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17 Mar 2004 : Column 321W—continued
Pension Surgeries
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many regular pension service drop-in and appointment surgeries have been established (a) in each region, (b) in each local authority cluster, (c) in each constituency and (d) in total. [160351]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available in the format requested.
The information that is available is the number of surgeries offering appointments and a drop-in facility and the number of surgeries offering appointment only in each region, and is provided in the following table.
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| Region | Number of surgeries offering both appointments and a drop-in facility | Number of surgeries offering appointments only |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 200 | 31 |
| South East | 303 | 22 |
| London | 146 | 63 |
| East Midlands | 451 | 72 |
| West Midlands | 294 | 18 |
| Wales | 133 | 29 |
| North West | 209 | 27 |
| North East | 197 | 103 |
| Scotland | 0 | 268 |
| Total | 1,933 | 633 |
Details of local service surgeries can be obtained by telephoning the single 'lo call' access number for The Pension Service, which is 0845 60 60 265. Locally surgery information is often available in libraries, GP surgeries, and advertised in the local press and radio.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Administration Proceedings
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the transparency of the position of the administrator in administration proceedings. [161728]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 16 March 2004]: Administration is a collective insolvency proceeding in which the administrator must act in the interests of the creditors as a whole.
The administrator's proposals for achieving the purpose of the administration are subject to the approval of creditors. The administrator is under a duty to report to the creditors on a regular basis, furthermore the creditors can form a committee, which allows them to perform a more active role in overseeing the proceedings.
The administrator's actions are open to challenge by the creditors, if they can satisfy the court that the administrator has acted, or proposes to act, in a way that prejudices or unfairly harms their interests.
Archiving Technology
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what responsibility her Department has in developing (a) permanent, (b) secure and (c) digital archiving technology; and if she will make a statement. [160666]
Mr. Timms: The Department of Trade and Industry encourages the development of digital archiving technologies, and provides some financial assistance towards collaborative research projects involving business and universities in this field.
Beer
Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to ensure that beer drinkers receive a full pint of liquid. [162004]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department intends to consult later this year on proposals to consolidate and modernise weights and measures controls on the sale of foods, including draught beer.
British Nuclear Fuels
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) pursuant to her answer of 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1675W, on British Nuclear Fuels, what discussions officials have had with BNFL about the fixed price contract for nuclear clean-up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; [161973]
- (2) if she will make a statement on the use of fixed price contracts for the clean-up of radioactively contaminated sites by BNFL. [161974]
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Mr. Timms: BNFL Inc. entered into certain fixed price clean-up contracts with US DoE at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Plant (AMWTP) in Idaho and the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) in Oak Ridge a number of years ago. Some losses on those contracts have been reported in BNFL's annual report. BNFL Inc's focus is now on contracts which pose minimal risk, and it already has a number of these contracts in place and they are making a useful contribution to the group.
BNFL is taking steps to limit any further losses under the two historic legacy contracts and, in liaison with officials, is actively pursuing claims for compensation under the terms of those contracts. I have also discussed this issue with US Energy Secretary, Spencer Abraham.
Building Standards
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what action her Department is taking to tackle rogue builders; [161507]
- (2) what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote awareness of the Quality Mark scheme among the public and (b) encourage applications from building firms; [161509]
(3) how many building firms in (a) England and (b) Kent have (i) applied for and (ii) been granted membership of the Quality Mark scheme for builders. [161508]
Nigel Griffiths: The Government are working with the construction industry, local authorities, consumer groups and other stakeholders to introduce the Quality Mark scheme.
The scheme was initially piloted in Birmingham and Somerset in 2001. A series of trade launches have since been held in other parts of the country. Registration fees for most firms have been subsidised and free advice on entry requirements is available to applicants.
Records show that a total of 535 firms have been approved so far, 507 of which are located in England including 25 in Kent. A total of 699 firms have applied, of which 694 are based in England including 22 in Kent.
Business Start-Ups (London)
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses have received assistance in starting-up from Government schemes and initiatives in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each year from 1992, broken down by type. [158459]
Jacqui Smith: Business Link for London is the main provider of Government funding assistance for start-up businesses within the Greater London area. Other schemes are administered by national and regional organisations and it is not possible to provide figures in the format requested without disproportionate cost.
Business Link for London's (BL4L) records show that up to Quarter 3 of 2003–04 they have given advice/support to 23,033 pre-start ups. During 2002–03 they gave advice/support to 11,466 pre-starts. Earlier figures are unavailable.
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A breakdown of pre-start ups, including pre-start registrations in London boroughs during 2003–04 is detailed on the following table.
The London Development Agency (LDA) also has programmes designed to support business, small firms or new start-ups. The LDA also focus on the needs of strategic businesses that are large employers in the local economy, which sometimes need help in identifying problems at an early stage.
In 2001–02 the LDA was responsible for creating 2,073 new businesses to the London economy. In 2002–03, 1,443 businesses were created. To the end of the third quarter of 2003–04, the LDA had added 536 businesses to the London economy, against a target of 900. Current projections are that 1,357 businesses will have been created by the end of the reporting year in March 2004.
| Borough | Number of pre-starts assisted |
|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham | 50 |
| Barnet | 277 |
| Bexley | 85 |
| Brent | 239 |
| Bromley | 162 |
| Camden | 276 |
| City of London | 32 |
| Croydon | 299 |
| Ealing | 257 |
| Enfield | 379 |
| Greenwich | 110 |
| Hackney | 202 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 169 |
| Haringey | 228 |
| Harrow | 154 |
| Havering | 54 |
| Hillingdon | 135 |
| Hounslow | 183 |
| Islington | 292 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 145 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 115 |
| Lambeth | 260 |
| Lewisham | 225 |
| Merton | 133 |
| Newham | 229 |
| Redbridge | 205 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 157 |
| Southwark | 246 |
| Sutton | 100 |
| Tower Hamlets | 175 |
| Waltham Forest | 201 |
| Wandsworth | 225 |
| Westminster | 537 |
| Not known | 15,809 |
| Total | 7,224 |
Clean Coal Technology
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what incentives she has planned to encourage investment in clean coal technology. [161610]
Mr. Timms: The Cleaner Coal Technology Programme has already committed some £9 million of Government support for R&D which will have generated some £27 million of investment into cleaner coal technologies between 1999 and 2006. In addition to this, we have recently announced a new call for proposals under the Programme which will provide
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another £4 million of Government support for CCT R&D. Under the Programme, we also support British businesses with Technology Transfer and Export Promotion projects with particular emphasis on countries such as China, India and Russia.
Coal Mining
Mr. Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people have been employed in the coal mining industry from 1954 to date. [160939]
Mr. Timms: The following table shows numbers of people employed underground in National Coal Board/British Coal Corporation in each year from 1954 until privatisation in 1994. The figures for these years do not include for employment at private mines. The figures for 1995 onwards are for total number of different persons employed (including contractors) in all deep mines.
Opencast mine employment statistics are not readily available for the full period, but Coal Authority figures show that as at 31 December 2003, 2,175 people were employed in opencast mines, this figure having stood at 3,863 on 31 March 1996, at the end of the first year for which the authority maintained these records.
Source:
Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics.
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