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Post Office Card Account

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the Post Office will be of ending the Post Office card account in 2010. [51704]

Barry Gardiner: The cost to the Post Office will depend on what accounts might be introduced as an alternative to the Post Office card account beyond 2010. Post Office Ltd. are currently discussing the options with the DWP.

Post Offices

Mr. Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from Royal Mail on the minimum number of post office branches required to fulfil the terms of its universal service obligations. [50950]

Barry Gardiner [holding answer 13 February 2006]: None. This is a matter for the Postal Services Regulator, Postcomm.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of franchisees of main posts office terminated their contracts before the agreed end date in each of the last five years; and on how many occasions action has been taken to enforce a contract until a suitable alternative location is in place. [51562]

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). The Chief Executive has been asked to reply direct to my hon. Friend.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what powers the Post Office has to prevent franchisees of main post offices terminating their contract before the agreed end date. [51577]

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). The chief executive has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Postal Services

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the effect on UK businesses of the price differential between parcels posted in the UK sent to another EU country and parcels posted in another EU country sent to the UK. [51764]

 
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Barry Gardiner [holding answer 14 February 2006]: None. The pricing of parcel services for parcels weighing less than 1 kg that falls within the Universal Service Obligation is a matter for Postcomm, the industry regulator. The wider parcel services market is unregulated and thus fully open to price competition.

Sunday Trading

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many meetings officials from his Department have had with representatives of (a) trade unions, (b) retail organisations and (c) other groups on Sunday trading since September 2004. [51419]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Officials from the Department of Trade and Industry have had seven meetings specifically on Sunday trading with external parties, including a trade union, large and small retailers and other groups. All these meetings have taken place since the Secretary of State's announcement on 14 November 2005 that Sunday trading regulation would be reviewed.

The DTI maintains regular contact with the retail industry and interested parties, for example through the Retail Policy Forum, which meets quarterly.

Tidal Power

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the potential of tidal power as an alternative to fossil fuels. [49443]

Malcolm Wicks: Tidal power can broadly be split into two categories: tidal-current—this extracts kinetic energy from fast moving tidal currents and tidal impoundment that generates in a similar way to a conventional dam.

The UK Tidal Energy Programme ¹ that ran between 1978–94 at a cost of £20 million estimated the total tidal (impoundment) resource to be approximately 50 TWh/y. The largest and most economically viable scheme, the Severn Barrage could contribute 17TWh/y or 5 per cent. of UK demand.

The most recent study undertaken in 2004 ² estimated the tidal-current resource at approximately 16 TWh/y (4 per cent. of current UK supply).

¹ Energy Paper 57 HMSO 1989 (ISBN 0 11 412952 5)

² Binnie, Black and Veatch 2005 Phase II Report UK, Europe and Global Tidal Stream Resource Assessment".

Zirconium Silicate (Iran)

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2006, Official Report, column 1379W, on zirconium silicate (Iran), who (a) the exporter was of the zirconium silicate intercepted in Bulgaria and (b) the end-user of the material; what the expected end-use of the material was; and if he will make a statement. [51799]

Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 14 February 2006]: Information on the exporter, end-user and expected end-use of the export in question is commercially confidential and as such is exempt from disclosure.
 
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Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2006, Official Report, column 1379W, on zirconium silicate (Iran), what definition he uses of (a) end-user and (b) expected end-use; and if he will make a statement. [51800]

Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 14 February 2006]: While there is no written definition of end-user or end-use information, the end-user is the entity for which the goods are ultimately destined, and the end-use is the use to which the goods will be put. Applicants are required to declare that the contents of their application and the supporting documentation are, to the best of their knowledge, accurate. End-use and end-user information provided in support of a Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) application, where required, must be verified by documentation provided by the end-user.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Spellar: To ask the Solicitor-General how much the Law Officers Department spent on bottled water in 2004–05. [40326]

The Solicitor-General: 2004–05 the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers spent £75,600 on the provision by contract of bottled water, cups, machine rental, sanitisation and maintenance. It has not been possible to isolate the expenditure on bottled water alone.

The aforementioned figures do not include bottles of water available at meetings. No separate details are available for this expenditure and it would incur disproportionate cost to extract it.

The Serious Fraud Office, Treasury Solicitor's Department and parts of the Crown Prosecution Service do not purchase bottled water but provide staff with chilled, filtered water.

The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office was set up on 18 April 2005 so does not fall within the timeframe of this question.

Government Papers

Mr. Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General how many copies of Cm 6531 were produced; how many were supplied free-of-charge; to whom; and if he will make a statement. [41727]

The Solicitor-General: Cm 6531 is the Law Officers' Departments Departmental Report 2005. It set out the Attorney-General's Strategy for his Departments and reported on delivery in each Department, including objectives and expenditure plans.

The Stationery Office produced 765 copies of Cm 6531 of which 270 were provided to the Law Officers' Departments.

The Crown Prosecution Service received 170 copies which were distributed within CPS headquarters, throughout the CPS 42 geographical areas in England and Wales and to partners in the criminal justice system.
 
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75 copies were shared between the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, Serious Fraud Office, Treasury Solicitor's Department and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate where they were distributed for use internally.

The Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers received 25 copies, 11 of which were laid before Parliament or in the House Libraries. The remainder were distributed for use internally.

Jo Martinson

Mr. Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2006, Official Report, column 1963W, on Jo Martinson, what account was taken of the fact that the charges of (a) driving a vehicle without insurance, (b) driving without a licence and (c) not informing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency of the existence of a material disability, were not instituted against the driver of the vehicle that caused the death of Jo Martinson. [51301]

The Solicitor-General: Offences of driving a vehicle without insurance, driving without a licence and driving a vehicle with a defective condition are instituted by the police. It is for the police to refer possible offences of failing to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of a material disability or not having a tax disc to the DVLA for its consideration.

No such offences in relation to the driver of the vehicle in question were referred to the CPS for consideration or prosecution in relation to the case involving the tragic death of Jo Martinson.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2006, Official Report, column 1963W, on Jo Martinson, what inquiries he made into the evidence submitted by Essex police to the Crown Prosecution Service that the vehicle that caused the death of Jo Martinson did not have a tax disc. [51302]

The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is not responsible for the prosecution of cases involving defendants who do not have a vehicle excise licence. Where it is apparent that a valid vehicle excise licence is not in existence, the police will pass details of this to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for its consideration.

I am informed that in the case involving the tragic death of Jo Martinson no evidence was submitted to the CPS regarding the vehicle in question not having a valid vehicle excise licence.

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