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19 Mar 2007 : Column 624W—continued

Prime Minister

Africa: Foreign Relations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Prime Minister if he will consider the merits of appointing a Minister for Africa in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with (a) responsibility for improving relations with African countries and (b) analogous responsibilities to the Minister for Europe. [128552]

The Prime Minister: While my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has overall responsibility for Foreign Policy, day-to-day responsibility for the UK’s relationship with Africa lies with my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham. There are no current plans to review these ministerial responsibilities.

Members: Telephone Tapping

Mr. Heald: To ask the Prime Minister (1) whether the Wilson Doctrine applies to hon. Members who have not taken the oath; [128884]

(2) what plans he has to amend or repeal the Wilson Doctrine; [128885]

(3) whether the Wilson Doctrine applies to the use of the ECHELON by the UKUSA Community. [128886]

The Prime Minister: I have nothing further to add to my written ministerial statement of 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 95WS.

Trade and Industry

Arab States

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when a Minister in his Department last visited (a) Bahrain, (b) Kuwait, (c) Oman, (d) Qatar, (e) Saudi Arabia, (f) the United Arab Emirates and (g) Yemen on (i) a trade promotion visit and (ii) a visit in connection with other departmental responsibilities. [124806]

Mr. Darling [holding answer 2 March 2007]: The most recent visits by Ministers are as follows:

Visits

(a) Bahrain

January 2001

(b) Kuwait

June 2003

(c) Oman

No visits

(d) Qatar

April 2006

(e) Saudi Arabia

November 2003

(f) United Arab Emirates

June 2003

(g) Yemen

No visits


Visits cover both trade promotion and other Departmental responsibilities.


19 Mar 2007 : Column 625W

Broadband

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure that all UK households have access to telecoms infrastructure capable of providing (a) broadband as defined by Ofcom, (b) at least 512 kbit/s and (c) over 1.5 Mbits/s; and if he will make a statement. [124446]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 12 March 2007]: At the present time there is no Universal Service Obligation (USO) in relation to broadband. Thus, there is no absolute obligation to supply broadband, of any speed, at all.

The latest Ofcom figures reveal that Broadband is, however, available to over 99 per cent. of UK households. 37 per cent. of households can choose between four wholesale broadband providers, 8 per cent. can choose between three wholesales providers, 12 per cent. between two wholesale providers and the remainder can access a BT wholesale offering.

At the retail level consumers have access to a very wide choice of retail broadband products provided by over 60 Internet Service Providers currently operating in the UK.

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of telephone lines in (a) England, (b) Cheltenham Borough Council area and ( c) Springbank ward in Cheltenham that are able to support broadband; what definition he uses of broadband; and if he will make a statement. [124447]

Margaret Hodge [holding answer 12 March 2007]: In the UK, over 99.9 per cent. of households are connected to a broadband enabled exchange.

However, not all of these households will necessarily be able to get broadband and there are two main reasons for this:

It is difficult to be precise about the number of UK households that are able to receive a broadband service over the telephone line, but the figure of 99 per cent. probably represents a lower bound.

It is not possible to provide data of this sort at a more local level.

The definition of broadband that Ofcom uses in its economic market assessments is that it must have the following three characteristics:

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the
19 Mar 2007 : Column 626W
proportion of UK households which have access to (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four or more broadband suppliers; and if he will make a statement. [124448]

Margaret Hodge: While BT has rolled out broadband to over 99 per cent. of UK households, cable and Local Loop Unbundling operators have so far only rolled out broadband in certain parts of the UK. Thus, different areas in the UK are supplied by a different ‘mix’ of wholesale providers. The latest figures available to Ofcom are as follows:

It should be noted that broadband rollout, particularly based on LLU, is currently ongoing and therefore the coverage numbers presented here should be seen as a snap shot in time. This is a dynamic market and it is likely to look very different in a year from now.

Business Support

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent by his Department on (a) business support schemes and (b) services to small businesses in each year since 2000. [117362]

Mr. Darling [holding answer 22 January 2007]: In answer to (a), DTI has spent the following amounts on business support schemes since 2000:

Business support schemes
£ million

2000-01

279

2001-02

461

2002-03

414

2003-04

317

2004-05

312

2005-06

381

Note:
DTI commenced the detailed tracking of the cost of specific business support schemes on a consistent basis from the 2003-04 financial year onwards. Therefore the information provided for earlier years is a best estimate.

In answer to (b) DTI has spent the following amounts on services to small businesses—via the business link network—since 2000:

Business link network
£ million

2000-01

172

2001-02

141

2002-03

150

2003-04

138

2004-05

140

2005-06

144

Note:
The business link network provides advice and support to c. 700,000 small businesses every year, at start up and growth stages, with the quality and reach of that advice increasing all the time.

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Business: Cumbria

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2006, Official Report, column 945W, on business assistance in Cumbria, how many of the
19 Mar 2007 : Column 628W
businesses assisted by Business Link in Cumbria received assistance (a) electronically, (b) by telephone, (c) in writing and (d) through face to face interviews. [127255]

Margaret Hodge: The following number of businesses were assisted in Cumbria by Business Link:

Total businesses assisted Electronically By telephone In writing Face to face

2001-2002

5,933

450

5,933

304

780

2002-2003

5,552

720

5,552

333

722

2003-2004

4,961

750

3,546

253

1,140

2004-2005

5,058

4,325

2,400

307

1,043

2005-2006

8,453

8,453

4,378

411

971


On many occasions one business may have been assisted through more than one method of communication.

Businesses: Orders and Regulations

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his most recent estimate is of the (a) one-off cost and (b) recurring costs of implementing the Consumer Credit Regulations 2004 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [126654]

Mr. McCartney: The Regulatory Impact Assessments published alongside the regulations in 2004 estimated the costs to business as:

£ million
Regulation One-off cost Recurring cost

Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Electronic Agreements) Order 2004

0

0

Consumer Credit (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2004 Consumer Credit (Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2004

163.4

(1)

Consumer Credit (Early Settlement) Regulations 2004

180

(2)2

(1) Small unqualified increase in printing costs due to increased volume of information for consumers. (2) +60 transfer to consumers as a result of fairer early settlement terms.

These costs were offset by estimated benefits of £312 million a year (including the £60 million transfer to consumers through fairer early settlement terms).

Costs to the regulators were expected to be limited to the cost of training staff in the new requirements.

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off cost and (b) ongoing costs of implementing the Employment Relations Act 2004 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators; [126660]

(2) what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) ongoing costs of implementing the Directive to Establish a General Framework for Informing and Consulting Employees in the UK to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [126661]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI is totally committed to better regulation. On 11 December it published an ambitious Simplification Plan to reduce administrative burdens by 25 per cent. per year by 2010. The plan is a key part of an ongoing commitment to reducing unnecessary red tape and to making essential regulation simpler and more streamlined.

Details in respect of these two questions are set out as follows:

126660

The Employment Relations Act 2004

126661

The Directive to Establish a General Framework for Informing and Consulting Employees in the UK


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