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Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current waiting time for an eye cataract operation on the national health service.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information about waiting times is available by the specialty of intended treatment, not by specific condition.
Prozac
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adverse reaction yellow cards related to Prozac there have been in the last six months.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Committee on Safety of Medicines has received 370 reports of suspected adverse reactions to Prozac in the last six months. A report of a suspected adverse reaction does not necessarily mean that the reaction was caused by the drug.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his experts last reviewed the safety of the anti-depressant drug Prozac ; and what advice they gave regarding the possibility of side effects.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The anti-depressant, Prozac, is a relatively new drug and therefore its safety is reviewed on a monthly basis. The Committee on Safety of Medicines has examined the possibility that Prozac may be
Column 553
associated with suicidal thoughts or violent behaviour. The committee concluded that the available evidence does not support this hypothesis. The safety of Prozac will be kept under review.Cervical Smear Tests
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what priority is given to cervical smear test results of patients with known abnormalities such as cancer.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Department of Health guidance to health authorities on cervical screening states that it is essential that all abnormal smears are followed up. Information on local arrangements is not held centrally.
AIDS
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the number of people with AIDS in Great Britain at the time the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys was undertaking its research on the prevalence of disability.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Office of Population Censuses and Survey's research was undertaken between 1985 and 1988. Data on AIDS cases are collected by the communicable disease surveillance centre (CDSC) and communicable disease (Scotland) unit (CD(S)U). The information is as follows :
Year |Cases report-|Known deaths |People alive
|ed to CDSC
|and CD(S)U
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |393 |188 |205
1986 |848 |451 |397
1987 |1,490 |793 |697
1988 |2,319 |1,192 |1,127
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Oil Wells, Kuwait
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what equipment has been made available to British troops still in Kuwait and the Kuwaiti Government for use by Kuwaiti residents to protect against the hydrocarbons released from the burning oil wells.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I have been asked to reply.
No equipments have been specifically requested or provided to protect either British troops or Kuwaitis against smoke from the burning oil wells, although we are continuing to assess the effects of the hydrocarbons being released. Further quantitative and qualitative analysis of the longer-term effects from the hydrocarbons released is being undertaken in liaison with the United States and Saudi civilian environmental health officials.
EMPLOYMENT
Employment Training
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give, for employment training, the total number and percentage of trainees with special needs in each of the years 1988-89 and 1989-90 for Great Britain and each of the standard regions plus Scotland and Wales ; and if he will provide an estimate of special needs places in 1990-91 and 1991-92 for Great Britain and each of the TEC areas.
Mr. Jackson : Employment training is aimed at long-term unemployed people, many of whom have special training needs. Some groups are identified separately and the table gives details of these groups as a proportion of all starts in 1988-89 and in 1989-90. Actual numbers are not available. No forecasts are available for 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Column 553
Employment training
Special needs groups as a proportion of all entrants
percentage
1988-89 1989-90
|English as a |People with |Literacy and |English as a |People with |Literacy and
|second language|disabilities |numeracy needs |second language|disabilities |numeracy needs
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |<1> |10 |11 |<1> |9 |8
Northern |<1> |9 |13 |<1> |8 |11
Yorkshire and Humberside |<1> |10 |16 |1 |10 |14
North West |1 |11 |15 |1 |9 |12
West Midlands |1 |12 |23 |2 |11 |18
East Midlands |2 |14 |19 |2 |13 |16
Wales |<1> |11 |21 |<1> |12 |14
South West |1 |15 |18 |1 |14 |19
South East |1 |15 |17 |1 |13 |13
London |2 |10 |22 |5 |9 |18
Great Britain |1 |12 |18 |1 |11 |15
<1> Less than 0.5 per cent.
Source: ET Starts Database.
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many trainees were on employment training for each of the last 24 months ; and what numbers are planned in future.
Mr. Jackson : Numbers in training on ET for the last 24 months are given in the table. Negotiations are still
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underway with training and enterprise councils in relation to planned numbers of ET trainee weeks and outputs delivered in 1991-92.
Employment training
filled places April 1989
to March 1990
April 1990 to March 1991 (
estimated)
Month |Numbers
--------------------------
1989
April |185,000
May |189,000
June |194,000
July |203,000
August |204,000
September |208,000
October |209,000
November |212,000
December |208,000
1990
January |207,000
February |209,000
March |210,000
April |210,000
May |208,000
June |199,000
July |191,000
August |185,000
September |184,000
October |190,000
November |194,000
December |199,000
1991
January |197,000
February |203,000
March |197,000
Source: ET telephone
census and Employment
Service.
Tourism
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the prospects for the tourist industry in 1991 ; and what assessment he has made of the percentage change in the proportion of British holidaymakers remaining in the United Kingdom this year.
Mr. Forth : The English tourist board has made no assessment of the proportion of British holidaymakers likely to stay in the United Kingdom this year. Latest available figures show that 79 per cent. of holidays taken by United Kingdom residents in 1989 were spent in the United Kingdom. My Department is giving its full support to the tourist board's "Britain's Great" campaign which is designed to promote holidays at home in 1991. We are also making available an additional £800,000 to the British Tourist Authority to market Britain overseas in the aftermath of the Gulf war.
Marine Safety
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many deaths and serious accidents have taken place among waterways employees during each year since 1980.
Mr. Forth : Injuries to employees arising from inland water transport services, occurring in the years 1986-87 to 1989-90 (provisional), as reported to HSE's factory and agricultural inspectorates.
Date of |Fatal |Major |Over 3 day accident<2> ------------------------------------------------------------ 1986-87 |- |4 |24 1987-88 |- |4 |44 1988-89 |- |5 |54 1989-90<3> |1 |10 |37 <1> Under the Reporting of injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1985. <2> Years commencing 1 April. Note:-Information for earlier years was reported under different legislation and recorded under a different computerised coding system, not separately identifying the inland waterway sector. <3> Provisional.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the listed principal causes for deaths and serious accidents of waterways workers.
Mr. Forth : Injuries to employees arising from inland waterway transport support services, occurring in the years 1986-87 to 1989-90 (provisional), as reported to HSE's factory and agricultural inspectorates.
Kind of Accident |Fatal |Major |Over 3
|Day
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact with moving machinery |- |1 |5
Struck by moving including flying/
falling object |- |7 |27
Struck by moving vehicle |- |5 |2
Strike against something fixed or
stationary |- |- |15
Injured while handling, lifting or
carrying |- |- |49
Slip, trip or fall on same level |- |1 |32
Fall from a height |- |8 |17
Drowning or asphyxiation |1 |- |-
Other/Not known |- |1 |12
|------- |------- |-------
Total |1 |23 |159
<1>Years commencing 1 April
<2>Under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1985
Information for earlier years was reported under different legislation and recorded under a different computerised coding system, not separately identifying the inland waterway sector.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he has taken to ensure that employers of waterways workers are made fully aware of the importance of employers' safety policies.
Mr. Forth : Section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974--HSW--requires every employer of five or more persons to prepare and keep up to date a written statement of his general policy with respect to the health and safety of his employees, and the organisation and arrangements for carrying out that policy and bringing it to the attention of his employees.
During visits to employers of waterways workers engaged in activities for which the Health and Safety Executive--HSE--is the enforcing authority for health and safety legislation, HSE inspectors remind employers of their duties under the HSW Act and pursue their enquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels where standards of compliance do not measure up to those required. In addition, the Health and Safety Commission and HSE have published general guidance for employers on the preparation of safety policies.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if, following privatisation of ports, he will set up a system to monitor the health and safety of workers on rivers and canals.
Mr. Forth : The privatisation of ports does not affect the legislation already in place which imposes duties on employers, as well as masters and owners of vessels to
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ensure the health and safety of workers on rivers and canals. There is therefore no need to set up a further monitoring system.Work Accidents
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the fatal and serious accident rates of (a) waterways workers, (b) workers in the steel industry, (c) railway workers and (d) seamen in each of the last three years.
Mr. Forth : The available information is provided in the tables. Injury numbers in respect of waterways employees in Great Britain are available, but the employment data required for the calculation of injury incidence rates are not.
Incidence rates<1> in respect of injuries to railway employees<2>
in Great Britain reported<3><4> to HSC/E enforcing authorities
and agencies
|Fatal |Major |Over 3 day|Total
------------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |7.1 |133.0 |1,838.0 |1,978.1
1987-88 |12.2 |162.1 |1,774.0 |1,948.4
1988-89 |11.9 |231.5 |2,501.1 |2,744.6
B
Incidence rates<1> in respect of injuries to employees in the
Great
Britain metal manufacturing industry<5> reported<3> to HSC/E
enforcing
authorities and agencies
|Fatal |Major |Over 3 day|Total
------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |11.2 |301.2 |2,430.5 |2,742.8
1988-89 |6.0 |384.5 |2,552.9 |2,943.4
1989-90 |4.1 |336.6 |2,605.5 |2,946.2
Incidence rates<1> in respect of injuries to merchant
seamen reported<6>
to the Department of Transport
|<7>Fatal |Over 3 day|Total
-------------------------------------------------------
1987 |158.8 |2,241.9 |2,400.7
1988 |52.0 |2,404.0 |2,456.0
1989 |27.6 |2,291.3 |2,318.9
<1> Rate per 100,000 employees.
<2> Railways defined by Standard Industrial
Classification (revised 1980) (SIC80)-Class 71.
<3> As reported under the Reporting of Injuries,
Diseases and Dangerous Occurences Regulations, 1985 (
RIDDOR) and collected on a financial year basis (years
commencing 1 April).
<4> Railway Inspectorate only able to provide data on
injuries reported to them between April and December
1989 (9 months). Consequently, the calculation of the
provisional 1989-90 annual injury incidence rate is
not possible.
<5> Steel industry injuries cannot be separately
identified from those occurring in the metal
manufacturing industry as a whole. Metal manufacturing
is defined by SIC80-Class 22.
<6> Injuries occurring on board, or on access
equipment to, all vessels registered in the United
Kingdom and as reported under the Merchant Shipping (
Safety Officials and Reporting of Accidents and
Dangerous Occurrences) Regulations 1982 (SORADO) and
Merchant Shipping (Accident Investigation) Regulations
1989 and collected on a calendar year basis. This
legislation categorises all non-fatal injuries causing
over 3 days absence from work as an "over 3 day"
injury. Major injuries are not separately classified.
Injuries to merchant seamen injured on-shore and
therefore falling within the jurisdiction of the HSE,
cannot be distinguished from those occurring to
dockers and other workers in shore establishments.
<7> The fatal injury incidence rate for 1987 includes
the 38 deaths of crew members in the Herald of Free
Enterprise Disaster.
<8> Provisional.
Column 558
Youth Training, Manchester
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has on the closure or planned closure of youth training schemes and places in the Manchester TEC area since that TEC became operational.
Mr. Jackson : Manchester TEC decides on which youth training providers to contract with, taking into account the quality of training offered and value for money.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the provision of special needs youth training in the Manchester TEC area.
Mr. Jackson : I am satisfied that adequate provision is available to meet the needs of all those young people with special training needs in the Manchester training and enterprise council area.
Higher Qualifications
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of people by higher qualifications held, by sex, for Great Britain and each of the standard regions in spring 1990.
Mr. Jackson : Preliminary results are available from the 1990 labour force survey. As they form an extensive set of tables, I will write to the hon. Member giving the information requested.
NACRO, Bradford
Mr. Rooney : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what guidance has been given to TECs on dealing with training providers covering special groups ; which National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders--employment training providers will not be funded in 1991-92 ; how many days' notice of closure was given to Bradford NACRO ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : Training and enterprise councils have a contractual requirement to meet the training needs of individuals in certain special groups. It is for TECs to decide in the light of local circumstances with which providers they will contract. My Department does not keep information on the training providers with whom TECs sign contracts or details of their contract negotiations.
Coats Viyella plc
Mr. Carr : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed takeover of the Tootal Group plc by Coats Viyella on employment levels in the textile industry in Ribbel Valley.
Mr. Jackson : I have made no such assessment.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the average hours worked per week for full-time workers in manufacturing mineral extraction, energy and water industries for each of the countries of the European Community.
Column 559
Mr. Jackson : The information requested is contained in the Eurostat labour force survey results of 1988, table 55, which is in the House of Commons Library.Single Parents
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of (a) all mothers with children aged 16 years or under, (b) mothers with children aged 16 years and under without working husbands, (c) single parent men with children aged 16 years or under and (d) single parent women with children aged 16 years or under that area (i) in full- time employment and (ii) in part-time employment.
Mr. Jackson : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Training (Special Needs)
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number and percentage of youth training trainees with special needs in 1988-89 and in 1989-90 for Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and each of the standard regions ; and if he will provide an estimate of special needs youth training places in 1990-91 and 1991-92 for Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and each standard region and each TEC area.
Mr. Jackson [holding answer 4 March 1991] : The table gives information about those joining youth training for whom special training needs funding is paid for 1989-90. Information is not available for 1988-89 on a comparable basis and no forecasts are available for the years 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Column 560
Youth Training
Number and percentage of YTS entrants receiving
special training
needs funding in 1989-90
|Number |Percentage
------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |1,441 |4.0
North West |2,770 |6.4
Northern |3,192 |10.6
Yorks and Humberside |1,465 |4.6
West Midlands |1,372 |4.3
East Midlands |1,448 |4.4
Wales |799 |4.4
South West |734 |3.6
South East |1,015 |3.4
London |2,610 |14.2
Great Britain |15,254 |5.4
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the total number and percentage of employment training trainees with special needs in 1988-89 and in 1989-90 for Great Britain and each of the standard regions plus Scotland and Wales ; and if he will provide an estimate of employment training special needs plans in 1990-91 and 1991-92 for Great Britain and each of the standard regions, plus Scotland and Wales and each of the TEC areas.
Mr. Jackson [holding answer 4 March 1991] : Employment training is aimed at long-term unemployed people many of whom have special training needs. Some groups are indentified separately and the table gives details of these groups as a proportion of all starts in 1988-89 and in 1989-90. Actual numbers are not available. No forecasts are available for 1990-91 and 1991-92.
Column 559
Employment Training
Special needs groups as a proportion of all entrants
Percentage
1988-89 1989-90
|English as a |People with |Literacy and |English as a |People with |Literacy and
|second language|disabilities |numeracy need |second language|disabilities |numeracy need
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland |<1>- |10 |11 |<1>- |9 |8
Northern |<1>- |9 |13 |<1>- |8 |11
Yorkshire and Humberside |<1>- |10 |16 |1 |10 |14
North West |1 |11 |15 |1 |9 |12
West Midlands |1 |12 |23 |2 |11 |18
East Midlands |2 |14 |19 |2 |13 |16
Wales |<1>- |11 |21 |<1>- |12 |14
South West |1 |15 |18 |1 |14 |19
South East |1 |15 |17 |1 |13 |13
London |2 |10 |22 |5 |9 |18
Great Britain |1 |12 |18 |1 |11 |15
<1>- Less than 0.5 per cent.
Source: ET Starts Database.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Export Licences
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) Official Report , 25 February, column 353 , how many of the export licence applications refused in 1989 and 1990 were made, respectively, for exports to (a) Iraq and (b) member countries of the allied coalition in Operation Granby in the Gulf.
Column 560
Mr. Sainsbury : Refusals of export licence applications in 1990 were as follows :
(a) Iraq--38.
(b) Member countries of the allied coalition--69.
Figures for 1989 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Timeshare
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the current arrangements for regulation of the timeshare industry at home and abroad ; and whether he has any plans to change them.
Column 561
Mr. Leigh : The timeshare industry is subject to the general law of contract and, where appropriate, to existing consumer protection legislation.Mailshots and award schemes are covered by the codes of practice administered by the Advertising Standards Authority. These codes are voluntary but, where they fail, the Director General of Fair Trading can take action under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations. He can apply to the courts for an injunction to prevent the publication or continued publication of an advertisement. In some circumstances the Consumer Credit Act may apply. The Trade Descriptions Act would apply if, for example, false statements are made about facilities at a resort.
As I announced on 18 February, I have accepted in principle the recommendations of the Director General of Fair Trading for changes to the Trade Descriptions Act to tighten controls on statements about services and to bring timeshare award schemes within the scope of that Act. They will be dealt with as part of the general review of the Act.
Since most timeshares are located abroad, and much of the selling also takes place abroad, further regulation, to be effective, needs to be at Community level. The Commission has accordingly been made aware of the Government's view that Community action is necessary to implement the Director General of Fair Trading's recommendations for a prospectus for prospective buyers, a cooling off period and protection of deposit moneys.
Brewing Industry
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the effects of his Department's policy on the implementation of the reforms of the brewing industry on tenants and licensees of public houses ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The Government have done a considerable amount to improve the position of tenants. In particular, we have enacted the Landlord and Tenant (Licenced Premises) Act 1990 in response to concerns tenants had over security of tenure. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has asked the Director General of Fair Trading to assess the effectiveness of the measures introduced following the MMC's report on the supply of beer in late 1993 when they will have had time to take effect. The Secretary of State and I keep in regular contact with the National Licensed Victuallers Association and the brewers.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the reforms of the brewing industry sought by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 15 March 1991] : I refer to the answer given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Field), on 27 March, columns 433-4.
Licensed Trade Tenants
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received from the licensed trade about the position of tenants threatened with eviction by breweries.
Column 562
Mr. Redwood : Written representations have been received from about 40 tenants of one of the major brewers expressing concern about letters they had received from that brewer informing them that they were likely to be sent "notices to quit" by the summer.
Kuwait
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Taunton of 20 March, what his Department is doing to ensure that appropriate medium-sized and small companies are able to play a part in the reconstruction of Kuwait.
Mr. Sainsbury : Small and medium-sized companies are welcome to register their interest with my Department's Kuwait reconstruction co- ordination team. They will also be in a position to receive information from the British industry task force in Kuwait through the trade associations which are represented on the joint DTI/industry subgroups covering the main sectors of reconstruction work. We see a major role for them in supplying the larger contractors.
In addition to the trade fair programme for the Gulf area it is likely that a number of trade fairs more directly associated with Kuwait will be organised, at which small and medium-sized firms will be expected to participate.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his replies to the hon. Member for Devon, North (Mr. Speller), of 8 March, Official Report, column 304, what interest has been indicated to (a) his projects and export division and (b) his overseas trade division's Kuwait desk from environmental consultancy companies seeking contracts in Kuwait to provide environmental and ecological restoration.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 22 March 1991] : My Department has had approximately 5,000 inquiries from companies seeking work in the reconstruction of Kuwait including a number of environmental consultancy companies. Their details are being entered on to a computerised database, but until this is completed the full information requested will not be easily available. I will write to the hon. Gentleman when I have the information he requested.
Postal Services
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what checks are made by his Department on the efficiency of international postal collections and deliveries to the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh : My Department makes no such checks. These are operational matters for the Post Office, which regularly monitors the quality of both incoming and outgoing international postal services. I understand that the results of these checks are made available to, and discussed with, the Post Office Users National Council.
Iraq (Exports)
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Walden), Official Report, 1 March,
Column 563
column 657, if he will set out the reasons why Iraq is excluded from the list of middle east countries listed ; and if he will publish comparable data for exports to Iraq.Mr. Lilley : My answer on 1 March to my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Mr. Walden) did in fact include Iraq in the definition of the middle east. Unfortunately, because of an error, the word "Iraq" did not appear in the Official Report but the Editor has been asked by my Department to rectify this for the bound volume.
The table shows the value of exports to Iraq from the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan for the 12 months ending June 1990, the latest 12-month period for which complete information is available.
4
Exports of goods to Iraq in the 12 months to the
end of June 1990
|Millions US
|dollars
----------------------------------------------------
Exports from:
United Kingdom |696
Federal Republic of Germany |1,119
Japan |491
Source: OECD Monthly Statistics of Foreign Trade.
Market Information
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many substantive inquiries were made under the market information inquiries scheme for each month from March 1990 to date ; (2) how many major inquiries were made by businesses under the market information inquiries scheme for each month from March 1990 to date.
Mr. Sainsbury : The table lists the numbers of market information inquiries billed to customers, in the financial year 1989-90 and between April 1990 and February 1991. The list shows the substantial increase in the sales of the service in 1990-91 against those in 1989-90.
|Number |Value
|(£)
----------------------------------
1989-90 |1,152 |94,197
1990-91
April |215 |19,197
May |219 |17,752
June |211 |16,717
July |216 |20,388
August |315 |24,148
September |336 |25,441
October |378 |30,370
November |351 |24,357
December |108 |9,987
January |701 |59,361
February |320 |22,033
|-------|-------
Total |3,370 |269,751
Charges for the market information inquiry service are baanded and are no longer split between "major" and "substantive".
Export Services
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will provide an update of the figures on export services given in his answer of 22 January 1990, Official Report, columns 503-4.
Column 564
Mr. Sainsbury : The following figures show gross and net expenditure by the Department on export services in constant price terms :
£ million (1979-80 prices)
Year |Gross |Net
|expenditure|expenditure
------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |25.7 |21.2
1980-81 |19.5 |15.8
1981-82 |19.4 |15.4
1982-83 |21.0 |16.6
1983-84 |20.8 |15.5
1984-85 |<1>24.6 |<1>18.8
1985-86 |<2>24.6 |<2>17.4
1986-87 |24.6 |15.5
1987-88 |<3>23.4 |<3>14.7
1988-89 |<4>25.3 |<4>16.5
1989-90 |<5>23.8 |16.6
<1> Expenditure on publicity and promotion was
transferred from the COI budget with effect
from 1984-85. On a constant price basis, the
expenditure amounted to £1.4 million in
1984-85.
<2> Export Intelligence Service revenue was
transferred to the exports budget from another
DTI budget with effect from 1985-86. On a
constant price basis this reduced net
expenditure by £0.3 million in 1985-86.
<3> Includes expenditure on publications for
the then Statistics and Market Intelligence
Library previously treated as part of general
library expenditure (value £0.2 million on a
constant price basis).
<4> Figures for 1988-89 include grant-in-aid to
the International Customs Tariff Bureau (value
£0.038 million on a constant price basis), and
the "New Products from Britain" service
transferred from the FCO in the second half of
the year (value £0.2 million on a constant
price basis).
<5> Excludes expenditure on British Pavilion
for EXPO 92 in Seville.
<6> Programme expenditure only-does not include
manpower and running costs.
All figures have been converted using the implied GDP factor cost deflator.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the effect of the recent increase in VAT on manufacturers and wholesalers of pre-price-marked goods currently in stock and unsold before the price increase takes effect.
Mr. Leigh : Traders selling to the consumer must ensure that he is not misled as to the price at which they are offering goods for sale. If a retailer decides to recover the increase in the rate of VAT in respect of pre-price marked goods, he will have to ensure that the consumer is not misled as to their price. It would be for the retailer and the manufacturer or wholesaler to agree on whom the burden of any necessary relabelling should fall.
Estate Agents
Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will implement the proposals announced last year to strengthen the law governing the regulation of estate agents.
Mr. Leigh : I am today laying orders and regulations under the Estate Agents Act 1979 to improve standards in the conduct of estate agency. I am convinced that these measures will deal effectively with malpractices by estate agents and significantly improve consumer protection. The Estate Agents (Specified Offences) Order will come into effect on 13 May and the Estate Agents (Undesirable practices) Order and the Estate Agents (Provision of Information) Regulations will come into force on 29 July.
Column 565
DEFENCE
The Gulf
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the threat posed to British forces involved in Operation Granby from Iraqi possession of French-made technology.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Though it is not the practice to release information on threat assessments, potential and actual threats to the security of Her Majesty's armed forces are kept under constant review.
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