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21 Jun 2007 : Column 2055W—continued
Speed Limits: Cameras
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were (a) killed and (b) seriously injured as a result of road traffic accidents at the location of static speed cameras in each of the last 10 years. [142635]
Paul Goggins: Data are available for the last nine years only, and are presented in the following tables. The statistics relate to incidents within a 500 m radius of the camera location.
| Number | ||
| Fatalities | People seriously injured | |
For speed over distance camera system around Newry: A1 dual carriageway between Sheepbridge and Mourne Country roundabout and between the Cloghue roundabout and the border:
| Number | ||
| Fatalities | People seriously injured | |
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many static speed traps are located in each (a) constituency and (b) council area in Northern Ireland. [142636]
Paul Goggins: The locations of static speed traps are recorded by district council area rather than by constituency. The PSNI have advised us that the number of speed traps in each area is as follows:
| Number | |
Trade and Industry
Broadband
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government offices in the regions are taking to expand (a) their own broadband use and (b) broadband use within their regions. [143155]
Angela E. Smith: I have been asked to reply.
Government Offices are committed to providing staff with remote broadband access to their work systems where there is a justified business need. A number of staff have been provided with broadband access from their homes and further staff will be receiving connections in due course as business needs are identified.
Government Offices have no remit to expand broadband usage through their geographic boundaries.
Departments: Foreign Relations
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Memoranda of Understanding are in force as a result of agreements with foreign Governments entered into by Ministers in his Department; and what executive actions each entails. [144466]
Mr. McCartney: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the effect of UK implementation of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment on product design. [144039]
Malcolm Wicks: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive encourage producers of electrical equipment to consider design of new products to facilitate environmentally sound treatment and reprocessing when equipment reaches its end of life.
The UK has addressed this issue through regulation 59 of the waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006 (SI 3289).
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many electronics
producers have recycling obligations under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations which come into force on 1 July; and how many of these are registered with a WEEE compliance scheme. [142770]
Malcolm Wicks: The regulatory impact assessment issued alongside the WEEE Regulations estimated that there could be up to 7,000 producers with obligations under the WEEE Regulations which place around 2 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) on the UK market annually.
To date over 3,100 producers have registered in the UK representing all the major producers with a combined sales of just under 2 million tonnes of EEE sales. This total compares well with levels of producers registered in other European member states and we are confident that we have captured the bulk of UK obligated producers in terms of sales.
The Government do recognise that there are a number of small producers who have yet to register. The DTI in conjunction with the environment agencies will therefore continue to promote the WEEE Regulations and encourage these producers into the UK WEEE system.
Energy Supply
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions his Department has had with Ofgem on the information the regulator needs to meet the new role assigned to it in the Energy White Paper of analysing the long term energy outlook in order to address concerns about security of supply. [143864]
Malcolm Wicks: As explained in the White Paper, the new Energy Markets Outlook is to be jointly run by my Department and Ofgem and will draw on analysis from National Grid, the wider industry and other sources. Information gathering and analytical work is now under way for the first report which will be published in the autumn.
Environment Protection
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken to improve and reinforce consumer and investor confidence in new environmental technologies. [144248]
Malcolm Wicks: The UK has a thriving environmental sector, employing around 400,000 people, and forecast to grow from £25 billion in 2005 to £46 billion by 2015.
Supporting the development of new environmental technologies is key to the Government's aim to enhance the UK's position in worldwide environmental markets and to realise the benefits of the jobs it can create. Engaging the knowledge and experience of business to direct DTI support for new technology will help grow consumer and investor confidence in this area. Through the DTI's technology programme, the Government have ring fenced £20 million per annum between 2005 and 2008 for investment in low carbon energy technologies.
Other investments support innovative technologies that can enhance the efficiency with which materials, energy and water are utilised, and through the minimisation of waste. Examples include lean manufacturing and environmentally-friendly vehicles.
The Commission on Environmental Markets and Economic Performance was established in November last year and intends to publish its report in this parliamentary Session (before 26 July 2007). It will make recommendations for action by Government and business on how the UK can make the most of the opportunity that environmental protection can present for wealth creation and employment growth.
The Commission is jointly-chaired by the Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Trade and Industry, and its membership is drawn from business, non-governmental organisations, academia, trade unions and public sector organisations.
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