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Chemotherapy
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all the centres of research into chemotherapy to treat cancer, the means of financing such centres and research papers published arising from the research.
Mr. Freeman : This information is not held centrally.
Children Bill [Lords]
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated amount of extra grant aid needed by local authorities to implement the provisions of the Children Bill [Lords] ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : Discussions have taken place with the local authority associations about the additional costs to local
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authorities of the provisions of the Children Bill, and the estimates are set out in the financial memorandum tothe Bill. The estimates and any further comments by the associations will be taken into account in determining the level of central Government support to local authorities at the appropriate time.Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the proposed timetable for the introduction of any Act resulting from the Children Bill [Lords] ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor at Second Reading in the other place on 6 December at column 535.
Guardians ad Litem
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the four panels of guardians ad litem currently being surveyed by the social services inspectorate ; if he will give the terms of reference for this survey ; and if he will place a copy of the report of the survey in the Library.
Mr. Mellor : The social services inspectorate is conducting (a) a postal survey of all panels of guardians ad litem and reporting officers in England and (b) more detailed inspections of panels administered singly by Dorset and Cumbria local authorities and in consortia by Wigan, Salford and Bolton and Leeds, Bradford and Calderdale authorities.
The inspectorate will study demand for the services of panel members and how this is being met including the resources utilised, the skills required and the workloads of individual panel members ; examine how individual members fulfil their role and arrangements for monitoring ; and report with recommendations of national relevance. I expect to be able to publish the report later this year.
Pharmaceutical Prices
Mr. Michael Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmaceutical companies have not applied for any price increases in the last two, three and five years.
Mr. Mellor : For companies who have provided full financial returns under the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme for each year since 1984, the numbers of companies not applying for any price increase from the date shown to 31 December 1988 is as follows :
|Number
-----------------------------
1 January 1987 |17
1 January 1986 |15
1 January 1984 |10
Sight Testing
Mr. Haselhurst : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will publish the report of his Department's optical adviser on the accuracy and reliability of autorefraction and auto optitesters for testing sight ;
(2) if he will permit the lower tier sight test proposed in his recent consultative letter to be conducted by staff who are not qualified opticians using an autorefractor and an auto optitester.
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Mr. Mellor [holding answer 23 March 1989] : The Opticians Act 1958 provides that sight tests may only be conducted by a registered medical practitioner or registered ophthalmic optician. We have no plans at present to change this requirement. I am not aware of any report on autorefractors or auto optitesters but I understand that autorefractors and auto optitesters offer a reasonably accurate method of testing sight although they cannot provide a test for binocular vision.
Sheep Dips
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Medical Research Council on the link between sheep dip and cot deaths.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 23 March 1989] : There have been no discussions between the Secretary of State and the Medical Research Council (MRC) on the possibility of a link between sheep dip and cot deaths.
The MRC, which is the main agency through which the Government supports medical research, receives a grant-in-aid from the Department of Education and Science. Over the years, the MRC has funded a wide range of research related to cot deaths. Officials will be discussing with the MRC what further avenues can be fruitfully pursued.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Production and Employment
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the growth in production, employment and productivity for (a) manufacturing industry and (b) pharmaceuticals over the period 1979 to the present ; and if he will in each case estimate what part (i) changes in employment and (ii) changes in production have had on productivity changes.
Mr. Maude : The official data series on productivity are published by the Department of Employment in the Employment Gazette but these do not include separately identifiable figures for the pharmaceutical industry. The following data from the annual census of production provide the required information for manufacturing industry and the pharmaceutical industry. These figures may show different movements from the official series which are derived from other sources. Full data for years after 1986 are not yet available.
Year |Production (Gross value |Employment |Productivity (Gross value
|added) (1985 prices) |added per head) (1985
|prices)
|£ billion |thousands |£ thousands
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manufacturing industry
1979 |85.4 |6,910 |12.4
1980 |75.9 |6,495 |11.7
1981 |70.3 |5,778 |12.2
1982 |68.2 |5,360 |12.7
1983 |72.7 |5,070 |14.3
1984 |76.0 |5,059 |15.0
1985 |76.5 |4,976 |15.4
1986 |75.9 |4,878 |15.6
Pharmaceutical products<1>
1979 |1.67 |74.4 |22.4
1980 |1.58 |73.3 |21.6
1981 |1.52 |69.8 |21.8
1982 |1.69 |68.6 |24.6
1983 |1.75 |67.9 |25.7
1984 |1.92 |67.6 |28.5
1985 |1.95 |66.9 |29.1
1986 |2.06 |68.4 |30.1
<1> The pharmaceutical products industry comprises Group 257 of the Standard Industrial Classification (Revised 1980).
Source: Annual Census of Production.
Bicycle Imports
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what consideration he has given to the Bicycle Association's official report for the year ended 1988, and if, in the light of the increase in cycle imports from 600,000 in 1986 to 1,305,000 in 1988, he will seek a review of the European Economic Community duty-free provisions for underdeveloped or developing nations ;
(2) if he will review China's developing nation status in view of changes in its industrial output.
Mr. Alan Clark : The Bicycle Association's annual report does not refer to the developing country imports nor have I received representations. The European Community's generalised system of preference for developing countries is reviewed each year. The competitiveness of products is one of the factors taken into account in the decision to renew the arrangements.
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will review the duties on Taiwanese and Singapore components which can be imported free of duty as components of cycles imported from underdeveloped countries, but become subject to duty if imported for use in British cycle manufacture.
Mr. Alan Clark : There is no tariff concession for imports of bicycles and components from Taiwan. Both bicycles and components from Singapore are covered by the EC's generalised system of preferences.
EFTA
Mr. Greg Knight : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's relations with the EFTA countries.
Mr. Maude : United Kingdom relations with the EFTA countries are already very close--both bilaterally and through EC/EFTA co-operation. We are firmly committed to strengthening these relations still further. The EFTA countries are a major trading partner and all have free trade agreements with the EC. Close co-operation continues under the framework of the Luxembourg declaration agreed by EC and EFTA Ministers in 1984. This has already resulted in worthwhile practical achievements in reducing and eliminating remaining barriers to trade. At an informal EC/EFTA ministerial meeting on 20 March, ways of broadening and deepening the relationship were discussed. There will be a further ministerial meeting before the end of the year. The United Kingdom welcomes this intensification of activities and will play a full role in it.
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Link Scheme
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give the Government funds committed in 1987 and 1988 under the link scheme.
Mr. Forth : The first five link programmes were announced on 3 February 1988 and subsequently another five programmes were announced during the year. Total Government funding authorised under the 10 link programmes announced in 1988 amounted to £59.3 million.
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Regional Assistance
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will provide figures for spending on (a) regional assistance and (b) regional development grants for England, by region, for each year from 1978 -79 to 1988-89 and plans for 1989-90 to 1991-92, in cash and at 1987-88 prices.
Mr. Atkins : Gross annual expenditure on regional development grants and regional selective assistance by English region from 1978-79 to 1987-88 at current and constant (1987-88=100) prices was as follows :
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|c|Expenditure at current prices|c|
£ millions
|1978-79|1979-80|1980-81|1981-82|1982-83|1983-84|1984-85|1985-86|1986-87|1987-88
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Regional development grants<1>
East Midlands |2.3 |2.4 |3.2 |7.2 |8.8 |8.2 |3.8 |4.4 |8.4 |7.1
Northern |135.2 |122.4 |117.5 |143.9 |127.2 |101.3 |89.0 |67.3 |102.2 |61.7
North West |64.3 |58.7 |105.7 |143.4 |97.3 |83.0 |79.9 |62.1 |101.3 |45.7
South West |6.0 |5.0 |8.5 |10.3 |11.0 |7.8 |9.5 |8.6 |15.3 |7.0
West Midlands |0.1 |neg |0.1 |neg |0.1 |- |- |- |- |-
Yorkshire and
Humberside |30.2 |21.5 |38.7 |47.1 |36.4 |23.5 |26.8 |24.2 |27.1 |17.8
England<2> |238.1 |210.0 |273.8 |351.8 |280.7 |223.8 |209.1 |166.5 |254.3 |139.3
2. Regional selective assistance
East Midlands |0.7 |0.9 |0.6 |1.0 |4.2 |8.7 |6.4 |3.9 |2.2 |2.3
Northern |10.7 |11.5 |15.6 |22.6 |21.1 |15.4 |15.3 |16.2 |18.1 |24.7
North West |40.1 |23.3 |19.3 |14.6 |18.3 |13.6 |13.7 |12.7 |18.4 |19.6
South West |2.4 |2.7 |2.5 |1.7 |2.7 |2.0 |2.1 |2.5 |5.2 |4.3
West Midlands |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |5.5 |9.8 |18.3
Yorkshire and
Humberside |5.2 |6.8 |6.6 |7.1 |10.6 |8.8 |9.7 |8.3 |10.1 |14.1
England<3> |59.1 |46.7 |48.6 |54.4 |68.7 |62.2 |72.9 |74.8 |100.6 |122.9
Expenditure at constant (1987-88=100) prices
3.Regional development grants<1>
East Midlands |4.7 |4.2 |4.7 |9.7 |11.1 |9.9 |4.4 |4.8 |8.8 |7.1
Northern |276.5 |214.4 |173.6 |193.7 |160.0 |121.8 |101.9 |73.1 |107.4 |61.7
North West |131.5 |102.8 |156.1 |193.0 |122.4 |99.8 |91.5 |67.4 |106.4 |45.7
South West |12.3 |8.8 |12.6 |13.0 |13.8 |9.4 |10.9 |9.3 |16.1 |7.0
West Midlands |0.2 |neg |0.1 |neg |0.1 |- |- |- |- |-
Yorkshire and
Humberside |62.8 |37.7 |57.2 |63.4 |45.8 |28.2 |30.7 |26.3 |28.5 |17.8
England<2> |486.9 |367.8 |404.4 |473.5 |353.1 |269.0 |239.5 |180.8 |267.1 |139.3
4. Regional selective assistance
East Midlands |1.4 |1.6 |0.9 |1.3 |5.3 |10.5 |7.3 |4.2 |2.3 |2.3
Northern |21.8 |20.1 |23.0 |30.4 |26.5 |18.5 |17.5 |17.6 |19.3 |24.7
North West |82.0 |40.8 |28.5 |19.7 |23.0 |16.3 |15.7 |13.8 |19.3 |19.6
South West |4.9 |4.7 |3.7 |2.3 |3.4 |2.4 |2.4 |2.7 |5.5 |4.3
West Midlands |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |6.0 |10.3 |18.3
Yorkshire and
Humberside |10.6 |11.9 |9.7 |9.6 |13.3 |10.6 |11.1 |9.0 |10.6 |14.1
England<3> |120.9 |81.8 |71.8 |73.2 |86.4 |74.8 |83.5 |81.2 |105.7 |122.9
Notes:
<1> RDG figures cover expenditure under the original and revised schemes.
<2> Totals do not always equal component parts due to rounding.
<3> At the regional level RSA figures include only industrial and training grants: England figures include some
unallocated project grants and expenditure under the business improvement services and exchange risk guarantee schemes.
Expenditure under these two schemes cannot be broken down to the regional level.
The provisional gross outturn for RDG for England as a whole in 1988-89 is £155 million at current prices, £144 million at constant 1987-88 prices ; and for RSA £135 million (current), £126 million (constant).
The planned provision (net of domestic receipts) for RDG and RSA in the period 1989-90 to 1991-92 is as follows :
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|1989-90<1> £ million|1990-91<2> £ million|1991-92<2> £ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Planned provision at current prices
Regional development grants |125 |110 |55
Regional selective assistance<3> |145 |150 |160
Planned provision at constant prices
Regional development grants |111 |93 |45
Regional selective assistance<3> |128 |127 |132
<1> Supply estimates.
<2> As underlying the 1989 public expenditure White Paper.
<3> Includes expenditure on industrial and training grants, and the business improvement services and exchange risk
guarantee schemes.
Petrol Sales
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether, in the light of the absence of a breakdown of United Kingdom petrol sales by company type, he will refer the industry to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
Mr. Maude : The Director General of Fair Trading referred the wholesale supply of petrol in the United Kingdom to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on 9 November 1988. The commission was given 12 months in which to report.
Rating Reform (Royal Mail)
Dr. Cunningham : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what restrictions are there on the use of the words "Royal Mail" in marketing services in relation to the implementation of the community charge.
Mr. Forth : Only standard services currently offered by the Post Office to any of its customers are being offered to local authorities to assist them in the implementation of the community charge. Royal Mail Letters, like Royal Mail Parcels, uses the words Royal Mail in marketing these standard services.
Mr. Anthony Wheeler and Mr. Richard Savill
Sir Charles Morrison : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, whether any of his Department's officials were in communication with (a) the police or (b)
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any statutory or regulatory body, prior to December 1986, with respect to the business affairs of Mr. Anthony Wheeler and Mr. Richard Savill in respect of (a) the Wessex Trust, (b) Selective Investment Brokers and (c) any other companies of which they were directors ; what information his officials received concerning any of those individuals or brokers ; and what action was taken in respect of them, and on what dates.Mr. Maude : Selective Investment Brokers was a trading name used as part of the operation of the Wessex Trust, an unincorporated body. It is not the same entity as Selective Investment Brokers Ltd. Before December 1986 my Department was in communication with the Director of Public Prosecutions about Wessex Trust and companies concerned in the affairs of the trust which included companies of which Mr. Wheeler was a director. It is not the practice to comment on the affairs of individual companies.
Persons concerned with the Wessex Trust are at present subject to criminal proceedings brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Manufacturing Statistics
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish import figures and import penetration figures from 1973 to date for manufacturing industries at SIC two-digit level.
Mr. Alan Clark : Data are available only for the years 1978 to 1987 inclusive. The information is given in the following tables :
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|c|Table A|c| |c|Imports at current prices (£ million)|c| SIC |Class |1978 |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 |Metalliferous ores extraction and preparation |686 |758 |733 |738 |628 |799 |837 |907 |716 |749 22 |Metal manufacturing |2,340 |3,021 |4,716 |3,151 |3,229 |4,055 |3,947 |4,065 |4,413 |4,276 23 |Extraction of minerals N.E.S. |1,070 |1,462 |1,364 |991 |1,031 |1,427 |1,435 |1,544 |1,789 |1,674 24 |Non-metallic mineral products |348 |437 |422 |463 |546 |683 |819 |891 |989 |1,140 25 |Chemical industry |2,757 |3,462 |3,302 |3,818 |4,430 |5,331 |6,542 |7,034 |7,311 |8,358 26 |Man-made fibres |222 |263 |233 |255 |284 |322 |346 |383 |420 |471 31 |Metal goods N.E.S. |600 |718 |768 |741 |880 |1,030 |1,246 |1,380 |1,519 |1,778 32 |Mechanical engineering |3,446 |3,517 |3,540 |3,632 |4,102 |4,720 |5,543 |6,158 |6,593 |7,578 33 |Office machinery and data processing equipment |984 |1,205 |1,265 |1,489 |1,934 |2,767 |3,827 |4,213 |4,230 |5,098 34 |Electrical and electronic engineering |2,420 |2,898 |3,139 |3,984 |4,871 |6,038 |7,309 |8,246 |8,732 |10,018 35 |Motor vehicles and their parts |2,714 |3,854 |3,233 |3,369 |4,505 |5,772 |6,058 |6,963 |8,178 |9,058 36 |Other transport equipment |1,114 |1,362 |2,173 |1,769 |2,054 |2,146 |2,534 |3,035 |2,889 |3,212 37 |Instrument engineering |686 |757 |772 |881 |988 |1,195 |1,401 |1,503 |1,617 |1,696 41-42 |Food, drink and tabacco |4,372 |4,918 |4,626 |4,979 |5,548 |6,095 |7,013 |7,294 |7,666 |7,951 43 |Textile industry |1,520 |1,739 |1,608 |1,865 |2,026 |2,439 |2,927 |3,192 |3,400 |3,831 44 |Leather and leather goods |182 |265 |202 |220 |227 |272 |348 |406 |420 |499 45 |Footwear and clothing industries |1,052 |1,417 |1,442 |1,662 |1,758 |1,909 |2,358 |2,488 |2,715 |3,114 46 |Timber and wooden furniture |1,175 |1,456 |1,324 |1,389 |1,488 |1,981 |2,186 |2,124 |2,383 |2,751 47 |Paper, printing and publishing |1,557 |1,816 |1,910 |2,224 |2,376 |2,679 |3,338 |3,537 |3,768 |4,569 48 |Rubber and plastics processing |695 |858 |849 |951 |1,126 |1,412 |1,653 |1,895 |2,180 |2,652 49 |Other manufacturing |903 |1,165 |1,607 |1,544 |1,311 |1,465 |1,713 |1,300 |1,589 |1,646
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|c|Table B|c| |c|Import penetration ratio|c| (Percentages) SIC class |1978 |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 |Metalliferous ores extraction and preparation |108 |111 |103 |102 |102 |101 |98 |100 |n/a |n/a 22 |Metal manufacturing |25 |27 |29 |25 |28 |31 |37 |39 |43 |42 23 |Extraction of minerals N.E.S. |32 |35 |33 |32 |39 |42 |42 |43 |37 |36 24 |Non-metallic mineral products |9 |10 |9 |9 |10 |11 |12 |13 |13 |16 25 |Chemical industry |28 |29 |28 |30 |33 |35 |38 |40 |40 |41 26 |Man-made fibres |41 |45 |56 |59 |67 |70 |68 |71 |68 |66 31 |Metal goods N.E.S. |10 |10 |11 |11 |12 |13 |14 |16 |16 |18 32 |Mechanical engineering |32 |29 |29 |32 |31 |32 |34 |36 |37 |38 33 |Office machinery and data processing equipment |92 |92 |96 |96 |105 |106 |105 |100 |100 |93 34 |Electrical and electronic engineering |31 |31 |31 |36 |39 |42 |44 |47 |47 |49 35 |Motor vehicles and their parts |35 |41 |39 |42 |47 |52 |51 |50 |51 |48 36 |Other transport equipment |41 |38 |38 |41 |39 |42 |51 |45 |45 |42 37 |Instrument engineering |52 |53 |52 |58 |56 |55 |58 |57 |56 |58 41-42 |Food, drink and tobacco |18 |18 |16 |16 |16 |17 |18 |18 |18 |18 43 |Textile industry |31 |33 |34 |39 |39 |41 |44 |44 |45 |47 44 |Leather and leather goods |34 |40 |40 |42 |42 |44 |44 |49 |46 |49 45 |Footwear and clothing industries |26 |29 |29 |33 |33 |33 |36 |35 |36 |39 46 |Timber and wooden furniture |27 |29 |27 |29 |29 |32 |32 |30 |31 |31 47 |Paper, printing and publishing |19 |19 |19 |20 |19 |20 |21 |21 |21 |22 48 |Rubber and plastics processing |18 |18 |18 |21 |22 |24 |25 |26 |27 |28 49 |Other manufacturing |35 |36 |41 |48 |38 |38 |39 |38 |39 |46 n/a-Not available.
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the export figures and export-sales ratios from 1973 to date for manufacturing industries at SIC two-digit level.
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Mr. Alan Clark : Data are available only for the years 1978 to 1987 inclusive. The information is given in the following tables :
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|c|Table A|c|
Exports at current prices (£ million)
SIC Class
|1978 |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21 Metalliferous ores extraction and
preparation |67 |91 |39 |42 |41 |34 |36 |36 |73 |17
22 Metal manufacturing |2,104 |2,634 |3,135 |2,919 |2,893 |3,526 |3,766 |3,860 |3,953 |4,097
23 Extraction of minerals N.E.S. |818 |1,045 |1,288 |795 |888 |1,158 |1,356 |1,209 |1,554 |1,648
24 Non-metallic mineral products |636 |652 |731 |824 |838 |878 |985 |1,120 |1,127 |1,183
25 Chemical industry |3,969 |4,601 |5,104 |5,531 |6,077 |6,949 |8,273 |9,471 |9,617 |10,539
26 Man-made fibres |304 |361 |373 |305 |300 |376 |419 |435 |416 |422
31 Metal goods N.E.S. |859 |901 |996 |960 |1,006 |969 |1,093 |1,218 |1,180 |1,287
32 Mechanical engineering |5,792 |6,078 |6,924 |7,079 |7,372 |6,658 |7,493 |8,295 |8,385 |8,984
33 Office machinery and data processing
equipment |770 |967 |1,095 |1,056 |1,332 |1,821 |2,787 |3,543 |3,344 |4,211
34 Electrical and electronic engineering |3,117 |3,170 |3,663 |3,942 |4,537 |5,004 |5,909 |7,025 |7,414 |7,993
35 Motor vehicles and their parts |3,048 |3,136 |3,230 |3,277 |3,212 |3,248 |3,563 |4,066 |4,076 |5003
36 Other transport equipment |1,640 |1,817 |2,422 |2,733 |3,213 |3,323 |3,745 |4,178 |4,642 |5,478
37 Instrument engineering |651 |753 |874 |918 |1,024 |1,013 |1,133 |1,194 |1,230 |1,346
41/42 Food, drink and tobacco |2,419 |2,480 |2,772 |2,929 |3,182 |3,489 |3,695 |4,058 |4,161 |4,741
43 Textile industry |1,250 |1,332 |1,382 |1,317 |1,321 |1,380 |1,621 |1,859 |1,855 |2,069
44 Leather and leather goods |128 |162 |141 |131 |150 |175 |232 |260 |273 |345
45 Footwear and clothing industries |735 |835 |872 |880 |848 |889 |1,041 |1,165 |1,210 |1,405
46 Timber and wooden furniture |279 |279 |292 |272 |293 |311 |358 |397 |380 |416
47 Paper, printing and publishing |783 |869 |965 |984 |1,065 |1,183 |1,465 |1,620 |1,704 |2,004
48 Rubber and plastics processing |849 |946 |1,137 |1,113 |1,117 |1,212 |1,369 |1,522 |1,646 |1,974
49 Other manufacturing |764 |1,010 |1,255 |954 |909 |1,018 |1,222 |1,051 |1,195 |1,303
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|c|Table B|c| |c|Export sales ratio (percentages)|c| SIC |Class |1978 |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 |Metalliferous ores extraction and preparation|391 |556 |257 |163 |154 |145 |70 |95 22 |Metal manufacturing |21 |22 |21 |22 |23 |25 |32 |34 |38 |41 23 |Extraction of minerals N.E.S. |25 |29 |28 |28 |14 |13 |13 |13 |9 |12 24 |Non-metallic mineral products |15 |14 |14 |13 |14 |14 |14 |15 |15 |17 25 |Chemical industry |36 |35 |37 |39 |40 |41 |44 |47 |47 |46 26 |Man-made fibres |49 |53 |67 |63 |69 |74 |72 |73 |68 |64 31 |Metal goods N.E.S. |13 |12 |14 |14 |14 |12 |13 |14 |13 |13 32 |Mechanical engineering |44 |42 |45 |47 |45 |40 |42 |43 |42 |42 33 |Office machinery and data processing equipment |90 |90 |96 |94 |108 |110 |107 |100 |100 |91 34 |Electrical and electronic engineering |37 |33 |34 |36 |38 |37 |39 |43 |43 |43 35 |Motor vehicles and their parts |38 |36 |38 |41 |38 |37 |37 |37 |34 |34 36 |Other transport equipment |45 |43 |42 |50 |53 |55 |63 |55 |59 |57 37 |Instrument engineering |51 |53 |55 |59 |56 |51 |53 |50 |48 |52 41-42 |Food, drink and tobacco |11 |10 |10 |10 |10 |10 |10 |11 |11 |12 43 |Textile industry |27 |27 |30 |30 |29 |28 |30 |31 |30 |32 44 |Leather and leather goods |26 |29 |32 |30 |32 |33 |35 |38 |36 |40 45 |Footwear and clothing industries |18 |18 |19 |20 |18 |18 |18 |19 |18 |21 46 |Timber and wooden furniture |7 |6 |7 |6 |6 |6 |6 |6 |5 |5 47 |Paper, printing and publishing |11 |10 |10 |10 |10 |10 |10 |11 |11 |11 48 |Rubber and plastics processing |21 |20 |23 |24 |22 |22 |22 |22 |21 |22 49 |Other manufacturing |38 |36 |36 |38 |28 |28 |28 |28 |28 |34 =not available.
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish manufacturing output figures in constant prices from 1973 to date at SIC two-digit level.
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Mr. Atkins : The information is in the following table :
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|Cardiff|London
--------------------------------
1979 |866.5 |224
1980 |828.5 |204.5
1981 |770.5 |213
1982 |772 |196
1983 |766 |193
1984 |768.5 |181.5
1985 |853 |180.5
1986 |857 |181.5
1987 |851.5 |189
1988 |795 |178
Waste Paper Imports
Mr. Crowther : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to whether waste paper subsidised by Government funds, collected in the United States of America, is being imported into the United Kingdom.
Mr. Atkins : I understand that mandatory collection of waste paper and other recyclable materials is now in operation in several states of the United States of America. It is not possible separately to identify the volumes of waste paper obtained by this route and subsequently exported to the United Kingdom. However, there is
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currently no evidence that imports of waste paper from the United States of America into the United Kingdom are having an adverse effect on our domestic market.Pittard Garnar plc
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to receive the report from the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on the proposed takeover of Pittard Garnar plc by (a) Strong and Fisher (Holdings) plc. and (b) Hillsdown Holdings plc.
Mr. Maude : The Monopolies and Mergers Commission submitted its separate reports on the respective proposed acquisition of Pittard Garnar plc, by Strong and Fisher
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(Holdings) plc and Hillsdown Holdings plc to my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 10 March 1989.Companies Registration Office
Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, since computerisation of search facilities at Companies Registration Office (a) how many times the computers have gone down, (b) what is the average time the computers have been down and (c) what is the longest and shortest time the computers have been down.
Mr. Maude : The chief executive of Companies House tells me that, since the computerised search facilities were established on 19 September 1988, there have been four instances when the computer has gone down. However, other factors such as failure in data communications links have also, from time to time, resulted in the loss of the search service.
Altogether there have been 35 incidents which have resulted in some or all of the search room computer terminals being inoperable. The average duration of each incident has been 49 minutes. The longest interruption, lasting 6 hours and caused by a simultaneous failure in a primary and standby communications link, affected only the terminals in the London search room. The shortest recorded incident lasted 10 minutes.
Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether there are any plans to provide back up computer facilities for when the Companies Registration Office computer search system goes down.
Mr. Maude : The chief executive attaches great importance to maximising the availability of computerised services and ways of reducing the risk of failure of all elements of the service are kept constantly under review. Currently, steps being taken to provide increased protection against computer failure include the installation of a second mainframe processor to provide back-up for the primary machine. Plans are also being prepared to enable the agency's computerised systems to be transferred to my Department's computer installation in Middlesex in the event of a major disaster at the agency's own computer installation.
Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the average delay before documents received at Companies Registration Office are available on microfiche ; and what steps are being taken by the Companies Registration Office to reduce the delay.
Mr. Maude : The chief executive of Companies House tells me that the average delay for making documents available for public inspection on microfiche over the 51 weeks of 1988-89 to the 24 March has been 25 working days. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced on 23 March 1989 targets for Companies House including one for an improvement in the time taken to process documents to an average 18 working days during 1990-91. Under the new agency arrangements, it is for the chief executive to take steps to meet this target.
Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects the BAA shareholder register received by the Companies Registration Office on 30 September 1988, to be available for public inspection on microfiche.
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Mr. Maude : The chief executive tells me that this register was received by him in computer output microfilm form from which it was not possible to take good quality microfiche copies in the usual way. However, it has been available for inspection in Cardiff from 30 September. If a London searcher had wished to inspect it I understand that arrangements could have been made. The chief executive's staff has, as a result of the hon. Member's interest, been experimenting with a number of alternative ways of providing a copy to the London office and I am pleased to say that they have now found a technique that will enable them to do so. This shareholders register is now therefore available for inspection on request at the London search room.
Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much it costs to produce the average company microfiche at Companies Registration Office.
Mr. Maude : The chief executive of Companies House tells me that, on a memorandum trading account basis, the estimated average cost of producing a company record on microfiche in 1988-89 was £2.46.
Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what were the staffing levels at (a) Companies Registration Office, Cardiff and (b) Companies Registration Office, London, for the period 1979 to 1988.
Mr. Maude : The chief executive Companies House tells me that at 1 April each year the numbers of permanent staff in post were as follows :
|Cardiff|London
--------------------------------
1979 |866.5 |224
1980 |828.5 |204.5
1981 |770.5 |213
1982 |772 |196
1983 |766 |193
1984 |768.5 |181.5
1985 |853 |180.5
1986 |857 |181.5
1987 |851.5 |189
1988 |795 |178
Company Documents
Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what charges are made by the United Kingdom and each EEC country to the public for inspecting documents relating to companies and what they obtain for their money.
Mr. Maude : The chief executive of Companies House tells me that, in Great Britain, a searcher receives for the £2.50 statutory inspection fee, a microfiche copy of the filmed contents of one company record held by the registrar. Historical documents not filmed may be inspected by arrangement at one of the search rooms within the same search fee.
Under the provisions of the first council directive dated 9 March 1968, European Community member states are required to make available for inspection company information for a fee which does not exceed the administrative cost of providing it.
The system of company searches throughout EC member states varies considerably and complete up-to-date information about all search facilities is not currently held. The chief executive has in hand a project to consider
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closer working links with providers of company registration and search facilities throughout the European Community. Meantime, if the hon. Member has any particular point in mind, the chief executive would be pleased to consider what he might do to help.Unsecured Loans
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of the respondents to the Office of Fair Trading survey published last autumn understood unprompted that an unsecured loan could result in the loss of the borrower's home.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 23 March 1989] : The Office of Fair Trading, following the survey "Consumers' Use of Credit", has not published the proportion of respondents who, unprompted, understood that an unsecured loan could result in the loss of the borrower's home. However the survey did show that 44 per cent. of respondents claimed to have no idea of the difference between a secured loan and an unsecured loan.
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why he does not propose to include unsecured loans in regulations under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, requiring advertisements for loans to carry a health warning.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 23 March 1989] : Evidence suggests that many consumers do not understand the difference between a secured loan and an unsecured loan. The report of the review body on civil justice (Cm. 394), concluded that sales of property following the granting of a charging order very rarely took place. I do not believe therefore that there is any justification for extending a "health" warning to cover unsecured loans.
Loans
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what proportion of loans secured against a second mortgage resulted in repossession of the borrower's home in the last year for which figures are available ;
(2) what proportion of unsecured loans resulted in repossession of the borrower's home in the last year for which figures are available ;
(3) how many charging orders for unsecured loans were issued in the last year for which figures are available.
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Mr. Forth [holding answer 23 March 1989] : The collection of statistics on court proceedings is a matter for the Lord Chancellor's Department, but I understand that information is not available in the form requested.
WALES
House Grants
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what income level it is his policy to set as the figure below which a house owner will receive a 100 per cent. grant for renovations or repairs, and what percentage grant will be received by those with incomes over the threshold.
Mr. Grist : Our recent consultation paper on the test of resources proposed that households with weekly net incomes below a threshold figure would qualify for 100 per cent. assistance. Grant would be progressively reduced for households with incomes above the threshold.
The test of resources we have proposed suggests that the threshold should be set at housing benefit level plus a premium of £20 per week. For those with incomes above that level we have proposed a sliding scale of grant entitlement determined by the cost of works and applicant's financial resources.
Forestry Commission Holdings (Wales)
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information his office holds on the location and extent of the Forestry Commission's holdings in Wales.
Mr. Peter Walker : Information on the land managed by the Forestry Commission in Wales, set out by forest districts, is contained in table 16 of the commission's annual reports.
Copies of these reports are in the Library of the House.
Housing and Development Agencies
Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the chairman and members of (a) the Land Authority for Wales, (b) Housing for Wales, (c) the Welsh Development Agency and (d) Cardiff Bay development corporation, together with their salaries and expenses.
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