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DEFENCE
Polish Resettlement Act 1947
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence further to his reply on 11 May, Official Report, column 212, when he now expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight of 3 April on the Polish Resettlement Act 1947.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces indicated in his letter of 24 April to the hon. Member, this is a complex issue which involves archive research and consultation with a number of other Government Departments. Unfortunately this process is taking longer than we had hoped, but my noble Friend will give a substantive reply to the hon. Member as soon as he is in a position to do so.
Transmitter, Glen Garry
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the bodies consulted by his Department on the proposed extremely low- frequency transmitter in Glen Garry.
Mr. Neubert : The following have been consulted at various times : 1. Forestry Commission (local and regional).
2. West Highland Estates.
3. Nature Conservancy Council.
4. Countryside Commission for Scotland.
5. Lochaber district council.
6. Highland regional council.
7. Scottish Wildlife Trust.
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which company is conducting the environmental impact assessment of the proposed extremely low-frequency transmitter in Glen Garry ; on what date the contract was awarded ; what is the value of the contract ; and what is the contracted completion date for the assessment.
Mr. Neubert : A contract for preliminary work, including an assessment of environmental impact, was awarded to W. A. Fairhurst and Partners of Newcastle on 14 November 1989. The value of the contract is a matter of commercial confidentiality. It is expected that this work will be completed by the end of this year. A formal notice
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of proposed development, together with an environmental impact assessment, will be submitted to Highland regional council at the appropriate time, if it is decided to proceed.Valiant Submarines
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress in checking the reactor equipment of Valiant class submarines following the discovery of faults earlier this year.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The programme of inspections of our nuclear powered submarines is continuing.
Low-frequency Communications
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on the extremely low-frequency communications programme in each year since 1979 ; and what is the projected expenditure for the next three years.
Mr. Neubert : It is not our practice to identify separately spending on individual research projects.
Diego Garcia
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to review the use of the base on Diego Garcia.
Exercise Teamwork 90
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the nature of NATO's exercise Teamwork 90, planned for September ; where in Scotland it will take place ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Teamwork 90 is a NATO maritime exercise to be held in the North Atlantic and in the waters off Norway from 6 to 23 September 1990. The exercise is designed to train NATO's maritime forces, including amphibious and air forces, to defend and operate in this geographically demanding area.
The exercise will involve some activity at RAF stations in Scotland and in Scottish waters.
Military Salaries
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the percentage change in real terms in the annual amount of Government expenditure on military salaries between (i) 1969 and 1979 (ii) 1979 and 1989 ;
(2) what is the percentage change in real terms in the pay upon appointment of (a) a field marshal, (b) major generals, (c) colonels, (d) captains, (e) second lieutenants, (f) sergeants, (g) corporals, and (h) privates, between (i) 1969 and 1979 and (ii) 1979 and 1989.
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Mr. Archie Hamilton [holding answer 2 July 1990] : The military salary in its current form was not introduced until 1970 and it would not therefore be realistic to provide comparisons from before that date. Comparisons for the two 10-year periods commencing with the financial year 1970-71 are therefore provided.
The real changes in rates of pay were :
------------------------------------ Field Marshal |-24.3 |+ 86.4 Major General |-30.5 |+44.5 Colonel |-12.1 |+29.7 Captain |-4.8 |+21.9 2nd Lieutenant |-13.6 |+13.1 Sergeant |+9.0 |11.9 Corporal |+10.7 |+9.0 Private |+11.0 |-4.0
Government expenditure on military salaries for the corresponding periods showed a drop of 2.8 per cent. in real terms between financial year 1970-71 and financial year 1979-80 and an increase of 13.4 per cent. in real terms between financial year 1979-80 and financial year 1988-89.
Services (Recruitment)
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many men and women were recruited into the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force in each financial year since 1969 ; and how many left each of the services prematurely.
Mr. Archie Hamilton [holding answer 2 July 1990] : Information on intake and premature wastage in the years before 1971-72 is not available in the form requested. The total intakes to the United Kingdom regular forces in each financial year since 1971-72 are shown in table 1 below. The total numbers of exits from the services under premature wastage outflow categories during the same period are shown in table 2. The categories included in the outflow numbers are those listed in table 4.18 of volume 2 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates (Cm. 1022-11) with the exception of "Time and age expires or exercise of rights at option point" and for service women only "By exercise of right to give 18 months notice". Individual service officer premature outflow figures for 1989-90 have been amended from those given in the answer to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Mr. Rogers) on 5 June at columns 426-28 which, regrettably, contained a number of errors in compilation.
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Outflow of United Kingdom Regular Forces: by category
Number
Financial years 1 April-31 December
|1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1988 |1989
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Services |34,554 |36,521 |36,961 |36,938 |39,278 |28,964 |31,987
Male officers |3,194 |3,388 |3,258 |3,374 |3,369 |2,643 |2,865
Commissioned officers |2,577 |2,678 |2,492 |2,690 |2,747 |2,168 |2,272
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |1,106 |1,085 |972 |1,183 |1,182 |898 |942
Premature release at own request<1> |1,094 |1,223 |1,121 |1,154 |1,160 |969 |1,044
Redundancies |10 |7 |6 |- |- |- |-
Medical reasons and deaths |104 |110 |106 |91 |110 |89 |77
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |263 |253 |287 |262 |295 |212 |209
Officers designate |617 |710 |766 |684 |622 |475 |593
At own request |73 |119 |127 |110 |128 |95 |101
Medical reasons and deaths |12 |8 |26 |20 |9 |6 |25
Other reasons |532 |583 |613 |554 |485 |374 |456
Servicemen |28,901 |30,493 |30,936 |30,680 |33,187 |24,304 |26,846
Before completion of 6 months service |5,925 |5,437 |6,299 |6,535 |6,676 |4,844 |5,629
By exercise of right |4,009 |3,863 |4,414 |4,372 |4,716 |3,379 |3,828
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |1,695 |1,429 |1,721 |2,030 |1,799 |1,350 |1,637
Medical reasons and deaths |215 |144 |161 |132 |157 |114 |154
Compassionate release |6 |1 |3 |1 |4 |1 |10
After completion of 6 months service |22,976 |25,056 |24,637 |24,145 |26,511 |19,460 |21,217
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |11,501 |12,383 |13,311 |12,488 |12,922 |9,556 |9,927
Premature release at own request<1> |6,113 |7,215 |6,742 |7,052 |8,774 |6,275 |7,651
Redundancies |422 |505 |147 |26 |- |- |-
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |3,538 |3,379 |3,067 |3,182 |3,165 |2,382 |2,260
Medical reasons and deaths |1,194 |1,408 |1,197 |1,254 |1,479 |1,122 |1,229
Compassionate release |208 |166 |173 |143 |171 |125 |150
Female officers<2> |298 |351 |334 |328 |335 |259 |251
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |162 |201 |182 |175 |173 |135 |114
At own request |108 |110 |120 |120 |129 |102 |112
Medical reasons and deaths |12 |3 |7 |5 |7 |4 |6
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |16 |37 |25 |28 |26 |18 |19
Servicewomen |2,161 |2,289 |2,433 |2,556 |2,387 |1,758 |2,025
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |58 |96 |136 |167 |164 |119 |124
By exercise of right to give 18 months notice |305 |349 |459 |451 |486 |351 |425
At own request |307 |296 |373 |358 |391 |279 |407
Marriage, pregnancy |1,261 |1,325 |1,171 |1,247 |1,079 |822 |833
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |185 |182 |237 |267 |210 |151 |174
Medical reasons and deaths |41 |36 |53 |61 |50 |32 |58
Compassionate release |4 |5 |4 |5 |7 |4 |4
Outflow of United Kingdom Regular Forces: by category
Number
Financial years 1 April-31 December
|1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1988 |1989
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Services |34,554 |36,521 |36,961 |36,938 |39,278 |28,964 |31,987
Male officers |3,194 |3,388 |3,258 |3,374 |3,369 |2,643 |2,865
Commissioned officers |2,577 |2,678 |2,492 |2,690 |2,747 |2,168 |2,272
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |1,106 |1,085 |972 |1,183 |1,182 |898 |942
Premature release at own request<1> |1,094 |1,223 |1,121 |1,154 |1,160 |969 |1,044
Redundancies |10 |7 |6 |- |- |- |-
Medical reasons and deaths |104 |110 |106 |91 |110 |89 |77
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |263 |253 |287 |262 |295 |212 |209
Officers designate |617 |710 |766 |684 |622 |475 |593
At own request |73 |119 |127 |110 |128 |95 |101
Medical reasons and deaths |12 |8 |26 |20 |9 |6 |25
Other reasons |532 |583 |613 |554 |485 |374 |456
Servicemen |28,901 |30,493 |30,936 |30,680 |33,187 |24,304 |26,846
Before completion of 6 months service |5,925 |5,437 |6,299 |6,535 |6,676 |4,844 |5,629
By exercise of right |4,009 |3,863 |4,414 |4,372 |4,716 |3,379 |3,828
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |1,695 |1,429 |1,721 |2,030 |1,799 |1,350 |1,637
Medical reasons and deaths |215 |144 |161 |132 |157 |114 |154
Compassionate release |6 |1 |3 |1 |4 |1 |10
After completion of 6 months service |22,976 |25,056 |24,637 |24,145 |26,511 |19,460 |21,217
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |11,501 |12,383 |13,311 |12,488 |12,922 |9,556 |9,927
Premature release at own request<1> |6,113 |7,215 |6,742 |7,052 |8,774 |6,275 |7,651
Redundancies |422 |505 |147 |26 |- |- |-
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |3,538 |3,379 |3,067 |3,182 |3,165 |2,382 |2,260
Medical reasons and deaths |1,194 |1,408 |1,197 |1,254 |1,479 |1,122 |1,229
Compassionate release |208 |166 |173 |143 |171 |125 |150
Female officers<2> |298 |351 |334 |328 |335 |259 |251
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |162 |201 |182 |175 |173 |135 |114
At own request |108 |110 |120 |120 |129 |102 |112
Medical reasons and deaths |12 |3 |7 |5 |7 |4 |6
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |16 |37 |25 |28 |26 |18 |19
Servicewomen |2,161 |2,289 |2,433 |2,556 |2,387 |1,758 |2,025
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |58 |96 |136 |167 |164 |119 |124
By exercise of right to give 18 months notice |305 |349 |459 |451 |486 |351 |425
At own request |307 |296 |373 |358 |391 |279 |407
Marriage, pregnancy |1,261 |1,325 |1,171 |1,247 |1,079 |822 |833
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |185 |182 |237 |267 |210 |151 |174
Medical reasons and deaths |41 |36 |53 |61 |50 |32 |58
Compassionate release |4 |5 |4 |5 |7 |4 |4
Outflow of United Kingdom Regular Forces: by category
Number
Financial years 1 April-31 December
|1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1988 |1989
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Services |34,554 |36,521 |36,961 |36,938 |39,278 |28,964 |31,987
Male officers |3,194 |3,388 |3,258 |3,374 |3,369 |2,643 |2,865
Commissioned officers |2,577 |2,678 |2,492 |2,690 |2,747 |2,168 |2,272
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |1,106 |1,085 |972 |1,183 |1,182 |898 |942
Premature release at own request<1> |1,094 |1,223 |1,121 |1,154 |1,160 |969 |1,044
Redundancies |10 |7 |6 |- |- |- |-
Medical reasons and deaths |104 |110 |106 |91 |110 |89 |77
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |263 |253 |287 |262 |295 |212 |209
Officers designate |617 |710 |766 |684 |622 |475 |593
At own request |73 |119 |127 |110 |128 |95 |101
Medical reasons and deaths |12 |8 |26 |20 |9 |6 |25
Other reasons |532 |583 |613 |554 |485 |374 |456
Servicemen |28,901 |30,493 |30,936 |30,680 |33,187 |24,304 |26,846
Before completion of 6 months service |5,925 |5,437 |6,299 |6,535 |6,676 |4,844 |5,629
By exercise of right |4,009 |3,863 |4,414 |4,372 |4,716 |3,379 |3,828
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |1,695 |1,429 |1,721 |2,030 |1,799 |1,350 |1,637
Medical reasons and deaths |215 |144 |161 |132 |157 |114 |154
Compassionate release |6 |1 |3 |1 |4 |1 |10
After completion of 6 months service |22,976 |25,056 |24,637 |24,145 |26,511 |19,460 |21,217
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |11,501 |12,383 |13,311 |12,488 |12,922 |9,556 |9,927
Premature release at own request<1> |6,113 |7,215 |6,742 |7,052 |8,774 |6,275 |7,651
Redundancies |422 |505 |147 |26 |- |- |-
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |3,538 |3,379 |3,067 |3,182 |3,165 |2,382 |2,260
Medical reasons and deaths |1,194 |1,408 |1,197 |1,254 |1,479 |1,122 |1,229
Compassionate release |208 |166 |173 |143 |171 |125 |150
Female officers<2> |298 |351 |334 |328 |335 |259 |251
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |162 |201 |182 |175 |173 |135 |114
At own request |108 |110 |120 |120 |129 |102 |112
Medical reasons and deaths |12 |3 |7 |5 |7 |4 |6
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |16 |37 |25 |28 |26 |18 |19
Servicewomen |2,161 |2,289 |2,433 |2,556 |2,387 |1,758 |2,025
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option
point |58 |96 |136 |167 |164 |119 |124
By exercise of right to give 18 months notice |305 |349 |459 |451 |486 |351 |425
At own request |307 |296 |373 |358 |391 |279 |407
Marriage, pregnancy |1,261 |1,325 |1,171 |1,247 |1,079 |822 |833
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons |185 |182 |237 |267 |210 |151 |174
Medical reasons and deaths |41 |36 |53 |61 |50 |32 |58
Compassionate release |4 |5 |4 |5 |7 |4 |4
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Gifts
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what procedure exists for documenting gifts received from foreign powers ; and what becomes of them.
Mr. Sainsbury : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office follows well- established and recognised procedures, applying to both Ministers and officials, for dealing with the receipt of gifts. These are that either :
(i) the gift may be placed on the inventory of the British mission concerned or the Foreign Commonwealth Office as appropriate ; or (
(ii) it may be given to another appropriate institution, eg a museum, or
(iii) the direct recipient may either keep or buy the gift depending on its value ; or
(iv) it may be disposed of by public auction.
In all cases, the receipt and eventual disposal of the gift is recorded centrally within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
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Administrative Grade
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the number of persons recruited to the administrative level of the Foreign Office (a) in the past year, (b) on average each year during the past decade and (c) on average each year during the previous decade ; and how many he intends should be recruited in the coming year.
Mr. Sainsbury : We have recruited the following number of persons into the administrative level of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office :
|Number
--------------------------------------------------------------
(a) In the past year | 19
(b) On average each year during the past decade | 20.5
(c) on average during the previous decade | 19
Our recruitment target for 1990 is 30.
Diego Garcia
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with the United States the future of the Diego Garcia base in the
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British Indian Ocean Territory, and the possibility of the Ilois people, living in Mauritius, being given the chance of returning home.Mr. Waldegrave : No. The defence facilities in British Indian ocean territory continue to make a vital security contribution. The former plantation workers were resettled in Mauritius in the early 1970s and their future lies there.
Armoured Personnel Carriers
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department made of the human rights implications when it was consulted about the sale of 24 Shorts Shortland S55 armoured personnel carriers to Pakistan's Sind police.
Mr. Sainsbury : It is not our custom to give information on specific sales, but the hon. Member can be assured that the human rights implications of any such contract would be carefully considered along with the full range of other issues.
Ivory
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to negotiate a purchase on behalf of Her Majesty's Government of all stocks of elephant ivory held in Hong Kong by traders after midnight on 16 July ; and if he will make a statement.
Visas
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will show the cost charged for a visa to intending visitors to the United Kingdom from each country in eastern Europe, each Commonwealth country and the United States of America ; and what requirements are made of such applicants with regard to proof of financial self-support.
Mr. Sainsbury : The standard worldwide fee for a United Kingdom visitors visa is £20, payable in local currency. This fee is charged to all eastern European visa nationals and to applicants from the following Commonwealth countries :
Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Visitors from the United States of America do not require visas. Applicants for visit visas must show that they are able to meet their living expenses in the United Kingdom. Proof of an applicant's ability to support himself can take the form of cash, travellers cheques, letters of credit or other similar bank guarantees. Where the major costs of a visit are to be borne by the host in this country evidence of the sponsor's ability to do so is required. Copies of bank statements, building society or other savings accounts, or a bank letter confirming the sponsor's financial standing are all acceptable for this purpose.
Israel
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet the Israeli Foreign Minister to discuss United Kingdom-Israeli relations.
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Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs hopes to meet the new Israeli Foreign Minister before too long. We regularly discuss the peace process with the Israelis. They are well aware of our view that a direct dialogue between Israel and representative Palestinians is needed soon as a first step towards an overall settlement.
Romania
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter of 9 May from Mr. and Mrs. B. O. Smith of 208 Sheffield Road, Killamarsh, Sheffield, concerning contacts with the British embassy in Bucharest.
Mr. Waldegrave : My private secretary replied to Mr. and Mrs. Smith's letter on 5 July. I regret the delay. Her Majesty's embassy in Bucharest is aware of Mr. and Mrs. Smith's interest in adopting a Romanian child and will assist them as much as possible.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the aid provided to Romania by the International Red Cross since 1 March ; and if he will publish it in the Official Report.
Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 11 June] : The information is not available for the precise period requested by the hon. Member. However, I understand that between 1 February and 25 June, contributions to the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' aid programme to Romania totalled approximately £11.6 million. This figure does not reflect numerous donations for which no value was indicated. The contributions, from over 30 national societies and private donors, consisted mainly of medical supplies, medicaments and basic equipment for orphanages, homes for the elderly or disabled, hospitals and dispensaries. Donations also include food, clothing, toys and other supplies.
Lockerbie Air Crash
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his reply of 4 July, Official Report, column 609, if he will make it his policy to ask the Government of Syria to help to obtain information of relevance to the international investigation into the Lockerbie air disaster.
Mr. Waldegrave : The investigation into the Lockerbie air disaster is being pursued by the Dumfries and Galloway constabulary, under the direction of my noble and learned friend the Lord Advocate. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office stands ready to assist the constabulary in any way they require in pursuit of international aspect of the investigation.
Declarations of Interest
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his reply of 4 July, Official Report, column 619, whether advisers to his Department who are not employees of the Crown are asked to declare their pecuniary interests before taking up their responsibilities.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Intellectual Property Rights
73. Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a further statement on the Government's position on the patenting of intellectual property rights and on the consequences for developing countries of inclusion in the current general agreement on tariffs and trade round of trade in intellectual property rights.
Mr. Ridley : The Government recognise that adequate levels of protection for intellectual property rights, including patents, are a necessary incentive for innovation. A successful outcome to the GATT negotiations on the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights will provide a favourable international climate for innovation from which all trading nations will benefit. Particular benefits for developing countries will include greater confidence for domestic and foreign investors alike and an improved framework for technology transfer. The European Commission is responsible for these negotiations on behalf of the United Kingdom and other member states.
GATT
74. Mr. McWilliam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are being proposed in the Uruguay round of the GATT by the European Community ; and what practical measures the Government have introduced to ensure transparency in the negotiations and access to information for the public.
Mr. Ridley : The European Community plays a prominent role in the GATT Uruguay round, and has submitted proposals from time to time in all 15 areas of the negotiations. The European Commission represents the Community in the negotiations. The Community's negotiating position is regularly reviewed by member states through the article 113 committee of senior officials and the Council of Ministers. Her Majesty's Government participate fully in this process, and maintain close liaison with interested business and other organisations in the United Kingdom. A public information point has also been established in the Department of Trade and Industry.
European Space Agency
Mr. Andrew MacKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the status of the ERS-2 and DRTM programmes of the European Space Agency.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : These programmes were discussed at the Council of the European Space Agency on 27-28 June. I am pleased to report that the ERS-2 programme has now formally commenced following confirmation of subscriptions from all participating states. ERS-1 and ERS-2 will together constitute a major European contribution to the monitoring of climate and environment. The United Kingdom Government are allocating some £60 million to ERS-2. This will fund inter alia the provision of two major instruments--the active microwave instrument and the along-track scanning radiometer. DRTM (to which the United Kingdom has commited £32 million) has also formally commenced. In the TM element,
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United Kingdom industry will be active in the development of advanced land mobile services, optical (laser) inter- satellite communications, ion propulsion and nickel hydrogen cells. The data relay satellite system element is in a preparatory phase.Girobank
Mr. Carr : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a further statement on the sale of Girobank to the Alliance and Leicester Building Society.
Mr. Forth : I have nothing to add to the reply that I gave on 2 July to my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns).
Timeshare Operators
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will meet the Timeshare Developers Association to discuss including timeshare owners in its membership.
Mr. Forth : I shall be happy to meet the Timeshare Developers Association if the association requests such a meeting. However, the composition of its membership is a matter for the association.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will introduce a mandatory code of conduct for timeshare operators ;
(2) if he will implement the recommendations of the Director General of Fair Trading on timeshares ;
(3) if he will introduce a licensing scheme for timeshare operators.
Mr. Forth : The Director General of Fair Trading's report on timeshare was published on 3 July. I shall be looking very carefully at his recommendations for legislation.
Barlow Clowes
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his statement of 19 December, Official Report, column 203, whether he has taken any action against any of the third parties implicated in the Barlow Clowes collapse.
Mr. Redwood : The Department is engaged in an urgent and wide- ranging assessment of possible legal actions against third parties to identify those cases which are worth pursuing in order to reduce the cost to public funds of the payments made to Barlow Clowes investors.
Research Council
Mr. Andrew MacKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Research Council on 29 June.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I represented Her Majesty's Government at the meeting of the Community's Council of Ministers (Research) in Luxembourg on 29 June.
The Council adopted a research and technological development programme on human genome analysis, which will run for two years with a total budget of 15 million ecu (£10.7 million). The Council agreed common positions on the EURET (transport research) and
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EUROTRA (development of machine translations systems) research and technological development programmes. The council also agreed a resolution on co-operation between COST (European co- operation in scientific and technical research) and the countries of central and eastern Europe.There was also a preliminary discussion of two recent communications from the Commission on research co-operation with third countries and with eastern Europe. The Council is likely to have further discussion on this subject later in the year.
Financial Regulatory Organisations
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in his Department have responsibility for overseeing the workings of (a) the Securities and Investments Board, (b) the Financial Intermediaries, Managers and Brokers Regulatory Organisation, (c) the Life Assurance and Unit Trust Regulatory Organisation, (d) the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation and (e) the Securities Association.
Mr. Redwood : Within the financial services division of my Department, the responsibilities of six people include, but are not confined to, oversight of the workings of the Securities and Investments Board. Oversight of the self-regulating organisations is the responsibility of the Securities and Investments Board itself.
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the names, annual salaries and terms of contract for (a) the chairman, (b) the chief executive and (c) other directors of the Securities and Investments Board ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The names of the board of directors of the Securities and Investments Board together with directors' emoluments are given in the Securities and Investments Board annual report which was laid before the House on 6 June. Sir Mark Weinberg and Mr. Eddie Ray retire from the board on 31 July and Mr. John Craven is appointed a director from 1 August. The terms of contract are a matter for the Securities and Investments Board.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and industry what discussions he has had with the Securities and Investments Board regarding the rationalisation of its five self-regulatory organisations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : This subject was among those discussed when I met the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board on 30 April. I welcome the recent announcement that the Securities Association and the Association of Futures Brokers and Dealers are to merge.
Brewing Industry
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will bring forward legislation to increase the use of guest beers.
Mr. Redwood : The Supply of Beer (Tied Estate) Order 1989 already provides that from 1 May 1990 tenants of brewers with interests in more than 2,000 on-licensed premises and those receiving tied loans from such brewers, must be free to sell a cask-conditioned guest beer from any supplier of their choice.
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Mr Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he last met representatives of the large brewers ; and what was discussed.
Mr Redwood : The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry last met representatives of the six national brewers collectively on 6 July 1989. In addition, the Department had a meeting with representatives of the Brewers Society on 10 November 1989 to hear representations on the draft Supply of Beer Orders.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will arrange to meet the Director General of Fair Trading to discuss the results of his office's monitoring of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report on brewing.
Mr. Redwood : I have no plans at present to meet the Director General of Fair Trading. I will do so if and when we think it necessary. However my Department keeps in close contact with the Office of Fair Trading on their monitoring of the implementation of the measures the Government took in response to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report. Monitoring by the Office of Fair Trading will extend at least until the end of 1992, when the Supply of Beer Orders have taken full effect.
Aldi Stores
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) when the Office of Fair Trading's preliminary report into the alleged refusal of companies to supply Aldi stores will be available ;
(2) if he will detail the allegations of unfair trading practice which the Office of Fair Trading is considering in respect of Aldi stores ;
(3) if he will estimate the time scale for a full investigation into the alleged refusal of companies to supply Aldi stores.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 6 July 1990] : Aldi have made representations to the Director General of Fair Trading that various suppliers of goods withheld supplies to them, within the meaning of section 12 of the Resale Prices Act 1976. I understand that the director general is making exploratory inquiries with a view to establishing the circumstances, following which he will decide what action if any he should take. The present inquiries do not constitute a statutory investigation and will not end in a report.
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