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22 Apr 2004 : Column 613W—continued

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with the British Chamber of Commerce on the subject of regulatory impact assessments. [166454]

Nigel Griffiths: I meet Mr. David Frost, the Director General of BCC regularly, most recently at the BCC Conference on 21 April where I took part in a panel discussion on RIAs. I understand the BCC welcomes the Government's work on RIAs.
 
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Renewable Energy

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress her Department is making on promoting the environmental benefits of renewable energy. [167003]

Mr. Timms: I launched the "It's only natural" campaign in February. This will initially target key decision makers in the financial and planning sectors to ensure that they are equipped with the best information for making decisions regarding renewable energy. The campaign will continue to the end of March 2005 and there is a £2 million budget for the project.

Royal Mail

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of the operational efficiency of Royal Mail; what action she is taking to improve the standards of delivery of domestic mail; and if she will make a statement. [167199]

Mr. Timms: The assessment of the operational efficiency of Royal Mail and any action to be taken to improve the standards of delivery of domestic mail is a matter for the postal regulator, Postcomm.

Small Businesses (Tynemouth)

Mr. Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent action her Department has taken to support small businesses in Tynemouth constituency. [165362]

Nigel Griffiths: In his budget statement my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced a number of steps to help small businesses including an increase of capital allowances to 50 per cent. and raising VAT registration threshold to 58 per cent. all of which helps Small Businesses in Tynemouth.

The Chancellor also announced that the Employer Training Pilot, which has been running in Tyne and Wear for the last year, would be rolled out and made available to businesses throughout the North East. This helps businesses to improve the skills of their workforce by providing training tailored to their needs. The programme not only offers free tailored advice on training but also the unique prospect of subsidised training and wage compensation to employers for the time workers are away from work—traditionally one of the biggest barriers to training in smaller companies.

The core funding provided to Business Link Tyne and Wear, has provided a foundation on which the Business Link has sourced additional funding projected at £14.5 million for the benefit of businesses in Tyne and Wear, for the year 2004–05.

Around £3.5 million of this is available, including a   subsidy of up to 50 per cent. for management development training and upskilling the workforce to SME's across Tyne and Wear.

Businesses can also benefit from a range of Workforce Development services to help SMEs achieve the Investors in People Standard and develop their workforce. One business based in Tynemouth, received 50 per cent. subsidy to help them towards paying their Investors in People assessment fees. SMEs with between
 
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5 and 49 employees are also eligible for additional funding towards helping them to reach the standard. In the past, financial subsidies towards consultancy costs were only available to businesses over 36 months old, and these were restricted to specific projects. Now, a subsidy of up to 45 per cent. can be accessed by businesses of any age or size towards the cost of any business related consultancy. Around £4 million is available for this purpose.

Local SMEs can also benefit from up to 45 per cent. funding towards the cost of exhibition space and the design build and dressing of a stand. In conjunction with this, Business Link Tyne and Wear have held three 'Meet the Buyer' events over the last two years as a means for local SMEs to meet buyers from both within and beyond the region, offering SME's the opportunity to become integral cogs in supply chains.

Business Link Tyne and Wear has helped a number of businesses in the Tynemouth area to access financial assistance, one such SME received a 45 per cent. subsidy to help them to develop their website. They also went on to receive an additional 50 per cent. subsidy towards the cost of training, to enable staff to update the website once developed.

In addition, a restaurant in Tynemouth, received 50 per cent. funding towards Management Development training, they also had consultancy assistance, to help them to develop a marketing strategy.

Unsecured loans of up to £15,000 are also available to businesses in the North East that have had difficulty accessing finance elsewhere. Businesses must work with a mentor and repay the loan within five years.

Over the past 15 months Business Link has received 660 inquiries from existing businesses and people looking to start their own business in North Tyneside. Of these, 43 existing, and 22 start up inquiries were from Tynemouth. 670 businesses have started in North Tyneside. They are offered an independent service of one-to-one 'counselling' and given intensive advice on business planning, marketing and finance.

An adviser from Business Link and North Tyneside Council's advisers work side by side at North Tyneside Council's premises in North Shields to provide advice and support to businesses based in North Tyneside, including Tynemouth. In addition, an adviser is based in Tynemouth and North Tyneside Colleges two days a week to offer advice to anyone that is looking to start or already running a business.

Tyne and Wear Small Business Fund, through the Regional Development Agency's Single Programme Funding, (Managed by Tyne and Wear Development Company and delivered by each local authority) is a 50 per cent. Capital Equipment Grant of between £500 and £2,500 available to pre-start and new businesses—up to 12 months old.

The Regional Service for Clustering (RSC), also funded by the Dti, through the RDA, helps groups of SME's collaborate support across Tyne and Wear—this project is based in North Tyneside.

North Tyneside Council also provides free business advice and guidance to all businesses setting up in North Tyneside.
 
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Steel

Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade   and Industry if she will make a statement on the   supply of steel in the UK for manufacturing industries. [167188]

Jacqui Smith: Global steel prices have risen sharply in recent months as a result of rising input costs and market demand. This is causing difficulties for certain steel using industries where they have limited scope for passing on the increased cost to customers. There have been reports of tightness in the steel supply market, with imports to the EU reduced, but I understand that all types of steel remain available, although prices are high. There is no shortage of supply from UK steel producers.

Textiles

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people were employed in the textile industry in 1997; and how many are employed in it now. [165383]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is as follows:
thousands

	Employee jobs in textile and clothing industries (SIC 17–18)
June 1997	347
June 2003	180
December 2003	171

Source:
Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment Northern Ireland Quarterly Employment Survey.
Employee jobs in local units of Standard Industrial Classification division 17 (textiles) and division 18 (clothing).

Wind Energy

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost is per kilowatt hour of electricity generated by (a) offshore wind and (b) onshore wind; and if she will make a statement. [167200]

Mr. Timms: Modelling carried out to support the recent Innovation Review puts the current estimated cost of onshore wind generation at 3.1–4 p/kWh expected to fall to W2.5–3.2 p/kWh by 2020 and offshore wind generation at 6.0–7.6 p/kWh expected to fall to W3.0–4.6 p/kWh by 2020.

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the environmental impact of wind farms. [167012]

Mr. Timms: The Energy White Paper published in February 2003 set out the Government's energy policy to tackle the crucial environmental challenge of climate change. The challenge we face is to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, one of the main causes of climate change, which have risen by more than a third since the industrial revolution and are now rising faster than at any time in the past.

The Government has set the target of obtaining 10 per cent. of our electricity from renewable sources by 2010, with the aspiration of doubling this by 2020.
 
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Renewable energy will make an important contribution to the Government's wider climate change programme. It is estimated that increased renewable energy generation, to meet the 2010 target, will deliver additional carbon savings of some 2.5 million tonnes of carbon per year by 2010, and that doubling this by 2020 would achieve further cuts of some 3 to 5 million tonnes of carbon per year above that by 2020. Wind power is expected to make the largest contribution of between 7 and 8 per cent. towards the 2010 renewable electricity generation target and the positive environmental impact that will make.

Under the normal planning regime and for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 or the Transport and Works Act 1992 wind farm developers are required to consider all environmental aspects of wind energy projects and produce an Environmental Impact Assessment. These assessments are available to the public.

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