths: The DTI has regular discussions with various trade associations and umbrella bodies in the construction sector, and is working closely with the trade associations, to produce practical advice and guidance to construction firms on insurance matters.
Consultancies
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many consultancies were commissioned by her Department in the last two years for which figures are available; and what the cost of those contracts was. [130904]
Ms Hewitt: During 2002–03, the Department's recorded expenditure on consultancy was £52 million in respect of some 180 projects. The comparable expenditure in 2001–02 was £55 million. No figures are available in respect of the number of projects commissioned for that year.
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The Department is currently undertaking a review of its consultancy expenditure, with the objective of maximising the value for money obtained from the deployment of consultants through:
- the effective management of consultancies and exploitation of their conclusions;
more cost-effective procurement practices; and
the consistent capture of data.
Aggregate Exports
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of UK marine dredged aggregate is exported to (a) Holland and (b) other EU countries. [133253]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information is not collected in the form requested. However, in the year ending June 2003—the latest quarter for which data are available—sales of sand and gravel in Great Britain amounted to 83,318,000 tonnes, of which 12,451,000 tonnes were marine dredged. Exports of sand to the EU totalled 232,000 tonnes over the same period, or slightly less that 0.3 per cent of the total, of which none was exported to the Netherlands. A further 121,000 tonnes were imported, a proportion of which may have been re-exported. It is not possible to identify exports of sand by source, i.e. whether they were obtained from marine dredging or were land won.
Power Supply
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of whether (a) electricity demand is likely to surpass 54.4 GW in England and Wales during this winter, (b) gas demand is likely to surpass 450 Mcm during this winter and (c) there is sufficient (i) electricity generation capacity and (ii) gas supply and storage capacity to meet this demand; and if she will make a statement. [132431]
Mr. Timms: National Grid Transco reports annually to Ofgem on the outlook for the forthcoming winter. Ofgem published the latest assessment on 14 October 2003. The assessment covers winter peak electricity and gas demand. It also covers electricity generation capacity and gas supply.
The report is available in the Libraries of the House.
DTI is working with Ofgem, through the joint energy security of supply working group (JESS) to monitor energy security, specifically taking a forward look and make the conclusions publicly available—allowing market participants to react in good time.
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of the proportion of electricity demand in the United Kingdom in (a) 2005, (b) 2010, (c) 2015 and (d) 2020 that will be met by electricity generated using (i) gas and (ii) renewable fuels. [132432]
Mr. Timms: The latest provisional DTI energy projections which update those in Energy Paper 68, indicate a share for gas generation of 33 per cent. and 50 per cent. in 2005 and 2010 respectively. For renewables, the shares are 5 per cent. and 10 per cent. respectively. Further updating of these estimates is
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under way, including estimates for later years. The projections are available at the following website: http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/projections.pdf
Environmental Measures
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 17 July 2003, Official Report, column 509W, on environmental measures, what assessment she has made of the economic benefits to UK environmental industries of the markets created by each measure; what methodology she used to carry out each assessment; and where each assessment is published. [131893]
Ms Hewitt: The regulatory impact assessments referred to in my answer of 17 July took account of the costs and benefits to all relevant sectors, and were produced in accordance with best practice, as set out in the Cabinet Office publication "Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment". All the assessments were published in the corresponding DTI and Defra consultation papers, and placed on the appropriate Departmental website.
EU Emissions Trading Scheme
Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact on industry of liability for the costs of the EU Emissions Trading scheme, with particular reference to the paper industry. [131972]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 14 October 2003]: We are currently working on implementing the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. We have already undertaken a draft consultation on different methodologies and a consultation is under way on draft regulations. A consultation on the draft national allocation plan will start in December 2003. Other analytical work is under way. It is not possible at present to calculate the impact on specific sectors while a number of aspects of implementation are still to be agreed and action by other member states to be finalised.
Hawk Contract
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what measures the Government will take to ensure that end-use undertakings made in relation to equipment or technology licensed for transfer to India as part of the intended sale of 66 Hawk jets to India will be honoured; [130773]
- (2) what conditions will be placed on the end-use of any equipment and technology licensed for transfer to India in relation to the 66 Hawk jets intended for sale to India. [130774]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply. All licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. The stated end-use of the equipment is one factor taken into account when making the assessment.
The Hawk trainer aircraft are intended solely for training purposes, although they would have limited combat capability as they are fitted with the necessary systems and interfaces to allow them to carry a range of weapons for training for combat.
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Beyond the standard end-user undertaking requirements for export licences (which our Posts overseas will monitor), no specific additional conditions would normally be placed on the end-use of any equipment and technology licensed for transfer to India.
The Indian Air Force already has a range of other aircraft that are much more suitable for combat purposes, including modern Mirage 2000 and SU-30 aircraft. Although it would be possible for the Indians to convert the aircraft in an operational role, we are confident they are purchasing the aircraft for training purposes to fill a gap between their existing trainer aircraft and their front-line fast jets. The Hawk is to be used to teach Indian pilots to fly fast jets safely.
Iraq
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether components of British manufacture from the two vehicles suspected of weapons of mass destruction production were bought with Export Credit Guarantee Department credits; and if she will make a statement. [131486]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 14 October 2003]: The coalition has not yet made a definitive identification of the vehicles and the components in question. From the information available to date, ECGD has no reason to believe that its cover was given in respect of such components.
IT Industry
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her policy is on the relationship between the number of work permits granted to overseas applicants to work in the IT industry and vacancy levels and unemployment levels among domestic employees in that sector. [132309]
Ms Hewitt: The government's Sector Advisory Panel for IT meets regularly to assess the system for issuing work permits. The composition of the panel is broad and includes members from representative organisations and contractor groups. This panel advises in the UK's national interest and ensures that we strike the right balance between enabling employers to move skilled staff from within their companies while protecting job opportunities for resident workers. This policy is kept under regular review.
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