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Solar Photovoltaics
Syd Rapson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her Department's estimate is of the total amount of grid-connect solar photovoltaics which will be installed in the UK in 2004. [185791]
Mr. Timms: The Department does not have an estimate of grid-connected PV installed in the UK in 2004.
The cumulative installed grid-connected PV in the UK was 5.189 MWe at the end of 2003, of this 1.623 MWe was installed in 2003.
Stream 2 Funding
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value is of large-scale grant applications for funding received in stream 2 of the Government's solar PV Major Demonstration Programme since its launch; and what the total value is of applications approved. [186110]
Mr. Timms: Under Stream 2 of the PV Major Demonstration Programme, 240 grant applications have been received with a total grant value of £32,552,100. Of these, 137 applications have been approved and offered grants with a total value of £16,612, 695.
Technological Innovation
Mr. Stephen O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason applicants for the Grant for Research and Development have been asked to confirm in writing that they are withdrawing their bids; and what assessment she has of the impact this will
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have on encouraging small businesses to carry out research and development that leads to technologically innovative products and processes. [185513]
Nigel Griffiths: I am advised that applicants for the Grant for Research and Development have not been asked to withdraw their applications. However, if any choose to do so they should inform the office dealing with their application.
UK Trade and Investment
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) recruitment and (b) total cumulative salary costs of the Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment are. [185253]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information is as follows.
(a) The recruitment costs associated with the last recruitment exercise for the Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment totalled approximately £74,000. This is in line with the costs associated with other open competitions held for the recruitment of Permanent Secretaries.
(b) The Chief Executive's current salary falls within the salary range £120,000 to £124,999.
UK/EU Trade
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will estimate the number of businesses in each region of the UK which trade with the EU; what percentage of (a) small businesses, (b) medium sized businesses and (c) large companies this represents in each region; and what the value of such trade in each region was for each business sector in the last year for which figures are available. [184524]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The latest available information on UK trade in goods, by UK regions, was published by HM Customs and Excise on 17 June 2004. The Press Release (NAT 27/04) and accompanying tables of statistics are available from the Customs' website: www.uktradeinfo.com which may be accessed from the Libraries of the House.
Customs do not collect information on numbers of employees so it is not possible to distinguish between small, medium sized and large businesses.
Wool Industry
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the current (a) state and (b) competitiveness of the British wool industry. [184050]
Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
Sales of new season's British wool have begun well, with strong demand and prices firm compared to those achieved at the end of last season's selling in June. But the volatility of the world market and the influence of currency fluctuations and world events may lead to some slowing of the market.
The Government/Industry Forum on the Non-Food uses of Crops has considered ways to improve the competitiveness of the wool industry and included three recommendations in its second Annual Report. The
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Government will respond to those recommendations soon. A copy of this report and the recommendations made can be found at: http://148.252.1.12/gifnfc/index.asp.
Working Time Directive
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the annual cost to small businesses of the Working Time Directive. [185474]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department of Trade and Industry estimates in its Regulatory Impact Assessments that the total annual cost to business of the Working Time Regulations is £2.7 billion, of which up to £800 million might apply to small firms. There are also benefits to firms through improved health and safety and a more committed workforce, which may have led to productivity gains.
The Department of Trade and Industry has commissioned research into the impact of the Working Time Regulations. One such report was "Implementation of the Working Time Regulations: follow-up study", Fiona Neathey, July 2003. The report finds that: "In most cases the WTR were not seen as a major business issue. However, the interviews produced some evidence of working time reduction arising from the Regulations and examples were given of operational benefits including more efficient ways of working and the positive impact on worker flexibility and efficiency of reduced working hours. Where a negative impact was cited it was most commonly in relation to increased labour costs, however only one company identified substantial costs which were directly associated with the WTR." (page 9).
Workplace Discrimination
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list current UK legislation on discrimination in the workplace which resulted from (a) agreements reached at an EU level and (b) judgments of the European Court; what estimates she has made of the number of cases brought in each region of the UK under each piece of legislation in each of the last five years; how many cases were successful in each case; and what the total value of awards made in each of the last five years was for each region. [185323]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The current UK (excluding Northern Ireland) legislation on discrimination in the workplace which resulted from agreements at an EU level is as follows:
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Pensions) Regulations 2003
The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) (Amendment) Regulations 2003
The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) (Amendment) Regulations 2003
The Independent Schools (Employment of Teachers in Schools with a Religious Character) Regulations 2003
The School Standards and Framework Act 1998
The Education (Scotland) Act 1980
The Employment Tribunals (Interest on Awards in Discrimination Cases) Regulations 1996
The Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment) Regulations 2003
The primary gender legislation which has been affected by European Court legislation is the Equal Pay Act 1970, as amended and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, as amended. However, a full legislative list has been provided in the following table.
The Employment Tribunals Service is not able to provide a regional breakdown of the number of cases brought before the tribunal and of those that were successful. Given the short length of time that the Employment Equality Regulations have been in force, the number of cases reaching an Employment Tribunal is currently very small.
The Disability regulations come into force on 1 October 2004 and as yet there are no cases to report. The following table shows the number of cases that were brought before the tribunal on the grounds of disability in the last five years.
Only one case so far has been decided upon in the Employment Tribunal under the Employment Equality Sexual Orientation Regulations. The discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was not upheld by the tribunal.
In the period December 2003 to June 2004 there have been 83 Employment Tribunal applications registered by the Employment Tribunals Service relating to sexual orientation.
To date, no cases have been decided upon in the Employment Tribunal under the Employment Equality Religion or Belief Regulations.
In the period December 2003 to June 2004 there have been 44 applications registered by the Employment Tribunals Service relating to religion or belief.
The Race Regulations have now been in force for a year and there are no cases to report that have come before the Employment Tribunal. The table shows the number of cases that were brought before the tribunal on the grounds of racial discrimination in the last five years.
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The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 has been amended by European Court legislation. The table shows the number of cases that were brought before the tribunal on the grounds of sex discrimination in the last five years.
The Equal Pay Act 1970 has been amended by European Court legislation. The table below shows the number of cases that were brought before the tribunal on the grounds of discrimination arising from equal pay issues in the last five years.
The Employment Tribunals Service is unable to provide information on the total value of awards made in the last five years on a regional basis.
Source:
Employment Tribunals Service
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