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Post Office Card Accounts

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to make it easier to open a Post Office Card Account. [184888]

Mr. Timms: The design and management of the Post Office card account is an operational matter for the Post Office. I understand from the company that the application process is as simple as possible within the legal and regulatory requirements for the banking industry. I also understand that the account opening process is no more onerous than that for a bank account with a financial institution. We have not seen any real evidence that the process for opening a Post Office card account is difficult. Already, over 2.8 million card accounts have been opened.

While there has been no problem with the opening of the account, the Government have identified a problem that too many customers were failing to pass on their Post Office card account details to DWP or the Inland Revenue, so making it impossible for those Departments to pay money into the new account. Having identified the problem, solutions are being put in place, including the creation of a pre-populated bank account details form (with the account number, sort code and mandate for the spending Department to credit the account) which will be given to customers at
 
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their local post office when they collect their card. By signing the forms there and then customers can start receiving benefits into their card account much quicker.

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many applications for Post Office card accounts have been completed and returned, but not yet processed and approved; [186255]

(2) how many applications for Post Office card accounts have been rejected owing to errors on the application form. [186256]

Mr. Timms: The operation and management of the Post Office card account is a matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Biomass Energy Industry

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what specific fuel will be used by the biomass energy industry to produce electricity or heat for domestic consumption. [185843]

Mr. Timms: The biomass industry will use a range of fuels for production of energy—including all of those eligible for the Renewables Obligation such as straw, willow, miscanthus and forestry residues.
 
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Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the expected percentage of renewable energy to be derived from wood biomass is in (a) 2010, (b) 2015 and (c) 2020. [185844]

Mr. Timms: The Government have set a target that 10 per cent. of electricity supply in the UK will come from renewables by 2010 and an aspiration to double this by 2020. The Government does not set targets for contributions from individual renewable resources.

However the Renewables Innovation Review indicated a practical potential for biomass of some six per cent. of electricity supply by 2020 based on a range of assumptions

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her assessment of the (a) resource implications and (b) environmental impacts of the movement of biomass over to fuel large power stations is. [185846]

Mr. Timms: Assessments of biomass resource have been published in the course of the Renewables Innovation Review and the Statutory Consultation on Amendments to the Renewables Obligation Order.

The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution made an assessment of the carbon dioxide associated with biomass production and transport in their recent report on Biomass as a Renewable Energy Source. Total life cycle emissions from biomass remain low compared to fossil-fuel fired power plant.

Individual projects will make their own assessments of environmental impact as part of their application for planning consent.

Brazil

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of imports into the UK were from Brazil in 2003–04. [184183]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: In 2003 Brazil accounted for 0.62 per cent. of the UK's total imports of goods. In the first five months of 2004, Brazil accounted for 0.63 per cent.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the UK policy is on the Brazilian production of generic AIDS drugs to prevent the spread of AIDS; and what assessment has been made of their use in Africa. [184187]

 
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Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK Government are committed to increasing access to medicines—through affordable pricing, sustainable financing, reliable health and supply systems and the rational selection and use of drugs—in the developing world. Our policy paper, "Increasing access to essential medicines in the developing world: UK Government policy and plans", was published on 30 June and copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses.

Brazil is one of a number of developing countries whose generic drug manufacturing capacity is sufficient to allow manufacture of their own HIV/AIDS drugs. Brazil has close links with a number of countries in Africa. The UK Government have made no specific assessment of the use of Brazilian AIDS drugs in Africa.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the level of trade in the industrial sector between Brazil and the UK. [184189]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: In 2003, UK exports to Brazil and UK imports from Brazil of manufactured goods (defined as Divisions 5 to 8 of the Standard International Trade Classification) were worth £784 million and £669 million respectively. The two most important sectors by value for UK exports were medicinal and pharmaceutical products and power generating machinery and equipment. For Brazilian exports to the UK, the two most important sectors were power generating equipment and machinery and cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture).

Business Failures

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many business failures there have been in each year since 1997. [185511]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The following table shows the number of company and individual insolvencies in each year from 1997 to 2003. While company insolvencies are all known to be business failures, individual insolvencies also include consumer insolvencies. For bankruptcies, a breakdown into "self-employed" (small businesses) and "other individuals" is available, although a similar breakdown is not available for individual voluntary arrangements (IVA's). For this reason it is not possible to separate all business failures from the total individual insolvencies.

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Company Insolvencies	12,610	13,203	14,280	14,317	14,972	16,305	14,184
Individual Insolvencies	24,441	24,549	28,806	29,528	29,775	30,587	36,328
Bankruptcies—Total	19,892	19,647	21,611	21,550	23,477	24,292	28,021
Of which:
Self-employed	11,269	10,420	10,723	9,952	9,839	8,854	9,139
Individual Voluntary Arrangements	4,549	4,902	7,195	7,978	6,298	6,295	8,307
Total known business Insolvencies	23,579	23,623	25,003	24,269	24,811	25,159	23,323

 
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Business Regulation

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department has made an assessment of the cost to small businesses of changes to employment legislation introduced since 1997. [185543]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The DTI estimates the potential impact on small businesses of changes to employment legislation in its Regulatory Impact Assessments. Summing these estimated costs to all businesses of employment legislation introduced since 1997, produces a figure of £5.1 to £5.6 billion a year of policy costs (such as the cost to employers of paying the national minimum wage), but just £32 to £39 million per year of on-going 'implementation' costs (the administrative or 'red-tape' costs). Small firms might account for £1.5 to £1.6 billion of the policy costs and £9 to £11 million of implementation costs. At the same time, it should be remembered that there are very significant benefits to small firms associated with these changes to employment legislation.

The DTI has also commissioned research into what the effects on small firms of changes to employment legislation have been. The impact of employment legislation on small firms: a case study analysis, by Paul Edwards, Monder Ram and John Black, 2003 for the DTI, found that "the impact on firms appears generally to remain relatively small."

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