---

24 Jun 2004 : Column 1494W—continued

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Departmental Publications

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1561W, on departmental publications, what body or organisation is responsible for producing each publication. [178923]

Ms Hewitt: The answer is in a table which has been placed in the Library.

Departmental Websites

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost of her Department's websites, including those of its agencies, was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [178792]

Ms Hewitt: The cost for the Department's headquarters website, www.dti.gov.uk, is included in the overall service charge paid under the IT service contract which has been in place since April 1999. There is no separation of website costs in this charge. The costs of the agency websites for the financial year 2003–04, including VAT, are:
£000

Agency	Cost
Companies House	245
The Patent Office	130
The Insolvency Service	53.6
The Small Business Service	275
The Employment Tribunals Service	33.5
The National Weights and Measures Laboratory	36

In addition, I am the sponsor for the cross-departmental Business.gov programme, which includes the Businesslink.gov website. The cost for the development of this major programme in 2003–04, including the former businesslink.org site which it replaced in November 2003, was £14.2 million.

Motorsports

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment she has made of the effect, in the event of the loss of the British Grand Prix, on (a) revenues in the motorsport sector, (b) jobs in the motorsport sector and (c) outsourcing of research and development and specialist engineering projects to the UK; [177236]

(2) what assessment her Department has made of the significance of the British Grand Prix to the success of the UK motorsport cluster. [177237]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 7 June 2004]: The Motorsport Competitiveness Panel, co-chaired by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and Mr. Paul Barron, made an assessment of all factors influencing the success of the UK motorsport industry. It concluded that retention in the UK of "world-class motorsport events", including the Formula One Grand Prix, the Motorcycle Grand Prix and the Wales Rally GB was important both economically and in maintaining the public profile of the industry.
 
24 Jun 2004 : Column 1495W
 

The panel's assessment of the direct economic impact in the event that the Formula One Grand Prix were to be lost to the UK was a net loss of £3.4 million income and 230 jobs. This estimate does not take into account any secondary effects on the UK motorsport industry. However, the panel concluded that such effects would be significant. UK-based teams have confirmed that the presence of world-class events and the associated marketing opportunities are important reasons for locating in the UK and the loss of any of these events would lead to a loss of business for UK motorsport companies.

The Motorsport Panel's full report was published on 11 July 2003 and is available at: http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/docs/motorsportpanelreport.pdf No additional assessment of the issues raised has been made since that time.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many motorsport companies use Business Links; and how many motorsport companies have applied for research and development tax credits. [177238]

Jacqui Smith: This information is not collected centrally hence the information requested cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives her Department has undertaken to promote inward investment in the British motorsport industry. [177239]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 7 June 2004]: The Department is working as part of the Government Motorsport Unit (GMU) to attract further investment to the UK's world-leading motorsport industry. International trade and inward investment are key areas of delivery for the GMU and £2 million has been set aside to support this work over the next five years.

Initiatives that have already been undertaken, in collaboration with industry bodies, include promotion of the sector at the annual Autosport Engineering and Performance Racing Industry trade shows in the UK and USA respectively. These activities are designed to encourage overseas joint ventures and alliances by UK companies as well as inward investment. Future initiatives will be undertaken based upon industry priorities.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department has taken to develop the Motorsport Valley brand for promoting (a) the motorsport industry and (b) motorsport-related tourism. [177450]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 7 June 2004]: In common with other motorsport-related issues, the Department's activities in this area are taken forward through the Government Motorsport Unit (GMU), which includes both central Departments and regional agencies.

In 2003, the Motorsport Valley brand was used as part of a high-profile inward investment promotion by the four regions concerned (East and West Midlands, South East and East of England). These agencies put forward a united message under the Motorsport Valley banner at the Performance Racing Industry trade show
 
24 Jun 2004 : Column 1496W
 
in Indianapolis, USA. The promotion was well received and further plans are being taken forward with the relevant industry bodies.

The brand is also used to promote motorsport tourism through a website: www.visitmotorsportvalley.com and an associated national motorsport map. These activities aim to reach a broader audience than traditional motorsport enthusiasts. This initiative is once again being taken forward on a collaborative basis by the four regions.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2004, Official Report, column 959W, on deregulation, what formal assessment her Department has made of the negative economic impact of obsolete EU regulation. [179969]

Jacqui Smith: The Department has not carried out a formal assessment of the economic impact of obsolete EU regulation. In part, this obsolete legislation consists of a number of legal acts with time-limited application (e.g. the fixing of agricultural prices in a given harvest year, or the grant of a particular time-limited status, derogation or financial support to a member state or other entity). This type of obsolete legislation would therefore not have an economic impact once it is no longer applicable. The European Commission is currently taking steps to remove such legislation,, along with other measures to secure a reliable, up-to-date and user-friendly body of EC law as described in its February 2003 Communication, "Updating and Simplifying the Community Acquis" (COM (2003) 71).

Steel

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of UK steel production and US tariffs on UK steel. [180060]

Jacqui Smith: The overall prospects for UK steel production look encouraging. According to the Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau, UK steel production rose by 4.9 per cent. in March 2004 and by 7.2 per cent. to reach 3.3 million tonnes for the first quarter of 2004. The UK monthly total was the second highest in over two years. World demand is strong largely as a result of the expansion of the Chinese economy. In terms of the UK steel market, the most recent CBI Business Survey shows manufacturing in a more positive light with output expected to increase over the next three months at its fastest pace since 1999.

I am pleased that following a ruling of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, which was subsequently confirmed by an Appeal Panel, President Bush removed safeguard tariffs on steel on 4 December 2003.

Western Sahara (Oil Exploration)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the granting of a licence to Wessex Exploration to survey for oil in the occupied land of the Western Sahara; and what the status is of the UN policy towards such exploitation. [179312]

Mr. Rammell [holding answer 18 June 2004]: I have been asked to reply.
 
24 Jun 2004 : Column 1497W
 

We regard the sovereignty of Western Sahara as undetermined pending United Nations efforts to find a solution to the dispute over the territory. We fully support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General to find a fair and lasting solution. The UN Legal Counsel gave an opinion on the signing of contracts for exploration of mineral resources in Western Sahara in 2002 (S/2002/161 of 12 Feb 2002). We fully support this advice.

We are aware of contracts between both the Moroccan Government and the Polisario with various international oil and gas companies. We have not been involved in these deals.

---