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EU Structural Funding

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate his Department has made of the amount of EU Structural Funding in Wales that remains unspent in the 2000 to 2006 spending programme. [180921]

Mr. Touhig: At the end of May 2004, nearly £900 million of structural funds had been committed in Wales, representing nearly 57 per cent. of the total allocation for 2000–06. The total grant paid was £440 million.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been spent on the implementation process of the 2000 to 2006 EU Structural Funding programme in Wales. [180951]

Mr. Touhig: Not all the costs of implementing the programmes are held centrally, therefore an accurate figure is not available. The administration of the structural fund programmes in Wales is devolved to the National Assembly for Wales. The programmes are delivered on a partnership basis, involving a large number of key stakeholders from the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the contribution of the 2000 to 2006 EU structural funding programme to the gross domestic product of Wales. [181010]

Mr. Touhig: The latest GDP figures for Wales are for 2002. As the structural fund programmes are long-term programmes, projects can be approved until 2006 and funds can be drawn down until December 2008. It is therefore far too early to be able to measure the impact of the structural fund programmes on GDP.

However, to the end of May 2004, more than 62,000 jobs were created or safeguarded by structural funds in Wales.

Ministerial Air Travel

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each year since the office's creation the number of miles flown by each Minister in the office on official departmental business. [181865]

Mr. Touhig: We are unable to provide this information, as the Wales Office does not record it and it could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

However, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These report information reaching back to 1995–96. Information for 2003–04 is currently being assembled and will be published shortly. All ministerial
 
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travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Pay Differentials

Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister for Women what recent assessment she has made of the pay differential between women and men in Greater London. [183147]

Ms Hewitt: The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the pay differential between women and men working full-time in Greater London was 23.5 per cent. in 2003, which was a decrease of 0.7 per cent. from 2002. The pay differential between women working part-time and men working full-time in Greater London was 46.3 per cent. in 2003—a decrease of 2.5 per cent. from 2002.

TRANSPORT

Airports

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the guidance given to Nottingham East Midlands airport on (a) the preparation of its master plan and (b) the consultation process which would follow its publication. [183408]

Mr. McNulty: The Department has today published guidance for airport operators on the preparation of master plans. It is of general application, and there is no specific guidance to the operator of Nottingham East Midlands airport. Copies of the guidance have been placed in the House Library and will also be available on the Department's website, at www.dft.gov.uk.

Devolution

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to extend transport powers to (a) passenger transport authorities and (b) the proposed directly elected regional assemblies. [183141]

Mr. McNulty: The transport powers of elected regional assemblies were set out in the White Paper "Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions" (Cm5511). In his announcement to Parliament on the rail review on 19 January 2004, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said that we would consider devolving more decisions on public transport—including rail—to devolved authorities and at a regional level to PTEs. The Government hope to announce the conclusions of the rail review shortly.

Mobile Telephones

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on making the use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving an endorsable offence; [183199]

(2) when he intends bringing forward legislation to make the use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving an endorsable offence. [183200]

 
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Mr. Jamieson: Ministers in the Department regularly meet their colleagues. The Government are committed to making the use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving an endorsable offence. We will amend Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of compliance by drivers with the legislation forbidding the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving. [183201]

Mr. Jamieson: A survey carried out in April 2004 found that 1.2 per cent. of car drivers and 2.1 per cent. of other drivers were using hand-held phones. This indicates that the use of hand-held mobile phones by car drivers has dropped by 21 per cent. and for other drivers by 22 per cent. since the new offence came into force on 1 December 2003.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Business Support Agencies

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been spent on business support agencies in the last year. [182551]

Nigel Griffiths: The main business support agencies DTI directly funds are the Business Link Operators (BLOs) who provide services to small businesses.

In 2003–04 BLOs received Core Services grants from the Small Business Service totalling £139.5 million.

Most BLOs sub-contract the delivery of key services to Enterprise Agencies and other service deliverers as do other Government Departments, RDAs, and local authorities. European funds are also available in certain areas. The level of funding varies from BLO to BLO based on local needs, priorities and access to additional funding streams. The SBS does not systematically collect information on the level of service provision sub-contracted by BLOs.

Carbon Sequestration

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of the cost and practicalities of introducing a viable method of delivering in respect of carbon sequestration; how much her Department has spent on investigating this concept; and whether gains made from this process would count towards the United Kingdom's carbon dioxide emissions reduction targets. [182875]

Mr. Timms [holding answer 8 July 2004]: The DTI and Defra have collaborated in work on Carbon Sequestration.

The Cleaner Fossil Fuel Unit of the DTI has undertaken a number of studies to assess the feasibility of Carbon Capture and Storage in the UK. The accumulation of this work was a report published in September 2003 that provides estimates of the costs of carbon sequestration and discusses the issues around its implementation. The report and its supporting documentation are available at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/coal/cfft/co2capture. The work has been
 
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completed using effort from a combination of DTI officials and contractors (the estimated cost of the latter is £600,000).

The Marine and Waterways Division of Defra is concerned to protect the marine environment by ensuring that carbon sequestration in the maritime area is properly regulated. In 2003 Defra commissioned a literature review of research findings relevant to understanding the environmental impacts of release of sequestered CO ₂ into the marine environment. Gaps in knowledge were identified and further research is planned. (Value £24,611.) A joint Defra/DTI seminar was held in October 2003 to help develop the UK's policy on the regulation of this activity and to enable OSPAR to decide what work, if any, it needed to do on this subject. (Cost to Defra £2,100). A summary of the report and information about the seminar can be found on Defra's website.

Work in the form of continuing discussions at OSPAR, The London Convention and the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum is ongoing.

The use of carbon capture and storage would count towards the United Kingdom's Kyoto target provided the methods used had been subjected to international review and accepted by the UNFCCC review process. Methods are currently under consideration by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

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