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6 Dec 2005 : Column 1142W—continued
Developing Countries (Trade)
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is being taken to use the EU presidency to promote trade that will benefit developing countries. [33874]
Ian Pearson: The needs and interests of developing countries are at the heart of the current round of World Trade Organisation negotiations. The UK Government's priority for the WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong is to secure to a package that is pro-development, helps build a more competitive European economy and allows a conclusion to the round by the end of 2006.
As presidency, the UK supports the European Commission in its role as negotiator, and is working with member states to ensure a flexible EU position that will help progress negotiations in the run-up to, and at, Hong Kong.
Electricity Prices
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the current price is of electricity per unit generated from (a) nuclear, (b) offshore wind, (c) onshore wind, (d) wave and (e) tidal energy. [33437]
Malcolm Wicks: The cost of producing electricity by generator class is a commercial matter for generating companies.
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the price is per unit of electricity generated from (a) gas-fired, (b) hydro and (c) coal-fired power stations. [34352]
Malcolm Wicks: The cost of producing electricity by generator class is a commercial matter for generating companies.
Energy Levy
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received, and from whom, regarding the introduction of a levy on energy bills to assist with the development of nuclear power generation; and if he will make a statement. [34775]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 5 December 2005]: The Department has received no representations regarding a levy on energy bills to assist with nuclear power.
Energy Supplies
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on carbon dioxide emissions of an increase in the use of gas and oil to supply energy demands. [35529]
Malcolm Wicks:
I refer the right hon. Member to our published projections, which can be found on the DTI website, at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/uep2004.pdf. (An addendum extending these projections to 2020 can also be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/uep_addendum.pdf.) It is intended that these estimates will be revised and published in due course.
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Enterprise Grants
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many small and medium-sized enterprises applied for a grant for research and development in 2004–05 in (a) the UK and (b) each region; how many applicants received funding; what the average value of a grant was; and what the total value of the funding allocated was. [33470]
Alun Michael [holding answer 5 December 2005]: DTI grant for research and development is available to businesses in England while the Devolved Administrations offer their own forms of support to businesses undertaking research and development projects.
In 2004–05 grants for research and development worth a total of £30,401,452 were offered to 352 small and medium-sized businesses in England as shown on the following table:
The average level of grant support was £86,367.
Flexible Working Hours
Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment he has made of the willingness of employers to offer family-friendly working hours to male employees; [33415]
(2) what recent estimate he has made of the number of male employees requesting family-friendly flexible working hours. [33416]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Second Work-Life Balance Study: Results from the Employers' Survey Main Report Working Employee Survey" (published October 2003) shows that 86 per cent. of employers, with five or more employees, had some type of flexible working provision available to their staff. Employers were not asked whether these provisions were made available to both male and female staff.
The Second Flexible Working Employee Survey" (published April 2005) shows that over the past two years 10 per cent. of male employees have asked to work flexibly. 62 per cent. of these requests were fully accepted by employers, compared with 72 per cent. of requests from female employees. 43 per cent. of women, compared to 22 per cent. of men, cited childcare needs as the reason for requesting flexible working.
Fuel Poverty
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) households were in fuel poverty and (b) vulnerable households were in fuel poverty in each of the last five years for which figures are
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available; and what proportion each represented of all households in (i) London and (ii) each London borough. [34724]
Malcolm Wicks: Figures for the number of households in fuel poverty in England are produced from analysis of the English House Condition Survey. From 2003, the survey is being carried out on a continuous rolling basis. Prior to 2001, however, this survey was conducted on a five-yearly basis. Hence, the number of households in fuel poverty is not available for all of the last five years. The figures for both all households and vulnerable households for 2001 and 2003 are available, with an estimate available for 2002, as detailed in the following table.
| (millions) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
| Number of households in fuel poverty | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| Number of vulnerable households in fuel poverty | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
Due to the sample sizes involved it is not possible to break the vulnerable category down further by local area. Similarly, it is not possible to provide details for any of the London boroughs. However, analysis of actual data for the years when the EHCS was carried out for each of the nine Government offices for the regions shows that, for London, figures for 2001 and 2003 are as follows:
Independent Schools
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry if he will make a statement on the recent Office of Fair Trading report on independent schools. [34150]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Office of Fair Trading is the United Kingdom's independent competition regulator. It has a duty to investigate and address anti-competitive conduct and enforce competition law. It has investigated the exchange of information between independent schools about the fees they charge. Its provisional findings are that fifty schools have breached chapter one of the Competition Act which prohibits anti-competitive agreements. This is a matter for the Office if Fair Trading. The Government have no substantive role in individual cases.
IT Projects
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the IT projects costing over £1 million in use in his Department and introduced since 1997 have been scrutinised by the Public Accounts Committee; and if he will list them. [26612]
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Alan Johnson: The Public Accounts Committee has not scrutinised any of the Department's IT projects since 1997.
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