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19 Jul 2005 : Column 1576W—continued

Renewables Obligation Scheme

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of renewable energy generated and consumed in each of the last five years in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland and sourced from generating plant accredited for Renewables Obligation Certificates was generated by (i) plant built and commissioned since 31 December 1989 and (ii) hydro plant which has been recently refurbished but was first commissioned before 31 December 1989. [12259]

Malcolm Wicks: For the last five years for the UK as a whole the percentages of electricity sales by licensed suppliers in the UK from renewable sources eligible under the Renewables Obligation (RO) are shown in the following table. These percentages can be divided into two parts; firstly the percentage generated from re-furbished hydro plant and secondly the percentage generated from other eligible plant. On an RO basis the percentage measures for the UK are not meaningful at a sub national level because electricity generated in one part of the UK can be sold in a different part of the UK and the amount of electricity from renewable sources transferred from Scotland or Wales to England or from Scotland to Northern Ireland is not known.
Percentage

Total generation on a renewables obligation basisOf which refurbished large scale hydroBalance = plant built and commissioned since 31 December 1989
20001.341.34
20011.520.021.50
20021.800.041.76
20032.210.192.02
20043.080.442.64

Royal Lancashire Show

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the benefits arising from the funding allocated to the Royal Lancashire Show by the North West Development Agency. [13013]

Alun Michael [holding answer 18 July 2005]: The North West Development Agency made a financial contribution to the Royal Lancashire Show in 2003 through the Rural Development Programme of the Lancashire Rural Recovery Partnership. The programme provided a grant of £32,578 to part fund the marketing costs for the show.

Additional visitor spend associated with the grant given was estimated at £167,000. The actual figures recorded on assessment in August 2003 by the Partnership show an additional spend of £112,673.

Tesco

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry what recent representations he has received about the position of Tesco in the grocery trade, with particular reference to the effect on farmers (a) in the UK and (b) overseas. [12412]


 
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Mr. Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, my fellow Ministers and I have received representations from Members of the House, the supermarket chains, small businesses, trade associations and pressure groups.

However, the prime responsibility for operating our competition regime rests with the independent competition authorities. In the specific case of supermarkets it is the Office of Fair Trading, which is currently responsible for keeping under the review the Code of Practice governing supermarket's relations with their suppliers and for dealing with any other competition issues in the sector.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on whether Tesco has a monopoly position in the grocery trade. [12413]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The prime responsibility for operating our competition regime rests with the independent competition authorities. In the specific case of supermarkets it is the Office of Fair Trading, which is currently responsible for keeping under the review the Code of Practice governing supermarket's relations with their suppliers and for dealing with any other competition issues in the sector.

Vision Boards

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the reasons are for creating vision boards in the north-west and if he will take steps to create a vision board for Chorley. [11763]

Alun Michael: I have asked the chief executive of the North West Regional Development Agency to write to the hon. Member: a copy of that letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House

Warning and Prohibition Orders

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) warning orders and (b) prohibition orders have been issued by the Office of Fair Trading under the Estate Agents Act 1979 in (i)England and Wales, (ii) Enfield and (iii) Edmonton in each year since the introduction of the Act; and if he will make a statement. [13731]

Mr. Sutcliffe: This is a matter for Sir John Vickers, chairman of the Office of Fair Trading. He will write to the hon. Member.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what value-added crops are being offered to farmers in Afghanistan as an alternative to growing opium poppies. [13336]

Hilary Benn: Afghanistan has the potential to produce, process and market a range of higher value agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, and livestock and dairy products. None can compete economically with the returns available on growing
 
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opium poppy, and market links are not currently sufficiently developed to offer viable alternatives to the 700,000 farmers growing poppy.

The DFID-funded Research in Alternative Livelihoods Fund (RALF) is identifying new crops and agricultural technologies which can be marketed successfully and have the potential to be used by larger groups of current or potential poppy farmers. Crops being tested include oil seed crops (canola, pea nuts, soy beans, mung beans), medicinal crops/herbs (mint, saffron, cumin), and vegetables (onions, tomatoes, chillies, sweet peppers, mushrooms). Other donor projects are doing similar testing. Programmes to roll out successful pilots will be developed in 2006.

In the Badakhshan province in north-eastern Afghanistan DFID is funding a programme through the Aga Khan Foundation to increase the number of farmers accessing high quality seeds, and other agricultural inputs such as training in growing alternative crops. So far 29,000 farmers have benefited from this assistance.

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken to assist share-crop farmers in Afghanistan to deal with accumulated debt. [13337]

Hilary Benn: The Government of Afghanistan has a national programme, the Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), which provides credit in rural areas, including to sharecroppers. Following a workshop on opium debt and rural finance jointly organised by the Government, the World Bank and DFID in December 2004, it was agreed that the MISFA would fund new ways to restructure informal debts to help farmers and sharecroppers break the cycle of opium indebtedness.

In March 2005, DFID committed a further £17 million to the MISFA (bringing our total contribution to £20 million), with £7 million specifically to increase the scale of the MISFA's work in the seven largest poppy producing provinces through a special funding window, which will pilot debt restructuring. Initial results from these pilots are expected by the end of the year. Writing off debts has been considered as an option, but considered socially unsustainable in rural areas.

Conditionality

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the production of new operational guidelines for his Department's staff following the publication of Partnerships for Poverty Reduction: Reducing Conditionality. [13511]

Hilary Benn: Operational guidelines have been prepared in draft. Over the next few weeks, we plan to consult with a number of external partners (including other donors, and non-government organisations) before finalising the guidelines.
 
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Malaria/Tuberculosis

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the results were of his Department's study of the incidence of malaria and tuberculosis worldwide. [8935]

Mr. Thomas: DFID has made no formal study of incidence of malaria and tuberculosis worldwide.

Globally there are between 350 and 500 million clinical episodes of malaria occurring each year, resulting in over one million deaths. 1 There were an estimated 8.8 million new cases of TB in 2003 (the year for which the most recent figures are available), with an estimated 1.7 million deaths. 2

DFID launched a policy consultation on the challenge of TB and malaria control with external stakeholders in May. Discussions took place around DFID's current portfolio of activities, effectiveness and suggestions on where to place future efforts.


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