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Director General of Fair Trading
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he intends to publish the report by the Director General of Fair Trading for 1998. [89518]
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Dr. Howells:
The 25th annual report by the Director General of Fair Trading has been published today. It covers the period from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 1998. Copies of the report have been laid before Parliament.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the amount of electricity received via the interconnector with France in each of the last five years. [88205]
Mr. Battle:
The following table shows the quantities of electricity imported from France in each of the last five years:
| GWh | |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 16,887 |
| 1995 | 16,306 |
| 1996 | 16,677 |
| 1997 | 16,558 |
| 1998 | 12,819 |
These imports amounted to 3½ per cent. of United Kingdom electricity requirements in 1998.
Mineworkers (Respiratory Diseases)
Mr. HomeRobertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the progress of compensation payments to former mineworkers affected by respiratory diseases in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) each of the English regions; how many claims are still outstanding; and when he expects the process to be completed. [87584]
Mr. Battle: As at 17 June 1999, IRISC, the Department's claim handling agent, have received some 71,500 claims from former miners and their dependants. These can be broken down into (a) Scotland--5,500; (b) Wales--20,500; and (c) North West--4,100; North East--7,700; North and West Yorkshire--4,700; South Yorkshire--14,100; East Midlands--10,100; West Midlands--3,400; South--1,200; Overseas--200.
The contract for a national programme of spirometry testing for all respiratory disease claimants has been awarded to Healthcall Services Ltd. Healthcall have established testing centres in Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Newcastle, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leeds and Glasgow and will shortly be opening at least 17 more in other coalmining areas. The programme of spirometry will enable us to make further interim payments beyond the £25 million already offered and, in some cases, full and final offers to those who may not wish to pursue their claim further.
Discussions have taken place with Scottish solicitors and similar handling arrangements to those in England and Wales are close to being agreed to compensate ex-miners in Scotland.
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the emission savings that could be achieved (a) by an additional
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5 per cent. tax on domestic energy consumption and (b) by the introduction of the climate change levy; and if he will make a statement. [88318]
Mr. Battle:
For social policy reasons, the Government have no intention of introducing new taxes on domestic consumption of fuel and power. The climate change levy will encourage energy efficiency in business and is expected to save around 1.5 million tonnes of carbon a year by 2010.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he proposes to take in response to the report on Electricity Supply Interruptions. [88308]
Mr. Battle:
While we recognise that security of supply is of paramount importance even in open markets, ensuring this is a matter for the Director General of Electricity Supply. The report, which he commissioned, followed the disruption to electricity supplies as a result of gale force winds on 26 December 1998. The report contains a number of recommendations concerning electricity distribution network performance, restoration of supplies, communications with customers and payments to customers under Standards of Performance Regulations.
Comments on the full list of recommendations, together with suggestions for other areas where further investigation is merited, were invited, and the period for those comments ends on 25 June. Any feedback will be used to inform the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets' continuing review of the companies' performance.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the (a) direct and (b) indirect support given by the United States Government to United States aero engine manufacturers. [88122]
Mr. Battle:
My Department is aware of the substantial support the United States Government provide to their aero engine manufacturers, mainly through various NASA and Department of Defence programmes, while noting that the US economy is six times that of the UK.
The key US civil programmes which have supported propulsion research and development include NASA's programmes on High Speed Civil Transport; Advanced Subsonic Technologies; and Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiment.
Mr. Stunell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on legally-binding targets for renewables in the EU; and if he will make a statement. [86859]
Mr. Battle:
I have received letters from Greenpeace, RSPB and Climate Network Europe.
The adoption of targets can assist in promoting the greater use of renewable energy. In the UK, we are working towards a target of 10 per cent. electricity from renewables as soon as possible. We hope to achieve this by 2010. Other member states have set their own targets.
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Support schemes for renewables should be designed to operate in the most cost-effective way possible. This will require the introduction, in due course, of a system which promotes competition between renewables providers, in order to ensure that costs are driven down as far as is practicable. I want to see renewables come in from the margins into the mainstream, and I believe that competition-based schemes are the right way we will achieve this.
I remain committed to the promotion of renewables. I pressed the case at the Energy Council on 11 May, called for action by the Commission, and sought to persuade all member states to implement national strategies to increase significantly the contribution of renewables to Europe's energy supply.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussion he has had with (a) BAe and (b) other UK aerospace companies about the restructuring of the industry; and if he will make a statement. [88873]
Mr. Battle
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: I and officials in my Department maintain regular contact with BAe and other UK aerospace companies about restructuring and other strategic issues facing the industry. When I attended the ministerial meeting of Airbus partners and the Paris Air Show recently, I was able to meet a wide range of industry's key players for this purpose.
Mr. Randall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans his Department has to assist and co-ordinate efforts by British companies in reconstruction projects in Kosovo and the neighbouring countries. [88596]
Mr. Battle:
At the Secretary of State's initiative, the Department has already established a joint Government/ private sector Taskforce to promote and co-ordinate the UK's response to the reconstruction arising in Kosovo; its prime objective is to ensure that the UK is co-ordinated to play their role in the rebuilding process. The Taskforce, which has already met twice, is chaired by Nigel Thompson of Ove Arup; the other private sector representatives on the Taskforce are from: AMEC, Mott MacDonald, Kennedy Construction, Taylor Woodrow, Crown Agents, British Consultants Bureau and the Confederation of British Industry.
All the private sector members of the Taskforce are well aware that they are on it as representatives of the UK business community generally, not their own companies. As all the companies represented on the Taskforce have seats on national or international bodies covering their sector interests, this is second nature to them. These industry bodies are the channels through which the messages from the Taskforce are being disseminated to the business community more generally. Indeed, to reinforce the message that the Taskforce is representing the interests of all UK companies, the minutes of its meetings are circulated freely to all interested parties.
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