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25 Mar 2004 : Column 963W—continued

Departmental Scientific Adviser

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department has a chief scientific adviser. [162479]

Ms Hewitt: The Department of Trade and Industry appointed David Hughes as Director General of Innovation Group and Departmental Chief Scientific Adviser (DCS A) in October 2002. David Hughes is a member of the Department's Executive Board.

Sir David King, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, reports direct to the Prime Minister and to Cabinet. He provides advice to the Government as a whole on science, engineering and technology (SET) matters. Sir David heads the Office of Science and Technology which is located in my Department.

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I meet both regularly and Sir David meets David Hughes and the other Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers on a regular basis.

Drug Treatments in Developing Countries

Mr. Battle To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on progress in making cheaper generic drug treatments available to developing countries, pursuant to the World Trade Organisation agreement on trade related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Public Health of August 2003. [162590]

Ms Hewitt: The UK Government will be working with our European partners on incorporating the WTO Decision on TRIPs and Public Health into law at EU level. This will enable both the granting of compulsory licences for export of patented medicines in the circumstances laid down in the decision, and appropriate safeguards to ensure that medicines exported in this fashion are not diverted from their intended recipients.

E-Auctions

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the potential impact of closed e-auction policies by supermarket stores on the health and safety compliance rates of contracting companies. [160140]

Mr. Sutcliffe: I understand that the hon. Member may have information regarding a reduction in health and safety standards. This is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive who may be able to respond appropriately if provided with detailed information.

Employment Rights Booklets

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department conducted an impact assessment under its race equality scheme of its decision to cease production of hard copy prints of most employment rights advice booklets. [162650]

Mr. Sutcliffe: No. Employment rights information is available from the Department's website or, in paper form, from Acas.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2004, Official Report, columns 1676–77W, on employment rights advice booklets, on what date the organisations listed were invited to join the practitioner group established as part of the review of her Department's information services; which of the organisations listed subsequently (a) became a member of the practitioner group and (b) attended meetings of the practitioner group; on what dates; and which organisations (i) declined to join the practitioner group and (ii) did not respond to the invitation. [162651]

Mr. Sutcliffe: A letter inviting organisations to join the group was sent on 28 May 2002. Membership was through attendance at the meetings. The letter did not ask for a response if the offer was declined. Records were not kept of organisations that did not respond.

Following is a list of organisations represented at the meetings.

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Entrepreneurship

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to promote an enterprise culture within educational establishments. [163312]

Ms Hewitt: In encouraging entrepreneurial attitudes among young people, the DTI has supported Enterprise Insight in developing a national campaign to promote enterprise to young people and to those who influence them (including teachers, careers advisers etc). This campaign will have as its focal point an annual Enterprise Week, the first of which will be from 15 to 21 November this year. Enterprise Week will include national and regional activities and celebrations of entrepreneurial achievement.

The DTI also supports the activities of Young Enterprise, in offering young people practical experience of what enterprise entails through simulated

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entrepreneurial situations. Specifically, through the SBS it supports YE's Graduate Programme, Masterclass and Innovation Awards.

The DTI is also working closely with the DfES and the Treasury in taking forward the recommendations of the Davies Review. From 2005–06 all Key Stage 4 pupils will receive the equivalent of five days enterprise activity, which develops enterprise capability—innovation, creativity, risk-management and risk-taking, and financial and business understanding. 151 Enterprise Pathfinder projects were launched last September, covering nearly 400 secondary schools in England, from which DfES will derive guidance for all schools prior to launching the £60 million enterprise education entitlement in September 2005. A second wave of Pathfinders will start in September 2004.

The two Departments are also supporting the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship. Building on existing good practice, the aims of the Council will be to raise the profile of entrepreneurship and starting a business as a career option within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), including both universities and other higher education establishments, with the objective of increasing the numbers of students and graduates who give serious thought to this. It will therefore work with all interested parties to encourage and create an entrepreneurial culture among students and graduates.

Fireworks Act

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what timetable has been established for drawing up (a) regulations under the Fireworks Act 2003, (b) a media and public awareness strategy about the new regulations and (c) training for police and local authorities on dealing with the new regulations. [163373]

Mr. Sutcliffe: No formal timetable has been established, but under the Fireworks Act we have already made the Fireworks Regulations 2003 which came into force on 22 December.

Preliminary consultations on implementing the remainder of the Fireworks Act are continuing and draft regulations will be published for consultation towards the end of April with the aim of making regulations by July before summer recess.

A media and public awareness strategy is being considered. As far as possible, this will fit in with our annual firework safety campaign.

The Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (Lacors) ensure that local authorities have all relevant information and guidance relating to new legislation. Training for the police is a matter for the Home Office.

Flexiclub

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received regarding the activities of the company Flexiclub; and if she will make a statement. [163227]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department does not comment on the affairs of individual companies. If the hon. Member has received complaints about a company called

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Flexiclub or trading as Flexiclub we will consider it. According to information held at Companies House, companies with the words Flexiclub in their name have been dissolved, the most recent being in August 2002. We cannot investigate dissolved companies.

Internet Service Providers

Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to promote an increase in internet service providers' accountability to their customers. [163431]

Mr. Timms: Under the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom was given a duty to set general conditions for service providers to provide information about services standards and customer rights. Under Ofcom's General Conditions of Entitlement, Internet service providers must provide a consumer code of practice that will set out clear information about the company they are dealing with, what they offer, what policies are in place (e.g. in relation to disconnections, payment, billing etc.), how to contact them, how to complain and how to go to an alternative dispute body.

The Communications Act 2003 also gave Ofcom a duty to promote media literacy. As part of Ofcom's strategy for the promotion of media literacy they will be encouraging Internet service providers to offer advice and guidance to customers, particularly in relation to the protection of young people from harmful content and services delivered on the Internet. In addition, Ofcom propose to direct people to information provided by other stakeholders when looking for information to control their and their children's activities online.

Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to encourage internet service providers to provide more information to their customers on the services they provide. [163432]

Mr. Timms: The regulation of Internet service providers is the responsibility of Ofcom. Under the Communications Act 2003 Ofcom have put in place a range of general conditions which improve the accountability of all communications providers, including ISPs, to their customers. For example all communications providers now have to establish alternative dispute resolution procedures for handling complaints made by their customers.

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