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16 Apr 2007 : Column 170W—continued
Departments: Reorganisation
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to reorganise the structure of his Department. [128990]
Jim Fitzpatrick: We have no current plans to reorganise the structure of the Department. Naturally, we keep our internal organisation and resources under regular review, to ensure that they match our priorities and objectives.
Digital Switchover
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the digital switchover on energy use. [129486]
Margaret Hodge: Digital switchover is expected to have an impact on both transmitter power usage and consumer power usage.
Digital transmission is more efficient than analogue in terms of power usage. Replacing the analogue terrestrial transmission network with a nationwide digital terrestrial television network will lead to a significant net reduction in energy usage by the transmission networks, estimated to be 186 GWh per year.
Consumer power usage is expected to rise as a result of switchover, primarily because of the rapid increase in the take-up of set-top boxes, particularly for second sets, which would not otherwise be converted until replaced. The predicted level of the increase is dependent on a number of assumptions about the usage and design of equipment in the market at the time of switchover. DCMS, DTI and Defra economists have estimated that the increase in consumer energy use of completing digital switchover in 2012 is likely to be between 966GWh and 2,816GWh per annum above that predicted for market take-up in the absence of a set switchover timetable. The central estimate for the total impact of switchover is a net increase of l,705GWh per year. This is equivalent to a 0.34 per cent. increase in domestic electricity consumption. This would be reduced if industry can be encouraged to make more energy-efficient products. Work on this is being taken forward as part of the DTI usability action plan.
Further details are contained in the “Regulatory and Environmental Impact Assessment: The timing of digital switchover”, published on 16 September 2005. This was placed in the Library of the House of Commons at the time of publication, and is also available at
EC Trade
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the trend has been in the UK's trade balance with the rest of the EU in the last five years. [131011]
Mr. McCartney: The latest estimates of the balance of trade in goods and services with the EU25, including initial figures for 2006, are shown (at current prices) in the following table:
| £ billion | |
| Source: ONS | |
Electricity: Meters
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he plans the Government’s trials of smart meters to commence. [130623]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 29 March 2007]: The trials will commence in the near future, once contract negotiations with participating companies are completed.
Employment: Discrimination
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many recent representations he has received about age discrimination in the insurance industry. [130692]
Jim Fitzpatrick: We have received representations from the Employers Forum on Age, the Association of British Insurers and Group Risk Development about insured benefits on three occasions, in September and November 2006 and in February 2007.
Energy: Bills
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average domestic (a) gas and (b) electricity bill in England was in each year from 1996-97 to 2006-07; and what estimate his Department has made for 2007-08. [130546]
Malcolm Wicks: The average domestic electricity(1) and gas bills for England and Wales are shown as follows and are published in Quarterly Energy Prices. The data presented are for standard credit customers in cash terms, it has not been adjusted for inflation.
(1) The bills for standard electricity do not include customers that are on economy 7 tariffs.
| £ | ||
| Electricity bill | Gas bill | |
Domestic gas and electricity price forecasts are not published by DTI. Provisional 2007 bills will be published on 27 September 2007.
Insolvency: Directors
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the annual cost was of action by the Insolvency Service to investigate and pursue cases of director disqualification under the Insolvency Acts in each of the last three years. [131138]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Since 1 April 2003, the Insolvency Service’s activities in the investigation and enforcement area have been funded by a DTI programme budget and from the recovery of costs awarded against disqualified directors as follows:
| £000 | |
These figures can be found in the Insolvency Service’s published accounts that are laid in Parliament annually in July. The 2006-07 figure is not yet available but will be published in July 2007.
The cost of investigation and enforcement includes not only the cost of directors disqualification but also the reporting by official receivers of possible criminal
offences and from 1 April 2004, work on Bankruptcy Restrictions Orders and Undertakings.
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the decision by the Insolvency Service not to prosecute certain cases of potential director disqualification due to lack of resources; and if he will make a statement. [131140]
Jim Fitzpatrick: In order to ensure the best use of available resources, the most serious potential disqualification cases are prioritised using a rigorous categorisation system. A total of 1,200 directors were disqualified in the year to 31 March 2007 compared to 1,173 disqualified in the year to 31 March 2006.
IT: Labour Market
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many jobs in the IT industry have moved from the UK to other countries in the last 10 years; and what assessment he has made of the impact on the number of IT jobs in the UK in the future. [129674]
Margaret Hodge: The Department does not hold statistics on how many jobs in the IT sector have moved from the UK to other countries in the last 10 years.
A report commissioned by the DTI from Ovum and published in June last year (available on the DTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file32496.pdf) predicted that the number of people employed by the software and IT services industry in the UK could fall by 6 per cent. (from 249,000 to 233,500) in the three years to the end of 2008 as a possible consequence of globalisation.
However, in recent years the ICT sector has been one of the fastest growing UK employers and its prospects continue to look good. The UK is a leading software producer in Western Europe and, with a long-established reputation for excellence, attracts major multinationals from across the ICT and software sectors worldwide. The UK ICT sector has unique strengths including in the development of innovative software and its world-class capability in the management of complex programmes and in problem-solving and creative thinking.
According to statistics published by the Office for National Statistics, gross value added (at current prices) of the UK computer and related services sector increased from £7.7 billion to £35.6 billion between 1995 and 2005. It also continues to be an export success story, with exports of computer services increasing from £0.7 billion to £4.6 billion between 1995 and 2005, and the UK trade surplus in computer services rising from £0.4 billion to £2.9 billion over the same period (UK Balance of Payment, 2006 Edition).
However, as markets become increasingly integrated with more international competition (and related opportunities), UK companies need to operate in a way that maximises their competitive advantage, For some, this has meant re-locating some operations to other countries, but the UK is also a major beneficiary of offshoring by overseas companies—we are the second largest global recipient of foreign direct investment.
This increasing movement of labour is the reality of a globalised economy and the Government’s role in it is to create the conditions to ensure that the UK remains a competitive place to do business. This includes providing an environment which enables business to move up the value chain where it can.
Low Carbon Buildings Programme
Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry at what point in February 2007 the allocations ceiling for that month was reached for household installations under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. [121046]
Margaret Hodge: The introduction of monthly allocations to the household stream has provided us with the opportunity to manage the flow of funds with the aim of providing grants for householders through to June 2008, by which time some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold.
Since the cap was introduced in December 2006, householders have been able to apply for a share of the £0.5 million pot that has been made available on a monthly basis. In February 2007, these funds were fully committed to successful household applicants on 1 February 2007.
It is important to note that in the 2007 Budget, it was announced that a further £6 million will be made available to the household stream, taking the total available for householders to more than £18 million.
Before deciding how to make best use of the extra funding, the household stream is to be suspended for the monthly allocation in April so that it can be re-shaped.
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of monthly grant capping under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme on household demand for micro renewables. [127040]
Malcolm Wicks: The introduction of monthly allocations to the household stream has provided us with the opportunity to manage the flow of funds with the aim of providing grants for householders through to June 2008, by which time some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold.
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what value of household grants were applied for under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in each month from May 2006 to February 2007. [128722]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows.
| Number of applicants | Indicative grants (£) | |
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been paid through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in each month (a) for domestic household conversions, (b) for schools and other public sector buildings and (c) for commercial private sector buildings. [128822]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the following table.
| £ | |||
| Month | Households | Public sector | Private sector |
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