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14 Oct 2005 : Column 639W—continued

Service Liberalisations

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with (a) other EU member states, (b) the European Commission and (c) the European Trade Commissioner, regarding GATS Mode 4 access to the EU by World Trade Organisation most favoured nations. [16866]

Ian Pearson: [holding answer 10 October 2005]: The issue of GATS Mode 4 access to the EC by WTO members was last discussed in detail in the context of the preparation of the EC revised services offer, tabled in the WTO on 2 June 2005.

In the months leading up to the tabling of the revised offer, there were extensive discussions in the article 133 committee in Brussels on the preparation of the revised offer. These discussions involved the Commission and all member states.

State Aid

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list state aid for national shipyards of each EU member state since 1997. [16845]

Ian Pearson: This information is not readily available and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
 
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Textile Quotas (China)

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role the Government played in the negotiation of EU bilateral textile quotas with China; how he voted on this issue in the Council of Ministers; and if he will make a statement. [16936]

Ian Pearson: The European Commission alone was responsible for negotiation of the agreement on textiles and clothing quotas with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). It received political endorsement by member states in the Article 133 Textiles Committee and the necessary technical amendments to the relevant EU Regulation were agreed in the Commission-chaired Textiles Management Committee. The UK supported on both occasions.

UK Trade and Investment

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2005, Official Report, column 1771W, on UK Trade and Investment, what process UK Trade and Investment uses to assess whether an agent is suitable for inclusion on (a) an off-the-shelf and (b) a bespoke list. [15928]

Ian Pearson: Off-the-shelf lists are compiled from readily available sources of information about companies. Bespoke lists are those where additional checks may be made, for example to establish that the company is in business, located at the address listed, trading in the product range specified and interested in approaches from UK businesses.

While UKTI seek to ensure the suitability of companies included in such lists, as explained in the answer of 14 June 2005, Official Report, column 238W, the onus remains with UKTI customers to satisfy themselves as to the business standing and integrity of potential agents.

TREASURY

Civil Servants

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what civil service redundancies have been made since he announced the Efficiency Review in July 2004, broken down by Department; and what the costs of those redundancies have been in each case. [16668]

Mr. Des Browne: In Budget 2005 the Chancellor announced that Departments have delivered the first 12,500 reduction in civil service posts, towards the Government's planned gross reduction of 84,000 civil service posts by 2008. Departments will report on further progress in their Autumn Performance Reports.

Controlled Goods

Roger Berry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are employed by HM Revenue and Customs to prevent the illicit export and trans-shipment of controlled goods. [17087]

Dawn Primarolo: Precise figures are not available. HM Revenue and Customs' controls on the export of controlled goods are undertaken by front line staff who
 
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are multi-functional and are deployed flexibly on the basis of risk assessment and intelligence gathering. They are supported by two central investigation and intelligence teams who provide intelligence to inform computerised profiling, and targeting, and who conduct criminal investigations where appropriate. This deployment allows HMRC to look into all significant allegations and intelligence in relation to breaches of export controls.

Golden Rule

Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will define the golden rule; and what recent changes have been made in how it is calculated. [18456]

Mr. Des Browne: The golden rule states that over the economic cycle, the Government will borrow only to invest and not to fund current spending. Progress against the golden rule is measured by the average surplus on the current budget expressed as a ratio to GDP over the economic cycle. No changes have been made to the way the golden rule is defined since the new framework was introduced in 1997.

London Bombings

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on the economy of the bombings on 7 and 21 July 2005, with particular reference to London; and if he will make a statement. [16885]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Financial Secretary gave her on 10 October 2005, Official Report, column 273W.

Olympic Games

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic benefits that the 2012 Olympics will bring to the economy of (a) London and (b) the UK; and if he will make a statement. [15570]

Tessa Jowell: I have been asked to reply.

We have commissioned a study to assess the impact of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 on London and the UK, which we will publish in due course. We are determined to maximise the opportunities that hosting the Games affords. Through the 2012 Nations and Regions Group we will work with regional development agencies and other key regional bodies to develop plans and strategies in order to realise those benefits.

Mobile Phones

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people in London who had a mobile phone in each year since 1997. [16910]

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
 
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Letter from Karen Dunnell to Sarah Teather, dated 14 October 2005:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question regarding information on mobile phone ownership in London since 1997. (16910)

Data for household ownership of mobile phones are presented in the table. Figures for individual ownership of mobile phones are not available from National Statistics.

Table 1 shows the number of London households in which one or more household members owned at least one mobile phone between 1997–98 and 200304, the most recently available figure. Table 2, shows the proportion of households in London with at least one mobile phone over the same time frame.

Table 1: Number of households with at least one mobile telephone 1997–98 to 2003–04 Thousand

London
1997–98	791
1998–99	1,060
1999–2000	1,655
(1)2001–02	1,775
2002–03	1,928
2003–04	2,242

⁽¹⁾ A figure for 2000–01 has been omitted because of concerns that it may not provide an accurate estimate of mobile phone ownership.
Source:
Family Expenditure Survey end Expenditure and Food Survey, Office for National Statistics.





Table 2: Percentage of households with at least one mobile telephone, 1997–98 to 2003–04 Percentage

London
1997–88	27
1998–99	35
1999–2000	53
(2)2001–02	62
2002–03	68
2003–04	78

⁽²⁾ A figure for 2000–01 has been omitted because of concerns that it may not provide an accurate estimate of mobile phone ownership.
Source:
Family Expenditure and Food Survey, Office for National Statistics.

Like all estimates from sample surveys the figures presented are subject to sampling variability. This is greater for sub-groups of the population than for national estimates.

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