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20 Jul 2005 : Column 1748W—continued
Small Arms Exports
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many small arms were exported by G8 countries to (a) Sudan, (b) Uganda, (c) Democratic Republic of Congo, (d) Zimbabwe, (e) Ivory Coast, (f) Liberia, (g) Ethiopia, (h) Eritrea and (i) Somalia in the last 10 years for which records are available. [13079]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available because the system of classification used to record trade does not separately identify small arms.
Spam Emails
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the cost of spam emails to UK business in the last period for which figures are available. [12619]
Alun Michael: I understand that according to one industry source, the average time spent managing spam is 10 minutes per employee per day. The Government have not made an estimate of the quantity or cost of spam e-mails sent to UK businesses.
Special Advisers
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the special advisers to his Department; what the area of expertise of each is; and what the employment cost of special advisers was in 2004–05. [8928]
Alan Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to you on 4 July 2005, Official Report, column 36W.
UK Trade and Investment
Mr. Arbuthnot:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will reverse the decision to
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reduce the expenditure UK Trade and Investment allocates to export development; and if he will make a statement. [10479]
Ian Pearson:
As with the rest of Government, UKTI has to work within the resources allocated to it by the 2004 Spending Review and the conditions attached to that settlement.
20 Jul 2005 : Column 1750W
Vehicle Statistics
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) cars, (b) vans, (c) trucks and (d) bus and coaches were built in the UK in each of the last three years; and how many people are employed in the automotive industry. [13007]
Alun Michael: UK vehicle production, and automotive industry employment for the last three years was as follows.
| Cars | Vans | Trucks | Bus and coach | Employment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1,629,744 | 175,426 | 15,569 | 2,089 | 243,000 |
| 2003 | 1,657,558 | 172,955 | 14,179 | 1,737 | 237,000 |
| 2004 | 1,646,750 | 191,773 | 16,104 | 1,291 | (29)235,000 |
(29) 2004 employment has been estimated as 2004 ABI data are published in December 2005.
Notes:
1. Car manufacturing data have been sourced from Office of National Statistics.
2. Commercial vehicle data have been sourced from SMMT as ONS do not provide a breakdown by type of vehicle.
3. Employment data have been sourced from the ONS Annual Business Inquiry, and include vehicle, engine, body and component manufacture, auto electrical equipment, and tyres.
Wind Farms
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what applications have been made to his Department in connection with the proposed development of the Gwynt y Mor wind farm off the coast of North Wales. [12697]
Malcolm Wicks: There have been no applications for development consent for the proposed Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the relative efficiency of each mode of electricity generation. [13384]
Malcolm Wicks: Data on the average thermal efficiencies and load factors of large generators by fuel type are published in table 5.10 of the DTI's Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics"
http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/dukes/dukes2004/index.shtml
However, the technical and economic efficiency of generators have been a commercial matter for generating companies since industry privatisation in 1990–91.
Mr. Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many wind farms are in operation in Scotland; what plans there are to build more wind farms in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [10286]
Malcolm Wicks: There are currently 27 wind farms operating in Scotland, and I am delighted to say that I will be opening the 28th at Artfield Fell, Stranraer later this month.
The question of plans for further wind farm developments in Scotland is a devolved matter and therefore any inquiries along these lines should be directed to the Scottish Executive.
World Trade Organisation
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the recent Non-Agricultural Market Access negotiations at Doha. [13563]
Ian Pearson: The Non-Agricultural Market Access negotiations are part of the Doha Development Agenda trade round on which the European Commission leads for the European Union. Negotiations are on-going.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from and when he next plans to meet UK and foreign business representatives regarding the Non-Agricultural Market Access negotiations at the World Trade Organisation; and if he will make a statement. [13564]
Ian Pearson: I meet business representatives on a regular basis and discuss a wide range of issues with them, including, where appropriate the Non-Agricultural Market Access regulations.
MINISTER FOR WOMEN
Institutionalised Sexism
Colin Challen: To ask the Minister for Women what guidance her Department has recently issued to organisations in the public sector on combating institutionalised sexism. [13317]
Meg Munn: I have issued no such guidance recently.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Parliamentary Mail Services
Mr. Doran: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will make a statement on the provision of parliamentary mail services. [14205]
Nick Harvey:
The sorting of incoming Parliamentary mail, its preparation for delivery or forwarding, and collection and despatch of outward mail, have been provided by Royal Mail to both Houses for many years on an informal contractual basis, subject to annual revision in line with rising costs. In 2004 it was decided that, in order to comply with EU procurement rules and to ensure value for money, these mail services would be
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the subject of a full tender exercise. Following the placing of an advertisement in the Official Journal, and the drafting of a full specification, four companies, including Royal Mail, were invited to tender. The award of the contract to Royal Mail, subject to agreement of detailed contractual terms, is being announced today to the parties concerned. It will run for three years from August 2005. Costs for the service are expected to be between £1 million and £1.5 million a year.
The new contract will provide for a significantly enhanced service to Parliament. More mail will be delivered to offices first thing in the morning; the 7pm collection will apply to all post boxes on the estate; forwarding will be more efficiently handled off-site; and there will be a rigorous and robust set of service standards, with regular service reviews and customer input. The price will be reviewed in line with RPI over years two and three of the contract.
This contract is quite separate from that for off-site screening of incoming mail, which will from August 2005 be carried out by Pitney Bowes under a separate contract let in 2004, and the provision by post office counters of postal services at its three outlets on the estate.
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