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Investment
20. Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest OECD estimates for investment growth in the United Kingdom and Germany in 1990.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Latest OECD estimates for total fixed investment in 1990, published in the December "Economic Outlook" and, partly based on forecasts, show a fall of 1.3 per cent. in the United Kingdom and a rise of 8.2 per cent. in western Germany.
Manufacturing Output
21. Mr. Beaumont-Dark : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is manufacturing output today ; and what was the comparable figure in spring 1979.
Mr. Mellor : Manufacturing output data are published in index form, with the average for 1985 equal to 100. In the three months to November manufacturing output averaged 116.2. In the second quarter of 1979 the index was 108.7.
Savings
22. Mr. Mans : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest estimates for the savings ratio.
Mr. Norman Lamont : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Dorset, South (Mr. Bruce).
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Inflation
23. Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the prospects for inflation.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : RPI inflation fell from 10.9 per cent. in October to 9.3 per cent. in December. This is consistent with the autumn statement forecast which pointed to a fall to 5 per cent. by the fourth quarter of this year.
Exports
25. Mr. Hayward : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the level of export growth over the latest three months for which figures are available.
Mr. Mellor : In the fourth quarter of 1990 United Kingdom export volumes--excluding oil and erratics--rose 2 per cent. on the previous quarter and were 4 per cent. higher than a year earlier.
Child Poverty
26. Mr. McFall : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met representatives of the Child Poverty Action Group to discuss the effects of the Government's policies on child poverty.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : My right hon. Friend met representatives of the Child Poverty Action Group last June and has no plans to do so again in the near future.
Tax-exempt Savings
27. Sir Trevor Skeet : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many building societies and banks are offering a TESSA.
Mr. Maude : A total of 150 so far, including the great majority of high street banks and building societies.
London Weighting
Mr. Soley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the amount which has been spent in the last two years as London weighting for civil servants represents increases to the salaries of lower- paid civil servants.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : London weighting has not been increased over the last two years. However, of the £87 million spent enhancing London pay in other ways during the period approximately 41 per cent. has been paid to staff with salary maxima below £10,000.
New Coins
Mr. Speller : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consult all interests, including vending machine operators, shops and the general public, before introducing any new coinage or notes.
Mr. Maples : It is standard practice for the royal mint to consult interested parties before the introduction of any new coins, and it will continue to do so. Before the new 5p coin was introduced into circulation in June 1990, the royal mint undertook extensive consultations with interested parties and the general public. In addition vending companies were given test coins and two and a half years' notice to plan for the change.
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The Bank of England is responsible for note issue matters. It also carries out extensive consultations prior to new notes being issued. It consults, in particular, organisations representing the blind, and also makes samples of the new notes available to banks, building societies, and note-handling machine manufacturers well in advance of issue.Next Steps" Agencies
Dr. Marek : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made towards establishing Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue as "next steps" agencies.
Mr. Maude : Following the announcement my predecessor made on 25 July 1990 at c. 239-42 on steps to be taken to ensure both Departments operated fully on "next steps" lines I intend to make further announcements in respect of both Departments shortly.
Gulf War
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the total cost of British involvement in the Gulf has been calculated.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 30 January 1991] : The basis for the calculations of the cost of United Kingdom military operations in the Gulf was explained in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence's letter of21 January to the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill), a copy of which is in the Library.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Disabled Access
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Lord President of the Council (1) what plans he has for the improvement of disabled access in the House ; (2) when a review of disabled access in the House was last made.
Mr. MacGregor : The all-party disablement group carried out a review and submitted proposals to the Accommodation and Administration Sub- Committee in May 1981 to improve access for disabled people. As I stated in my reply of 21 January to the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Janner), the Parliamentary Works Officer is carrying out feasibility studies into a number of further proposals that were received in December 1990 from the right hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, South (Mr. Ashley), chairman of the all-party disablement group. Once they have been completed, the results of these studies will be forwarded to the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee for its consideration.
Members' Accommodation
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Lord President of the Council what investigations have been carried out to try to identify extra office accommodation for hon. Members pending the completion of the new office buildings.
Mr. MacGregor : The results of a comprehensive space audit of the parliamentary estate will be presented to the
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Services Committee shortly. They are expected to confirm that there is little scope for providing extra accommodation for Members prior to the opening of phase I of the new parliamentary building later this year. About 100 extra Members' offices will be provided at that time. Planning is under way for phase 2 of the project, with a view to achieving the Services Committee's objective that by the time the new building is complete,"every Member who wants a room of his or her own should have one". In addition, urgent consideration is being given to the possibility of acquiring alternative accommodation within a reasonable distance of the Chamber for Members and staff currently occupying buildings, such as St. Stephen's house, which it is proposed to redevelop as part of phase 2. The Services Committee expects to report to the House on these matters shortly.
Statues
Mr. Bellotti : To ask the Lord President of the Council for what reason the statue of Joseph Chamberlain in the Members' Lobby of the House was replaced with one of Benjamin Disraeli during the Christmas recess ; if he will outline the total cost of such a move ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. MacGregor : The statues were moved following a resolution of the Advisory Committee on Works of Art in the House of Commons. The cost of the work was some £3,000.
PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 31 January.
The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
The Gulf
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if he will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the contribution made by EC members to the Gulf crisis in terms of cash and resources ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The majority of the European Community member states have already contributed to the multinational force in the Gulf, whether with military forces, logistical, medical, financial or other forms of assistance. We are seeking additional contributions to our costs from a number of countries, including EC members. The Community and its member states are also providing economic assistance to those countries most directly affected economically by the crisis, as well as providing substantial humanitarian assistance to alleviate the refugee problem in the region.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister what (a) governmental and (b) international activity, involving Her Majesty's Government, took place before 28 January to prepare the specialist method of responding to any environmental crisis in the Gulf ; and if he will make a statement.
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The Prime Minister : The Government have responded promptly and positively to requests from the Saudi Arabian Government for expert advice and assistance following the deliberate pollution of the Gulf by Saddam Hussein. We are also in touch with other states in the region. Since the risk of conflict arose, the Government have been fully conscious of a number of possible environmental risks arising from it and has maintained close contact with the allies on all matters connected with it. It is for the Gulf states affected, drawing on the expertise on offer from the United Kingdom and the international community, to lead the response to the environmental damage that Iraq is inflicting on the region.Gas Masks (Palestinians)
Mr. Wray : To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has made to the Israeli Prime Minister concerning the provision of gas masks to the Palestinian population in the occupied territories.
The Prime Minister : None. On 14 January the Israeli High Court ordered the army to distribute its stock of masks to Palestinians along the green line between Israel and the occupied territories immediately, and to obtain more for the remaining residents of the west bank and Gaza. The distribution has begun. We welcome this decision.
Pay Review Bodies
Mr. Madel : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the latest reports of the pay review bodies.
The Prime Minister : The 1991 reports of the review bodies on the pay of the armed forces, the doctors and dentists, the professions allied to medicine, nursing staff, midwives and health visitors, and of the Top Salaries Review Body have been published today. Copies are available in the Vote Office. The Government are grateful to the members of the review bodies for the time and care which they have put into the preparation of the reports. The table shows the increases recommended by the review bodies for each group, and their cost.
|Pay bill |Range of |United
|increase |increases in |Kingdom
|Per cent. |1991-92 |public expen-
|Per cent. |diture cost<1>
|£ million
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armed forces |12.2 |<2>11.2-18.0 |536
Doctors and
dentists |10.2 |9.5-12.7 |454
Professions allied
to medicine |10.8 |10.0-14.2 |74
Nursing staff,
midwives and
health visitors |9.7 |<3>9.5-11.0 |696
Top salaries |9.6 |<4>9.5-12.1 |10
<1> These figures are higher than those in the Review Bodies' reports, which
do not cover the full public expenditure costs.
<2> University cadets will receive lower increases, down to 7.8 per cent. for
first year students. A few Captains RN may receive up to 20.1 per cent. as a
result of changes to submarine and bonus payments.
<3> A small number of Grade B staff and staff nursery nurses will receive
rises of 14.1 per cent. or 14.2 per cent., and some nurses in receipt of the
geriatric lead will receive 9.3 per cent.
<4> The 12.1 per cent. is for 2 star officers only; all others receive 9.5 per
cent.
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The Government accept the recommendations of the review bodies and will be implementing them in full. All the proposed improvements in pay structures, designed to assist in recruiting, retaining and motivating staff, are accepted, indeed welcomed. But the overall cost of the pay packages proposed by the review bodies is high. The cost exceeds the provision available in Departments' spending plans for next year at a time when public expenditure is under pressure as a result of events in the Gulf.Accordingly, given the size of the recommended increases as well as wider economic considerations, it will be necessary to stage payment of the review bodies' awards, except to the armed forces. When many of our armed forces are on active service, we have concluded it would not be appropriate to ask them to wait for their full pay award. For all other groups the staging will involve an increase of at least 7.5 per cent. from 1 April with the balance paid from 1 December. In consequence the full awards for all groups will be in payment before the end of this year.
The cost of implementing the recommendations on this basis will be met from within the public expenditure planning totals published in the autumn statement. The Government recognise that the cost of the health service awards could not be met in full from present health service provision without adversely affecting services to patients. The Government will therefore provide an extra £250 million from the reserve for next year, bringing the total increase in the resources available for the national health services between 1990-91 and 1991-92 to £3.4 billion. The full increase in costs for the armed forces over the provision previously made in the defence budget will also be met from the reserve : an allocation of £70 million will be made from the reserve for this purpose.
The specific application of this approach to the respective groups will be as follows.
The increases recommended by the review body on the armed forces will be paid in full from 1 April 1991. The increase in the x' factor, which reflects the special demands of service life, will be larger for women than for men and will remove all pay distinctions between them.
The Government have decided to accept the recommendations of the review body on doctors and dentists, but to stage their implementation so that 7.5 per cent. is paid in all cases from 1 April and the remainder of the increases, ranging from 2 per cent. to 5.2 per cent. for different categories, from 1 December. Increased expenses for general medical practitioners, which are a necessary part of the cost of running a practice, will be paid in full from 1 April.
Similarly, for nursing staff, midwives and health visitors, the Government accept the recommendations of the review body, but their implementation will be staged so that all staff will receive at least 7.5 per cent. from 1 April and the remaining 2 per cent. from 1 December. Lower-paid nursing staff, for whom the review body has recommended higher increases, will receive all but 2 per cent. from 1 April with the balance paid from 1 December.
The Government have also decided to accept the recommendations of the review body on professions allied to medicine, but to stage their implementation so that 7.5 per cent. is paid to all from 1 April and the remaining pay increases and other additional payments are paid from 1 December.
Groups covered by the Top Salaries Review Body will receive 7.5 per cent. from 1 April, with the remainder from
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1 December. However, two-star military officers, for whom higher increases were recommended, will receive all but 2 per cent. from 1 April with the balance paid from 1 December. The new system of performance-related pay for civil servants, which the Top Salaries Review Body recommended in their report last year, will be implemented from 1 April 1991.The pay rates and scales resulting from the decisions will be promulgated as soon as possible for the groups concerned. Pensions will follow the rates of salary in payment.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Companies Inspectors
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will give the number and list the companies in which he has appointed inspectors from within or outside his Department under the Companies Act 1985 since 1979 ; and if he will give the number of those inspectors' reports which he has published.
Mr. Redwood : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 8 January 1990, Official Report, columns 519-24. Since that date, inspectors have been appointed in the following cases :
1. BOM Holdings plc.
2. Atlantic Computers plc.
3. Atlantic Computer Systems plc.
4. Astra Holdings plc.
5. London United Investments plc.
6. Norton Group plc.
Seventeen reports have been published in relation to inspections begun since 1979.
Questions
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central of 23 January, Official Report, column 329, what has been the cost of the 436 questions asked by the hon. Members for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) and Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) on accountancy during the last two years.
Mr. Redwood : Detailed information on the cost of providing each answer is not recorded, but the total cost to my Department has probably been between £30,000 and £60,000 in the period since 1 December 1989.
Environmental Sensor Technologies
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the laboratory of the Government chemist received the report on environmental sensor technologies commissioned by his Department from Robert Bogue and Partners ; to whom and through what outlets the report will be made available ; and what was the cost of the consultancy with Robert Bogue and Partners for the preparation of the report.
Mr. Leigh : The report on environmental sensor technologies was received by the laboratory of the Government chemist on 3 September 1990. The findings of the consultancy were presented at an open seminar held in London on 28 November 1990. Copies of a short report
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which summarises the findings of the consultancy are available free on request from the laboratory of the Government chemist. A more detailed report can be purchased from the laboratory of the Government chemist. The cost of the consultancy iscommercial-in-confidence information.
Iraq
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the value of export credits granted to Iraq in each year since 1979.
Mr. Sainsbury : I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn) on 17 October 1990, Official Report, column 837.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many ministerial visits have been made by his Department to Iraq since 1979.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the value of export and import trade with Iraq expressed at constant prices in each year since 1979.
Mr. Sainsbury : These figures from 1979 to 1988 are available from the "Annual Abstract of Statistics"--1990 Edition, tables 12.5 and 12.6. From 1989 to date, the figures are available from the "Monthly Digest of Statistics" tables 15.5 and 15.6.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how much has been spent by his Department on activities arising from trade fairs in Iraq since 1979 ;
(2) if he will give details of financial and technical support supplied to visiting trade delegations from the United Kingdom to Iraq in each year since 1979.
Mr. Sainsbury : Details of Department of Trade and Industry programme expenditure on financial support for trade delegations is not available for the years 1979-80 to 1983-84. Net expenditure on events opening in subsequent years, with that on trade fairs identified separately is set out in the table :
Assistance provided under the outward and
inward
trade missions, trade fairs and seminars scheme
|Of which
|trade fairs
Year |£ thousands|£ thousands
------------------------------------------------
1984-85 |145.6 |135.3
1985-86 |122.6 |108.6
1986-87 |158.7 |149.7
1987-88 |60.3 |47.9
1988-89 |238.6 |221.8
1989-90 |559.6 |483.6
1990-91 |4 |-
These delegations received the additional support normally provided from Her Majesty's Government.
Walter Somers
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what companies were mentioned in documents forwarded to the Department by Walter Somers and
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Forgemasters Engineering Ltd. in connection with the inquiries made of the export licensing division since 1988 ; and in what capacity they were mentioned.Mr. Lilley : It is not the practice to reveal details of individual licensing applications.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many inquiries the export licensing division has received since the beginning of 1988 from (1) Walter Somers and (2) Forgemasters Engineering Ltd. ; what products the inquiries concerned ; which require export licences ; and which were deemed to have a potential military application.
Mr. Lilley : It is not the practice to reveal details of individual licensing inquiries.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Cambodia
Mr. Lester : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which United Nations agencies have received funding from Her Majesty's Government for work in Cambodia ; if the £1.25 million announced to support United Nations work in Cambodia has been fully utilised by United Nations agencies ; and if more funds will be made available to them.
Mrs. Chalker : Since the Government reviewed their policy towards Cambodia in November 1989 the following allocations have been made to United Nations agencies :
1989-90
UNICEF--£0.25 million for immunisation, water supply and sanitation, pre-primary education and textbook production.
1990-91
UNICEF--£0.5 million for health, nutrition, water and sanitation. World Health Organisation--£0.2 million anti-malaria programme. World Food Programme--£0.3 million for rice in support of UNICEF's well and pond digging programme.
These funds are being used by the agencies to support their current programmes in Cambodia. We are monitoring progress and we are prepared in due course to consider providing further support for their work.
Refugee Relief
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which nations have been refused refugee relief in the last three years.
International Organisations (Subscriptions)
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total cost of United Kingdom subscriptions to international organisations in each of the last five years at constant prices.
Mrs. Chalker : The total cost to the United Kingdom aid programme of contributions and subscriptions to international organisations in each of the last five years at constant 1989 prices was as follows :
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|£ million
------------------------------
1985 |612
1986 |611
1987 |596
1988 |702
1989 |674
Foreign Investment Advisory Service
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current level of funding of the foreign investment advisory service ; and how many staff it has.
Mrs. Chalker : The foreign investment advisory service has received funding as follows.
Period |US$ ------------------------------------------------------------ 1 July 1988 to 30 June 1989 (actual) |2,182,000 1 July 1989 to 30 June 1990 (estimated) |3,360,000 1 July 1990 to 30 June 1991 (projected) |3,946,000
In the fiscal year ending 30 June 1990 FIAS employed the equivalent of eight staff years and seven consultant years.
Cuba
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the purposes for which the United Kingdom has given aid to Cuba since 1987.
Mrs. Chalker : A total of £5,000 was spent in 1988 and in 1989 under a gift scheme run by Her Majesty's ambassador in Havana : the items involved were principally books and information equipment for local institutions. Data for 1990 is not yet available.
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