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9 Dec 2003 : Column 444W—continued

Canada Lottery

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the Government are taking to protect people from being defrauded by people purporting to represent the Canadian Lottery. [142856]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) launched a consumer awareness campaign on 3 December in response to the increase in telephone marketing scams originating from Canada.

The OFT is working closely with the Canadian authorities to ensure prompt and effective action is taken against these scams.

The campaign includes a telephone hotline set-up by the OFT to collect evidence which the Canadian authorities can use to prosecute the scam operators.

Employment Rights

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what representations she has received from (a) overseas companies and (b) British companies regarding the rights of overseas workers to pursue unfair dismissal claims against their employers under the Employment Rights Act 1996; [142839]

(2) if she will make a statement on the recent Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling on the rights of overseas workers to pursue unfair dismissal claims under British employment law. [142852]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department has received representations on behalf of one company with bases in Great Britain and overseas.

The Employment Rights Act 1996 confers the right to complain of unfair dismissal. When territorial limits in the Act were abolished in 1999, the Government's intention was that employees working overseas would be able to claim unfair dismissal only if there was a proper connection with Great Britain. The employment Appeal Tribunal has confirmed that this is the test which the employment tribunals must apply.

European Molecular Biology Organisation

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what UK contributions at current prices have been made to the European Molecular Biology Organisation in (a) each of the last three years and (b) the current year; what contributions are proposed for the next three years; and what assessment she has made of the benefits the UK has gained from its contributions. [141753]

Ms Hewitt: The UK government, through grant- in-aid to the Medical Research Council (MRC), contributes to the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC) which is the funding body for the

9 Dec 2003 : Column 445W

European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO). The UK's contributions for the last three years and the current year are as follows:

Euros

Year	Actual contribution	Contribution at 2003 prices
2000	1,224,222	1,291,063
2001	1,466,010	1,531,246
2002	1,502,628	1,531,246
2003	1,531,246	1,531,246

EMBC management is proposing an increase, over the next three years, of around 18 per cent. extra in 2004 rising to 44 per cent. extra in 2006 (about £700,000 per annum extra for the MRC). This is currently under discussion with EMBC and the UK contributions are not therefore known.

It is a matter for the MRC to decide/agree what level of subscription they should pay to EMBC, taking into account other commitments and priorities. They undertake periodic reviews of the relevant EMBO schemes in preparation for EMBC budget discussions. The main benefits of participation are association with, and access to, prestigious and well-run fellowships schemes that have added value to the development of the European molecular biology.

Family Friendly Employment

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what (a) training and (b) support is provided to managers to help them to institute family-friendly employment procedures; [141886]

(2) what information and support is available for employers regarding flexible working arrangements for employees; [141887]

(3) what plans the Government have to provide specialist guidance for small and medium enterprises, with particular reference to effective family-friendly working practices among small firms. [141888]

Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 8 December 2003]: An extensive package of support and guidance to help businesses implement and benefit from the laws for working parents has accompanied their introduction in April this year.

This includes:

Detailed guidance incorporating standard letter templates, summary flowcharts and 'how to' hints and tips.


Interactive web-based guidance via the TIGER website (www.tiger.gov.uk)


A case studies booklet "Flexible Working—The Business Case: 50 Success Stories" giving real examples of how businesses have introduced flexible working practices and how they have benefited. Half of those featured are small businesses.


Specific information concerning the payment of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay for employers is available on the Inland Revenue website (www.inlandrevenue. gov.uk/employers/during.htm). In addition, information on the new laws was sent to all employers registered with the Inland Revenue (1.5—1.7 million copies) in August 2002.


An awareness raising campaign incorporating national newspaper and online adverts aimed specifically at business. Further adverts are planned early next year in the national press

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and specialist business publications. The DTI also intends to mail in excess of 100,000 SMEs to further raise awareness and facilitate uptake and signpost them to further information.


A series of six seminars for Business Link advisers on family-friendly policies run by the DTI in the spring of 2003. A Business Link factsheet on flexible working, tailored specifically for SMEs, is also available.


A number of projects in partnership with external stakeholders. For example DTI supported a joint partnership project by the Federation of Small Business (FSB), British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. An awareness raising poster was circulated to 155,000 FSB members and 1,300 BCC branches, and a collection of case studies promoting the business case for flexible working in smaller businesses and giving examples of good practice was developed. (Getting it Right: Improving work-life balance in your business.)


Free confidential advice to employers via the Acas helpline service (08457 474747), which is signposted on guidance and advertising.


A programme of seminars, reaching almost 10,500 employers throughout the UK, run by Acas during the first quarter of 2003. They continue to run seminars on all issues relating to working parents as part of their core seminar programme.


The Government's work-life balance campaign, which actively promotes family-friendly working practices across the workplace. Part of the non-legislative agenda for employment relations policy, the campaign focuses on researching and disseminating best practice to industry and business.

All guidance material is accessible through the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk/workingparents.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government are taking to promote the take-up of family friendly options at work by men. [142659]

Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 8 December 2003]: In April this year, the Government introduced new laws for working parents which cover fathers as well as mothers, including the right for fathers of children aged under six or disabled children under 18 to request flexible working and the right to two weeks paid paternity leave. These new rights together with the existing rights to parental leave and time off for dependants recognise that men increasingly want to play a greater role in the family and provides them with more choices for doing so.

To facilitate take-up, the Government are running an on-going awareness raising campaign which includes national newspaper adverts targeted specifically at fathers. In addition posters have been circulated to CAB's GP's surgeries and libraries. We are working in partnership with stakeholders to raise awareness. We provided support to the charity, Fathers Direct for their pilot magazine aimed at new fathers—'Dad', launched in five different maternity units in April 2003 and distributed to all new fathers coming into contact with those units.

The Government's Work-Life balance campaign also encourages employers to adopt best practice and provide family-friendly policies right across the work force.

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Gas Bills

Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average household gas bill was in (a) England and (b) each English region in each financial year since 1996–97. [142273]

Mr. Timms: Information on average gas bills is regularly published by my Department in "Quarterly Energy Prices", available at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy prices/index.shtml. The available information is as follows:

Average annual domestic gas bills: England and Wales£

	Standard credit	Direct debit	Prepayment
1998	315	277	331
1999	304	268	318
2000	295	264	311
2001	293	266	309
2002	310	281	327
2003(29)	315	287	333

⁽²⁹⁾ Provisional bills for 2003 cover consumption from Q4 2002 to Q1 2003 and are then grossed up to take account of Q2 2003 and Q3 2003.

Notes:

1. Figures for 1996 and 1997 are not available for England and Wales as the survey from which regional information is produced began in 1998.

2. Bills relate to total bill received in the year e.g. covering consumption from Q4 of the previous year to Q3 of the named year.

3. All bills are calculated using an annual consumption of 18,000 kWh. Figures are inclusive of VAT.

Regional annual average domestic gas bills (England and Wales)£

Region	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Standard credit
West Midlands	317	312	297	296	313	319
South East	314	311	296	295	311	317
Wales	313	311	291	291	306	314
Eastern	318	311	296	291	309	316
Northern	315	312	290	292	312	314
North Western	314	311	295	294	309	316
London	318	311	295	293	309	316
North East	309	312	294	294	309	314
East Midlands	316	312	292	290	309	309
South West	312	312	299	290	312	319
Southern	316	312	299	297	311	318
Direct debit
West Midlands	280	271	265	268	284	287
South East	276	269	262	270	279	286
Wales	278	266	265	249	283	291
Eastern	280	266	264	265	280	286
Northern	277	262	259	262	281	285
North Western	277	267	267	268	283	285
London	280	268	267	268	282	290
North East	271	268	263	268	282	280
East Midlands	278	266	261	264	281	285
South West	275	268	265	261	281	288
Southern	278	270	265	267	280	290
Prepayment
West Midlands	331	318	312	309	327	332
South East	331	317	311	309	327	331
Wales	330	325	311	310	329	352
Eastern	331	317	311	308	326	331
Northern	331	320	312	308	327	330
North Western	331	318	311	309	326	331
London	331	318	311	308	326	332
North East	331	319	312	309	327	330
East Midlands	331	316	312	309	326	330
South West	330	318	312	309	327	333
Southern	331	320	312	309	328	339

Note:

Regions quoted are Gas Local Distribution Zones

9 Dec 2003 : Column 448W

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