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2 Jun 2008 : Column 789W—continued
It provides a list of the studies which were used to compile the financial model used to make the cost estimates, including those which used a 10 per cent. discount rate. Most notable is the International Energy Agency (2005 Update) Projected Costs of Generating Electricity.
Overseas Companies
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what advice his Department issues to UK businesses operating overseas on the reinvestment of profits in local communities. [206935]
Mr. Thomas: BERR encourages business to build Corporate Responsibility into its operations. The joint BERR/FCO organisation UK Trade and Investment, which helps UK based companies succeed in international markets, has a package of training to raise awareness and encourage staff to make UK businesses aware of the need to take account of their economic, social and environmental impacts when trading internationally.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what advice his Department issues to UK businesses operating overseas on in-country environmental and planning guidelines. [206936]
Mr. Thomas: BERR encourages business to build corporate responsibility into its operations and to take account of local guidelines. The joint BERR/FCO organisation, UK Trade and Investment, helps UK based companies succeed in international markets and has a global network of staff in some 100 countries who can advise UK business on environmental and planning guidelines relevant to their business in overseas markets.
Overseas Investment: Brazil
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent estimate he has made of the monetary value of annual investment in Brazil by UK companies. [206971]
Mr. Thomas: According to the latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics in February 2008, the net flow of the UK’s foreign direct investment into Brazil in 2006 amounted to £356 million.
Further information can be found in Business Monitor MA4, Foreign Direct Investment 2006.
Overseas Trade: Seychelles
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps he (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to increase trade between the United Kingdom and the Seychelles; how much his Department and its predecessor spent on the promotion of trade between the United Kingdom and the Seychelles in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [205073]
Mr. Thomas: The Department has no current or future plans to increase trade between the UK and Seychelles. There has been no spending on promotion of trade between UK and Seychelles in the last five years.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many officials in his Department work on the promotion of trade between the United Kingdom and the Seychelles, broken down by grade; and what the equivalent numbers were for the Department of Trade and Industry in (a) 1983, (b) 1987 and (c) each year between 1998 and 2005. [205074]
Mr. Thomas: No officials in BERR or its predecessor Department are, or have been, specifically engaged in promoting trade between the United Kingdom and Seychelles for at least 10 years. No records are available for 1983 and 1987.
Post Office: Reorganisation
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent representations he has received on the Post Office's London Area Network Change Programme. [206375]
Mr. McFadden: My right hon. Friend has received various correspondence from MPs and members of the public concerning POL's Network Change Programme, including on the London Area Plan. These have been in the form of parliamentary questions, Members’ cases and petitions.
Post Offices
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) if he will make it his policy to compensate the Post Office network in full for the services of general economic interest provided by it; and if he will make a statement; [206748]
(2) what estimate he has made of the level of services of general economic interest provided by the Post Office network; and if he will make a statement; [206749]
(3) what discussions he has had with (a) the European Commission and (b) his European counterparts on the level of services of general economic interest provided by the Post Office network. [206750]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 21 May 2008]: On 17 May 2007 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced an investment of £1.7 billion to sustain a national Post Office network. This package recognises the important social and economic role played by post offices in the communities they serve and reflects the breadth of Government interests in the network.
Accordingly, on 8 November 2007, I entrusted Post Office Limited with the provision of certain specific services of general economic interest under the terms of a letter to its managing director, Alan Cook. The specific services are set out in the annex to that letter. I have today arranged for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House. Compensation for the provision of these services up to March 2011 is included within the £1.7 billion investment announced on 17 May 2007.
The European Commission provided the approval necessary for the funding on 29 November 2007, following the submission of a formal notification on 28 June 2007, and certain consequent clarificatory discussions between officials of BERR and the Commission.
Post Offices: Closures
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effects of post office branch closures on local businesses. [206950]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 22 May 2008]: In developing its proposals for post office closures under the network change programme, Post Office Ltd is required to consider, among a range of factors, the impact on local economies. It is not possible to say what effect the closure of individual post offices may have on local businesses until the implementation of Post Office Ltd’s relevant network change area plan is completed.
Press
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost of the press offices of (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies were for each year since 1996-97; what the cost was in each quarter since 1 April 2007; and if he will make a statement. [189687]
Mr. Thomas: The information is as follows.
| Cost of Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform press office | |
| £000 | |
The DTI was reorganised in July 2007. Figures for BERR 2007-08 will not be available until after the accounts are audited.
Figures are not available for the DTI prior to 2004-05 as that year saw the introduction of a new accounting system and the accounts for previous years were not transferred.
| Cost of UK Trade and Industry press office | |
| £000 | |
UKTI was formed in October 2003. They do not hold financial information for predecessor organisations.
Financial information for UKTI’s press office is provided from April 2004. There is no singularly identifiable cost centre for the press office prior to this date as costs were shared across various teams in the marketing department.
Total pay costs represent the costs of staff in post—comprising salary, overtime, NI and superannuation.
| Cost of BERR NDPB press offices | ||||||||||
| £000 | ||||||||||
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
| (1) ACAS do not hold the broken down figures from 1996-97 to 2005-06 but has estimated these costs. (2) The UK Atomic Energy Authority does not employ dedicated press officers. Five members of staff in the UKAEA have media relations as part, but not all, of their duties. The UKAEA have estimated the staff costs and overheads per annum based on a FTE equivalent of two full time employees, based an estimate of the proportion of UKAEA communications team members’ time available to cover press officer functions. (3) The Civil Nuclear Constabulary was set up as a separate entity in 2005. (4 )The Coal Authority does not have a press office. (5) The Competition Service does not have a press office. (6) Energy Watch, were set up in 2001. Their costs refer only to staff salaries. (7) The Hearing Aid Council does not have a press office. (8) The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority does not have a press office. Three Communications Managers are employed to undertake a variety of activities of which handling media inquiries is one element. A Head of Communications and Communications Director may also handle media inquiries. (9)( )PostWatch was set up in 2001. (10) SITPRO Ltd. does not have a dedicated press office. | ||||||||||
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