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27 Feb 2006 : Column 126W—continued
Carbon Dioxide
Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made as part of his Department's Energy Review of the report on carbon dioxide capture and storage, prepared by the World Meteorological Organisation and United Nations Environment Programme for the intergovernmental panel on climate change. [52424]
Malcolm Wicks: The Energy Review has a broad scope and considers all aspects of the energy system including both energy supply and demand. The review will consider reports such as this alongside responses to the consultation which was launched on 23 January 2006.
Coal Health Claims
Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many residents of Wansdyke constituency have received (a) full and final payments and (b) interim payments under the Government's compensation schemes for health problems caused by working in coal mines; and what the total paid to residents of Wansdyke constituency under such schemes has been. [54394]
Malcolm Wicks: As at 31 January, the following payments had been made to residents of Wansdyke:
Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure miners' compensation claims in relation to respiratory problems are processed as swiftly as possible. [54400]
Malcolm Wicks: Last year, the Department introduced risk offer payments for respiratory disease claims, often referred to as fast-track" payments. For living claimants, offers are made based on the initial medical tests and the claims will not yet have gone through the full medical assessment process (MAP). Compensation will be paid quickly, freeing up specialist medical consultants to concentrate on assessing miners with higher levels of disability through the MAP. The scheme went live on 28 February 2005. More than 65,000 offers have been made and the acceptance rate is currently 95 per cent. The average payment is around £2,150.
In claims from the families of deceased miners, the Department make offers of £1,200 to widows and £1,000 to estates in cases where there is no information on the death certificate about respiratory conditions. The deceased fast-track scheme became operational in early September 2005 in England and Wales and on 1 November 2005 in Scotland.
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It is hoped that the fast-track offers have the potential to shorten the overall compensation scheme by around two years.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many coal health claims for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been processed in (a) County Durham and (b) North Durham constituency. [53509]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease claims registered and settled is as follows:
| Region | Claims registered | Total settlements(41) |
|---|---|---|
| County Durham (42) | 37,388 | 20,387 |
| North Durham | 6,454 | 3,400 |
(41) Total settlements includes claims settled by payment and denial/withdrawal.
(42) County Durham is made up of the following constituencies—North Durham, North West Durham, City of Durham, Easington, Sedgefield and Bishop Auckland.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many coal health claims for vibration white finger have been processed in (a) North Durham constituency and (b) County Durham. [53510]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of vibration white finger claims registered and settled is as follows:
| Region | Claims registered | Total settlements(43) |
|---|---|---|
| North Durham | 733 | 476 |
| County Durham (44) | 8,829 | 5,071 |
(43) Total settlements includes claims settled by payment and denial/withdrawal.
(44) County Durham is made up of the following constituencies—North Durham, North West Durham, City of Durham, Easington, Sedgefield and Bishop Auckland.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his estimate is of the amounts owed to miners by legal firms under the coal health compensation scheme in (a) Wakefield constituency, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) nationally. [54279]
Malcolm Wicks: Unless a claimant requests otherwise, the Department's claims handlers make cheques payable to claimants rather than to their representatives.
The Department does not hold any information on fees collected from claimants as this is a matter for the Law Society. The Law Society has concluded that such fees are unlikely to be justified.
Company Policy
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's policy is on the takeover of leading UK companies by foreign companies. [53517]
Ian Pearson:
Openness to investment as well as trade can offer great benefits to producers and consumers. Inward investment—whether through establishing green-field sites, setting up joint ventures or through mergers or acquisitions—can be an important driver of growth, providing access to new ideas and ways of working as well as efficiency gains.
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Congestion Charge
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the impact of the congestion charge in London on businesses within the charging zone; and if he will make a statement. [52317]
Alun Michael: While I and my colleagues are always interested to hear any views on matters which have any impact on business, responsibility with the Mayor of London to whom parliament gave the powers to introduce a congestion charging scheme. This was contained in the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (as amended by the Transport Act 2000). The London congestion charging scheme is the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL), who have responsibility for monitoring and assessing the full range of impacts of the scheme, both for business and for the wider community.
Departmental Entertainment
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on entertainment by his Department in 2004–05; and how much of that sum is accounted for by (a) food, (b) alcohol, (c) staff and (d) accommodation. [50885]
Alan Johnson: Information on entertainment expenditure broken down as requested is not available and could be made available only at disproportionate cost. However, for 2004–05 the total expenditure on entertainment by the Department of Trade and Industry was £1.777 million.
The majority of the Department's entertainment expenditure represents the hosting of stakeholder events both in the UK and overseas. This includes refreshments at meetings, working breakfasts and lunches and official events.
All expenditure of official entertainment is made in accordance with published Departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.
Departmental Publications
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2005, Official Report, column 698W, on departmental publications, what the total cost has been of publications and surveys by his Department since 1997; and how much of this is accounted for by (a) commissioning costs and (b) printing costs. [42504]
Alan Johnson [pursuant to the reply, 10 January 2006, Official Report, c. 473W]: When I informed the hon. Member that the total cost of producing my Department's publications between 1 January 1997 and 20 October 2005 was £66,007,130, to extrapolate commissioning and printing costs could be done only at disproportionate cost as this information is not held centrally.
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