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30 Mar 2009 : Column 907W—continued
In April 2008 the Office of Fair Trading received new powers granted to it under the Consumer Credit Act 2006 and since then has issued warnings to 13 companies telling them to take steps to improve their debt collection practices. Most recently the Office of Fair Trading has taken formal action by imposing specific requirements on 1st Credit Limited to improve some of its debt collection processes and procedures.
Details of all businesses subject to requirements can be found on the consumer credit register at:
Debts: Enforcement
Mr. Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will bring forward proposals to include in the rules relating to debt enforcement a requirement for guidance on those rules to be provided to (a) debtors and (b) creditors. [265595]
Mr. Thomas: The Office of Fair Trading's debt collection guidance is available on its website at:
and is drawn to the attention of consumers who make complaints about the behaviour of consumer credit licensees pursuing debts. As part of its proactive compliance strategy, the Office of Fair Trading conducts a programme of engagements with agencies in the free advice sector in order to raise awareness of the guidance among advisers and consequently among consumers. I am also pleased to note that following my meeting last month with the debt collection trade association, the Credit Services Association, members will be required to flag up in their initial letters to debtors where to go to obtain free debt advice.
Publicity about enforcement action taken by the Office of Fair Trading further highlights to consumers and businesses the practices it considers to be unfair and therefore incompatible with licence fitness.
The debt collection guidance will be updated towards the end of 2009 and will clarify the responsibilities of lenders when pursuing or selling on debts. Forthcoming Office of Fair Trading guidance on second charge lending will also outline the principles to be followed when dealing with borrowers in arrears and will be consistent with the debt collection guidance.
Overseas Trade
Mike Penning: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the volume of UK (a) imports from and (b) exports to (i) the European Union and (ii) the rest of the world were in (A) the latest year for which figures are available, (B) 2004, (C) 1999, (D) 1994 and (E) 1989. [266855]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 26 March 2009]: The value of trade, including the Office for National Statistics first estimate for 2008, is shown in the following table:
| £ billion | ||||||
| UK imports of goods and services | UK exports of goods and services | |||||
| EU27 | Rest of world | Total | EU27 | Rest of world | Total | |
| Note: Consistent data for trade with the EU27 are not available for years before 1999. Source: ONS Balance of Payments | ||||||
Overseas Trade: China
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what trade agreements between the UK and China (a) have been concluded in the last 12 months and (b) are expected to be concluded in the next 12 months. [264371]
Mr. Thomas: The European Commission conducts negotiations on trade agreements, under Article 133 of the EC treaty, in consultation with EU member states and on the basis of mandates agreed by the Council of Ministers which also decides whether to adopt such agreements. The EU has not signed any trade agreements with China in the last year and has not proposed any plans to do so in the next year, although negotiations for a partnership and cooperation agreement, which includes trade and investment aspects, are ongoing.
Property Development: Floods
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions the Secretary of State has had with the Association of British Insurers on insurance for (a) buildings already built and (b) future building in flood risk areas; and if he will make a statement. [264362]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 23 March 2009]: The Secretary of State has not had recent discussions with the Association of British Insurers on these issues.
Street Trading: Public Consultation
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to start his consultation on the findings of the street trading and pedlary in Great Britain report; and if he will make a statement. [267291]
Mr. Thomas: The Government will publish a consultation document this summer. Taking into account the findings of the report, we will be seeking views on possible changes to street trading and pedlar legislation, and on draft guidance on the current regime.
Syria: Overseas Trade
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (1) what the monetary value of Syrian exports to the United Kingdom was in each of the last five years; [266946]
(2) what the monetary value of trade between Syria and the UK was in each of the last five years. [266951]
Mr. Thomas: Data on recorded trade in goods with Syria are shown in the following table:
| £ million | ||
| UK exports of goods to Syria | UK imports of goods from Syria | |
| Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics. | ||
Estimates of trade in services are not available for the full five years. ONS data published in the UK Balance of Payments Pink Book 2008 were:
| £ million | ||
| UK exports of services to Syria | UK imports of services from Syria | |
Trade Unions: Legal Opinion
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood of 27 January 2009, Official Report, column 580W, on trade unions: legal opinion, if he will place in the Library a copy of the preliminary analysis produced by the Office of Fair Trading on whether trade union members are consumers for the purposes of consumer protection rules. [258668]
Mr. Thomas: The Office of Fair Trading carried out a preliminary analysis in response to a complaint about the way in which certain trade unions collect contributions from members to political funds. The OFT decided not to pursue this issue for a number of reasons including a lack of evidence of widespread harm; the limited extent of the beneficial impact on consumers of any intervention; certain legal uncertainties which were finely balanced as to whether trade unions are ‘suppliers’ or ‘sellers’ and that members are ‘consumers’; and the need to prioritize its activities to best meet its prioritization principles. OFT lawyers contributed to consideration of the matter, but it is not the OFT’s practice to release internal legal advice, in line with rules relating to legal professional privilege.
UK Trade and Investment
Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform who the members are of the UK Trade and Investment UK low-carbon sector advisory group. [265210]
Mr. Thomas: There is not a low-carbon sector advisory group. As low carbon has bearing on all sectors of the economy, it has relevance to all UKTI sector advisory groups. They were consulted during the development of the strategy, as part of a wider engagement with business and organisations. Stakeholders will continue to shape and inform the strategy through the sector advisory groups and in other ways, such as becoming partners to the strategy.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform who the members are of the UK Trade and Investment UK low-carbon international marketing strategy board. [265211]
Mr. Thomas: A large number of businesses and organisations have contributed to the development of the strategy. Partnerships have been formed with a number of these stakeholders to help shape its further development. Governance arrangements for the strategy are still being considered and a marketing strategy board is one of a possible range of options.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the proposed timetable is for the publication of the UK Trade and Investment UK low-carbon international marketing strategy. [265212]
Mr. Thomas: On 25 March UKTI will set out the strategy's overarching proposition and next steps, including developing the strategy across sectors during 2009-10, at a partnership event. The event material will be available on the UKTI website (www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk) after the event.
Women and Equality
Equal Pay: Private Sector
Julie Morgan: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what plans she has to reduce the gender pay gap in the private sector. [265717]
Maria Eagle: A key to reducing the gender pay gap is pay transparency. The forthcoming Equality Bill will ensure that employers will not be able to rely on keeping their pay structure secret. We will ban secrecy clauses in employment contracts, so that women can identify unequal pay and seek redress.
The Bill will also enable employers, where women are under-represented in the workforce, to recruit a woman if she is an equally suitable candidate to a man, so that they can increase diversity in their workforce.
The Government are also committed to using the spending power of the public sector to deliver greater transparency on important equality issues like gender
pay. £175 billion is spent by the public sector on private sector contracts every year. We are therefore looking at ways to use the purchasing power of public bodies to help achieve equality outcomes in the private sector. The Office of Government Commerce has published practical guidance for public procurers on what they can do to promote equality through the way they buy goods and services.
Through the Bill we will provide for an employment tribunal to be able to make a recommendation, where an employer has been found to have unlawfully discriminated, on how that employer can improve its practices in a way that applies not just to the successful complainant but to everyone in that workplace. This will help prevent similar types of discrimination happening again, so reducing the likelihood of future claims.
In the light of the Civil Justice Council's report and the specific research commissioned by the Government Equalities Office, we are considering whether there is a case for introducing representative actions for discrimination and equal pay cases. This will feed into wider work being taken forward by the Ministry of Justice looking at the case for representative actions across all jurisdictions of law. We will consult on any proposals for reform.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is also conducting a formal inquiry into the financial services sector, as it has evidence suggesting that a high proportion of women working in some areas of financial services are paid less than their male counterparts, and suffer harassment at work. The financial services industry has the largest pay gap between men and women in the private sector at over 40 per cent. with far fewer women in senior roles than in other sectors.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Official Hospitality
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2009, Official Report, column 1843W, on hospitality: Equality and Human Rights Commission, if she will publish a breakdown by event of the £6,151 spent on hospitality in 2008-09. [267426]
Maria Eagle: Due to the way the Commission accounts are structured, it is not possible to break down the amount by individual events. The main components of the £6,151 figure are:
Hospitality(1): £4,961.69
Staff expenses(2): £1,189.56
(1) Refreshments for visitors at EHRC-hosted meetings.
(2) Refreshments for visitors at EHRC-hosted meetings paid for directly by staff.
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