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4 Mar 2004 : Column 1067W—continued
RAF Colerne
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the plans for the United States Emergency Hospital planned for RAF Colerne in 1984 were ever implemented; and whether there are similar plans now. [157923]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 2 March 2004]: I am not aware of any plans for a United States Emergency Hospital at Colerne in 1984, and there are no such plans for the future. The army took over the site from the RAF in 1978, and it is now the base for the 21 Signal Regiment (Air Support).
Royal Yeomanry
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Royal Yeomanry. [158775]
Mr. Ingram: There are currently no plans to change the role of the Royal Yeomanry. The Defence White Paper published last December provides the policy context for shaping the structure of our armed forces. The detailed roles, function and tasks of individual units within that structure are being developed, but no decisions have been taken.
War Veterans (Ireland)
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Second World War (a) veterans and (b) war widows he estimates are resident in the Irish Republic; and if he will make a statement. [158833]
Mr. Ingram: This information is not available in the format requested.
Available data shows that the number of war pensions in payment in respect of post 1939 service, for those where residence is recorded as being in the Republic of Ireland, is as follows; War Disablement Pension 825 and War Widows Pension 255.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Iraq
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the contracts let by the Coalition Provisional Authority for selling Iraqi oil and gas. [155286]
Mr. Timms: The State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) sells all exportable hydrocarbons on behalf of the Ministry of Oil. SOMO forms part of the Ministry of Oil.
Balance of Trade
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the balance of trade between Greater London and (a) the rest of the United Kingdom, (b) the European Union and (c) the rest of the world was for each year since 1997. [158433]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: According to information published by HM Customs and Excise, the balance of trade in goods between the London region and EU and non-EU countries are given in the following table. Information on trade between regions of the United Kingdom is not available. Information on trade in services cannot be cross-classified by UK region and partner country.
| (2)EU | Non-EU | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | -5.8 | -12.1 |
| 1998 | -7.5 | -13.1 |
| 1999 | -8.5 | -13.8 |
| 2000 | -8.0 | -13.2 |
| 2001 | -5.0 | -12.4 |
| 2002 | -0.8 | -12.1 |
(2) Figures for trade with the EU refer only to traders above the Intrastat threshold. Nationally, such traders account for over 97 per cent. of the value of UK trade in goods.
Biomass Electricity Project, Winkleigh
Mr. Burnett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial and other inquiries were made by (a) her Department and (b) the South West Regional Development Agency before it announced the conditional grant made to Peninsula Power in respect of the proposed Biomass Electricity project at Winkleigh, Devon; and what inquiries are being made now. [157144]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 27 February 2004]: South West RDA made no financial inquiries into Peninsula Power since it is not funding the core operation costs of that company. The RDA purchased 36 acres of land at Winkleigh Airfield to ensure that the opportunity to build the proposed biomass plant is not lost before the issues are properly considered as part of the planning process. The RDA has undertaken the necessary due diligence in relation to the acquisition of the land.
The RDA has also provided further funds to ensure feasibility studies are comprehensively carried out and fully available to the public. It will insist that the
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consultants appointed to undertake the studies provide a "Deed of Warranty" to ensure the quality of the work undertaken.
The DTI grant to the developer from the Capital Grants Scheme is an arrangement under which payments are only made in arrears of agreed milestones and where matching funding has been provided. As yet no payments have been made under the DTI grant. When assessing the original application for the grant, the DTI followed its laid-down procedures and which involved the advice of independent advisers.
Should the plant obtain all the necessary planning and environmental consents, then Peninsula Power has an option to purchase all or part of the site from South West RDA at market value. At that point, the RDA will not dispose of the land to Peninsula Power unless it is satisfied that all the necessary funding to complete any approved project is in place, necessitating the undertaking of financial checks at the appropriate time.
Mr. Burnett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps (a) she and (b) the South West Regional Development Agency have taken to satisfy themselves that the advanced gasification and turbine technology for the proposed Biomass Electricity project at Winkleigh, Devon is proven and will not fail; and what their findings were. [157143]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 27 February 2004]: The DTI has considered the technology as part of its Bio-Energy Capital Grant scheme which allows development of technology processes. The South West RDA does have a wider interest in gasification technology in the region and will be appointing independent consultants to appraise the technology. The consultants will specifically report on the gasification technology proposed at Winkleigh and will liaise closely with DTI. The findings will be made available to the public.
Mr. Burnett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the payments (a) authorised and (b) paid by (i) her Department and (ii) the South West Regional Development Agency towards the proposed Biomass Electricity Generation project at Winkleigh, Devon. [157146]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 27 February 2004]: The South West RDA authorised project funding of £623,900 to acquire 36 acres of land and pay for feasibility studies (an Environmental Impact Assessment, a Biomass Feedstock and Market Development Study and an Economic Impact Assessment) and limited technical costs (including costs towards a public consultation exercise).
The feasibility studies and technical work will provide results that will have wider implications for other, similar, projects in the region. The studies will also be made fully available to the public, including the local community, key regional partners and other developers.
To date (26 February 2004) the SWRDA has paid £338,200 for the acquisition of the land. In total £384,391 has been paid to date (26 February 2004) including other associated costs.
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Broadband
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of UK domestic broadband connections use services with downstream specifications in excess of 2Mbps. [157189]
Mr. Timms: The proportion of UK domestic broadband connections using services with downstream specifications in excess of 2Mbps is not held by the Department.
Telecommunications operators have assured the Department they review regularly their range of broadband services to see whether they are meeting consumer demand for higher speed services. It is estimated by Analysys Consulting Ltd. that by end December 2003, mass-market asymmetric 4Mbps services were available to 11 per cent. of the UK population from exchanges where the local loop has been unbundled.
Broadband/Mobile Phones
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with representatives of other political parties concerning her strategy to encourage growth in the broadband and third-generation mobile phone sectors; and if she will make a statement. [156179]
Mr. Timms: There have been no formal discussions with representatives of other political parties concerning our strategy to encourage growth in the broadband and third-generation mobile phone sectors.
Business Links
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the current levels of (a) prompted and (b) unprompted awareness of Business Link branded services among small businesses. [157197]
Nigel Griffiths: In December 2002, prompted awareness of Business Link was 74 per cent. and unprompted awareness was 17 per cent. A further survey measuring awareness of Business Link is currently being undertaken.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the Small Business Service can take in relation to an underperforming Business Link operator. [157206]
Nigel Griffiths: The actions available to the SBS, under the terms of section 5 of the Business Link Operator (BLO) Operator Agreement, in full to address underperformance by BLOs are:
- to write formally to the BLO highlighting concern over performance levels and advising them that should performance not improve further action would be taken; requiring the BLO to undergo a Business Performance Review (BPR), that examines the problems faced by the BLO and recommends actions to resolve the problems. The BLO would then need to agree a remedial plan with their SBS or RDA contract management team based on the outcome of the BPR, the implementation of which is closely monitored by the SBS or RDA contract management team;
- not automatically extending the BLO's contract to a third year and serving notice that unless performance significantly improves, the contract will terminate in two years;
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- if an agreed remedial plan has not been fully implemented the SBS can withhold funding from the BLO until it is satisfied the plan has been implemented in full. The amount of withheld funding can be up to 33 per cent. (depending on the extent of the failure to implement the remedial plan) and;
- in extreme circumstances the failure to implement a remedial plan can be considered a material breach of the contract and a written notice to terminate the contract served.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of businesses helped by each of the UK business link organisations are still operating. [157209]
Nigel Griffiths: While information is not collected from individual business link organisations regarding the survival of businesses that they have assisted. A tracking study of a group of Barclay's bank business customers demonstrated that businesses that received help from Business link organisations and business agencies had a higher survival rate, with 76 per cent. still trading after two years, compared with 63 per cent. of the control group.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are in place to encourage businesses to use Business Link; and what proportion of applicants for (a) the Smart Scheme and (b) the Grant for Research and Development has (i) discussed their application with their local Business Link operator and (ii) maintained dialogue with Business Link throughout the period of their project. [157227]
Nigel Griffiths: Businesses are encouraged to use Business Link by a nationally-undertaken programme of paid advertising, including online advertising, sponsorship, events, public relations activity and publications distribution. Businesses are also encouraged to use Business Link through partnerships with third parties and intermediaries, such as banks.
In addition, businesses are encouraged at a local and regional level to use Business Link through promotional activity undertaken by individual Business Link Operators.
(a) The most recent, independent evaluation of Smart, which published its findings in 2001, found that 50 per cent. of those surveyed had used public business service providers, including Business Link, as a source of additional support in relation to their projects, either at the application stage or subsequently,
(b) The Grant for Research and Development was introduced in June 2003 and early indications are that two fifths of applicants have used Business Link services in preparing their applications. The proportion which has maintained a dialogue is not known.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of time her Department's Business Link staff spent on managing the Business Link Network in each year since its inception. [157229]
Nigel Griffiths: The current Business Link network of 42 Operators over 45 areas in England was launched in April 2001. The Small Business Service's nine regional teams (around 50 staff), with support from their Head Office set up and managed the contracts. The majority
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of their time was spent working with Business Link Operators and regional partners to develop the network. The Small Business Service is now increasingly concentrating on influencing policy and delivery decisions across government both in Whitehall and in the regions, and up to a third of the regional staff will be undertaking different roles in line with this new strategy by the end of March 2004.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are employed as part of the national network of e-business advisers located in the Business Link. [157247]
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