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12 Jul 2004 : Column 907W—continued

Military Equipment

Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether military equipment sent from the United Kingdom to be used by British forces serving overseas is included in statistics relating to the value of British exports. [181764]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 1 July 2004]: I have been asked to reply.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 1 July 2004, Official Report, column 380W, by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Healey).

Departmental Staff (Scotland)

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff in her Department are employed in Scotland. [182868]

Ms Hewitt: The Department employs 258 staff in Scotland.
 
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Departmental Administration Costs

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1560W, on the departmental annual report, what the difference is on an equivalent basis of the net administration costs in 2002–03 and 2003–04. [183224]

Ms Hewitt: The difference on an equivalent basis for the net administration costs between 2002–03 and 2003–04 is £16 million. This was awarded through Spending Review 2002 and included an additional £8 million for front line services in the Employment Tribunals Service, ACAS and the Insolvency Service, £5 million for electronic government IT services and an additional £3 million covering a range of activities across the Department.

Post Offices

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices there were in London on 31 March. [182350]

Mr. Timms: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that there were 1,010 post offices in total in the London region as at 31 March 2004. I do not have a breakdown of the directly managed post offices and sub-post offices, and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to my hon. Friend.

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices and sub-post offices in London will have closed by the end of the current round of consultation within the Network Reinvention framework; and what proportion this represents of the total at the start of the Reinvention programme. [182352]

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices are expected to close during the next year. [183179]

Mr. Timms: There is no predetermined list or number of future closures. All proposed closures are subject to the outcome of public consultations.

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many London constituencies have been subject to notification of post office and sub-post office closures in the 2004–05 financial year; [182354]

(2) when she expects the consultations on post office and sub-post office closures in London to be complete. [182355]

Mr. Timms: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to my hon. Friend.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the urban population lived within one mile of a post office or sub-post office in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) England and (c) each constituency in England at the most recent date for which information is available. [183138]

 
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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.

Postal Deliveries

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has made to the Post Office regarding the numbers of lost and late deliveries. [183178]

Mr. Timms: DTI Ministers and officials meet representatives from Post Office on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues, including lost and late deliveries.

During our discussions, we have received Allan Leighton's personal assurance that improving Royal Mail's quality of service is the company's top priority.

Service Sector Growth

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is planning to tackle the decline in economic growth of the UK service sector. [182756]

Ms Hewitt: According to official figures for the service sector, there were three consecutive quarters of rising growth between 2003 Ql and 2003 Q4, with growth moderating slightly in 2004 Ql from a particularly robust 2003 Q4. However, on an annual basis, service sector growth at 3.6 per cent. is at its highest level for nearly three years.

The service industries are a substantial component of the British economy and account for over 70 per cent. of UK GDP. The department is therefore committed to ensuring the sector continues to improve by helping to promote a high value added economy. The DTI is working to create the best environment for business success in the UK. We help business become more productive by promoting enterprise, innovation and creativity. We invest heavily in world-class science and technology and we stand up for fair and open markets in the UK, Europe and the world.

The Department's Business Group is doing work for a range of service sectors through its relationship managers, business support products, the SBS and the RDAs. The Small Firms Loan Guarantee continues to help the sector; in 2003–04 80 per cent. by number and 78 per cent. by value of SFLG loans being made to service sector businesses.

SMART Awards

Sir John Butterfill: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Smart awards will be made this year; and if she will make a statement. [182067]

Nigel Griffiths: The Smart scheme closed to new applications in August 2003 and the final 22 awards were made this year. The Grant for Research and Development was introduced in June 2003. Offers of Grant for Research and Development worth £28 million were made to 320 innovative small businesses in the period January to June 2004.
 
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Supermarkets

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanism there is within her Department to ensure that the Office of Fair Trading appropriately discharges its responsibilities in respect of investigating competition issues, with particular reference to the supermarket sector. [182859]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is an independent competition authority, and Parliament recently strengthened its independence in the Enterprise Act 2002.

Under the Enterprise Act 2002 the Secretary of State appoints the OFT Board and can remove Board members "on the grounds of incapacity or misbehaviour".

There are appeal procedures for decisions made by the OFT. The Competition Act 1998 and Enterprise Act 2002 define the scope for appeals. These appeals are made to, and determined by, the Competition Appeal Tribunal. These provisions apply equally to decisions made concerning the supermarket sector as to decisions made concerning other sectors.

Mobile Telephones

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will commission an independent review of the testing of shielding devices and hands-free kits for mobile telephones; and what plans her Department has to encourage the use of hands-free kits. [182738]

Mr. Timms: The Stewart report on Mobile Phones and Health (May 2000) recommended independent testing of shielding devices and hands-free kits. My Department commissioned independent testing of shielding devices and hands-free kits, and published the results in 2001–02. The Mobile Telecommunications and Health research (MTHR) programme recommended further work on hands-free kits. The University of York undertook this work, and the results have been made available in scientific conferences. The final report will be made available on the MTHR website (www.mthr.org.uk) in due course.

The Department has no plans to encourage the use of hands-free kit. Mobile phones should comply with the exposure guidelines of the International Commission on Non Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). In their advice leaflets on Mobile Phones and Health the Department of Health said:

"you can choose to minimise your exposure . . . keep your calls short, consider relative SAR values when buying a new phone".

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the telecommunications industry in relation to the provision of health information to consumers. [182739]

Mr. Timms: The Department participates in Government's regular discussions with the mobile telecommunications industry about mobile phones and health. Government advice is provided in the Department of Health leaflet "Mobile Phones and Health". This advice is primarily for the public, but is also clearly relevant to industry. Advice is also available from the National Radiological Protection Board.
 
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Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action has been undertaken by her Department to make SAR values for mobile telephones more readily accessible for consumers. [182740]

Mr. Timms: The Department held discussions with the mobile telecommunications industry following publication of the Stewart report on Mobile Phones and Health (May 2000), which recommended that information on SAR values be readily accessible to consumers. Government impressed on industry the need to have information available, at all points of sale, with each phone, and on the internet.

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