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2 Feb 2004 : Column 644W—continued
Fusion Research Reactor
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2003, Official Report, column 814W, on the fusion research reactor, what assessment was made of the proximity of the Cadarache site to an earthquake fault when the United Kingdom gave its backing to the site. [149094]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 29 January 2004]: In making its decision the UK considered the results of two assessments of the ITER candidate sites, the Joint Assessment of Specific Sites (JASS) in January 2003, and the European ITER Site Study Group (EISSG) in May 2003. Both concluded that Cadarache could meet the requirements for ITER. Safety regulations for the construction of new nuclear facilities in France to meet the risk of earthquakes are very strict. Earthquakes are more frequent and stronger in the vicinity of the Japanese candidate site, Rokkasho.
2 Feb 2004 : Column 645W
Business Start-ups
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses, and of what type, have received assistance in starting up from government schemes and initiatives in (a) St. Helens, (b) Merseyside and (c) the North West in each year from 1992. [144321]
Nigel Griffiths: Government support to start-up businesses is delivered primarily through a network of Business Link Operators under contact to the Small Business Service, an agency of the DTI. Numbers of start-up businesses assisted through this network in St. Helens, Merseyside and the North West from April 2001 are as follows:
| St. Helens | Merseyside | North West | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 4 | 330 | (6)— |
| 2002–03 | 23 | 667 | 1,623 |
| 2003–04 (To date) | 17 | 579 | 3,502 |
(6) Total business start-ups not recorded separately at regional level before April 2002.
Information Technology
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what cost savings have been made in her Department since the introduction of the Information Technology Procurement Centre of Excellence; and how these were calculated. [151046]
Ms Hewitt: A Centre of Excellence was established within the Department in June 2003 to integrate the essential functions which underpin the successful delivery of all types of acquisition-based programmes and projects. As cost benefits will not accrue until improvements start to take effect, it is too early to measure cost savings. All Centres of Excellence are currently developing future plans and as part of this process measurement of savings will be defined.
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what audit mechanisms are in place to determine whether all Information Technology hardware and software products are being properly utilised in her Department. [151056]
Ms Hewitt: My Department has a range of software products and management policies to ensure that its IT is used in accordance with its intended purpose.
All IT services have an aligned security policy setting out the security measures to counter threats including misuse. Staff are advised of these policies and the checks that are made to ensure compliance. The Department's standard desktop service is owned and managed by our PFI partners and has been designed to prevent the unauthorised addition of products and devices. Auditing of this environment is carried out with a mixture of detection software, active monitoring of security logs and non-intrusive checks of data types, keeping in mind the parameters of data protection legislation and complying with OGC guidelines. Allied to these measures are the best practice guidelines available to all staff and line management.
2 Feb 2004 : Column 646W
New services must be procured and implemented in accordance with documented procedures which require business and security approval, with major services being subject to OGC Gateway Review.
Large Hadron Collider
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Government have contributed to the funding of the Large Hadron Collider under construction in Switzerland. [152105]
Ms Hewitt: The Government have contributed a total of £361.88 million to CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project since its commencement in 1995. The contributions have been made in three ways:
- (a) Construction of the LHC machine itself via the UK contribution to CERN (£214.57 million)
- (b) The UK element of the CERN share of funding for the LHC Detectors (£67.26 million)
- (c) UK domestic funding of the LHC Detectors (£80.05 million)
Miners' Compensation
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average length of time was for settlement of miners' compensation claims for respiratory diseases in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside and (c) the UK in each year since 1997. [149912]
Nigel Griffiths: The figures are in the following table:
| Year claim registered | Jarrow | South Tyneside | UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997(7) | 2,109 | 1,953 | 1,823 |
| 1998(7) | 1,417 | 1,454 | 1,485 |
| 1999(7) | 1,151 | 1,163 | 1,125 |
| 2000 | 836 | 851 | 863 |
| 2001 | 634 | 641 | 621 |
| 2002 | 432 | 398 | 390 |
| 2003 | -86(1) | 136(1) | 173 |
(7) Currently, the average length of time to settle a claim in Jarrow is 86 days. The table sets out the average time from 1997 to 2003.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average length of time was for settlement of miners' compensation claims for respiratory diseases in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley in each year since 1997. [151287]
Nigel Griffiths: The information is as follows:
| Year claim registered | Lancashire | Chorley |
|---|---|---|
| 1997(8) | 1,921 | — |
| 1998(8) | 1,448 | 1,504 |
| 1999(8) | 1,123 | 1,104 |
| 2000 | 902 | 983 |
| 2001 | 598 | 504 |
| 2002(9) | 387 | 505 |
| 2003(9) | 175 | 147 |
| 2004 | 5 | — |
(8) The Department was unable to process any claims until after the signing of the Claims Handling Agreement, agreed with the claimants' solicitors, on 24 September 1999.
(9) Estate claims put on hold as a lower priority, in agreement with claimants' solicitors.
2 Feb 2004 : Column 647W
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miners' compensation claims for respiratory diseases (a) have been made, (b) have been settled and (c) are outstanding in (i) Chorley and (ii) Lancashire. [151288]
Nigel Griffiths: The figures are as follows:
| Year claimregistered | Claimreceipts | Total settlements including denied/withdrawn(as of 26 January 2004) | Number outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997(10) | — | — | — |
| 1998(10) | 72 | 46 | 26 |
| 1999 | 47 | 32 | 15 |
| 2000 | 21 | 12 | 9 |
| 2001 | 26 | 10 | 16 |
| 2002(11) | 33 | 3 | 30 |
| 2003(11) | 309 | 5 | 304 |
| 2004 | 47 | — | 47 |
| Total | 555 | 108 | 447 |
| Year claimregistered | Claim receipts | Total settlements including denied/withdrawn(as of 26 January 2004) | Number outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997(10) | 14 | 7 | 7 |
| 1998(10) | 1,964 | 1,308 | 656 |
| 1999(10) | 960 | 581 | 379 |
| 2000 | 684 | 381 | 303 |
| 2001 | 959 | 400 | 559 |
| 2002(11) | 1,293 | 336 | 957 |
| 2003(11) | 7,627 | 145 | 7,482 |
| 2004 | 815 | 4 | 811 |
| Total | 14,316 | 3,162 | 11,154 |
(10) The Department was not able to process claims until after the signing of the Claims Handling Agreement, agreed with the claimants' solicitor on 24 September 1999.
(11) Estate claims put on hold as a lower priority, in agreement with the claimants' solicitors.
Notes:
1. Lancashire consists of the following constituencies: Blackburn; Bolton, North-East; Bolton, South-East; Bolton, West; Burnley; Bury, North; Bury, South; Rossendale and Darwen; Blackpool, North and Fleetwood; Blackpool, South; Hyndburn, Lancaster and Wyre; Morecambe and Lunesdale; Leigh; Makerfield; Worsley; Pendle; Preston; and Ribble Valley.
2. Constituency figures can be found on the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk/coalhealth. The information is compiled in the middle of the month and shows the figures for the end of the previous month.
3. Claims are dealt with on a priority basis, those from the eldest and sickest living miners and their widows being dealt with first. Claims that are outstanding may be a lower priority or they may have an outstanding policy issue that is preventing settlement of the claim.
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