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4 Jul 2005 : Column 58W—continued

Post Office Services (Amington)

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry when Post Office Ltd. will write to the hon. Member for Tamworth regarding provision of post office services in Amington, as promised in the written answer of 7 April 2005, Official Report, column 1633W. [8791]

Barry Gardiner: Post Office Ltd. makes every effort to issue replies to hon. Members within five working days of receiving our request for information. It would appear that due to an administrative error my hon. Friend's question was not passed on to Mr. Mills' office at Post Office Ltd. for a direct reply. This has now been done and a response will be sent direct to my hon. Friend within the next few days.

Press Officers

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many press officers the Department employed in each year since 1997; and what the cost was in each year. [8131]

Alan Johnson: The number of press officers employed by the Department of Trade and Industry for the years requested are as follows.
 
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	Number
1997	20
1998	17
1999	24
2000	25
2001	23
2002	23
2003	23
2004	19
2005	18

Information on the costs is not held in the form requested and could be recovered only at disproportionate cost.

Public Telephone Boxes

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements are made for public consultation in respect of decisions to remove public telephone boxes. [8039]

Alun Michael: The matter raised is the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as independent regulator. Accordingly, DTI officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House and Ishall also see a copy of the letter.

Renewable Energy (Coventry)

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being taken to encourage the use of renewable energy in Coventry, South. [6944]

Malcolm Wicks: The Government's primary support mechanism for Renewables Energy in the UK is the Renewables Obligation (RO). The RO requires electricity suppliers to obtain an annually increasing percentage of their electricity from renewable source. This is supported by over £500 million in spending on developing emerging renewables and low carbon technologies up to 2008.

Though not directly relating to Coventry, South there are a number of initiatives to encourage renewables in the region.

The Government Office for the West Midlands (GOWM), together with its partners The West Midlands Regional Assembly and Advantage West Midlands, has recently published a booklet in March 2005 entitled a 'Common Sense Guide To Renewable Energy'. This is intended for non-experts to help them understand the concept better and encourage them to get involved in renewable energy projects.

The regions latest 'Regional Sustainable Development Framework' published in January 2005 by Sustainability West Midlands also promotes the increased use of energy generated from renewable sources.

Royal Mail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State forTrade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Mail about delivery of mail in Essex. [8527]

 
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Barry Gardiner: DTI Ministers and officials meet with representatives from Royal Mail on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues, including delivery performance issues.

We are pleased to see that Royal Mail's quality of service has improved overall over the past year. We have received assurances from Allan Leighton and Adam Crozier that the board will continue to give quality of service top priority.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to share the ownership of Royal Mail beyond Government. [9122]

Barry Gardiner: The Government have given Royal Mail greater commercial freedom and have no plans to privatise it.

Taxis

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Department has spent on taxis in each of the last five years. [6503]

Alan Johnson: The Department's expenditure on taxis in each of the last two years amounted to £320,763 in 2003–04 and £344,620 in 2004–05.

Prior to 2003–04 taxi expenditure was collated as part of the overall costs of travel and subsistence, rather than being separately identified.

TUPE

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will publish new guidelines for TUPE arrangements covering the movement of public sector workers into the private sector. [9435]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government are currently revising the TUPE regulations and expects to lay them before Parliament in the autumn to come into effect on 6 April 2006. Guidance on the application of these new regulations will be issued later in the year.

Transfers of staff from the public sector to the private sector are covered by a Statement of Practice issued by the Cabinet Office in 2000 entitled Staff Transfers in the Public Sector", which will be revised, as required, in the light of the revised TUPE regulations. Staff in public sector transfers involving local government contracting are covered by the provisions of the Local Government Bill.

Union of Democratic Mineworkers

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether officials from his Department (a) advised and (b) assisted the Union of Democratic Mineworkers to set up Vendside. [9084]

Malcolm Wicks: The Department neither advised nor assisted the Union of Democratic Mineworkers to set up Vendside.
 
4 Jul 2005 : Column 61W
 

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what monitoring his Department undertook of the activities of Vendside. [9085]

Malcolm Wicks: Vendside is the Union of Democratic Mineworkers' (UDM) claims handling company. The Department meets with the UDM to discuss operational issues relating to the claims handling process.

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when his Department became aware of the business relationship between Vendside and Walker and Co. Claims Services Ltd. [9086]

Malcolm Wicks: The Department became aware of the business relationship between Vendside and Walker and Co. Claims Services Ltd. in January 2005.

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when his Department became aware of the need to investigate the activity of Vendside and the Union of Democratic Mineworkers relating to coal health claims; and what action the Department took. [9087]

Malcolm Wicks: The Department became aware of the investigation into the activity of Vendside and the Union of Democratic Mineworkers in January 2005 and has been co-operating fully with the police investigation since this time.

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action his Department plans to take to safeguard the claims of former miners and their widows whose claims were lodged with Vendside; and if he will make a statement. [9088]

Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to my written statement to the House of 30 June 2005, Official Report, columns 66–68WS.

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will suspend his Department's handling agreement with the Union of Democratic Mineworkers pending the conclusion of the fraud squad inquiry into the affairs of the Union. [9094]

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the Member to my written statement to the House of 30 June 2005, Official Report, columns 66–68WS.

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