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8 Mar 2004 : Column 1282W—continued
Labour Disputes
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the average cost of working days lost owing to labour disputes in Greater London in the (a) public and (b) private sector in each year between 1995 and 2003. [158432]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The DTI does not make these estimates. The Office for National Statistics provides statistics on the number of stoppages and days lost through industrial action. Their latest set of statistics for the United Kingdom show that the number of working days lost in 2003 fell to 497,000 and the number of stoppages is at an all time low.
Landfill Directive
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements she is making to ensure that the United Kingdom complies with the provisions of the Landfill Directive relating to the disposal of tyres. [159020]
Mr. Timms: The Landfill Directive requires the introduction of a ban on the disposal of most whole used tyres to landfill from July 2003, and this has been achieved by The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002. Regulations have also been introduced covering Scotland and Northern Ireland. Shredded tyres are also due to be banned from disposal to landfill, and this ban will take full effect from July 2006.
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of end-of-life tyres were disposed of in ways that met the terms of the EU Landfill Directive in 2003. [159021]
Mr. Timms: The data to compile used tyre statistics for 2003 are currently being collected. Provisional figures suggest that value was recovered from around 80 per cent., based on 450,000 tonnes of used tyre arisings. This recovery rate is significantly higher than in previous years.
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements she is making to ensure that all UK end-of-life tyres will be shredded prior to 2006. [159022]
Mr. Timms: The infrastructure to reprocess used tyres continues to grow, as evidenced by provisional statistics for 2003 showing a recover rate of around 80 per cent. used tyre arisings. It follows that tyres are being increasingly diverted from landfill disposal, which figures suggest is running at around a quarter of 2001
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levels. Companies have already installed significant shredding capacity, both as a pre-treatment stage prior to recovery or as a means of reducing transport costs. The requirement to shred tyres, prior to landfill disposal until July 2006, should not therefore present undue difficulty for the industry.
Minimum Wage
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies have been convicted of breaking the rules on the minimum wage in each year since its introduction; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of (a) compliance teams and (b) local enforcement pilot projects in improving compliance with the minimum wage. [157222]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The following table provides details of the number of employers investigated by the Inland Revenue where non-compliance with the minimum wage was found.
| Number of employers | |
|---|---|
| 1999–000 | 1,280 |
| 2000–01 | 2,119 |
| 2001–02 | 1,937 |
| 2002–03 | 1,996 |
| 2003–04(13) | 1,813 |
(13) To 31 January 2004.
The Inland Revenue enforce the minimum wage on behalf of the DTI through a service level agreement with the DTI. Both Departments monitor performance to ensure value for money is achieved. We intend to evaluate on the effectiveness of the local enforcement pilot projects later this year.
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to allow citizens of EU accession states to claim, from 1 May onwards, the national minimum wage while (i) living and (ii) working in the United Kingdom. [156971]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 27 February 2004]: The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 provides that all qualifying workers who work in the UK are entitled to be paid at least the national minimum wage regardless of their country of origin.
We have announced that individuals from the accession states will be entitled to work in the UK provided they meet certain conditions. These will include registering with the Home Office under its workers' registration scheme, which was announced last week.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in each Lancashire constituency are earning the minimum wage. [157187]
Mr. Sutcliffe: It is not possible to provide estimates of the number of people earning the national minimum wage specifically for each Lancashire constituency. However, based on the Office for National Statistics' Low Pay data released in 2003, the DTI estimates that around 140,000 people in the North West stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in April 1999.
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The DTI estimates that between 130,000 and 160,000 people in the North West benefited from the increase in minimum wage rates in October 2003.
National Business Angels Networks
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the costs of the matchmaking activities element of the National Business Angels Networks was; and when it was decided not to continue funding this element. [157240]
Nigel Griffiths: It is not possible to identify, separately, the costs of the matchmaking activities element of the National Business Angels Network. As I stated in my earlier reply of 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 647W, it was as a result of the findings of the external evaluation that we decided not to provide any funding for these activities from the start of the current financial year.
Our current agreement letter makes it explicit that NBAN's matchmaking facility is expected to operate separately from the rest of its activities and that no DTI grant monies should be used to subsidise this element.
Packaging
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to enforce regulations limiting excessive packaging on products. [159009]
Jacqui Smith: The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 state that packaging volume and weight must be the minimum amount to maintain necessary levels of safety, hygiene and acceptance for the packed product and for the consumer. The regulations are enforced by local Trading Standards Officers who work closely with the packaging industry and producers to advise them on best practice in packaging design and to resolve complaints of excessive packaging. A recent study commissioned by the DTI highlights the extensive changes brought about since the introduction of the Essential Requirements. These relate to improvements in packaging design, including minimisation. This report can be viewed at www.dti.gov.uk/sustainability/packagingfinalreport.pdf and is also available from the DTI publications order line (0870 150 2500) by quoting unique reference number 03/1364.
Parliamentary Questions
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will respond to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Weston-Super-Mare on 19 January 2004 on funding for business support schemes. [159267]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 5 March 2002]: I have replied today.
Post Office
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contribution her Department is making following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
8 Mar 2004 : Column 1285W
on 16 July 2003, to facilitate the reconfiguration of NIREX as a body entirely independent of the nuclear industry. [158910]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 5 March 2004]: The Department is continuing to work with Defra and other departments to determine the future of Nirex.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of Post Office Ltd. [159181]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 5 March 2004]: There are many challenges facing Post Office Ltd. in ensuring that its network of post offices can remain viable and sustainable. The Performance and Innovation Report published in 2000 showed quite starkly that the post office network had not kept pace with the changing needs of its customers and was suffering from lack of investment. A strong management team has been put in place and given the task of turning the company round and building a commercially successful future for the network, by introducing new products and services to bring in new customers.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the ability of Post Office Ltd. adequately to serve all those in local communities who need access to local post offices, with particular reference to the Network Reinvention Programme. [159182]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 5 March 2004]: Post Office Ltd. is committed to ensuring that, at the end of the network reinvention programme, nationally at least 95 per cent. of the urban population will still live within one mile of a post office and the majority within half a mile.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the conformity of (a) Post Office Ltd. and (b) Postwatch with the guidance offered in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Performance and Innovation Unit Report 2000 in each year since 2000. [159183]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 5 March 2004]: The recommendations of the Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit's 2000 Report on modernising the post office network were accepted in full by the Government. In line with the Report, several have now been fully implemented, and implementation of others continues in conjunction with Post Office Ltd. and other stakeholders.
In line with the Performance and Innovation Unit's recommendation, the Postal Services Commission reports annually on the post office network and copies are available in the Libraries of the House.
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