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24 July 2006 : Column 1023W—continued
Letter from Jeanne Spinks, dated 24 July 2006:
You asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will list the (a) 0800, (b) 0845 and (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public administered by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies which report to him.
The Employment Tribunals Services administers a public enquiry line to answer queries about the Employment Tribunals, provide information about tribunal publications and explain how the tribunal system works. The enquiry line number is 0845 795 9775, and the minicom number is 0845 757 3722.
Letter from Desmond Flynn, dated 24 July 2006:
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect of your question (2005/3597) asking what a.) 0800, b) 0845 and c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public The Service administers.
As at 6 March 2006 the answers were as follows:
a.) 0800:
The Service does not have any 0800 numbers.
b.) 0845:
The Service currently administers the following 0845 numbers:
1. Redundancy Payments Helpline - 0845 145 0004.
2. Enforcement hotline - 0845 601 3546.
3. Online form service enquiry line - 0845 602 9848.
In addition to the above numbers our website is also available via voice access on a 0845 number - 0845 333 0323.
c.) 0870:
The Service does not have any 0870 numbers.
Letter from Dr. Jeff Llewellyn, dated 24 July 2006:
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question regarding listing (a) 0800, (b) 0845 and (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public administered by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies which report to him.
NWML does not administer any 0800, 0845 or 0870 numbers.
Letter from Tim Moss, dated 24 July 2006:
I am replying to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question 2005/3597, to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of the DTI.
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will list the (a) 0800, (b) 0845 and (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public administered by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies with report to him. 56543.
Answer
Companies House operate the following Non-Geographical Numbers (NGN’s)
CHD Helpdesk — 0845 7573991
Contact Centre — 0870 3333636
Secure Directors Register — 0845 03032400.
Officially, the SDR number and function is hosted by CH on behalf of the DTI and due to the security considerations involved is not for public consumption.
Letter from Ron Marchant, dated 24 July 2006:
I am responding to this parliamentary question, tabled on 02 March 2006. The telephone numbers for the public administered by the Patent Office are as follows:
Telephone; 0845 9 500 505
Minicom (text phone); 0845 9 222 250
Disabled People
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his Department’s progress in fulfilling its statutory obligation as a public body of promoting the rights of disabled people. [66010]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 placed new duties on public authorities to promote equality for disabled people, ‘the Disability Equality Duty’.
The Department of Trade and Industry is currently planning a Disability Equality Scheme to be implemented by December 2006, and considering the scope of activities to be included in the progress report to be published by 1 December 2008.
The Department promotes equality for disabled people through employment legislation and the promotion and publication of relevant information and guidance.
Doorstep Lending
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the net outflow in interest payments to doorstep lenders in each local authority area in the UK. [86984]
Mr. McCartney: Information of this kind on individual credit agreements is not currently collected.
However, according to the provisional findings of the Competition Commission’s Home Credit Market Inquiry, home credit lenders collected around £1.9 billion in repayments from their customers in 2004.
Electricity Transmission
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to ensure that power producers reduce carbon dioxide emissions attributable to electricity transmission and distribution losses; and if he will make a statement. [87671]
Malcolm Wicks: Power producers are strongly incentivised to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from all aspects of electricity production through the European Emissions Trading Scheme, which incentivises all installations it covers to reduce emissions in response to a carbon price. It is up to each installation to determine what measures it may take to reduce its emissions, which may include those attributable to transmission and distribution losses.
In addition, power producers are specifically incentivised to reduce transmission and distribution losses through the requirement on all power producers using the transmission system to pay on a cost reflective basis. This aims to reflect the costs generators impose on the network to transfer electricity to where it is required. With 2 per cent. of electricity conveyed over the transmission network lost, through noise and heat, there is an environmental as well as economic case for having generation near to the main centres of electricity demand and the transmission charging system reflects this.
About 6 per cent. of electricity conveyed over the distribution network is lost. Distribution Network Operators, as part of their regulated price controls, are incentivised to reduce these losses.
Energy Review
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to paragraphs 5.104 and 5.105 of the Energy Review, Cm 6887, what the reasons were for the choice of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency study to illustrate the comparative carbon footprint ranking of nuclear generation against other power generation sources; and which other analyses were examined on the comparative carbon footprint of different generation sources in the Energy Review. [86095]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 19 July 2006]: The Energy Review considered various studies on lifetime carbon emissions, including:
Sustainable Development Commission—The Role of Nuclear in a Low Carbon Economy—Paper 2 Reducing CO2 Emissions—Nuclear and the Alternatives (2006)
Japan Central Research Institute (1996)
Sweden, Vattenfall (1999 and 2000)
Finland, A Kivisto
Germany, Institute for Applied Ecology (1997)
Storm van Leeuven and Smith (SLS) (2001 to 2005)
Torness—a study for BE by AEA Technology (2005)
EC ExternE (2003)
OECD estimates broadly reflect the range of nuclear lifecycle emissions estimates from this literature.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment was made of the potential vulnerability of existing licensed nuclear sites to (a) coastal erosion and (b) inundation in the energy review. [86926]
Malcolm Wicks: Any new nuclear power stations would be proposed, developed, constructed and operated by the private sector. Industry has indicated that the most viable sites are likely to be adjacent to existing sites. Any developers will need to manage the possible risks of coastal erosion and flooding through active flood management plans, which must be approved by the safety regulator. Government committed in the energy review report to undertake a strategic siting assessment that would assist developers in identifying the most suitable sites for nuclear power stations.
Enterprise Initiatives
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department has taken to increase enterprise in the West Suffolk constituency since 1997. [85501]
Margaret Hodge: Through the Government office for the East of England and the East of England development agency (BEDA) the Department has made considerable progress in increasing enterprise across the region.
The main initiatives have been through Business Link, ‘SMART’ Grants for research and development and community investment.
The funding to support Business Link branded activities from 1 April 1997 through to 31 March 2006 has been derived from DTI, SBS, EEDA, DFES, DEFRA, the European Social Fund, European Structural Funds and from local authorities.
The spending profile for the whole of Suffolk has risen from £1.658 million in 1997-98 to £4.948 million in 2004-05 with a total of £28.866 million spent across the whole of Suffolk since 1997 and circa £14 million in the west of the county.
Delivery under the brand by Business Link and its partners has primarily consisted of the provision of information, advice, assisted consultancy, grants etc. and comprises a whole series of activities related to the start-up and the development of small medium enterprises.
A total of £400,000 of funding has been raised for West Suffolk companies since 1997.
There has also been Community investment of circa £2.3 million since 1997 which includes:
Sudbury Community Energy SRB project—£1,087,700
Working Together Suffolk Rural (County-wide)—£268,864
Foundation East (formally Suffolk Regeneration Trust)—£814,000
Approved enterprise activity in the 2006-07 Suffolk IiC business plan commencing shortly (some interventions county-wide)—£130,000.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government is taking to encourage enterprise among people aged over 30. [85919]
Margaret Hodge: The Government are pursuing a range of programmes to encourage enterprise in the over 30s.
Providing the information, advice and support needed for entrepreneurs to start, maintain and grow a business through the Business Link service in England, and its counterparts in the Devolved Administrations.
Providing a targeted programme of support through the New Deal to suitable unemployed people, offering advice and training from a specialist provider.
Pump priming the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME) with revenue and loan guarantee support through the DTI’s Phoenix Fund. This has supported entrepreneurial activity amongst over 50’s across the country.
Creating a Taskforce on Women’s Enterprise to accelerate the development of women’s enterprise. Regional Development Agencies are piloting Women's Enterprise Units to trial different approaches to supporting the start-up and growth of women-owned businesses.
Supporting a programme of activity led by the Ethnic Minority Business Forum to promote enterprise amongst ethnic minority groups. A three-year action plan was published in December 2005.
Running ‘Enterprising Britain’, an annual national competition to find the country’s most enterprising city, town, place or area, which showcases what is being done to support a stronger, more dynamic enterprise culture across the UK.
Increasing the resources available to RDAs, all of whom are tasked with encouraging enterprise, with targets for the number of new businesses created and surviving in their regions.
Enterprise Insight
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are employed in each of the (a) local and (b) sectoral enterprise campaigns established by Enterprise Insight; when the recruitment process for these will be completed; what costs have been incurred in recruiting people for these posts; and when each campaign will be fully operational. [85680]
Margaret Hodge: All the Local and Sectoral Enterprise Campaign Hubs are expected to be fully functional by the end of September 2006.
At present, one person has been appointed for the Lowestoft Local Enterprise Campaign Hub, and a further five people will be taking up their roles in other hubs over the next six weeks.
Enterprise Insight aims to recruit a total of twenty-one people to work on these elements of their work. The recruitment process should be completed by the end of September 2006.
Expenditure incurred to date on the recruitment for the Local and Sectoral Hubs is £49,284.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to his Answer of 17 July 2006, Official Report, column 135W, on Enterprise Insight, what targets have been set for Enterprise Week 2006; what funding was provided for Enterprise Insight in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2004-05; and what funding has been allocated for (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09. [87375]
Margaret Hodge: Targets for Enterprise Insight in relation to Enterprise Week 2006 have been agreed as follows:
Number of events in Enterprise Week 2006—3,000;
Number of Enterprise Week 2006 participants—500,000;
Number of teams taking part in the 2006 ‘Make Your Mark’ Challenge—4,000;
Number of entries to the 2006 Enterprising Young Brits —2,000;
Editorial value of media coverage—£6.5million;
Number of TV partners on board—8.
The funding provided for Enterprise Insight in 2004-05 was £763,000, and in 2005-06 was £2 million. The funding allocated for Enterprise Insight for 2007-08 is £5 million as detailed in paragraph 16 of the 2004 Spending Review. No funding has yet been allocated for Enterprise Insight in 2008-09.
EU Convergence Funding
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what timetable has been set for the delivery of the EU Convergence Funding programme to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly between 2007 and 2013. [87610]
Margaret Hodge: The EU Institutions are currently finalising a new package of legislation to govern future Structural Funds Programmes for the 2007-13 financial period. All of the new legislation is expected to come into force in the autumn.
Once the new legislation is agreed, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, like other UK regions, will need to submit a draft Operational Programme to the European Commission for negotiation and approval. Partners in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are currently working on producing a draft, which will in due course be submitted to a full consultation.
The first budget commitment for the Operational Programme will be made by the Commission at the time that they adopt the decision approving the Operational Programme.
However, expenditure will be eligible for a contribution from the Funds from 1 January 2007 or the date on which the European Commission deem the Operational Programme admissible if that occurs earlier.
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