House of Commons Hansard Debates for 17 Jan 1990

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The Council agreed a statement on the possibility of research co-operation with eastern Europe and invited the Commission to come forward with specific proposals.

Privatisation

128. Mr. Neil Hamilton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many companies have been returned to the private sector by his Department since 1979.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 9 January [columns. 517- -18 ]. My Department had primary responsibility for returning seven companies to the private sector.

Exporters

Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is taking to help British exporters ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Redwood : My Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provide, through the export initiative, a wide range of help, advice and support to United Kingdom exporters at each stage of the exporting process. It is, however, for individual firms to decide whether they should export. Our role is to help them reach these decisions and to provide the services they require to help them enter export markets.

It is encouraging to see that the volume of non-oil exports in the three months to November 1989 was 13 per cent. higher than a year earlier.

Renovations

Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any conveniently available figures for the (a) value and (b) size of his Department's property being renovated by the Property Services Agency and as to how much priority one Department of Trade and Industry property is not being renovated owing to shortage of funds.

Mr. Forth : (a) Department of Trade and Industry occupies approximately 406,000m of the Civil Service estate, but figures are not conveniently available for the value of these occupations. (b) Responsibility for maintenance of the civil estate, under the Property Repayment System (PRS) arrangements, is shared between PSA and Departments. On 24 May 1989, Sir Gordon Manzie, chief executive of PSA, informed the Environment Committee that, at current funding levels, it should be possible to clear the backlog of priority maintenance work on the civil estate as a whole by 1995-96. (HC 403 (1988-89) EV.p.24). There is, however, no readily available information relating the backlog to individual Department occupations.

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Eastern Europe

Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many United Kingdom firms have current commercial contracts with Yugoslavia ; and what is his estimate of the value of those contracts in£ sterling ;

(2) how many United Kingdom firms have current commercial contracts with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ; and what is his estimate of the value of those contracts in £ sterling ;

(3) how many United Kingdom firms have current commercial contracts with Hungary ; and what is his estimate of the value of those contracts in £ sterling.

(4) how many United Kingdom firms have current commercial contracts with Poland ; and what is his estimate of the value of those contracts in £ sterling ;

(5) how many United Kingdom firms have current commercial contracts with Czechoslovakia ; and what is his estimate of the value of those contracts in £ sterling ;

(6) how many United Kingdom firms have current commercial contracts with Romania ; and what is his estimate of the value of those contracts in £ sterling ;

(7) how many United Kingdom firms have current commercial contracts with Bulgaria ; and what is his estimate of the value of those contracts in £ sterling.

Mr. Redwood : The Government do not have comprehensive information about the number or value of commercial contracts with the east European countries listed by the hon. Member. Such information as my Department receives about individual contracts is commercially confidential and cannot, therefore, be revealed.

Missile Technology Control

Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all companies in the United Kingdom producing components or information which came under the terms of the missile technology control regime.

Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 15 January 1990] : This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. G. J. Mulcahy

Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the positions currently held by Mr. G. J. Mulcahy who has served as a Government-appointed director on British Telecom plc from 19 October 1988.

Mr. Forth [holding answer 16 January 1990] : Details of the current directorships of all of the directors of British Telecom plc are publicly available from the register of directors maintained by the company in accordance with section 288 of the Companies Act 1985. Details are also publicly available from the Register of Companies. Any other positions currently held by Mr. Mulcahy are a matter for him.

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Manufacturing

Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the increase in manufacturing output less food, since 1973 and 1979, respectively, and the increase in the volume of manufactured imports.

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Mr. Norman Lamont : I have been asked to reply.

The information requested on manufacturing output, less food cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. Volume indices of manufactured imports can be found on the CSO databank, which is accessible through the House of Commons Library.

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