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(percentage)
That part (if any) which exceeds £8,034 but does not exceed £8,735 |9
That part (if any) which exceeds £8,735 but does not exceed £9,449 |12
That part (if any) which exceeds £9,449 but does not exceed £10,865 |15
That part (if any) which exceeds £10,865 but does not exceed £13,043 |21
That part (if any) which exceeds £13,043 but does not exceed £15,885 |24
That part (if any) which exceeds £15,885 |33
The relevant income scale is open ended, but the remission can of course be given only where the parental contribution is less than the school tuition fee.
Earnings
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish tables showing the proportion of (i) manual, (ii) non-manual and (iii) all full-time employees earning less than (a) £160, (b) £150, (c) £170, (d) £120 and (e) £110 per week for (1) men, (2) women and (3) all full-time employees, excluding overtime pay, in Scotland.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 9 March 1990] : The information requested is given in the table :
Distribution of average gross weekly earnings (excluding overtime) of full-time employees on adult
rates, whose pay was not affected by absence, April 1989
|£110 |£120 |£150 |£160 |£170
Males
Manual |8 |14 |37 |45 |54
Non-manual |4 |6 |12 |15 |19
All |6 |10 |26 |31 |38
Females
Manual |41 |52 |80 |86 |91
Non-manual |17 |25 |47 |54 |59
All |22 |31 |55 |62 |67
All
Manual |15 |21 |45 |53 |62
Non-manual |10 |15 |29 |35 |39
All |12 |18 |36 |43 |49
Source: New Earnings Survey: April 1989.
Speech Therapy
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for improving the supply of speech therapists in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 16 March 1990] : A new manpower planning steering group has been set up ; regular staffing surveys are undertaken ; employment initiatives to improve the retention and recruitment of staff are being developed ; limits on the recruitment of students have been lifted and the provision of places is regularly monitored ; refresher courses for returners are planned. Regular meetings are held with the profession about training and other manpower issues.
Gaelic Language
Mr. Macdonald : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information is available, following analyses of the 1981 census on (a) the marriage of Gaelic speakers
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and non-Gaelic speakers to Gaelic-speaking and non-Gaelic-speaking partners, (b) the incidence of Gaelic-speaking ability amongst the children of Gaelic and non-Gaelic-speaking parents and (c) the incidence of Gaelic language speaking abilities in each socio- economic group ; and what plans there are to publish such information.Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 19 March 1990] : Information from the census is either included in reports laid before Parliament and subsequently published or is produced at the discretion of the Registrar-General in response to a request from a customer, who is required to pay the cost of production.
No information of the type mentioned was included in the published Gaelic report and there are no plans for further publications. I understand that the Registrar-General has received a customer request for such information and is currently considering the technical and resource implications. Provided there are no insuperable difficulties and agreement can be reached on the cost, the Registrar-General will provide the information.
District Councils (Borrowing Powers)
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy on increasing the borrowing powers of district councils which have no further disposable assets to sell.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 19 March 1990] : In determining non-housing capital allocations to district councils my right hon. and learned Friend takes into account all factors known to him, including councils' patterns of receipts raised in recent years and their own forecasts of receipts likely to be raised in future.
Glasgow District Council
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from Glasgow district council seeking further general services capital allocation to meet commitments given by the council at the request of the Office of Arts and Libraries.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 19 March 1990] : My officials have received a letter from the City of Glasgow district council about its general services capital consent allocation which mentions, among other things, commitments made by the council in 1986 when it accepted nomination as the European City of Culture.
Education Spending
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money would not have been spent on Scottish education if regional councils had kept to Government guidelines in each of the years since 1979- 80.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 19 March 1990] : The guidelines which the Government issued to local authorities for the greater part of this period were in respect of their total expenditure. Spending decisions on individual services, such as education, are as they always have been entirely a matter for local authorities themselves.
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Child Care Facilities
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to make extra child care facilities available in Scotland to meet the need for extra women workers.
Mr. Lang [holding answer 19 March 1990] : The Government are encouraging employers to consider provision of child care as part of their measures to attract women into employment, as numbers of young people becoming available for work decline. Private sector employers may themselves provide child care facilities, which are allowable against corporation tax, or act in partnership with other employers, public authorities and voluntary organisations.
We continue to give grants to voluntary organisations concerned with child care and through revenue support grant we contribute to the provision made by local authorities.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Inspectors' Reports
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make it his policy to include in the annual report published by his Department in accordance with section 729 of the Companies Act 1989 (a) details of the non-departmental inspectors appointed by him and (b) the cost of each published report.
Mr. Redwood : I have no objection in principle to including in the companies annual report the names of inspectors appointed by me, in those cases where the appointment is announced, together with the cost of each published report. Such information will be considered for inclusion in the next report.
Company Accounts
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will introduce legislation to amend section 15 of the Companies Act 1989 to require all summary financial statements to include a warning to investors that such financial statements cannot be relied upon for making investment decisions.
Mr. Redwood : I refer the hon. Member to regulation 5(e) and (f) of the Companies (Summary Financial Statement) Regulations 1990 (SI 1990/515) which were laid before Parliament on 9 March.
Accounting and Auditing
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consideration his Department has given since June 1979 to setting up an independent body to regulate the accounting and auditing industry.
Mr. Redwood : A comprehensive review of departmental papers since June 1979 has not been attempted. However, in 1986 the Department issued a consultative document which made a number of suggestions on how the eighth EC company law directive on the qualifications of auditors might be implemented in the United Kingdom. Among these was the possibility that a statutory body broadly along the lines of the General Medical Council
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might be created and have conferred upon it the task of supervising professional accountancy bodies and ensuring that they complied with the directive.In the light of the responses to that document, the Government decided that the legislation implementing the directive should confer the necessary powers on the Secretary of State, but that he should be able to set up a statutory body and transfer to it many of those powers. Part II of the Companies Act 1989 provides for this arrangement. As the Government made clear during the passage of the Companies Bill, however, we have no present intention to set up a statutory body.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he plans to bring into operation section 121 of the Companies Act 1989.
Mr. Redwood : Section 121 will come into force on 1 April. We plan to make regulations under the new section 390B of the Companies Act 1985 (which is inserted into that Act by section 121) in the summer.
Waste Water and Waste Disposal
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department will be represented at the international trade fair on waste water and waste disposal on 22 to 26 May.
Mr. Forth : There will be no ministerial visit to the ninth international trade fair for waste water and waste disposal : sewage, refuse, recycling, public cleansing, street maintenance and winter road service (IFAT '90), Munich, 22-26 May 1990. However, official representatives from my Department will be attending.
House of Fraser
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to (a) clear demarcation of responsibility, (b) knowledge of one's client, (c) appropriate procedures for advisers, (d) relationships with the media, (e) relationships with the regulatory authorities and (f) loopholes in the code : 25.1.3 (p503).
Mr. Ridley : I refer the hon. Member to the answers to her questions Nos. 111 to 134 and 137.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to false evidence to inspectors : 1.29, p. 11.
Mr. Ridley : The giving of false evidence orally on oath or under affirmation is an offence under section 1 of the Perjury Act 1911. Similarly where false information has been submitted in written form but is subsequently adopted under oath, there is also an offence under section 1 of the Perjury Act 1911.
There is no present need to amend the legislation.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the Companies Act 1985 as amended that the statutory language needs to be reconsidered in the context of the power to require oral evidence : 1.26 p. 10 ;
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(2) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the powers of inspectors to require the production of documentary evidence : 1.26. p. 10 ;(3) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the powers of inspectors to require the production of documentary evidence.
Mr. Ridley : Contrary to the implications of these questions, the concerns expressed by the inspectors in paragraph 1.26 of their report have been met by section 56(3) of the Companies Act 1989.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he has decided not to take any action in response to the House of Fraser Holdings plc report which--25.1.2 p. 503--concluded that to give Government clearance to a controversial bid, such as that for the House of Fraser, put intolerable strain on the Office of Fair Trading and the Department of Trade and Industry.
Mr. Ridley : I am satisfied that under present legislative and administrative arrangements both my Department and the Office of Fair Trading are equal to the demands placed on them in scrutinising mergers, controversial or otherwise, which qualify for investigation.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to advisers who give evidence or references to the Office of Fair Trading and the Department of Trade and Industry : 25.6.3. p. 515 ;
(2) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the role and responsibilities of parties appearing before the Office of Fair Trading : 25.6.3. p. 515 ;
(3) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the Office of Fair Trading time and limits for the provision of evidence on identified public interest issues : 25.6.3. p. 515.
Mr. Ridley : With regard to the recommendation on time limits in paragraph 25.6.3(ii), there is always a balance to be struck between allowing enough time to weigh up the facts and acting quickly to remove market uncertainty. Within these constraints, it is for the Director General of Fair Trading to determine when he is in a position to submit his advice to me. New procedures under the Companies Act 1989 are to come into force next month under which companies which voluntarily pre-notify mergers can usually expect a decision from the Secretary of State within 20 days of notification. The recommendation in paragraph 25.6.3(iii) relates to the role and procedures to be followed by advisers. It contains good advice which I am sure advisers will wish to consider and act upon.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the procedures available to inspectors to ensure the confidentiality of their proceedings : 1.30, p. 12.
Mr. Ridley : Experience shows that the circumstances which can arise vary widely from case to case and the need
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for legislation is not readily apparent and in any event might be difficult to enforce. However, in the light of the inspectors' comments, the position will remain under review.Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the role of the Secretary of State : 25.6.3. p. 516.
Mr. Ridley : I entirely agree with the suggestion that I should reach my decisions on merger situations on the basis of facts found by others. That is what already happens.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the need for a practice note by the takeover panel on the standards of care in the preparation of offer documents : 25.7.9, p. 517 ;
(2) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to standards of care in the preparation of offer documents : 25.7.9, p. 517.
Mr. Ridley : One of the general principles set out in the takeover code states that any document about an offer must, as is the case with a prospectus, be prepared with the highest standards of care and accuracy. This is supplemented by specific rules about offer documents. These rules are clear and are well understood, including by financial advisers. The question of an additional practice note is a matter for the takeover panel.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the giving of false evidence to Companies Act inspectors : 1.31, p. 12.
Mr. Ridley : Where, under section 8 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, a court has to determine whether a person's conduct in relation to a company makes him unfit to be concerned in the management of a company, the court will have regard to the matters mentioned in part I of schedule 1 to that Act. Among the matters there mentioned are
"any misfeasance or breach of any fiduciary duty or other duty by the director in relation to the company".
However, schedule 1 is not an exhaustive list of categories of unfitness and the court could also take other conduct in relation to the company into account in determining a person's unfitness.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations of the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the internal procedures to be followed by financial advisers : 25.4.6. p.511 ; (2) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the position of a financial adviser acting on his client's behalf--specifically : 25.3.7. p.508 ;
(3) why he has decided not to implement the House of Fraser Holdings plc report on the recommendations relating to the financial advisers' acceptance of instructions from clients : 25.4.5 p.510 ;
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(4) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations of the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the process of taking on new clients : 25.4.2 p.509 ;(5) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations of the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the acceptance of written material from other advisers : 25.4.4 p.510 ;
(6) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations of the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the process of financial advisers taking on clients' references : 25.4.3 p.509 ; (7) why he has decided not to take any action to implement the House of Fraser Holdings plc report which concluded--25.2.6 p.506--that more care will have to be given in future to defining more clearly the respective roles and responsibilities of each adviser, and to define more clearly what is, or what ought to be, expected of them in the role, in relation to the City code and the interaction with the regulatory authorities and more generally ;
(8) why he has decided to take no action to respond to the conclusion in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report--25.3.3 p.507--that there is a need for a clear definition of the extent of the responsibilities of the financial adviser to be sure of his facts before he makes such statements in the name of his bank.
Mr. Ridley : These recommendations are not addressed to the Government. They concern the role and procedures to be followed by professional advisers in relation to their clients. They contain good advice which I am sure advisers and those responsible for setting standards of conduct for advisers will wish to take into account.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the Office of Fair Trading : 25.6.3. p.515 and public interest issues, other than competitions, in a proposed merger.
Mr. Ridley : It is already the practice of the Office of Fair Trading to discuss with the parties any public interest issues relevant to a merger, not just competition aspects.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the need for the City code to apply to non-corporate owners of shelf companies : 25.7.2 p.516.
Mr. Ridley : The takeover code does not lay down specific rules for offers by non-corporate owners of shelf companies. However, following a review of the provisions of the code, the takeover panel has for some time in practice required non-corporate offerers to provide more information about their finances and the key individuals. I understand that the panel's existing guidance on this will shortly be reflected in amendments to the code.
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the powers of inspectors to have access to private bank accounts in order to trace money which has gone out of or into a company : 1.28, p. 11.
Mr. Ridley : Contrary to the implications in this question, the concerns expressed by the inspectors have
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been met, so far as is possible under United Kingdom law, by amendments to section 434, 436 and 452 of the Companies Act 1985 introduced by section 56(3) and (6) and section 69(3) of the Companies Act 1989 and by the repeal of section 435 of the 1985 Act.Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations of the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the need for a code of standards of responsibility to be observed by advisers appearing before the Office of Fair Trading : 25.6.2. p. 514 ;
(2) why he has decided not to implement the recommendations in the House of Fraser Holdings plc report relating to the operation of the Office of Fair Trading : 25.6.2. p. 514.
Mr. Ridley : Section 151 of the Companies Act 1989, which will come into effect on 1 April, makes it a specific criminal offence to mislead the competition authorities. This should strengthen the position of the Office of Fair Trading. The question of a code of standards is a matter for the Director General of Fair Trading. Additionally, as paragraph 25.6.3 of the report makes clear, it is the duty and responsibility of advisers to give evidence or references only about facts of which they have knowledge. I am sure that they and their professional bodies will wish to consider and act upon this advice.
Mr. Shore : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consideration he gave in deciding not to use his discretionary powers under section 8 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 against the directors of House of Fraser plc to whether the public interest aspects were affected by the absence of outside shareholders in that company ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ridley [holding answer 15 March 1990] : I gave appropriate consideration to the shareholder position and to other factors.
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions and for what role Kleinwort Benson has been commissioned by his Department since he received the report on the House of Fraser.
Mr. Ridley [holding answer 12 March 1990] : None.
Unit Trusts
Mr. Irvine : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to be able to publish revised proposals for new kinds of authorised unit trusts.
Mr. Redwood : A further consultation document including revised draft regulations was published yesterday. Comments are invited by 30 June 1990.
The draft regulations take account of comments received since proposals for new kinds of funds were announced in 1987. In particular, the earlier proposal for "mixed funds" is to be delayed until experience in operating futures and options and properties funds has been established. Further views are being sought on the scope of the provisions dealing with efficient portfolio management, the idea of two classes of futures and options funds (low and high exposure funds), and a new class of fund investing in warrants.
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EC Aid to Rural Areas
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice he has received from the European Economic Community Commissioner about future levels of aid for rural areas after 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The European Commission has proposed a total "indicative appropriation" of 335 mecu for 1989-1993 grants to United Kingdom rural areas from the Community's three structural funds under their "objective No. 5(b)" (the development of rural areas). The proposal implies in particular that the United Kingdom rural areas concerned would receive no new European regional development fund assistance after their present programmes of grant from that fund expire in 1991 or 1992.
The Government have therefore asked the Commission to reconsider its proposal. Discussions between Government Departments and the Commission are continuing, and I cannot predict the outcome. My right hon. Friends and I will make further representations to the Commission, as necessary, at the appropriate stage.
Grants under the funds' objectives Nos. 3 (combating long-term unemployment), 4 (integration of young people into employment) and 5(a) (adjustment of agricultural structures) are also available in the areas concerned, and are not at issue.
Eastern Europe
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, during his recent visit to Poland, he raised the potential for the United Kingdom to provide pollution abatement technology and technical advice of how to clean up polluted land and water.
Mr. Forth : Yes. This issue was raised by the director of my Department's east European branch during a meeting with Mr. Kwiat Kowski at the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. The problems are daunting, but we made the Polish authorities aware of particular ways in which British companies could contribute to cleaner industrial processes. Both the Davy Group and John Brown plc were represented.
Aircraft Radios
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the percentage increase in the charges most recently announced by his Department in respect of the licensing of aircraft radios ; and why it was decided not to increase the charges in line with inflation.
Mr. Forth [holding answer 15 March 1990] : For nearly 4,000 aircraft the Wireless Telegraph Act licence fee remains unchanged at the level set in 1986 (£25). For about 400 aircraft with maximum approved take-off weights between 2,730 and 5,700 kg the fee was increased by 1,000 per cent. on 1 November 1989, and for about 1,000 larger aircraft an increase of 2,000 per cent. was made.
These increases were introduced to ensure recovery of the full costs of the work done by my Department for civil aviation use of radio. The needs of commercial aircraft operators account for a large share of these costs. It was therefore considered that those best placed to meet these costs would be the operators of larger aircraft. Because
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there are relatively few aircraft in these categories the sum of money involved, though small in itself (some £600,000 a year), necessarily involved large increases when shared among only 1,400 aircraft.Shipbuilding
Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the reply by the hon. Member for Grantham (Mr. Hogg) to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North on 2 March, Official Report, column 345, what legal basis in the example given the European Commission has to approve or disapprove the sale of land other than the shipbuilding site where closure aid has been allowed.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 14 March 1990] : The wider remedial package for Sunderland was approved under the Commission of the European Communities' sixth directive on aid to shipbuilding and under articles 92-93 EEC. It is under these instruments that the Commission may reach a view on the use of land for shipbuilding in Sunderland outside the immediate confines of the former shipbuilding site.
Investment
Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list, area by area and industry by industry, each case where Her Majesty's Government have a policy of opposing investment in a specific industry in a specific area.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 14 March 1990] : Subject to observance of the United Kingdom's EC or other international obligations, Her Majesty's Government have no such policy, although planning requirements may impact upon specific developments in specific areas.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Community Charge
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in Scotland who are eligible for a rebate of the community charge will not receive the rebate because it falls under the minimum amount payable ; and what is the total sum involved in 1989-90.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : It is estimated that 23,000 additional benefit units (approximately 32,000 individuals) might receive community charge rebate in Scotland in 1989-90 if there was no minimum amount payable, at a total cost approaching £450,000.
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is (a) the amount and (b) the proportion of net incomes after rebates, adjusted for family size, which households paid in domestic rates in 1987- 88 ; and what estimates he has made of what these figures would be if the community charge were in operation in 1987-88, broken down into decile groups.
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