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23 Oct 2006 : Column 1703W—continued
Radioactive Waste
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from which countries (a) radioactive waste and (b) spent fuel has been received but not yet returned since February; and what the (i) radioactivity level and (ii) quantity held is in each case. [95600]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 20 October 2006]: The UK does not allow the import of radioactive waste, but overseas spent fuel is received in the UK for reprocessing.
There has been no spent fuel received since February 2006.
Sellafield
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many freedom of information requests have been made to his Department in respect of Sellafield since January 2005; how many have received a substantive reply providing the information requested; how many have been refused; and on what grounds each refusal was made. [94229]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has received five FOI requests in respect of Sellafield since January 2005.
Of those five requests, two were refused in full under s12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as the cost of compliance would have exceeded the “appropriate limit” cost threshold. The requesters were offered advice and assistance on how to refine their requests but did not take up this opportunity.
One request was refused in full under s36 of the Act, exempting information whose disclosure would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs, and another was refused in part under the same exemption.
The final request was refused in part with some information withheld under the exemptions at s41 exempting information provided in confidence and s43 exempting information whose disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.
Small Businesses
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support his Department provides for small business start-ups. [94432]
Margaret Hodge: Services for small business start-ups are provided primarily via Business Link. If people are thinking of starting a business, or have recently started one, they can call 0845 600 9 006 for information, advice and support. Business Link can:
help people plan their business;
explain what they need to do and give them advice on raising the money they need;
provide useful “No Nonsense” guides to help develop their business and follow regulations;
tell them what other help is available, from training and developing skills to advice about which regulations apply to them; and
give simple and effective introductions to experts and advice from across the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Through Business Link, start-up businesses can receive a copy of the new No-Nonsense Guide to Starting Up in Business, packed with useful advice, information and suggested actions.
In addition, the website, www.businesslink.gov.uk, is full of useful information, links to other helpful
websites, and practical advice to help in planning and succeeding in business, and can help customers to assess whether they are ready to go into business.
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to encourage and promote the development of small businesses in North East Derbyshire. [93734]
Margaret Hodge: From 1 April 2007 East Midlands Business (EMB) Ltd will deliver the Business Link service, of Information, Diagnosis and Brokering, across the region including NE Derbyshire. The move to a regional model will support improvements in the service to customers and deliver better value for money for the public purse. Steps have already been taken to ensure resources are focussed on front line delivery to small businesses.
EMB Ltd will invest in state of the art technology to provide a more consistent service to clients and extended service availability. Brokers will be available to give specialist advice to rural businesses; tourism businesses; women-owned businesses; social enterprises; ethnic minority owned businesses; and to give advice on overseas trade and exporting.
As well as these improvements to business support there are also other programmes on offer to small businesses in the area to assist both start-up and expansion. These include:
The Universal Start-up Offer—this includes the New Business New Life campaign promoting enterprise, as well as a package of tailored information, training and advice to start up businesses (delivered under the Business Link banner).
Business Mentoring Programme—to give 1-1 mentoring support.
Support for companies with the potential for High Growth.
The Manufacturing Advisory Service—to promote innovation and efficiencies within manufacturing companies.
Prince’s Trust programme which provides assistance to disadvantaged young people to start businesses.
In addition to the above there are a number of other schemes to assist business development in NE Derbyshire. These include a variety of European Regional Development Fund technology and finance initiatives, an Innovation Advisory Service, and the Enterprise Accelerator. Local small businesses can access these through their local business link or via the Alliance Subregional Strategic Partnership (SSP).
All of the above constitute a comprehensive package of support to encourage the expansion and development of small businesses in NE Derbyshire.
Tumble Dryers
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his Department has had with CORGI regarding the installation of gas-powered domestic tumble dryers. [91571]
Jim Fitzpatrick: None. Issues relating to installation of gas appliances are matters for the Health and Safety Executive. I am advised by HSE that they have not been approached by CORGI regarding the installation of gas-powered domestic tumble dryers.
Woodchips
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the availability of woodchips for burning as a renewable fuel; whether he has assessed the impact of woodchip incineration on the wood panel industry; and what representations he has received from the Woodpanel Industries Federation in respect of industrial competition for woodchip stocks. [95889]
Malcolm Wicks: The DTI commissioned an independent report to aid understanding of the current and likely future impact of the Renewables Obligation (RO) on the wood-based panel industry relative to other factors affecting the commercial position of that industry; and to help the DTI develop a deeper understanding of the wood fuels/products supply chains as it applies to the wood-based panel industry and power generators. This report concluded in September 2005 that the RO has not had a major impact on the commercial competitiveness of the wood panel industry. A further report on the Economics of Co-firing examined the availability and economics of different renewable fuels including wood chips and wood residues. The report published on 9 October 2006 can be found at: http://www.dti.gov.uk/fi1es/file34449.pdf?pubpdfdload=06%2F1959
The Woodpanel Industries Federation has met with officials to discuss the impact of the RO on their industry.
Health
Abortions
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed in each former primary care trust area in the former Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority area in each of the last five years; and in which hospitals they were performed. [96304]
Caroline Flint: The information is shown as follows.
| Total number of abortions for residents of Hampshire, Isle of Wight and surrounding area by health authority, 2001 | |
| Health authority of residence | 2001 |
| Total number of abortions for residents of Hampshire and Isle of Wight by Primary Care Trust (PCT), 2002-05 | ||||
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| Notes: 1. For reasons of confidentiality and in line with ONS guidance, place of termination is not released. 2. Information by PCT is not available prior to 2002. | ||||
Ante-natal Care
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that the needs of women with new babies (a) whose command of English is poor, (b) with mental illness or drug misuse and (c) who are from parts of the world where infections such as (i) HIV, (ii) hepatitis B and (iii) syphilis are more prevalent, are not neglected under the choose and book system due to a reduced likelihood of their arranging an appointment for ante-natal care. [92298]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The maternity standard of the national service framework for children, young people and maternity services asks all national health service maternity care providers and primary care trusts (PCTs) to improve the access and effectiveness of maternity services for women from disadvantaged and minority groups and communities by systematically taking account of the reasons why women from these groups find it difficult to access and maintain contact with maternity services, and by actively designing services to overcome these barriers to care. The standard also asks maternity care providers and PCTs to make provision for translation, interpreting and advocacy services based on an assessment of the needs of the local population.
We have put into place a concentrated work programme to implement the maternity standard and to meet the manifesto commitment and “Our Health, Our Care, Our Say” White Paper commitments on maternity. Some of the key areas we are focussing on are choice and broadening access to services for vulnerable women.
Audiologists
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting times for audiology treatment are in (a) West Sussex and (b) England. [92454]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect waiting time information for fitting and treatment in audiology services. Since January 2006 waiting time data has been collected for pure tone audiometry
(PTA) diagnostic tests and the most recent information from July 2006 was published on 13 September. Information on England and West Sussex for PTA diagnostic tests is contained in the following table.
A trajectory has been set to deliver audiology diagnostic tests within 13 weeks by March 2007 and 6 weeks by December 2008. A national audiology action plan is being developed that will include action on waiting times.
| July diagnostic return—Pure tone audiometry (published 13 September) | |||
| Total waiting | Number waiting 13+ weeks | Number waiting 26+ weeks | |
Breast Cancer
Ms Barlow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to deliver accurate and complete symptomatic breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and performance monitoring data to the same standard as that produced for cancers detected through the NHS Breast Screening Programme. [92692]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department is in the process of discussing the harmonization of breast cancer symptomatic and screening services with key stakeholders, including the Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer Screening.
Additionally the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is in the process of developing clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of both early and advanced breast cancer, due to be published in July 2008, which will address diagnostic investigations.
In the interim the Manual of Cancer Services, against which cancer networks are peer reviewed, includes breast cancer measures on diagnostic assessment.
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