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6 Nov 2003 : Column 736W—continued

Scrapie

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received in the last six months about the eradication of genome groups under the scrapie plan; and if she will make a statement. [135378]

Mr. Bradshaw: Defra has regular contact with stakeholders to discuss a wide range of issues relating to the National Scrapie Plan. Among these are a bi-annual stakeholder forum and various ad hoc industry focus group meetings to discuss and assist in the development of proposals and initiatives to further improve and enhance the National Scrapie Plan.

Sheep Annual Premium

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of sheep annual premium payments were paid more than two months late in England in the last 24 months. [135380]

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Mr. Bradshaw: As detailed in the table, 0.15 per cent. of 2001 Sheep Annual Premium Scheme (SAPS) claims and 0.18 per cent. of 2002 claims were paid two months later than their respective scheme year payment deadlines.

	Scheme year
	2001	2002
Total claims received	30,363	27,083
	Claims paid two months later than the EU payment deadline(1)
Number	46	49
Percentage	0.15	0.18

⁽¹⁾ These relate claims under query.

The payment window for SAPS 2003 opened on 16 October 2003. To date, 98 per cent. of claims have been paid.

Tenant Farmers (Rents)

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the implications for tenant farmers of rural development for rents under the revised Common Agricultural Policy. [134842]

Mr. Bradshaw: The biggest implication for tenant farmers arises from the decoupling of support from production. This will mean that all farmers, including tenants, will have more flexibility in terms of what they produce. This is because the support they receive will no longer be dependent on the types of crop or livestock they farm. Taking the reforms as a whole, it is difficult to forecast the precise effects reform might have on rents. However, where tenants continue to farm and claim support, the requirement for land will continue to underpin the land rental market. Further work is planned in this area and we hope to make the results generally available in due course.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Regional Development Agencies

20. Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Minister for Women, what steps she is taking to help regional development agencies to encourage women to participate in the labour market. [136670]

Ms Hewitt: The Regional Development Agencies have a remit to promote skills, enterprise and labour market participation in their regions. All of these, including the provision of child care, are relevant to women's participation in the labour market.

Equal Pay

21. Judy Mallaber: To ask the Minister for Women, if she will make a statement on progress with the equal pay audits in Government Departments. [136671]

Jacqui Smith: The Government have made a commitment for Civil Service departments and agencies to undertake equal pay reviews and prepare action plans. Action plans representing 99 per cent. of the Civil Service have now been received by the Cabinet Office.

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The Government will shortly be publishing a summary of the findings from pay review action plans.

Iraq

22. Mr. Michael Jabez Foster: To ask the Minister for Women, what action she is taking to ensure that Iraqi women are fully involved in all plans for the (a) reconstruction and (b) Government of Iraq. [136672]

Mr. John Smith: To ask the Minister for Women what steps she is taking to ensure that Iraqi women play a part in the leadership of Iraq. [136668]

Ms Hewitt: Two weeks ago I met Dr. Raja Khuzaai, one of the two female members of the Iraqi Governing Council. In July I met the US Special Envoy, Amb. Bremer, in Baghdad. I impressed on him the importance of women's full involvement in the emerging political structures—this includes the Constitutional reform process.

I have pledged my full support for the establishment of an Iraqi Women's Higher Council—a non-governmental advisory body on women's issues.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Engineering Investment

12. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what recent discussions she has held with employers in the engineering sector regarding their plans for investment. [136687]

Ms Hewitt: I have benefited from a number of opportunities, both in writing and in person, to discuss a wide range of issues with representatives of the engineering sector.

Employment Rights (Parents)

13. Mr. Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what action she has taken to ensure that there is a high take-up of the new rights for parents of young children. [136688]

Jacqui Smith: The package of new laws implemented this April provides parents with more choice and more support about how they balance work and childcare in ways that benefit everyone: employers, employees and children. The Government have produced a wide package of support to promote take-up including guidance and case studies in booklets on the web. National adverts at the time of implementation and in October have ensured a high level of awareness. In addition, we have supported other bodies such as the Federation of Small Businesses and Fathers Direct, to produce their own material.

Research and Development

15. Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what plans she has to increase research and development expenditure in the regions. [136691]

Ms Hewitt: All regions stand to benefit from the action taken by the Government to boost public R&D through the last three spending reviews and to

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encourage business R&D through the tax credits. However, Government research and development spending is largely organised on a national basis as it the best means of securing value for money and driving up excellence. But the Regional Development Agencies are in an excellent position to advise on knowledge transfer in the regions and are fully engaged in the formal role of the deployment of next round of the Higher Education Innovation Fund.

Demolition/Waste Removal Sector (Insurance)

16. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to ensure that all (a) demolition contractors and (b) waste removal companies have insurance cover. [136692]

Nigel Griffiths: Employers Liability is a statutory insurance. Enforcement for non-compliance is undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive. The Government have been actively working with stakeholders to reform and improve the existing enforcement arrangements.

If the hon. Member has details of any company breaking this statutory requirement, he should forward the details to the HSE.

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel in each year since 1997, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if she will make a statement. [135901]

Ms Hewitt [holding answer 3 November 2003]: The Department has placed one direct contract with Bechtel since 1997. The work covers the provision of technical support and assistance to the Department's Liabilities Management Unit in carrying out its remit to prepare the ground for the creation of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The Department paid Bechtel £8.044 million for its work in 2002–03. The contract was placed on 10 June 2002 for a two-year duration, with options to extend for a further period of up to five years.

Broadband

Mr. Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to increase availability of broadband in the more disadvantaged areas of the UK [136682]

Mr. Timms: Broadband is available to 80 per cent. of households in the UK which is higher than in Italy, France and the USA. The DTI is working with the Devolved Administrations (DAs) and Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) to extend the availability of broadband still further. We have given them £30 million for pilot schemes to extend the availability of broadband. This has stimulated further regional schemes worth at least £377 million over 2000–06.

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In England, the Broadband Aggregation Project will make sure that the £1 billion that the Government will spend on broadband connectivity for the public sector between 2003–06 will offer best value for money and widen availability. We have also set up a joint DTI/Defra Rural Broadband Team to address the issue of broadband availability in rural areas.

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