| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 69
13. Canada14. Denmark
15. Hong Kong
16. Finland
17. Australia
18. South Africa
19. Saudi Arabia
20. India
1987
1. Germany
2. United States of America
3. France
4. Netherlands
5. Italy
6. Belgium/Luxembourg
7. Ireland
8. Japan
9. Sweden
10. Switzerland
11. Norway
12. Spain
13. Canada
14. Denmark
15. Hong Kong
16. Finland
17. Saudi Arabia
18. Australia
19. India
20. South Africa
1988
1. Germany
2. United States of America
3. France
4. Netherlands
5. Italy
6. Belgium/Luxembourg
7. Japan
8. Ireland
9. Switzerland
10. Sweden
11. Spain
12. Norway
13. Canada
14. Denmark
15. Hong Kong
16. Finland
17. Australia
18. South Africa
19. Portugal
20. Saudi Arabia
Note : In descending order, based on value of exports plus imports.
Source : OECD Series A.
Iraq
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the value of (a) United Kingdom exports to Iraq, and (b) United Kingdom imports from Iraq in the last year for which information is available.
Mr. Alan Clark : The provisional figures for 1988 are (a) United Kingdom exports to Iraq £412.1 million ; (b) United Kingdom imports from Iraq £43.4 million.
Textile Products
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of the United Kingdom's trade deficit relates to trade in textile products ; and if he will make a statement on the extent of import penetration in this sector of the economy.
Mr. Alan Clark : The crude deficit on trade in textiles in 1987 was £1,816.3 million compared with an overall crude deficit of £24,177.5 million. Comparable figures for 1988
Column 70
show crude deficits of £1,921.4 million and £24,936.7 million. Import penetration for textiles in 1987--the latest year for which figures are available--was 48 per cent.Manufacturing Investment (North-East)
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the level of manufacturing investment in the north-east for each of the last 10 years, giving 1979 as 100.
Mr. Atkins : No regional breakdown of manufacturing investment for 1988 is yet available. The required information for the period 1979 to 1987 is shown in the following table :
Manufacturing investment<1> in
the North-East<2>, at, constant
prices,
as a percentage of 1979 level
|North-East
---------------------------------
1979 |100
1980 |66
1981 |42
1982 |41
1983 |41
1984 |47
1985 |59
1986 |50
1987 |53
<1> Excluding expenditure on
assets leased from the financial
industries.
<2> The North-East is not a
standard region of the United
Kingdom but can be defined as
the North less Cumbria. It
comprises Cleveland, Durham,
Northumberland and Tyne and
Wear.
Source: Annual census of
production.
Listening Devices
Mr. Cran : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether electronic surveillance listening devices are used by his Department or by any organisation or agency acting on its behalf ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : My Department's radiocommunications division regularly monitors the radio spectrum to establish patterns of use, to trace radio interference and to assist in the management of radio services, in keeping with its licensing function under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts. Commercially available radio receivers are used for monitoring purposes.
EC (Footwear Imports)
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will take steps to initiate talks at European Community level between non-European Community producers and European Community members on the regulation of footwear imports to the European Community ; and if he will seek to establish an agreement for footwear similar to the multi-fibre arrangement in textiles and clothing.
Mr. Alan Clark : The United Kingdom already operates a range of quantitative restrictions on imports of footwear from Eastern Europe and China. EC member states will need to consider the findings of the Commission's Community-wide investigation into imports of footwear from Taiwan and South Korea before deciding what further action might be appropriate. We have asked the
Column 71
Commission to look in particular at the effect of imports into the United Kingdom from Taiwan of women's made-to- order footwear.Mr. Henderson : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he has taken to seek an early decision from the European Commission arising out of its investigations into the injury caused to the United Kingdom footwear industry by excessive imports from Korea and Taiwan.
Mr. Clark : I have written to Commissioner Andriessen seeking an early decision on the need for safeguard action on imports into the United Kingdom of women's made-to-order footwear from Taiwan. The Commission is anxious, however, not to pre-judge the outcome of the Community-wide investigation into imports of footwear from South Korea and Taiwan. Commissioner Andriessen has assured me that the Commission will conclude their investigation as quickly as possible. I will of course consider what action is appropriate once the Commission's recommendations are known.
Post Office Users National Council
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has received the latest report of the Post Office Users National Council ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : I receive all Post Office Users National Council reports. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster referred to its latest joint announcement with Royal Mail Letters in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Mitchell) on 25 May ( Official Report, column 651 ).
Institute of Logistics and Distribution Management
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has received a copy of the most recent report of the Institute of Logistics and Distribution Management ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : I believe the question refers to the report prepared by the Institute of Logistics and Distribution Management on "The Market for Express Goods Services between the UK and Europe, North America and the Far East". The British Overseas Trade Board decided that there were good reasons to examine in detail aspects of the fast growing express freight market for manufactured goods and so funded this study. My Department is considering the report and views on it from interested parties but has not yet reached conclusions on it or on follow-up action.
Postal Monopoly (LSE Report)
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has received a copy of the report on the postal monopoly, published in September 1988 by the London School of Economics ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : My Department has received the report on the Post Office's letter monopoly by Saul Estrin and David de Meza of the London School of Economics. We keep all the options for change in the letter monopoly under review, including those put forward in the LSE report.
Column 72
Post Office Counters
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will announce the timetable for the privatisation of Post Office Counters.
Mr. Forth : We have no present plans for the sale of Post Office Counters Ltd. The Post Office has, however, announced plans for regrading 250 Crown post offices to sub-offices, which will mean increased private investment in the post office network. Sub-offices already make up most of the counters network.
Post Office Parcels
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will announce the timetable for the privatisation of Post Office Parcels.
Mr. Forth : We have no present plans for privatisation of Royal Mail Parcels.
Post Office Board
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the salaries and review dates of each member of the Post Office Board, with the date and length of his appointment.
Mr. Forth : The Post Office annual report and accounts lists the names of the members of the Post Office Board and the years of their appointment, and also gives the number in different ranges of remuneration. Their remuneration is revised with effect from 1 April of each year. Appointments are made for periods of up to five years.
CEPT (EC Paper)
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the paper submitted to the European Commission by members of the CEPT, as mentioned in his oral reply to the hon. Member for Battersea of 17 May, Official Report, column 313.
Mr. Forth : No, CEPT working papers are restricted to the membership. The rules of the CEPT do not allow such documents to be disseminated and I am therefore unable to place them in the Library.
Post Office
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to what extent the Post Office subsidises its competitive services by its monopoly services.
Mr. Forth : There is no subsidy from the Post Office's monopoly services to its competitive services.
Remail
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he has taken to support international express carriers regarding Remail.
Mr. Forth : None. I am, however, aware that the EC is investigating a complaint by courier services about postal administrations.
Column 73
Postal Service
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what aspects of the postal service have been investigated by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission in each year from 1979.
Mr. Forth : Since 1979 the Monopolies and Mergers Commission has published four reports on aspects of the postal service. These were :
1979 Inner London letter post.
1984 The Post Office letter post service.
1986 Post Office procurement activities.
1988 Post Office counters services.
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what evidence he has submitted to the European Commission on European postal services from 1992.
Courier Services (Anti-competitive Practices)
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what evidence he has submitted to the European Commission on the formal complaint made by private courier services about anti-competitive practices by postal administrations.
Mr. Forth : None. It is for the Post Office to reply to questions put to it by the European Commission.
Letter Deliveries
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has as to how many letters and what percentage of letters, posted first class, fail to arrive the following delivery day.
Mr. Forth : The Post Office's new end to end monitoring system, which records results separately for each district by destination, shows that for 1988-89 the percentage of first class letters not delivered the day after posting varied widely between districts. The range was :
|per cent.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Delivery within district of posting |6-36
Delivery to neighbouring districts |8-41
Delivery to distant districts (excluding Belfast) |20-50
The detailed figures for each district, which were published by the Post Office on 25 May, have been placed in the Libraries.
Public and Private Postal Services Working Group
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when his Department last chaired a meeting of the public and private postal services working group ; what was discussed ; when it will next meet ; and whether representatives of the Institute of Logistics and Distribution Management will attend.
| Next Section
| Home Page |