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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 21 July 2005
MINISTER FOR WOMEN
Work-life Balance
23. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent representations she has received regarding the achievement of an acceptable work-life balance by women with children who work outside the home. [13825]
Meg Munn: The Department has received a number of representations on work-life balance as part of the recent Work and Families: Choice and Flexibility" consultation.
Post-conflict Reconstruction
24. Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues about protecting the rights of women in situations of post-conflict reconstruction. [13826]
Meg Munn: I fully support the positive action taken by the Government to protect the rights of women in situations of post-conflict reconstruction. The UK is committed to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (October 2000) and is developing a Government-wide Action Plan to support its implementation.
Pensions (Gender Equality)
25. Dr. Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on gender equality in future pension provision. [13827]
Meg Munn: I recently discussed the issue of women and pensions with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the EOC. One of the Government's principles for pension reform is fair outcomes for women and carers and any proposals for reform will be judged against this.
Gender Pay Gap
26. Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government is taking to reduce the gender pay gap. [13828]
Meg Munn:
The Women and Work Commission will make recommendations on tackling the gender pay gap this autumn. We are funding the Equal Pay Panel of Experts, developed by the TUC, to give free advice sessions to organisations looking to carry out equal pay reviews.
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Domestic Violence
27. Mary Creagh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what plans the Government has to improve the services offered to women seeking refuge from domestic violence. [13829]
Meg Munn: The Home Office and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are working together to develop a set of accredited occupational standards to ensure quality of service for a wide range of professions across the diverse domestic violence sector.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Unfair Dismissal
10. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will review law and practice for dealing with claims of unfair dismissal. [13811]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government introduced new Dispute Resolution Regulations and Tribunal Rules of Procedure in October 2004. These are designed to improve the chance of workplace disputes being resolved in the workplace, without having to resort to full tribunal hearings. This includes claims for unfair dismissal. We have committed to carrying out a review of the Regulations in October 2006, two years after their introduction.
Microgeneration
11. Dr. Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role renewable and sustainable microgeneration will play in achieving renewable electricity generation targets set out in the Energy White Paper. [13812]
Malcolm Wicks: Renewable and sustainable microgeneration has the potential to make an important contribution towards the achievement of the renewable electricity generation targets set out in the Energy White Paper. The range of technologies included under the microgeneration umbrella; the different stages of their development; and the fact that the overall industry is in a formative stage makes it difficult to quantify the future costs and benefits of microgeneration.
The Department has recently put out a tender for some research to try to gain a clearer picture of the real costs and benefits of these technologies and their potential role in the energy market. This study will feed into work on the Government's strategy for the promotion of microgeneration which will be published next year.
13. Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to promote microgeneration. [13814]
Malcolm Wicks: We are already doing much to promote microgeneration technologies. For example we have:
provided £41 million of support for solar power projects and £12.5 million of support for household and community renewables projects through the Clear Skies Initiative;
amended the Renewables Obligation Order to make it easier for smaller generators to claim Renewable Obligation Certificates;
issued Planning Policy Statement 22 last year to establish that local authorities could set targets for on-site renewable generation.
In addition, I recently launched a consultation that gives stakeholders the opportunity to feed into the development of the Government strategy to promote microgeneration, which will be published next year.
Manufacturing (Yorkshire/Humber)
12. Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to assist manufacturing companies in Yorkshire and Humber. [13813]
Alun Michael: The Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward, has made manufacturing a key priority in the Regional Economic Strategy and manufacturing companies are benefiting from its schemes to support improvements in productivity, innovation and skills.
Minimum Wage
14. Mr. McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many workers he estimates will benefit from the recently announced increase in the minimum wage; and how many of these workers he estimates will be women. [13815]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The DTI estimates that around 1.3 million workers will receive a guaranteed pay rise from the October 2005 uprating of the national minimum wage. The DTI estimates that around 900,000 will be women. These estimates are based on the April 2004 annual survey of hours and earnings and expected average earnings growth between 2004 and 2005.
Manufacturing (Stoke-on-Trent)
15. Mr. Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he is taking to help manufacturing companies in Stoke-on-Trent. [13816]
Alun Michael: Advantage West Midlands has a number of initiatives in place to support manufacturing in Stoke. The Manufacturing Advisory Service and Business Links provide specialist advice and support to manufacturing whilst grants available include selective finance for investment and grants for research and development.
Hydrogen Energy
16. Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Government's hydrogen energy strategy. [13817]
Malcolm Wicks:
Hydrogen has significant potential over the next 20–30 years to contribute to cost-competitive CO 2 reductions and enhanced security of supply for the UK. I therefore announced last month a Government commitment of some £15 million over four years for a UK wide hydrogen and fuel cell demonstration programme.
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Coal Compensation Claims
17. Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the investigations taking place into the firms dealing with coal compensation claims. [13818]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to my written statement to the House of 30 June 2005 and the written statement I made today.
Building Industry (Capacity)
18. Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the construction industry, the Construction Industry Training Board and the trade unions on developing capacity in the building industry. [13819]
Alun Michael: Recent ministerial meetings have taken place with various construction industry representative organisations (18 July 2005) and the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (30 June 2005). Issues discussed were wide ranging, and included the development of skills and capacity in the construction industry. I have also attended a number of events organised by the industry and have recently hosted a reception at DTI for leading industry representatives.
Under the aegis of the Strategic Forum for Construction, under the chairmanship of Peter Rogers; which comprises senior members of the industry, itsclients and which is supported by the DTI, CITB-Construction-Skills is working with other sector skills councils to carry out a thorough skills needs analysis for the industry.
The Strategic Forum is also currently setting up a dedicated group to coordinate the industry's efforts for the Olympics. The work on the skills implications of construction will be a core element of this coordinated effort. I have also attended a number of events organised by the industry and have recently hosted a reception at DTI for industry representatives.
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