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3 Mar 2004 : Column 984W—continued

Engineering/Manufacturing Jobs (North-West)

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many jobs in (a) engineering and (b) manufacturing have been lost in (i) the North West and (ii) Lancashire since 1997. [156983]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Although official statistics do not provide estimates of the number of jobs lost, the ONS Annual Business Inquiry does show the changes in the total number of employee jobs by region.

In the North West, there were 83,000 (or 16 per cent.) fewer employee jobs in manufacturing and 31,000 (or 15 per cent.) fewer employee jobs in engineering in 2002 compared to 1997.

3 Mar 2004 : Column 985W

In Lancashire, there were 12,000 (or 11 per cent.) fewer employee jobs in manufacturing and 1,000 (or 2 per cent.) fewer employee jobs in engineering in 2002 compared to 1997.

This information is given in the following table.

Employee jobs in engineering and manufacturing for the North West and Lancashire

	1997	2002	Net change
Manufacturing
North West	532,000	449,000	-83,000
Lancashire	106,000	94,000	-12,000
Engineering
North West	197,000	167,000	-31,000
Lancashire	44,000	43,000	-1,000

Note:

Engineering defined as SICs 27 to 35

Source:

1997 Rescaled Annual Employment Survey, Office for National Statistics

2002 Annual Business Inquiry, Office for National Statistics

Industrial Disputes

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to minimise the impact of working days lost owing to labour disputes on the (a) public administration, (b) education and (c) health sectors. [157238]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The DTI does not have lead responsibility for these sectors. While the number of stoppages in 2003 was an all-time low, the Government via the lead Department concerned makes contingency plans, where appropriate, to minimise the impact on the public.

Information Security

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures her Department have taken to ensure that Government Departments are adequately protected from internet hackers and fraudsters. [157806]

Mr. Alexander: I have been asked to reply.

The Cabinet Office provides all Government Departments with comprehensive guidance on information security which is regularly updated as required. This includes advice on how to protect against internet hackers and fraudsters. Departments also subscribe to UNIRAS, the Government's incident reporting and alert scheme, which provides immediate warnings and advice on how to protect against the latest threats.

Inward Investment

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many inward investment decisions were made in the United Kingdom in each year between 1999 and 2003; what the expenditure of British Trade International was on inward investment; and how many new jobs were created through inward investment. [157202]

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Nigel Griffiths: The following figures are based on information provided by companies at the time of the announcement of the decision to invest in the UK. They are based on the companies best estimate of jobs created by the investment in its first three years. The figures take no account of subsequent developments. There is no requirement to notify UK Trade and Investment and so these figures include only those projects where UK Trade and Investment and its regional partners were involved or which have come to their notice.

Also in the table is a breakdown of inward investment expenditure by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), formerly British Trade International. These figures include the part funding of the English Regional Development Agencies.

	Number of projects	Number ofnew jobs	UKTI inward investment expenditure(£ million)
1999–2000	800	54,365	15.3
2000–01	880	71,168	18.7
2001–02	844	35,362	18.1
2002–03	711	34,446	20.9

Jobcentre Plus

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many away days were organised by Jobcentre Plus in 2003; and what their total cost was. [157200]

Mr. Pond: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Miners' Compensation

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether those whose mining compensation claims have been concluded based on erroneous pension calculations will receive payment of any balance due on a correct recalculation. [155595]

Nigel Griffiths: The Department has agreed with the claimants' solicitors that where an offer of compensation is made using the interim pensions spreadsheet in the absence of a final version of the calculator, claimants may either:

(i) accept the offer as a full and final settlement of all heads of damage, including pension loss, in which case there is no entitlement to a top-up payment; or,

(ii) accept the offer in full and final settlement of all heads of damage, except pension loss, in which case the claimant may claim a top-up payment once the calculator is finalised.

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (b) vibration white finger have been received to date under the Coal Health Compensation Scheme from the (a) Leigh, (b) Makerfield and (c) Wigan constituencies; and how many have received (i) full and final settlement and (ii) an interim award only. [156727]

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Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 1 March 2004]: The figures as of 31 January 2004 are:

	Claims received	Full and final settlements	Interim payments
Leigh
COPD	3,779	974	603
VWF	701	422	388
Makerfield
COPD	3,015	675	453
VWF	646	349	378
Wigan
COPD	2,553	537	388
VWF	366	180	186

Constituency figures can be found on the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk/coalhealth. The information is complied in the middle of the month and shows the figures for the end of the previous month.

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cumulative total paid out under the Coal Health Compensation Scheme to former miners and their families in the (a) Leigh, (b) Makerfield and (c) Wigan constituencies was in each of the last five years. [156728]

Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 1 March 2004]: The figures are:

£

	Total damages paid(32)
Leigh
1999	443,229
2000	1,439,124
2001	3,197,967
2002	6,240,815
2003	10,999,680
Makerfield
1999	337,963
2000	1,234,187
2001	2,766,916
2002	5,154,127
2003	9,114,523
Wigan
1999	193,935
2000	772,161
2001	1,694,785
2002	3,494,494
2003	6,027,178

⁽³²⁾ Cumulative as at end of year.

Notes:

1. Statistics represent COPD and VWF claims combined.

2. Total damages paid are cumulative as at the end of the year.

3. Produced from data copy as at 22 February 2004.

Constituency figures can be found on the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk/coalhealth. The information is complied in the middle of the month and shows the figures for the end of the previous month.

Minimum Wage

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in each London borough are earning the minimum wage. [156678]

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Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 1 March 2004]: It is not possible to provide estimates specifically for each borough of London. However, based on the Office for National Statistics' Low Pay data released in 2003, the DTI estimates that around 80,000 people in London stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in April 1999.

The DTI estimates that between 50,000 and 60,000 people in London benefited from the increase in minimum wage rates in October 2003.

Ministerial Meetings

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list, for each bilateral meeting that she has had in the last two years with senior executives of commercial organisations, (a) the date of the meeting, (b) the commercial organisation with whom she met and (c) whether the meeting was at (i) her instigation and (ii) the instigation of the commercial organisation concerned. [156336]

Ms Hewitt [holding answer 26 February 2004]: I meet representatives from many commercial organisations during the course of my ministerial duties. Obtaining the information as requested could be achieved only at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.

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