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2 Dec 2004 : Column 219W—continued
Employment Tribunals
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what the average award for compensation in employment tribunal cases was in the UK in each year between 1992 and 1996. [200947]
Mr. Sutcliffe:
Between 1992 and 1996 the Employment Tribunals Service only collected compensation statistics for tribunal cases covering the jurisdictions for Unfair Dismissal, Race Discrimination and Sex Discrimination. Therefore, the figures quoted in the tables illustrate the average award for compensation in Employment Tribunal cases for the UK (excluding Northern Island) since 1992 in relation to the aforementioned complaints.
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| Average award for compensation (£000) | |
|---|---|
| 1992–93 | 2,593 |
| 1993–94 | 2,801 |
| 1994–95 | 3,402 |
| 1995–96 | 2,510 |
| 1996–97 | 2,602 |
Energy Consumption/Emission Levels
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will publish the latest revisions to her Department's forecasts for energy consumption and carbon emission levels for the UK in (a) 2010 and (b) 2020; and if she will make a statement. [200714]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department of Trade and Industry published its latest revisions to projections for energy consumption and carbon emission levels in 2010 in a recent paper on the Department's website www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/uep2004.pdf. Further details of the carbon projections by source and end user will be published, for 2010 and 2020, in the consultation paper for the Climate Change Programme Review to be published in December. The latest projection of carbon dioxide emissions is 141.3 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) in 2010.
Equal Opportunities Commission
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims have been brought by people living in the Greater London area to the Equal Opportunities Commission in each of the last three years. [200312]
Mr. Sutcliffe: People do not bring claims to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). The EOC provides information on legal rights, what options and steps are available to individuals, and advice on how to take cases to employment tribunal or court.
Fireworks Act
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with the police on the enforcement of the Fireworks Act 2003. [200518]
Mr. Sutcliffe: My Department conducted informal, preliminary consultations and formal consultation exercises, which included discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers and other police representatives, during late 2003 (prior to the making of the emergency Fireworks Regulation 2003) and throughout the summer of 2004, prior to the introduction of the Fireworks Regulations 2004.
Those discussions included matters of policy and practical issues in relation to the enforcement of certain measures in the proposed Fireworks Regulations—measures such as the possession of fireworks in public places by the under 18s; non-professional possession of category 4 fireworks; and breaches of the curfew on fireworks use.
Additionally, the Home Office have also communicated to the police guidance on their new responsibilities and the powers available to them in the course of enforcement.
2 Dec 2004 : Column 221W
IAEA Conferences
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Government were represented at the conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in (a) Moscow in June and (b) Beijing on 18 to 22 October; and if she will place in the Library the text of Government statements and submissions to each conference. [200222]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK Government were not represented at the IAEA International Conference on Fifty Years of Nuclear Power in Moscow in June.
The UK Government were represented at the IAEA International Conference on Topical Issues in Nuclear
2 Dec 2004 : Column 222W
Installation Safety in Beijing on 18 to 22 October by officials from the Health and Safety Executive. No formal Government statements or submissions were made to the Conference.
Industrial Diseases (Nottinghamshire)
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for (a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger were concluded for the constituency of Sherwood in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2002, (iv) 2003 and (v) 2004. [199781]
Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 1 December 2004]: The figures are as follows:
| COPD | VWF | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Settlements(4) | Damages paid(5) (£ million) | Settlements(4) | Damages paid(5) (£ million) | |
| 2000 | 148 | 0.5 | 171 | 1 |
| 2001 | 356 | 1.4 | 660 | 5 |
| 2002 | 781 | 3.2 | 893 | 5.9 |
| 2003 | 1,547 | 7.2 | 1,428 | 9 |
| 2004(6) | 1,642 | 4.2 | 1,287 | 7.4 |
(4) Settlements represent claims settled by payment and by denial/withdrawal.
(5) Damages paid represents the total damages paid on claims settled by payment.
(6) Figures for 2004 reflect the position to 21 November 2004.
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for (a) chronic bronchitis and emphysema and (b) vibration white finger were concluded in Nottinghamshire in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001, (iii) 2002, (iv) 2003 and (v) 2004. [199782]
Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 1 December 2004]: The figures are as follows:
| COPD | VWF | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 553 | 641 |
| 2001 | 1,560 | 2,235 |
| 2002 | 3,346 | 3,382 |
| 2003 | 6,617 | 5,474 |
| 2004 | 7,239 | 4,843 |
Notes:
1. Nottinghamshire is defined by claimants postcode beginning with 'NG'.
2. Settlements represent claims settled by payment and by denial/withdrawal.
3. Figures for 2004 reflect the position to 28 November 2004.
Industrial Tribunals (Greater London)
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases are waiting to be heard at industrial tribunals that cover the Greater London area; and what the average time before a case is heard at such a tribunal has been in the last period for which figures are available. [200309]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Employment Tribunal offices that cover the Greater London area are London Central, Stratford, Watford and London South. The numbers of live cases on 31 October 2004 were as follows:
| Live cases at 31 October 2004 | |
|---|---|
| London Central | 4,266 |
| London South | 6,174 |
| Stratford | 3,835 |
| Watford | 10,500 |
Note:
It should be noted that not all of these will necessarily result in a hearing.
The Employment Tribunals Service does not measure the average time for cases to be heard. The Agency has a key performance target of 75 per cent. of cases being brought to a first hearing within 26 weeks of the receipt of a claim. The year to date performance at the end of October 2004 for the above offices is as follows:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| London Central | 78 |
| London South | 91 |
| Stratford | 72 |
| Watford | 80 |
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in the deliberations within the European Union in respect of the decision on the location of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER); and what plans there are for multinational responsibilities for the management of radioactive waste arising from ITER. [199697]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The negotiations on the location of ITER are proceeding; the European Commission has been given a mandate to finalise the negotiations. The international partners hope to make a decision on the site before the end of the year.
2 Dec 2004 : Column 223W
The partners are also negotiating the legal agreement on ITER covering management issues. Unlike nuclear fission reactions that generate radioactive waste the end products of the fusion reaction will be helium, which has no harmful effects; any radioactivity will be limited to the walls of the chamber the reaction takes place in.
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