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22 Mar 2005 : Column 670W—continued
BNFL (Prosecutions)
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many prosecutions of BNFL have occurred since 1 May 1997 excluding ongoing cases; on what date; and for what offence. [221676]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
BNFL has been subject to the following prosecutions since 1 May 1997.
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Business Closures (Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses have ceased trading in Shrewsbury and Atcham in each year since 1997. [223181]
Nigel Griffiths: DTI figures based solely on VAT de-registrations for Shrewsbury and Atcham local authority are shown as follows for 1997 to 2003.
| Shrewsbury and Atcham | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 230 |
| 1998 | 225 |
| 1999 | 220 |
| 2000 | 245 |
| 2001 | 205 |
| 2002 | 220 |
| 2003 | 240 |
Source:
VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2003, Small Business Service, available from: http://www.sbs.gov.uk/analytical/statistics/vatstats.php
Data for 2004 will be available in autumn 2005.
Construction Industry
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent studies her Department has made of the use of agency labour within the construction industry. [219954]
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Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department has undertaken no recent studies of the use of agency labour within the construction industry. However, employment agencies and employment businesses that supply labour to the construction industry are covered by the provisions of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and associated legislation. The DTI's Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate is responsible for enforcing the legislation and in the course of normal business inspects a wide variety of employment agencies and businesses, including a number that supply workers to the construction industry.
Data Protection
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidance her Department is offering to (a) banks and (b) the Post Office to encourage greater scrutiny of applications for bank accounts and post office box numbers to prevent their use by bogus data production agencies. [220080]
Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
My Department does not publish any guidance to this end. The number of operational bogus data protection agencies has diminished very considerably following the actions of the Information Commissioner with the Police, the Office of Fair Trading, and Trading Standards Departments throughout the country, and most have been closed down. Banks and Post Offices can access the information on bogus data protection agencies posted on the Information Commissioner's
22 Mar 2005 : Column 673W
website, should they receive an application for a bank account or box number from a company offering data protection notification services as their business activity.
Energy Act
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether lawyers (a) from and (b) contracted to work for her Department have made an assessment of the compatibility of the Energy Act 2004 with European Directive 2001/77/EC article 7. [222942]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 21 March 2005]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is content that the Energy Act 2004 is compatible with article 7 of European Directive 2001/77/EC.
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 Advisory Committee on opening up public contracts met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement. [214295]
Mr. Alexander: The Advisory Committee on opening up public contracts met as follows:
In each case the meetings were held in Brussels and were attended by UK Government officials.
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 for the development of the internal market in postal services and the improvement of the quality service met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement. [214297]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The EU Postal Directive Committee meets twice a year in Brussels: and had its sixth meeting on 8 December 2004. A representative from the DTI or the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm) attends the meetings. In addition, the Consumer Council for Postal Services (Postwatch) made a presentation to the Committee on 1 July 2004 on the treatment of complaints concerning cross-border mail services.
EU Markets (Third World Access)
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what recent discussions she has had with European Union counterparts on improving (a) trade with and (b) access to EU markets for Third World countries; and if she will make a statement; [200720]
(2) what recent discussions she has had with the Governments of Third World countries about improving access to EU markets; and if she will make a statement. [200721]
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Mr. Alexander: The Government are committed to securing an ambitious outcome to the Doha Development Agenda, including increasing market access for developing country exports/Ministers and officials regularly discuss the ongoing negotiations with their opposite numbers around the world.
In addition, the European Union is currently developing its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), which gives preferential access for developing countries to the EU market, for the period 2006–08. The UK has discussed the Commission's proposals for the new scheme with other member states on a regular basis, and with a number of developing country interlocutors.
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