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11 Dec 2006 : Column 807W—continued
Maternity Leave
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) reviewed on the effect of maternity leave on firms. [107714]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has commissioned a number of surveys that may be used to estimate the effect of maternity leave on firms. The most recent surveys have been the Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits—Survey of Parents 2005; Second Work-Life Balance Study: Survey of Employees; and Second Work-Life Balance Study: Survey of Employers. Findings for each survey are published in the Department’s Employment Relations Research Series and are available on the DTI website.
The Department will soon be commissioning the Third Work-Life Balance/Maternity and Paternity Rights: Survey of Employers and the Department for Work and Pensions will soon be commissioning the Maternity Rights and Women Returners Survey.
The Department continually reviews research on the effect of maternity leave on firms, including research undertaken by the Equal Opportunities Commission; by UK universities; and by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Miners' Compensation
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many colliery surface workers have (a) claimed and (b) received a payment for pneumoconiosis under the 1974 Coal Industry Pneumoconiosis Scheme since it was introduced, broken down by (i) area and (ii) date on which the claim was made. [104588]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 7 December 2006]: The Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis Scheme does not differentiate between colliery surface workers and underground workers.
As such it is not possible to provide data referring specifically to surface workers.
Nuclear Forum
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) matters were discussed and (b) decisions were taken at the Franco-British Nuclear Forum on 29 November; if he will (i) post on his Department's website and (ii) place in the Library copies of documents discussed in the forum; and if he will make a statement. [104699]
Malcolm Wicks: Details of matters discussed can be found on the Department's website:
http://www.dti.gov.uk.
Given that discussions were driven by speeches and presentations there are no documents to be published, although a detailed note of the day's discussions, including decisions taken on future work streams, will be posted on the website.
Nuclear Power Stations
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what procedures are in place for informing the Health and Safety Commission about potential risks resulting from (a) maintenance failures and (b) disrepair at UK nuclear power stations. [104999]
Malcolm Wicks: The Health and Safety Commission and Executive are responsible for regulating the safety of the UK's nuclear power stations. These may only be built and operated following the granting of a Nuclear Site Licence by the Health and Safety Executive, to which it attaches standard conditions for the management of nuclear safety. The licensee is responsible for complying with these conditions and ensuring that risks to workers and the public from its operations are reduced so far as is reasonably practicable.
The licence conditions require the licensee to maintain safety significant plant in good condition and take appropriate action in response to any findings from maintenance or inspection of plant that indicate safe operation might be affected. This includes recording, investigating and reporting the findings. The more safety significant findings must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, which investigates them and carries out its own independent inspections and assessments of plant operation and condition. The Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations periodically reports upon nuclear safety issues to the Health and Safety Commission and its Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee (NuSAC).
Paternity Pay
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost of statutory paternity pay was in each year since 2003-04; and if he will estimate the cost in each year from 2006-07 to 2009-10. [107865]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The 2002 Statutory Paternity Pay Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) estimated the annual amount of statutory paternity pay reclaimable from the Exchequer at around £57 million. This assumed 70 per cent. of the total number eligible to receive statutory paid paternity leave would take it up.
The Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits Survey 2005 found around 80 per cent. of the 415,000 eligible fathers surveyed had used at least some of their statutory entitlement, suggesting a higher take-up rate than estimated in the RIA. Although the take-up has been higher than originally estimated, not all fathers take their full entitlement to two weeks paid paternity leave. Therefore we anticipate that the costs of statutory paternity pay are around the level presented in the RIA.
Radio Spectrum Harmonisation
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which (a) military and (b) other devices are affected by Commission Decision 2006/771/EC, OJL312 of 11 November 2006, on harmonisation of the radio spectrum for use by short-range devices; whether a permit system will follow; what representations he has received from the toy industry on this decision; what the role was of his Department in reaching this decision; what opportunities for auctioning band width will follow; and if he will make a statement. [104509]
Margaret Hodge:
The matter raised is the responsibility of the Regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have
asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Recruitment
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department spent on recruitment advertising in each of the last three years. [107744]
Jim Fitzpatrick: When running recruitment campaigns, we will look to use the media most likely to attract people with the necessary skills. Across the civil service, a range of media are used from local newspapers, specialist magazines e.g. The Economist or People Management; the internet, to the more general public sector sections of the national newspaper job advertising.
The line management units generally meet recruitment costs from their own delegated budgets and there are no centrally held records for advertising costs.
Recycling Industries
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support his Department offers to British industries dealing in recycled materials. [105538]
Malcolm Wicks: The DTI does not provide direct support specifically targeted at industries dealing in recycled materials. However, the DTI does support such businesses through a range of general support mechanisms and is actively encouraging greater levels of resource and waste efficiency, in conjunction with Defra and HM Treasury, through the Business Resource Efficiency and Waste programme.
In addition, the DTI is working closely with the industry via the National Resource and Waste Forum to help build cross-sectoral solutions and to promote sustainable resource and waste management.
Renewable Energy: Research
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much his Department has spent on research on (a) nuclear energy, (b) clean coal technology, (c) solar power, (d) wind power, (e) hydro-electric power, (f) marine renewable energy and (g) energy from biomass in the last five years. [107680]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department of Trade and Industry, through the Technology Programme, and the Research Councils' expenditure in support of research and related training is given in the following table.
In addition, the Research Councils (RCs) are providing funding of £13.88 million over the period 2004-09 for the UK Energy Research Centre (which undertakes a range of research relating to sustainable energy) and energy is included in the work of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (which has some £15.8 million funding from the Research Councils over 2000-08).
| £ million | ||||||
| Technology | Funding body | Funding for 2001-02 | Funding for 2002-03 | Funding for 2003-04 | Funding for 2004-05 | Funding for 2005-06 |
| (1) Expenditure is to assist emergency support arrangements provided by the Met Office in the event of a nuclear release into the atmosphere, and includes a contribution towards the cost of the underpinning meteorological modelling capability. This funding is not provided through the Technology Programme. (2) Responsibility for funding fusion transferred from DTI to EPSRC in April 2003. (3) Estimated figure. (4) Final figures for DTI spend in 2005-06 are not available at this time. (5) Expenditure by Research Councils on conventional energy including clean coal technologies, but excluding carbon capture and storage. (6) Very low level of expenditure cannot be established definitively at this time. (7) Includes Research Council expenditure on biofuels. | ||||||
Renewables Obligation Order 2007
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will revise the terms of reference of the statutory consultation on the Renewables Obligation Order 2007 to take account of the Forestry Commission's most recent figures on the peak value of softwood availability; and if he will make a statement. [105543]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today PQ No. 107365.
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