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13 Jun 2005 : Column 67W—continued
Television Licences (Northern Ireland)
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many successful prosecutions there have been of people for operating a television without a valid television licence in each Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency in each of the last five years. [2807]
James Purnell: The information requested is not available.
Wembley
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the construction of Wembley Stadium. [2452]
Mr. Caborn: We have been assured that Wembley Stadium will be completed in time to host the FA cup final in May 2006, as originally planned.
This is an extremely complex project that will ensure that Wembley remains one of the world's great sporting venues and a fitting stadium for football in the 21st century.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what date officials from her Department last met the Football Association to discuss Wembley Stadium. [2453]
Mr. Caborn: DCMS officials attended the scheduled meeting of the Wembley National Stadium Primary Stakeholders Group on 17 May 2005. A representative of the Football Association was present at that meeting.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Agents
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) services and (b) advice UK Trade and Investment gives to companies with regard to the use of agents. [2556]
Ian Pearson:
As part of UK Trade and Investment's overarching business support role, companies are advised on the most effective ways of employing agents. This advice is given on a case-by-case basis and may include training programmes, mentoring by UKTI's international trade advisers, trade seminars or referral to trade associations and chambers of commerce.
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Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) security checks, (b) vetting procedures and (c) other precautions are taken by UK Trade and Investment before an agent is included on the list of agents it provides to British companies. [2343]
Ian Pearson: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) do not hold a central list of agents or any other potential business partners. Bespoke lists of agents and other potential business partners can be provided direct to UKTI customers at their request. UKTI customers are then expected to undertake their own due diligence. UKTI provide support and advice on how to trade internationally but do not make commercial judgments for a company. Specific advice on agent's validity or appropriateness is ultimately a commercial judgment for the company.
Arms Sales (Indonesia)
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will ask the National Audit Office to conduct an investigation into the Export Credits Guarantee Department's decision to underwrite the Alvis armoured vehicle and Hawk deals with Indonesia, with particular reference to the role of agents. [1668]
Ian Pearson: On 25 February 2005 the National Audit Office (NAO) met with the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) to discuss the decision to underwrite the Alvis armoured vehicle and Hawk deals with Indonesia and to review certain papers supporting the decision.
On 3 May, having satisfied itself that ECGD had complied with the assessment procedures in force at the time the applications for export cover referred to above were being considered, the NAO wrote to ECGD to confirm that it did not intend to make any further inquiries at this time.
Bankruptcies
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) personal and (b) company bankruptcies there were in each London borough in each of the last three years for which figures are available; what assessment the Department has made of recent changes in the numbers; and if he will make a statement. [2468]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The following table records the numbers of individual bankruptcy orders and company compulsory liquidations in the London region classified according to official receivers' offices from 2002 to 2004.
Figures are not separately available for each London borough.
| Annual totals | Bankruptcy orders | Company compulsory liquidations |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1,457 | 1,147 |
| 2003 | 1,933 | 864 |
| 2004 | 4,246 | 1,114 |
(18)The 2004 London figure includes Public Interest Unit (PIU) and Carousel, which together amount to 15 bankruptcies and 120 company compulsory liquidations
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David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry how many (a) individuals and (b) companies were declared bankrupt in each of the past five years in (i) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (ii)England. [3589]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Compulsory insolvency figures are only available on the basis of the official receivers' office dealing with the cases, therefore it is not possible to separate those pertaining to the East Riding of Yorkshire or England exactly. (i) The first table gives annual figures for the number of individual bankruptcies and company compulsory liquidations dealt with by the official receivers' office in Hull, which covers the county courts of Beverley, Great Grimsby, Grimsby, Hull, Kingston-upon-Hull, Malton, Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Whitby and York. The Hull office covers the majority of the East Riding of Yorkshire but also includes a number of county courts from neighbouring counties/unitary authorities. A small part of the East Riding of Yorkshire (the county court of Goole) is administered by the official receivers' office at Sheffield.
| Individual bankruptcies | Company compulsory liquidations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 796 | 91 |
| 2001 | 907 | 86 |
| 2002 | 926 | 96 |
| 2003 | 906 | 96 |
| 2004 | 1,129 | 72 |
(ii) The table gives the totals for individual bankruptcies and company compulsory liquidations for official receivers' offices located in England for the past five years. This may not provide an accurate record of the numbers of bankrupt individuals actually resident in England or insolvent companies registered in England, because the boundaries of the official receivers' offices differ from those for standard geographies.
Centrica plc
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with Centrica plc about the provision of an energy park at Langage, Plymouth, pursuant to the terms of the licence granted by his Department. [3030]
Malcolm Wicks:
None.
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Coal Health Claims
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Minister signed the coal health agreements in 1999 with (a) Vendside and (b) the Union of Democratic Mineworkers. [2405]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 8 June 2005]: The then Minister for Energy and Industry, the right hon. Member for Leeds, West approved the signing, by coal health claims officials, of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Vibration White Finger handling agreements.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many meetings have taken place between his Department and Clare Walker of Vendside since 1998. [2518]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 8 June 2005]: Officials from the Department's Coal Liabilities Unit meet with the UDM to discuss operational issues on approximately a monthly basis. Other ad hoc meetings have taken place when necessary.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what investigations have been instigated by his Department into (a) Walker and Co (Claims Management) Ltd. and (b) Indiclaim Ltd. concerning charging for coalminers compensation. [2520]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 8 June 2005]: The Department has not instigated any investigations into either Walker and Co (Claims Management) Ltd. or Indiclaim Ltd.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which 20 solicitors received the highest number of deceased miners' claims in (a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003 and (d) 2004. [2665]
Malcolm Wicks: The solicitors who received the most claims in relation to deceased miners are as set out in the following tables:
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(19)Top twenty solicitors are in descending order and based on the number of claims received in the year. Claim receipts are those claims that are fully registered, i.e. exclude pool of claims accepted with minimum data, awaiting further information to permit cross-referencing and duplicate checks prior to full registration.
(20)Claims registered reflects the total number of deceased claims registered, i.e. does not include claims that were registered live but have died since.
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Number | Solicitors(21) | Claims registered(22) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMS Law | 5 |
| 2 | Beresfords Solicitors | 1 |
| 3 | Corries | 1 |
| 4 | Mortons Solicitors | 1 |
(21)Top twenty solicitors are in descending order and based on the number of claims received in the year.
(22)Claims registered reflects the total number of deceased claims registered, i.e. does not include claims that were registered live but have died since.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many deceased miners' claims were submitted by Vendside in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004. [2667]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of claims submitted by Vendside is as follows:
| Total deceased claims registered | COPD | VWF | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 59 | 113 | 172 |
| 2004 | 46 | 0 | 46 |
| Total | 105 | 113 | 218 |
Notes:
1.Claims registered reflects the total of deceased claims registered, i.e. does not include claims that were registered live but have died since.
2.Claim receipts are those claims that are fully registered, i.e.exclude pool of claims accepted with minimum data, awaiting further information to permit cross-referencing and duplicate checks prior to full registration.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many deceased miners' claims were submitted by (a) Beresfords, (b) Wake Smith, (c) AMS Law and (d) Moss solicitors in 2004. [2668]
Malcolm Wicks: Deceased miners claims submitted in 2004 were as follows:
| Solicitor | COPD(23) | VWF(23) |
|---|---|---|
| AMS Law | 816 | 5 |
| Beresfords Solicitors | 6,940 | 1 |
| Moss Solicitors | 125 | 0 |
| Wake Smith | 87 | 0 |
| Total | 7,968 | 6 |
(23)Claims registered reflects the total of deceased claims registered, i.e. does not include claims that were registered live but have died since.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what requests he has made to Wake Smith solicitors to repay monies to his Department following payments by Wake Smith solicitors to Indiclaim Ltd in connection with the miners' industrial disease compensation scheme. [2669]
Malcolm Wicks:
No such requests have been made.
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John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many solicitors' firms have claimed back money from his Department while paying fees to (a) Walker and Co. Claims Management Ltd. and (b) Indiclaim Ltd. in connection with the miners' industrial disease compensation scheme. [2670]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department's claims handlers are not informed which solicitors' firms make payments to Walker and Co. Claims Management Ltd. and Indiclaim Ltd.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many deceased miners' claims were submitted from (a) Bassetlaw constituency, (b) Mansfield constituency, (c) Nottinghamshire, (d) East Midlands and (e) Yorkshire in (i) 2003 and (ii)2004. [2671]
Malcolm Wicks: The numbers requested are as follows:
Notes:
1.Claims registered reflect the total of deceased claims registered, i.e. does not include claims that were registered live but have died since.
2.Statistics for Bassetlaw and Mansfield are based on claimant postcode for the relative constituency. Statistics for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire and Yorkshire are based on deceased claims registered in that area by solicitor postcode.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for dispersement payments have been refused to Richmonds solicitors. [2672]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department's claims handlers do not record this information.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when his Department gave authority for the claims handling agreement with the Union of Democratic Mineworkers to be run by Vendside Ltd. [2707]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department has always understood that Vendside are the Union for Democratic Mineworkers' claims handling agents and are therefore entitled to handle claims on its behalf.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions took place with the Treasury on the VAT implications of his Department's agreement with Vendside Ltd. [2729]
Malcolm Wicks: No such discussions have taken place.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department has referred the matters connected with the Union of Democratic Mineworkers and Vendside Ltd. which it is investigating to the National Audit Office. [2730]
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Malcolm Wicks: The Department has made no such referral.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what audit his Department has (a) carried out and (b) commissioned into (i) whether there has been abuse of deceased coalminers' claims for industrial disease and (ii) what potential exists for such abuse. [2731]
Malcolm Wicks: Procedures are in place to detect and prosecute fraudulent claims. In schemes of this nature, there is always the possibility that an individual will seek to obtain a payment to which he is not entitled.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which 20 solicitors have received the highest average payments per claim for work done in connection with deceased miners' claims. [2732]
Malcolm Wicks: The solicitors with the highest average fees for deceased miners' claims are as follows:
(24)Deceased settlements reflect total settlements on claims registered as deceased, i.e. does not include claims that were registered live but have died since. Total settlements are reported, encompassing claims settled by payment and denial/withdrawal.
Note:
No costs are payable to solicitors where the claim is settled by denial or withdrawal.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employees of AON Irisc had previously worked for the National Coal Board on the date of the signing of the DTI/Irisc contract for coal health claims. [2733]
Malcolm Wicks: At this time, Irisc employed approximately 120 staff of which about 78 had worked for the British Coal Corporation.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons his Department signed coal health agreements with both Vendside and the Union of Democratic Mineworkers. [2735]
Malcolm Wicks:
Following the judgments against British Coal in both the Vibration White Finger and respiratory disease litigations, the High Court ordered
13 Jun 2005 : Column 76W
the DTI to set up schemes, in agreement with miners' solicitors, to assess compensation for both types of claim. Claims had by then been registered through the Claimants Solicitors Group (the CSG), some of which were sponsored by the main mining unions, the NUM and NACODS. The UDM had also registered a large number of claims directly on behalf of their members, through their dedicated claims handling company, Vendside Limited. The CSG and the UDM were unable to work together or enter into single arrangements for historical reasons. The legal advice received by the Department was that it was appropriate to enter into separate claims handling arrangements with the CSG and the UDM, provided that the compensation delivered to the claimant under both schemes was the same.
Vendside Limited were, at the time of entering into the claims handling arrangements, the vehicle through which the UDM presented claims on behalf of their members. Vendside Limited entered into the Vibration White Finger claims, handling arrangement for and on behalf of the UDM. The legal advice received at the time was that Vendside Limited had authority to enter into arrangement for and on behalf of the UDM.
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