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9 Mar 2005 : Column 1846W—continued
Departmental Consultants
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much expenditure her Department has incurred in each year since 2002 on employing external consultants to deal with the press and public relations of her Department; and if she will make a statement. [199904]
Ms Hewitt: Most of my Department's press and public relations activity is undertaken by its own professional communications staff. However, in instances where additional resources or niche skills are required, programme budget holders are from time to time authorised to engage external press and public relations consultants to undertake work in relation to specific ring-fenced and time-limited projects. Details of such expenditure are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Expenditure
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much her Department has spent in each year since 2000 providing printed information for the public. [217456]
Ms Hewitt: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
EU Committees
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the Committee of experts on the transit of natural gas through grids met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement. [214300]
Ms Hewitt: The conciliation body established by Article 3(4) of Directive 91/296/EEC of 31 May 1991 on the transit of natural gas through grids never met. Directive 91/296/EEC was repealed by the 2003 Gas Directive—2003/55/EC—with effect from 1 July 2004.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch Presidency of the EU the EC-Canada Joint Committee on scientific and technological co-operation met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement. [215905]
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Ms Hewitt: The EU Canada Steering Committee met in Brussels on 9 March 2004 during the Irish Presidency. Meetings are convened by the Commission and the member states are not invited; therefore no UK officials attended.
EU Legislation
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of all the (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation sponsored by her Department in the 2003–04 parliamentary session was consequent on EU legislation. [213225]
Ms Hewitt: During the 2003–04 session my Department sponsored the following five Bills:
Two—Employment Relations and Energy—contained elements implementing requirements arising from EU Directives or Regulations.
Of the 133 Statutory Instruments introduced by my Department in the 2003–04 Session, 25 contained elements implementing requirements arising from EU Directives or Regulations.
Iraq
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the British companies being assisted by her Department who have won contracts in Iraq. [216104]
Ms Hewitt: My Department has provided information and assistance to a number of British companies who have won contracts in Iraq. However, British companies are not required to report details to the Government of contracts they have won or work they are doing in Iraq. Nor is there a central organisation that collects and publishes such information. There is therefore no definitive list of such firms.
Miners' Compensation
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints about claims handling companies were made to her Department in 2004; and how many of these were referred to the Law Society. [208878]
Nigel Griffiths: The Department receives a substantial level of correspondence regarding the administration of the coal health schemes. However, we do not keep a breakdown of the subject matters covered and are not therefore able to provide details of how many complaints have been received.
The Law Society is not responsible for the overseeing of claims handlers.
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Ministerial Stationery
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent on official ministerial (a) business cards, (b) headed paper and (c) compliment slips in each year since 1997. [214946]
Ms Hewitt: The Departments' accounting systems cannot provide information broken down to the level of detail requested. Information on spend at this level of detail could be obtainable only at disproportionate cost.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will reply to question reference 213225, tabled for answer on 31 January. [221140]
Ms Hewitt: I have answered the question today.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will reply to question reference 214200, tabled on 1 February. [221141]
Nigel Griffiths: I answered the question on 21 February.
Small Firms
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when her Department intends to adjudicate on the application lodged on 19 January by Green Amp Ltd. concerning compliance approval under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee scheme. [212347]
Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 4 March 2005]: The Small Business Service received a Small Firm Loan Guarantee application from Green Amp Ltd.'s bank on 1 March 2005. It was processed within the usual time scale of five working days.
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the occasions between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004 when special advisers attended meetings with external representatives at which Ministers were not present. [210536]
Ms Hewitt: Special advisers hold meetings with a wide range of external representatives in their official capacity. All meetings held by special advisers and all speeches given by special advisers are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Targets
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to ensure that successful competitions have been completed for the management of at least 50 per cent. of UK nuclear sites by the end of 2008 will be met; [220020]
(2) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to demonstrate progress by 2006 on raising the rate of UK productivity growth over the economic cycle; [220032]
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(3) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to promote ethnic diversity in the workplace; [220026]
(4) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to narrow the productivity gap with the US, France and Germany; [220034]
(5) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to improve the UK's competitiveness; [220033]
(6) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to promote co-operative employment relations; [220025]
(7) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to establish a safe, innovative and dynamic market for nuclear clean-up; [220022]
(8) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to deliver annual 2 per cent. efficiency gains in nuclear clean up from 2006–07 will be met; [220021]
(9) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to promote greater choice and commitment in the workplace; [220024]
(10) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce the civil nuclear liability by 10 per cent. by 2010 will be met; [220023]
(11) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to improve the international performance of the UK's science and engineering base; [220035]
(12) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to maintain energy security; [220044]
(13) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to ensure that the UK ranks in the top three most competitive energy markets in the EU and G7 in each year will be met in 2005; [220042]
(14) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to bring the UK levels of consumer protection up to the level of the best by 2006 will be met; [220041]
(15) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to achieve fuel poverty objectives; [220045]
(16) whether the Public Service Agreement target to ensure that the UK ranks in the top three most competitive energy markets in the EU and G7 in each year was met in 2004; [220043]
(17) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to bring the UK levels of consumer empowerment up to the level of the best by 2006 will be met; [220040]
(18) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to improve the exploitation of the UK science base; [220037]
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(19) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to improve the overall innovation performance of the UK economy; [220036]
(20) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to bring the UK levels of competition up to the level of the best by 2006 will be met; [220039]
(21) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to place empowered consumers at the heart of an effective competition regime; [220038]
(22) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to improve the environment; [220046]
(23) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to improve the sustainable use of natural resources; [220047]
(24) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to increase the number of people considering going into business; [220053]
(25) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to increase enterprise in disadvantaged communities; [220055]
(26) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to improve the overall productivity of small firms; [220054]
(27) what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target to reduce the persistent gap in growth rates between the English regions over the long-term; [220057]
(28) what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target to make sustainable improvements in the economic performance of all English regions by 2008; [220056]
(29) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to build an enterprise society in which small firms thrive; [220052]
(30) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 per cent. below 1990 levels by 2010 will be met; [220049]
(31) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to increase the use of energy saving technologies; [220048]
(32) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to (a) secure agreement to a significant reduction in trade barriers and (b) improve trading opportunities for the UK and developing countries by 2005 will be met; [220051]
(33) what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target of moving towards a 20 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions below 1990 levels by 2010; [220050]
(34) what recent progress has been made towards achieving the Public Service Agreement target to create an extensive and competitive broadband market; [220059]
9 Mar 2005 : Column 1851W
(35) whether the Public Service Agreement target to achieve value for money improvements of 2.5 per cent. a year across her Department was met in 2004; [220065]
(36) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to maintain the reliability of energy supplies; [220067]
(37) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to promote fair, competitive markets; [220066]
(38) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to maintain the UK as the prime location in the EU for foreign direct investment; [220069]
(39) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to eliminate fuel poverty in vulnerable households in England by 2010 will be met; [220068]
(40) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to achieve value for money improvements of 2.5 per cent. a year across her Department will be met in 2005; [220064]
(41) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to increase the employment rate by 2006 will be met; [220061]
(42) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to bring about measurable improvements in gender equality by 2006 will be met; [220060]
(43) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to deliver a measurable improvement in the business performance of UK Trade and Investment's international trade customers by 2008; [220063]
(44) what recent assessment she has made of whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce significantly the difference between the overall employment rate and the employment rate of ethnic minorities by 2006 will be met; [220062]
(45) what recent progress has been made towards the Public Service Agreement target to maintain a flexible labour market. [220070]
Ms Hewitt: The Department reports on progress towards its Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets in its Departmental Reports and Autumn Performance Reports. The most recent of these assessments is contained in the Autumn Performance Report 2004 (Cm 6422 www.dti.gov.uk/pdfs/DTI_Autumn_Performance_Report_2004.pdf) which was laid before Parliament on 7 December 2004. This report gives the most recent assessment of progress towards all of the Department's PSA targets from the 2002 and earlier Spending Review.
The Department's first assessment of progress towards its PSA targets from the 2004 Spending Review will be in the Autumn Performance Report 2005.
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