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Departmental Contracts

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which non-accounting and non-information technology external organisations which previously held contracts with her Department (a) won new contracts at the culmination of the existing contracts and (b) won new contracts after a period of inactivity with her Department in each of the past four years. [196900]

Ms Hewitt: This information is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental IT

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the Department's (a) implemented and (b) planned computer systems use open source software; and what plans are in place to raise this level. [195666]

Ms Hewitt: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Departmental Policies

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the South Dorset constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on the South Dorset constituency. [194966]

Jacqui Smith: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Drinking Water

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the position of the UK Government is in determining the European Union's policy regarding whether to include drinking water in the World Trade Organisation's negotiations on global trade. [192360]

Mr. Alexander: The European Union has requested a number of members of the World Trade Organisation to offer commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) that provide for market access in relation to the provision of services related to the supply of water for human use.

Many people in developing countries lack access to clean drinking water and it is a Millennium Development Target to halve the number of people in this position by 2015. Many of these countries need assistance to provide the infrastructure required to meet this target. It is widely recognised that the private sector can have a role to play in this regard.

The EU's requests give developing countries the opportunity to consider whether guarantees of market access may enhance private sector participation. It is for governments to choose for themselves whether or not to open their water services to foreign suppliers. Nothing in GATS forces them to privatise or prevents them regulating appropriately.
 
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The EU's requests reflect the collective interests of the EU and member states. The UK has not itself requested the inclusion of water services.

Economic Initiatives (Newcastle-under-Lyme)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what steps the Government have taken to help small businesses in Newcastle-under-Lyme since 1997; [198540]

(2) how many new businesses have (a) started up in and (b) relocated to Newcastle-under-Lyme since 1997. [198541]

Nigel Griffiths: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many businesses have benefited from Regional Selective Assistance in Newcastle-under-Lyme since 1997; [198542]

(2) how much Regional Selective Assistance has been invested in Newcastle-under-Lyme since 1997. [198543]

Jacqui Smith: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Newcastle-under-Lyme has received by way of European Objective 2 funding since 1997; and which projects have benefited there from such funding. [198544]

Mr. Alexander: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Electricity Supply

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the possibility of electricity blackouts due to lack of gas this winter. [199305]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Employment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of jobs which (a) moved abroad from the UK and (b) were created in the UK in 2004. [197578]

Ms Hewitt: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the number of people in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) South Somerset and (c) Somerset in work who are earning less than (i) the minimum wage, (ii) £5 per hour, (iii) £5.50 per hour, (iv) £6 per hour, (v) £6.50 per hour, (vi) £7.50 per hour and (vii) £10 per hour; and if she will make a statement. [191313]

 
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Mr. Sutcliffe: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Employment Tribunals

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are in place to ensure that companies make payments to former employees that are agreed by an employment tribunal. [199145]

Mr. Sutcliffe: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Department has to ensure that employees given awards at employment tribunals against former employers who are subsequently declared bankrupt receive an award. [199240]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Former employees of insolvent employers can claim employment tribunal awards of redundancy payments, basic awards for unfair dismissal, protective awards and awards of other contractual debts such as unpaid wages, notice pay and outstanding holiday pay from Redundancy Payments Offices. All payments are subject to statutory limits. Amounts over the statutory limits can be lodged as debts in the insolvency.

Energy

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what Government programmes involve incentives for the use of heat generated from renewable sources; and what funding the Government have given to these programmes. [195939]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will develop a heat efficiency strategy for England and Wales. [195946]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for matters relating to the efficient use of energy, including heat.

With respect to the generation of heat from renewable or low carbon sources, my Department is commissioning a study to assess the size and costs of the available resource.

Energy Supplies (Africa)

Mike Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her assessment is of the potential development of energy supplies from sub-Saharan Africa. [192609R]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: According to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy 2004, sub-Saharan Africa has significant potential energy reserves, with around 4.2 per cent. of world oil reserves, 3.5 per cent. of world, gas reserves and 5 per cent. of world coal reserves.
 
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