| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
19 Jan 2004 : Column 1031W—continued
BNFL Strategic Review
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her written statement of 11 December 2003, Official Report, column 93WS, on the BNFL Strategy Review, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority which will result from that body taking responsibiilty for the clean-up of the Springfields site. [148531]
Mr. Timms: The White Paper "Managing the Nuclear Legacy", published in July 2002 indicated that the costs associated with clean up of civil nuclear liabilities at the Springfields site would be around £300 million. More detailed work to quantify the precise nature and extent of legacy liabilities at the site is under way to inform the future strategy for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Broadband
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with BT on reducing the trigger numbers required to roll out broadband in smaller market towns. [147914]
19 Jan 2004 : Column 1032W
Mr. Timms: My colleagues and I maintain regular contact with BT across a wide range of issues as we do with other broadband providers. On 17 November 2003, BT announced trigger levels for 2,300 exchanges across the country. BT has also, on more than one occasion, reduced trigger levels which it had previously set. Decisions about which exchanges should be upgraded for ADSL or what trigger levels should be, are for telecommunication companies, such as BT, to make on commercial grounds.
Lowering of trigger levels may well be one of he benefits of public sector broadband demand aggregation, which is commencing region-by-region in the coming weeks.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will state the percentage coverage of broadband in (a) Lancashire and (b) each Lancashire district. [148416]
Mr. Timms: These data are not available within Government.
Cheese Industry
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with representatives of the cheese industry about the impact of the weakening dollar on the exports of UK-produced cheese; and if she will make a statement. [148175]
Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
The Secretary of State has had no formal meetings with representatives of the cheese industry about the impact of the weakening dollar on exports of UK produced cheese. However, Ministers and officials frequently meet representatives from all parts of the dairy supply chain and are therefore aware of the current difficulties facing UK exporters of cheese and other dairy products. Officials raised this issue with the European Commission at the Milk and Milk Products Management Committee on 15 January.
Coal Health
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been paid to date by the Department to solicitors for handling coal health claims, broken down by region. [147203]
Nigel Griffiths: To date the figures are as below.
| COPDsolicitors costs | VWFsolicitors costs | |
|---|---|---|
| England | 158.2 | 64.1 |
| Scotland | 14.1 | 4.6 |
| Wales | 54.8 | 10.2 |
| Total | 227.1 | 78.9 |
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the funding for (a) coal liabilities and (b) coal health liabilities was allocated
19 Jan 2004 : Column 1033W
in 2003–04; and what amounts were allocated in each year since 1997. [147799]
19 Jan 2004 : Column 1034W
Nigel Griffiths: The allocations, as set out in the Government's Expenditure Plans are:
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal Liabilities | 226 | 131.6 | 1 16.8 | 209.6 | 179 | 131. 1 | 93. 3 |
| Coal Health(20) | Inc. in above | 123.2 | 228.2 | 648 | 829.5 | 850 | 850 |
(20) These figures are provisional allocations. There is no cap to the allocation of funding for coal health liabilities, as the Treasury would make available to the Department whatever it takes to fund coal health claims.
Company Annual Reports
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to bring forward legislation requiring companies to publish in their annual reports (a) a table showing the annual (i) pre-tax profits and (ii) tax paid in each country and (b) transfer prices for intergroup transactions. [146535]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Companies Act 1985 already requires companies to disclose their pre-tax profits and their tax charge split between UK and non-UK. There are no plans to change these requirements, or to introduce company reporting requirements on transfer pricing. Transfer pricing is taken account of in tax legislation.
Departmental Relocation
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment her Department has made of the benefits of relocation of staff to North Staffordshire; and if she will make a statement; [146861]
- (2) what assessment she has made of the effect of proposals to relocate Government jobs on the Department's ability to meet (a) departmental policy objectives and (b) departmental public service agreements; [146877]
(3) what assessment her Department has made of the effect of possible relocation of staff in the Department to North Staffordshire on (a) job creation, (b) sustainable development, (c) the local economy and (d) tackling regional economic disparities; and if she will make a statement; [146890]
(4) what plans she has to establish procedures for assessing the impact of possible re-location of staff in her Department to the regions; and if she will make a statement. [146920]
Ms Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 12 January 2004, Official Report, column 516W.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people were employed by her Department in each year since 1992, broken down by Department. [148171]
Ms Hewitt: The Cabinet Office publishes statistics on Civil Service numbers showing staff in post figures going back to April 1990. These are available on their website: http://www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics/archive-sip.htm
Employment Tribunals
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employment tribunal cases in each year since 1999 took (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months and (d) 12 months to issue a decision. [147005]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 12 January 2004]: For each of the last four financial years, based on the information currently held in the Employment Tribunals Service's statistical database, the number of Employment Tribunal decisions recorded as having been issued three months or more after the hearing date were:
| (a) | (b) | (c) | (d) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three to six months | Six to nine months | Nine to 12 months | 12+ months | |
| 1999–2000 | 94 | 17 | 6 | 17 |
| 2000–01 | 142 | 21 | 20 | 14 |
| 2001–02 | 150 | 32 | 4 | 6 |
| 2002–03 | 144 | 20 | 4 | 7 |
Source:
Employment Tribunals Service.
The Employment Tribunals Service (ETS) has a target to issue 85 per cent. of decisions within four weeks of the final hearing. In each of the last four financial years, ETS achieved the following percentages of decisions issued within that time:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 84 |
| 2000–01 | 86 |
| 2001–02 | 83 |
| 2002–03 | 86 |
Source:
Employment Tribunals Service.
Engagements
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she was in the United Kingdom for the whole of 13 January. [148722]
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list her engagements for 13 January. [148723]
Ms Hewitt: I had a full programme of departmental and private appointments.
19 Jan 2004 : Column 1035W
European Structural Funds
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the additionality requirements under the European Structural Funds regulations have been met by the UK Objective 1 programmes at their mid-term stage. [148434]
Jacqui Smith: There are no specific additionality requirements that have to be met under the European Structural Funds regulations at the mid-term point. The purpose of the mid-term verification exercise is to determine whether a member state's economic position has changed to the extent that some adjustment is required to its programmes.
As stated in my reply to the hon. Member's earlier question on 13 January 2004, Official Report, column 701W, data supplied to the Commission in December for the UK Objective 1 programmes demonstrated that for each programme the average annual expenditure for the period 2000–02 was equal to or better than that forecast in the 2000–06 ex-ante tables published in the original Single Programming Documents for each Objective 1 area. As a result, there will be no need for adjustment of any of the Objective 1 programmes.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |