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State Aid

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many requests to the European Commission concerning state aid compliance in the regions of (a) the north west, (b) the north east and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber have been made since 2000; and how many requests have been turned down. [163708]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The following figures set out the best available information on the number of notifications in the regions of the north west, north east and Yorkshire and the Humber made to the European Commission since 2000, excluding agriculture, fishery and transport cases.

North West:

Three SME block exemption, three training aid block exemption and one notified scheme using the full notification procedure—Aid N282/2003 Cumbria Broadband—Project Access—Advancing Communication for Cumbria and Enabling Sustainable Services

North East:

11 SME block exemption, four training aid block exemption and no notified schemes

Yorkshire and Humber:

Four SME block exemption, two training aid block exemption and one notified scheme using the full notification procedure—Aid N486/2003—Yorkshire and Humber Research and Development scheme.

The European Commission has approved all of these schemes.

Taxi Licences

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the cost to local authorities of reviewing local taxi licence restrictions. [164058]

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Mr. Darling: I have been asked to reply.

There should be no significant additional cost involved in the procedure outlined in the Government's Action Plan. Any local licensing authority which currently controls taxi numbers must base their policy on an assessment of local demand. Our proposals simply aim to formalise that process.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria the Government are setting for the assessment for local taxi licences' restrictions. [164060]

Mr. Darling: I have been asked to reply.

We are asking those local licensing authorities which currently control taxi numbers to review their policies to determine whether such policies are in the best interests of passengers. As stated in the Action Plan, our request to the licensing authorities will include guidelines on quantity restrictions, including a review of the level of service available to consumers and consumer choice. The guidelines will cover (i) effective surveys to measure demand, including latent demand, for taxi services; (ii) consultation with all those working in the market, consumer and passenger (including disabled) groups, groups which represent those passengers with special needs, the police, a wide range of transport stakeholders e.g. rail/bus/coach providers and traffic managers; and (iii) publication of conclusions, including an explanation of the particular local circumstances which justify restrictions, what benefits they deliver to consumers and how decisions on numbers have been reached. Authorities will be encouraged to make all the evidence gathered to support the decision-making process available for public scrutiny.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations her Department will undertake with (a) the taxi trade and (b) local authorities prior to issuing guidelines to local authorities on taxi licence restrictions and the service available to consumers. [164061]

Mr. Darling: I have been asked to reply.

We shall consult a range of stakeholders, including both the taxi trade and licensing authorities, on the draft best practice guidance which we intend to publish later this year.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what measures will be available to her Department to intervene in local authorities' decisions on taxi licence restrictions; [164062]

(2) what role her Department will play in the assessment of local conditions for taxi licence restrictions. [164063]

Mr. Darling: I have been asked to reply.

As stated in the Action Plan, we shall be asking those local licensing authorities which currently impose a numerical limit on taxi licences to justify their policy and to publish that justification every three years and in the Local Transport Plans which cover their area. We shall note what the local authorities tell us in order that we can consider if further action is needed when we carry out a review in three years' time.

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Trade (Taiwan and China)

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on recent levels and trends in UK trade with (a) Taiwan and (b) China. [164032]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The value of UK trade in goods, with Taiwan and China is given in the following table.

UK trade with Taiwan, in the latest three months, was 2.5 per cent. lower than the same period a year earlier. Trade with China increased by 31.4 per cent. over the same period.

UK trade in goods with Taiwan and China£ million

	Taiwan	China
2002
November	261	740
December	264	694
2003
January	263	719
February	253	751
March	250	779
April	262	848
May	254	856
June	241	841
July	255	777
August	255	888
September	258	879
October	264	929
November	257	922
December	257	987
2004
January	254	919

⁽²⁸⁾ Seasonally adjusted.

Source:

Business Monitor MM24, Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, ONS.

Trade Agreements

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the Government will follow up their recent submission to the European Commission on reforming the rules of origin for preferential trade agreements. [164759]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government are following up their submission in response to the European Commission's Green Paper on the future of rules of origin in preferential trade arrangements through discussions with officials in a range of European Commission Directorates General (Trade Internal Market, Development and Enterprise) and by briefing Commissioners' cabinets ahead of an expected College of Commission discussion. We are also liaising closely with other member states that share our views.

Tyres (Recycling)

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she (a) has introduced and (b) plans to introduce to encourage the recycling of tyres for (i) road fill material and (ii) other purposes. [164306]

Mr. Timms: The Government have supported research into a wide variety of uses for waste tyres, including their use in roads. A number of trial stretches of roads incorporating rubber crumb from waste tyres

30 Mar 2004 : Column 1368W

have been laid for evaluation purposes. Funding support for relevant projects, through programmes such as that run by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, continues to be available.

The Government have no plans to introduce material-specific measures for tyres, although they are considering whether the general framework under which waste tyres are disposed of and recovered could be usefully strengthened. Against that background, initial estimates indicate that value was recovered from around 80 per cent. of the over 400,000 tonnes of tyres disposed of in 2003, and further progress is anticipated during 2004.

Utilities

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how much she estimates is held by utility companies in excess from estimated bills; [164630]

(2) what steps she has taken to ensure the accuracy of estimated utility bills; and if she will make a statement. [164641]

Mr. Timms: The regulation of gas and electricity supply, including billing arrangements, is the responsibility of the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). I understand that the Chairman of Ofgem will write to the hon. Member about the matters he has raised.

VAT Registration

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the reasons for (a) the fall in the number of VAT registrations and (b) the increase in the number of VAT de-registrations since 1997. [162689]

Nigel Griffiths: VAT registrations and de-registrations do not capture all start-up activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has been rising in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register will not necessarily have closed. Only 1.8 million out of 3.8 million enterprises were registered for VAT at the start of 2002.

Barclays Bank's latest survey of business creation includes non-VAT registered firms and shows that there were 93,100 business start ups in England and Wales in the third quarter of 2003. The latest yearly figures show 384,900 business start ups in England and Wales in the 12 months ending in September 2003. This represents a 3 per cent. increase on the year before.

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