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7 Nov 2005 : Column 44W—continued

International Trade Agreements

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking towards ensuring that developing countries are not obliged to open up their markets through international trade agreements. [24441]

Ian Pearson [holding answer 3 November 2005]: The Government opposes forced opening of developing country markets through trade agreements or aid conditionality. We continue to work with the European Commission and the other member states to secure ambitious, pro-development trade agreements with developing countries.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the budget is for the low carbon buildings programme. [22210]

Malcolm Wicks: The budget for the new programme is £30 million over three years.

Miners' Compensation

Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value is of compensation payments paid to former miners in the Rotherham metropolitan borough council area since 2000. [23274]

Malcolm Wicks: The total paid in compensation to former miners and their families in Rotherham borough constituency since 1 January 2000 is £10.4 million.

Nuclear Power

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether any assessment has been made of the political stability of countries containing potential sources of uranium for use in the UK's nuclear power reactors. [23086]

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has carried out no assessment of the political stability of countries that may be potential sources of uranium for the UK's civilian nuclear power reactors.

Currently the majority of uranium for the UK's civilian nuclear power reactors is sourced from Australia and Canada.

Oil Imports and Exports

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in which years since 1997 the UK has been a net oil (a) exporter and (b) importer, giving the quantity of oil in each case. [24307]

Malcolm Wicks: Figures for UK oil imports and exports are routinely published in the DTIs annual Digest of UK Energy Statistics and quarterly Energy Trends publications. The UK has been a net exporter of oil (crude and products) since the early 1980s. Annual figures for 1997 to 2004 are shown in the following table with net imports denoted by a minus (-) sign.
 
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Net exports of oil
Million tonnes

19971998199920002001200220032004
Crude oil and natural gas liquids36.843.549.641.235.433.023.97.5
Refinery feedstocks-7.4-6.9-2.6-2.7-2.1-2.8-3.2-5.6
Petroleum products18.113.07.86.51.68.16.010.8
Overall oil47.549.654.845.034.938.326.712.7




Source:
Digest of UK Energy Statistics




UK crude oil production peaked in 1999 and has declined subsequently. The 2003 Energy White Paper noted that the UK is expected to become a net importer of oil by around 2010.

Post Offices

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) sub-post offices and (b) post offices there were in (i) the UK and (ii) Westmorland and Lonsdale in each year since 1997. [24548]

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked David Mills, the chief executive of POL, to provide a direct reply to the hon. Member.

Regional Development Agencies

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list (a) enterprise gateways, (b) enterprise hatcheries and (c) enterprise hubs in each regional development agency; and which of them are based in (i) stand alone and (ii) shared premises. [21677]

Alun Michael [holding answer 25 October 2005]: I have asked each regional development agency to provide me with the relevant information about the region's activities. I will write to the hon. Member when I have the necessary information and place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money each regional development agency has spent on (a) providing, (b) designing, (c) constructing and (d) erecting (i) sculptures and (ii) statues in their region in the last five years for which figures are available. [20973]

Alun Michael [holding answer 25 October 2005]: Some of England's regional development agencies (RDAs) have commissioned sculptures and statues in their regions over the last five years as part of their wider efforts to regenerate deprived or run down areas, consistent with RDAs' statutory purposes set out in the RDAs Act 1998. Making the places where people live and work more attractive, can stimulate increased business investment, and community cohesion. Works of art also play a part in making business paths more attractive and assisting with inward investment and in promoting tourism and interpretation of historic areas and landscapes. RDAs play an important role in such developments, often working in partnership with business, local government and other public and voluntary organisations in order to promote the region and its economy.
 
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Advantage West Midlands (AWM)

Public art plays a role in the West Midlands's regeneration and small area redevelopment. It is very rare that Advantage West Midlands directly funds public art but it contributes to schemes and developments which have an element of public art as part of the overall project.

East of England Development Agency (EEDA)

EEDA do not provide finance for stand alone sculptural pieces.

East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA)

EMDA have not commissioned or erected statues or sculpture in its region.

London Development Agency (LDA)

The LDA have contributed to the commissioning of statues through its Single Regeneration Budget programmes:

One North East (ONE)

One North East have spent the following amounts on purchasing/commissioning sculptures in the region in the last five years:
£
Being Human40,800
Generation62,326
Windmills30,000

South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWERDA)

SWERDA have spent the following amounts on purchasing/commissioning sculpture in the last five years, as part of wider regeneration projects:
£
2005–06280,000
2004–05436,857
2002–035,000
2000–01600,000









 
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North West Development Agency (NWDA)


Sculpture/statue


Location
NWDA investment (£)
B of the BangBeswick, East Manchester500,000
SycamoreManchester20,000
Rochdale OlympicsRochdale50,000
Gateway StatueEllesmere Port town centre80,848
Meadow Lane screenEllesmere Port town centre49,148
Herdi (Herdwick sheep)
Cockermouth
27,000
Spirit of BarrowBarrow45,000
Willie Home StatueBarrow40,000
Owl StatueJubilee Woodland, Sefton5,000
Another PlaceCrosby Beach, Sefton90,000
The Mersey WaveSpeke-Garston1,350,000
Chinese ArchLiverpool386,000
New Brighton PierrotNew Brighton38,000
Splash StatueNational Football Museum, Preston
90,000
Futures ParkBacup5,608
Arts in the ForestEast Lancashire5,572
Panopticons(5)East Lancashire600,000
Thunderbird 3Blackpool15,000
Blackpool CircusBlackpool100,000
Great Promenade showBlackpool46,095
Blackburn town centreBlackburn100,000
MirrorballBlackpooln/a
PenelopeWolstenholme Square, Liverpooln/a
Total(6)3,643,271




n/a=Not available.
(5) Panopticons: NWDA has approved £600,000 for this project, which has yet to complete. Spend to date is £273,833.
(6) Total does not include Mirrorball and Penelope—details of these projects are not available at present.


South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA)

SEEDA do not directly commission any sculptures or statues for the region.

Yorkshire Forward

Yorkshire Forward have commissioned the following projects:


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