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25 Mar 2004 : Column 959W—continued

Defective Products (Mandatory Recalls)

12. Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will create an independent national body to oversee all mandatory recalls of defective products. [163444]

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Mr. Sutcliffe : Having carefully considered the option of creating an independent national body we have decided not to pursue this course of action.

Music Industry

13. Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the economic contribution of the music industry in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement. [163445]

Ms Hewitt : Music is, and has been for many years, one of the most vibrant sectors of the UK economy. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, who have responsibility for the music industry, estimates that the UK is the third largest market in the world for sales of music and is second only to the USA as a source of repertoire. According to the DCMS sponsored report by the National Music Council on the economic contribution of the UK music business, "Counting the Notes (2002)", the music industry generated a total value added in excess of £3.6 billion in 2000.

Small Firms Legislation

14. Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the way the Government consults small firms on new legislation. [163446]

Nigel Griffiths: The Government established a Small Business Council in May 2000 to advise and report on the effects that the Government have on small business, including regulation. William Sargent SEBC Chair acts as the 'voice' for small business across Whitehall—in this role he also has direct access to the Prime Minister and attends Ministerial Panel of Regulatory Accountability.

Chemical Industry

15. Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Department is taking towards deregulation of the chemical industry. [163447]

Jacqui Smith: The Government continually looks for ways to improve the regulatory regime, and we will be establishing a new chemical industry forum to discuss options for better regulation, as announced by the Chancellor in last week's budget. Appropriate regulation of the chemical industry is, of course, necessary to ensure proper protection of human health and the environment.

European Union (Balance of Trade)

16. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the balance of trade with the European Union was in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the balance was (a) five and (b) 10 years ago. [163448]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: In the year to the third quarter of 2003, the UK's balance of trade in goods and services deficit with the European Union was 2.5 per cent. of GDP. In 1998 and 1993 the deficits were 0.7 and 0.9 per cent. respectively. In 1988 it was 3.7 per cent.

Nuclear Power (Emissions)

17. Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy under the

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United Kingdom national allocation plan to exempt nuclear generation from the EU emissions trading scheme. [163449]

Mr. Timms: While nuclear generation does not produce emissions of carbon dioxide, the associated combustion installation which emits carbon dioxide and with a rated thermal input exceeding 20 MW is subject to the EU emissions trading scheme.

West Africa (Export Control)

18. Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will discuss with representatives of the Economic Community of West African States the Department's policy on extraterritorial export control legislation. [163450]

Nigel Griffiths: Yes my hon. Friend the Minister for Africa wrote last December to Dr. Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States, to explain the Government's policy on extra-territorial controls.

The Minister discussed the issue again when he saw Dr. Chambas in New York this February.

Productivity (Yorkshire and the Humber)

19. Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to improve productivity in Yorkshire and the Humber. [163451]

Jacqui Smith: The Government are committed to raising the productivity of UK business in order to provide prosperity for everybody in our country. Within Yorkshire and the Humber, my Department works closely with Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency for the region, which has made improved productivity a key priority in then Regional Economic Strategy.

Since its launch in may 2002, the Yorkshire and Humber Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) has contacted 691 companies. This has resulted to date in company improvements in productivity added value of £7.8 million per annum.

Internet Access

20. Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of how the level of internet access in the United Kingdom compares with that in other European countries. [163452]

Mr. Timms: The Office of the e-envoy published an independent international benchmarking assessment in Nov 2002—The Worlds Most Effective Policies for the e-Economy—which presents international comparisons of internet access and use across the G7. The assessment shows the UK to be ahead of other European G7 countries for household internet access.

Alcoholic Beverages

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she is planning to ensure that beer drinkers receive a full pint when purchasing alcoholic beverages on licensed premises. [163469]

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Mr. Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 321W.

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research the Department has undertaken on whether beer drinkers receive a full pint on licensed premises. [163470]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department's consultation document 'Draught Beer and Cider' of March 2002 reported the results of a number of surveys by local authorities.

This consultation document has been placed in the Libraries of the House and can be viewed at www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/consultpdf/beer2.pdf.

BNFL

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many fixed price contracts have been undertaken by BNFL in the USA in each of the last 10 years. [162875]

Mr. Timms: BNFL operates in several sectors in the US, principally environmental clean-up through its subsidiary BNFL Inc and fuel manufacture and reactor services through its subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Company. It would not be practical to list specific details of contracts.

I would refer the hon. Member to an answer I gave to the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk (Mr. Bellingham) on 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 225W.

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2004, Official Report, columns 321–22W what estimates of further losses are envisaged by BNFL Inc; and what other potential losses in the USA BNFL Inc have informed the Department of. [163074]

Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker), on 22 March 2004, Official Report, column 517W.

Conferences and Seminars

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 12 March 2004, Official Report, column 1775W, on conferences and seminars, for what reason she does not maintain a central register of the (a) number and (b) cost of conferences and seminars that have been cancelled since June 2001. [162603]

Ms Hewitt: Responsibility for conferences and seminars rests with individual business units in DTI. Statistics on cancellation of such events with associated costs are not normally required for business reasons and are therefore not collected centrally.

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) resource budget, (b) administration costs and (c) staff numbers of the (i) Database Market Strategy Group (Patent Office), (ii) Small Business Investment Task Force, (iii) Small Business Council, (iv) Partnership Fund Assessment

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Panel, (v) Measurement Advisory Committee, (vi) Industrial Development Advisory Board, (vii) Council for Science and Technology, (viii) Committee on Cleaner Coal Technology, (ix) National Consumer Council, (x) Gas and Electricity Consumer Council and (xi) British Hallmarking Council are for 2003. [162421]

Ms Hewitt: The resource budget set by DTI for the National Consumer Council for the financial year 2003–04 is £4,059,000. The forecast average staff numbers for the National Consumer Council is 51.2 full time equivalents.

The resource budget set by DTI for the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council for the financial year 2003–04 is £12,300,000. The forecast average staff numbers for the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council is 296 full time equivalents.

The resource provided by DTI for these bodies is funded from DTI's programme budgets. The amount of their expenditure, which would be regarded as administrative costs will be published in each body's audited annual accounts.

The following bodies do not have separate resource budgets or staff. DTI provide the secretariat services in these cases and expenditure is met from within DTI's internal resource budgets.








The British Hallmarking Council is funded by the Assay Offices and does not receive a resource budget from DTI. It has one member of staff.

The Database Market Strategy Group (Patent Office) has no budget or staff. Its secretariat is provided by the Patent Office. No internal budget has been set for this body. It has not met during 2003–04.

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