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Mrs. Chalker : We have announced a know-how fund of £20 million for the Soviet Union. Its aim will be to transfer British skills and expertise in areas essential to economic reform, particularly food distribution, energy, small business formation and financial services. Wider financial assistance will be a matter for multilateral action in the light of the EC and IMF studies of the Soviet economy now under way.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Trade Barriers
14. Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on progress by the European Community on removing barriers to trade to permit a satisfactory outcome to the Uruguay round.
Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is this week leading the United Kingdom delegation to the ministerial meeting in Brussels called to conclude the Uruguay round of trade negotiations. It is in everyone's interest, including the European Community, that the
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round should succeed. For this to happen, all concerned will need to show flexibility. But it is essential to preserve and strengthen the multilateral trading system. We are continuing to work with our Community partners in Brussels this week to bring this about.British Exporters
15. Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department intends to bring forward any new proposals to help British exporters.
Mr. Sainsbury : My Department is seeking, through the current GATT negotiations, to liberalise the world trading environment. We are also leading the way in implementing the directives necessary for creating the single European market.
34. Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to help British exporters.
Mr. Sainsbury : My Department, together with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, provides a wide range of services for British exporters. We are continually monitoring our schemes to ensure they are meeting the needs of business.
Textiles and Clothing
17. Mr. McWilliam : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the future of trade in textiles and clothing.
Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend is seeking to improve market access by reducing tariff and trade barriers and to strengthen the rules and disciplines of GATT so as to provide fairer conditions for trade in textiles and clothing.
Defence Industry
18. Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has had from industry about the future of the United Kingdom defence industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh : My Department is in contact with many defence companies about a wide range of matters concerning the defence industry.
Telecommunications
19. Mr. Bell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received about the telecommunications duopoly.
Mr. Redwood : The Government published a consultative document entitled "Competition and Choice : Telecommunications Policy for the 1990s" on 13 November. By that time, my Department had received over 40 informal submissions regarding the telecommunications duopoly. I have now received a handful of responses to the proposals in the document. The deadline for comments is 14 January 1991.
25. Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with the Director General of Oftel regarding developments in value added telephone services.
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Mr. Redwood : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has recently discussed the full range of telephone services with the Director General of Oftel in the context of the telecommunications duopoly review.
Steel Imports
20. Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the current level of steel imports.
Mr. Sainsbury : The latest available figures indicate that imports of steel for the 10 months to the end of October stand at 3.6 million tonnes. This represents a fall of 5.5 per cent. compared with the same period last year.
Post Office (Letters)
22. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the Post Office letter monopoly.
Mr. Leigh : The Post Office's letter monopoly is a privilege, not a right. While we keep the options on the letter monopoly under review, we have no present plans to end it, although in the event of a cessation or serious disruption to the letter service we would consider suspending it. The Government and the Post Office remain fully committed to the existence of a national letter service available to everyone, including those in rural areas, at a reasonable and uniform tariff.
Companies and Financial Services Acts
23. Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had about the prosecution of offences under the Companies and Financial Services Acts with the regulatory authorities.
Mr. Redwood : My officials are in regular touch with the regulatory authorities ; the subjects discussed include the prosecution of offences.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
24. Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to expand the role of the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
Mr. Sainsbury : Through the ECGD, United Kingdom exporters have access to a range and quality of credit insurance and export finance facilities which are among the best available in the major exporting countries. My aim will be to ensure that ECGD continues to respond flexibly to its customers' changing needs.
Iraq (Trade Mission)
26. Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give the dates and details of the last trade mission to Iraq that was sponsored by his Department.
Mr. Sainsbury : The last outward mission to Iraq sponsored by my Department took place from 22-28 June 1990. It was organised by the Nottingham chamber of commerce and 13 United Kingdom firms were represented.
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The City
27. Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has received any representations from the City of London corporation regarding the future development of the City.
Mr. Redwood : I have received no such representations from the City of London corporation, although I am aware of its decision to mount a study. I myself hold seminars with City practitioners to discuss the future of the financial sector.
Debt Advice
28. Mr. Ted Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will consider increasing the funding of debt advice services as a resource for households in debt.
Mr. Leigh : My Department does not specifically fund debt advice services, and I have no plans to do so. However, a large proportion of debt advice is provided by local citizens advice bureaux, as part of their general advisory work. Local bureaux receive most of their funding from local authorities, but my Department funds the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and Citizens Advice Scotland, which provide support services for local bureaux. Total DTI grant in aid to NACAB and CAS will be more than £11 million in 1990-91.
Project Assistance
29. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department proposes to make any changes in its scheme for assistance for exceptional projects.
Mr. Leigh : I have no plans to alter the criteria for supporting applications for assistance towards exceptional projects.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
30. Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has had concerning progress at the GATT talks.
Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend and I have had numerous representations on the Uruguay round of GATT negotiations, from a wide variety of sources, including industry, farmers, consumers and representatives of other Governments. This House also had a full debate on the Uruguay round on 23 November.
Textile Manufacturers
31. Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in the GATT talks to gain access to new overseas markets by the United Kingdom textile manufacturers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : The GATT negotiations are continuing in Brussels this week. It is a high priority for the Government to reduce barriers to Community textiles exports in overseas markets. Some countries, such as Canada, South Africa and Thailand, have offered to reduce their textiles tariffs. The Community is pressing all participants to improve their offers on textiles as part of the overall market access negotiations.
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Solvent-based Products
32. Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to strengthen the provisions of the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act to restrict the sale of solvent-based products to minors.
Mr. Leigh : I have no plans to amend the provisions of the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act.
Single European Market
33. Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of those measures laid down for the creation of the single European market still have to be agreed between the member states of the Community.
Mr. Sainsbury : Of the 282 measures specified for the creation of the single European market in the Commission's 1985 White Paper, 190 have been agreed and 92 still remain to be agreed.
Postal Services
35. Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to meet the chairman of the Post Office to discuss the quality of postal services.
Mr. Leigh : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets the chairman of the Post Office, Sir Bryan Nicholson, regularly to discuss various matters of mutual interest and concern.
Scottish TUC
36. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will next meet the Scottish Trades Union Congress to discuss the state of Scotland's industries.
Mr. Leigh : I have no plans to meet the Scottish Trades Union Congress.
Consumer Affairs
37. Mr. Haynes : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he last met representatives of local authority trading standards officers to discuss consumer matters.
Mr. Leigh : My right hon. Friend has not had any meetings with representatives of local authority trading standards officers. However, officials have frequent meetings with them and I have accepted an invitation to meet representatives of the Institute of Trading Standards Administration early next year.
Glass Industry
38. Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to next meet his EC Trade Minister colleagues to discuss the glass industry.
Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend keeps in close contact with his EC ministerial colleagues but he has no plans at present to discuss the glass industry.
Retail Goods
Mr. John Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what further measures his Department is taking to improve the safety of retail goods.
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Mr. Leigh : The safety of retail goods will continue to be a high priority for my Department. The Consumer Protection Act 1987 makes it a criminal offence to supply any consumer product that is not reasonably safe. This is supported by specific regulations, where necessary, and by a range of enforcement powers that enable action to be taken effectively and swiftly against unsafe consumer goods. I see no justification for further legislation in this area.Company Records
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in which department requests which arise at Companies house satellite offices for individual company records on microfiche are dealt with.
Mr. Redwood : The majority of search requests made in the satellite offices are satisfied by Companies house in London.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry where microfiche records paid for at a Companies house satellite office to be sent to the inquirer's office or home are posted.
Mr. Redwood : Microfiche records requested and paid for in Companies house's satellite offices are not posted on to customers' offices or homes.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what system is used to transport company microfiche requested at satellite offices from Cardiff to those offices ; and if this system is more expensive or cheaper to operate than if the same packets were sent to the satellites by Royal Mail.
Mr. Redwood : The system used to transport search requests to the satellite offices is operated by Britdoc Ltd. trading as British Document Exchange. This system is 50 per cent. cheaper than first-class post per item and 33 per cent. cheaper than second-class post.
EC Financial Directives
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in negotiations on the terms of the capital adequacy directive ; and what issues remain to be determined.
Mr. Redwood : The Commission proposal for a directive to establish minimum capital adequacy requirements for investment firms and credit institutions conducting investment business was submitted to the Council in June. Negotiations are now under way in the Council working group. The directive as drafted represented a major improvement on earlier, unpublished drafts but it is clear that a number of member states favour higher minimum initial capital requirements. The Government's immediate concerns are to resist any increase in these initial requirements, to agree a satisfactory treatment of independent financial intermediaries, and to agree a satisfactory definition of those illiquid assets which must be deducted from the capital of investment firms. The Government's overall objective remains to negotiate a directive which genuinely relates capital requirements for individual firms to the risks to which those firms are exposed, and maintains the international competitiveness of the European Community.
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Iraq (Supergun)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will now make it his practice to answer any questions relating to the export of militarily sensitive supergun parts to Iraq.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 27 November 1990] : Where I can add to the information provided by my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade on Second Reading of the Import and Export Control Bill, without helping the Government of Iraq (or any other would-be evader of export controls), I will answer questions which fall within my Department's area of responsibility.
Auditing Practices Committee
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date his representative on the Auditing Practices Committee was informed of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies' review of the Auditing Practices Committee.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 30 November 1990] : In mid-July.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Coinage
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received in respect of the size of the new 5p piece.
Mr. Maples : A number of letters have been received.
Business Investment
Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of business investment in 1991 ; and what is the level of business investment in (a) France, (b) Italy and (c) Germany, respectively.
Mr. Maples : In the autumn statement, business investment in the United Kingdom in 1991 was forecast to be £56 billion at 1985 prices.
The latest estimates of private non-residential investment--the standardised international definition which is closest to business investment--for the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy are for 1989. They are set out in the table as a share of GDP. The United Kingdom devoted a larger share of its GDP to private non-residential investment than the other three countries.
Private non-residential investment as a share of GDP, 1989 ------------------------------- United Kingdom |13.9 France |12.6 Germany |12.8 Italy |<1>12.4 <1> 1988; 1989 not available.
Departmental Appointees
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the annual cost of fees and reimbursements to people appointed to (a) public, (b) non-governmental and (c) other bodies by his Department.
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Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The annual salary and fixed fee cost of appointments made by the Treasury is about £1 million a year. There are further appointments that pay a daily fee depending on involvement and most appointments pay travel and subsistence expenses. Details of this expenditure are not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.ENERGY
Piper Alpha Report
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will estimate the cost of technical and hardware measures outlined in the interim report of the Piper Alpha disaster and the Cullen report ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : The principal recommendations of Lord Cullen's report deal with broad principles of safety management rather than detailed technical or hardware measures. The cost of any measures required or thought desirable in the light of the application of these principles seems likely to vary from case to case, and it is not possible at this stage to make any overall estimate of additional costs attributable to the implementation of these recommendations.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will estimate the percentage of the cost of the technical and hardware measures outlined in the interim report of the Piper Alpha disaster and the Cullen report which will be met (a) by the oil companies and (b) by the Exchequer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : The extent to which the future cost of any such measures would be borne by the Exchequer would depend on a number of factors including the tax position at the relevant time of the oil or gas field, and of the company, in question.
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Electricity Privatisation
Mr. Hannam : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what provision he has made to ensure information concerning the privatisation of the electricity industry has been made available on tape and in Braille to assist blind people.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The production of offer for sale documents on tape or in Braille was ruled out on the grounds of excessive cost. Blind people do, however, have the option to telephone the share information office, which is able to answer a comprehensive range of simple questions.
Gas Leaks
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress he has made towards establishing reliable estimates of gas leakage from the low-pressure distribution system ; whether his Department remains dependent on British Gas for such estimates ; and what is the current best estimate for such leakage.
Mr. Moynihan : I would refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Member for City of Chester (Mr. Morrison) gave on 23 April 1990, at column 96 . The Department of the Environment (DoE) has primary responsibility for emissions inventories and currently uses an estimate of 1 per cent. for methane loss in the natural gas distribution system.
Work is being undertaken by DoE, British Gas and others better to characterise all types of methane emission. This will be incorporated in the national estimates of total methane emissions in due course.
Building Works
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will publish tables showing (a) the number of new buildings, (b) the amount spent on new buildings, (c) the amount spent on repairs and maintenance and (d) the amount spent on building renovation by his Department in each of the last five years.
Mr. Wakeham : The information in respect of the Department of Energy for the financial years 1986-87 to 1990-91 is :
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P
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Departmental Appointees
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the annual cost of fees and reimbursements to people appointed to (a) public, (b) non-governmental and (c) other bodies by his Department.
Mr. Wakeham : I refer the hon. Member to the publication "Public Bodies" produced by the Cabinet Office, the latest edition of which will be published by HMSO later this month. The publication includes all
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appointments to bodies for which my Department is responsible except for the Director General of Gas Supply whose salary is in the range £53,420 to £63,390.PRIME MINISTER
Teachers' Pay
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Prime Minister if he has any intention of setting up an inquiry into teachers' pay ; and if he will make a statement.
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The Prime Minister : The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Bill currently before the House sets up new machinery under which the local authority employers and the teacher unions will be able to negotiate teachers' pay. The Government have undertaken not normally to intervene on cost grounds if the overall cost of recommendations resulting from those negotiations falls within the inter- quartile range of private sector settlements for non-manual employees.FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Antarctica
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy towards the Antarctic minerals convention.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We believe that the convention on the regulation of Antarctic mineral resource activities (CRAMRA) contains all necessary environmental safeguards, and that it offers the best way to resolve the minerals issue and protect the Antarctic environment. However, as we have always made clear, we are prepared to discuss all proposals.
Administrative Costs
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the administrative costs of his Department rose by more or less than the retail prices index in the last financial year.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Gross running costs expenditure on Foreign and Commonwealth Office diplomatic wing administration was 9.86 per cent. higher in 1989-90 than in the previous year ; and for the aid wing it was 9.56 per cent. higher. During the same period the retail prices index increased by 7.8 per cent.
Purchasing
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the purchasing policy of his Department.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : This Department is bound by the Government's policy that purchasers should base all procurement of goods and services on value for money, including quality (or fitness for purpose) and delivery against price. In accordance with that policy, goods and services are acquired by competition unless there are convincing reasons to the contrary. Under EC rules, and GATT (Government procurement agreement (GPA)) where appropriate, this Department is obliged to award relevant contracts in accordance with prescribed procedures aimed at avoiding discrimination on grounds of nationality.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what were his Department's (a) best and (b) worst purchases made in the current month as measured against the Government's supply index ;
(2) what were the 10 worst purchases made by his Department in the month of October as measured against the Government's supply index.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not at present subscribe to the Government supply index run by PI Ltd.
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