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22 Oct 2003 : Column 584W—continued
Industrial Tribunals
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many industrial tribunal cases have been brought in each year since 1997. [132863]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Statistics on the number of Employment Tribunal applications are collated on a financial year basis.
| Financial year | Number of registered applications |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 88,910 |
| 1997–98 | 80,435 |
| 1998–99 | 91,913 |
| 1999–2000 | 103,935 |
| 2000–01 | 130,408 |
| 2001–02 | 112,227 |
| 2002–03 | 98,617 |
Source:
Employment Tribunals Service annual reports and accounts
Knowledge Economy
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to implement recommendation 15 of the Cross-Cutting Review of the Knowledge Economy published in December 2000; and if she will make a statement. [131988]
Ms Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to her by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary on 15 October 2003, Official Report, column 282W.
Manufacturing
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what investment has been made in research and development in manufacturing in the UK since 1997. [133135]
Jacqui Smith: The Office for National Statistics Business Enterprise Research and Development survey provides the following data on research and development in manufacturing in the UK since 1997:
| Cash terms | Real terms (2001 prices) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 7,608 | 8,360 |
| 1998 | 8,142 | 8,707 |
| 1999 | 8,995 | 9,392 |
| 2000 | 9,231 | 9,429 |
| 2001 | 10,040 | 10,040 |
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her plans for supporting manufacturing. [133136]
22 Oct 2003 : Column 585W
Jacqui Smith: The Government's Manufacturing Strategy published in May last year, identified seven key areas of activity for Government and industry that are crucial for manufacturing success. We are taking action in all of those areas to support UK manufacturers.
For example, the Manufacturing Advisory Service has been a real success as a major source of advice and support for small and medium sized manufacturers. Since it launched in April 2002, the Manufacturing Advisory Service has handled over 17,000 inquiries from manufacturing companies and has carried out over 3,000 diagnostic and advisory visits. Over 1,000 firms have benefited from in-depth consultancies to help them improve their productivity. The total value added benefit to firms helped by the Manufacturing Advisory Service is £18 million.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate her Department has made of the supply of manufacturing labourers throughout the United Kingdom. [132853]
Jacqui Smith: Official statistical sources, such as the Labour Force Survey and Employers Surveys, do not provide estimates of the supply of manufacturing labourers.
There were 3.7 million workforce jobs in the manufacturing industry in the UK in June 2003.
Mine Shafts (Householders' Insurance)
David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the proposed insurance scheme and related matters for householders whose properties are affected by mine shafts. [133555]
Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 21 October 2003]: At the end of last month, the Coal Authority launched an initiative to provide alongside every residential mining report it produces, insurance cover which will mitigate against any loss of property value, up to a maximum of £20,000, attributable to any material change of the mining information revealed in any subsequent mining report on the same property. At the same time the Authority introduced an interpretive mining report service which will provide more detailed analysis and advice about mine entries including a risk assessment as to whether, in the expert opinion of the Coal Authority, the main building of a property is inside or outside the possible zone of ground movement from any reported mine entry.
The Coal Authority has developed these services under the auspices of the Department's Mineshafts Working Group, established last year to explore initiatives which might ameliorate the blighting effect which the proximity of historic coal mineshafts is perceived to have on certain properties, particularly in the West Midlands. The Coal Authority is also investigating the scope for development of non-invasive detection techniques capable of locating mining features in built-up environments. The Authority continues to work closely with property practitioners at a local level with a view to raising awareness of the very low statistical risk which historic mineshafts represent.
22 Oct 2003 : Column 586W
Mobile Phone Companies
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether mobile telephone companies are categorised as statutory undertakers using the same criteria as apply to electricity and gas companies. [133181]
Mr. Timms: 'Statutory undertaker' is a concept found in a wide range of legislation across different sectors. In the electronic communications sector, a person or undertaking (such as a mobile telephone company) is not likely to satisfy any definition of 'statutory undertaker' unless they have had the electronic communications code applied to them by a direction by Ofcom pursuant to section 106 of the Communications Act 2003. The electronic communications code gives certain powers to operators vis-a-vis the installation of apparatus. The criteria which Ofcom must consider in deciding whether or not to apply the electronic communications code to a person or undertaking are set out in section 107(4) of the Communications Act 2003. The position in the gas and electricity sectors is different, as gas and electricity still have a licensing-based regime, whereas electronic communications does not.
National Investment Bank
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will establish a national investment bank to oversee industrial development and assist growth industries. [133138]
Jacqui Smith: I have no such plans. A range of facilities are offered by Government, the devolved Administrations and Regional Development Agencies to assist businesses reach their full growth potential.
Norwich Airport
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to assess the sale of Norwich airport for value for money. [131216]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 14 October 2003]: I have been asked to reply.The Government do not plan to assess the sale of Norwich airport. It is the duty of the Directors to act in the best interest of the company, and thereby in the best interest of the shareholding authorities. Moreover, the sale would be subject to scrutiny by the District Auditor.
Post Office Card Accounts
Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what activity her Department is undertaking to publicise the Post Office card account. [133387]
Mr. Timms: None. The promotion of Post Office products and services is a matter for the company. Post Office Ltd. is providing information to customers and guidance to sub-postmasters on the range of banking options available at post offices, including the Post Office card account.
Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of customers opening Post Office card accounts on the viability of sub-post offices. [133388]
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Mr. Timms: The number of customers who will eventually choose to open a Post Office card account is difficult to predict, at this stage. However, the Post Office card account is only one of a range of banking options available at post offices. All the major high street banks are providing access to a basic bank account through post offices. In addition, the Alliance and Leicester, Barclays and Lloyds/TSB are providing electronic access at post offices to all their current accounts—some 20 million accounts in total. The Post Office also provides cheque based banking services for customers of the Cooperative bank and the internet banks, Smile and Cahoot. The Post Office is in discussion with the banks to modernise these services and to extend commercial arrangements to cover other financial institutions. Universal banking services, together with the Post Office's plans for an expansion of commercial banking arrangements, should lead to an increase in the number of people using post offices to do banking transactions. Wider access to bank accounts at post offices opens up a very much larger market than benefit recipients alone, and this should benefit sub-postmasters both directly and through increased footfall.
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