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Table 2
Amounts repaid between 1982-83 and
1988-89
|£
------------------------------------------
1982-83 |69,691,483.78
1983-84 |70,103,983.98
1984-85 |70,896,173.25
1985-86 |70,475,174.81
1986-87 |69,720,259.00
1987-88 |70,893,107.50
1988-89 |68,538,447.67
Table 2
Amounts repaid between 1982-83 and
1988-89
|£
------------------------------------------
1982-83 |69,691,483.78
1983-84 |70,103,983.98
1984-85 |70,896,173.25
1985-86 |70,475,174.81
1986-87 |69,720,259.00
1987-88 |70,893,107.50
1988-89 |68,538,447.67
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Staff (Ages)
38. Mr. Livsey : To ask the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, what proportion of House staff employed on 1 November were (a) under 18 years, (b) under 25 years and (c) over 50 years.
Mr. Beith : The total number of staff employed at 1 November 1989 was 988 of whom (a) 1 (or 0.1 per cent.) was under 18 ; (b) 111 (or 11.23 per cent.) were under 25 ; and (c) 274 (or 27.73 per cent.) were over 50 years of age.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Maladministration
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Attorney-General if he will propose an amendment of the law to enable maladministration by judges and court officials to be reviewed by the Parliamentary Commissioner when they are not acting in a purely judicial capacity.
Judicial Appointments
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Attorney-General (1) how many black judges he estimates there will be in the year 2000 ; and what percentage of the total this will be ;
(2) what percentage and number of county court judges are black ; (3) what percentage and number of judges who sit full time in the Crown court are black ;
(4) what percentage and number of judges who sit in the Court of Appeal and Court of Criminal Appeal are black ;
(5) what percentage and number of judges who sit in the Divisional Court are black ;
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(6) what percentage and number of judges who sit in the High Court are black ;(7) what percentage and number of those who sit in the House of Lords in its capacity as an apellate court are black ;
(8) what percentage and number of recorders are black.
The Attorney-General : Records are not kept of the ethnic origin of members of the judiciary or of candidates for judicial appointment but our understanding of the present position is as follows. There are no black Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, Lord Justices of Appeal or High Court judges. There are 422 circuit judges of whom one is black (0.2 per cent.). There are 703 recorders of whom five are black (0.7 per cent.).
It is impossible to produce a meaningful estimate of the number of individuals from ethnic minorities who will hold judicial office in the year 2000. Every effort however is being made to encourage black lawyers in the appropriate age groups to put themselves forward for judicial office, and it is the Lord Chancellor's hope that by 2000 there will be many more black judges.
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Attorney-General (1) how many female judges he estimates there will be in the year 2000 ; and what percentage of the total this will be ;
(2) what percentage and number of county court judges are female ; (3) what percentage and number of judges who sit full-time in the Crown courts are female ;
(4) what percentage and number of judges who sit in the Divisional Court are female ;
(5) what percentage and number of recorders are female ; (6) what percentage and number of those who sit in the House of Lords in its capacity as an appellate court are female ;
(7) what percentage and numbers of judges who sit in the Court of Appeal and Court of Criminal Appeal are female ;
(8) what percentage and number of judges who sit in the High Court are female.
The Attorney-General : The following figures are correct as at 1 December 1989.
There are 10 Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, of whom none is female. There are 27 Lords Justices of Appeal, of whom one is female (3.7 per cent).
There are 81 High Court judges, of whom one is female (1.2 per cent).
There are 422 circuit judges, of whom 17 are female(4 per cent). There are 703 recorders, of whom 25 are female (3.6 per cent). It is impossible to produce a meaningful estimate of the number of female judges there will be in the year 2000.
Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Attorney-General (1) what steps he is taking to increase the number of female judges ; (2) what steps he is taking to increase the numbers of black judges.
The Attorney-General : Candidates for judicial appointment are considered on their merits, regardless of sex or ethnic origin. The Lord Chancellor has, however, made it clear on a number of occasions that he would very much
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like to appoint more women and members of ethnic minorities to judicial office, and has urged groups representing women lawyers and lawyers from ethnic minorities to encourage those of their members in the appropriate age groups to put themselves forward as candidates for appointment.LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
Procedural Reform
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement on his assessment of the case for reform of the procedures of the House.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes).
Facilities (Visitors)
43. Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will review the earliest time at which visitors can be admitted at St. Stephen's Entrance ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : The arrangements for visitors are kept under review by the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee and I understand that it would be hard to justify the additional costs of opening St. Stephen's entrance earlier than the present time of 9 am on sitting days due to the small numbers of visitors seeking entrance at that hour.
European Community Debates
44. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make a statement about the number of hours spent debating European Economic Community matters during the 1988-89 Parliament.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : The number of hours spent debating European Community matters during the 1988-89 Session was approximately 90 hours, including three debates totalling 16 hours on the six-monthly White Papers on developments in the European Community covering the period January 1988 to June 1989, 11.5 hours in Standing Committee and four hours on ministerial statements. This total excludes time spent in discussion of European Community matters during debates on wider issues or at other times such as Question Time.
Prime Minister's Press Secretary
45. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Lord President of the Council what facilities are provided in the Palace of Westminster for the Prime Minister's Press Secretary.
Members of the European Parliament
46. Mr. Aitken : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he expects to bring forward any proposals that will allow Members of the European Parliament to participate in committees or any other proceedings of the House.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I have no plans at this stage to bring forward such proposals. However, the report of the Select
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Committee on Procedure on the scrutiny of European legislation published on 30 November contains recommendations on developing the links between Parliament and MEPs. I cannot comment on detailed points in the report at this stage, but I have already assured the House that the Goverment will look carefully and constructively at all the report's recommendations.PRIME MINISTER
Nuclear Arms
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister if, during the debriefing meeting of NATO nations' heads of state and government in Brussels on 4 December, President Bush indicated whether the issues of the fourth review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and non-proliferation policies were discussed by Presidents Bush and Gorbachev in Malta.
The Prime Minister : No. The President gave no indication that these issues had been discussed.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister when she last took the opportunity to discuss with President Bush the forthcoming amendment conference of the partial test ban treaty.
The Prime Minister : I have not discussed this issue with President Bush.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister when she last took the opportunity to discuss with President Bush joint United States-United Kingdom initiatives that may be taken to strengthen the 1968 nuclear non- proliferation treaty before the fourth review conference of that treaty.
The Prime Minister : I have not discussed this with President Bush. There is, however, frequent contact with the United States on such matters at official level.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister when she last took the opportunity to discuss with President Bush (a) the adequacy of NATO nation expenditure on nuclear weapons and (b) initiatives that may be taken on nuclear disarmament.
The Prime Minister : I last met President Bush at the NATO summit on 4 December ; defence issues were among those discussed at the summit.
Human Rights
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Prime Minister if she intends to discuss the issues of Palestinian human rights and self-determination when she next meets her Israeli counterpart.
The Prime Minister : I have at present no plans to meet Mr. Shamir.
Rain Forests
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister if she will give details of the allocation to individual projects of £100 million United Kingdom support announced in her speech to the United Nations for rain forest protection.
The Prime Minister : We currently have in preparation over 50 projects in 22 countries. Allocations from the £100
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million I announced on 8 November will be made for these and other projects. Since August ODA forestry missions have visited Brazil, Cameroon, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Details of particular projects will be made known when formal agreement has been reached with the country concerned. The £100 million is for commitment over the next three years.Nuclear Energy
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister what actions the Government have taken, and intend to take, to encourage those parties to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty that have not yet negotiated their mandatory safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, to do so.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 8 December 1989] : The negotiation and conclusion of a safeguards agreement pursuant to article III of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) are matters for each NPT party and the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, we take every appropriate opportunity to underline the importance we attach to the fulfilment of obligations under the NPT.
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister what steps the Government intend to take to assist in increasing the funding for International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards activities.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 8 December 1989] : The International Atomic Energy Agency's safeguards activities are financed from its regular budget. These activities play a vital role in guarding against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the whole international community benefits. When the agency's board of governors discusses the budget for 1991-92, the United Kingdom will continue to argue that safeguards activities deserve the highest priority.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy to raise at the Strasbourg summit of European Community Heads of Government with the President and Prime Minister of France, France's export policies for nuclear materials and sensitive nuclear technology and prospects of France joining the nulear
non-proliferation treaty.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 8 December 1989] : I did not raise these issues at the European Council meeting in Strasbourg.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if, during her meeting with President Roh Tae Woo of South Korea in London recently, she discussed the dangers to peace in the Korean peninsular of the North Korean development of a military nuclear materials production capability based on a United Kingdom designed reactor and the fourth review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty next August and its role in preventing nuclear proliferation in the Korean peninsula.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 8 December 1989] : Neither subject was raised.
Cambodia
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Prime Minister when the two officials referred to in her letter of 4 December to the hon. Member for Halifax will arrive in Phnom Penh.
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The Prime Minister [holding answer 8 December 1989] : The British officials arrived in Cambodia on 8 December 1989.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Buttons
Mr. Rowlands : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what representations he has received from the British Button Manufacturers Association relating to the statutory instrument, 1989 No. 1291 ; and whether he will seek to amend the instrument in the light of the representations ;
(2) what consultation his Department held with representatives of the British button industry on the provisions of statutory instrument 1989 No. 1291.
Mr. Redwood : The British Button Manufacturers Association has made representations for exempting from the provisions of the Food Imitations (Safety) Regulations 1989 buttons which resemble food. These regulations implement from 1 January 1990 the European Community dangerous imitations directive and within the terms of the directive it would not have been permissible to accede to these representations.
Mail Charges
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whose approval was required for the Post Office to revise their scale of surcharges for understamped mail ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : Decisions on the level of postal tariffs, including surcharges, are a matter for the Post Office. However, the Post Office is required to consult the Post Office Users National Council before making changes.
Companies Act Investigations
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what policies his Department operates about the employment on privatisation of accountancy firms criticised in his Department's reports on Companies Act inquiries ; how these are enforced ; and what rules he lays down about the use of individual accountants and practices criticised in these reports.
Mr. Redwood : Firms, including accountancy firms, are invited to tender for the provision of advisory services to the Department on the basis of its assessment of their suitability to provide those services. In making its assessment, the Department pays due regard to adverse criticisms of individual firms particularly where they might be relevant to the particular work for which the firms could be invited to tender.
Security Interests in Property
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what responses have been received to consultation following the publication of the Diamond report, "A Review of Security Interests in Property" ; and when the Government expect to be able to make a statement about reform of the law in this area ;
(2) if, now that the Diamond report, "A Review of Security Interests in Property", has been published and the
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consultation period is ended he will ask the Scottish Law Commission to resume its work on floating charges and include any appropriate recommendations that arise from their consultative memorandum No. 72, "Floating Charges and Receivers", published in October 1986 ;(3) what steps he intends to take to remove the present prohibition in the law of Scotland on taking security over moveable property without possession ; and what representations he has had on this subject.
Mr. Redwood : A significant number of responses have been received to the proposals outlined in part II of Professor Diamond's report, "A Review of Security Interests in Property" published by HMSO in January. Professor Diamond recommends radical reform in a complex area of the law which will need careful consideration. The Government will make public their conclusions, in the light of the responses received, in due course.
Professor Diamond's report pays particular attention to the restrictions of current Scots security law and a number of respondees commented on this aspect. It will be given due weight in the Government's consideration of what action should be taken in response to the report.
The question whether the Scottish Law Commission decides to resume its work on floating charges and receivers will to some extent depend upon the conclusions the Government reach on Professor Diamond's report. The work was not suspended at the request of the Government.
Privatisation
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what principles his Department has developed as a basis of common practice for firms and businesses to be privatised in the valuation of (a) property assets, (b) subsidiary shareholding, (c) stocks, (d) good will, (e) other assets, and (f) debt ; what consultations he had with the accountancy profession in developing these standards ; and how they are reviewed after each individual privatisation.
Mr. Redwood : My Department takes appropriate professional advice on the basis of the particular circumstances and requirements of each firm or business to be privatised.
Auditors
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is taken by his Department in dealing with auditing firms that deliver poor audits.
Mr. Redwood : Complaints about auditors' conduct of statutory audits of companies are normally referred to the relevant professional body and the outcome of the referral is noted.
Mobile Telecommunications
Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans for introducing further competition into mobile telecommunications ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : On 22 June 1989 the then Secretary of State, Lord Young, announced that a consortium led by
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Mercury Communications Ltd. or its parent company, Cable and Wireless, would be offered a licence to operate a mobile telecommunications network within the frequency range of 1.7 to 2.3 GHz, subject to the submission of an acceptable proposal. He also invited applications for one or two further licences to operate such networks. Seven applications were received by the closing date on 14 September.The proposal from the consortium headed by Mercury, and the other applications have been fully assessed by the Director General of Telecommunications, who has made recommendations to the Secretary of State. We are grateful to the director general and his staff for their careful and thorough assessment.
Following his advice, I can confirm I am offering a licence to Mercury PCN Ltd., a consortium comprising Mercury Communications Ltd. Motorola Ltd. and Telefonica.
I am also offering licences to a consortium consisting of British Aerospace (Space Communications) Ltd., Matra Communication, Millicom UK, Pacific Telesis UK (3) Ltd. and Sony ; and a consortium consisting of STC, US West, Thorn EMI and Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, which will operate under the name of Unitel Ltd.
These licences will permit the operators to run personal communications networks (PCNs) in the frequency range 1.7-1.9 GHz. They will come into service in the early 1990s. We expect them to compete initially with the services offered by the two existing cellular radio operators, Cellnet and Racal-Vodafone at that time. By the mid to late 1990s, the cost and convenience of equipment may make the use of a PCN a competitive alternative not only to the cellular operators' services but to the fixed telephone network.
The details of operating licences and radio spectrum allocation will now be discussed with the successful licensees. As the announcement of 22 June indicated, they will be able to provide their own radio-based network infrastructure between cells. They will also be permitted to share infrastructure in rural areas if they wish to do so.
The announcement on 22 June specified that the networks should be based on either the GSM standard developed for the pan-European cellular network or the digital European cordless telephone (DECT) technology. In order to allow for full consultation within Europe we have decided not to take a final decision on these two technologies at this stage. This consultation will be undertaken by the successful licensees, with the support of my officials, through the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). However, our objective of a comnon technical standard as a framework for competitive United Kingdom PCN services remain the same, and we expect this to be based upon a European technology or a combination of technologies currently being standardised in Europe.
PCNs will take the development of telecommunications in the United Kingdom a major step forward. They will allow the same telephone to be used at home, at work and on the move. The United Kingdom will be the first country in the world to offer PCN services. The prominent international companies involved in both the successful and unsuccessful applicants attest to the position of this country as a world leader in mobile communications. The United Kingdom companies leading the consortia also make clear the strength of our own telecommunications sector. The quality of applications for these licences was
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excellent, and I am sure that those we have selected will make PCNs a powerful competitive force in the telecommunications world of the 1990s.Departmental Staff
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many civil servants in his Department work (a) full time and (b) part time on (i) the film industry,(ii) the record industry, (iii) the publishing industry,(iv) the press, (v) the design industry, (vi) the fashion industry, (vii) leisure and (viii) tourism.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 7 December 1989] : The industries specified do not, in all cases, relate directly to the division of industry responsibilities within my Department. The responsibility for tourism rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. In total, approximately 28 staff are directly concerned with the industries listed and devote all or part of their time to them.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the expenditure by his Department in the last financial year on (a) the film industry, (b) the record industry, (c) the publishing industry. (d) the Press, (e) the design industry, (f) the fashion industry, (g) leisure and (h) tourism.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 7 December 1989] : In 1988-89 expenditure on the film industry was £2 million and expenditure in support of the Depatment's design policies was £7.8 million, mainly for grant in aid to the Design Council. The responsibility for tourism rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. My Department has no specific expenditure programme related to the other industries, although all companies eligible can apply for assistance under the Department's various initiatives and programmes.
Government Shareholdings
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the shareholdings held by the Government in two categories (a) golden shares and (b) other shareholdings and give the percentage holding and the current market value in each case.
Mr. Lilley : I have been asked to reply.
The Government hold special shares in the following companies, Mersey Docks and Harbour Company ; Britoil ; Cable and Wireless ; Jaguar ; Sealink ; British Telecom ; British Aerospace ; VSEL Consortium ; British Gas ; Rolls -Royce ; BAA ; British Steel ; Anglian Water ; Northumbrian Water ; North West Water ; Severn Trent ; South West Water ; Southern Water ; Thames Water ; Welsh Water ; Wessex Water ; and Yorkshire Water.
Details of the Government's other shareholdings are given in the "Consolidated Fund and National Loans Fund Accounts 1987-88 : Supplementary Statements" (HC59). The 1988-89 supplementary statements will be laid before the House on 18 December. The Government will retain residual shareholdings in each of the 10 water companies. Precise details of the numbers of those shares are not yet available. The current market value of the shareholdings can be established from the International Stock Exchange official list.
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Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the amount of Government debt written off in each of the privatisations effected by Her Majesty's Government since 1979.
Mr. Lilley : I have been asked to reply.
The normal practice on privatisation of a nationalised industry or company wholly or majority owned by Government is to repay, rather than write off debt. This repayment may be financed from the company's existing resources, the injection of new equity, or new debt finance. In some cases, the Government provide the finance to repay debts, for example, by an equity injection. Such finance is shown in the relevant departmental programme of the public expenditure White Paper. Subsequent sales of the Government's interests in a company are recorded in the privatisation programme in the PEWP.
National loan fund debt has been formally written off only in the following privatisation cases :
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