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11 Jan 2007 : Column 728W—continued
One other export contract was supported by ECGD during this period but its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial position of the parties involved.
Details of "sums insured" in relation to the Al Yamamah defence programme are not provided as disclosure of such information would be prejudicial to the commercial interests of ECGD and BAE Systems.
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any officials from his Department had any discussions with any officials from the Solicitor-General’s Department on the recent decision by the Serious Fraud Office not to pursue the investigation into BAE Systems and its aircraft contract with Saudi Arabia. [113381]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 8 January 2007]: No such discussions have taken place.
Compensation Payments
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much in compensation payments was paid by his Department in 2005-06; and what the reason was for each payment. [108198]
Jim Fitzpatrick: DTI made compensation payments totalling £51,877.53 in 2005-06. There were 62 compensation payments within this total, grouped as follows:
26 compensation payments for loss or damage to personal property totalling £4,927.28
10 compensation payments for late payment of pension entitlement, pension losses or poor service totalling £11,360.31
25 compensation payments relating to tribunal and Ombudsman awards, tribunal attendance costs, discrimination claims and contractual issues totalling £19,960.94
One compensation payment in accordance with regulations on making payments for dismissal on grounds of inefficiency of £15,629
Departmental Computer Data
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any of his Department’s (a) computer data and (b) computer backup data are stored with online data storage providers. [108329]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI does not store any data with online storage providers. All data are stored on devices attached to DTI systems that are either located on DTI sites or on sites belonging to our outsourcing partner. These sites are all in the United Kingdom and have been approved as sufficiently secure to hold Government data to restricted level.
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any of his Department’s (a) computer data and (b) computer backup data are stored outside the United Kingdom. [108333]
Jim Fitzpatrick: No computer data belonging to the DTI are stored outside the United Kingdom. No computer backup data belonging to the DTI are stored outside the United Kingdom.
Departmental Equipment
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any corrupt data has been detected on his Department's computer systems. [109039]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Data corruption has been detected on Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) computer systems. Analysis of the circumstances leading to such events indicates two main causes: hardware failure; and software that does not conform with the specified data structure. There are several methods available to the DTI to repair data corruption, with recovery of the data file from tape available as the last resort.
Departmental Travel
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's expenditure was on foreign travel including accommodation in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2005-06. [114036]
Jim Fitzpatrick: DTI expenditure on foreign travel in 2005-06 was £5,601,629.
Details of foreign travel expenditure for 1996-97 are not stored electronically and it would entail disproportionate cost to provide that data.
Energy Market
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what safeguards exist to protect small business consumers from mis-selling in the energy market. [110428]
Malcolm Wicks: As in general consumer law, regulatory protection in relation to mis-selling does not extend to the business market for gas and electricity. Small businesses that have been unable to resolve complaints with their supplier may seek assistance from the statutory consumer body, Energywatch, as well as seeking redress through the courts.
Equality Legislation
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Department has spent on implementing equality legislation since May 1997; and how many related staff posts have been created in that period. [109321]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is not available in the form requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Costs are not allocated directly to the implementation of equality legislation.
Labour Camps: China
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanisms are in place for monitoring the commercial output of labour camps in China for import to the UK. [113409]
Mr. McCartney: The Foreign Prison-Made Goods Act 1897 prohibits the import into the UK of goods made in any foreign prison or like establishment. The Act enables the seizure of such goods and prosecution of importers. However, the Act can be enforced only if evidence is supplied proving the foreign prison-made origin of goods. No seizures or prosecutions have resulted in recent years, although the Government remain willing to act upon any evidence supplied to them.
Post Office Closures
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when those post offices which are to close under the existing proposals will be informed; and if he will make a statement. [114372]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Following national public consultations, Her Majesty’s Government will reach final decisions on their future strategy for the post office network and Post Office Ltd will then develop detailed area proposals for post office closures and other changes to service provision.
Post Office Funding
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the £2 billion investment spent on the Post Office Network since 1999 was spent, broken down by main budget heading. [113911]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The main elements of the Government support of around £2 billion to Post Office Ltd. since 1999 are:
| £ million | |
Regional Development Agencies
Miss Kirkbride:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what overseas offices are maintained by each regional development agency (RDA); what the total cost to the public purse of each office was in each year since 2001; how much was
allocated to each such office for 2006-07; how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time (i) UK-based and (ii) locally-engaged staff were employed by each RDA in each office in each year since 2001; and what assessment he has made of the impact of each office on the economies of the regions of each RDA. [109377]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 18 December 2006]: The following tables show the countries in which offices are maintained by the regional development agencies, the costs of running those offices, the numbers of full-time and part-time staff employed at those offices and the numbers of locally engaged and UK-based staff they employ. Due to the disproportionate cost of providing this data as far back as 2001, the tables cover the last two financial years only. UK Trade and Investment is currently working with the regional development agencies to review their representation overseas and maximise effectiveness, ensuring that they deliver what is best for the UK in the most coherent manner.
| Costs in 2005-06 | ||||||||
| £000 | ||||||||
| RDA/Country | Advantage West Midlands | East of England | East Midlands | North West | One North East | South East England | South West England | Yorkshire Forward |
| Allocation for 2006-07 | ||||||||
| £000 | ||||||||
| RDA/Country | Advantage West Midlands | East of England | East Midlands | North West | One North East | South East England | South West England | Yorkshire Forward |
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