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11 Dec 2006 : Column 796W—continued

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost of setting up and running the Consumer Direct helpline has been in each quarter since it became available. [102783]

Mr. McCartney: The Office of Fair Trading became responsible for Consumer Direct on 1 April 2006. From historical information provided by DTI and OFT's own records, the cost of setting up and running the Consumer Direct helpline was:

	Amount (£)
Year ended
31 March 2004(1)	3,000,000
31 March 2005(2)	12,500,000
31 March 2006(2)	18,500,000
Quarter ended
30 June 2006	4,276,552
30 September 2006	3,929,618
(1) This data has been provided by DTI from page 11 of their Consumer Direct Programme Closure Report, June 2006 (D06/538302). (2 )Data was not provided broken down by quarter.

The Government established Consumer Directto offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many members of the public used the Consumer Direct helpline in each quarter since it became available, broken down by region. [102784]

Mr. McCartney: The breakdown of the use of the Consumer Direct helpline is listed in the following table.

The Government established Consumer Directto offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million.

11 Dec 2006 : Column 797W

11 Dec 2006 : Column 798W

Use of the Consumer Direct helpline
	EE( 1)	EM( 1)	LR( 1)	NE( 1)	NW( 1)	SC( 1)	SE( 1)	SW( 1)	WA( 1)	WM( 1)	YH( 1)	Total
2004-05
Q1	—	—	—	—	—	778	—	—	—	—	—	778
Q2	—	—	—	—	—	24,029	—	15,251	13,320	—	23,864	76,464
Q3	—	—	—	—	—	21,175	—	31,438	26,037	—	34,697	113,347
Q4	1,326	—	1,728	—	—	25,454	5,549	30,153	23,325	—	36,131	123,666
2005-06
Q1	17,393	8,393	24,193	—	—	22,354	35,890	29,025	21,744	—	35,150	194,142
Q2	29,707	21,761	44,159	—	—	22,062	50,175	36,379	22,541	—	38,822	265,606
Q3	26,724	25,738	40,275	—	2,717	24,226	43,904	32,657	21,719	130	35,664	253,754
Q4	34,767	30,184	48,551	4,251	34,850	23,772	58,178	35,113	22,974	16,769	36,769	346,178
2006-07
Q1	35,242	29,113	43,702	14,459	42,970	25,614	60,087	34,747	23,598	24,696	34,917	369,145
Q2	38,846	32,679	51,061	17,855	50,696	26,658	65,390	37,522	22,877	37,493	38,628	419,705
Q3	23,497	17,578	26,343	9,344	31,830	15,897	36,191	26,573	15,112	19,426	24,690	246,481
Q4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total												2,409,266
(1) The regions: EE = East of England EM = East Midlands LR = London NE = North-East NW = North-West SC = Scotland SE = South East SW = South West WA = Wales WM = West Midlands YH = Yorkshire and the Humber Source: ACD Daily Stats submitted by each Consumer Direct Regional Centre from inception to latest available data (week commencing20 November 2006).

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost to date has been of the Consumer Direct initiative. [102796]

Mr. McCartney: The OFT became responsible for Consumer Direct on 1 April 2006. From historical information provided by DTI and OFT's own records, the cost of the Consumer Direct initiative to30 September 2006 has been £42,206,170.

The Government established Consumer Direct to offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the budget of Consumer Direct is for each year until 2010; and whether he plans to continue to fund this service beyond this date. [102797]

Mr. McCartney: The budget for Consumer Direct for each year until 2010 currently stands at £19,000,000. We are unable to confirm funding of this service beyond March 2010 until this is agreed between the OFT and Treasury.

The Government established Consumer Directto offer practical advice for consumers. 350,000 consumers have had access to advice in this year alone, with estimated total benefits to consumers worth£135 million.

Consumer Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking over the Christmas period to alert consumers of the protection provided under legislation on the sale and supply of goods. [106350]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has no such plans. The protections available to consumers under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, in the event that goods purchased proved to be faulty, etc., are available to assist them throughout the year and not just over the festive season.

Consumer Direct (08454 040506 or www.consumerdirect.gov.uk) provides clear, practical advice on consumer issues including purchases made under the Sale of Goods Act. Alternatively, local Citizen's Advice Bureaux (www.citizensadvice.org.uk) or local authority trading standards services (www.tradingstandards.gov.uk) can provide advice on how best to proceed with complaints. The local trading standards office for St. Albans is located at Hertfordshire county council, 45 Grosvenor Road,St. Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 3 AW. Telephone [phone].

Correspondence

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State forTrade and Industry when he will reply to letters of (a) 15 May 2006 and (b) 28 November 2006 from the hon. Member for Billericay on the EU Directive on Restriction of Hazardous Substances. [108300]

Malcolm Wicks: I responded to the hon. Gentleman’s letter of 15 May 2006 on 18 May 2006. A copyhas been sent to his office for information. Unfortunately his letter of 28 November does not seem to have been received. A copy has been requested and a response will be provided as soon as possible.

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