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18 Sep 2006 : Column 2512W—continued
Security Passes
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in her Department by year since February 2004. [88564]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: In the Department, the following number of security passes have been reported lost or stolen:
2004-05: nil
2005-06: lost totalling 56, and
stolen totalling: 13.
St. Helier Hospital
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what inquiries her Department made concerning the (a) town and country planning advice on, (b) legal obstacles to and (c) affordability of the St. Helier option for siting a critical care hospital in coming to her decision set out in her letters of (i) 19 December 2005 and (ii) 16 August 2006; and if she will make a statement. [91125]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State considered advice from the local NHS and from officials, including from the solicitor's branch.
In August 2006 the chief executive of NHS London wrote to the Secretary of State outlining developments affecting the proposals for the new hospital at St. Helier. These included the financial position of the local primary care trusts and planning and legal restrictions affecting land at St. Helier. As a consequence, the Secretary of State withdrew her decision of 19 December 2005 and replied asking for a review of the proposals for the new critical care hospital, including the model of care and issues of affordability.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made following her decision in December 2005 to site a new hospital at St. Helier, Carshalton; and if she will make a statement. [91187]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: In August 2006 the chief executive of NHS London wrote to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State outlining developments affecting the proposals for the new hospital at St. Helier. These included a change to the financial position of local primary care trusts and planning and legal restrictions affecting land at St. Helier. In consequence of these developments, the Secretary of State has withdrawn her decision of 19 December 2005 and has written to the chief executive of the London strategic health authority accepting his request for a review of the proposals for a new critical care hospital and the model of care for the area, including issues of affordability.
Staff Bonuses
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many performance-related bonuses were paid to staff in her Department in each year since 1997; and how much was spent by her Department on performance-related bonuses in each year. [91126]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has spent £1,065,069 on performance bonus payments to 690 staff in 2004-05. For 2005-06, the Department spent £1,065,759 on 589 employees and in 2006-07 £1,108,586 has been paid to 262 members of staff to the end of August.
Worthing and Southlands NHS Trust
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will visit the Worthing and Southlands NHS Trust. [91200]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: An invitation inviting the Secretary of State for Health to Worthing was received by the Department's ministerial visits unit on 14 September and is currently being processed. The invitation will be duly submitted to the Secretary of State for Health for consideration regarding availability.
Trade and Industry
Business Support
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the 10 largest schemes were in monetary terms on the Small Business Service’s Grants and Support Directory in 2005-06; what arrangements are in place to measure each scheme’s (a) impact and (b) effectiveness; and if he will make a statement. [91224]
Jim Fitzpatrick: As part of the last Budget, the Government announced a cross-Government Business Support Simplification Programme to improve the provision of publicly funded business support. The programme will deliver easy-to-access Government support for business—targeted where it will have greatest impact and delivered to get best value for money. Part of the programme’s work is to identify the funding across Government from which existing business support schemes flow.
The impact and effectiveness of existing schemes is monitored and evaluated by individual Departments, Agencies and local government. The programme will draw on this evidence, using a screening tool, which is currently being piloted by central Government and regional development agencies, to assess Government business support. This work will allow us to ensure that publicly funded support for small business is easier to access and continues to support the growth in start-ups and improve survival rates which are higher than a decade ago.
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support the Government provide for small businesses in addition to the schemes listed on the Small Business Service’s Grants and Support Directory. [91256]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Small Business Service’s Grants and Support Directory lists all central Government support schemes for business. It also lists the majority, but not all, of the support that is provided by regional and local government, and support that is available from voluntary and not-for-profit organisations.
The Government announced in this year’s Budget statement (March 2006) that it has initiated a Business Support Simplification programme to reduce the number of central, regional and local schemes to less than 100 by 2010 thereby making it easier for small businesses to access the support they need while continuing the Government’s commitment to support the entrepreneurial economy.
Cellulosic Ethanol
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what cost analysis he has undertaken on the development of cellulosic ethanol as an alternative fuel source; [91196]
(2) what steps he is taking to further the development of cellulosic ethanol as an alternative fuel source. [91197]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Cellulosic ethanol is a longer term option for transport biofuels.
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) will provide significant support to the biofuels industry by ensuring a stable, long-term market for the best biofuels. In designing and consulting on the RTFO the Government published supporting evidence on the costs and benefits of the proposed obligation. The obligation will also support innovation and help develop the lowest-carbon biofuels production methods.
In the longer term, we intend the RTFO to be able to encourage and reward the development and use of those biofuels (including cellulosic ethanol) which deliver the maximum carbon savings with the minimum environmental impact.
The Low Carbon Transport Innovations Strategy announced in the Energy Review will also act as a spur to low carbon transport technologies.
The Department’s Technology Programme is also supporting next generation transport biofuels and has supported the following projects to date.
The Department has also supported two Global Watch Missions on bioenergy and biofuels which have included work on next generation biofuels and been published in 2006. Both are available from the DTI Publications Unit.
Bioenergy: a scoping mission to the USA and Canada. (URN 06/829)
Global watch mission report: an overview of the current status and future trends of technology development in the area of bioenergy in the USA and Canada, and the relationships with the strategic direction of the US and Canadian federal state/provincial governments
Next generation transport biofuels—a mission to the Netherlands, Germany and Finland. (URN 06/1112)
Global watch mission report to identify and evaluate new process technologies and feedstocks that offer the potential for improvements in the production of biofuels for diesel engine applications.
The UK is also a member of the International Energy Agency’s collaboration on liquid biofuels (Task 39 of IEA Bioenergy)—with DTI funding the membership of British Sugar. The task brings together leading international researchers and industry pioneers looking to increase the penetration of biofuels for transportation into the commercial marketplace. The activities include the technical challenges of biofuel production, as well as the policy and regulatory issues that must be addressed in commercialisation.
Companies Bill
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) which (a) business and (b) trade organisations his Department has met to discuss the Companies Bill in the last 12 months; [91189]
(2) which (a) charities, (b) trade unions and (c) non-governmental organisations his Department has met to discuss the Companies Bill in the last 12 months. [91195]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Companies Bill covers a large number of issues, and it would be disproportionate to seek to identify all those organisations with whom the Department has held discussions on different aspects of the Bill over the past 12 months. This has included a very wide range of bodies, including business organisations such as the CBI and Institute of Directors, experts and practitioners such as the Law Society, and other organisations such as the TUC and members of the Corporate Responsibility Coalition.
Default Costs
Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish responses received by his Department from industry to the report on default charges relating to credit cards and other contracts; and what action he plans to take in reply to the report. [90925]
Mr. McCartney: The report on default charges is being conducted by the Office of Fair Trading. The OFT has already stated that it believed that credit card default charges had been generally set at a significantly higher level than was considered fair and set a £12 threshold for OFT intervention unless there were exceptional business factors. In response to this, credit card issuers have agreed to reduce their default charges—the majority by almost half.
As a result of subsequent reduction in charges across the market, the OFT is satisfied that no further intervention is warranted in this area at this time and that this change has brought about substantial benefits for consumers. The OFT remains of the view that the broad principles do read across to the retail banking area and has decided to undertake further work on the application of these principles to bank current accounts. This fact-finding exercise is expected to take between three to six months, at which stage the OFT will consider whether a further detailed investigation of the fairness of individual bank default charges is needed.
Design Council
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure an appropriate level of funding for the work of the Design Council. [91175]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Design Council is a non-departmental public body co-sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Culture Media and Sport. It is funded by a grant in aid from the Department of Trade and Industry to enable it to deliver on its business plan. Funding under the Spending Review 2004 was set at over £6 million a year for the three years to 2007-08. In addition a further £2.5 million has been provided in the last three years to fund a pilot project on improving business performance through better use of design by businesses. The regional development agencies are contributing towards the roll-out of this programme in some regions. We are also encouraging the council to develop new revenue streams to enhance its income to support its skills, creative industries and design promotion programmes.
Energy Infrastructure
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how often the security of the principal domestic energy infrastructure is reviewed; [90583]
(2) when he last met the Home Secretary to discuss the adequacy of security measures to protect domestic energy infrastructure; and if he will make a statement. [90584]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answers 11 September 2006]: The Government have an ongoing programme of work relating to the protection of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure, including the energy sector. This work is overseen by the Protective Security and Resilience Sub-Committee of the Ministerial Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy (DOP(IT)(PSR)), which meets regularly under the chairmanship of the Home Secretary and is attended by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
Export Licences
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the target time is within which decisions on export licences should be reached; and how many, and what proportion of applications were decided upon within the target period in each of the last three years for which information is available. [91260]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government publish information on the number of export licence applications they have processed, and their performance against target in doing so, in their annual reports on Strategic Export Controls. The Government also publish quarterly licensing and performance information on the Export Control Organisation website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/europeandtrade/strategic-export-control/.
Gas Imports
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will require owners of interconnector capacity and of storage facilities to publish planned levels of utilisation of imported gas three months in advance. [90617]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 11 September 2006]: It is the responsibility of Ofgem, as independent regulator, to determine the information required for the effective operation of the market, working within the legislative framework set by Government.
Against this background, the following information is currently available, which balances the commercial needs of the companies concerned and the needs of the wider market.
Regulations are in place to ensure capacity holders on the interconnector release unutilised capacity to the secondary traded market as and when available. National Grid publishes storage levels with a one day lag. Utilisation of storage facilities, as with other supply sources, is the commercial decision of the capacity holders.
Ofgem also publish National Grid’s Winter Outlook Report which contains aggregated supply and demand data, collected in consultation with industry, by supply source. This includes, but is not limited to, imported gas and storage capacities.
Intellectual Property
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Government have plans to introduce a new position of Minister for Intellectual Property. [90995]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 13 September 2006]: The Government have no plans, at present, to introduce a new Minister for Intellectual Property. Lord Sainsbury is the Minister with responsibility.
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