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7 Apr 2005 : Column 1623W—continued

Medical Instruments

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list companies in the UK making medical instruments, broken down by percentage of market share. [209505]

Jacqui Smith: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Migrant Workers

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will estimate the percentage of the migrant worker force who are employed by (a) employment agencies and (b) gangmasters. [219952]

Mr. Sutcliffe: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Military Exports

Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what end-use monitoring agreements relating to the export of military products
 
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have been signed since December 2002 with (a) Angola, (b) Cameroon, (c) Eritrea, (d) Ethiopia, (e) Ghana, (f) Kenya, (g) Mozambique, (h) Sierra Leone, (i) Sudan, (j) Tanzania, (k) Uganda, (l) Zambia, (m) Bolivia (n) Guyana and (o) Republic of Yemen; and what end-use monitoring mechanisms are in place in each case. [218894]

Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 10 March 2004]: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Ministerial Engagements

Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the ministerial engagements (a) out of London and (b) in London that she has cancelled since 1 January 2004. [209213]

Ms Hewitt: It has not proved possible to respond to the right hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

National Minimum Wage

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what penalties have been imposed on companies found paying their employees below the minimum wage. [215882]

Mr. Sutcliffe: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

Mrs. Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people have benefited from the minimum wage in Rochdale. [217375]

Mr. Sutcliffe: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers in Edinburgh, North and Leith have benefited from the national minimum wage. [222907]

Mr. Sutcliffe: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

New Businesses

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses have been established in Coventry since 1997. [223386]

Nigel Griffiths [holding answer 24 March 2005]: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses have been created in the Huddersfield constituency since 1997; and how much support in (a) loans and (b) grants the Government have given to such businesses during that time. [216920]

Jacqui Smith: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
 
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Newcastle-under-Lyme

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much Newcastle-under-Lyme has received in European Objective 2 funding since 1997; and which projects have benefited from such funding. [223258]

Mr. Alexander [holding answer 23 March 2005]: The total amount of grants offered to projects in Newcastle-under-Lyme since 1997 is £5,790,229.

26 objective 2 projects have been funded in Newcastle-under-Lyme since 1997, including Crackley Community and Training Centre and High Carr Business Park;

Newspaper Registration Scheme

Mr. Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions took place with the devolved Administrations prior to the ending of the newspaper registration scheme. [222845]

Mr. Sutcliffe: I am not aware of any discussions that took place between the Department and the devolved Administrations about the withdrawal of the newspaper registration service. The decision was an operational and commercial matter for Royal Mail.

Mr. Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost of the newspaper registration scheme was to the Royal Mail in each year since 2000; and what percentage of Royal Mail turnover in each year those figures represented. [222846]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The cost of the newspaper registration service and its cost as a percentage of turnover are commercial matters for Royal Mail. My officials have asked Royal Mail to issue a direct reply to the hon. Member.

Mr. Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations took place between the Royal Mail and her Department on the abolition of the newspaper registration scheme; and what representations she made as a result. [222847]

Mr. Sutcliffe: No consultations took place between Royal Mail and the Department about the withdrawal of the newspaper registration service. This was an operational and commercial matter for Royal Mail.

NIREX

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will make a statement on the future structure of Nirex. [224847]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Government have honoured their commitment, given in a statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 21 July 2004, to establish a new Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) to hold the shares of Nirex and oversee its business operations. These new arrangements took effect on 1 April 2005 with the CLG being jointly owned by DTI and Defra.

This CLG will, effectively, provide a means of placing Nirex assets and intellectual property into trust, whilst enabling it to continue with its important work that includes setting standards for the conditioning and packaging of radioactive waste, until the Government
 
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can take their decision on policy for the long-term management of the UK's higher activity radioactive waste, and the means of its delivery, in light of recommendations from the independent Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM).

These new arrangements achieve both of the Government's previously stated objectives, to make Nirex independent of industry and bring the company under greater Government control.

Nuclear Power/Security

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken in her Department to prepare for the construction of additional nuclear power generating capacity; and what discussions she has had with (a) Sir David King and (b) Mr. Geoffrey Norris on the subject. [224741]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 6 April 2005]: The Department's policy on nuclear power remains as set out in the 2003 Energy White Paper, Cm 5761.

I have had discussions with both Sir David King and Geoffrey Norris on many aspects of energy policy in the last year.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the future costs of ensuring the secure status of (a) nuclear installations to the end of their decommissioning and (b) nuclear materials until they are no longer useable in a malevolent fashion; and what measures have been put in place to ensure such future security. [217486]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many potential threats as defined by the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 have occurred at each licensed nuclear installation since 1 January 2004. [217495]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.

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