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Mr. Douglas Hogg : The policy with regard to the sale of English Estates' property portfolio was set out in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's reply to a question on 26 April. English Estates is currently in the process of drawing up proposals for the conduct of the disposal programme which will best meet the broad objectives that have been laid down.
Column 24
Home Income Plans
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he proposes to discuss the Life Assurance and Unit Trust Regulatory Organisation report on home income plans with LAUTRO or the Securities and Investments Board.
Mr. Redwood : Home income plans involving investment business are a matter for the SIB and other appropriate regulatory bodies which, I understand, are currently considering them.
North Sea Oil Markets
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will place his Department's joint submission to the New York courts with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on regulatory jurisdiction over North sea oil markets in the Library.
Mr. Redwood : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Smith) on 24 May 1990.
Investor Compensation Schemes
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the investor and depositor compensation schemes his Department monitors in the financial services industries, together with the compensation ceilings, the date from which they operate, and the criteria for claims.
Mr. Redwood : The Policyholders Protection Act 1975 provides compensation for private policyholders if an authorised insurance company becomes insolvent. A total of 90 per cent. of any admissible claim will be paid. There is no limit on the size of claims. Responsibility for the investors' compensation scheme lies with the Securities and Investments Board.
British and Commonwealth Group
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations he has received from creditors of the British and Commonwealth Group.
Mr. Redwood : I am not aware of any representations from creditors. However, some correspondence has been received from and on behalf of shareholders.
Car Imports
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what differences the agreement negotiated in the European Economic Community on 19 June on Japanese car imports makes for the import into the continent of cars produced in the United Kingdom by Japanese-owned or other factories ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : An informal discussion of the future treatment by the Community of cars produced by Japanese-owned companies took place between Ministers on 19 June. Commission officials will shortly participate in further talks with the Japanese authorities. Although formal agreement has still to be reached among member states and with Japan, I remain confident that cars
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produced in Britain, including by Japanese- owned companies, will continue to enjoy unlimited free circulation throughout the Community after 1992.Voluntary Organisations
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list for each inner-city task force those voluntary organisations which have received grants in the current and previous financial years, and make a statement on his policy towards the voluntary sector projects so funded.
Mr. Douglas Hogg [holding answer 22 June 1990] : This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, since my Department's records do not specify the nature, voluntary or otherwise, of grant-funded bodies.
The task forces work with many different groups, including voluntary organisations, which can help fulfil their enterprise and employment objectives. Moreover, since task forces have a limited life, they devote some of their energy to strengthening local organisations which can step into their role when they leave. Voluntary organisations have an important part to play here, provided that they represent the most cost-effective approach in each case.
Independent Television Franchises
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to monitor share dealings in companies which hold current independent television franchises.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 22 June 1990] : None. It is for the Independent Broadcasting Authority to enforce the ownership provisions in section 20 of the Broadcasting Act 1981.
Textile and Clothing Industry
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement outlining the steps which are currently being taken by his Department to ensure that exports by the apparel, knitting and textile industries do not face unfair barriers erected by other countries.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 20 June 1990] : The question of unfair barriers to exports of all categories of goods is one of the subjects for decision in the current Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations. The Government supply information on barriers which we would like to see removed to the Commission, which conducts negotiations on behalf of member states. The Community's aim is to achieve a reduction by all parties in their tariff and non-tariff barriers.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has concerning the level and value of exports of textile and clothing products from the United Kingdom in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available ; and what percentage these figures are of those for the same months in the previous year.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 20 June 1990] : The available figures are as follows :
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1989-90 |£ million|1989-90
|percen-
|tage of
|1988-89
----------------------------------------
1989
April |255.4 |98
May |290.2 |116
June |289.5 |105
July |306.2 |111
August |284.0 |105
September |353.7 |109
October |371.4 |118
November |349.7 |107
December |320.6 |116
1990
January |277.8 |119
February |327.7 |120
March |377.8 |117
Source: Overseas Trade Statistics (
CSO).
Note: Textiles and clothing is defined
as divisions 65 and 84 of the Standard
International Trade Classification (
SITC).
1989-90 |£ million|1989-90
|percen-
|tage of
|1988-89
----------------------------------------
1989
April |255.4 |98
May |290.2 |116
June |289.5 |105
July |306.2 |111
August |284.0 |105
September |353.7 |109
October |371.4 |118
November |349.7 |107
December |320.6 |116
1990
January |277.8 |119
February |327.7 |120
March |377.8 |117
Source: Overseas Trade Statistics (
CSO).
Note: Textiles and clothing is defined
as divisions 65 and 84 of the Standard
International Trade Classification (
SITC).
Milford Haven Docks Company
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received his inspectors' report on the affairs of the Milford Haven Docks Company ; and when he expects to publish it.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 21 June 1990] : The inspectors' report has not yet been submitted. A decision on publication will be taken when it has been received and its contents considered.
Dunsdale Securities
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what dates and for what periods his Department authorised Dunsdale Securities to conduct business.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 21 June 1990] : Dunsdale Securities Ltd. was first granted an annual licence to deal in securities on 7 November 1977. Further licences were granted each year until the Financial Services Act came into force on 29 April 1988.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what monitoring was carried out on the firm Dunsdale Securities during the period it was authorised for business by his Department.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 21 June 1990] : Dunsdale Securities Ltd. provided duly completed monitoring
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returns to the Department from September 1983 until it ceased to be licensed by the Department, as required by the Licensed Dealers (Conduct of Business) Rules 1983. Prior to 1 June 1983, there was no requirement for companies to provide returns.Criminal charges have been brought by the Serious Fraud Office against Mr. Miller, the director of Dunsdale Securities Ltd.
Company Accounts
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will consult the Financial Reporting Council and other interested parties on the need for a statutory definition of true and fair in company accounts.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 21 June 1990] : It is generally considered that the concept of
"a true and fair view"
is not readily susceptible of definition in a manner suitable for inclusion in a statute. However, I will draw the hon. Member's question to the attention of the Financial Reporting Council.
Chinese Imports
208. Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take action (a) unilaterally and (b) through the EEC to deal with Chinese imports that infringe the basis of their duty free status.
Mr. Ryder : I have been asked to reply.
As explained in an earlier reply to a similar question, HM Customs and Excise undertakes verification inquiries on imports for which preferential treatment is claimed. Where infringements of the EEC origin rules are detected, appropriate action is taken which includes the charging of full duty.
There is regular exchange of information between the Customs authorities of all EEC member states about infringements of the preferential trade arrangements. That information is used in the control of preferential imports to the EEC.
Manufacturing Investment
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the level of manufacturing investment in the north-east for each year since 1979 giving 1979 as 100.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I have been asked to reply.
The information is not available for investment expressed at constant prices because there are no regional price indices. The table provides the required indices for data at current prices :
Manufacturing investment in the north-east<1> at current prices and expressed as a percentage of the 1979 level Year |Percentage --------------------------------- 1979 |100 1980 |76 1981 |53 1982 |55 1983 |58 1984 |69 1985 |91 1986 |82 1987 |90 1988 |131 <1> The north-east is not a standard region of the United Kingdom but can be defined as the north less Cumbria. It comprises Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.
Sports Clubs (Television Rights)
Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will amend the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to give protection to the governing bodies of sports clubs and associations regarding exclusive television agreements.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : There are no plans to amend the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to give legal protection to governing bodies involved in sports events or to change the provisions relating to the copyright protection of television broadcasts.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Mechanically Recovered Meat
Mr. Butler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to ensure that all meat products containing mechanically recovered meat are labelled as such.
Mr. Maclean : The Food Labelling Regulations 1984 already require that where a food or an ingredient has undergone a specific treatment, reference to such treatment shall be included on the label if its omission could mislead the intending purchaser. It is for the decision of the courts whether mechanically recovered meat included in a meat product is subject to this rule.
Bovine Somatotropin
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animal test certificates are still in operation under the Medicines Act for BST, how many (a) farms and (b) cows the certificates cover ; for how long the certificates are valid ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : There are currently three animal test certificates. Each one is valid for two years and is renewable. They allow a maximum of 1,287 cows to be treated on 23 sites, although in practice many fewer cows are receiving BST at any one time.
White Tigers
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the diagnosis of white tigers at Bristol zoo as suffering from spongiform encephalopathy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Spongiform encephalopathy and other lesions were discribed in the brains of four out of six white tigers which died or were killed in Bristol zoo between 1970 and 1977. All six cases had a similar illness of between one and five months' duration with behavioural changes. The changes described by the authors did not resemble those seen in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Subsequently, mice and chimpanzees were inoculated with brain material from the tigers but none developed clinical signs suggestive of a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.
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Energy Consumption
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 458, what is the square footage of office space to which these figures relate.
Mr. Maclean : The information previously supplied related to all departmental accommodation, not just office space. It related to an area of just under 600,000 sq m--about 6.5 million sq ft.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much was invested in improving the energy efficiency of his Ministry in the latest available year.
Mr. Maclean : A total of £40,000 was spent in the 1989-90 financial year specifically on energy-saving measures. Other maintenance and structural works also contributed to energy saving to a greater or lesser degree without this aspect being a separately identifiable element in the costs.
EC Surplus Food
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce a method of distributing European Community surplus food that ensures all people who are entitled to receive this surplus food do so ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 19 March, Official Report, column 444. An announcement will shortly be made to the House of the names of the organisations that will be designated to distribute this food.
NATIONAL FINANCE
China (Imports)
Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to investigate infringement of the EEC's generalised system of preferences, country of origin rules in respect of imports from China ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ryder : Her Majesty's Customs and Excise checks the entitlement of imports from China to the beneficial rates of duty under the European Community generalised system of preferences. Some imports are selected for verification, and in the event of any infringement of the European Community origin rules appropriate action is taken, which includes the charging of full duty.
Energy Consumption
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answers of 14 May, Official Report, column 274 and 30 April, Official Report, column 443, about energy consumption, what is the square footage of office space to which these figures relate.
Mr. Ryder : The square footage is as follows :
|sq ft
-----------------------------------------------------------
Government Offices Great George Street SW1 |331,536
Chessington Computer Centre, Surrey |86,625
Alencon Link, Basingstoke, Hampshire |16,164
Grosvenor House, Basingstoke, Hampshire |11,851
Riverwalk House, London, SW1 |66,851
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answers of 30 April, Official Report, column 444, and 14 May, Official Report, column 274, if he will break down the figures for solid-liquid fuel into solid fuel and liquid fuel.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 22 June 1990] : The figures shown in both answers refer to liquid fuel.
Skills Training Agency
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place a copy in the Library of the Treasury guidelines within which the process of receiving bids and the disposal of assets relating to the sale of the Skills Training Agency were carried out.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The general principles covering the disposal of assets are set out in "Government Accounting", a copy of which is in the Library. To ensure that the process of receiving and considering bids reflects best commercial practice, Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte were employed as sale advisers. No general guidance was issued for the bidding process, but Treasury officials were consulted throughout.
Public Finance
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest forecast of the public sector surplus or borrowing for 1990-91.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The latest forecast for the public sector debt repayment in 1990-91 is the Budget forecast of £6.9 billion.
Borrowing Requirement
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the Government's borrowing requirement in May.
Mr. Norman Lamont : The public sector borrowing requirement in May is estimated to have been £1.7 billion.
Efficiency Unit
Mr. John Garrett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out in the Official Report a breakdown of the £1,300 million savings by Departments resulting from the work of the efficiency unit referred to in his speech to the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants on 9 May.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 19 June 1990] : The figure of £1,300 million is a cumulative total of savings agreed by Departments as a result of over 350 scrutinies and multi-departmental reviews carried out since 1979 under the guidance of the Prime Minister's efficiency unit.
Scrutinies and the savings resulting from them are the responsibility of the departmental Minister concerned. However, I am informed by the efficiency unit that, in the period 1983-90, a period for which disaggregated information is readily available, the largest departmental
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contributors in absolute terms were the Employment Group, the Departments of Health and Social Security, the Ministry of Defence and the Inland Revenue.Letters (Cornwall)
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne may expect a reply to his letter of 27 March on behalf of Mrs. S. L. Penna, of Laurel Cottage, Greenwith Hill, Perranwell Station, Truro, Cornwall.
Mr. Lilley : I replied to my hon. Friend's letter on 25 June.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Foreign Police (Training)
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been trained in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years from (i) Portugal and (ii) Greece ; and in how many of these cases the cost of training was met from British public funds.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In 1989, two Portuguese police officers attended training courses in the United Kingdom under central arrangements. The costs were met from public funds. No officers from Greece have made centrally arranged training visits in the last five years.
Animal Experiments
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the total number and names of research establishments where (a) cosmetic and (b) drug experiments on animals are conducted, the nature of the licence involved and the type of animals used.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The safety testing of cosmetics on animals is authorised at six designated establishments. It is not possible to identify separately establishments at which work on pharmaceuticals is carried out, although research work on medical, dental and veterinary products or appliances involving the use of animals is authorised at about 170 designated establishments.
Details of the number of procedures for the safety testing of cosmetics and for research on medical, dental and veterinary products or appliances are published each year in table 3 and tables 1, 4, 7, 11, 12, and 13 of "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain" (1988 Cm. 743), a copy of which is in the Library.
It is not our practice to identify individual establishments by name.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many research establishments using live animals in experiments for cosmetic or drug purposes have had their licences rescinded in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : None, other than at the request of the certificate holder.
Column 32
Female Prisoners
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for the latest date available what was the certified normal accommodation and the actual population for each female prison in England and Wales.
Mr. Mellor : The latest available information on certified normal accommodation and prison population at each of the prison establishments for females in England and Wales is as follows :
|CNA<1> |Population<2>
-----------------------------------------------------------
Askham Grange |134 |111
Bullwood Hall |126 |113
Cookham Wood |120 |118
Drake Hall |288 |226
Durham |40 |35
East Sutton Park |84 |81
Holloway |517 |481
Low Newton |36 |38
New Hall |122 |96
Pucklechurch |56 |45
Risley |92 |98
Styal |208 |188
Exeter |5 |0
<1> Certified Normal Accommodation as at 11 March 1990.
<2> Population as at 22 June 1990.
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female prisoners in England and Wales are classified as mentally ill or mentally disordered.
Mr. Mellor : On 30 September 1989, the latest date for which information is available, 19 female prisoners in England and Wales were considered by medical officers to meet the criteria for detention in hospital as set out in the Mental Health Act 1983. Of these, 12 were considered to be mentally ill within the meaning of the Act.
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what facilities exist in female prisons in England and Wales to assist with visits from dependent children.
Mr. Mellor : All female prisons have facilities for inmates to receive visits from their dependent children, including in some establishments play areas with games and toys and baby changing and feeding facilities. As circumstances and resources permit, the opportunity is being taken to improve visits accommodation in prisons. We are also seeking to encourage the provision of visitors' reception centres. The assisted prison visits scheme can in certain circumstances provide financial assistance with the cost of visits by children to their mothers.
Energy Consumption
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the basis of what energy consumption figures he will be monitoring progress towards the target of 15 per cent. reduction over five years.
Mr. Waddington : The basis for monitoring progress towards the target of 15 per cent. reduction over five years has been set by the Energy Efficiency Office at the Department of Energy. The actual consumption for 1989-90 will be the starting point and the consumption of all fuels will be converted to a common unit of kilowatt hours to enable direct overall comparisons to be made.
Column 33
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the consumption by prisons for each year from 1978-79 of (a) kWh of electricity, (b) therms of gas, (c) litres of liquid fuel and (d) tonnes of solid fuel ;
(2) what was the spending by prisons for each year from 1978-79 on (a) electricity, (b) gas, (c) liquid fuels, (d) solid fuels and (e) all energy, expressing the spending in (i) money terms and (ii) real (1990) terms.
Mr. Waddington : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to his question on 5 June, at column 423.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was invested in improving the energy efficiency of his Department in the latest available year.
Mr. Waddington : A total of £1.23 million was invested in the financial year 1989-90 in improving the energy efficiency of the prison service estate. I am not able to provide the information on the remainder of the Home Office estate, as the responsibility for most of it rests with the Property Services Agency at the Department of the Environment.
Immigration Offices
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of letters unopened in the (a) postroom and (b) registry at Lunar house, Croydon and the nationality department at Liverpool on the first day of each month for (a) 1988, (b) 1989 and (c) 1990.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The available information is set out in the table :
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