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Minimum Wage (Coventry)

17. Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the effect of the proposed increase to the minimum wage in October on workers in Coventry. [219479]

Mr. Sutcliffe: We do not have information on the number of workers specific to Coventry who will be guaranteed a pay rise from the recently announced increases in the minimum wage for 2005. For the West Midlands region as a whole, we estimate this will guarantee a pay rise for 140,000 workers.

Manufacturing (West Bromwich)

18. Mr. Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to help small and medium UK manufacturing companies in West Bromwich West. [219480]

Nigel Griffiths: DTI support to small and medium UK manufacturing companies is in the main accessed via the Black Country Business Link and the West Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service.

Over the last two year the Business Link has provided a range of support to more than 300 small and medium manufacturing companies with 66 receiving significant assistance. The West Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service has worked with 96 companies since September 2002 with approximately 12 receiving significant assistance of approximately £75,000 after referral to other programmes.

EU Regulations

19. Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she takes to ensure that EU regulations do not conflict with the competitiveness of UK industry and to encourage uniform application within the EU. [219481]

Nigel Griffiths: DTI has taken a strong lead in the Government drive for better EU law, in line with Lisbon goals. Ensuring that impacts on competitiveness are properly considered for all new EU proposals is a key priority and will continue to be during the UK Presidency.DTI is fully supportive of the European Commission's actions to ensure consistent application of EU law.

Corporate Responsibility

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what duty of care there is on corporate directors to take account of the consequences to (a) communities, (b) the environment, (c) health and safety of employees and (d) shareholders of decisions they take. [218999]

Jacqui Smith: Directors owe fiduciary duties and duties of care and skill to the company.

In fulfilling these duties, a director will need, where relevant, to consider the impact of the company's operations on the community and on the environment. Directors can, in certain circumstances, be personally guilty of a health and safety offence (under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974).
 
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The Company Lay Reform Bill, draft clauses of which will be published this session, will include a statutory statement of director's general duties. This will require each director to act in the way that he or she concludes is most likely to achieve the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole. The director's duties will be owed to, and enforceable by the company.

Ellington Colliery

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the safety of Ellington Colliery; and if she will make a statement. [219071]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Assessment of the safety risks associated with activities at any coal mines is principally a matter for the operator. UK Coal will have taken safety into account when considering the viability of Ellington Colliery. .

Manufacturing

Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of actual output related to manufacturing (a) at the latest date for which figures are available, (b) five years ago and (c) 10 years ago. [219477]

Jacqui Smith: The percentage of UK GDP accounted for by manufacturing in (a) 2003 was 15.7 per cent. The corresponding figure for (b) was 20.2 per cent. and for (c) 1993 was 21.0 per cent.

Nuclear Power

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her policy on nuclear power. [219466]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Our policy remains as set out in the 2003 Energy White Paper. The Government has no specific proposals but does not rule out the option.

Premium Telephone Numbers

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will refer the operators of premium telephone numbers (a) 09061 260000, (b) 09058 091165 and (c) 09011 332222 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services. [219290]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: ICSTIS can investigate Premium Rate Numbers only if it receives full written details of how the service or the promotional literature for it has failed the consumer. The hon. Member should write to ICSTIS with details of the complaint. I understand that the numbers 09058091165 and 09011332222 have been turned off. ICSTIS presumes that this has happened for commercial reasons.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will refer the operators of premium telephone numbers (a) 09064 069447, (b) 09061 222823 and (c) 09066 650440 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services. [219292]

 
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Mr. Mike O'Brien: ICSTIS can investigate Premium Rate numbers only if it receives full written details of how the service or the promotional literature for it has failed the consumer. The hon. Member should write to ICSTIS with details of the complaint. I understand that the number 0906660440 has been turned off. ICSTIS presumes this has happened for commercial reasons.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she will refer the operators of premium telephone number (a) 09064 037022, (b) 09064 038500 and (c) 09064 037811 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services; [219293]

(2) if she will refer the operators of premium telephone numbers (a) 09065 701933, (b) 09050 090990 and (c) 09063 490192 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services; [219289]

(3) if she will refer the operators of premium telephone numbers (a) 09065 706214, (b) 09066 650458 and (c) 09065 706725 to the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services. [219291]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: ICSTIS can investigate Premium Rate Numbers only if it receives full written details of how the service or the promotional literature for it has failed the consumer. The hon. Member should write to ICSTIS with details of the complaint.

Radioactive Emissions

Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons no filter was fitted to the discharge outlet at Dounreay to prevent the discharge of radioactive particles into the sea prior to 2004. [218377]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 28 February 2005]: Regulation of radioactive discharges from nuclear sites is a devolved matter for the Scottish Executive.

A principle objective of the system used for the management of radioactive effluent at Dounreay has been to prevent particulate getting into the effluent at source. UKAEA recognises that the methods used to achieve this during the early years of the plant's operation were not wholly effective and would not be acceptable by today's standards.

Over many years, improvements have been carried out to improve the control of particulate in liquid effluent. These improvements include the replacement of the low-active drain in the late 1970s and the installation in the early to mid 1980s of filters to the discharge outlets of facilities where particles are known to have originated. A new sea discharge pipeline was installed circa 1990 and a new Low Level Liquid Effluent Treatment Plant was commissioned in 2003. The new effluent treatment plant is designed to facilitate the settlement and removal of solids from the site's active liquid effluent. In parallel with the construction and commissioning of the new effluent treatment plant, a wide range of investigations were carried out to determine whether there were still particles in the site's
 
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active liquid effluent system. These investigations failed to find any evidence that particles were still being discharged from the site.

The installation of final filtration at the point of discharge to sea from the new effluent treatment plant is currently being undertaken and will provide additional reassurance that particles are not being discharged from the site.

Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reports she has received on levels of contamination arising from radioactive emissions in Sandside Bay in Caithness and the surrounding seabed in the period since 1977. [218378]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 28 February 2005]: Environmental monitoring and regulation of radioactive discharges are devolved matters for the Scottish Executive.

However, I understand that information about radioactive emissions from Dounreay has been published in the annual reports of UKAEA, the Statistical Bulletin Series published the Scottish Office and the Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE) Series published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. All particle finds at Sandside are reported to the regulator. Information about all particles found on Sandside is published on the UKAEA website which is updated as soon as analytical results are available and SEPA have been notified (normally the following working day).

Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons the levels of radioactive emissions into Sandside Bay and the surrounding area were not accurately reported by the UK Atomic Energy Authority in the period from 1977. [218379]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 28 February 2005] Environmental monitoring and regulation of radioactive discharges are devolved matters for the Scottish Executive.

There are no emissions directly into Sandside Bay. However, discharges of radioactivity to the environment from Dounreay have been regulated since 1977 by the former HM Industrial Pollution Inspectorate and, since 1996, by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. UKAEA calculates the impact of these discharges on the local environment and compares this with the effects measured on local fauna and flora in its statutory environmental monitoring programme. SEPA undertakes independent monitoring and publishes their findings in the annual Radioactivity In Food and the Environment (RIFE) report.

All finds of particles at Sandside (including the offshore, foreshore and beach) are fully reported on UKAEA's website. UKAEA have recently checked the accuracy of this information against all the historical records available and tell me they are confident that they have been accurately reported.

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