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12 May 2004 : Column 436W—continued

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 25 March with regard to Jenny Edwards. [172262]

Ms Hewitt: I replied to my right hon. Friend's letter seeking support for the Early Day Motion 576—Corporate Responsibility on 7 May 2004. As outlined in my reply, my Department published draft Regulations on the Operating and Financial Review for consultation on 5 May.

Electricity Network

Mr. Laurence To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2004, Official Report, column 501W, on the electricity network, how many warnings have been issued by National Grid Transco about low levels of spare electricity generating capacity (a) this year and (b) in each of the previous seven years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [172543]

Mr. Timms: National Grid have issued the following system warnings as part of normal operations to inform the market that its projected reserve is not fully met:

	Amount of system warnings
2004	(42)2
2003	13
2002	7
2001	18
2000	41
1999	13
1998	2
1997	1

⁽⁴²⁾ To date

Energy Bills

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what percentage of households with electricity accounts she estimates the regulator has been successful in enforcing Standard Licence condition (Electricity) 17 in inspecting meters every two years; [171487]

(2) what percentage of gas accounts she estimates Ofgem has been successful in enforcing Standard Licence condition (Gas) 17 in inspecting meters every two years. [171488]

Mr. Timms: Regulation of gas and electricity is the responsibility of the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM). I understand that the Chairman of the Authority will write to my hon. Friend about the matters he has raised.
 
12 May 2004 : Column 437W
 

Energy Supply

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with energy companies about the integrity and security of supply; and if she will make a statement. [172544]

Mr. Timms: Department of Trade and Industry Ministers hold regular meetings with electricity companies to discuss a wide range of issues, including the integrity and security of energy supplies.

Fireworks

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how long the consultation period on the proposals to prohibit the possession of fireworks was. [171594]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The consultation on the emergency Fireworks Regulations 2003 was launched on 5 November and closed on 26 November—making a total of three weeks of consultation.

Due to the temporary nature of the regulations, they are due to be repealed and incorporated into a comprehensive package of draft measures designed to tackle the misuse of fireworks resulting from supply and use. The consultation was launched on 23 April and will run till 2 July 2004.

Insolvency Service

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what powers the Insolvency Service's Prosecution Section has to investigate people in breach of (a) disqualification orders and (b) bankruptcy orders. [171614]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Insolvency Service's Prosecution Section (now Criminal Allegations Team) does not have any powers to investigate people who are in breach of (a) disqualification orders and (b) bankruptcy orders.

Allegations that individuals are breaching their disqualification orders or bankruptcy orders, which are supported by evidence and documentation are referred by the Criminal Allegations Team to the Department's Legal Services Directorate (Prosecutions), where a lawyer reviews the papers and decides on the course of action to be taken. If the lawyer concludes that the matter is suitable for a criminal investigation, an investigation officer is instructed to conduct such investigation and where necessary take witness statements for any prosecution.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many calls have been received by the Disqualified Directors Hotline of the Insolvency Service's Prosecution Section in the last 12 months; how many cases were taken forward by the Legal Services Directorate as a result; and if she will make a statement. [171615]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Disqualified Director's Hotline is now called "the Enforcement Hotline" but the telephone number remains the same.
 
12 May 2004 : Column 438W
 

For the period May 2003 to April 2004 there were 807 calls made to the Hotline and these included invalid calls eg hang ups.

From these calls, 166 questionnaires were sent out and on the basis of the information received 36 cases were referred to the Legal Services Directorate (LSD) and of these 25 were accepted by LSD for full investigation. Most of these cases will still be under investigation.

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what meetings she has held with trustees of the Mineworkers Pension Scheme in the last year; when the meetings were held; and what subjects were discussed. [170329]

Nigel Griffiths: I met the Trustees of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme, along with those of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme, on 30 March 2004. We discussed the Government's commitment to the pension schemes, including the Guarantee arrangements and the agreement to award RPI increases to members despite there being deficits in both schemes.

The Trustees reiterated their view that the Government Guarantee negotiated in 1994 allows them to take a balanced amount of risk in their investments helping the funds to grow and pay around 30 per cent. bonuses to scheme members. Without the Guarantee the Trustees would have had to follow a much more cautious investment strategy that would not have generated the surpluses we have seen.

National Minimum Wage

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers in Huntingdon constituency have benefited from the national minimum wage. [170862]

Mr. Sutcliffe: It is not possible to provide estimates specifically for the constituency of Huntingdon. However, based on the Office for National Statistics' Low Pay data released in 2003, the DTI estimates that around 90,000 people in the Eastern region stood to benefit from the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in April 1999. Between 80,000 and 90,000 people were expected to have benefited from the October 2003 uprating of the National Minimum Wage.

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers in Oldham West and Royton have benefited from the national minimum wage. [170937]

Mr. Sutcliffe: It is not possible to provide estimates specifically for the constituency of Oldham West and Royton. However, based on the Office for National Statistics' Low Pay data released in 2003, the DTI estimates that around 140,000 people in the North West stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in April 1999. Between 130,000 and 160,000 people were expected to have benefited from the October 2003 uprating of the national minimum wage.
 
12 May 2004 : Column 439W
 

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers in West Lancashire have benefited from the national minimum wage. [171726]

Mr. Sutcliffe: It is not possible to provide estimates specifically for the constituency of West Lancashire. However, based on the Office for National Statistics' Low Pay data released in 2003, the DTI estimates that around 140,000 people in the North West stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in April 1999. Between 130,000 and 160,000 people were expected to have benefited from the October 2003 uprating of the national minimum wage.

Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers in South Ribble have benefited from the national minimum wage. [172147]

Mr. Sutcliffe: It is not possible to provide estimates specifically for the constituency of South Ribble. However, based on the Office for National Statistics' Low Pay data released in 2003, the DTI estimates that around 140,000 people in the North West stood to benefit from the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in April 1999. Between 130,000 and 160,000 people were expected to have benefited from the October 2003 uprating of the National Minimum Wage.

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