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Mr. Haselhurst : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has assessed whether the development of electronic anti-theft systems for cars has reached the point in cost and effectiveness at which he will consider legislation to make their installation mandatory.
Mr. Atkins : Every new car sold in Britain since 1978 has had to have a steering lock. Britain has developed, in co-operation with manufacturers, new standards to improve car locks and to shield window mechanisms. We are pressing for these to be adopted in the EC.
Many cars are also fitted with alarm systems. The variations in their design and location contribute to their effectiveness. The greater standardisation likely to result from obligatory installation might diminish that effectiveness. Moreover, there is a growing volume of complaints about the environmental effects of alarms set off with no apparent attempt at theft.
Parking sensibly, locking up carefully and avoiding leaving valuables in view are all strong deterrents to thieves.
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many inspectors are employed at ports to ensure that lorry weights from incoming vessels are within United Kingdom requirements ; and how many prosecutions were undertaken in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 to the most recent practicable date.
Mr. Atkins : The Department currently has a force of 235 traffic examiners who carry out lorry weight checks at inland sites as well as at major ferry ports. Vehicles found to be overweight in ports are prohibited from further movement but are not normally prosecuted because an offence has not taken place until the vehicle has been on a public road. Separate figures for prohibitions in ports are not kept. The number of prosecutions nationally for overloading, with in brackets figures for prohibitions, in each of the years 1986-88 were, respectively, 6,400 (5,700), 5,500 (4,250) and 7,600 (7,700). The figures for the first half of 1989-90 were 3,250 and 2,900. These figures do not include offences taken by the police and local authority trading standards staff.
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many of the short-span bridges on non-trunk
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roads will not meet 40-tonne lorry weights ; what will be the cost of repairing or replacing such bridges ; and what is the estimated cost of the traffic delays arising from such work ;(2) whether his Department has carried out an assessment of the likely extra strengthening costs in the event of the EEC directive on 40-tonne lorries being applied in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : It was agreed at a meeting of the European Council of Transport Ministers in July that the United Kingdom's derogation from the directive permitting the use of lorries weighing 40 tonnes should end on 31 December 1998.
In 1988 my Department began a programme--expected to last 10 years--to assess all the bridges on trunk roads and to strengthen them, where necessary, to cater for heavier lorries. The increase from 38 tonnes to 40 tonnes will require about another 400 bridges to be assessed, but it is expected to account for only a relatively small proportion of the total cost of strengthening work.
Last December, the Government made provision through the rate support grant settlement for an additional £27 million expenditure by local authorities in England in 1989-90 so that a start could be made on the long -term programmes of work necessary on their roads. It is too soon to say what proportion of their bridges will eventually need to be strengthened, but a sample survey carried out by my Department in 1987 suggested that it might be about 20 per cent.
In some cases, strengthening may not be the only option. It will be more appropriate to restrict some bridges to vehicles of a lower weight ; in other cases, it would be possible to cater for heavier lorries by reducing the number of lanes of traffic.
It is inevitable that there will be traffic delays while some of the work is carried out, but it is not possible to predict where these will occur or their economic cost. My Department's regional offices will assist in co- ordination of the work to help keep delays to a minimum.
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what research has been undertaken on the use of 16.5 m articulated lorries in the United Kingdom ; what alterations will be required to existing tractor units, what design requirements will be needed for compatible tractor units for the 13.6 m trailer ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) when he expects to lay the order allowing 16.5 m articulated lorries in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement ; (3) why he is advancing by 12 months the implementation of the EEC directive permitting 16.5 m articulated lorries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : Once the EC date was imposed on us, there was a serious risk of detriment to the interests of British manufacturers. We therefore advanced implementation to January 1990 from January 1991.
The order will be laid as soon as possible, subject to the completion of the necessary detailed consultation. No specific research was carried out on the proposals leading to the EC directive. The new 13.6 m semi-trailer will require the use of a tractor unit slightly longer than the
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shortest units now in use : some already exist. The shortest tractor units can still be used with semi-trailers slightly shorter than 13.6 m.Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the total numbers of commercial vehicles in each category of unladen weight registered for 1989 ; what were the totals for each year from 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Atkins : Information on vehicle stock for 1989 is not yet available. Details of the number of commercial vehicles registered in Great Britain are available by gross weight and were published in "Heavy Goods Vehicles in Great Britain 1988", transport statistics report, August 1989, a copy of which was placed in the House of Commons Library.
The number of heavy goods vehicles has fallen from 506,000 in 1979 to 462,000 in 1988 despite a 25 per cent. increase in road freight activity.
Mr. Aitken : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been reported to him in the provision of rail services between the Channel tunnel and London ; and whether it remains the Government's policy not to subsidise this project.
Mr. Parkinson : British Rail is planning to spend over £1 billion on upgrading the rail network in Kent and London, on developing Waterloo station and on rolling stock, so that a full international passenger and freight service can commence on the day that the Channel tunnel opens.
In July of last year British Rail began consultations on the proposal to build a new line which would be needed by the end of the century. On the basis of consultation on four route options, British Rail narrowed the choice to a preferred route in March of this year. British Rail also isued an invitation to the private sector to participate in a joint venture. Five positive responses to this invitation were received, and BR subsequently shortlisted two consortia.
Today British Rail has announced that it has selected its preferred partner in a joint venture for Channel tunnel rail services, and that is Eurorail, comprising Trafalgar House and BICC. I very much welcome this announcement.
The broad scope of the joint venture has been settled. It includes the operation of international rail services, not just the construction of the link. The details are still to be negotiated and my approval to the final agreement will be necessary. At this stage, however, I am greatly encouraged by the clear indications that I have had from the private sector that Channel tunnel rail services, including a new Channel tunnel rail link, can be financed commercially and that the new link can still be brought into operation in 1998.
I have been greatly impressed by the confidence, expertise and commitment shown by both the shortlisted consortia, Eurorail and the Acer Group. Eurorail is satisfied that detailed work carried out on the route through Kent confirms that the route proposed by BR is the best solution. It is confident that an acceptable way can
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be found of continuing the route from the outskirts of London to Waterloo and to a second terminal at Kings Cross with its excellent connections to the north.This confirmation of the route through Kent, on which so much work has already been done to minimise the environmental consequences, will help to end uncertainty in the county. I welcome that as I welcome the decision to bring forward immediately legislative proposals to allow Ashford international passenger station to be relocated so as to open in 1993, but to fit in with the new line. It is for British Rail and its partner to determine the best route and terminals to be included in a parliamentary Bill, and I accept that now that BR and Eurorail have reached agreement it will not be practicable or sensible for them to examine other possible alternative proposals and projects. It will be for Parliament to decide whether the route can be accepted.
I think that it must be primarily for BR and Eurorail to judge how and when to seek the necessary legislative approval for their proposals. I accept BR's judgment that it is wiser to wait until all the details of the route through London have been finalised before introducing a Private Bill and that will also give the opportunity for further refinement of the detailed measures proposed for Kent. I welcome their stated intention to introduce a Bill in 1990. The provision of the Channel tunnel link is now the responsibility of BR and its chosen partner, Eurorail. I confirm that it remains the policy of the Government that no subsidy will be given to Channel tunnel rail services.
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many gainers and losers his Department now estimates there will be after the introduction of the poll tax in England.
Mr. Chope : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr. Patten) to the hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham) on 1 November 1989, at column 75.
Mr. Graham Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what have been and will be the environmental consequences to the United Kingdom of the recent loss of a container of lindane in the Channel.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : No signs of lindane pollution have been detected from the continuing joint Anglo-French monitoring programme, set up immediately after the incident.
British and French scientists are confident that any increases in lindane concentrations in the marine environment could be easily detected at levels well below those at which they would represent a risk to human health. They further agree, after having carefully considered the probable rate of dissolution of the lindane in its container and its likely rate of release to the sea, that the chances of the lindane having any significant detectable effect are very slight.
As a precaution joint monitoring continues and if any leakage is detected this would provide important clues as to the whereabouts of the container and so assist recovery action, should this be necessary.
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Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider giving additional incentives to councils to encourage the introduction of further schemes for the recycling of domestic waste ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Our proposals to improve waste management on which we hope to legislate shortly should encourage local authorities to promote recycling. In addition we are carefully considering what further measures might be taken to encourage recycling both at the collection and disposal stages, and are evaluating examples of current best practice and the major experiment in
recycling--"Recycling City"--which is now taking place in Sheffield, with the support of the Government.
Mr. Conway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to introduce legislation to allow local authorities to appoint designated officers for the purpose of taking the name and address of any alleged litter offender for subsequent prosecution.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I am pleased to inform my hon. Friend that our proposals for legislation to tackle the problem of litter, published on 20 July, include a provision which will allow all district and borough councils to operate a fixed penalty scheme for littering. Under such a scheme an authorised officer of the authority will be empowered to issue tickets to litterers requiring payment of a fixed penalty within a set period. Failure to pay the fixed penalty will render the offender liable to prosecution. We are not, however, proposing to give the authorised officer extra powers to demand the name and address of the offender.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for the financial years 1981 to 1988 inclusive the following information : (a) the housing investment allocation paid to Leicester city council for each of the years and (b) the housing investment allocation in real terms for each of those years.
Mr. Chope : The following figures give Leicester city council's housing investment programme allocations and also its outturn expenditure for the years requested, in both actual and real terms.
£ million £ million Allocation Outturn Year |Actual |Real terms|Actual |Real terms ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1981-82 |17.036 |24.628 |19.464 |28.137 1982-83 |18.496 |24.971 |21.063 |28.436 1983-84 |17.373 |22.416 |22.488 |29.016 1984-85 |18.900 |23.238 |30.604 |37.628 1985-86 |15.000 |17.482 |28.395 |33.093 1986-87 |13.285 |15.002 |26.013 |29.375 1987-88 |14.277 |15.319 |23.983 |25.733 1988-89 |13.716 |13.716 |32.393 |32.393
Mr. Haselhurst : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the subjects on which he is not prepared to answer parliamentary questions.
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Mr. Patten : I would normally expect to answer questions within my area of responsibility other than those involving disproportionate cost.
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether Her Majesty's Government intend to ratify the Basel convention on the control of transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Yes, together with our European Community partners.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to proceed with the restructuring of the Nature Conservancy Council and Countryside Commission as outlined by the previous Secretary of State for the Environment on 11 July.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give an assurance that he will uphold the terms of the north-east Derbyshire green belt local plan (paragraph 5.20, proposal 6) and reject any application lodged on appeal by British Coal to begin opencast mining in the green belt and around Barlborough.
Mr. Moynihan : No. I cannot give such an assurance. This would clearly prejudice the position of the Secretary of State were an application to come before him on appeal. Minerals can be worked only where they occur, but extraction, including opencast coal, need not be incompatible with green belt objectives provided high environmental standards are maintained and sites are restored to a good standard. As Derbyshire's green belt local plan makes clear, mineral working is a temporary operation which can be acceptable in green belt areas and is not incompatible with the eventual restoration of the area to an open use.
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish in the Official Report the extent of foreign investment in British water authorities.
Mr. Howard : The successor companies to the nine water authorities in England are wholly owned by the Crown.
Mr. Cormack : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will appoint a new member to the advisory committee on works of art in the House of Commons following the resignation from the committee of the hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton (Mr. Callaghan).
Mr. Patten : I am pleased to announce that, with Mr. Speaker's agreement, I have appointed the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) to the advisory committee.
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Mr. David Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made with preparations for the forthcoming water share offers.
Mr. Chris Patten : I have today placed in the Library the "Pathfinder" prospectus for the 10 water share offers which has been published today. It gives details of the forthcoming offers, apart from the price, share capital and related information. The share price will be announced on 22 November.
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has regarding the toxic and carcinogenic properties of unleaded petrol ; and what assessment he has made of the effects of using benzene in such petrol.
Mr. Roger Freeman : I have been asked to reply.
We are not aware of any information to suggest that there are toxic or carcinogenic properties specific to unleaded petrol.
Benzene is toxic at high doses and is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a human carcinogen on the basis of data from workers who were exposed to high levels in the past. The concentration of benzene permitted in petrol is regulated under a European directive and it is not used as an additive to substitute for lead.
Mr. Sims : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will seek to persuade the Korean Government to equalise the levels of duty on Scotch whisky and other spirits.
Mr. Redwood : It has been our objective for some time to remove the discriminatory features of Korea's tax and tariff treatment of Scotch whisky and other imported spirits, as well as other restrictions on the import and distribution of these products. There has been some liberalisation which has benefited Scotch whisky but discriminatory treatment continues to hold back sales in Korea. We have made strong representations to the Korean Government and will continue to take every opportunity to do so, both bilaterally and through the European Community.
Mr. Sims : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps Her Majesty's Government have taken to overcome the import restrictions faced by Scotch whisky exports to Taiwan.
Mr. Redwood : The authorities in Taiwan are well aware of United Kingdom concerns. Her Majesty's Government have no dealings with the Taiwanese authorities but United Kingdom concerns on this and other matters are put across very clearly in Taipei and London by the Anglo-Taiwan trade committee, a private organisation set up to promote British exports to Taiwan.
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Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which recommendations of the Office of Fair Trading set out in the document "Selling by telephone," in 1983 he has accepted ; which of these have been implemented ; and what are his reasons for not implementing the remainder.
Mr. Forth : Two of the recommendations in the 1984 report by the Office of Fair Trading on selling by telephone were addressed to Government.
The first related to automatic dialling equipment. Such equipment which transmits recorded messages or synthesised speech may only be used with the consent in writing of the intended recipient. Other such equipment which transmits speech or data has only been approved by the Director General of Telecommunications for connection to the public network where there are legitimate reasons for its use. The Government have accepted the more recent advice of the Director General of Telecommunications that the new branch systems general licence, which will soon be granted under the Telecommunications Act 1984, should contain a condition requiring anyone making telephone sales calls not to do so in respect of any user who requests them to stop.
On the second recommendation, the Government are not convinced that there have been sufficient problems to require the introduction of a statutory cooling-off period for oral contracts resulting from unsolicited telephone calls.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will list all offers of regional selective assistance in the Darlington area for each year since 1982 ; and whether he will provide the same information for (a) Stockton-on-Tees and (b) Middlesbrough.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The offers of regional selective assistance in the Darlington, Stockton and Middlesbrough areas in each year since 1 April 1982 are as follows :
(A) Offers of regional selective assistance in the Darlington parliamentary constituency Company |Amount offered |£ ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1 April 1982-31 March 1983 Nil 1 April 1983-31 March 1984 Whessoe Projects Ltd. |1,070,000 Brent Chemicals International Ltd. |40,000 Stenga Ltd. |25,000 C. P. Offset |25,000 Darlington Pattern Making Company |6,500 1 April 1984-31 March 1985 T. E. Catterall Ltd. |20,000 Amdega Ltd. |50,000 Indescon Ltd. |35,000 Priestgate Services (No. 29) Ltd. |30,000 1 April 1985-31 March 1986 Harvey Plating Ltd. |50,000 Rallbar Ltd. |10,000 Areena Shoe Components Ltd. |50,000 Mech-Tool Engineering Ltd. |70,000 Mini-Prints North East |15,000 F. W. Alderson |5,000 S. R. Steel Ltd. |5,000 1 April 1986-31 March 1987 Kohlangaz Fire Co. Ltd. |30,000 Con-Mech Group Ltd. |45,000 Darlington Timber Supplies Ltd. |15,000 Mitre Tooling Co. Ltd. |35,000 Epcot Leisure Ltd. |15,000 BSA Foundries Ltd. |175,000 Baydale Engineering |8,000 Forge Diesel Services Ltd. |5,000 Amdega Ltd. |70,000 1 April 1987-31 March 1988 Vector Electronics |10,000 Rennyco Ltd. |5,000 Aycliffe Paper Winding Ltd. |5,000 Darcham Ltd. |65,000 Amdega Ltd. |100,000 Edgeworth Electronics Ltd. |5,000 Harvey Plating Ltd. |25,000 Glassfibre Flagpoles Ltd. |20,000 Mitre Plastics Ltd. |35,000 1 April 1988-31 March 1989 Regis Fibres (UK) Ltd. |25,000 BSA Engineering Ltd. |10,000 J. L. Moore & Sons |75,000 Stenga Ltd. |90,000 Thrivewell Ltd. |7,500 Shildon Manufacturing |15,000 Baydale Architectural Metalwork |25,000 Great Northern Timber Co. Ltd. |60,000 1 April 1989-30 September 1989 No case details published.
(B) Offers of Regional Selective Assistance in the Stockton North Parliamentary Constituency Company |Amount Offered |£ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 April 1982-31 March 1983 Derian Ltd. |25,000 Supreme Knitwear Manufacturing Co. Ltd. |25,000 1 April 1983-31 March 1984 Cleveland Redpath English Holdings Ltd. |4,000,000 English Conservatories Ltd. |25,000 Supreme Knitwear Manufacturing Co. Ltd. |25,000 John Harrison (Stockton) Ltd. |27,000 Brandtex Manufacturing Ltd. |25,000 1 April 1984-31 March 1985 Fine Organics Ltd. |300,000 Supreme Knitwear Manufacturing Co. Ltd. |35,000 ITM Head Wrightson Teesdale Ltd. |400,000 Josty (UK) Ltd. |20,000 1 April 1985-31 March 1986 Brandtex Manufacturing Ltd. |176,000 Bellrise Fashions Ltd. |12,500 Supreme Knitwear Manufacturing Co. Ltd. |25,000 John Harrison (Stockton) Ltd. |20,000 Herrewege Brushes Ltd. |45,000 1 April 1986-31 March 1987 Portrack Security Services |5,000 F. Hills & Sons Ltd. |80,000 C. & S. Hogarth Ltd. |25,000 1 April 1987-31 March 1988 Falcon Press (Stockton on Tees) Ltd. |35,000 Artix Ltd. |280,000 Lionweld Ltd. |255,000 F. Hills & Sons Ltd. |40,000 1 April 1988-31 March 1989 Billingham Press Ltd. |25,000 Spencer & Halstead Ltd. |400,000 BKE Ltd. |10,000 1 April 1989-30 September 1989 No case details published
(c) Offers of regional selective assistance in the Stockton, South parliamentary constituency Company |Amount offered |£ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 April 1982-31 March 1983 Parkfield Group plc |30,000 M. M. Knitwear 1982 Ltd. |96,000 Cleveland Microfilm Services Ltd. |25,000 Cardosi's Ltd. |15,000 Eyetech Group Ltd. |95,000 Nerco Products Ltd. |5,000 Hygena Ltd. |172,628 1 April 1983-31 March 1984 Northdale Rotary Engineering Ltd. |22,000 Hygena Ltd. |366,000 Churchcliffe Glass |8,000 Panda Supplies Ltd. |20,000 Sanderson Chemical Consultants |20,000 1 April 1984-31 March 1985 Cresstale Ltd. |20,000 J. G. Tinkler Ltd. |72,303 Tabuchi Electric (UK) Ltd. |300,000 1 April 1985-31 March 1986 British Visqueen Ltd. |400,000 Elta Plastics Ltd. |50,000 Cresstale Ltd. |75,000 Harcros Chemicals UK Ltd. |400,000 Supreme Knitwear (1986) Ltd. |25,000 1 April 1986-31 March 1987 Laserprint and Display Ltd. |5,000 Cresstale Ltd. |85,000 1 April 1987-31 March 1988 Supreme Knitwear Manufacturing Company Ltd. |100,000 Wireless Video Products |5,000 Stainton Metal Company Ltd. |50,000 Tees Components Ltd. |48,000 Silleck Mouldings Ltd. |170,000 Sanyo Electric Manufacturing (UK) Ltd. |721,000 1 April 1988-31 March 1989 De Novo Engineering Ltd. |20,000 Ready-To-Assemble Furniture Ltd. |400,000 Styles Precision Components Ltd. |20,000 Dalestone Concrete Products Ltd. |70,000 E. H. Education and Training (E. E. Hughes T. A.) |10,000 1 April 1989-30 September 1989 No case details published
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(D) Offers of regional selective assistance in the Middlesbrough local authority district Company |Amount offered |£ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 April 1982-31 March 1983 Seaway International Cables Company Ltd. |20,000 Fabrikat industries Ltd. |230,000 Collin Maintenance and Inspection Services |200,000 1 April 1983-31 March 1984 Norlite Windows Ltd. |14,000 A. C. Walker and Co. |10,000 Solar Pans Ltd. |50,000 1 April 1984-31 March 1985 Henry Newbould Ltd. |480,000 1 April 1985-31 March 1986 Cleveland Cable Company Ltd. |45,000 1 April 1986-31 March 1987 Chemoxy International Ltd. |200,000 1 April 1987-31 March 1988 Marinecrown Ltd. T/A Tees Inshore Engineering |25,000 Bulkhaul Ltd. |100,000 Stanley Vickers Ltd. |45,000 Northern Systems Ltd. |30,000 Amberley Foods Ltd. |550,000 Recovery Ltd. |15,000 Maval Engineering Company Ltd. |25,000 1 April 1988-31 March 1989 Gordian Print Ltd. |22,000 River Tees Engineering and Welding Ltd. |50,000 Wearparts Ltd. |60,000 Cherry Marine Ltd. |15,000 1 April 1989-30 September 1989 No case details published Notes: <1> In accordance with normal practice, information has been restricted to that published in the quarterly tables in "British Business". <2> The figures relate to the Parliamentary Constituency areas of (a) Darlington (b) Stockton North (c) Stockton South and to the local authority area of (d) Middlesbrough, excluding that part of the Stockton South Parliamentary Constituency within the borough boundary.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many jobs have been created or safeguarded by regional aid in the Northern region since 1984.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The number of jobs expected to be created or safeguarded in the Northern region through offers of regional develpment grant (RDG) and regional selective assistance (RSA) since 1984 is :
- Regional Development Grants Financial Year |Jobs --------------------------------------------- 1984-85 |<2>846 1985-86 |11,340 1986-87 |18,389 1987-88 |21,156 1988-89 |25,013 |--- Total |76,744
Regional Selective Assistance Financial Year |Jobs --------------------------------------------- 1983-84 |14,133 1984-85 |13,579 1985-86 |5,984 1986-87 |9,600 1987-88 |6,123 1988-89 |4,487 1989-90<3> |3,708 |--- Total |57,614 <1> The northern region is the north east region plus Cumbria. <2> Offers were made under the revised RGD scheme from 29 November 1984. Following the closure of the scheme on 31 March 1988, all outstanding offers were made in the period ending 31 March 1989. Prior to November 1984, RDG's were not linked to the creation or preservation of jobs, so no estimate is available of the effect on employment of payments under that scheme. <3> Period to 30 October 1989. Notes: 1. Some RSA and RGD offers will relate to the same jobs but it is not practicable accurately to identify these. 2. The figures for both schemes are based on offers made. 3. Regional enterprise grants have also been available for firms employing less than 25 people in development areas since April 1988. Job creation or safeguarding is not, however, a condition of the scheme. 4. Other Government Departments have no job-linked regional aid schemes.
Mr. Haselhurst : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the subjects on which he is not prepared to answer parliamentary questions.
Mr. Ridley : It is not possible to provide a definite and exhaustive list of questions which I might exceptionally decline to answer on grounds other than cost and commercial confidence. Each question will continue to be considered on its merits.
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make it his policy to introduce a system of licensing for ticket touts.
Mr. Patchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to remove Crown immunity from those establishments run by his Department subject to consumer protection and environmental health laws ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend gave to the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Janner) on 20 October 1989 at column 279.
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the cost to small firms wishing to attend the seminar organised by his Department on exporting to Belgium and Germany on 21 November.
Mr. Redwood : The exporting to Belgium seminar on 21 November costs £35 per delegate, including lunch.
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Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what trade union representation exists on the European trade committee.
Mr. Redwood : There is no trade union representation on the European trade committee. Members are selected on the basis of their wide experience of exporting and their knowledge of western Europe.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide information covering each of the last five years showing the number of employees whose earnings fell below (a) the national insurance contributions lower earnings limit ; and (b) the PAYE threshold ; and if he will estimate what proportion of these employees are (i) women, (ii) female part-timers and (iii) part-timers.
Mr. Nicholls : The available information from the new earnings survey is not sufficiently precise to make reliable estimates separately distinguishing the numbers with earnings below these two thresholds. However, the numbers are broadly estimated to be in the following ranges :
April |Millions --------------------------- 1984 |2"-3 1985 |23/4-3¬ 1986 |23/4-3¬ 1987 |3-3" 1988 |3-3"
It is estimated that women account for 75 per cent. of these employees, that female part-timers account for 70 per cent. and that all part-timers account for 90 per cent.
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when results from the Restart cohort survey will be available ; if a copy of any preliminary findings and subsequently the full results will be published or placed in the Library ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : The final results from the Restart cohort study are likely to be available in the middle of 1991. A decision on publication will be taken in due course.
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information is collected on the ET2 form which is completed for each employment training trainee by training managers ; and if he will give as much information as he has for each region and for Great Britain as a whole showing how many employment training trainees have achieved vocational qualifications ; how many have received any form of training bonus : and how much.
Mr. Nicholls : The information which is collected from the ET2 trainee record form is detailed in the following
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table. Information from the forms on qualifications obtained and numbers receiving training bonuses is still being analysed and its reliability assessed. No information is available about the amount of training bonus paid to trainees.Employment Training--
Information Collected from ET2, Trainee Record Form--
Name and address
National Insurance number
Date of birth
Sex
Marital Status
Age band
Duration of unemployment
Whether disabled/health problem
Ethnic origin
Referral source
Eligibility code
Literacy and numeracy need
Whether trainee referred to Training Manager
Date of assessment
Training Agent/Training Manager Reference number
Date training started
Date training expected to end
Placed on project in first 4 weeks
Date of Training Manager action
Training Manager reference number
Date training ended
Main training occupation classification code
Type of training received
Whether studied for vocational qualification or credit
Whether gained vocational qualification or credit
Whether fulfilled agreed action plan
Whether received training bonus
Leaving code
Training Manager reference number
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