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Maternity Leave (Yorkshire)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many women received paid maternity leave in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) the City of York in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available; and how much on average was paid in each year. [191173]

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

Mersey Docks and Harbour Company

Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether the Government retains a golden share in the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company; [199262]
 
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(2) what prerogatives of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board over the Mersey littoral were transferred to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company upon privatisation. [199263]

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

Midland Hotel, Morecambe

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made with the bid for funding for the Midland Hotel, Morecambe. [196433]

Jacqui Smith [holding answer 8 November 2004]: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Migrant Workers

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the budget is for the Working Lives Institute's research project on migrant workers commissioned by the East of England Development Agency; what demand there has been for such research; and for what purpose the research results will be used. [195209]

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

Minimum Wage

Mr. Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in Manchester, Withington have benefited from the National Minimum Wage since its introduction. [197875]

Mr. Sutcliffe: 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 many workers in Newcastle-under-Lyme she estimates to have benefited from the minimum wage. [198629]

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

Mobile Phone Companies

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which mobile phone companies have signed up to the 10 commitments; and what discussions she has held with those which have not. [197989]

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

Motor Mechanics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her assessment is of the procedures for (a) recruitment, (b) development and
 
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(c) assessment of mechanics in the UK motor servicing industry; and what measures are being taken to improve them. [199247]

Jacqui Smith: It is the responsibility of the UK retail motor industry sector's professional bodies, that is, the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF) and Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), amongst others, to lead in the development, training and assessment of mechanics and other technicians.

However, the Government are playing their part too. The DFES has funded a new sector skills council, Automotive Skills Limited (ASL), who are undertaking a strategic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of both management and technician skills within the retail motor industry, and working with the RMIF and IMI and the other professional bodies within the sector in developing a strategy to raise standards in the industry and spread best practice.

Motorsport Industry

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had to ensure that the high technological manufacturing associated with the motorsport industry remains in the UK. [195602]

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

Nanotechnology

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to encourage nanotechnology research and development in the UK; and how such steps relate to EU support for nanotechnology research and development within the EU. [197566]

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

Nuclear Fusion Reactor (France)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has held with her counterparts in the (a) French, (b) Russian and (c) Chinese Governments about the proposal to site a nuclear fusion reactor in the South of France; and what assessment she has made of the opportunities that such a proposal would afford to the British nuclear industry. [198731]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The European Commission is negotiating with the international partners on behalf the member states. Official level discussions have taken place with the international fusion community on what the ITER (International Tokamak Experimental Reactor) programme might entail.

UKAEA, which manages the UK fusion programme, facilitates links between UK industry and ITER. This includes raising awareness of potential opportunities and informing the ITER design engineers of UK companies whose goods and services may be useful.
 
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Offshore Licensing Regime (Gas)

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to review the offshore licensing regime for gas producers operating on the UK continental shelf with a view to bringing them within the regulatory remit of Ofgem. [198780]

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

Offshoring

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2004, Official Report, column 649W, to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Anniesland (John Robertson), on offshoring, if she will place a copy of the evidence referred to in the Library. [193462]

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

Older Workers

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates she has made of the proportion of British firms that have no employees aged (a) over 60 years and (b) state pension age. [194819]

Jacqui Smith: The information is as follows:

(a) The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) undertook an evaluation of the Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment. As part of the study, they asked employers for the age profile of their workforce, with emphasis on those aged 50 or over. The results of the survey, which was carried out three waves during the years 1999 to 2000, showed that about 43 per cent. of employers in Great Britain had no employees of 60 years and over.

(b) Although DWP did not report on the numbers of employers who had no employees aged over the state pension age, ONS figures show in September 2004 988,000 people in employment were over the state pension age. This represents a 24.7 per cent. rise on the April 1997 figure.

Outsourcing

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate her Department has made of the financial benefits to the UK of outsourcing (a) manufacturing and (b) service sector jobs overseas. [197557]

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

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