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Religious Broadcasting
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will ensure that religious organisations are given the opportunity to obtain local digital radio broadcasting licences. [983]
Dr. Howells: The White Paper "A New Future for Communications" announced that the Government will bring forward legislation to allow religious bodies to hold a local terrestrial digital licence.
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the Broadcasting Act 1996 with the freedom of expression provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. [985]
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Dr. Howells: The courts decide whether legislative provisions are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. No declaration of incompatibility has been made in the domestic courts under the Human Rights Act 1998 as regards any provision of the Broadcasting Act 1996; nor has there been any finding of incompatibility in respect of that legislation by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if non-religious radio stations can automatically renew analogue licences by applying for digital licences. [984]
Dr. Howells: An application is not sufficient. There is provision for automatic renewal of analogue radio licences only if the licence holder is providing (or is committed to provide) a programme service on a relevant digital multiplex. Religious organisations are disqualified from holding digital radio licences and so cannot take advantage of these provisions.
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when applications for the last digital radio licence in London will be determined. [982]
Dr. Howells: The award of the third and final digital multiplex licence for Greater London was made by the Radio Authority on 6 June.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION
Public Accounts Commission
Mr. Love: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission who will be answering questions on behalf of the Public Accounts Commission. [1709]
Mr. Alan Williams: I was elected Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission at its meeting on 26 June and will normally expect to answer questions on behalf of the Commission. In the event of my unavoidable absence, questions will be answered by my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell).
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Departmental Secondees
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the name, company, grade, directorate, start and end dates and brief description of responsibilities for each person presently seconded into her Department from the private sector. [1706]
Ms Hewitt: There are 104 individuals currently on secondment to the Department. The details requested are given in the table, which has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Antarctica
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her Department's expenditure was on Antarctica in each of the past five years. [1054]
Mr. Wilson: The expenditure by the Department of Trade and Industry through the Science Budget on the British Antarctic Survey is given in the table.
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| Science budget expenditure | |
|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 26,823 |
| 1997-98 | 26,550 |
| 1998-99 | 26,523 |
| 1999-2000 | 29,892 |
| 2000-01 | 39,556 |
Deregulation
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which Minister within her Department has responsibility for deregulation; and if she will list deregulation measures enacted since May 1997. [745]
Ms Hewitt [holding answer 25 June 2001]: Ensuring that regulation is effective and not burdensome is a key issue for business, and therefore for my Department. We will be working closely with the Cabinet Office and the Better Regulation Task Force to ensure that business concerns are understood and that my Department regulates only where necessary and with a light touch. The Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Nigel Griffiths), will have specific responsibility for regulatory reform within my Department.
Key measures enacted since May 1997 for which this Department is responsible which have resulted in cost savings for business are as follows:
- The Companies Act 1985 (Audit Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations 2000 raised to £1 million the turnover threshold before companies are subject to an annual external statutory audit of their accounts.
- The Companies Act 1985 (Electronic Communications) Order 2000 removed restrictions on companies' use of electronic media when communicating with their members and with Companies House.
- The Wireless Telegraphy (Short Range Devices) (Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations 1997 removed certain radio equipment from licensing requirements.
- The Hallmarking (Hallmarking Act Amendment) Order 1998 extended the category of articles exempted from hallmarking requirements to articles produced before 1920, rather than 1900.
- The Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) Regulations 1999 exempted certain radio equipment from licensing requirements.
- The Consumer Credit (Exempt Agreements) (Amendment) Order 1999 exempted credit unions and other non-commercial fixed-rate low-cost loan providers from regulation.
- The Companies (Forms) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 removed the requirement to include certain information in companies' returns to Companies House, including former names and directors' other directorships.
- The Gas Act 1986 (Gas Storage) (Exemptions) Order 1999 and two subsidiary Orders exempted persons operating certain types of gas storage facility from the need to have a Public Gas Transporter licence.
- The Companies (Investment Companies) (Distribution of Profits) Regulations 1999 removed restrictions on companies which prevented them from using capital profits to repurchase their own shares.
- The Consumer Credit (Content of Quotations) and Consumer Credit (Advertisements) (Amendments) Regulations 1999 removed the requirement for warning statements to be included in TV, cinema, and radio advertisements for credit involving taking on a mortgage.
- The Partnerships (Unrestricted Size) No. 14 Regulations exempted Chartered Surveyors from the law restricting the number of partners in a given firm to 20.
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The Insolvency (Amendment) Regulations 2000 enabled members of the Insolvency Services Account to pay and receive moneys by electronic transfer.
- The Wireless Telegraphy (Citizens Band Amateur Apparatus) (Various Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2000 removed all restrictions on the import and manufacture of citizens' band radio equipment.
- The Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a License) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2000 allowed more owners of small power stations to generate electricity without needing a licence.
- The Merger (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2001 exempt small and medium-sized firms engaged in merger activity from the requirement to pay a fee where the merger falls to be scrutinised by the Office of Fair Trading.
Competition Law
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost of the review of UK competition policy conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers was; and what her Department's response is to the policy recommendations made. [751]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 25 June 2001]: PriceWaterhouseCoopers were selected to undertake the Peer Review of the UK Competition Policy Regime after a competitive tender was held in accordance with the DTI's procurement rules. The cost of the contract was £70,000 (excl. VAT).
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The Peer Review Report is published on the DTI website and will inform decisions made in the context of the Enterprise Bill. I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the cases since May 1997 (a) where her predecessors referred mergers to the Competition Commission (i) on the advice of and (ii) against the advice of the Director General of the Office of Fair Trading and (b) where Ministers have not followed merger recommendations by the Competition Commission. [750]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 25 June 2001]: Table 1 lists all the merger cases which have been referred to the Competition Commission (previously known as the Monopolies and Mergers Commission) since May 1997. The Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) does not advise on newspaper mergers. With the exception of NEG/ScotRail, NEG/Central Trains, Pacificorp/Energy Group, and NTL/CWC, all other references were made in accordance with the advice of the DGFT.
Table 2 lists the cases since May 1997 where Ministers have not followed merger recommendations by the Competition Commission/Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
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| Merger report | Date report published |
|---|---|
| Bass/Carlsberg Tetley | June 1997 |
| British Airways/CityFlyer Express | July 1999 |
| Trinity/Mirror Group | July 1999 |
| Sylvan International/Locker Group | November 2000 |
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to introduce criminal sanctions for breaches of competition law. [749]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 25 June 2001]: We have announced our intention to consult on proposals that there should be a new criminal offence for individuals who engage in cartels. These proposals will be published in July.
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