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9 Feb 2004 : Column 1219W—continued

Radioactive Waste Consultation Paper

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason no hard copy of the consultation paper on proposals for intermediate level radioactive waste substitution had reached either the Vote Office or the Library four days after its official release. [153234]

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Mr. Timms [holding answer 6 February 2004]: A copy of the consultation document was sent to all MPs on 30 January 2004. Due to an administrative oversight, there was a short delay before copies were placed in the Libraries of the House and the Vote Office.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list those persons and organisations who have been sent copies of the consultation paper on intermediate level radioactive waste substitution. [153235]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 6 February 2004]: Around 1,600 copies of the report have been distributed to among others MPs, MEPs, the nuclear industry, local authorities and environmental groups.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she had been informed of the financial arrangements between BNFL and NAC International when she commissioned from the latter the consultation paper on proposals for intermediate level radioactive waste substitution. [153236]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 6 February 2004]: The Department was aware of the financial arrangements between BNFL and NAC International when NAC were commissioned to undertake the report.

NAC International were chosen following a competitive tendering process in line with Departmental rules.

NAC is an international company providing consultancy services on a wide range of nuclear issues. We are advised by NAC that its work for BNFL amounts to around 0.3 per cent. of current turnover. Most of NAC's turnover is generated from work conducted outside the UK.

Regional Development Agencies

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 28 January 2004, Official Report, column 375W, on Regional Development Agencies, how many jobs were created in each region as a result of foreign direct investment. [153513]

Jacqui Smith: The following information is taken from the UK Trade and Investment database, January 2004. The figures are collected on the basis of information provided by companies at the time of the announcement of the decision to invest, and some of these decisions are not notified to UK Trade and Investment until long after a decision is taken. There is no requirement on companies to notify inward investment decisions to UK Trade and Investment and so the figures include only those projects where UK Trade and Investment or its regional partners were involved or which have come to their notice. They are therefore likely to be an under-estimate. As well as jobs created, jobs may also be safeguarded as a result of foreign direct investment. These are not included in the following table.

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RDA	Number of jobs created as a result of foreign direct investment decisions announced during FY 2002–03
Advantage West Midlands	197
East of England Development Agency(13)	450
East Midlands Development Agency	1,248
London Development Agency(14)	1,511
Northwest Development Agency	5,925
One North East	703
South East of England Development Agency	443
South West Regional Development Agency	499
Yorkshire Forward	405

⁽¹³⁾ East of England Development Agency does not handle inward investment directly but through a sister organisation, Invest East of England.

⁽¹⁴⁾ Inward investment promotion and case handling of potential inward investors is handled by London First Centre under contract to London Development Agency. Aftercare of existing inward investors is carried out by London Development Agency, working with its sub-regional partners.

Research Funding Gap

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to address the funding gap between public sector support for research and private sector investment in development. [152052]

Ms Hewitt: By 2005–06 the science budget will reach just short of £3 billion, more than double the figure for 1997–8. Moreover, the Chancellor announced in his speech on 26 January that we will make a long term plan for science funding over the next decade a central feature of our 2004 spending review. These demonstrate the Government's strong commitment to an excellent science base.

We are pressing forward on a number of fronts to address the funding gap between research and commercial exploitation. Direct support to universities and public sector research establishments (PSREs) is being provided in the form of proof of concept and seed corn funding through programmes such as University Challenge, the second round of the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) and the Public Sector Research Exploitation fund. In addition the Government is building up the capability of the research community to interact with business and investors. The recent Lambert Review of business /HEI interaction found that this investment is already succeeding.

R&D tax credits provide an incentive for companies to undertake R&D, both when work is subcontracted to higher education institutions or public sector research bodies and when work is done by the company itself.

The Government's Innovation Report (published in December 2003), describes how the DTI will develop a Technology Strategy with business, the SET base, other Government Departments, RDAs, and other stakeholders to identify key technologies with future growth potential. DTI will provide some of the funding and share some of the risks of pulling through technologies in these key areas into the market. In addition, the Research Councils will make plans for increasing the rate of knowledge transfer and interaction with business.

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Science and Society Directorate

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 646W, on the Science and Society Directorate, if she will make a statement on the Government's strategy for supporting science that is of social rather than economic benefit; and what the role of the Science and Society Directorate is in promoting the value of science that is without economic benefit. [151088]

Ms Hewitt: In the context of the work of the Science and Society Directorate, 'science' includes engineering, technology, medicine, mathematics and the natural and social sciences all of which have social and economic benefit. Working with and through others the Directorate aims to support activities which address all of these areas such as National Science Week.

The Government are also supporting social research directly through the Economic and Social Research Council.

Ensuring that all of these areas are properly addressed is a key consideration when we allocate resources to the science base.

Skills Shortages

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of skills shortages in the United Kingdom. [153568]

Ms Hewitt: Last week I jointly launched the National Employer Skills Survey 2003 which was the largest survey of its kind ever commissioned. A total of 72,100 interviews were conducted with employees from 27 industries. This survey provides robust and detailed statistical information about the extent, causes and implications of England's recruitment problems and skill shortages.

NESS suggested that at any one time there are 250,000 job vacancies that are hard to fill and of these 135,000 cannot be filled because of skill shortages. The skilled trades are hardest hit by skill shortages and represent 18 per cent. of the hard to fill vacancies due to skill shortages.

Skills gaps among those in the workforce are more acute with employers stating that almost 2½ million employees (11 per cent. of the total English workforce) are lacking skills needed to do their job effectively.

Sunset Clauses

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her policy on the use of sunset clauses in legislation; and which Acts containing such clauses relevant to her Department were passed in each year since 1997. [149334]

Ms Hewitt: I refer my hon. Friend to the replies that I gave to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 24 April 2003, Official Report, columns 110–11W, and the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 1 July 2003, Official Report, column 217W.

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Trade and Investment White Paper

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to publish a White Paper on trade and investment in 2004. [153544]

Ms Hewitt: I plan to publish a White Paper on trade and investment later this year.

The document will set out the Government's policies relating to trade, investment and improving productivity in response to the opportunities and challenges of globalisation both for the UK economy and more widely, especially for developing countries.

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