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6 Feb 2004 : Column 1093W—continued
Electricity Blackouts
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with her Irish counterpart about the potential for electricity blackouts with reference to the problems identified by the Irish electricity regulator and the Irish National Grid. [152551]
Nuclear Energy
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures have been taken to publicise the joint Public Consultation on Modernising the Policy for Decommissioning the UK's Nuclear Facilities being undertaken by the Department in association with the Treasury, DEFRA, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly and the Ministry of Defence. [147999]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 15 January 2004]: A Public Consultation on Modernising the Policy for Decommissioning the UK's Nuclear Facilities was issued on 28 November 2003. Copies of the consultation were circulated to MPs, MEPs, Welsh Assembly Members, MSPs, local authorities, members of the nuclear industry, relevant Trades Unions, environmental organisations, and a wide variety of stakeholders. Copies were placed in the Libraries of the House.
The consultation document was publicised by a national press notice released on the day of publication. This was sent to relevant newswires, national and regional newspapers, and posted on the DTI website: www. dti.gov.uk/nuclearcleanup/pdfs/decomcondoc.pdf
Nuclear Security
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Office of Civil Nuclear Security has been asked by (a) the United States and (b) French nuclear or transport authorities to assist in the security plans for the transhipment of weapons-usable plutonium from the United States to France. [150832]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 5 February 2004]: The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is in contact with US authorities over the proposal for the transportation of plutonium from the United States to France and is in the early stages of discussions with them
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regarding the security requirements. OCNS, the UK's civil nuclear security regulator, would expect to be asked to approve a transport security plan prepared by the UK registered shipper Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd. (PNTL), which the US authorities would like to undertake this transportation.
Parliamentary Questions
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will provide a substantive reply to the written question tabled on 15 January from the hon. Member for Perth, reference 147999. [152522]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 3 February 2004]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today to question No. 147999.
Pneumoconiosis Benefit
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications for pneumoconiosis benefit have been received under the Workmen's Compensation Act 1979 in each year since the passage of that Act; and how many cases have been successful. [151494]
Mr. Browne: I have been asked to reply.
The information is in the table.
(8) The information is not available broken down into separate years.
Sources:
DETR locally collated statistics 1979–2001.
Responsibility for the scheme transferred to DWP 2002.
DWP locally collated statistics from 2002.
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Postal Services
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she will take to ensure that local communities in Huddersfield are adequately served by post offices. [152726]
Mr. Timms: Post Office Ltd. has undertaken that, on completion of its programme to rationalise the urban post office network, in the UK as a whole 95 per cent. of the urban population will still live within one mile of the nearest post office and it is expected that the majority will live within half a mile.
The Government have also placed a formal requirement on Post Office Ltd. to maintain the rural network. The Government have made available £450 million to underpin this obligation, in the first instance to 2006.
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) rural post offices and (b) urban post offices have closed in Wales in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) constituency and (ii) local authority area. [151755]
Mr. Timms: Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the post offices which have been closed since 1997 in the North Essex constituency; and when each closed. [152014]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 30 January 2004]: Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the reasons for the closure of the sub-post office in Southill in South Dorset, with particular reference to its distance from other post offices. [152402]
Mr. Timms: Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what public consultation was held with the local community about the proposed closure of Stanhope Street Post Office in Abergavenny; and what the outcome was. [150637]
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Mr. Timms: Decisions on post office closure proposals following public consultation are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the responsibility of the Government under UK and EU law to provide an adequate postal service to the community. [152791]
Mr. Timms: The Government consider the maintenance of a universal postal service in this country to be of the highest importance. That is why the obligation is enshrined in primary legislation in the Postal Services Act 2000 and why Postcomm has the primary statutory duty to ensure the provision of a universal postal service at an affordable uniform tariff.
We wrote the universal service into law—Clause 4, section 1 of the Act guarantees:
- A delivery every working day to homes across the UK.
- A collection every working day from access points through out the UK.
- A uniform and affordable price for posting a standard letter.
There are certain minimum requirements under Directives 97/67/EC and 2002/39/EC with regard to universal service. The directives leave discretion to member states, via their regulators, to define the specific requirements of the Universal Service within their national territory.
Postcomm is currently developing a more precise definition of the universal service as it is provided in the UK.
Small Business Europe
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what level of funding her Department has given to Small Business Europe in each year since its inception; and what level of funding she plans to give to the organisation in future financial years. [152528]
Nigel Griffiths: Up to the end of January 2004, Small Business Europe had received £346,926 from the Department of Trade and Industry for delivering the Brussels-based SME liaison office service. A further £170,000 is scheduled to be paid in monthly instalments for continued delivery up to the date of contract completion on 31 May 2005.
The payments broken down by financial year, and excluding VAT, are as follows:
- FY 2001–02: £113,091
- FY 2002–03: £127,174
Scheduled future payments under current contract:
- FY 2003–04: £127,911 (£106,661 already paid at the end of January 2004)
- FY 2004–05: £127,500
- FY 2005–06: £21,250
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