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9 Feb 2006 : Column 1372W—continued
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he made of likely job losses at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. [48173]
Barry Gardiner: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in another place on 18 January 2006, Official Report, column WA107 by my noble Friend Lord Bach, the Minister with responsibility for farming and food to the noble Baroness Byford.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people have been employed by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in each of the last five years. [48174]
Barry Gardiner: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 January 2006, Official Report, column WA102 to my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Mrs. Moon).
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the estimated cost of his restructuring proposals for the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. [48175]
Barry Gardiner: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in another place on 30 January 2006, Official Report, column WA3 by my noble Friend the Minister for Science and Innovation to the noble Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer.
Civil Servants (Overseas Visits)
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what costs were incurred by his Department as a result of sending civil servants on overseas visits in each of the last 10 years. [46280]
Alan Johnson: Overseas Travel and Subsistence for the Department of Trade and Industry has been carried out in compliance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code and the expenditure for the past three financial years is shown in the following table. Information for the other years requested is not readily available on a consistent basis and would be available only at disproportionate cost.
| Financial year | Expenditure on Overseas Travel and Subsistence (£000) |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 5,508 |
| 2003–04 | 5,684 |
| 2004–05 | 5,484 |
Departmental Paper
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of total paper consumption by his Department in their conference and seminar literature was recycled paper, in the last year for which figures are available. [42380]
Alan Johnson:
The information on conference and seminar literature is not separated from the Department's general marketing materials. All the
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marketing literature that is handled centrally (by the Department's Marketing Directorate) is printed on recycled paper.
Energy Supplies
Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the Eurobarometer Public Opinion Survey on attitudes to renewable energy and nuclear power, published by the European Commission on 24 January. [47247]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government has noted this survey. In bringing forward proposals to help the UK meet its medium and long-term energy policy goals, we will take account of the opinions and evidence (including this survey) brought forward in the consultation exercise that was launched earlier this year.
Estate Agent Regulation
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if the Government will undertake a consultation on (a) how to strengthen regulation of estate agents, (b) the setting up of a redress mechanism, (c) possible qualifications and national quality standards for estate agents and (d) measures to increase the effectiveness of the Office of Fair Trading and local trading standards departments in protecting consumers and making estate agents' dealings with consumers more transparent following the March 2004 report by the Office of Fair Trading; [49574]
(2) if he will bring forward legislation to regulate estate agents; and if he will make a statement. [49575]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Yes. It remains our intention to issue a consultation document covering the issues raised by the Office of Fair Trading report, and developments since then.
The Government have also made clear their intention to bring forward legislation when parliamentary time permits to expand upon the provisions of the Housing Act 2004 relating to a redress scheme for estate agents. We intend to allow a statutory redress scheme to deal with a wider range of consumer complaints against estate agents and to provide for redress schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
European Union Directives
Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations have been received on the proposed (a) waste electrical and electronic equipment directive and (b) the restrictions on hazardous substances directive; what response the Government have made to those representations; and what estimate has been made of the (i) cost and (ii) other implications of implementation. [49578]
Malcolm Wicks:
The Government have received a large number of representations on the proposed waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive as well as on the restrictions on hazardous substances (RoHS) directive.
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As I announced on 14 December 2005, we are in the process of reviewing progress on implementation of the WEEE directive. We will make an announcement in due course, which will take into account the representations made to us during the review.
The Government's view of the costs and implications of the implementation of the WEEE directive were set out in our regulatory impact assessment (RIA), which is available on the DTIs website. Any revised proposals would be the subject of a further RIA. I also refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 1 February 2006, Official Report, column 553W.
The RoHS directive has already been transposed into UK law and will enter into force in July 2006. The RIA for the implementing regulations, together with information about representations made to the DTI, are available on the Department's website.
Executive Agencies
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) targets, (b) advice and (c) guidance his Department has given to executive agencies that fall under the remit of his Department on the reorganisation of their administrative functions on a regional basis; and if he will make a statement. [41649]
Alan Johnson: My Department has not issued any such guidance and advice to its executive agencies.
External Consultants
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department has paid since 2004 to external consultants who had previously been employed by the Department in any capacity within the previous five years. [41199]
Alan Johnson: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Money Transfer Services
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the regulation of international money transfer services. [49643]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Treasury has consulted a wide range of stakeholders in relation to a variety of issues related to the regulation of international money transfer services.
In particular, the Treasury has participated in a series of seminars aimed at consulting the industry on the future direction of the UK's regulatory regime for money service businesses.
In addition, Treasury officials have discussed forthcoming European legislation on payment systems in detail with a variety of stakeholders in the international money transfer market on a number of occasions.
New Delhi Declaration
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how co-operation between India and the United Kingdom in the fields of (a) civilian nuclear
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activities, (b) civilian space programmes and (c) high technology trade has changed since the 2002 New Delhi Declaration. [48397]
Ian Pearson: The information requested is as follows.
(a) Civilian Nuclear Activities
The UK Government seeks to promote scientific, technological and academic co-operation with India, consistent with our international commitments. India is a key international partner and we attach great importance to developing our strategic partnership on civil nuclear activities and to stopping onward proliferation. In August 2005, the Government revised the position adopted in 2002 on our policy regarding the export of nuclear related items to India. The restrictions now in force are less stringent than that in force in 2002 and conform to the UK's current international obligations and non-proliferation commitments. The effect of our approach is to refuse only those exports or scientific contacts that are of serious concern, taking into account the circumstances of each particular case.
The British National Space Centre (BNSC) held a meeting with the Indian National Institute of Advanced Studies to discuss areas of collaboration, in December 2004. We continue to look for further opportunities to co-operate bilaterally with India and in multilateral fora.
The British High Commission in New Delhi is working with the Indian Space Research Organisation on space programmes.
A workshop on using Earth Observation to measure the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity is due to take place from 28–30 March 2006. Two of BNSC's partner organisations, the Natural Environment Research Council and the Met Office are also involved.
The UK-India joint economic and trade committee (JETCO) has followed up on the 2002 Delhi Declaration with high technology as an area for bilateral co-operation. The most recent discussions were held on the 30 January 2006 in London by the JETCO working group to explore synergies and co-operation in the area of high technology. The group presented its report to the Secretary of State for the Department of Trade and Industry and the Indian Minister of Commerce and agreed that they would focus on collaboration in the biotechnology sector, advanced manufacturing, and forging alliances between high technology regions in India with clusters in the UK.
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