| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 Apr 2006 : Column 596W—continued
British Nuclear Group
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money HM Treasury estimates it will receive from the sale of British Nuclear Group; and if he will make a statement. [63767]
18 Apr 2006 : Column 597W
Barry Gardiner: It is too early to say how much the sale is likely to yield. The emphasis will be on getting value for the taxpayer by improving the effectiveness of UK clean-up.
Budget Statement
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Budget Statement of 22 March 2006, Official Report, column 300, what are the other energy assets referred to; and what estimate he has made of their value. [62619]
Barry Gardiner [holding answer 30 March 2006]: Through BNFL, the Government own a number of energy related businesses. Other than Westinghouse (which is in the process of being sold to Toshiba for $5.4 billion), BNFL also owns British Nuclear Group (which includes Project Services and BIL Solutions Ltd), Nexia and a 33 per cent. stake in Urenco. The Government also own the UK Atomic Energy Authority.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced to the House earlier today that he has given his formal agreement to the sale of British Nuclear Group. The Government have not commissioned any assessment of the value of any of these businesses.
Business Links
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what requirements there are on development agencies allocating contracts for Business Links brokerage models to ensure that they conform to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 in their (a) recruitment, (b) subcontracting, (c) membership of boards and (d) customer service. [63106]
Alun Michael: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 22 March 2006, Official Report, column 385W.
Capita Group
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have held with directors and senior executives of (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries since 1 January 2004; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have provided input (1) in writing and (2) in person to policy discussions in his Department since 1 January 2004. [61066]
Alan Johnson: The Minister for Trade, my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, South (Ian Pearson) met Veredus, a subsidiary of Capital Group Plc on 17 October 2005. Veredus did not provide input either in writing or in person to policy discussions in this Department.
Civil Service
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to achieve equal pay for equal work in the civil service. [63167]
Meg Munn:
The Government is committed to promoting equal pay for equal value of work both in the civil service and the private sector. Although the gender
18 Apr 2006 : Column 598W
pay gap in the civil service is 25 per cent., this does not take account of the different responsibility levels across the civil service and therefore does not compare equal work. When the gender gap is compared by responsibility level the pay gap is around 5 per cent.
Every Department and agency in the civil service produced an equal pay action plan in 2003 as part of the Government's commitment to address the gender pay gap. All implemented specific measures to rectify identified problems—and these are lowering the gender pay gap further in Departments. The findings from the reviews were generally encouraging and there is no evidence of any deliberate gender discrimination. Departments and agencies are taking prompt action to address gender pay gaps and are aiming to resolve any unjustifiable gaps in the shortest possible time. The indications are that the work being undertaken by Departments and agencies is having the desired impact of reducing the gender pay gap.
Cabinet office continues to offer advice and guidance and spread good practice. Key to this is encouraging the use of the 'Guidance on Equal Pay for Government Departments and Agencies' (issued January 2002), which provides a practical working set of guidelines for undertaking an equal pay review and an ongoing checklist for monitoring reward systems against all forms of discrimination.
Climate Change Levy
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the North West Development Agency has to assist businesses to cope with the climate change levy, with particular reference to the textile industry. [63035]
Alun Michael: The NWDA is co-ordinating DEFRA's Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme in the North West. BREW provides support to businesses to improve their resource efficiency, working together with national organisations such as the Carbon Trust and regional partners such as ENWORKS and the Manufacturing Advisory Service. This practical support helps businesses in the North West textile and other manufacturing sectors to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and therefore incur lower charges under the climate change levy.
Copyright
Mark Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment he has made of the economic implications of inability to trace the owners of copyright in orphan art works; [61638]
(2) if he will establish a code of conduct for the use of orphan art works and their copyright. [61639]
Barry Gardiner:
I am not aware of any economic assessments in this area in the UK. The issue of 'orphan works' is currently under consideration by Andrew Gowers in his independent review of the IP framework. The Government look forward to receiving his recommendations on this and other IP issues in due course.
18 Apr 2006 : Column 599W
Cyber Crime
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the cost of cyber crime to UK business. [62319]
Alun Michael: I understand that the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) will have a significantly stronger cyber crime function than that of its precursor agencies. Officials in the Department work closely with their colleges in the Home Office, as well as in SOCA precursor units, on action to prevent cyber crime, and Ministers at DTI will discuss such issues with Home Office colleagues as appropriate.
Electricity
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much electricity has been (a) generated and (b) consumed in the North East in each year since 1997. [62830]
Malcolm Wicks: Data on the generation of electricity are not available on a region by region basis. Data on the sales of electricity in each Government office region have been produced on an experimental basis for 2003 and 2004 based on electricity metering points. The data therefore exclude consumption of electricity by businesses that generate their own electricity. In 2003 sales of electricity to consumers in the North East region were 12,222 GWh and in 2004, 12,708 GWh, although quality improvements to these experimental statistics may account for some of the change between the two years.
Prior to 2003 the only available data were for the volume of electricity distributed in the North East distribution network operator area as shown in the following table. The North East DNO area covers a larger area than the North East Government office region.
| GWh | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 15,739 |
| 1998 | 15,872 |
| 1999 | 16,012 |
| 2000 | 16,297 |
| 2001 | 16,926 |
| 2002 | 16,760 |
| 2003 | 16,690 |
Source:
Digests of UK Energy Statistics 1998 to 2004.
18 Apr 2006 : Column 600W
EU Tariffs
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list EU tariff charges which were agreed in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06. [60809]
Ian Pearson: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Export and Custom Powers (Defence) Act 1939
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what dates the Export and Custom Powers (Defence) Act 1939 has been used since it was amended in 1990; and for which imports. [62112]
Malcolm Wicks: The powers in the Import, Export and Customs Powers (Defence) Act 1939, as amended by the Import and Export Control Act 1990, have been exercised on a continual basis since 1990. The powers under the Act are implemented through the Open General Import Licence which allows all goods to be freely imported unless they are listed in the licence.
Since 1990, the Open General Import Licence has been amended on 177 occasions. A summary list of the amendments is set out in the following table.
18 Apr 2006 : Column 605W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |