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Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what he estimates will be the costs of rehousing 300 British library staff from London to Boston Spa in (a) capital, for purchasing or existing buildings and (b) personnel costs in relocation allowances.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 1 March 1990] : Building costs at Boston Spa are estimated by the British library to be in the range of £2.5 million to £5 million. Final figures will depend on the construction strategy chosen by the library after further investigation. Personnel costs in relocation allowances are estimated to be £1 million.
Export of Goods
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will publish in the Official Report the text of the letter from Mr. Neil Chalmers, director of the natural history museum to him, dated 2 February, concerning the Export of Goods (Control Order) 1987.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 2 March 1990] : I have today laid in the Library of the House a copy of the letter of 2 February to me from Mr. Neil Chalmers, director of the natural history museum.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Minister for the Arts what action he will take to make it possible for "Lizzie", a 340 million-year-old fossil, to remain in Britain ; and if he will urgently bring forward an amendment order to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1987 to bring natural objects such as fossils within its ambit.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 2 March 1990] : Statutory responsibility for export licensing rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Any amendment to Export of Goods (Control) Orders, the latest of which is SI 1989/2376, is therefore a matter for the Secretary of State. However, I have asked the reviewing committee on the export of works of art, which advises me on such matters, to submit recommendations about the export control of natural heritage items, so that I can advise my right hon. Friend on this matter.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what action he has taken, and what action he intends taking, to implement the recommendations within his area of responsibility of the European Commission's childcare network report "Caring for Children--Services and Policies for Childcare and Equal Opportunities in the United Kingdom".
Mr. Luce [holding answer 5 March 1990] : The report was prepared for the European Commission which has not yet developed any proposals. The Government believe that policy on child care is a matter for member states. The United Kingdom's policy is that it is for families themselves to determine how their children are to be brought up and how parents, who wish to do so, can best
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combine paid work and family responsibilities. The Government, through the Department of Health and the ministerial group on women's issues, has encouraged the development of a range of high-quality child care options for both parents and employers.Sexual Harassment
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Arts what is his Department's policy on sexual harassment at work ; whether guidance on reporting complaints has been issued to all staff ; how many complaints have been reported in the past five years ; and what disciplinary action has been taken.
Mr. Luce [holding answer 5 March 1990] : My Department has issued a policy statement about sexual harassment to its staff. The statement explains that all sexual harassment is unacceptable and outlines the complaints procedure. One complaint has been reported in the past five years. The individual initially received an oral warning. Her behaviour however continued, and following a written warning she resigned from the Civil Service as further disciplinary proceedings were instigated.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Money Management Group
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has about the Money Management group of companies ; their share-holders and directors and any current investigations being undertaken into their activities.
Mr. Redwood : I understand that the hon. Member is referring to those companies controlled by Mr. Adrian Ward. Information on Money Management Financial Services Ltd. and Money Management Associates Ltd. is on the companies public files at Companies House. The chief executive advises me that Mrs. Linzi Ward is shown as director of both companies. In each case, the two subscribers to the memoranda of association, Instant Companies Ltd. and Swift Incorporations Ltd., are shown as the only shareholders. I understand that Adrian Ward, trading under the name Money Management Financial Services, holds a licence issued by the Director General of Fair Trading under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. My Department does not hold records of other companies operated by Mr. Ward. MMFS had an interim authorisation which was withdrawn on 26 February. This is a matter for FIMBRA and the SIB.
As regards the question of investigations, my Department does not comment on the affairs of various companies.
Company Audits
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will seek to amend the Companies Act 1989 so as to require the supervisory bodies to ascertain whether or not an auditor has received more than 15 per cent. of his income from one client.
Mr. Redwood : No. Under the Act the Secretary of State may recognise a supervisory body only if, among other things, it appears to him that it has adequate arrangements and resources for the effective monitoring and enforcement of compliance with its rules. Such arrangements
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would need to cover any rules that required company auditors to observe the body's guidance on the proportion of income which they may receive from any one client.Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will bring forward legislation to prevent individuals criticised by his Department's inspectors from acting as auditors for companies.
Mr. Redwood : No, but under part II of the Companies Act 1989, the Secretary of State may not recognise a supervisory body unless it appears to him that it has adequate rules and practices designed to ensure that company auditors are fit and proper persons for appointment.
EC Structural Funds
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of "The Structural Funds of the European Communities", compiled by Graeme de la Mer for the London chamber of commerce.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : No. The publication in question is available for companies to inspect in the world aid section of my Department. The world aid section is a central source of information on commercial opportunities arising from projects financed by the European structural funds in the other member states of the Community.
Funerals
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received about the 1989 Office of Fair Trading report entitled "Funerals", and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : A number of right hon. and hon. Members have written to the Secretary of State and me recently about the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) 1989 report on funerals. Most of them had seen a report prepared by the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) detailing its criticisms of the OFT report.
The OFT report was the result of a monitoring survey of the effectiveness of the NAFD's code of practice. The Director General of Fair Trading has a duty under the Fair Trading Act 1973 to encourage industry associations to adopt codes of practice which promote and safeguard the interests of consumers. In carrying out this duty he acts independently and the report on funerals is therefore a matter for him. I know that he is concerned about the comments made in the NAFD report and he has prepared a comprehensive response. I shall ask him to write to the right hon. Member.
Electronics
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has had from the electronics industry on the subject of skills shortages.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : There have been no direct representations from the electronics industry on skills shortages during the past two months, but there have, in the past, been approaches with regard to IT skills shortages. In recognising this my Department announced support of up to £440,000 over three years for the recently launched Women into Information Technology (WIT)
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campaign, where this support is appropriately matched by industry. My Department supports a programme aimed at stimulating the production of distance learning video courses on subjects directly relating to skills in microelectronics, information technology, and their applications. Support is also being given to anindustry-further education collaborative programme aimed at producing interactive video courses relating, in the main, to IT skills. My Department also has an information technology advisory board (ITAB) with representatives from industry, commerce and academia. One of ITAB's support committees advises specifically on education and training and comments on IT skills issues.
Animal Experiments
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the European Community's plans in respect of animal testing for cosmetics.
Mr. Forth : The proposed amendments to the cosmetics directive are designed to improve the level of public safety. The United Kingdom has succeeded in limiting the animal testing required to the essential minimum.
European Commission
Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he last met his counterparts in the European Commission ; and what topics were discussed.
Mr. Redwood : I meet European Community Ministers and Commissioners on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.
Manufacturing Productivity
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department has carried out any studies into the effects of Government regulations on productivity improvements in manufacturing industry and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My Department co-ordinates the Government's deregulation initiative, under which individual Departments review existing regulatory requirements and scrutinise new proposals in order to minimise any unnecessary constraints these may impose on business performance. In assessing the costs to business of complying with new regulations, Departments have particular regard to the impact on the management resources of small firms.
Japanese Companies
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of Britain's manufactured exports are made by Japanese- owned companies.
Mr. Redwood : I regret that the information is not available.
Steel
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many meetings since privatisation there have been between (a) Ministers, and (b) senior officials, and the chief executive or other board members of British Steel.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg : Since the flotation of British Steel my noble Friend the Minister for Trade has met a member of the company's board in connection with an overseas trade mission.There have been meetings between officials in various parts of the Department and members of the British Steel board since the flotation on a variety of subjects, but the precise number could be established only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list with dates meetings between himself and the chairman of British Steel since privatisation.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Neither I nor my predecessor has formally met the chairman of British Steel since the flotation of the company.
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department has formulated a policy view about a single plate mill strategy in the steel industry.
Internal Market Council
Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Internal Market Council held on 22 February.
Mr. Redwood : The Council reached a satisfactory agreement on the main agenda item : a directive on public procurement in the water, transport, telecommunications and energy sectors. This represents an important step towards the liberalisation of public procurement in the Community. The Council also received a progress report from the Commission on further work in this area.
The Council also agreed a timetable for future work towards liberalisation of the insurance market in the Community, and discussed amendments to the fourth and seventh company law directives.
This was a satisfactory first Council under the Irish Presidency, which maintains the momentum on the single market built up during the French Presidency.
EC-USSR Trade Agreement
Mr. Kirkhope : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the EC-USSR trade and economic co-operation agreement.
Mr. Ridley : Following discussions in the Community, this agreement was signed after the Foreign Affairs Council on 18 December. While welcoming the conclusion of this significant agreement the Government very much regret that they had not allowed enough time for the parliamentary scrutiny process to be completed before they felt bound to give their consent to the signature of this agreement. Unfortunately, since both the Soviets and our EC partners attached so much importance to the early signature of this agreement any attempt to delay it would not have been understood and could have put at risk any commercial benefit that the United Kingdom may stand to gain from the momentum and climate of good will which the agreement has generated.
I hope that the House will understand, therefore, why the Government agreed, exceptionally, to the signature of the agreement before the scrutiny process had been completed.
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Shipbuilding
Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received in support of the proposal by the Anglo- Greek Consortium to acquire the NESL Southwick shipyard for the purpose of vessel construction after 9 December 1993.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 27 February 1990] : I have received representations of support for this proposal from the hon. Member, British Shipbuilders, Sunderland metropolitan borough council and A and P Appledore International Limited. The Tyne and Wear development corporation expressed a preference for the use of Southwick rather than North Sands if the Anglo-Greek consortium's proposal were to go ahead.
Equal Opportunities
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of his Department's management training courses include sessions on equal opportunities for women ; and what proportion of managers at grade six level and above working outside headquarters has received training on equal opportunities for women.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 5 March 1990] : All my Department's management training courses, including those courses specific to women, deal with equal opportunities issues.
Staff are also able to attend a separate training course on equal opportunities, and are guided by my Department's policy statement and programme of action on equality of opportunity for women. We do not have the figures available on the proportion of managers at grade six level and above who have received formal training on equal opportunities issues, but all have received guidance.
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what child care provision his Department provides for pre-school age children of employees ; what child care provision for school holidays or after-school care is provided for employees' children aged five years or over ; what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years ; and how these are to be funded.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 5 March 1990] : The DTI is considering arrangements for workplace child care for pre-school age children. We are, for example, giving strong financial support to an OMCS- led child care study considering the feasibility of interdepartmental nurseries in both central and outer London.
In conjunction with other Government Departments we organise holiday play schemes for five to 12-year-old children in London and Cardiff. Future provision will depend on the outcome of the OMCS-led study, and on other discussions.
Child care schemes are funded by the users. However, my Department expects to contribute to the start-up costs, and to provide ongoing financial support to running costs where this offers value for money and can be contained within departmental running costs.
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what grade is his Department's equal opportuni-ties officer.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 5 March 1990] : My Department's equal opportunities officer is a grade seven.
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Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he has implemented to ensure that recruitment and promotion policy in his Department does not directly or indirectly discriminate against applicants who were mature students or women returning to work following a career break due to child care.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 5 March 1990] : Our recruitment and promotion policy and procedures are monitored regularly to ensure that they operate equitably for all groups of staff. My Department's equal opportunities officer is involved in that monitoring. With women returners in mind, my Department is about to embark on a trial recruitment exercise for clerical staff in the Westminster area. Women will also benefit from a career break scheme including a definite right of return which my Department will be introducing shortly.
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of civil servants in his Department are women at each of the grades (a) seven, (b) six, (c) five, (d) four, (e) three, (f) two and (g) one.
Mr. Forth : [holding answer 5 March 1990] The proportions as at 26 February 1990 were :
|Per cent
---------------------------
G1 |0
G2 |11
G3 |4
G4 |11
G5 |12
G6 |8
G7 |12
Sexual Harassment
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his Department's policy on sexual harassment at work ; whether guidance on reporting complaints has been issued to all staff ; how many complaints have been reported in the past five years ; and what disciplinary action has been taken.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 5 March 1990] : The policy of my Department is to regard any form of sexual harassment as totally unacceptable. Guidance on reporting complaints has been issued to all staff. Five complaints have been reported in the past five years. Of these, one was withdrawn by the complainant before it was investigated, and two were found to have insufficient evidence to support further action. In the other two disciplinary charges were brought and penalties imposed.
Pin-ups
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will issue instructions for the removal of all offensive pin-ups in all his departmental premises.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 5 March 1990] : The Department's existing guidance to staff on sexual harassment requires managers to take action where posters or photographs are displayed which seem likely to give offence.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
Profit-related Pay
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average percentage of pay in profit-related pay schemes in each year ; and what is their distribution.
Mr. Lilley : I regret that information on actual payments of profit- related pay is not yet available.
Employer Stock Ownership
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the distribution by (a) size and (b) sector of firms with employer stock ownership plans ;
(2) what is the number of employer stock ownership plans and employee share ownership trusts that have been set up in each of the last five years ; how many employees are involved ; and how much less corporation tax has been paid as a result.
Mr. Lilley : The Inland Revenue will not learn of the establishment of employee share ownership trusts of the kind defined in the Finance Act 1989 until claims for the tax relief provided by that legislation are received. Such claims may be made up to two years after the end of the period of account in which the relevant company contributions are made. None has yet been cleared.
I regret that information is not available on the extent and character of other arrangements which are also commonly, though imprecisely, known as employee share ownership plans.
As regards the operation of the 1,603 all-employee share schemes approved by the Inland Revenue up to 5 April 1989, however, some 2 million employees had been given shares or options over shares with an initial market value of some £5 billion by that date. Other information on these schemes is published in "Inland Revenue Statistics 1989".
European Investment Bank
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution the European Investment Bank made to underwriting the Channel tunnel project.
Mr. Ryder : The European Investment Bank approved a loan of £1 billion to the Channel tunnel project in 1987. The European Investment Bank has made no contribution
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to underwriting the loan. Security for the loan will be provided by the syndicate of banks co-ordinating the financing of Eurotunnel in the form of :(a) Letters of credit from up to 20 first class commercial banks ;
(b) A pro-rata share with the syndicate banks in the charges on the project revenues and assets.
Premium Bonds
Mr. Dickens : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are taken to prevent the misappropriation of the premium bond prize winners fund.
Mr. Ryder : There is no scope for misappropriating money from the premium bond prize fund. Prize draws are carried out under the strictest security and are subject to scrutiny by the National Audit Office and the Department for National Savings' own internal auditors. Winning numbers are selected wholly at random by ERNIE and this machine has been so designed that it cannot be programmed to generate any particular number. Tests to verify the randomness of the numbers selected are conducted by the Government Actuary after every prize draw. Prize draws and the verification of prizes against valid bonds are subject to strict testing, checking and security procedures. The bonds and stock office carries out checks to ensure that prizes are paid out only to the registered holders of winning bonds. Prizes are paid from the National Loans Fund, for which audited accounts are presented annually to Parliament. Numbers of all winning prizes are published in a monthly supplement to the London Gazette and copies are available for inspection at main post offices.
Taxation
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) of 20 February, Official Report, columns 681-82, on investment income and earned income, if he will give the average sum per taxpayer reflected in the aggregate amounts for each taxpayer group.
Mr. Lilley : Estimates are given in the table. They are based on a projection of the 1987-88 survey of personal incomes and are provisional. All estimates are subject to a large degree of uncertainty since some investment income on which tax is deducted at source is not reflected in the survey.
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Average amounts of investment income and earned income
(£ per annum)
Group of income tax p1988-89 1989-90
|Investment|Earned |Investment|Earned
|income |income |income |income
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top 1 per cent. |21,230 |69,340 |27,100 |75,700
Top 5 per cent. |8,570 |40,680 |10,830 |44,540
Top 10 per cent. |5,600 |32,300 |7,280 |35,250
Top 20 per cent. |3,720 |25,330 |4,860 |27,660
Top 25 per cent. |3,240 |23,390 |4,240 |25,540
Bottom 70 per cent. |660 |8,030 |840 |8,800
Bottom 50 per cent. |580 |6,580 |740 |7,200
All taxpayers |1,320 |12,190 |1,720 |13,310
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further plans he has for abolishing discriminatory provisions for purposes of taxation.
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Mr. Lilley [holding answer 5 March 1990] : I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.
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Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of gross domestic product total taxation was in June 1979 and today.Mr. Ryder : Information is not available on a monthly basis. Information for the years 1979 and 1988 (the latest available) was given in the reply to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 8 January 1990, Official Report, column 558.
Gross National Product
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the gross national product per head of population in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I regret that this information is not available. There are no estimates of gross national product which by definition includes income from assets held abroad. There are, however, estimates of gross domestic product which exclude such income. They are produced annually by the Central Statistical Office and the latest figures for these countries were published in Economic Trends of November 1989.
Income Tax (Wales)
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount of income tax collected in Wales in each of the five years up to 1988-89.
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Mr. Lilley : Information for the period requested is available from 1984-85 to 1987-88 and covers residents of Wales. The estimates are in terms of liabilities rather than tax collected and are shown in the table.
Year |£ billion ------------------------------ 1984-85 |1.38 1985-86 |1.39 1986-87 |1.49 1987-88 |1.51
VAT (Wales)
Mr. Rogers : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount of value added tax collected in Wales in each of the five years up to 1988-89.
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