---

27 Feb 2006 : Column 132W—continued

Government Share Interests

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many share interests are held by the Government; and in which companies. [53518]

Barry Gardiner: I refer my hon. Friend to notes 14.2 and 14.5 to the Department for Trade and Industry Consolidated Resource Accounts 2004–05, placed in the Libraries of the House on 5 December 2005.

Green Electricity

Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will introduce an accreditation scheme for green electricity tariffs. [53885]

Malcolm Wicks: Ofgem will be publishing a response to its consultation on the Revision of Guidelines on Green Supply Offerings" and the introduction of an accreditation scheme for green electricity tariffs will be considered in the light of this.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the addition to greenhouse gas emissions that arise from natural gas flared as part of oil extraction processes. [53275]

Malcolm Wicks: In the 2004 reports of emissions from the offshore oil and gas industry to my Department, 3.5 million tonnes of CO ₂ were emitted from the flaring of gas during offshore oil and gas production.

Home Energy Efficiency

Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the impact on (a) production of renewable energy and (b) carbon dioxide emissions of take-up of green supply offerings by domestic consumers at rates of (i) 50 per cent. and (ii) 100 per cent. [54105]

Malcolm Wicks: There is considerable diversity in the range of green supply offerings available and so it is not possible to quantify the impact on production of renewable energy or carbon dioxide emissions of take-up of green supply offerings by domestic consumers.

Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the implications of the take-up of green supply offerings for the supply of domestic electricity in the UK. [54106]

Malcolm Wicks: No such assessment has been made.

Life Insurance

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will examine possible market abuse and anti-competitive practices in the life insurance market following the recent decision by leading supermarket providers to reduce premiums. [54330]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The prime responsibility for operating our competition regime rests with the independent competition authorities. In the specific case of the life insurance market it is the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) who would investigate any anti-competitive practices in the sector.
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 133W
 

Mail Services

Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of items of mail (a) lost and (b) misdirected in each constituency in England and Wales in 2005. [53614]

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Royal Mail plc. The chief executive has been asked to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Manufacturing (Peterborough)

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the change in the number of manufacturing jobs in Peterborough was in each year since 1997. [52446]

Alun Michael: The total number of jobs in Peterborough (all sectors) increased between 1998 and 2004 from 86,300 to 92,700 and by a greater percentage than in the East of England and England (an increase of 7.4 per cent. in Peterborough compared to increases of 5.6 per cent. and 6.5 per cent. in the East of England and England).

Within this the data show that there was a larger percentage fall in the number of manufacturing jobs between 1998 and 2004 in Peterborough (-28.7 per cent.) than in the East of England (-21.9 per cent.) and England (-23.6 per cent.). This means that the number of employee jobs in manufacturing as a percentage of total jobs in Peterborough fell from 18.1 per cent. to 12.0 per cent. compared to a smaller fall in the East of England from 16.2 per cent. to 12.0 per cent. and a smaller fall in England from 16.6 per cent. to 11.9 per cent.

Statistics from the Annual Business Inquiry, which are only currently available from 1998 to 2004, show that annual changes in the number of manufacturing employee jobs in Peterborough were as follows:

	Actual change (nearest 100)	Percentage change (percentage)
1998–99	-900	-5.9
1999–2000	-500	-3.5
2000–01	-800	-5.6
2001–02	-600	-4.5
2002–03	-1,100	-8.8
2003–04	-500	-4.4
Total change 1998–2004 -4,500		-28.7

Mini-motorbikes

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the merits of the introduction of new controls on the sale of mini-motorbikes to underage youths. [36143]

Hazel Blears: I have been asked to reply.

We are aware of public concern about the misuse of these vehicles, often by young people, and the issue has been raised with us by the police and by other antisocial behaviour practitioners.

To address this issue, last summer the Home Office and the Department for Transport produced information for practitioners on the enforcement and
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 134W
 
safe use of these types of bikes, to enable safety advice to be given at the local level. The Home Office also organised a number of TOGETHER Action Days with antisocial behaviour practitioners to share best practice around this topic and provide guidance on dealing with this problem. Then on 1 November 2005, additional guidance was issued to the police on the use of seizure powers under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002. These apply in respect of any mechanically propelled vehicle, whether or not intended or adapted for use on road, if it is being driven carelessly or inconsiderately on-road or off-road without authority, if at the same time its use is causing or likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance. This additional guidance explains the rationale behind its various aspects, clarifies the terms and the circumstances in which it might be used and offers examples of effective operations. At the same time Regulations governing use of the power were simplified.

This work has led to further discussions between the Home Office, the Department for Transport and the Department of Trade and Industry and we are considering what more can be done to address the problem. However, at this time we have no plans to introduce controls on the sale of mini-motorbikes to underage youths.

Non-recyclable Packaging

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures the Government have taken to discourage the use by manufacturers of non-recyclable packaging. [52135]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003 (as amended) require that all items of packaging shall be designed, produced and commercialised in such a way to permit its reuse or recovery, including recycling, and to minimise its impact on the environment when packaging waste or residues of packaging waste operations are disposed of.

The UK regulations make no distinction between reusable, recoverable or recyclable packaging as life cycle analysis indicates that differences between such processes are negligible.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Government officials participate in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's Recycling Performance Monitoring Group (RPMG); how many meetings of the RPMG have been held since its inception; and if he will place copies of the minutes of the RPMG in the Library. [48832]

Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 16 February 2006]: Officials from the Department of Trade and Industry, Shareholder Executive and Treasury participate in the Recycling Performance Monitoring Group (RPMG). The group has met monthly since April 2005. There are no minutes produced of these meetings but the NDA does provide progress reports which it shares with members of its national stakeholder group on nuclear materials and places on its website. I have placed the latest report in the Libraries of the House.
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 135W
 

---