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Instant Coffeee
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's investigation into the instant coffee market in the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Redwood : The Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report into soluble coffee is currently being considered by the Secretary of State and will be published in due course. A copy of the report will be laid before Parliament in the normal way.
Indonesia
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the United Kingdom's main exports, in value, to Indonesia for the last 15 years.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 1 March 1991] : For the years 1976-89 the information requested can be found in table V of the relevant edition of "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom" (Business Monitor MA20) ; 1990 figures are in table V of Business Monitor MM20 (December 1990). These publications are available in the House of Commons Library.
Export Controls
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what restrictions are placed on the type of goods available to be exported under the export credit guarantee scheme.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 1 March 1991] : There are no specific types of goods for which ECGD credit insurance is restricted. However, all exports covered by ECGD must comply with the statutory requirements for export licensing and must also comply with other international agreements of which the United Kingdom is a signatory.
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list countries which have had export controls and restrictions placed upon them since 1987.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 1 March 1991] : Goods which are subject to export controls are listed in the Export of Goods (Control) Order, which specifies in Article 2 the destination to which goods are controlled. Since 1987 India and Pakistan have been added to article 2.
Radioactivity
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the Radioactive Products (Safety) Regulations to enter into force.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 28 February 1991] : We hope to make the Radioactive Products (Safety) Regulations in the late spring, to come into force by the end of the year.
Fire-retardant Mattresses
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what evidence he has on the extent to which fumes given off by fire- retardant mattresses if they catch fire are lethal.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 28 February 1991] : My Department has no evidence that smoke and gas emissions from the ignition of fire- retardant mattresses are more injurious than those from burning mattresses with little or no fire protection.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has sought to obtain any evidence on the
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extent of use of fire-retardant mattresses for young children and on the use of fire retardant and non-fire retardant bedding for young children.Mr. Leigh [holding answer 28 February 1991] : No. Requirements for the fire protection of mattresses, and other nursery furniture, can be met without the use of fire-retardant treatments. There are no specific requirements relating to the fire resistance of bedclothes.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has sought to obtain any evidence of the toxicity in its other uses of the plasticiser used in fire-retardant mattresses.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 28 February 1991] : No. A number of different plasticisers are used in the manufacture of mattresses which have PVC covers. The chief medical officer's expert group is examining whether current plasticisers are entirely appropriate for use in cot mattresses. The findings of the expert group will be published as soon as possible and the implications, if any, for mattresses and other products will then be considered.
Drinks Cans
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with (a) the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (b) beverage manufacturers and (c) container suppliers about the use of opening mechanisms of cans of drinks which involve part of the opener entering the can and coming into contact with the contents.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 27 February 1991] : None. My officials regularly meet ROSPA and the enforcement authorities and I am not aware of difficulties giving rise to the need for a meeting with ROSPA or the industry on this matter.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to prohibit the use of opening mechanisms of cans of drinks which involve part of the opener entering the can and coming into contact with the contents.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 27 February 1991] : I have no such plans.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what moves are being taken within the European Community to prevent the use of opening mechanisms of cans of drinks which involve part of the opener entering the can and coming into contact with the contents ; and what information he has on the current policy of other European Governments on this matter.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 27 February 1991] : I am not aware of any proposals within the European Community to prevent the use of such opening mechanisms. The policy of other European Governments on this matter is not known.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has concerning the number of accidents which have arisen, in the latest year for which figures are available, as a result of the swallowing of any parts of opening mechanisms of cans of drinks which involve part of the opener entering the can.
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Mr. Leigh [holding answer 27 February 1991] : No accidents of that type were recorded by my Department's home accident surveillance system for 1988, which is the latest year for which complete information is available.
EC Grants
Mr. Robert Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those EC countries that apply additionality conditions to EC grants and payments ; and if he will provide details of the conditions that are imposed in each country.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 26 February 1991] : The terms of Community grants are set out in Community legislation.
SCOTLAND
Local Government Finance
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland is he will list for each regional council in Scotland his estimate of the turnover of the community charge register, expressed as a percentage, (a) that took place in 1989-90 and (b) that is expected during the current financial year ; and what are the equivalent Scottish wide figures.
Mr. Allan Stewart : This information is not held centrally, but the recent report prepared by the Controller of Audit suggests that changes to the register in 1989-90 were equivalent to an annual average of 50 per cent. of total register entries.
Land Grants
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the amounts (a) applied for and (b) received by the Scottish Office from the European Community for land grants relating to industrial regional aid and the amounts paid to Scottish applicants for land grants for each year since 1975.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of the conference prodeedings on proposals for the disposal of radioactive waste in the Highland region by Nirex, held on 28 November in Inverness.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish Office Environment Department is obtaining a copy of the proceedings of the conference, which was organised by Highland regional council.
Community Charge
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are currently registered as community charge payers in Scotland.
Mr. Allan Stewart : As at 1 July 1990 3,834,410 people were included in the community charge registers in Scotland. This figure includes students, who are liable for only 20 per cent. of the community charge, but excludes those liable for collective or standard charges.
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Volunteer Fire Brigades
Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is satisfied with the level of fire cover provided by volunteer fire brigades in Scotland, in the light of the need to implement regulations relating to health and safety and hazardous substances.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : It is for fire authorities to satisfy themselves on the level of fire cover, whether this cover is provided by volunteer, retained or whole-time firefighters, taking into account relevant legislation and regulations.
New Towns
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether tenants of existing new town housing authorities will be given the option of choosing public sector landlords when the new town administrations are wound up.
Mr. Allan Stewart : The options for new town tenants remain unchanged from those set out in the White Paper "The Scottish New Towns : The Way Ahead" (Command 711), which states :
"The position in each new town will be carefully considered once an order for dissolution has been made, and formal consultations will be held with development corporations, district councils and representative tenant groups to review the position and to determine to what extent transfers might take place, be it to housing associations, co-operatives, district councils, private or other landlords. Those tenants who have not transferred to other landlords will be transferred to Scottish Homes at wind-up, with a view to pursuing further diversification with the small residual number of houses."
Water Quality
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list each of the water supplies in Scotland which have been issued with a relaxation under regulation 4(1)(c) of the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 in respect of aluminium, the size of the population served, the mean concentration of aluminium recorded, and which of these have aluminium in excess of the EC standard for each of the individual water supplies ; (2) if he will give a breakdown of those water supplies with aluminium in excess of the EC standards which have been granted a relaxation under regulation 4(1)(c) of the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 which have excess aluminium as a result of the naturally occurring aluminium.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Relaxations under regulation 4(1)(c) have been authorised in respect of aluminium in the supply zones listed in the table. The population and the authorised maximum concentration of aluminium in each case are shown. Data on mean concentrations for individual supplies are not held centrally. The EC standard is the same as that set in the regulations (200 micrograms per litre). All these relaxations relate to naturally occurring aluminium.
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|Population |Authorised
|maximum value
|micrograms per
|litre
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dumfries and Galloway
Black Esk |27,867 |250
Lochinvar |12,863 |250
Penwhirn |10,391 |230
Carsphairn |153 |300
New Abbey |1,458 |600
Wanlockhead |128 |300
Palnure |191 |400
Grampian
Inverurie-Newbigging (until
1995) |2,131 |300
Strathdon |100 |500
Highland
Ardvasar/Dariach |60 |800
Balmacara |260 |340
Beauly Firth |5,250 |290
Carbost |240 |770
Dornie |260 |230
Drumbeg |70 |630
Durness |220 |250
Glendale |260 |600
Kentallen |250 |710
Kilchoan |200 |310
Kilmaluag |150 |340
Kilmuir |210 |650
Kinlochbervie |380 |300
Laid |100 |220
Mellon Udrigle |100 |660
Melness |100 |340
Nedd |30 |670
Onich |450 |1,140
Penifiler |30 |650
Poolewe |200 |310
Portree |2,670 |710
Raasay |160 |680
Scourie |180 |230
Shieldaig |100 |610
Spean Bridge |450 |830
Spey Valley-Blackpark |7,640 |270
Strontian |340 |440
Uig/Idrigill |160 |590
Strathclyde
Brodick (until 2000) |900 |370
Catacol (until 1997) |93 |240
Kilmory/Sliddery (until 1998) |420 |320
Lochranza (until 2000) |300 |310
Pirnmill (until 1997) |50 |220
Loch Gair (until 1996) |130 |210
Portnahaven (until 1991) |180 |470
Nerebolls (until 1991) |30 |470
Graighouse (until 1999) |150 |280
Ross of Mull (until 1994) |135 |570
Kilberry (until 1999) |40 |240
Arinagour (until 1997) |50 |280
Iona (until 1995) |150 |320
Mulindry (until 1994) |25 |740
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what are the criteria applied in deciding the duration of the relaxations under regulation 4(1)(c) of the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 in respect of individual water supplies ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what are the criteria applied in deciding which water supplies are subject to relaxations under regulation 4(1)(c) of the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Relaxations under regulation 4(1)(c) can be authorised only in respect of substances or parameters arising from the nature and structure of the ground in the area from which the supply emanates. They cannot be authorised for toxic substances or microbiological parameters and must not give rise to a public health hazard. An authorisation can be modified or revoked at any time, without notice if that is necessary in the interests of public health.The regulations do not require any limit of duration to be specified in the authorisation of a relaxation under regulation 4(1)(c). Where a time limit is stated it is the date by which the water authority expects to make improvements, so that the supply will meet the standards, and beyond which the relaxation will not be needed.
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will release details of the latest updated list of water supplies which have been granted relaxations under regulation 4(1)(c) of the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 in respect of aluminium ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Current relaxations are listed in my answer to an earlier question today. Water authorities are required by the regulations to maintain a public record containing information on the quality of water in each of their supply zones, including particulars of any relaxations granted. They are also required to publish similar information in an annual report to be issued by 30 June each year. The first such reports, covering the part-year 1 July to 31 December 1990, are due by 30 June 1991.
Training Costs
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average cost per trainee week for (a) employment training and (b) youth training negotiated in the past year between the Training Agency and each of the local enterprise companies.
Mr. Allan Stewart : There are no such negotiations between the Training Agency and local enterprise companies.
Departmental Policies (Environmental Implications)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what actions have been taken since the appointment of a Minister in his Department to consider the environmental implications of his Department's policies ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 1 March 1991] : As the responsible Minister I have set up a new framework for co-ordinating and monitoring Scottish action on the various policy commitments in the White Paper "This Common Inheritance" which was published in September. From the turn of the year the Scottish Development Department was renamed the Scottish Office Environment Department and will take the lead in following up the White Paper. Legislation was introduced earlier this Session to merge the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland and the Countryside Commission for Scotland to form Scottish Natural Heritage from 1 April 1992. I have increased the funding available to voluntary bodies for environmental
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activities and commissioned a major survey of attitudes in Scotland to the environment. New guidance has been issued on the design and location of rural housing.Various measures are being taken to improve Scottish Office housekeeping, including steps to meet energy efficiency targets and to make greater use of recycled products.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a table which shows the number of (a) sites of special scientific interest in Scotland which were originally notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, (b) sites which have been renotified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, (c) sites awaiting renotification under the 1981 Act, (d) sites whose original boundary was altered when renotified under the 1981 Act and (e) original sites which the Nature Conservancy Council has denotified or does not intend to renotify.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 22 February 1991] : The information is shown in the table.
Sites of special scientific interest
|Number of
|sites
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sites originally notified under the National Parks
and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 |905
Sites which have been renotified under the Wildlife
and Countryside Act 1981 |774
Sites awaiting renotification under the 1981 Act |21
Sites where the boundary was extended on
renotification under the 1981 Act |254
Original sites which the Nature Conservancy Council
has denotified or does not intend to renotify |110
The figure of sites originally notified under the 1949 Act has been adjusted to take account of subsequent amalgamations and divisions. Information is not available for sites where the boundaries were altered because of partial deletions on renotification.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Slaughterhouses
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what basis European Community veterinary inspectors decide which slaughterhouses they will visit when they make their routine checks ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : Decisions are taken by the European Community Commission. Selection is random, but practical considerations generally result in visits being made to particular geographical areas. The Commission aims to have inspected all existing approved plants at least once by the end of 1992.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when European Community veterinary inspectors will next visit the United Kingdom ; whether he will name the slaughterhouses chosen for such a visit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : European Community veterinary inspectors will visit slaughterhouses in England on 11-22 March and in Scotland on 8-19 April. They intend visiting the following slaughterhouses in England :
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EWS 17, 24, 30, 41, 51, and 108.The visits planned for Scotland are a matter for the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Further visits are planned to slaughterhouses in England and Northern Ireland in June and July, but itineraries have yet to be finalised.
Wood Pigeons
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies have been carried out into the impact of shooting wood pigeons as against scare methods as a means of reducing agricultural damage.
Mr. Gummer : Research carried out by my Department has shown that scaring regimes to protect crops against wood pigeon damage are most effective when combined with shooting.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies he has carried out into the agricultural damage caused by wood pigeons in the United Kingdom ; and what have been the results.
Mr. Gummer : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 21 November to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies), Official Report, column 135, and the consequent placing of relevant research in the Library.
Soft Fruit
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has of the possible effects on the raspberry industry in particular, and the soft fruit industry in general, of the ending of minimum import prices ; and if he will assist these industries by continuing the minimum import price system until the end of the fruit season.
Mr. Curry : There is a place for semi-processed soft fruit from eastern Europe in the United Kingdom market to complement the home-grown product provided that it is marketed in an orderly manner. Minimum import prices MIPs were introduced by the EC Commission in July 1990 at the request of the United Kingdom Government because east European imports were causing market disruption. We have made it clear that our preferred solution is voluntary price agreements and that the EC Commission should seek to conclude these before the MIPs expire on 31 March. If that is not possible, we will seek the extension of the MIP arrangements to cover the beginning of the 1991 soft fruit season. I shall emphasise this at the Council of Ministers next week.
Foxes
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fox destruction societies or clubs are registered with his Department in England ; and what level of financial assistance they currently receive.
Mr. Maclean : No such groups are registered in England.
Intervention Storage
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Romsey and Waterside (Mr. Colvin), Official
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Report, 6 February, column 198, if he will make it his practice to continue to publish figures on the tonnage and value of foodstuffs in intervention storage in response to questions from hon. Members.Mr. Curry : Tables showing EC and United Kingdom intervention stock levels are deposited in the Library of the House each month. We are willing to supply other information in relation to intervention stocks as long as the cost of providing it is not disproportionate.
Coccidiostat
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce regulations requiring poultry treated with coccidiostat to be labelled as such.
Mr. Maclean : I have asked the food advisory committee in its general review of food labelling to consider whether treatments to living animals should be indicated on food labels. The committee's report on its review will be published shortly and I shall be consulting interested parties on its recommendations before reaching my conclusions.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of confirmed cases of BSE reported from (a) livestock markets and (b) slaughterhouses in England and Wales in the last six months of 1990.
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 22 January 1991] : Following is the information :
|Confirmed
|cases
------------------------------------------
(a) Livestock markets |60
(b) Slaughterhouses |51
SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Security Agencies
16. Mr. Page : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the two new social security agencies are expected to come fully into operation.
Miss Widdecombe : The social security benefits agency and the contributions agency are due to be established in April 1991. We will make a further announcement about this in due course.
Pensioners
17. Mr. Wilkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of pensioners have some form of second income in addition to the basic state pension.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, West (Sir A. Durant).
24. Dr. Michael Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the current value of the assets held by the average pensioner household ; and what was the comparable position in real terms in 1978-79.
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Miss Widdecombe : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given earlier to the hon. Member for Bedfordshire, North (Sir T. Skeet).National Insurance
18. Sir Marcus Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals would be affected by the removal of the upper earnings limit for national insurance contributions.
Mr. Jack : If the upper earnings limit for employees' national insurance contributions were removed it is currently estimated that about 3.3 million people would pay more in contributions. If the corresponding upper profits limit for self-employed people were also removed it is estimated that about another 0.6 million people would pay more in contributions.
27. Mr. Sayeed : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the total cost to business would be if national insurance contributions were levied at 5 per cent. on all employees with earnings below the national insurance threshold.
Mr. Jack : On the limited information available, we estimate the cost to employers at around £200 million a year in national insurance contributions. In addition, employers would bear substantial administrative costs arising from the extra record keeping involved.
Single Mothers
19. Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will review the policy towards single parent mothers of small children who by working lose benefit.
Mr. Jack : The social security system already has several provisions which help lone parents benefit from working, where they wish to do so. The White Paper "Children Come First" contains proposals which will further improve the ability of lone parents to combine work with the responsibility of caring for their children and thus to be better off.
Unemployment Benefit
20. Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to revise the 26-week rule depriving homeless unemployed people of benefit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the rule under which budgeting loans do not become available until a claimant has been on income support for 26 weeks. The purpose of this rule is to target social fund money on people who have been out of work for some time and who are therefore likely to be in greatest need. Crisis loans are available if there is an emergency or serious risk to health or safety.
We have no plans to change this rule.
Computerisation
22. Sir Anthony Meyer : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evidence he has of improvements in the speed of service offered by social security offices as a result of the computerisation of the benefit system.
Miss Widdecombe : The Department's strategy for the computerisation of the social security payment system will
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