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17 July 2006 : Column 142W—continued
Malcolm Wicks: There are currently 54 wind farms in England, of those three are offshore with a capacity of nearly 154 MW and 51 are onshore with a capacity of nearly 246 MW.
It is not possible to say how many wind farms, on or offshore are planned to be built in the next five years as a number of complex and, as yet, unseen, factors may come into play. However, the following information has been obtained from the British Wind Energy Association:
Royal Mail
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions have taken place between Ministers and officials from his Department and Royal Mail on shares being made available in Royal Mail. [84980]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Royal Mail has submitted proposals on an employee share ownership scheme and these
proposals are currently under consideration by the Department. Ministers and officials meet Royal Mail representatives on a regular basis and have discussed these proposals with them. No decisions have been made on whether to introduce a share scheme.
South East England Development Agency
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the annual per capita expenditure of the South East England Development Agency has been in each year since its inception in (a) each county and (b) each unitary authority in the South East of England. [84100]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 10 July 2006]: The tables show the South East England Development Agency’s (SEEDA) annual spend from 2003 onwards, broken down to a sub regional level.
SEEDA does not provide expenditure breakdowns on the basis of all counties and unitary authorities within the region.
Before the adoption of their current financial records system in 2003, expenditure by specific geographical or administrative areas was not recorded and it is therefore not possible to produce a disaggregated account of SEEDA spend prior to that time.
Much of SEEDA’s spend is allocated across administrative boundaries, and this cannot be disaggregated to local authority boundaries levels.
| Sub-region | Spend 2003-04 (£) | Programme expenditure(percentage of annual budget) | Expenditure per head (£) |
| Sub-region | Spend 2004-05 (£) | Programme expenditure(percentage of annual budget) | Expenditure per head (£) |
| Sub-region | Spend 2005-06 (£) | Programme expenditure(percentage of annual budget) | Expenditure per head (£) |
| Note: Please note per capita expenditure has been calculated using population figures from the Rural Urban Spreadsheet tool (based on 2001 census). | |||
Spam E-mails
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to reduce the number of spam e-mails originating from abroad received by people in the UK. [84738]
Margaret Hodge: The Government introduced statutory controls on spam emails by means of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, which were enacted on 11 December 2003. The regulations provide a first line of defence against spam originating in the EU where the recipient has no knowledge of the advertiser of the products being marketed. The regulations require that spam must not be sent to an individual subscriber without prior permission or unless there is a previous relationship between the parties. The regulations can be enforced against an offending company or individual anywhere in the EU. There is regular contact between my Department, the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Information Commissioner’s Office on the operation of these regulations.
The Government recognise that most spam does not come from the UK and have therefore extensively promoted international co-operation. A Memorandum of Understanding was agreed on 2 July 2004 between the enforcement authorities of the United Kingdom, United States and Australia, to reduce the problem by working together to investigate those sending spam. The UK also plays a leading role in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Anti Spam Task Force and other multilateral initiatives. In late 2004, the UK launched the world’s first and only anti-spam enforcement network, the London Action Plan, which now spans five continents and includes authorities and industry from countries particularly affected by this issue, such as Nigeria, China and India.
The end user has a role to play in acting to avoid being a target for those sending spam, as well as acting to filter spam. Information has been made available to the public and to business by the DTI, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Office of Fair Trading as well as a number of sites provided by service and software providers. These messages have been reinforced by the Get Safe Online initiative launched on 27 October 2005. This is an initiative between Government and Industry to help individuals and businesses protect themselves against internet threats, including spam.
Our response to the problem of spam continues to develop. I have taken careful note of the views of the Information Commissioner’s Office on the powers available to him, and DTI officials are working with the Information Commissioner’s Office on this matter. The Government are actively considering whether to revise the relevant legislation. DTI officials have a continuing dialogue with internet service providers regarding steps that can be taken to reduce spam. We also continue our efforts to achieve greater international co-operation.
Strikes
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many strikes there were in the last 12 months; and what the lowest number of strikes was during any consecutive 12 month period between May 1997 and May 2002. [85454]
Jim Fitzpatrick: In the 12 months to May 2006, there were 131 stoppages in the UK, compared to 121 stoppages in the 12 months to May 2005.
Between May 1997 and May 2002, the lowest number of stoppages in any 12 consecutive months was 189, in the 12 months to August 1999.
Structural Funds
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to ensure that the North West is a priority for the allocation of structural funds. [84289]
Margaret Hodge: As set out in the written statement to Parliament of 20 December 2005, Official Report, columns 203-06WS. Merseyside will receive phasing-in funding under the Regional Competitiveness and Employment Objective for 2007-13. This will amount to approximately one-third of its allocation as an Objective 1 area over the period 2000-06.
The rest of the North West, along with the other areas of the UK not eligible for Convergence funding (the successor to Objective 1) under the next round of Structural Funds from 2007-13, will be eligible for support under the Regional Competitiveness and
Employment Objective. These areas will receive a total of approximately €6.2 billion in Structural Funds over this period.
The Department of Trade and Industry has recently carried out a public consultation on a draft National Strategic Reference Framework for future Structural Funds spending. As part of the consultation, we sought stakeholders’ views on the methodology for allocating part of the UK’s Competitiveness funds. In reaching a final decision on this issue, the Government will, of course, want to take full account of the needs of the North West and all other eligible regions.
Sustainability
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding he plans to allocate to professional bodies for the promotion of the principles of sustainable consumption and development to their members in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [82481]
Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
In October 2005, Defra funded Forum for the Future to engage with a range of professional bodies on sustainability issues. The project, Professions in Partnership for Sustainability, will work with professional bodies to embed sustainable competencies into their professional standards.
The project is worth up to £75,000 and will last until the end of the financial year 2006-07. No decisions have been taken yet on funding beyond the end of 2006-07.
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