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6 Mar 2006 : Column 1152W—continued

Electricity (Renewable Generation)

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why the limit on the proportion of electricity that a supplier may source from co-firing under the renewables obligations certificates scheme is to be reduced from 25 per cent. to 10 per cent. from 1 April; and if he will reverse the decision to make that reduction. [55145]

Malcolm Wicks: I refer my right hon. Friend to the debate on the Renewable Obligation Order 2006 of 1 March 2006, Official Report, Second Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation.

Equal Pay

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the pay gap between able bodied and disabled workers in (a) Leicester and (b) the UK in each year from 1997 to 2005; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce it. [50437]

Mrs. McGuire: I have been asked to reply.

This Department has not undertaken any research into the pay gap between disabled and non-disabled workers. However, the Low Pay Commission reports that, in 2004, the pay gap for people with a work-limiting disability was 13 percentage points.

The employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act, as amended and strengthened by this Government, place a duty on an employer not to directly discriminate against a disabled person, or to treat the disabled person less favourably for a reason related to that person's disability, unless this can be justified. The Equal Opportunities Commission's Code of Practice on Equal Pay also makes clear that it is good practice for employers to compare the pay of disabled and non-disabled people doing equal work.

As a result of a strong economy and active labour market policies, the employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people is starting to close. The employment rate for disabled people was 38.1 per cent. in spring 1998, rising to 46.6 per cent. by spring 2005; over the same period, the employment gap fell from 35.1 per cent. to 28 per cent.
 
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The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report, Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People" set out a 20-year strategy to realise our vision of substantive equality for disabled people. This strategy is being driven by a new Office for Disability Issues, which was launched in December 2005.

Fireworks

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidelines exist for the design of fireworks with regard to their safety; and if he will make a statement. [55647]

Mr. Sutcliffe: All consumer fireworks sold in the UK must comply with British Standard BS 7114. This standard is called up by both the Fireworks (Safety) Regulations 1997 (as amended) and the Fireworks Regulations 2004 (as amended). The standard was prepared to ensure that firework design, construction, labelling and performance minimises the risk of injury to users and onlookers and the public in general.

Gas Imports

Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much and what percentage of gas imported to the UK came from Russia in each quarter since January 2002. [54981]

Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 1 March 2006]: No UK gas demand has so far been met directly from Russian sources. It is not possible to identify where gas imported through the Zeebrugge to Bacton interconnector was physically sourced.

Gas Supplies

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the annual (a) volume and (b) value of gas (i) exported from and (ii) imported to the UK was in each year since 1997. [55252]

Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 2 March 2006]: Information on UK trade in natural gas since 1997 is contained in the following table. Data for 2005 is provisional and subject to revision over forthcoming months.

	Volume (GWh)		Value (£ million)
	Imported	Exported	Imported	Exported
1997	14,062	21,666	103	80
1998	10,582	31,604	43	80
1999	12,862	84,433	27	230
2000	26,032	146,342	153	579
2001	30,464	138,330	187	746
2002	60,493	150,731	260	848
2003	86,298	177,039	135	946
2004	133,035	114,111	670	645
2005	173,372	96,184	1,742	673

Source:
DTI energy statistics; HMRC overseas trade statistics.

Hearing Loss Claims

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many individual claimants have been informed by his Department that their case is being delayed due to negotiations over costs payments for
 
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noise-induced hearing loss claims to his Department due to breach of section 4 (2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000. [55002]

Malcolm Wicks: Payment of compensation by the Department's claims handlers would not be delayed by negotiations over solicitors' costs.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether references have been made to the Serious Fraud Office concerning breaches of rule 4(2)c of the Conditional Fee Agreement Regulations 2000. [55010]

Malcolm Wicks: No such reference has been made to the Serious Fraud Office. It is not a matter for them but one for the courts to resolve.

India (Imports/Exports)

Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value of (a) imports from and (b) exports to India was in (i) goods and (ii) services in each of the last five years; if he will ask the Office for National Statistics to add this data to the monthly trade statistical releases; and if he will make a statement. [54515]

Ian Pearson: The information requested is as follows:
UK trade in goods and services with India

£ million
	Exports		Imports
	Goods	Services	Goods	Services
2000	2,058	549	1,651	663
2001	1,797	664	1,825	814
2002	1,755	619	1,794	804
2003	2,293	688	2,088	783
2004	2,237	812	2,276	1,015
2005	2,813	n/a	2,829	n/a

Note:
Data for 2000–04 is on a balance of payments basis. No services data is available for 2005 at present and the goods figures for 2005 are on an overseas trade statistics basis.
Source:
HM Revenue and Customs and Office for National Statistics (Pink Book).

This data is available in the ONS's Pink Book" published annually, and from HM Revenue and Customs.

There has been excellent growth in bilateral trade and investment between the UK and India over recent years with data to October 2005 indicating a 29.4 per cent. increase in exports to India compared to the same period in 2004. The UK is the fifth biggest investor in India with UK companies involved in 9.8 per cent. of all new FBI into India since 1991.

The UK Government is committed to furthering UK trade and investment opportunities with India through the Prime Minister's Initiative and through JETCO, the UK-India Joint-Economic and Trade Committee. Under JETCO, business to business working groups, supported by both Governments, are working to identify opportunities and remove barriers to trade and investment in both the UK and India. UK Trade and Investment's team in India is its second biggest globally, after the USA.
 
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Labour Statistics

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of the labour market were women in 2005. [56267]

Mr. Sutcliffe: According to the Labour Force Survey, for the calendar year 2005 an average of 45.8 per cent. of those in the labour force (aged 16 and over and economically active) were women.

During the same period, an average of 46.1 per cent. of those in employment were women.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of those employed in (a) manager and senior positions, (b) process, plant and machine operations and (c) skilled trade in 2005 were women. [56268]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Please see the following table.
Table 1. Male and female employment by occupation⁽⁴²⁾

Percentage
	Male	Female
Managers and senior officials	66	34
Skilled trades occupations	92	8
Process, plant and machine operatives	87	13

⁽⁴²⁾ Occupation in main job.
Source:
Labour Force Survey, autumn 2005

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