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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Communication Technologies (Disabled Access)

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of the Communications Act 2003 on access by disabled people to modern communication technologies. [137911]

Mr. Timms: The Communications Act only received Royal Assent on 17 July 2003. It is too early to assess the impact. The Communications Act contains specific measures to improve access to modern communications technologies for disabled users. The Universal Service Order made under the Communications Act sets out specific obligations on access to communications services for disabled users. Ofcom has responsibility to ensure compliance with these obligations. Section 10 of

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the Communications Act creates a new duty on Ofcom to encourage the availability of easily usable apparatus for all consumers, including disabled users, and sections 303 to 308 deal with the provision of television services for the deaf or visually impaired. Ofcom will report on the progress it has made in these areas as part of its annual report.

Industrial Action

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to limit the (a) number and (b) impact of unofficial strikes in the United Kingdom. [137421]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government encourage parties to resolve their industrial disputes through negotiation, and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service stands ready to assist where the parties request their involvement. While the number of stoppages in the last year—official and unofficial combined—is a record low, the Government, where necessary, make contingency plans to ensure key services are delivered.

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the unofficial strike action among Royal Mail staff in the south of England. [137425]

Mr. Timms: No one will benefit from industrial action by postal workers in London. It will disrupt services to consumers and businesses that rely on Royal Mail's services.

Resolution of disputes is a matter for the management of Royal Mail and the Communication Workers' Union.

The Government have continued to encourage them to sit down together and reach a settlement. The Government welcome the talks that are taking place at AC AS to resolve the outstanding issues.

Market Research

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list each item of market and opinion research commissioned since May 1997 by (a) her Department and (b) agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which her Department is responsible; what the purpose of each item was; and whether the results were published. [137013]

Ms Hewitt: The Department does not centrally collect the information sought at the required level of detail and to provide it would entail disproportionate cost.

Statistical surveys to businesses and local authorities conducted by the Department and its agencies are monitored centrally to facilitate control of compliance costs to business and departmental expenditure on survey activity. It is not possible, however, to determine with any degree of accuracy which surveys fall into the categories of market and opinion research, or which contain an element of these. The answer would incur disproportionate cost because of the need to ask all

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Directorates in DTI, plus agencies and associated non-departmental public bodies, to attempt to provide details of each survey and piece of research commissioned since 1997.

Fireworks

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's estimate is of the number of Chinese bomb fireworks imported into the United Kingdom in each of the last four years. [137975]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is not available because the system of classification used to record trade does not separately identify Chinese bomb fireworks.

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Small Businesses (Start-ups)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the start-up rate for small businesses in (a) Haltemprice and Howden constituency, (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire, (c) Hull, (d) Humberside and (e) the UK was in each year since 1997. [136714]

Nigel Griffiths: The numbers of businesses that registered and de-registered for VAT in each calendar year since 1997, and the number of businesses that were registered at the start of each of these years (stocks), in the United Kingdom, are available at: www.sbs.gov.uk/statistics/vatstats.php

The latest year for which VAT registration data are available is 2002. Data are not available for parliamentary constituencies.

VAT registrations, all sizes of business, 1997–2002Number

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
East Riding of Yorkshire	770	810	790	800	725	870
City of Kingston-upon-Hull	445	400	390	430	415	455
Former county of The Humber	1,865	1,855	1,820	1,870	1,780	1,980
United Kingdom	187,690	187,515	181,370	184,035	174,620	175,800

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses in Pendle (a) registered and (b) de-registered for VAT in each year since 1997. [138101]

Nigel Griffiths: The latest year for which VAT registration and de-registration data are available is 2002.

The numbers of businesses that registered and de-registered for VAT in Pendle, Lancashire county, the North West Government Office Region (GOR) and the United Kingdom in the calendar years 1997–2002 are as follows:

VAT registrations, all sizes of business, 1997 to 2002Number

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Pendle	175	185	195	220	215	205
Lancashire	2,940	2,995	2,925	2,945	2,895	2,875
North West GOR	18,460	18,720	17,830	18,285	17,445	17,595
United Kingdom	187,690	187,515	181,370	184,035	174,620	175,800

VAT de-registrations, all sizes of business, 1997 to 2002Number

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Pendle	200	190	180	185	205	175
Lancashire	2,720	2,615	2,690	2,630	3,035	2,895
North West GOR	16,230	16,270	16,290	16,735	16,550	17,750
United Kingdom	151,900	153,450	160,410	165,475	167,185	176,040

VAT registrations 1997–2002, rate per 10,000 resident adults⁽⁹⁾

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Pendle	26	27	29	32	31	29
Lancashire	33	33	33	33	32	32
North West GOR	35	35	34	34	33	33
United Kingdom	41	41	39	39	37	37

VAT de-registrations 1997 to 2002, rate per 10,000 resident adults⁽⁹⁾

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Pendle	30	28	27	27	30	25
Lancashire	30	29	30	29	34	32
North West GOR	30	31	31	31	31	33
United Kingdom	33	33	35	35	35	37

⁽⁹⁾ Mid-year resident adults (aged 16 and over)

Source:

Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2002

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CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Powerboats (Lake Windermere)

Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make available alternative facilities for powerboat users following the Lake District National Parks Authority decision to introduce a 10 mph speed limit on Lake Windermere. [137848]

Mr. Caborn: During the inquiry into the implementation of the Byelaws at Lake Windermere, Sport England along with the British Water Ski Federation considered the issue of the displacement of motorised watersports from the Lake. Sport England and the British Water Ski Federation continue to work together with those affected by the Byelaws to negotiate access to suitable areas of water for the continuation of these sports.

The Government would not seek to impose specific alternative venues on those affected by the Navigation Byelaws on Lake Windermere. We believe it is for individuals to find convenient sites that will enable them to pursue water skiing and the other motorised water sports that will be affected by the Byelaws.

Correspondence

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will reply to the letter of 11 April from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Minister's reference 0301088). [134639]

Tessa Jowell: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 10 November 2003. I apologise for the delay in replying.

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