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8 Feb 2006 : Column 1228W—continued
Post Office Card Account
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which organisations contribute to the cost of running the Post Office Card Account scheme; and how much was contributed by each organisation in each year since its establishment. [47947]
Barry Gardiner: A number of organisations have committed to making a contribution towards the costs of the Post Office card account between 2003–08. The contributing organisations, in alphabetical order, are: Abbey National Group, Alliance and Leicester, Bank of Ireland, Barclays, Co-operative Bank, First Trust, Halifax-Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Lloyds-TSB, National Australia Group, Nationwide Building Society, Northern Rock, Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Details of individual payments are commercially confidential but in total these organisations have pledged around £182 million over the term of the agreement.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's financial contribution has been to the Post Office Card Account system. [48676]
Barry Gardiner: The Government's financial contribution to the Post Office card account system is made under contracts between Post Office Ltd. and the Department for Work and Pensions, the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
Postal Services
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of first class letters posted in Leicester met Royal Mail's online delivery target in the last year for which figures are available. [49645]
Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Royal Mail. The chief executive has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Power Loss (Compensation)
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much compensation for loss of power was paid to customers by each power company in each of the last five years. [49048]
Malcolm Wicks: Ofgem, the independent gas and electricity markets regulator, is responsible for the levels of compensation paid following a loss of power. Ofgem's chief executive officer has promised to write to the hon. Member with the details.
Renewable Energy
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department holds information on (a) the number and (b) the locations of micro-wind turbines in England. [47585]
Malcolm Wicks:
(a) Under the Clear Skies Programme, which covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, grants are available for micro turbines. Currently 231 households and 90 community groups have been offered grant funding.
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(b) Details of all Clear Skies grant funded community projects can be downloaded from the website, http://www.clear-skies.org/communities/ApplicationGuidelines.aspx
Special Advisers
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the special advisers in post in his Department, broken down by pay band; and what the total budgeted cost to his Department of special advisers is for 2005–06. [29421]
Alan Johnson: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the number in each payband. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 July 2005, Official Report,c. 158–62WS.
Information on the numbers of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and this information will be available in the Libraries of the House.
Information relating to costs for 2005–06 will be published after the end of the current financial year.
VAT Registration
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses (a) registered and (b) deregistered for VAT in each year in Ribble Valley since 1997. [49796]
Alun Michael: The number of businesses which (a) registered and (b) deregistered for VAT in each year in Ribble Valley since 1997 is displayed in the following table:
| VAT registrations | VAT deregistrations | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 195 | 160 |
| 1998 | 185 | 160 |
| 1999 | 200 | 160 |
| 2000 | 175 | 150 |
| 2001 | 195 | 165 |
| 2002 | 250 | 170 |
| 2003 | 270 | 215 |
| 2004 | 205 | 175 |
World Trade Organisation
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will publish the compendium due on the Hong Kong World Trade Organisation meeting. [48817]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 6 February 2006]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a statement to the House on the 20 December 2005 to provide an update on progress made at the 6th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong. In line with normal practice, there will be no formal, written report on the Conference.
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it is the Government's policy that the Russian Federation's accession to the World Trade Organisation should be conditional on its ratification of the Energy Charter Treaty. [49695]
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Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 7 February 2006]: To date, Russia has reached bilateral agreements on its accession to the WTO with the vast majority of WTO members. Only a few remain to be concluded. The bilateral agreement with the EU was reached in May 2004. Ratification of the Energy Charter Treaty was not a requirement under that bilateral agreement.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Road Traffic Accidents
7. Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of serious road traffic accidents in Northern Ireland in 2005; and if he will make additional funding available to promote road safety. [48310]
Mr. Woodward: Provisional figures for 2005 indicate that there were 128 fatal collisions, resulting in 136 deaths, the lowest number since 1952 and 1041 serious injuries.
The Government announced last December that £5.5 million has been set aside for road safety for each of the next two financial years.
Paramilitary Organisations
8. Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what factors he will take into account when assessing the future intentions of paramilitary organisations on ceasefire. [48311]
Mr. Hain: I take into account whether an organisation is committed to the use now and in the future of only democratic and peaceful means to achieve its objectives; has ceased to be involved in preparation for violence; and is co-operating fully with the Decommissioning Commission.
13. Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in reducing the involvement of paramilitary organisations in criminality in Northern Ireland. [48316]
Mr. Woodward: The partner agencies of the Organised Crime Task Force are relentlessly pursuing organised criminals in Northern Ireland, regardless of whether they are linked to paramilitary groups or not. Good progress is being made—last year 28 top level organised crime gangs in Northern Ireland were disrupted or dismantled as a result of law enforcement activity.
Child Sex Abuse
9. David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will instruct the Police Service of Northern Ireland to create a separate database of child sex abuse allegations and cases in Northern Ireland. [48312]
Mr. Woodward:
The Police Service of Northern Ireland currently employs a number of databases that record relevant information about sex offenders. They are managed to nationally agreed standards. The Police Service of Northern Ireland is also currently considering the development of a new victim centred database that
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would enhance the organisation's ability to track suspected incidents/reports of all sexual offence investigations, including those involving child sex abuse.
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