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21 Dec 2004 : Column 1603W—continued
PRIME MINISTER
Diplomatic Discussions
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions took place at his recent meeting with Chancellor Schroeder of Germany and the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. [206087]
The Prime Minister: I have regular meetings with Chancellor Schroeder and Prime Minister Berlusconi, particularly in the run up to European Councils. At the most recent meetings we discussed a wide range of issues, including Turkey and other European matters.
Emails
Sue Doughty: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what his Office's policy is in relation to the storage and deletion of e-mails; and whether this policy has been reviewed in the past 12 months; [206754]
(2) what his Office's policy is in relation to the storage of documents and the use of shredders; and whether this policy has been reviewed in the past 12 months. [206755]
The Prime Minister: My office continues to implement well established policies and procedures for the review and disposal of files in accordance with its administrative needs and the Public Records Act.
My office keeps records for as long as they are needed for administrative and business purposes. Records of enduring historical value are selected for permanent preservation under the guidance and supervision of the National Archives, on the basis of guidelines which are published on the National Archives website at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/recordsmanagement/advice/
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Anti-bribery/Corruption Procedures
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the sanctions used by the Export Credits Guarantee Department in the event that a company is convicted of or admits to corrupt activity; and on what basis the Export Credits Guarantee Department applies these sanctions. [202928]
Mr. Alexander:
The sanctions set out beneath apply to circumstances of conviction or admission after ECGD has entered into contracts of support; and contracts written on standard forms introduced from
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September 2000. The details of which sanctions are available may depend upon the facts of individual cases: for instance what pre-contractual representations were made to ECGD.
In outline the principal sanctions are that where ECGD has provided support by way of an insurance policy, ECGD will be entitled to avoid or terminate that policy and recover or seek recompense for any sums paid by it; and where it has guaranteed a bank which is itself innocent of any misrepresentation will have rights to claim from the exporter such amounts as ECGD may have paid to the bank under its guarantee.
Christmas Cards
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many hours of staff time were taken up in preparation of Christmas cards in 2004. [205082]
Ms Hewitt: Staff do not record hours spent on specific projects.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Departmental staff have responsibility for preparing Christmas cards. [205083]
Ms Hewitt: For the past two years the DTI has produced its Christmas card from artwork created by the children of staff attending the DTI Holiday Playscheme. One member of staff has overall responsibility for organising the printing of the card. The time spent is nugatory.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of official Departmental Christmas cards included a contribution to charity in their cost; and which charities benefited from such a contribution. [205084]
Ms Hewitt: None. The card was produced by the children of DTI staff.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many official Christmas cards were sent out by her Department in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004. [205087]
Ms Hewitt: Our records show that 3,165 cards were sent in 2003. We have not completed sending cards for 2004.
Coalminers' Compensation Scheme
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations her Department has received on sending information to all claimants under the Coalminers' Compensation Scheme about solicitors fees. [204854]
Nigel Griffiths
[holding answer 14 December 2004]: A number of hon. Members have raised this issue which is being considered and I will write to my hon. Friend when a decision has been made.
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Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to introduce an automatic e-mail notification facility for announcements and publications issued by her Department and those public bodies reporting to her. [203685]
Ms Hewitt: DTI has had such a facility on its website for nearly three years, and is continuously developing it in response to public feedback. Currently it is possible to sign up for e-mail notifications of press notices, speeches and "What's New" announcements on the site. We also run a number of electronic newsletters in specific subject areas, to keep stakeholders up-to-date.
Ethnic Minorities
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the extent to which her Department's policies meet the needs of ethnic minorities. [205555]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (RRAA) places a general duty on the DTI to be proactive in promoting race equality and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups. This duty also applies to our non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). The DTI's Race Equality Scheme ensures that our Department's services, schemes and policies meet the needs—as far as possible—of all our stakeholders. This includes undertaking race equality impact assessments for relevant areas, monitoring for any adverse impacts, and publishing the results. Further information on the scheme is available at http://www.dti.gov.uk/race-equality-scheme/index.htm.
The DTI also currently shares a PSA objective with the DWP, which aims to increase the employment rate and significantly reduce the difference between the overall employment rate and the employment rate of ethnic minorities. The latest data for 2004 shows that there has been a significant increase in the employment rate of ethnic minorities and that the employment rate gap is narrowing. DTI has contributed to this outcome through a number of policy initiatives, including joint working across Whitehall on the Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market Task force. This PSA is measured quarterly to satisfy Treasury Monitoring requirements.
Further, DTI's internal HR policies and processes are regularly evaluated and are benchmarked externally by Race for Opportunity to measure impact and to ensure they meet the needs of ethnic minority staff.
Export Credits Guarantee Scheme
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many guarantees were issued under the Export Credits Guarantee Scheme in each year between 1997 and 2004; and what the total value of (a) guarantees and (b) claims was in each period. [203872]
Mr. Alexander:
As at 10 October 2004 the number and value of guarantees issued in each financial year since 1 April 1997, together with the total value of claims paid in each year, was as follows:
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Over the same period total recoveries amounted to £1,618 million.
Fireworks
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidance she has issued to retailers about giving fireworks away for free to boost sales of other goods. [205995]
Mr. Sutcliffe: While it would be the preference of the Department that fireworks are not given away by retailers, there is no statute governing the marketing or promotion of fireworks products. No guidance has therefore been issued to retailers that supply fireworks.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what resources will be made available to enforce the regulations contained in the Fireworks Act 2003 in the period before 31 December. [205713]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Most of the measures contained in the Fireworks Regulations 2004, which are made under the Fireworks Act 2003, will be enforced by Trading Standards, the Fire and Rescue Services and Customs and Excise and met by their current resource budgets. However, with regard to regulation 11—information about importation—officials are in discussion with Suffolk county council Trading Standards, who are to play a role in the enforcement of this regulation, about possible extra central funding to maximise the effectiveness of this measure.
With regard to the measures enforced by the Police Service—possession and curfew offences, this is a matter for colleagues in the Home Office.
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