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30 Jan 2004 : Column 585W—continued
Bribery
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what departmental investigations her Department has initiated into bribery allegations against a UK company since November 1997. [151511]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department's records concerning Companies Acts investigations are not kept in a manner which facilitates provision of the information requested. However, officials do not believe that any such investigations have been initiated into allegations of bribery since November 1997.
The Department also has a criminal investigation function, established principally to follow up allegations of offences under the Companies and Insolvency Acts. Examination of the records of this section do not reveal any allegations of bribery having been investigated since November 1997.
Such an allegation would, in most instances, be better suited to be dealt with by the wider powers of the police.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many allegations of bribery have been received by the National Contact Point for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; and how many of these allegations have been forwarded to the National Criminal Intelligence Service. [151512]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The NCP has received one allegation of bribery. The allegation was received verbally while attending a conference. The NCP asked that details be provided in writing; these details were then passed to the National Criminal Intelligence Service.
Buzzard Oil Field Contract
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of the Buzzard oil field contract is; which companies tendered for the contract; what the country of origin of each company is; and which company won the bid. [151151]
Mr. Timms: EnCana (UK) Ltd., Operator of the North Sea Buzzard oil field, anticipates that development costs on the project will be around £1.35 billion. There is no single contract to develop this field and the operator, solely responsible for project
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procurement, is still engaged in the process of awarding more than 200 separate contracts to suppliers from the UK, the wider EU and elsewhere.
EnCana advise however that UK-owned and UK-based companies have already won around two thirds of over £500 million worth of major contracts awarded on the project. I am pleased to acknowledge the successes of these companies who have again proved themselves competitive internationally. I am also advised that UK-based companies are likely to win yet more work from the contracts currently being tendered.
The following list gives an indication, in respect of some of the major contracts awarded thus far, of the operational location of those tendering and identifies successful companies. Values of individual tenders, and of contracts placed, are still considered commercially sensitive by the operator EnCana.
| Service/Company | Operational country | Award date |
|---|---|---|
| Front End Studies | ||
| Granherne | UK | |
| Genesis | UK | January 2002 |
| Engineering Design | ||
| John Brown | UK | August 2002 |
| Brown and Root | UK | |
| AMEC | UK | |
| Jackets | ||
| Aker Kvaerner | Norway | September 2003 |
| Dragados | Spain | |
| Heerema | Holland | |
| SLP | UK—only tenderedthe smallest jacket | |
| Wellhead Topsides | ||
| Heerema (Hartlepool) | UK | |
| SLP | UK | |
| McNulty Offshore | UK | |
| Burntisland Fabricators | UK | November 2003 |
| Swan Hunter | UK | |
| HBG | Holland | |
| BLADT | Denmark | |
| Production Deck | ||
| AMEC | UK | |
| Dragados | Spain | December 2003 |
| Aker Kvaerner | Norway | |
| Heerema (Hartlepool) | UK | |
| Utilities and Quarters Deck | ||
| AMEC | UK | |
| Dragados | Spain | |
| Aker Kvaerner | Norway | |
| Heerema (Hartlepool) | UK | December 2003 |
30 Jan 2004 : Column 587W
Civil Partnerships Bill
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effects extending the provisions of the Civil Partnerships Bill to heterosexual couples. [147061]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 13 January 2004]: Civil partnership is aimed at same-sex couples who cannot obtain full legal recognition of their relationships. Opposite-sex couples can achieve this through marriage. There can be no real benefit of extending to opposite-sex couples the right to achieve legal recognition of their relationships when they already enjoy that opportunity.
Company Liquidation
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies went into liquidation in 2003. [151011]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Annual insolvency figures for 2003 are not yet available. The insolvencies press release for the fourth quarter of 2003 will be published on Friday 6 February at 9:30 am.
The seasonally adjusted figures for the first three quarters of 2003 are shown in the following table:
| Quarter | Total | Compulsory liquidations | Creditors voluntary liquidations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 3,672 | 1,540 | 2,132 |
| Q2 | 3,825 | 1,416 | 2,409 |
| Q3(13) | 3,398 | 1,153 | 2,245 |
(13) Provisional.
Distance Selling
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she is taking to inform consumers about their rights concerning distance selling. [151258]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Online information is available from my Department's website and from the Consumer Gateway (www2.consumer.gov.uk/consumer web/e-shopping.htm), which provides links to a variety of websites that will help consumers make informed decisions about buying goods and services.
On 29 December DTI published guidance about buying from internet auction sites, and on 22 January the Department began a consultation on changes to the Distance Selling Regulations, including a proposal to clarify what suppliers must tell consumers about their cancellation rights.
DTFs Safe Internet Shopping campaign, launched in 2001, promotes wider access to information on e-commerce. Guidance has been delivered through TV and radio, and over the internet in partnership with private sector organisations such as Microsoft, Sainsbury's, Freeserve and Expedia. Hard copy information has been distributed through Citizens Advice Bureaux and libraries. The Office of Fair Trading also provides information on internet shopping and distance contracts more generally, on its website and through consumer roadshows.
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In addition, Consumer Direct will offer advice to consumers by telephone, by e-mail or on the web. The service is likely to begin in three pathfinder areas this Summer and is expected to be operating nationally by 2007.
Energy Policy
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with the Russian Government on securing a supply of gas to the UK. [151707]
Mr. Timms: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry discussed gas issues with Russian Government during the "Russia-UK Energy Conference: Long Term Partners" held in June last year, during President Putin's State visit. During the visit, she had a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Kudrin where a wide range of issues were discussed.
Also at the conference, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Igor Yusufov, Minister for Energy for the Russian Federation, in which the UK and Russia agreed to work closely together on the North European Gas Pipeline project.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many valid applications have been received for the renewable energy initiative of the Export Credits Guarantee Department; which have been successful; what the (a) company involved, (b) amount allocated, (c) project type and (d) form of renewable energy concerned is for each successful application; and what the maximum liability is. [151693]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since the announcement of the renewables initiative ECGD has received 24 inquiries, nine of which required and were given preliminary indications of cover for business in prospect. So far none of these have progressed to the stage of becoming firm business.
Gas (Northern Ireland)
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average bill for domestic gas consumers in Northern Ireland who pay for gas by (a) direct debit, (b) quarterly credit and (c) prepayment meter was in the last year for which figures are available. [151527]
Mr. Timms: The average bill for domestic gas consumers in Northern Ireland at current 2004 prices for the various payment methods is as follows:
| Payment method | Bill (£ per annum) |
|---|---|
| Direct Debit | 377 |
| Quarterly credit | 398 |
| Prepayment meter | 402 |
Note:
(14) Figures are calculated using an annual consumption of 18,000 kWh, and are inclusive of VAT.
(15) Figures relate to prices charged by Phoenix Natural Gas, the sole domestic gas supplier for Northern Ireland.
Source:
Phoenix Natural Gas
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