Previous Section Index Home Page

20 Nov 2007 : Column 711W—continued


20 Nov 2007 : Column 712W

Imports: Cyprus

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value was of (a) imports and (b) exports of (i) goods and (ii) services between (A) Cyprus and (B) Bermuda and the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years for which information is available. [165725]

Mr. Thomas: The Office for National Statistics publishes data for UK trade with Cyprus in tables 9.3, 9.4 and 9.5 of the UK Balance of Payments “Pink Book 2007”.

£ million
UK imports of goods from Cyprus UK exports of goods to Cyprus UK imports of services from Cyprus UK exports of services to Cyprus

1997

771

156

1998

802

126

1999

186

259

766

130

2000

208

311

885

147

2001

243

291

1,059

128

2002

247

272

977

213

2003

251

317

1,088

231

2004

205

322

1,084

328

2005

272

359

1,214

306

2006

1,725

969

1,346

320


Trade in goods with Cyprus in 2006 was affected by transactions associated with missing trader VAT fraud.

Figures for trade in goods with Cyprus are not available before 1999 on a balance of payments basis. Figures are available on a slightly different definition using Overseas Trade Statistics. The figures for 1997 and 1998 were:

£ million
UK imports of goods from Cyprus UK exports of goods to Cyprus

1997

122.4

265.4

1998

170.1

260.0


For data on UK trade with Bermuda, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 25 October 2007, Official Report, column 502W.

Internet: Fraud

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what means of complaint are available to UK residents about the sending of unsolicited and fraudulent email to UK email addresses. [162313]

Mr. Timms: The Government introduced statutory controls in the UK on unsolicited spam e-mails under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, which came into force on 11 December 2003. They provide a first line of defence against the kind of unsolicited e-mails that many people object to where they have no knowledge of the advertiser or the products being marketed. The regulations require that unsolicited spam e-mails must not be sent to an individual
20 Nov 2007 : Column 713W
subscriber unless prior permission has been obtained or unless there is a previous relationship between the parties. The regulations can be enforced against an offending company or individual anywhere in the European Union (EU).

The Information Commissioner's Office has responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations controls in the UK on unsolicited spam e-mails and considers complaints about breaches. A breach of an enforcement notice is a criminal offence subject to a fine of up to £5,000 in a magistrate's court.

Motor Sports

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2007, Official Report, column 130W, on motorsports, which elements of motorsport experience each of the members of the advisory board of Motorsport Development UK has. [166577]

Mr. Timms: Profiles of the members of the Motorsport Development UK Board, which include details of motorsport experience, are available at:

Overseas Trade: Iran

Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the total value was of UK trade with Iran in each of the last five financial years. [166141]

Mr. Thomas: According to HM Revenue and Customs data, direct visible exports to Iran from the UK for the calendar year 2006 were worth some £431 million. Direct visible exports for the previous four calendar years were as follows: 2005 (463 million); 2004 (£443 million); 2003 (£476 million); and 2002 (£401 million). Data for the current year is only available for the period January-August 2007 and shows that direct visible exports from the UK to Iran over this period were worth some £254 million.

Data kept by the Office for National Statistics shows that invisible exports from the UK to Iran were worth some £212 million in 2006. Figures for the preceding four years were as follows: 2005 (£204 million); 2004 (£236 million); 2003 (£206 million); and 2002 (£178 million). Data for 2007 is currently unavailable.

Figures for indirect British exports to Iran (i.e. via a third country) are not kept.

Overseas Trade: Israel

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value was of (a) imports and (b) exports of (i) goods and (ii) services between Israel and the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years for which information is available. [165729]

Mr. Thomas: The Office for National Statistics publishes data for UK trade with Israel in tables 9.3, 9.4 and 9.5 of the UK Balance of Payments “Pink Book 2007”.


20 Nov 2007 : Column 714W
£ million
UK imports of goods from Israel UK exports of goods to Israel UK imports of services from Israel UK exports of services to Israel

1997

839

1,178

188

372

1998

875

1,079

207

308

1999

996

1,295

215

523

2000

1,025

1,516

266

441

2001

939

1,357

314

504

2002

880

1,428

202

422

2003

861

1,359

213

359

2004

923

1,389

221

401

2005

1,002

1,352

252

539

2006

968

1,308

296

400


Post Offices: Derbyshire

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many responses were received by the Post Office's consultation team before the closing date relating to each sub-post office proposed for closure in Derbyshire. [166010]

Mr. McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Offices: Rural Areas

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the role of post offices in rural communities. [166401]

Mr. McFadden: The Government recognise the important social and economic role that Post Office play in communities across the country and in rural areas in particular. We have introduced a range of access criteria that guarantees a nationwide network with additional safeguards for communities in rural areas.

Price Fixing: Dairy Products

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what investigations his Department is making into price fixing in the dairy industry; and what mechanisms he has put in place to prevent price fixing. [165099]

Mr. Thomas: Ensuring that markets operate freely and fairly is a matter for the independent competition authorities, rather than for Government. The Enterprise Act 2002 removed Ministers from competition decisions, placing them in the hands of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition Commission (CC).

The OFT has provisionally found that large supermarkets and dairy processors have, in breach of the Competition Act, colluded to increase the prices of dairy products. The OFT on 20 September issued a statement of objections, setting out its provisional findings, to Asda, Morrisons, Safeway, Sainsbury and
20 Nov 2007 : Column 715W
Tesco, as well as dairy processors Aria, Dairy Crest, Lactalis McLelland, The Cheese Company and Wiseman.

The OFT will not be in a position to decide if the law has been breached until it has reviewed all the responses received. The OFT has powers to impose sanctions if the Act has been breached.

Public Telephones

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many public telephone boxes are in use. [163420]

Mr. Timms: I understand from the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), that there are approximately 63,500 public telephone boxes in the UK.

Travel: Standards

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether gap year companies are subject to any form of registration procedure or checks in relation to standards for safety in their overseas operations. [165200]

Mr. McFadden: Gap year companies, which operate from premises in Great Britain and supply students to work for employers in the UK or overseas, will be subject to compliance with the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and associated Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. This legislation is enforced by this Department's Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate.


20 Nov 2007 : Column 716W

These companies are not subject to any form of registration but must abide by the conduct regulations which require employment agencies to obtain sufficient information from hiring companies before they introduce or supply workers, including;

In addition, where a worker is under 18 and the agency or hiring company has arranged free travel or payment of fares for the journey to the workplace, full details must be set out in writing. If the work does not start or upon it ending, the agency must arrange free return travel or obtain an undertaking from the hiring company that they will arrange free travel or pay the return fare.

If the hirer does not adhere to this undertaking the agency must arrange the return journey of the worker.


Next Section Index Home Page