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Regulations (Consultation)

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of regulations introduced by the Department have been subject to a consultation period of less than 12 weeks since the introduction of the Code of Practice on Consultations. [142483]

Nigel Griffiths: The Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultation came into effect on 1 January 2001. In the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2002,

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the Department of Trade and Industry has published 133 consultations covered by the Code, of these consultations 103 lasted 12 weeks.

Renewable Energy

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the comparative costs of (a) each renewable form of electricity generation and (b) energy efficiency measures in reducing carbon dioxide emissions; and if she will make a statement. [140942]

Mr. Timms: The Department has published estimates of the cost of electricity generation from a variety of forms of renewables and the comparative cost of energy efficiency measures in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. These are contained in a report published in February 2002 available at: www.dti.gov.uk/energy/greenhousegas/index.shtml.

The Performance and Innovation Unit at the Cabinet Office also published similar estimates in its 2001 Energy Review. These are available at: www. number-10.gov.uk/su/energy/l.html.

The energy White Paper published in February 2003 committed the Government to putting the UK on a path to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 60 per cent. by 2050. Improvements in energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewables in generation will both be important in achieving this objective. The White Paper sets an objective to double the recent rate of improvement in energy efficiency and an aspiration to achieve a 20 per cent. share for renewables in 2020, double the level of the Renewables Obligation set for 2010.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the cost to public funds of wind turbine construction in the UK to 2010. [140955]

Ms Hewitt: To date, the Government have committed £117 million to support early offshore windfarm development. No estimate has been made of the level of funding that may be needed to support future development in this area, but we expect industry to respond to the market for wind turbines created by the Renewables Obligation.

No direct support is provided for onshore windfarm development except for some small household or community installations under the Clear Skies scheme.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of new wind turbines which will be built in the UK by 2010. [140956]

Ms Hewitt: The Government have set a target that 10 per cent. of electricity in the UK should come from renewable sources by 2010. However, no targets have been set for individual technologies, such as wind power. Decisions on which technologies to bring forward are left to the industry, consistent with the

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Government's policy of an open and competitive energy market. We expect the industry to respond to the market for renewables (including wind) created by the Renewables Obligation.

However, it is acknowledged that electricity generated from wind turbines— both onshore and offshore—will make the largest contribution to the overall target. While we do not publish technology forecasts, it is estimated that to supply 7 to 8 per cent. of our electricity generation by wind turbines by 2010, which is what is likely to be required to achieve our 10 per cent. target, would require in the range of 3,000 to 5,000 turbines, assuming a mix of onshore and offshore devices. There are currently just over a thousand turbines within the UK.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the overall productivity of small and medium enterprises since 1997; what the gross value added per employee was in (a) SMEs and (b) large firms in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [143003]

Nigel Griffiths: A measure of productivity is gross value added per employee. Data on gross value added per employee are only available on a comparable basis from 1999 onwards. The latest data available are for 2001 (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Approximate Gross Value Added per employee(5), UK, 1999 to 2001

199920002001
SMEs31,00032,00034,000
Large firms34,00034,00035,000

(5) GVA is calculated at basic prices only. Public administration, education, health, financial intermediation and real estate have been excluded. There have been slight changes to the ABFs coverage over the period.

Source:

SBS, based on a special analysis from the ONS Annual Business Inquiry.


Between 1999 and 2001, the productivity of SMEs has increased at a faster rate than the productivity of large firms, and the gap in productivity has therefore narrowed. In 1999, SME productivity was 93 per cent. of large firms productivity. In 2000, it had risen to 94 per cent. By 2001, SMEs were 96 per cent. as productive as large firms.

Industrial Diseases (Solicitors' Fees)

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid in fees to (a) solicitors and (b) handling agents in respect of compensation for (i) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (ii) vibration white finger. [142013]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 4 December 2003]: As of 23 November 2003 the total 217 million has been paid in solicitors' costs for respiratory disease claims and 80 million for Vibration White Finger claims.

The claim handlers, IRISC, are not made aware of the total costs paid to handling agents for processing these claims.

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UK/EU Trade

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her Answer of 2 December 2003, Official Report, column 24W, if she will make a statement on the goods trade deficit with the European Union for (a) the last year for which figures are available and (b) the previous six years. [142857]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics, the UK goods trade deficit with the European Union in 2002 amounted to £20.2 billion. Figures for the previous six years were as follows:

UK goods trade deficit with the European Union 1996–2001

£ billion, current prices
1996-4.9
1997-4.5
1998-6.3
1999-8.4
2000-5.3
2001-11.7

Note:

To some extent the deficit reflects the relative strength of the UK economy

Source:

Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, ONS


TREASURY

Household Debt

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average household (a) debt per quarter and (b) monthly income was in each quarter since 2000, broken down by region. [143124]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Malcolm Bruce dated 10 December 2003:



£

YearAverage Household Debt (£) during year(6)Average Household Income per month(7)
199724,5001,950
199826,0002,000
199928,0002,100
200030,6002,200
200133,5002,350
200237,5002,400

(6) Rounded to nearest £500

(7) Rounded to nearest £50

ONS does not produce monthly or quarterly data for income by region. The most recent annual estimates for total household income and gross disposable household income for the countries and regions of the UK are available for 1995–1999. Figures at regional, sub-regional and local area levels (NUTS 1, 2 and 3 respectively) were published in a news release on 26 March 2002, available on the National Statistics website at: http://www. statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/reg0302.pdf


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