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Gas and Electricity Consumer Council

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Gas and Electricity Consumer Council in protecting the interests of gas and electricity consumers. [189146]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since its establishment in November 2000, the Council has been an effective representative of the consumer interest, both in investigating and resolving individual complaints and in strategically engaging with the industry and Ofgem to address sectoral problems, for instance, mis-selling and the transfer process.

Gas/Oil Prices

Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the relationship between changes in wholesale gas prices and oil prices. [189484]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: In Continental Europe, where the energy markets are not fully competitive, gas prices are contractually linked to oil prices. In comparison the UK has gas-to-gas competition. However, due to arbitrage across the interconnector, we are also importing Continental European prices. Our analysis suggests that though the link between oil and gas prices exists, it is complex and dynamic.
 
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Ofgem launched a probe into the price movements of last autumn and more recently into forward gas prices. We await the conclusions of this probe.

India

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the opportunities for British companies to contribute to transport infrastructure projects in India; and what assistance her Department is providing to British companies who are involved in bids for such projects. [187130]

Mr. Alexander: The modernisation of India's existing transport infrastructure is a major priority for the Government of India. The UK has particular interest in Airport and Port Modernisation and Privatisation. There have been two UK Trade and Investment supported missions to India over the last two years in the airports sector to assess and identify opportunities, and future missions for both the airports and ports sectors are being planned. There have also been two inward visits to the UK, by Indian officials, for each of the sectors within in the same period. There are many projects being planned or constructed across the country. UK companies are closely involved in these projects either in planning or construction. The UK Trade and Investment team is assisting several companies in their dealings with the Government both in bidding for tenders and managing the relationship where contracts have been won.

Internet Fraud

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the telecommunications industry about internet dialler fraud. [189131]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government have been in ongoing discussions with the telecommunications industry in order to find solutions to this problem.

Jaguar (Coventry)

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on discussions her Department has held with Ford Motor Company regarding the future of Jaguar Motor Car Productions in Coventry. [189387]

Jacqui Smith: Ministers and officials are in regular contact with the management of Ford Motor Company, as with other major manufacturers in the UK.

Jaguar's announcement on Friday 17 September, covering their plans for the Brown's Lane site, is obviously disappointing, particularly given the workforce's efforts to improve quality and productivity at Brown's Lane. However, given the company's financial performance, tough decisions had to be taken.

I have encouraged Jaguar's management to ensure that their workforce and trade unions remain informed and consulted, and that they discuss what further steps might be taken to mitigate further job losses. However, it's important to note that no compulsory redundancies have been announced.
 
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I am pleased that the company has not taken the decision to close Brown's Lane. Jaguar's Headquarters and administrative centre will remain in Coventry, as will the company's historic Wood Veneer Manufacturing Centre. And I am encouraged that the world leading R and D Centre at Whitley is being retained and welcome the employment opportunities for Brown's Lane workers created by the growth and success at Aston Martin.

I hope that the announcement will help enable Jaguar to address its financial difficulties thereby securing a sustainable long-term future for the company, its products and its workforce here in the UK.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions her Department has had with trade unions at national level about the future of Jaguar Motor Car Productions in Coventry. [189388]

Jacqui Smith: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has discussed the situation at Jaguar with both the company and trade union representatives.

Laura Ashley

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with Laura Ashley regarding the proposed downsizing of the workforce in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [189613]

Jacqui Smith: None.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the proportion of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's income which, in each of its first five years of operation, will derive from operating spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants at Sellafield. [188775]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 15 September 2004]: The Government expects that approximately half of the NDA's total commercial income in the three years covered by the 2004 Spending Review will derive from the management of spent nuclear fuel on behalf of commercial customers.

Nuclear Power Plants

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she has established a timetable to review the prospects for new building of nuclear power plants. [188611]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government are continually assessing progress towards the four goals of energy policy set out in the Energy White Paper published 2003: 'Our energy future—creating a low carbon economy'. There has been no change to the position set out in the White Paper. If the Government were to take the view that, at some point, nuclear build might be necessary, there would need to be the fullest public consultation and the publication of a further white paper setting out proposals, before the Government reached a decision.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will place in the Library a copy of the communication, dated 3 September 2004, from the
 
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European Commission in respect of the difficulties faced by the Commission nuclear inspectors in applying Euratom safeguards to the B-30 nuclear waste storage silo at Sellafield; and what response Her Majesty's Government has made to the communication. [188612]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Officials tell me they have no knowledge of such a communication in the Department.

I refer the hon. Member to my answer to his question of 1 September, which stated that, as of 7 September the UK authorities had received no formal or substantive response from the Commission to the plan presented on 1 June in respect of the B30 plant. The only formal communication since received (late 10 September) has been a letter from the Commission confirming an appointment with the UK authorities to discuss these issues at official level.

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will review her Department's policy on the economic position of nuclear power in the light of the recent increase in the wholesale price of gas. [189042]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The 2003 energy White Paper concluded that, although the economics of nuclear power currently make it an unattractive option, the nuclear option should be kept open. But the conclusions of the White Paper remain the same. We have no proposals for new nuclear build but the Government do not rule out the possibility that at some point in the future new nuclear build might be necessary to meet our carbon targets. Before any decision to proceed with building of new nuclear power stations there would need to be the fullest public consultation and the publication of a White Paper setting out proposals.

The Department continues to monitor the economics of all low carbon generation options, including nuclear, in the light of changes in the cost of fossil fuel generation.

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will review her Department's position that nuclear power is uneconomic in the light of the recent report by the Royal Academy of Engineering. [189044]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department has seen the recent report by the Royal Academy of Engineering on nuclear power. The conclusions are based on assumptions such as the discount rate and plant capital cost which are relatively favourable to nuclear generation compared with other low carbon generation options. The Department does not therefore see any reason to change the position on nuclear power stated in the 2003 energy White Paper.

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions she has had with the Scottish Executive on the future of nuclear energy generation in Scotland. [188680]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: There have been no such recent discussions.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will publish the advice that Bectel has given to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, including its major report into the future of the nuclear industry. [188421]

 
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Mr. Mike O'Brien: Bechtel has advised on the procedures and technical systems that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will need to adopt to manage the clean up and decommissioning of civil nuclear sites by contract. That advice has been provided in various forms by the Bechtel consultants working with officials to establish the NDA.

Bechtel has not provided any wider report into the future of the nuclear industry as a whole.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the British Nuclear Group/BNFL over the future of the Berkeley site. [188422]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: My officials were recently made aware of British Nuclear Group's proposal to establish a special Task Force to look at the future of its Berkeley site.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contingency plans she has put in place in the event of there being insufficient engineering staff to run the remaining Magnox reactor sites. [188423]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Reactor sites personnel will work closely with the regulators to ensure that sufficient engineering staff are available. Operators of Magnox reactor sites, as with other nuclear licensed sites are required to comply with the Conditions attached to their licence by HSE. These Conditions require that, before a licensee makes an organisational change, including changes to engineering support staff, it must consider the safety implications. HSE can, if necessary, prevent the change from taking place until satisfied that the safety implications are understood and that there will be no lowering of safety standards. Similar considerations apply regarding compliance with the limits and conditions of the authorisation issued to the site licensee by the Environment Agency under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what security lapses have occurred in respect of trains carrying nuclear material since September 2003; and if she will make a statement. [188927]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The movement of civil nuclear material in the UK is conducted in accordance with the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003, which are administered and enforced by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS).

In December 2003, OCNS inspectors conducted a spot check of the security arrangements in place at Willesden Brent Sidings in London where BNFL's Direct Rail Services (DRS) marshal trains carrying spent nuclear fuel. This disclosed that approved guarding arrangements were not being carried out satisfactorily. Immediate action was taken by DRS to rectify the matter and there has been no recurrence.

Fuller details of the incident, and the remedial action taken by DRS are contained in the 2004 Annual Report by the Director of Civil Nuclear Security, a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.
 
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Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether nuclear material is transported (a) to and (b) from Bradwell power station; and if she will make a statement. [188928]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 16 September 2004]: Bradwell nuclear power station ceased generation in March 2002 and is in the process of defuelling. Therefore no fuel is transported to the site, only from the site. This is scheduled for completion in 2005.

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