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22 Jul 2004 : Column 512W—continued
Environmental Business Growth Action Programme
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding (a) is budgeted to be spent, (b) has been spent and (c) is forecast to be spent by regional development agencies in 2004–05 on the Environmental Business Growth Action Programme in (i) England and (ii) the west Midlands. [184138]
Jacqui Smith: The Environmental Business Growth Action Plan operates in the west Midlands only. The expenditure by Advantage West Midlands on this plan is as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Expenditure already made in 2004–05 | 22,000 |
| Expenditure budgeted for the balance of 2004–05 | 424,798 |
| Expenditure forecast for the balance of 2004–05 | (53)915,994 |
(53) This figure is subject to approval of a project currently being considered by AWM.
The Plan is also in receipt of funding from European and other UK sources, both public and private sector.
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Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the role of regional development agencies is in the management of the Environmental Business Growth Action Programme, with particular reference to Advantage West Midlands. [184145]
Jacqui Smith: The Environmental Business Growth Action Plan is a west Midlands' region only initiative led by the Environmental Agency. The initiative is supported by funding from Advantage West Midlands which also participates in the Management Board of the Action Plan together with other regional partner organisations.
Exports/Imports
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the export and import figures to and from (a) European Union states and (b) non-European Union states for the last year for which figures are available. [184258]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics the information is as follows:
| European Union | Non-European Union | |
|---|---|---|
| UK exports | 139,739 | 137,800 |
| UK imports | 168,544 | 141,668 |
Source:
National Statistics, Balance of Payments, First Release
Furniture Regulations
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) actual and (b) withdrawn prosecutions there have been of businesses failing the furniture regulations since 1993. [185853]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 are enforced by local trading standards departments. This Department collates statistics on prosecutions under the regulations every five years and publishes them in a statutory report on consumer safety. For the period 1 April 1993 to 31 March 1998 the report records 404 prosecutions of which 398 resulted in convictions. Between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2003, there were 101 prosecutions resulting in 98 convictions. These statistics are obtained from enforcement authorities under Section 70 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985. Data for the period from 1 April 2003 is not yet available.
Mercosur
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's policy is on the expansion of Mercosur. [184190]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Mercosur, the Common Market of the South, was created by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in March 1991. In 1996 association agreements were signed with Bolivia and Chile establishing free trade areas with these countries; Mexico and Venezuela have recently expressed interest in joining the group. Expansion of Mercosur would be
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a decision for the full members. The UK favours the process of deeper regional integration since we believe this creates greater possibilities for economic growth and poverty reduction.
Minimum Wage
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will require all employers to print the national minimum wage at any given point in time on all wage slips; and if she will make a statement. [185512]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We have no plans to require all employers to print the national minimum wage on wage slips.
However, every output worker, including homeworkers, paid under the piece rate system introduced by the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations 2004 from October 2004 must be given a written notice making it clear what the fair piece rate is, how it was set by the employer, and give the national minimum wage helpline number, which the worker may contact if they have a query or wish to make a complaint.
Civil Nuclear Security
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the reasons were for the revocation of security clearance by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security of an individual in the past two years; and what consultations have taken place with the Cabinet Office over the decision of the Security Vetting Appeals Panel. [184399]
Mr. Timms: I am not able to comment on individual cases.
Post Offices
Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many main post offices in county towns have been franchised by the Post Office (a) before and (b) since 1997. [185649]
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. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have closed in Dumfries and Galloway region since 1997. [186303]
Mr. Timms: I am advised by Post Office Ltd. that data on post office closures by constituency is not available in the form requested, as the company does not require this data for operational purposes. However it has produced quarterly statistics on post office closures by Government region/country since March 2000 and the net closure figures for Scotland are:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Year to end March 2001 | 63 |
| Year to end March 2002 | 26 |
| Year to end March 2003 | 20 |
| Year to end March 2004 | 77 |
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Regional Development Agencies
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what public service agreements and targets set by central Government regional development agencies are subject. [184982]
Jacqui Smith: The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have been set a framework of challenging targets which they must demonstrate their contribution to. Under the three-tier target framework, tier 1 targets restate their statutory purposes. Tier 2 are regional outcomes of interest to the funding Departments. Tier 3 are targets for direct outputs, achieved through RDA programme spend. These are listed as follows.
Tier 3 outputs:
(i) Employment Opportunities;
Support the creation or safeguarding of x net jobs;
(ii) Brownfield Land:
Reclaim or remediate x hectares of previously developed land and buildings;
(iii) Education and Skills:
Support the creation of learning opportunities for x individuals;
(iv) Business Performance:
Support the creation and/or attraction of x new businesses;
(v) Investment benefiting deprived areas:
Leverage through RDA funding and activity x pounds private sector investment benefiting residents of the most deprived wards
Each RDA has the same core targets, though the numbers differ region by region, and activities aimed at meeting them and addressing regional needs are described in the Regional Economic Strategy developed with regional stakeholders.
As set out in the Devolved Decision Making Review (March 2004), the DTI, working in partnership with other Government Departments, is coordinating the implementation of a new approach to tasking the RDAs in time to come into effect from April 2005.
The new framework will help the RDAs and Departments to work on regional priorities in a way that also serves national interests more effectively. It will provide clearer direction by simplifying targets and making them more relevant to what the Agencies are trying to do.
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