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13 Feb 2006 : Column 1655W—continued
Smaller Companies
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures the Department has taken to make it easier for smaller companies to win orders from Government Departments. [51487]
Alun Michael: Together with the Office of Government Commerce, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) the Department has taken forward —the recommendations of the Better Regulation Task Force/Small Business Council Report 'Government: Supporter and Customer?' (May 2003). A progress report was issued in December 2005 1 . Highlights include:
delivery of training to help procurers in the public sector across the English regions to understand the benefits of procurement from small businesses, social enterprises and the voluntary and community sector;
working with the regional development agencies to deliver training across all the English regions to small businesses and social enterprises;
awarding the contract to develop a national opportunities portal to be launched in spring 2006 to improve the visibility of public procurement opportunities to simplify the process for bidders and to enable public sector buyers to identify potential suppliers;
implementing the mandatory requirement that at least 2.5 per cent. of public sector external research will be with small businesses;
production of guidance on effective supply chain management for procurers and work with key suppliers to Government to make their sub contracting opportunities more visible to smaller companies;
the launch of the simplified national pre-qualification questionnaire which will reduce the time businesses have to spend providing information when bidding for Government contracts;
an investigation of the public sector's use of third party accreditation services; publication of research which demonstrates that removing barriers to the participation by small businesses in the public procurement market helps achieve efficiency 2 .
Strategic Nuclear Assets and Capabilities
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what he defines as the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear assets and capabilities. [50327]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 9 February 2006]: We have carried out no specific exercise covering civil nuclear power to define which assets and capabilities could be defined by the terms strategic" or non-strategic". However, consistent with our policy of Keeping the Nuclear Option Open, we have sought to maintain those skills, facilities and capabilities that might be required in the future.
Task Forces
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list each task force set up by his Department since 1997; who the members of each task force are; and with which businesses each non-departmental member is affiliated. [49729]
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Alan Johnson: My Department has had involvement in a large number of task forces since 1997 and full details of the various business affiliates could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
UK Exports
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value was of United Kingdom exports to Liechtenstein in 2005. [49298]
Ian Pearson: Information on the UK's exports of goods is not yet available for the whole of 2005. The latest data available is for the period January to November 2005. In this period, the UK's exports of goods to Liechtenstein amounted to £3.4 million.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value was of UK exports to North Korea in (a) 1998 and (b) 2005. [49299]
Ian Pearson: Information on the UK's exports of goods is not yet available for the whole of 2005. The latest data available is for the period January to November 2005.
In 1998, the UK's exports of goods to North Korea amounted to £10.8 million. In January to November 2005 the UK's exports of goods amounted to £0.3 million.
UK Trade and Investment
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the running cost was of each UK Trade and Investment office in the last period for which figures are available; and how much (a) inward investment each attracted and (b) trade each produced for UK businesses in that period. [48923]
Ian Pearson: Running costs are not separately broken down for each of UK Trade and Investment regional and overseas offices, so figures are not available in the form requested. In the financial year 2004–05, £14.7 million was paid to support trade development work by the organisation's regional network, and some £3 million was made available by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the salary costs of Government office civil servants providing administrative support. UK Trade and Investment paid £13.2 million through the DTI single pot for the provision of inward investment services by the regional development agencies.
UK Trade and Investment's resource accounts for 2004–05 (Stationery Office HC785: available from the Libraries of the House) show that total UK Trade and Investment resource deployed overseas through the Foreign and Commonwealth office was £118 million on trade and £20 million on inward investment work.
The remainder of UK Trade and Investment's resource is deployed for operations housed in the headquarters buildings in London and Glasgow.
UK Trade and Investment does not record at local, regional or national level, information about the monetary value of trade or inward investment generated by its individual offices. In practice, individual companies may deal with regional, head office and overseas arms of the organisation. In addition, an individual company's performance in international
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trade, or its investment location decisions, are influenced by many external factors beyond UK Trade and Investment's control, including support services from other sources, as well as general economic factors.
Universal Banking Services
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with banks and building societies who signed the agreement with the Government on the provision of universal banking services on the future of those services. [48675]
Barry Gardiner: None. Discussions about the future of the universal banking services are commercial matters for Post Office Limited and the individual banks.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the banks and building societies which signed the agreement with the Government on the provision of universal banking services. [48762]
Barry Gardiner: The following financial institutions signed up to the concept of universal banking: 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.
Vandalism
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the acts of vandalism which have been perpetrated (a) inside and (b) on the outside of his Department's buildings in the last 12 months. [49498]
Alan Johnson: There have been no acts of vandalism on DTI buildings in the last twelve months.
Voice Stress Software
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his Department has had in the last two years on the use of voice stress software in the assessment of claims for compensation under schemes for which his Department is responsible; and if he will make a statement. [49992]
Malcolm Wicks: In view of the increasing use of voice stress software in the insurance industry, discussions involving the Department's contractors took place in October 2004. The decision was taken not to proceed with the use of such technology and no further discussions have taken place.
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