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8 Jan 2007 : Column 294W—continued
Business Support
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was allocated to the support of UK business in 2005-06. [109447]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department and its agencies spent £381 million on Business Support in 2005-06. Expenditure on the main Business Support programmes was as follows:
| £ million | |
| (1) Includes expenditure on “Support to Implement Best Business Practice” (SIBBP), which is no longer available. (2) ‘Legacy’ refers to schemes that are now closed, including “Access to Best Business Practice” (ABBP), which was introduced as part of the “Business Support Transformation Programme”, but has subsequently been withdrawn. | |
Carbon-Free Energy
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research his Department has carried out into the feasibility of constructing a high-voltage direct current grid across the European region to enable the long distance transport of carbon-free energy. [105125]
Malcolm Wicks: While my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is aware that a number of academics, entrepreneurs and manufacturers have proposed an overarching "European DC Supergrid" as a means of connecting offshore wind farms in particular to existing AC power systems, no specific research on this concept has been carried out by the DTI.
Climate Change
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research projects related to the impact on climate change of energy have been funded by his Department in 2005-06; and at what cost. [109333]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not fund research projects relating to the impact on climate change of energy. The recently published Stern review provided an extensive analysis of the long-term impact on the climate of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Department has funded research to estimate the costs of policies to reduce emissions through measures such as emissions trading and new technologies in the electricity generation sector.
Coal Industry Compensation
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, what the proposals were which his Department put to claimants’ solicitors for the compensation of surface workers for exposure to dust which were rejected; on what date those proposals were put to the claimants’ solicitors; and on what date they were rejected. [109466]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department tried to negotiate a settlement through a schemed approach based on the Claims Handling Agreement (CHA). The Department agreed with the Claimants Group (CG) on taking mixed workers—those who had worked both underground and on the surface—into the scheme. The Department offered that any surface worker in a dusty job—with agreement on what these were—could go through the medical assessment for chronic bronchitis and temporary exacerbation of asthma which provides for low levels of compensation (on the lines of the tariffs now operating in the fast track scheme). And any surface worker with a pneumoconiosis reading (which the Department's claims handlers, Capita, took as a proxy for a marker of exposure to dust) could go through the full medical assessment and have access to higher levels of compensation for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
This proposal was submitted to the CG on 17 July 2000. The CG rejected the Department's position in a counter proposal on October 2000.
The CG was in favour of further joint studies and the House was informed in March 2001. As a result of these further studies and developments over the next four years, the Department's position is now that ‘it cannot scheme compensation’ to surface only workers for COPD.
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, what steps his Department took in relation to the minute which had been submitted to Parliament on 10 July 2000 following receipt of the medical advice suggesting that surface workers exposed to dust should not be compensated. [109467]
Malcolm Wicks: Following receipt of the medical advice the Department sought to reach a negotiated settlement with claimants’ solicitors. Negotiations continued until February 2003 when the Department submitted its final position.
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, on what date his Department received medical advice that surface workers should not be compensated for exposure to dust; and on what date Ministers were informed of the receipt of that advice. [109468]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department received medical advice on 13 July 2000 and Ministers were informed of that advice on 16 July 2000.
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, to Question 107112, on coal industry compensation, what the evidence that had been collated at that time was. [109469]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department used the medical advice submitted in the original trial in deciding the liability owed to surface workers. The ‘respirable’ (as opposed to visible) dust levels recorded on the surface during the period of liability by the Institute of Occupational Medicine were such that there was very little likelihood of those even in the dustiest occupations on the surface developing Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), even with a working lifetime's exposure, although surface dust might cause COPD in a few super-susceptible individuals.
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, why the decision was taken to submit a minute to Parliament before the medical advice sought on 19 June 2000 had been received. [109470]
Malcolm Wicks: Treasury rules required that we had to put this minute to the House before Parliament rose for the summer recess in 2000 to allow us to open negotiations with the claimants’ solicitors.
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, on what date Ministers were informed that medical advice was being sought on compensation for miners for exposure to surface dust; and if he will make a statement. [109471]
Malcolm Wicks: Ministers were informed on 5 June 2000 that medical advice was being sought on compensation for miners for exposure to surface dust.
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 14W, on coal industry compensation, whether Ministers were given a written submission informing them that medical advice was being sought. [109475]
Company Directors
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the length of disqualification was of each company director disqualified between April 2004 and February 2005 (a) by the courts and (b) through the fast-track process introduced in 2001; and if he will make a statement. [113418]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The statistics for the year 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 show the following:
| Period of disqualification (years) | Number of directors |
Of the 1,240 disqualifications, 950 were by undertaking and 290 by court order.
Departmental Energy Policy
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he plans to make his Department carbon neutral. [105749]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI is committed to the achievement of the new targets contained in the framework for sustainable development on the Government estate launched by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in June 2006. The DTI is working toward both reducing its carbon emissions and becoming carbon neutral.
Departmental Projects
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the 20 largest procurement projects initiated by his Department since May 1997 were; what the (a) original budget, (b) cost to date and (c) consultancy fees were; and what the final cost was of each project which has been completed. [106607]
Jim Fitzpatrick: DTI financial records do not distinguish projects with significant procurement elements form other major projects. Accordingly the information required is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportional cost.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the effective date is for annual pay awards to his Department’s staff; and what the actual implementation date was in each of the last five years. [108749]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 12 December 2006]: For each of the last five years, the effective date of the annual pay awards has been 1 August for all staff below the Senior Civil Service in Ranges 2 to 11 and Faststream. The effective date for SCS staff has been 1 April from 2002 to 2005. In 2006 the SCS pay award was paid in two stages with the first stage effective from 1 April and second effective from 1 November. The table below shows the actual months when the awards were implemented for each of the last five years.
| Implemented | ||
| Staff in ranges 2 to 11 and Faststream | SCS | |
Electricity Generation
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of electricity produced in the UK comes from (a) wind, (b) tidal, (c) solar and (d) biomass sources. [109966]
Malcolm Wicks: The latest available data are for the calendar year 2005 and are published in Table 7.4 of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics, 2006 as follows:
| Generation GWh | Percentage of UK electricity generation | |
Employment Tribunals
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employment tribunal cases are waiting to be heard; what the average waiting time is for cases to be heard; what the longest time is that a case has been waiting; how far ahead cases have been listed for hearing; and if he will make a statement. [110363]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Tribunals Service does not hold electronically information to provide specific answers to the questions raised. However, the following can be provided:
As of 31 October 2006, the employment tribunals had 143,289 live cases awaiting disposal. Of these 19,773 are single claims and 123,516 are cases that are part of a multiple.
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