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19 Mar 2007 : Column 628W—continued
The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the 2004 regulations to establish a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the UK can be found from page 91 in the DTI publication “Employment Relations Research Series No. 41: 2004 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments”, URN 05/1018.
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 Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [126667]
Mr. McCartney: The Regulatory Impact Assessment published in 2002 contains estimates of the cost to businesses of implementing the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 at some 3 per cent.—10 per cent. of turnover, implying costs in the range of around £3 million to £10 million. The Department has no information on costs to the Office of Fair Trading.
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 Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Amendment) Regulations 2004 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [126668]
Mrs. McGuire: I have been asked to reply.
(i) The cost to business of implementing the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Amendment) Regulations
2004 was estimated to be £29 million over 10 years with an additional £16.2 million to £69 million one-off costs in the first year of compliance.
These figures should be considered against the benefits of reducing the risks from hazardous substances. While total benefits could not be quantified, the value of the expected reduction in allergic contact dermatitis because of chromium VI restrictions was estimated at £18 million to £53 million over 10 years.
(ii) Costs to the health and safety regulators were not quantified but were considered to be small, with the majority of costs being incurred in the development of guidance and being balanced out by savings in enforcement. The information in this reply was drawn from the final Regulatory Impact Assessment for the legislation that is available in the Library or on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/ria/index.htm
The Government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are committed to meeting the Better Regulations challenge. HSE is constantly reviewing what can be done better to ensure that the right balance is struck between protecting people at work and avoiding unnecessary burdens on business. Reviewing and improving the guidance to help employers comply with COSHH is one of the aims in HSE’s simplification plan.
Chlorofluorocarbons
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to phase out the remaining specialised uses of chlorofluorocarbons in the UK as required under the 1987 Montreal Protocol. [126719]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State, Department of Health, the hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint), on 13 March 2007, Official Report, column 307W, on essential uses of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and replacement of CFC-based asthma inhalers.
Under the Montreal protocol and related EC legislation, essential use exemptions are also available for laboratory and analytical uses of CFCs. Two UK companies have been allocated small amounts of CFCs for these purposes in 2007.
The European Commission may also authorise temporary exemptions for CFCs in existing military applications until 31 December 2008, where it can be demonstrated that technically and economically feasible alternative substances or technologies are not available or cannot be used. There is some limited use of CFCs for these purposes in the UK.
The European Commission has begun a wide-ranging review of EC Regulation 2037/2000 on substances that deplete the ozone layer, in consultation with member states and stakeholders, including the continuing need for essential use exemptions.
Departments: BAE Systems
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many employees of BAE Systems employees are registered on his Department's security pass system; if he will list those people; and on what date each was registered. [128395]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The details of two BAE employees previously holding DTI security passes are held on the Department's pass system, although these registrations are in fact expired and no current passes have been issued. The registrations were dated 4 November 2004 and 6 June 2005. I am unable to list the details without permission of the individuals in question.
Departments: Freedom of Information
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions special advisers have been consulted in replying to freedom of information requests to his Department; and what his Department's policy is on the role of special advisers in the answering of freedom of information requests. [119846]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI does not keep such records. Special advisers carry out their duties in accordance with the requirements of the 'Code of Conduct for Special Advisers'.
Departments: Paper
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanisms are in place to ensure his Department’s economical use of paper. [128003]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department’s policy is to use recycled paper. Aligned to this policy, all paper procured through the Department’s framework contract is recycled. The Department has an electronic filing system and paper filing is only used where necessary. In addition to this, the departmental printers are configured to print double sided to save paper.
Departments: Regeneration
Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of his Department’s spending was devoted to (a) urban and (b) rural regeneration and redevelopment in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05 and (iii) 2005-06. [125889]
Margaret Hodge: The Government are committed to building a strong economy in rural and urban areas. The Department’s own products are available in both rural and urban areas. However, to provide a breakdown of the spend as requested could be achieved only at a disproportionate cost
Employment: Foreign Investment in the UK
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of additional jobs created by foreign direct investment into the UK in each year since 2000. [124537]
Mr. McCartney: Cumulatively, over the period 2000-01 and 2005-06, inward Foreign Direct Investment projects in the UK reported the creation of 239,103 new jobs and 221,001 jobs safeguarded.
No data on net additional UK jobs are available, but as there is good evidence that inward Foreign Direct Investment makes a strong contribution to the productivity and competitiveness of the UK economy, the overall impact on UK employment is expected to be positive.
Employment: Regulation
Tony Baldry: (1) To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring costs of implementing the Employment Relations Act 1999 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators; [125593]
(2) what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring costs of implementing the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999 (European Works Councils) to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators; [125595]
(3) what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring costs of implementing the Working Time Regulations 1999 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators; [125598]
(4) what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring costs of implementing the Employment Act 2002 to (i) businesses and (ii) his Department; [125601]
(5) what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring cost of implementing the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators; [125613]
(6) what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring cost of implementing the Maternity and Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2001 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators; [125616]
(7) what estimate he has made of the (a) one-off and (b) recurring cost of implementing the Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002 to (i) businesses and (ii) the regulators. [125589]
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 seven questions are set out as follows:
The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Employment Relations Bill 1999 can be found from page 30 in the DTI publication “Employment Relations Research Series No. 53: 1999 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments”, URN 06/955. (Figures are in 1998 prices).
The Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999 (European Works Councils)
The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 1999 can be found from page 174 in the DTI publication
“Employment Relations Research Series No. 53: 1999 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments”, URN 06/955. (Figures are in 1999 prices).
The Working Time Regulations 1999
The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Working Time Regulations 1999 can be found from page 117 in the DTI publication “Employment Relations Research Series No. 53: 1999 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments”, URN 06/955.
An assessment of the costs and benefits of the different legislation contained within the Employment Act 2002 can be found in the following DTI publications: “Employment Relations Research Series No. 40: 2002 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments”, URN 05/582; “Employment Relations Research Series No. 28: 2003 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments”, URN 04/743; and “Employment Relations Research Series No. 44: Employment Relations Monitoring and Evaluation Plan 2005”, URN 05/1019.
The Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000
The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 can be found from page 1 in the DTI publication “Employment Relations Research Series No. 60: 2000 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments” URN 06/1164.
The Maternity and Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2001
The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Parental Leave Regulations: changes to extend entitlement can be found from page 112 in the DTI publication “Employment Relations Research Series No. 52: 2001 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments”, URN 06/927. The costs in part A of the RIA, associated with extending parental leave entitlements to all parents of children under five as at December 1999, no longer apply. The costs in part B of the RIA associated with providing additional leave for the parents of disabled children are ongoing.
The Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002
The full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002 can be found in the DTI publication “Employment Relations Research Series No. 40: 2002 Compendium of Regulatory Impact Assessments”, URN 05/582.
Energy Technologies Institute
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the timetable is for the establishment of the Energy Technologies Institute; and if he will make a statement. [127260]
Malcolm Wicks:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry published the prospectus for the Energy Technologies Institute on 14 September last year. It envisaged that the institute would be legally established and fully operational in 2008, with 50:50 public/private sector funding. The initial four private sector partners (BP, EON UK, EDF
and Shell) have so far been joined by Rolls Royce and Caterpillar, and Scottish and Southern Electricity, and discussions are continuing with other organisations. The institute will be legally incorporated and the director appointed over the next few months. The first technical programmes and the organisation to host the institute hub should be identified in the summer.
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what meetings (a) he has and (b) his officials have had with (i) private and (ii) public sector organisations on the Energy Technologies Institute. [127261]
Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry published the prospectus for the Energy Technologies Institute on 14 September last year. It envisaged that the Institute would be legally established and fully operational in 2008, with 50:50 public/private sector funding. The initial four private sector partners (BP, EON UK, EDF and Shell) have so far been joined by Rolls Royce and Caterpillar, and Scottish and Southern Electricity, and discussions are continuing with other organisations. The institute will be legally incorporated and the Director appointed over the next few months. The first technical programmes and the organisation to host the institute hub should be identified in the summer.
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what expressions of interest in (a) hosting and (b) managing the Energy Technologies Institute he has received from (i) private and (ii) public sector organisations. [127866]
Malcolm Wicks: Research organisations across the UK were invited in January to provide information on energy related research capacity, capabilities and resources and to indicate any interest in hosting the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) director and support staff. Over 20 of the submissions received offered to host the director and support staff. Most of these bids are either from academic institutions or from consortiums lead by them. The submissions are being considered by representatives of the funding partners who will prepare initial advice for the ETI Board (once legally established) and director (once appointed) to consider in detail and to follow-up as appropriate. Decisions will be a matter for the ETI itself.
The initial four private sector partners (BP, EON UK, EDF and Shell) have so far been joined by Rolls Royce and Caterpillar, and Scottish and Southern Electricity, and discussions are continuing with other organisations. The institute will be legally incorporated and the director appointed over the next few months. The first technical programmes and the organisation to host the institute hub should be identified in the summer.
Energy: West Midlands
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the merits of locating the energy technologies institute in the West Midlands. [126732]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 14 March 2007]: Research organisations across the UK were invited in January to provide information on research capacity and capabilities and to indicate any interest in hosting the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) Director and support staff. Submissions are being considered by representatives of the funding partners who will prepare initial advice for the ETI Board (once legally established) and Director (once appointed) to consider in detail and to follow-up as appropriate. Decisions will be a matter for the ETI itself. The Institute will operate on a “distributed” basis. A number of submissions have been received that include organisations in the West Midlands.
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