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Mr. Baldry [holding answer 12 February 1991] : The sources from which local authority capital commitments can be financed are : (
(i) credit approvals which permit capital expenditure to be financed by borrowing or by credit arrangements or specified grants to be taken up ;
(ii) usable capital receipts ;
(iii) Exchequer capital grants or contributions (other than European Community and specified capital grants) and capital grants and contributions from other persons ; and
(iv) revenue contributions.
A waste disposal authority may draw on any of these sources of finance for a scheme of the type described by my hon. Friend.
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The Government have announced that local authorities in England may bid for £10 million in supplementary credit approvals in 1991-92, which has been earmarked for investment in recycling facilities.TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Project Funding
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the 42 projects classified in departmental records as negotiated contracts funded out of aid and trade provision monies since 1979 ; and if he will give the date on which such funding was authorised in each case.
Mr. Redwood : The projects are listed in the table. It should be noted that there are 41 projects listed rather than 42 as given in my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade's previous answer, 24 October 1990, Official Report, columns 205-6. This was because of double counting in the previous answer which has now been corrected.
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Country |Project |Company |Export value |ATP element |Date authorised
|£ million |£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indonesia |Jabotabek Railway Study |L. H. Manderstam |1.000 |1.000 |June 1984
Malaysia |Ulu Jelai Hydro Feasibility Study |WLPU/Ewbank |1.850 |1.850 |April 1984
Thailand |Mini Hydros Pilot Plant |Balfour Beatty |2.500 |2.500 |June 1983
Indonesia |Ombilin Coal Mining Training |Dowty Meco |0.655 |0.655 |September 1982
Thailand |Post-Harvest Ground Nut Study: Phase II|Rural Investment Overseas |0.499 |0.499 |April 1984
Indonesia |Jabotabek Feasibility Study |Manderstam/F. Wheeler |0.007 |0.007 |September 1986
China |Cosco Ships |British Shipbuilders |44.300 |13.578 |July 1986
Indonesia |Steel Bridging |Mabey & Johnson |10.702 |6.846 |April 1987
Indonesia |Navigational Aids |Pharos Marine |9.906 |7.007 |April 1987
Malaysia |Liwagu Hydroelectric Study |Watermeyer/Ewbank |0.850 |0.850 |October 1986
Malaysia |Rural water supervision |John Taylor |3.000 |3.000 |October 1985
Panama |Gas Turbine Power Station |JBE |14.222 |6.727 |October 1987
Seychelles |Mahe Water Consultancy |Sir A. Gibb |0.122 |0.122 |July 1987
Zimbabwe |Harare Airport |Sir A. Gibb |0.257 |0.257 |May 1985
China |Bohai Aluminium Phase I |Davey McKee (Poole) |27.750 |8.786 |April 1988
China |Yue Yang Coal Power Station |GEC |171.718 |51.417 |July 1987
China |Yue Yang Third Party Inspection |Kennedy and Donkin |0.324 |0.324 |August 1988
China |Yue Yang Monitoring |Hattersley |0.273 |0.273 |May 1988
Egypt |Leak Detection Equipment |Palmer Environmental |0.251 |0.251 |April 1987
Indonesia |Cigading Port |Tarmac Consortium |17.280 |13.173 |March 1989
Indonesia |Bandung TV Studio |Quantel-Link Systems |11.735 |9.201 |October 1988
Indonesia |Scattered Diesels |GEC |6.887 |5.421 |January 1989
Indonesia |Airport Security Systems |Holmes Aviation |0.020 |0.020 |March 1989
Indonesia |Forest Radio Communications |Phillips Radio Communications |0.228 |0.138 |April 1988
Kenya |Chemeilil Sugar Mill |Crown Agents |0.003 |0.003 |April 1985
Kenya |Power Distribution |Private Consultant |0.007 |0.007 |November 1988
Kenya |Mombasa Causeway |Sir A. Gibb |0.412 |0.315 |April 1989
Malaysia |Privatisation Programme |J. H. Schroder Wagg & Co. |0.642 |0.194 |June 1987
Thailand |Laem Chabang Port |Port of Felixstowe Int. |0.151 |0.151 |May 1986
Zimbabwe |Zisco Monitoring |W. S. Atkins |0.048 |0.048 |October 1987
Egypt |Maghara Coal Mine |Babcocks |0.080 |0.080 |October 1988
Indonesia |Radio Studios |David Whittle Associates |0.390 |0.390 |March 1988
Indonesia |Aircraft Simulator |CAA |0.050 |0.050 |January 1990
Indonesia |Satellite Remote Sensing |Technology Applied Systems |0.062 |0.025 |May 1989
Indonesia |Cigading/Serpong Railway Rehabilitation|Davy/British Rail Int. |33.000 |20.995 |March 1990
Indonesia |Radio Studio Rehabilitation |Audix Ltd. |6.330 |5.040 |February 1990
Kenya |Digital Micro Wave Link |Telectron Systems |12.040 |4.214 |June 1989
Morocco |Nador Steel Works Study |W. S. Atkins |0.265 |0.133 |July 1988
Pakistan |Karachi Water II |Portals Water Treatment |18.940 |6.629 |July 1988
Phillipines |Gas Turbines Power Station |JBE |37.500 |7.276 |March 1988
Red Sea |Regional Hydro Carbon Study |Robertson Research Int. |0.375 |0.187 |May 1989
Telecommunications
Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which representative bodies responded to the Government's consultative document, "Competition and Choice : Telecommunications Policy for the 1990s" ; and if he will publish their responses.
Mr. Redwood : The representative bodies listed in the table have responded to the consultative document. Unless respondents have indicated otherwise, the Government intend to make public the responses when announcing the conclusions of the review.
Action with Communities in Rural England
Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for Disabled and Elderly People
Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for Small Businesses Age Concern England
Association for Information Management (Aslib)
Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland
Association of Independent Radio Contractors
Association of the Electronics, Telecommunications and Business Equipment Industries (EEA)
British Computer Society
British Motorship Owners Association
British Telecommunications Unions Committee
Cable Television Association
Computing Services Association
Confederation of Information Communication Industries
Consumers' Association
Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council
English Advisory Committee on Telecommunications
Federation of Communications Services (Cellular Service Providers Group)
Federation of Communications Services (Duopoly review working party)
Gandalf Users Forum
General Council of British Shipping
Gingerbread
Greater London Association for Disabled People
Hull City Council
Institution of Electrical Engineers
Joint Radio Committee of the fuel and power industries
Kent County Council
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry
National Association of Victims Support Schemes
National Consumer Council
National Council for One Parent Families
National Federation of Retirement Pensions Associations Network Operators Committee (Band III)
Newspaper Society
Northern Ireland Advisory Committee on Telecommunications Northern Region Councils Association
OFTEL Working Group on Telecommunications for the Hearing Impaired
Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation
Royal National Institute for the Deaf
Samaritans
Scottish Advisory Committee on Telecommunications
Scottish Council Development and Industry
Sheffield City Council
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Specialised Satellite Services Operators GroupTelecommunications Industry Association
Telecommunications Managers Association
Telecommunications Users' Association
UK Offshore Operators Association
UK Paging Operators Association
US Council for International Business
Welsh Advisory Committee on Telecommunications
Patent Office
Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the Patent Office.
Mr. Leigh : It is important that the financial framework for the Patent Office enables it to provide a high-quality service as economically as possible. However, at present there is no clear relationship between the level of resources allocated to the Patent Office and customer demand. In order to provide such a relationship the Patent Office will move to a net running cost regime from 1 April. While this provides a close link between customer demand and current resources, restrictions will remain, for example, on transferring funds between financial years. Additional flexibilities, which the Patent Office believes would enable it to improve the service provided to customers, would be available to a trading fund established under the Government Trading Act 1990. As announced in the trade and industry expenditure plan report (Cm. 1504) published this week, I hope that the Patent Office will achieve trading fund status later in the 1991-92 financial year. The Patent Office is today opening a consultation process on this proposal, seeking comments by 12 April. I have placed a copy of this letter in the Library.
As part of the process of approving the 1991-92 Patent Office corporate plan a review has been conducted of the performance of the Patent Office against the targets for the period 1990-91 to 1994-95 announced by the then Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley), on 1 March 1990, at column 295. These were three efficiency targets covering annual average improvements in patent search and trade mark productivity and a relative reduction in the size of common services over the five years, together with an annual quality of service measure for patent searches, and a quality of service measure for the five years taken together for trade mark examination. These targets continue to be testing ones for the Patent Office and I do not propose to alter them. I regret, however, that the review has identified an arithmetic error in the calculation of the overall average productivity improvement which results from these targets. The figure should have been2.5 per cent. a year rather than 4 per cent.
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Companies House
Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes are planned to the financial regime under which Companies House operates.
Mr. Redwood : Companies House currently operates on a net running cost regime. Although this makes it possible to match resources to fluctuations in workload, it does not enable the agency to work in a fully commercial manner. For example, there are restrictions on transferring funds between financial years.
Companies House plans to take advantage of the greater financial flexibilities which should be available as a trading fund under the Government Trading Act 1990. The aim is to enable the agency to operate more efficiently, so that its many customers can enjoy an even better service representing improved value for money. I hope that Companies House will achieve trading fund status later in 1991-92, as described in the trade and industry expenditure plans report (Cm 1504) published this week.
Companies House is today issuing a consultative letter on these proposals, seeking comments by 12 April. A copy of this letter will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Antarctica
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which members of his Department were on the British delegation to the November 1990 Antarctic treaty meeting ; and whether his Department will be represented at the April 1991 meeting of the Antarctic treaty parties.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 8 February 1991] : An official from my Department was a member of the British delegation to the Antarctic treaty meeting in November 1990, and one will attend the meeting scheduled for April 1991
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contribution was made by his Department to discussions on environmental protection measures by the Antarctic treaty parties in Chile in 1990.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 8 February 1991] : An official from my Department was a member of the British delegation to the Antarctic treaty meeting in November 1990 which took an active part in the discussions on a draft protocol to the Antarctic treaty for the protection of the Antarctic environment.
Film Industry
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has on the level of Government provision of film screen finance since 1987 in (a) Britain, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) Italy and (e) Spain.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 11 February 1991] : I have no annual information on the level of Government screen finance in France, Germany, Italy or Spain over this period. In Britain, the Government have provided £2 million a year to British Screen Finance Ltd. The Government also provide funding for the British Film Institute, which supports a number of activities, including film production.
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Government support for the British Film Institute since 1987-88 has been as follows :
|Films
------------------
1980 |41
1981 |32
1982 |27
1983 |36
1984 |37
1985 |<1>18
<1>Up to 23 May.
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has on the number of British films made in each year since 1980.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 12 February 1991] : The number of films registered as British for the purposes of the Eady levy in the years 1980 to 1985 was as follows :
Films
1980 41
1981 32
1982 27
1983 36
1984 37
1985 18
Up to 23 May.
Registration ended with the implementation of the Films Act on 23 May 1985, and no official statistics on the number of British films have been collected since that date.
Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department has taken over the past 12 months to promote new British films overseas.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 12 February 1991] : My Department provided financial support to enable 10 film companies to attend the Cannes festival last May, and is providing support for a further 10 companies attending a festival in Los Angeles later this month.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Earnings
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the numbers of women who have earnings below (a) the tax threshold and (b) the national insurance threshold, broken down into married women, lone parents and single women at the latest date.
Mr. Maude : Provisional estimates for 1990-91, based on projections from the 1988 and 1989 family expenditure surveys, are as follows :
Numbers (million)
Women with earnings below
|Tax |National
|threshold |Insurance lower
|earnings limit
----------------------------------------------------------------
Single women |0.5 |0.4
Lone parents |0.2 |0.1
Married women |2.2 |1.6
Budget
Mr. Canavan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects his Budget to be announced.
Mr. Mellor : As the Chancellor told my hon. Friend the Member for Dorset, South (Mr. Bruce) on 31 January, column 1095, he intends to make his Budget statement on 19 March.
General Election Payments
Dr. Marek : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give details of fees paid to, charges incurred and expenses claimed by the acting returning officer for the Wrexham constituency for the 1987 general election.
Mr. Maples : The expenses of the Wrexham parliamentary constituency, met from the consolidated fund, were as follows :
2
|£
--------------------------------------------------
Acting Returning Officer's fee |1,073
Presiding Officers' fees |4,225
Poll Clerks' fees |5,330
Clerical assistance |3,050
Renting and adaptation of buildings |6,173
Miscellaneous expenses |4,542
|---
|24,393
Government Employees, Scotland
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the total number of administrative staff employed by the Government in Scotland for each year since 1975, indicating by which Departments they were employed.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Details of the numbers of staff--both non- industrial and industrial--employed in Scotland, by Department, are to be found in the annual Treasury publication "Civil Service Statistics", copies of which may be seen in the statistical unit of the House of Commons Library. (Figures for 1975 and 1976 will be found in the 1976 edition.)
Bingo
Mr. Alexander : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the financial year ended 31 March 1990, how many raids were made by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise on non-profit-making clubs for the purpose of checking that the correct bingo duty had been paid ; and how much revenue was raised as a result of such raids.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : In exercise of their legal responsibility for the care and management of a range of indirect taxes, Customs and Excise make inquiries of, and visit, a variety of businesses and organisations including non-profit making members' clubs which may incur liability to bingo duty. No central record of these inquiries and visits is maintained, or of their effect on the revenue yield from bingo duty. This information could be provided only at the cost of disproportionate time and effort.
Waste Recycling
Mr. Ward : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider introducing financial measures to encourage manufacturers to introduce new processes and plants to recycle waste products.
Column 482
Mr. Maude : I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.
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