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30 Mar 2004 : Column 1368W—continued

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates her Department has made of the cost to (a) consumers, (b) taxpayers and (c) local councils of implementing the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. [163885]

Mr. Timms: The Government's proposals for implementation of the EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment should result in no new burdens on taxpayers or local councils. The Directive is a producer responsibility measure and it will be a matter for producers and retailers whether they pass any new costs through to

30 Mar 2004 : Column 1369W

consumers. A Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Government's implementation strategy was published with their consultation paper on implementation plans for the Directive on 26 November. A copy of this has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Wind Farms

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money is being spent in 2003–04 from the Government subsidy to electricity generation companies on the construction and operation of wind farms. [164086]

Mr. Timms: In financial year 2003–04, the Government spent £5 million to support one offshore wind farm development. No direct support was provided for onshore wind farm development except for some small household or community installations under the Clear Skies scheme.

Support provided through the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation and the Renewables Obligation are not Government subsidies.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list each (a) existing and (b) proposed onshore wind farm, broken down by constituency. [164647]

Mr. Timms: Proposals to construct and operate on-shore generating stations with a capacity greater than 50 megawatts (MW) in England and Wales require my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

The information for applications made under section 36 for proposed on-shore wind farms is as follows:

Approved but not yet constructed

Cefn Croes— Ceredigion (consented May 2002)

Still under consideration

Little Cheyne Court—Folkestone and Hythe

Scout Moor—Heywood and Middleton, Rossendale and Darwen

Whinash—Penrith and The Border

Keadby—Brigg and Goole, Doncaster North

Tween Bridge—Doncaster North, Don Valley

Consents for generating stations in Scotland are a matter for the devolved administration. Central Government do not hold records of proposals for on-shore wind farms below 50MW as these fall to be determined by the local planning authority under the normal planning regime.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money the Government have spent on publicising the role of wind farms in each year since 1997. [164087]

Mr. Timms: The DTI's Renewable Energy Programme publishes a quarterly newsletter, New Review. The publication contains information on technical developments, business opportunities and other issues affecting all the renewables industry not just wind. The newsletter has several thousand subscribers from a range of backgrounds, including the

30 Mar 2004 : Column 1370W

renewables industry, Government, education, finance and consultancy. Since 1997 the average cost per annum has been in the region of £100,000.

The Government recently announced a new campaign to raise awareness of the renewable energy sector not just wind. The campaign—"It's Only Natural"—will seek to inform planners, investors and the wider community of the potential and benefits of renewable energy not just wind. The £2 million (spend over 18 months) campaign will target planners and investors through a number of channels, including workshops, a conference, media initiatives and a website.

Work-Life Balance Challenge Fund

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what resources, in addition to the Department's work-life balance fund, she makes available to help employers with work-life issues; [163483]

(2) how many employers, broken down by (a) sector and (b) region, the Department's work-life balance fund has helped in each year. [163485]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The following table sets out the number of employers who received financial assistance through the Challenge Fund over the five rounds of its operation, by region and by sector.

Figure 1

	Rounds 1–5
Breakdown by region
North West	52
North East	33
West Midlands	27
East Midlands	45
South West	54
South East	37
Yorkshire and Humber	38
East	38
Scotland	35
Wales	—
Northern Ireland	—
London	83
Cross regional projects	15
Breakdown by Sector
Manufacturing	22
Science and Research	4
ICT	8
Finance	24
Hospitality	4
Retail	25
Business Services/Consultancy	37
Transport	11
Construction	3
Public Sector Administration	131
Hospitals, LHAs and Trusts	41
Schools and LEAs	62
Voluntary/Charitable bodies and associations including Unions	47

The "Work Life Balance Challenge Fund", which has been one strand of the Work-Life Balance Campaign, is nearing completion and no further rounds are planned. The DTI will continue to help employers establish better practice in their work places. Financial assistance will be accessible through the DTI's new Business Support

30 Mar 2004 : Column 1371W

Scheme as from April 2004. DTI Business Links will become the first point of contact for companies interested in such support.

DTI will continue to make available a range of resources to assist, inform, and encourage best practice among employers who might wish to pursue Work-Life Balance initiatives in their workplaces. From April 2004 the dissemination of information about Work-Life Balance and Flexible Working policies and practice will be funded through the Business Support Scheme.

A major resource for the campaign has, and will continue to be, an interactive website which offers guidance on establishing initiatives in the workplace, flexible working legislation, and provides research and employer case studies which reflect the experiences of large and small companies across the country who have adopted work life balance policies and practices.

The site allows access to EMAR or the Employment market Analysis and Research (EMAR) site is a Research body fully funded by the DTI. It has an ongoing programme of research, which has complemented the Work-life Balance campaign.New legislation came into effect 6 April 2003. This was accompanied by information and guidance for both employers and employees. An information booklet entitled "New Laws for Working Parents—Key information for employers" was mailed direct to just under 100,000 SMEs (79 per cent. in the 5–49 employee category). The DTI has worked with ACAS to provide further guidance to employers through Acas' national helpline.

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total expenditure of the Department's Work-life Balance Fund has been in each year of its existence. [163541]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The table at Figure 1 sets out the total financial assistance to date provided through the Challenge Fund for each of the fund's five rounds.

Figure 1£

	Amount
Round 1	2,015,443
Round 2	586,536
Round 3	3,333,061
Round 4	3,919,851
Round 5	193,575
Total	10,048,466

30 Mar 2004 : Column 1372W

Working Time Directive

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the European Commission on ensuring the UK retains flexibility in implementing the Working Time Directive. [163570]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Both my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and I have met the European Commission several times over the last year with a view to maintaining the flexibility currently given by the Working Time Directive. Indeed, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to discuss this issue further with Stavros Dimas, the new Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner, in the near future.

HEALTH

Administration Costs

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on administration by (a) strategic health authorities, (b) primary care trusts and (c) NHS trusts in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [157580]

Mr. Hutton: Real terms expenditure on national health service administration, broken down by organisation from 1998–99, is shown in the table.

£ thousands

	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01	2001–02
Health authorities and strategic health authorities	645,339	764,598	755,623	673,817
Primary care trusts	n/a	n/a	62,116	490,075
NHS trusts	1,289,777	1,286,661	1,306,971	1,306,018
Total	1,935,116	2,051,259	2,124,710	2,469,910

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