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12 May 2004 : Column 439W—continued
Businesses (Huntingdon)
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses started up in Huntingdon constituency in each year since 1997. [170780]
Nigel Griffiths: Barclays Bank's latest survey of business creation includes non-VAT registered firms and shows that there were 115,000 business start-ups in England and Wales, including 1,300 in Cambridgeshire county (which contains the constituency of Huntingdon), in the fourth quarter of 2003. The latest yearly figures show 465,000 business start-ups in England and Wales in 2003. This represents a 19 per cent. increase on the year before. There were 5,000 business start-ups in Cambridgeshire County in 2003. Data for counties are not available for before 2003.
DTI figures based solely on VAT registrations for Huntingdon Local Authority (which contains the constituency of Huntingdon) are shown in the table for the period 1997 to 2002. Data for 2003 will be available in Autumn 2004.
| Huntingdon | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 535 |
| 1998 | 540 |
| 1999 | 485 |
| 2000 | 520 |
| 2001 | 485 |
| 2002 | 515 |
Source:
Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2002, Small Business Service, available from: www.sbs.gov.uk/statistics/vatstats.php
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VAT registrations do not capture all start-up activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen 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.
Nuclear Power
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with British Energy about extending the life of Dungeness B nuclear power station; and if she will make a statement. [172546]
Mr. Timms: My officials have regular discussions with British Energy on a range of issues affecting the company. Any decisions about extending the life of Dungeness B or any other British Energy nuclear power station would be a matter for the company who would need to evaluate the safety, technical and economic case, within the overall regulatory framework.
Parliamentary Questions
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many (a) Ordinary Written and (b) Named Day Questions her Department received in (i) the 2002–03 and (ii) this parliamentary session up to the most recent date for which figures are available, broken down by month; [170776]
(2) what proportion (a) Ordinary Written Questions to her Department were answered within five sitting days of tabling and (b) Questions for a Named Day received a substantive answer on that day in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) this parliamentary session up to the most recent date for which figures are available, broken down by month. [170777]
Ms Hewitt: The information requested is as follows:
Note:
DTI figures are based on sittings days.
12 May 2004 : Column 441W
We endeavour to answer all Parliamentary Questions within the Parliamentary deadlines whenever possible. In addition I refer the hon. Gentleman to a reply given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 3 March 2004, Offical Report, column 907W.
Post Offices
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many sub-post offices were closed in each of the past three years up to March in (a) the East of England, (b) Suffolk and (c) the parliamentary constituency of Bury St. Edmunds. [171869]
Mr. Timms: I am advised by Post Office Ltd. that data on post office closures by county or parliamentary constituency are not available in the form requested as the company does not require this data for its operational purposes. However, I understand that since March 2000 the company has recorded details of post office closures on the basis of Government Region and in the East of England region as a whole, the numbers of net closures were as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 70 |
| 2001–02 | 21 |
| 2002–03 | 33 |
Post Office Ltd. produces statistics on post office closures on a quarterly basis. The latest data on net closures by region currently available for year 2003–04 is to the end of December 2003. Data for the quarter to end March 2004 is expected shortly. There were 61 net closures of post offices in the East of England region to the end of December 2003. These figures include a total of 55 closures in the East of England region under the urban reinvention programme since its commencement in late 2002.
Mr. Andrew Turner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) Post Office, (b) Royal Mail and (c) Government functions are (i) provided by all sub-post offices, (ii) provided by some sub-post offices at the discretion of (A) the sub-postmaster, (B) Post Office Ltd and (C) others, (iii) provided by all
12 May 2004 : Column 442W
Crown post offices and (iv) provided by some Crown post offices at the discretion of (1) the manager, (2) Post Office Ltd. and (3) others. [171936]
Mr. Timms: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the decision to turn Taunton Crown Post Office into a SPAR store with post office facilities was taken; and if she will make a statement. [171990]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 10 May 2004]: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultation took place between the Government and the main clearing banks prior to the introduction of the Post Office card accounts; and what advice Ministers received on these matters. [172319]
Mr. Timms: Extensive consultation took place between the Government and the banking industry. The result of those negotiations was that all the main High Street banks and the Nationwide Building Society agreed to make a significant contribution to universal banking services at the Post Office. They are contributing £180 million towards the Post Office card account and are each providing access at Post Offices to a basic bank account product. Universal banking services were successfully launched on 1 April 2003.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 28 April 2004, Official Report, columns 1163–64W, on rural post offices, for what reasons she will not publish Postcomm's advice on future levels of support; and when the Department will complete its consideration of this advice. [172547]
Mr. Timms:
As I made clear in my answer of 28 April, Postcomm's advice on the future of the rural post office network was submitted to the Government in confidence. There are good reasons for this. The report contains detailed material which is commercially sensitive, both in relation to Post Office Ltd. and to the many individual businessmen and women who own and
12 May 2004 : Column 443W
run sub-post offices. While I do not rule out the publication in due course, it would be inappropriate to publish it before the Government has taken any decisions on the future of the rural network. The Government is currently considering that advice and will take decisions on the shape of the rural post office network after 2006 in good time to allow for a smooth transition from the current support arrangements. The current funding arrangements for the rural post office network have nearly two years to run yet.
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