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30 Oct 2003 : Column 343W—continued
South West Regional Assembly
Mr. Flook: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many full-time equivalent employees were employed by the South West Regional Assembly (a) when it was first established and (b) on 1 October; [135425]
- (2) how many research projects the South West Regional Assembly (a) planned to commission and (b) commissioned in 2002–03; and what the purpose of each project was; [135426]
(3) how many publications have been issued by the South West Regional Assembly in each year since its establishment; and what the cost was of (a) preparation and (b) publication in each case. [135427]
Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The South West Regional Assembly is a voluntary body. The details of its employees, activities and expenditure are a matter for the Assembly.
SSSIs
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the sites of special scientific interest in the ownership of his Department or its agencies. [129344]
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Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its agencies own no sites of special scientific interest.
Starter Homes
Tim Loughton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent on the Starter Home Initiative, broken down by local authority area. [134814]
Keith Hill: As at 30 September 2003, £115,079,497 has been spent on the Starter Home Initiative. The breakdown by region is set out as follows. In addition a table with the breakdown of key workers helped by local authority area is available in the Library of the House. A complete breakdown of spend by individual local authority areas is not readily available.
| Region | Total spend (£) |
|---|---|
| London | 66,126,899 |
| South East | 37,930,397 |
| South West | 3,725,318 |
| Eastern | 7,160,383 |
| West Midlands | 136,500 |
| Total | 115,079,497 |
Thames Gateway Funds
Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what restrictions his Department has placed on the use of the Thames Gateway funds for Canvey Island. [135463]
Keith Hill: As part of the Thames Gateway and Growth Areas announcement of 30 July 2003, the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) was provisionally allocated £6 million to support the regeneration and development of South West Canvey Island.
The provisional allocation is based upon a project proposal presented to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by The Canvey Island Steering Group, through the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership. As with all Thames Gateway projects, formal grant approval is wholly contingent upon the preparation of a fully costed and appraised project package, which has clear and sustainable outputs that meet the Strategic Objectives of the Thames Gateway Growth Area.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Arms Exports
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the UK arms industry complies with Clause II.7 of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. [131153]
Nigel Griffiths: I am informed that the UK is complying with the UN Panel of Government Experts.
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her Answer of 6 October, Official Report, column 1068W, when the United Kingdom will ratify the UN Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Arms. [135100]
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Mr. MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
Following its signature of the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts, Components and Ammunition on 6 May 2002, the UK is now considering with the European Commission and Member States possible amendments to the European Weapons Directive. This is a necessary first step to bring the Directive in line with the UN Firearms Protocol before ratification by Member States.
Broadband (South West)
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many telephone exchanges in the South West are broadband enabled; and what percentage of district council wards are broadband enabled in each county in the South West region. [134552]
Mr. Timms: I understand from BT that they have enabled 147 exchanges in the South West region to date and a further 64 exchanges are 'in build' and so should be enabled early in the new year.
Data at the district council ward level are not available.
Defence Export Licences
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many defence export licences were revoked in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [134599]
Nigel Griffiths: Details of export licences that have been revoked are published in the Government's annual reports on Strategic Export Controls, copies of which are available from the Libraries of the House.
I have asked the Director of the Export Control Organisation to forward these figures to the hon. Member and place them separately in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what procedures are in place to ensure that where a defence export licence is revoked and a defence export licence subsequently granted to allow the export of the same items to an alternate destination, the items are not re-exported or re-directed to the original destination. [134601]
Nigel Griffiths: When a licence is revoked any subsequent application is required to comply with our national arms export licensing criteria and the consolidated EU criteria. The risk of diversion is a valid ground for refusing a licence and steps are taken to assess this risk.
Departmental Employees (Taunton)
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are employed by her Department in (a) the Taunton constituency and (b) Somerset. [121978]
Ms Hewitt: DTI employs staff in more than 60 locations in Britain. The Government Office for the South West, based in Bristol, includes DTI staff and covers Somerset.
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Electricity Supply
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contingency plans are in place to deal with a sudden reduction in electricity supply; and whether priority areas to be supplied have been designated. [134818]
Mr. Timms: Sudden reductions in electricity are handled by National Grid and the Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) using the procedures set out in Operating Conditions 6 of the Grid Code (www.nationalgrid.com/ukindinfo code/).
Generally, demand reductions of up to about 10 per cent. will be handled by voltage reductions. Most consumers would be unaffected—lights may flicker or dim for the period necessary. Some sensitive industrial equipment, such as alarms, may be affected.
If immediate demand reductions above that figure are needed, it is likely that customers would be cut off. The speed with which action has to be taken, and the loads involved, means that isolations are made in local areas at primary sub-station level. This action reduces the likelihood of incidents such as cascade tripping, which were seen recently in the US and Italy. However, discrimination between customers in those areas cannot be implemented.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken to avoid electricity power cuts to (a) domestic and (b) commercial users. [134872]
Mr. Timms: I have nothing to add to the answer given to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) on 14 October 2003, Official Report, column 118W.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of the benefits of generating electricity closer to the source of demand. [134128]
Mr. Timms: Through the New and Renewable Energy Programme, the DTI has funded a number of assessments of the benefits of distributed generation, i.e. smaller generation, which is connected to the distribution networks. Some of the most recent include a study of the impact of distributed generation on network security by UMIST and an investigation of the benefits of "islanded" generation operation by PB Power. Both these studies were undertaken in 2002. Currently, the DTI is funding work through the Distributed Generation Coordinating Group to produce guidance on the potential contribution of distributed generation to the security of the distribution networks, to be used in the design and operation of those networks.
Many of the projects relating to distributed generation initiated by the New and Renewable Energy Programme can be accessed via the DTI's website and a complete list of completed and on-going projects can be provided on request. Details of projects commissioned through the Distributed Generation Coordinating Group can be viewed on the Group's website at: distributed-generation.gov.uk
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