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22 May 2006 : Column 1455W—continued
Miners' Pensions
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many deferred pensioners there are in the mineworkers’ pension schemes. [71053]
Malcolm Wicks: As of 31 March 2006 the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme had 99,423 deferred members.
Mini-Motorcycles
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he takes to ensure that retailers act responsibly in the sale of mini-motorcycles. [62019]
Mr. Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
Police and local authorities have a number of powers available to deal with the misuse of these vehicles. The Anti-social Behaviour Unit has held Action Days to share best practice in tackling mini-moto nuisance and has provided guidance on the Together website. Local partnership approaches can usefully involve Trading Standards officials and liaison with retailers.
Northwest Regional Development Agency
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many jobs the Northwest Regional Development Agency has created in each (a) district and borough council area and (b) sector of the economy in Lancashire in the last five years. [70951]
Margaret Hodge: The number of jobs created by the Northwest Regional Development Agency in each district and borough council in Lancashire is as follows:
| Jobs created | |||
| District | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
The agency does not organise its output information by sector. Output figures by district/borough council are only available from 2003-04, as records were not kept prior to that.
Patents
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are in place to ensure that parties seeking patents have gained access to genetic resources or associated knowledge in a legal way in the country of origin. [71455]
Jim Fitzpatrick: There are no measures under the laws of the UK, but a person violating the access laws of another country would be subject to any sanctions which may be provided for under those laws.
Post Offices
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have been closed in (a) Taunton constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) the United Kingdom in each year since 1997. [71639]
Jim Fitzpatrick: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that information on the post office branch networkhas historically only been held at a national level. More recently records have been maintained at a Government office region and at parliamentary constituency level and this level of data commenced from the end of 2001-02.
The number of post offices in the constituencies that cover Taunton constituency is as follows:
| Number of post office branches | |
| Taunton constituency | Number |
| Number of post office branches | |
| Somerset constituency | Number |
Information for the network of branches for the whole of the UK is available for each year since 1997 is as follows:
| Number of post office branches | |
Power Lines
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) adults and (b) children were (i) killed and (ii) injured as a result of coming into contact with high voltage power lines in each of the last five years. [71580]
Malcolm Wicks: For reporting years 2000-01 to 2004-05 the figures are as follows:
| Reporting year | Adult fatalities | Adults injured | Child fatalities | Children injured |
Pre-payment Meters
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to ensure that customers using pre-payment meters are able to take advantage of price-capping offered by supply companies to other customers; and if he will make a statement. [72146]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government welcome the range of tariffs developed and offered by gas and electricity suppliers, but the setting and marketing of tariffs, including fixed-price or capped tariffs, are commercial decisions for the companies concerned.
Private Office Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of his private office staff is (a) male, (b) female and (c) disabled. [69007]
Mr. Darling: My ministerial private offices comprise:
(a) 56 per cent. male staff
(b) 44 per cent. female staff
I am not in a position to provide a percentage for (c) disabled staff, since individuals could be identified and in any case, declaration of a disability is voluntary.
Regional Development Agencies
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) total budget and (b) administrative costs of the regional development agencies were in each region in each year since their creation; and what the projected costs are for 2006-07. [70573]
Margaret Hodge: The following tables show the regional development agencies’ budgets and administration costs for the financial years 1999-2000 to 2005-06 and indicative budgets and estimated administration costs for 2006-07.
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | ||||
| Budget (£ million) | Administration (£000) | Budget (£ million) | Administration (£000) | Budget (£ million) | Administration (£000) | |
| 2005-05 | 2006-07 | |||
| Budget (£ million) | Administration (£000) | Budget (£ million) | Administration (£000) | |
| (1) The expenditure figures are net of receipts that RDA's recycle (2) The London Development Agencies Administration Budget is subject to the approval of their draft 2006-07 Corporate Plan by the Mayor |
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