HC Deb 02 May 2001 vol 367 cc686-7W
Mr. Levitt

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what telephone telephones to assist the public are administered by his Department and its agencies. [159502]

Dr. Howells

My Department operates an enquiry unit, which refers those members of the public contacting our general enquiry number 020 7215 5000 (Minicom for the hearing impaired: 020 7215 6740) to the range of sources of help and advice provided by the Department. DTI's website: www.dti.gov.uk also provides a number of links to such sources of information and advice.

A list of those individual helplines currently operated by the Department, which have been notified to the enquiry unit, as well as those provided by Companies House, the Employment Tribunals Service, the Radiocommunications Agency and the Small Business Service has been placed in the Library of the House.

The chief executives of the Insolvency Service and the Patent Office will reply direct to my hon. Friend.

Trade Partners UK, which brings together the work of my Department and the FCO in support of British trade and investment overseas, operates an UK enquiry service—020 7215 5444/5445—to assist UK businesses to find the appropriate contact within their network.

Individual Government offices for the regions also advertise their main contact points on their websites and in selected directories and publications.