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HP Sauce
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with (a) Heinz, (b) unions representing workers at Aston Cross HP Sauce factory and (c) Birmingham city council regarding the Heinz proposal to move production of HP Sauce from the UK to the Netherlands. [80069]
Margaret Hodge: The Government office for the west midlands attended a meeting on Wednesday 24 May which was chaired by Councillor Ken Hardeman (Birmingham city council—cabinet member for regeneration) and included representatives from Birmingham and Solihull Learning and Skills Council, Advantage West Midlands (RDA) and Heinz.
Industrial Strategy (West Midlands)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans his Department has to review the effect of the Government's industrial strategy on the west Midlands. [76999]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 15 June 2006]: DTI published the Government's manufacturing strategy in 2002 and carried out a review of that strategy with key industry stakeholders across the regions in 2004.
As an outcome of the review, we established the joint industry and Government-led manufacturing forum to drive forward the implementation of the strategy and monitor progress. Regional development agencies are represented on the forum, reflecting their strong involvement in delivering the strategy.
I am meeting the hon. Member and other hon. Members in the near future and will discuss with him the effect of the Government's manufacturing strategy on the west Midlands.
Mobile Phones
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what regulations are in place to ensure that staff at points of mobile telephone sales are (a) trained and (b) encouraged to communicate information about handset specific absorption rates. [79586]
Margaret Hodge: Many third party retailers provide this information in their outlets and on their websites, although there are no specific regulations in place.
In addition, the UK’s five Mobile Network Operators, namely Orange, T-Mobile, Hutchison 3G, O2 and Vodafone, have resources within their customer service departments to provide information and advice to users regarding specific absorption rates (SAR) values on handsets.
Muslim Women (Employment)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent steps he has taken to increase the participation of Muslim women in the labour market; and if he will make a statement. [70927]
Meg Munn: The Ethnic Minority Business Forum was established in 2000 by the DTI as an independent, strategic advisory body to represent the views of ethnic minority business communities. It advises Government on the right help and advice ethnic minority businesses need for growth and success.
Additionally the DTI's Public Service Agreement 10, which is a joint target with DWP, is to promote ethnic diversity, co-operative employment relations and greater choice and commitment in the workplace while maintaining a flexible labour market.
The DTI's sub-targets include raising self employment rate of ethnic minorities relative to other groups and reducing incidents of racial discrimination at work reported by ethnic minority employees.
In addition, the Government's Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force brings together Government Departments and key stakeholders to work towards increasing the employment rate of ethnic minorities, including Muslim women.
Non-electrical Light Fittings
Mr.
Willis: To ask the
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 12
June 2006, Official Report, column 875W, on light fittings
(hazardous substances), what guidance he has issued on whether the
wholesale and retail of existing stock of non-electrical
light fittings are within the scope of the Restriction of the Use of
Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Regulations 2005, S.I. 2005, No. 2748.
[79868]
Malcolm Wicks: The RoHS Regulations have no impact on any existing stock that has been placed on the EU market. The Government’s non-statutory Guidance Notes make it clear that the regulations only become enforceable from 1 July 2006.
Norfolk Island
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) goods and (b) services were (i) exported to and (ii) imported from Norfolk Island over the last three years. [78960]
Mr. McCartney: Recorded values of UK exports of goods to Norfolk Island were:
| £ | |
No imports of goods were recorded in the same period. Information for trade in services is not available.
Nuclear Power
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Prime Minister’s answer of 14 June 2006, Official Report, columns 764-5, on nuclear power, what the source was for his statement (a) that 50 to 60 nuclear power plants are under construction and (b) that the new generation of nuclear power stations generate around one-tenth of the radioactive waste of the previous generation of reactors. [79036]
Malcolm Wicks: The source for the data regarding nuclear power plants under construction is the World Nuclear Association website at http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/reactors.htm
The website illustrates that there are 25 reactors under construction and 38 reactors planned, giving a total of 63 reactors. The definitions given on the website for “construction” and “planned” are:
“Construction?first concrete for reactor poured, or major refurbishment under way”; “Planned?Approvals and funding in place, or construction well advanced but suspended indefinitely”.
On the matter of radioactive waste, details of the calculations and views of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) can be found at www.corwm.org.uk
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department takes to ensure that nuclear decommissioning costs are (a) kept to budget and (b) cost effective. [78522]
Malcolm Wicks: The policy intention behind the creation of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which assumed responsibility for the decommissioning and clean up of the UK's civil nuclear legacy on 1 April 2005, is to provide national strategic control and direction for decommissioning of those sites previously operated by UKAEA and BNFL and to deliver accelerated clean-up safely, securely, cost effectively and in ways that safeguard the environment for this and future generations. The DTI has arrangements for the oversight of NDA so as to be sure that it is achieving this task, and like other areas of government activity the activities of NDA are also subject to review by the National Audit Office.
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any funds provisionally set aside for (a) the decommissioning of nuclear power plants and (b) the disposal of nuclear waste has been used for any other purposes since 1997. [80005]
Malcolm Wicks: We are not aware of any funds set aside for the decommissioning of nuclear power plants or the disposal of nuclear waste that have been used for any other purposes.
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been set aside by (a) the Government and (b) the nuclear industry towards the cost of decommissioning nuclear power plants since 1997. [80006]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government are committed to funding the full costs of the decommissioning and clean up of the historic civil nuclear liabilities by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The Consolidated Fund is the mechanism for funding this. Under the 2004 Spending Review the NDA received a budget of £2.2 billion for 2005-06—about half of which was to be raised by the NDA’s commercial activities. Following the successful conclusion of the EC State Aid Review on 4 April 2006, financial responsibility for decommissioning BNFL sites has passed to the NDA under the Energy Act 2004. Until this point BNFL held nuclear funding assets of some £17.3 billion on its balance sheet to fund future decommissioning costs. Following the transfer of the nuclear decommissioning liability to the NDA, these assets have been transferred back to the Government.
There are separate arrangements for funding the decommissioning of British Energy nuclear sites. Since privatisation in 1996, British Energy has been making contributions into a segregated decommissioning fund. As a result of the restructuring, which completed in January 2005, British Energy will make enhanced contributions into the fund and Government will underwrite the fund to the extent that its liabilities outweigh its assets. On recent valuation, the assets of the segregated fund total some £8.1 billion the majority of which relates to the value attributed to the fund’s 64.6 per cent. convertible stake in British Energy.
Oil Companies
Norman
Baker: To ask the
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he plans to take
to ensure that oil companies are required to offer supply contracts to
independent petrol retailers; and what
assessment he has made of the compliance of oil companies with
Government fair trading and competition policies in respect of their
dealings with independent petrol retailers.
[79820]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government’s policy is not to intervene in commercial transactions or price setting, as they believe the consumer is best served by open competition between companies.
An assessment has not been made by the DTI on the compliance of oil companies with Government fair trading and competition policies in respect of their dealings with independent petrol retailers. However, the supply of fuel is subject to UK competition law under the Competition Act 1998. Under the Act, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has powers to investigate situations where there are reasonable grounds to suspect anti-competitive agreements or abuse of a dominant market position in the fuel market.
Post Office Network Services
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what services (a) his Department and (b) its associated public bodies (i) make available and (ii) have made available in the last five years through the Post Office network; through how many outlets the service is or was made available; and how many relevant transactions were undertaken in each case in the most recent year for which figures are available. [79197]
Jim Fitzpatrick: None. A number of other Government Departments have contracts with the Post Office for the provision of services through the Post Office network.
Renewable Energy
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the purchase price is of a kilowatt hour of electricity generated by (a) wind power and (b) incinerators accepting municipal waste; and how this purchase price is reduced by renewables obligations certificates in each case. [80309]
Malcolm Wicks: In the UK's competitive and liberalised energy market, the purchase price of a kilowatt hourof electricity generated, by (a) wind power and (b) incinerators accepting municipal waste, is a commercial matter between generators and suppliers.
Renewable obligation certificates allow accredited renewable generators to receive a premium price for every one megawatt hour of eligible electricity generated. An incinerator accepting municipal mixed waste is not eligible for renewable obligation certificates.
Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what penalties will be imposed on organisations selling goods which do not comply with the restriction of hazardous substances directive; [80532]
(2) what (a) powers, (b) funds and (c) responsibilities have been given to the relevant agencies to ensure that all goods entering the UK after 1 July comply with the restriction of hazardous substances directive; [80533]
(3) what assessment his Department carried out prior to the implementation of the restrictions of hazardous substances directive of the impact of using non-lead solders on the reliability of electronic equipment manufactured; [80535]
(4) what steps are being taken to reduce environmental impact of the compulsory use of non-lead solders following the enactment of the restriction of hazardous substances directive; [80564]
(5) what testing procedures exist to measure whether metals used in electrical apparatus will comply with the restriction of hazardous substances directive; [80565]
(6) what steps have been taken to ensure that the materials being used to replace those banned by the restriction of hazardous substances directive are less damaging to the environment; [80582]
(7) what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to ensure that all goods entering the UK after 1 July are compliant with standards imposed by the restriction of hazardous substances directive. [80563]
Malcolm Wicks: The EC restriction of hazardous substances directive (2002/95/EC) has been transposed into UK legislation by the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (SI 2006No. 1463), which come into force on 1 July this year. These regulations, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House, contain full details of the powers and responsibilities that the enforcement authority will hold and the details of the penalties that could be imposed on those that do not comply with the requirements. HM Revenue and Customs are not given specific additional powers by these regulations.
Due to the broad scope of the regulations, there are no standard testing procedures but the DTI’s non-statutory Government Guidance Notes does offer advice on the UK's overall compliance approach.
Copies of a full regulatory impact assessment were placed in the Libraries of the House at the same time as copies of the regulations.
Rural Post Offices
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to extend support for rural post offices when the Social Network Payment ends in March 2008. [79426]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government are committed to supporting the rural post office network with annual Social Network Payments of £150 million for the next two years. We are carefully considering options for the network beyond 2008 and are not working to a fixed timetable.
Shops
Ms Barlow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of independent retail shops that have (a) opened and (b) closed in Hove constituency since 1997. [76685]
Margaret Hodge: Value added tax (VAT) registrations and de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups and closures. DTI data on the number of VAT retail business registrations and de-registrations in Hove from 1997 to 2004 are shown in the following table.
| VAT registrations and de-registrations in retail( 1) in Hove, 1997-2004 | ||
| Registrations | De-registrations | |
| (1)
Standard Industrial Classification 52, retail trade (except of motor
vehicles), repair of personal and household
goods. Note: Figures are rounded to
the nearest 5 for data protection reasons.
Source: Small Business Service figures based on data
from the ONS Inter Departmental Business
Register. | ||
The number of VAT registrations and de-registrations in Hove across all sectors from 1997 to 2004 is shown in the following table. Since 1997 the overall stock of businesses in Hove has risen by 12 per cent.
| VAT registrations and de-registrations and start of year stock in Hove (all sectors), 1997-2004 | |||
| All businesses | |||
| Registrations | De-registrations | Start of year stock | |
| Source:
Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations
1994-2004, Small Business Service, available at
http://www.sbs.gov.uk/vats | |||
VAT registration and de-registration data do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if their turnover falls below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register may not have closed. In the retail sector 63 per cent of enterprises in the UK (200,000 out of 320,000) were registered for VAT at the start of 2004.
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