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Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent by her Department on public relations consultants in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available. [185275]

Ms Hewitt [holding answer 20 July 2004]: Figures relating to past and current expenditure on public relations consultants by my Department are not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost of printing departmental headed notepaper was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available. [185380]

Ms Hewitt [holding answer 20 July 2004]: The information is as follows:

(a) The total costs of printing departmental headed notepaper in 1996–97 is unavailable.

(b) The total costs of printing departmental headed notepaper in 2003–04 was £29,848.

Departmental Vehicles

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many road vehicles are operated by the Department and its agencies; how many personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Department have occurred within each of the last five years; and what the Department's policy is for managing work related road safety. [185923]


 
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Ms Hewitt: The DTI currently has nine fleet vehicles.

There have not been any personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Department within the last five years.

The lease car company is responsible for ensuring the vehicle is roadworthy. The driver is responsible for ensuring that the vehicle is maintained and suitable insurance is in place.

Chief Executives of the DTI Agencies will be writing to you direct in response to your question.

Letter from Claire Clancy to Mr. Kidney, dated 3 August 2004:

Letter from Ron Marchant to Mr. Kidney, dated 3 August, 2004:

Letter from Desmond Flynn to Mr. Kidney, dated 3 August, 2004:

Letter from Dr. J. W. Llewellyn to Mr. Kidney, dated 3 August, 2004:


 
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E-mail Preference Service

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government will introduce an e-mail preference service; and if she will make a statement. [186240]

Mr. Timms: The Government introduced the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations in December 2003, which cover, among other things, the regulation of unsolicited commercial e-mails. The Government have no plans to introduce an e-mail preference service.

The Government have not ruled out extending the "opt-in" right to corporate subscribers. However, as the regulations have only been in force for seven months, it is too early to assess how the new provisions are working in practice, and what areas, if any, might need to be reviewed.

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has powers to investigate the in-house employment agency of the national health service. [183223]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate enforces the provisions of the Employment Agency Act 1973 (the Act) and the associated Regulations. The Act regulates the conduct of employment agencies and employment businesses.

Section 9 of the Act sets out the powers of the EAS Inspectorate to enter any relevant business premises to inspect any records or to require any person on the premises to provide all such information as may be required to ascertain whether the provisions of the Act are being complied with.

The Act does not apply to the Crown or those bodies that are listed in section 13(7) of the Act. The in-house employment agency of the national health service, NHS Professionals, is not part of the Crown or listed as an exempt body in the Act.

EU Emissions Trading

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what formal assessment she has made of the (a) effect on the competiveness of UK industry, (b) the cost to UK consumers and (c) the incentives for UK industry to cut carbon emissions of the proposals for allocating national allowances under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme recently approved by the EU Commission. [185504]

Mr. Timms: The Department has undertaken extensive analysis of the implications of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for UK industry and
 
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consumers. A paper on the implications for UK competitiveness is available at: www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/euetsimplications .pdf

Work on the implications of the scheme for electricity prices was undertaken for the Department by ILEX Energy Consulting and is available at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/ilex report.pdf. ILEX are currently expanding this work, including to give some consideration to the implications of the National Allocation Plans from individual member states.

At a carbon price of €5 per tonne of carbon dioxide the Department estimates that electricity prices to industry might increase by around 6 per cent. and prices to the domestic consumer by around 3 per cent. A carbon price of €5 is estimated to lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of around IMtC in 2010. A carbon price of €10 may lead to more than double this level of reduction. These results are sensitive to assumed fossil fuel prices and the fuel mix in generation in 2010.

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