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Mr. Hanley : The mean numbers of decayed, missing and filled teeth-- DMFT--in 12-year-olds in Northern Ireland in 1989 were as follows :
Health and Social |DMFT Services Board ------------------------------------------------------ Eastern |3.2 Northern |2.9 Southern |2.8 Western |3.3
Water Fluoridation
Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of the water supply in Northern Ireland is now fluoridated artifically ; and what is his policy for ensuring the optimum level of fluoridation in the interests of securing better dental health.
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Mr. Hanley : Just under 1 per cent. of the population live in areas in which fluoride is added to the public water supply. Two major fluoridation schemes are under consideration by health and social services boards which are responsible for deciding if the water authority should be asked to increase local fluoride levels. These would cover some 43 per cent. of the population. Where fluoride is added to water supplies, the Water (Fluoridation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 requires that, as far as is reasonably practicable, the concentration of fluoride in the water supplied to customers shall be maintained at 1 mg per litre which is the optimum level for reducing dental caries.UDR Four
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will order a judicial inquiry into the case of the UDR four.
Dr. Mawhinney : The power to consider any form of review of this case rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. At present he is examining the possibility of a reference to the Court of Appeal, under the terms of the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980. While this is the position the question of a judicial inquiry does not arise.
Ryan Park, Castlereagh
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has for that area of ground, at the rear of Ryan park in the borough of Castlereagh, which is no longer used for a sewage screening plant.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 14 June 1991] : The area of ground was formerly the site of a small sewage treatment works which was replaced by an underground sewage pumping station to serve Ryan park. The Department of the Environment is considering a recent approach from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to release a strip of the site to improve access to a play area.
Fair Employment Commission
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland into which public pension scheme staff of the Fair Employment Commission contribute.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 14 June 1991] : The staff of the Fair Employment Commission are members of the principal civil service pension scheme.
Membership of the scheme is not limited to civil servants ; staff of a number of other public bodies are also members of the scheme. Membership of the scheme does not either confer or imply civil service status.
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his reply of 4 June, Official Report , column 196 , how many of the members of staff of the Fair Employment Commission referred to are in each category of employment.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 14 June 1991] : The information requested, as at 1 January 1991, is as follows :
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|Protestant|Roman
|Catholic
---------------------------------------------------
Operational staff |18 |19
Support staff |12 |8
SOCIAL SECURITY
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) whether it is the practice of his Department normally to disregard payments of criminal injuries compensation placed on trust for two years only ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will review his Department's requirement that victims in receipt of criminal injuries compensation payments placed on trust should be required to have their affairs managed for them by trustees with a view to making it discretionary ;
(3) if his Department will consider reviewing its rules governing payments made by trustees to victims in receipt of awards of criminal injuries compensation with a view to eliminating their present complicated and restrictive terms ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : Compensation payments arising from a personal or criminal injury which are placed on trust are disregarded indefinitely in all the income-related benefits--income support, family credit, housing benefit and community charge benefit. The nature and terms of a trust are wholly the responsibility of the injured person or other person acting on his or her behalf, after taking any appropriate legal advice. The existing rules enable payments to be made out of the trust in a wide range of circumstances without affecting the injured person's entitlement to benefit. These rules are kept under review, although there are no plans to change them at present.
Hospitality Fund
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the expenditure covered by his Department's hospitality fund for the financial years (a) 1989-90, (b) 1990-91 and (c) 1991-92 to-date.
Miss Widdecombe : Total expenditure was £25,477 in 1989-90 ; £75, 778 in 1990-91 ; and £2,847 so far in 1991-92.
Disability Working Allowance
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps have been taken to ensure that the implementation and administration procedures for disability working allowance will not be adversely affected as a result of the measures contained in the Child Support Bill.
Mr. Scott : The provisions contained in the Child Support Bill have been taken into account in developing the procedures for administration of disability working allowance and will not delay or adversely affect the start of the benefit in April 1992.
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Family Credit
Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the total value of spending on family credit since its introduction in 1988.
Mr. Jack : The total value of family credit expenditure in 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91--estimated outturn--is £1,303 million in cash terms and £1,394 million at 1990-91 prices.
Allowances
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list those allowances administered by his Department in regard to which applications are (a) fully dealt with by local offices in all but exceptional circumstances or when there is a formal appeal, (b) dealt with entirely by non-local offices on a national or regional basis and (c) dealt with through a mixture of local and national/regional means.
Miss Widdecombe : The administration of social security benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Maintenance Settlements
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on his plans for ensuring that maintenance settlements are reviewed regularly and keep pace with the growing cost of bringing up children as they grow older.
Mr. Jack : The Child Support Bill, currently before the House, provides for a new system of maintenance for children. The new system will ensure consistency of decision making by the use of a standard formula to calculate child maintenance. This formula provides a means of updating the maintenance to be paid and there will be provision for regular reviews of all maintenance assessments to take account of changes in the circumstances of the absent parent or the parent with care.
Social Security Applicants
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will make it his policy that social security applicants in any part of the country should be able to reach any part of his Department on the basis of a local call charge.
Miss Widdecombe : Our current telecommunications policy is under review. No decision has been made about the introduction of local call rates for our customers.
Information Divisions
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total expenditure by his Department's information divisions, including advertising and other paid publicity activities, staff and running costs, in the years 1988-89 and 1989-90.
Miss Widdecombe : The information on staff and running costs for 1988-89 is not available in the form requested, because the Department of Social Security was
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then part of the Department of Health and Social Security. Advertising and other paid publicity activities were run as a separate programme and can be costed ; staff and running costs, however, were not separate and to obtain this figure would be at disporportionate cost :
|£
------------------------------------
1988-1989
Publicity |12,334,342
1989-1990
Publicity |15,598,464
Staff |1,157,000
Running costs |70,000
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Recycling
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what his Department is doing to encourage the use of recyclable materials by industry.
Mr. Leigh : Encouraging the greater use of recyclable and recycled materials by industry is an important element of the Government's programme to bring about higher recycling levels in the United Kingdom. A range of measures is being taken to this end, including the development of new industry standards to encourage the use of recyclable and recycled materials ; providing financial assistance for the development and dissemination of recycled technology ; and for the identification of new end-uses for recycled materials. My Department also favours using recycled products, wherever they are available of adequate quality and representing value for money. Major purchasers can by their behaviour encourage the development and stabilisation of markets for recycled products. We are also asking industry to come forward with its own proposals for using more secondary materials.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all the bodies concerned with recycling which he has met in the last year and the dates of those meetings.
Mr. Leigh : During the past year, Ministers have met with numerous bodies involved in recycling. Most recently, my right hon. Friend met members of the Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment on 7 May, and on 20 May my hon. Friend the Minister for Corporate Affairs met some 30 organisations involved in the recovery and recycling of packaging materials.
Departmental Video Purchases
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the titles of the video recordings purchased by his Department during the financial years 1990-91 and 1991-92 to date.
Mr. Leigh : This information is not readily available and could not be collected except at disproportionate cost.
Public Appointments
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the full-time and part-time public appointments for which his Department was
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responsible for each of the past five years, together with the salary and the date when each appointment is due for renewal.Mr. Leigh : The readily available information about the public appointments for which my right hon. Friend is responsible is given in "Public Bodies 1990" and in "Public Appointments : A Handbook for Women's Organisations", copies of which are in the Library.
Hospitality Fund
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the expenditure covered by his Department's hospitality fund for the financial years (a) 1989-90, (b) 1990-91 and (c) 1991-92 to date.
Mr. Leigh : The Department of Trade and Industry's total expenditure on entertainment was as follows :
|£'000
--------------------
1989-90 |377
1990-91 |365
1991-92 |56
Overseas Investment
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list by region, the major investment projects attracted from overseas since 1983, together with the capital cost of each project, and the amount of grant offered.
Mr. Leigh : The tables list by region details of the major investment projects located in Great Britain since 1 January 1983 that have received grant under the regional selective assistance scheme or the revised regional development grants scheme towards the cost of the project. Information on major investment projects supported by the original regional development grants scheme is available only at disproportionate costs. All the projects listed have capital costs of £10 million or over. For projects supported by regional selective assistance, the table shows the amount of grant accepted by the company. For projects supported by regional development grant, the amount of assistance shown is the total amount paid to the company to date.
Regional development grant II
Major inward investments in Great Britain since November 1984
Region and name of company |Amount of
|regional
|development
|grant paid
|£000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North-east
Rohm & Haas (UK) Ltd. |150
NSK Bearings Europe Ltd. |2,390
IKEDA Hoover Ltd. |1,526
Swaddlers Ltd. |666
Komatsu UK Ltd. |2,281
North-west
Nacanco Ltd. |270
News International Newspapers Ltd. |3,610
Yorkshire and Humberside
Ericsson Ltd. |1,955
Scotland
Digital Equipment Scotland Ltd. |3,769
Mitsubishi Electric (UK) Ltd. |939
NEC Semiconductors (UK) Ltd. |1,000
JVC Manufacturers UK Ltd. |1,563
Terex Equipment Ltd. |444
NCR (Manufacturers) Ltd. |1,220
Compaq Computer Ltd. |6,556
Philips Electronic & Associated Industries |846
Caledonian Paper plc |4,260
Isola Werke UK Ltd. |1,688
Wales
Warwick International Ltd. |720
Kimberly-Clark Ltd. |910
Kawneer UK Ltd. |817
Continental Can Co. Ltd. |1,519
Star Micronics Manufacturers Ltd. |1,114
Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd. |1,638
Hoya Lens (UK) Ltd. |230
Optec D D (UK) Ltd. |438
Pirelli General plc |1,730
Shotton Paper Co. plc |2,000
Regional selective assistance
Major inward investment in Great Britain since January 1983
Region and name of company |Amount of
|RSA accepted
|£000
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Midlands
Curver Consumer Products Ltd. |1,500
North-East
Cookson Fukuda Ltd. |650
3M UK Holdings Plc. |1,700
Fujitsu Microelectronics Ltd. |30,000
Nissan Motor Manufacturers (UK) Ltd. |14,400
Sterling-Winthrop Group Ltd. |3,382
Swilynn Magnetic Industries Ltd. |2,950
Key-Tech (Europe) Ltd. |1,200
NSK Bearnings Europe Ltd. |1,600
Komatsu Ltd. |1,200
Black & Decker |2,450
NSK Bearings Europe Ltd. |450
Nissan Motor Manufacturers (UK) Ltd. |35,000
Tolaram Polymers Ltd. |350
North-West
Vauxhall Motors Ltd. |8,000
James River Graphics Ltd. |650
Delco Electronics Overseas Corporation |1,274
Shell Chemicals UK Ltd. |630
Dista Products Ltd. |12,500
Ford Motor Co. Ltd. |8,500
International Bio-Synthetics Ltd. |750
Cerestar UK Ltd. |2,322
PPG Glass Fibres Ltd. |7,780
Philips & Du Pont Optical UK Ltd. |3,100
Kodak Ltd. |2,000
South-West
Rank Xerox Ltd. |600
Texas Instruments Ltd. |975
West-Midlands
Makita Electric Works (Japan) |1,000
Bruhl (UK) Ltd. |3,250
NEC Technologies (UK) Ltd. |1,100
NEC Technologies (UK) Ltd. |6,846
Goodyear Great Britain Ltd. |980
Peugeot Talbot Motor Co. Ltd. |1,500
Star Aluminium Co. Ltd. |4,000
Ricoh UK Products Ltd. |900
Yorkshire-Humberside
Devalit UK Ltd. |2,000
Mars GB Ltd. |2,400
Wales
Warwick International Ltd. |700
Warwick International Ltd. |1,270
Warner Lambert (UK) Ltd. |2,200
Vanol International Ltd. |600
Sun Valley Poultry Ltd. |2,000
Kronospan Ltd. |914
Kimberly-Clark Ltd. |910
Ford Motor Co. |21,000
Euro DPC Ltd. |1,000
Continental Can Co. Ltd. |400
Autophon (UK) Ltd. |1,250
Alfred Teves Ltd. |2,000
Alcoa Manuf (GB) Ltd. |3,500
Dynoplast Ltd. |1,750
Yuasa Battery (UK) Ltd. |2,100
Sony (UK) Ltd. |4,800
Sony (UK) Ltd. |2,200
Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd. |2,000
Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd. |4,901
Matsushita Electronic Components Ltd. |1,000
Matsushita Electric (UK) Ltd. |2,062
Diaplastics (UK) Ltd. |750
Ringshare Ltd. |3,400
Robert Bosch |20,900
Pirelli General Plc. |1,225
Heavy Vine Ltd. |1,455
British Alcan Aluminium PLc. |4,000
Scotland
Motorola Ltd. |34,000
Caledonian Paper plc |7,200
Compaq Computer Manufacturers Ltd. |4,800
National Semiconductor (UK) Ltd. |5,000
IBM UK Ltd. |2,000
Conner Peripherals Inc. |20,000
Digital Equipment Co. Ltd. |10,400
NEC Semiconductors (UK) Ltd. |500
Sun Mirosystems Ltd. |3,900
Ciba-Geigy plc |4,800
Compaq Computer Manufacturers Ltd. |2,825
Digital Equipment Co. Ltd. |1,166
Terex Equipment Ltd. |3,500
Hughes Microelectronics Europa Ltd. |7,688
SEH Europe |4,884
IBM UK Ltd. |800
SCI UK Ltd. |1,200
Motorola Ltd. |2,400
Digital Equipment Co. Ltd. |2,700
Lasa Industries (UK) Ltd. |2,000
NCR ( Manufacturers) Ltd. |1,540
OKI (UK) Ltd. |1,655
Hoover (1990) Ltd. |4,500
SCI UK Ltd. |405
Hewlett-Packard Ltd. |1,440
Rohm & Haas (UK) Ltd. |2,400
Compaq Computer Manufacturers Ltd. |400
Seiko Instruments UK Ltd. |1,900
SCI UK Ltd. |900
Hewlett-Packard Ltd. |4,000
Roche Products Ltd. |100
Russell Corp UK Ltd. |2,550
Smith & McLaurin Ltd. |855
Kvaerner Govan Ltd. |3,000
Uniroyal Englebert Tyres Ltd. |800
W. L. Gore & Associates (UK) Ltd. |1,630
Forbo-Nairn Ltd. |1,700
Michelin Tyre plc |1,750
JVC Manufacturers UK Ltd. |2,147
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Telephone Selling
Mr. Gwilym Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consideration he has given to the establishment of a register to combat the problem of unsolicited telephone selling ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The branch systems general licence issued under the Telecommunications Act 1984 provides for the establishment of a register on which people who do not wish to receive unsolicited telephone sales calls can place their numbers. Once this register is in place, anyone who makes such a call to a number on the list will be in breach of the licence, and ultimately the Director General of Telecommunications can remove the right to operate under the licence from persistent offenders, making them unable to use their telephone systems. Oftel is discussing the arrangements for the register with interested parties and will issue a press notice as soon as the scheme is ready to be launched.
Arab Boycott
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the Arab boycott of United Kingdom companies trading with Israel.
Mr. Sainsbury : Her Majesty's Government are opposed to and deplore all trade boycotts that lack international support and authority. It is not however our policy to interfere with the commercial decisions of British firms.
Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will set out in tabular form for each of the European Community countries, including the United Kingdom, such information as he has on their statutory provisions regarding compliance with the Arab trade boycott of Israel ; and what action he intends to propose to harmonise legislation on this matter after 1992.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 11 June 1991] : The following table shows the legislative position of European Community countries as regards the Arab trade boycott of Israel.
Dutch legislation is a general law relating to all boycotts except those agreed by the Netherlands and organisations to which the Netherlands belongs and boycotts imposed solely on the grounds of
Country |Statutory provisions --------------------------------------------------------------- Belgium |None Denmark |None Irish Republic |None France |<1>- Germany |None Greece |<2>- Italy |None Luxembourg |None Netherlands |<3>- Portugal |None Spain |None United Kingdom |None <1> Article 31 (known as the "Krieg amendment") to Law No. 77574 of 7 June 1977 in effect made it illegal to comply with the boycott in France, although the article was couched in general terms. However, since this prevented French firms from trading with the Arab countries, an administrative instrument was introduced in 1981 which permits the anti-boycott legislation in effect to be ignored. <2> Greek legislation is in support of the Arab boycott of Israel. <3> Dutch legislation is a general law relating to all boycotts except those agreed by the Netherlands and organisations to which the Netherlands belongs and boycotts imposed solely on the grounds of economic policy. Companies have to notify the Minister of Economic Affairs of requests made to them to apply a boycott. Annual reports to Parliament on the operation of the law are required.
Vehicle Repairs and Servicing
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will investigate the number of complaints of which trading standards offices are aware, regarding misleading claims on turn- around time made by garages over repairing, body repairs, or servicing of motor vehicles ; and whether he will give particular attention to such complaints made on behalf of (a) women and (b) retired persons.
Mr. Leigh : I have consulted the relevant trading standards organisations on this question but they are not aware of any significant number of complaints about misleading claims on vehicle repair turn around times.
NESL, Sunderland
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will now publish in full the details of the agreement between the Government and the European Commission which resulted in the closure of North East Shipbuilders Ltd., Sunderland.
Mr. Leigh : It is not customary to publish exchanges between the Government and the European Commission which, as in this case, contain information of a commercially confidential nature. The essential details of the exchanges pertaining to the closure of North East Shipbuilders Ltd. and associated matters have however been made publicly available in the minutes of evidence taken before the Trade and Industry Select Committee in October 1989.
Sequestration
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 2 May, Official Report , column 283 , if he will list any further assistance or representations received from individuals, organisations or political parties on the subject of personal sequestration in Scotland.
Mr. Redwood : The only representations my officials have received about personal sequestration in Scotland since my answer on 2 May have been from the Consumer Credit Association. This organisation was amongst those I listed previously and no other assistance or representations have been received since.
European Coal and Steel Community
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the utility and the future of the European Coal and Steel Community.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 11 June 1991] : The Government would prefer the immediate termination of the European Coal and Steel Community, whereupon coal and steel would be governed by the EEC treaty in the same way as other industries. While disappointed that the European Commission does not share that view, we recognise the practical difficulties of attempting to achieve
Column 56
immediate termination and can support the Commission's conclusion that the ECSC treaty should be allowed to expire on schedule in 2002, subject to a much less interventionist application of its provisions in the meantime. We were therefore pleased to note the Commission's view that a much less interventionist interpretation and application of the ECSC treaty is indeed necessary.BT Licence
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are contained in the British Telecom licence relating to protection of the rights of the present shareholders, and to protection of customers against an effective offshore-owned monopoly, in the event of relocation of BT's domicile overseas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 12 June 1991] : BT is subject to strong controls through its licence conditions, the regulatory powers exercised by OFTEL and general competition law. These apply irrespective of who the shareholders are and where the company's offices are located. The Government hold a special share in BT which protects certain provisions in the company's articles of association. These include a provision imposing a 15 per cent. limit on individual shareholdings.
SCOTLAND
Arson
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in the light of the report on arson made to him by St. Ventigerns Academy, Blackburn, he will consider a policy of residential janitors at major isolated educational sites.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Arrangements for the security of schools are matters for the education authorities in the light of local circumstances.
Non-fossil Renewables
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements he has made for instituting a non-fossil renewables obligation in the Scottish electricity supply industry ; what duration it will have ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Allan Stewart : None. The hon. Member is, however, referred to the parliamentary answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro) on 15 May 1991, at columns 208-9.
River Catchment Management
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has, in the light of the recommendations of the report of the Salmon Advisory Committee on factors affecting natural smolt production, to review and strengthen the structure of river catchment management in Scotland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 14 June 1991] : Comments on the report are being invited from a wide range of interests. The responses will be taken into account in our policies for the fisheries, water quality and ecology of river catchments in Scotland.
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Salmon
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will estimate the tonnage of illegal Atlantic salmon in the EC market from Norway ; how many prosecutions have taken place ; what action is being taken to prevent further illegalities ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he has any plans to meet representatives of the Norwegian Government to discuss the salmon industry ; and if he will make a statement ;
(3) what steps are being taken to monitor the impact of non-EC member countries exporting salmon to the EC market ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) what plans he has to introduce a tariff on Norwegian salmon entering the EC market ; and if he will make a statement ; (5) what steps have been taken to secure fair trading practices in the EC market regarding salmon ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 14 June 1991] : In March this year, the European Commission closed its investigation of an anti- dumping case raised by the Scottish and Irish salmon producers. It did so on the basis of certain assurances from the Norwegian authorities aimed at stabilising the market for farmed salmon, including continuation of the Norwegian programme for freezing surplus production and for more rigorous enforcement of Norwegian regulations on salmon sales. The Commission also agreed to put in place arrangements for monitoring more closely imports of salmon to the European Community.
Representatives of the Scottish Salmon Growers Association, with officials of the fisheries Departments, have since met the Commission to discuss allegations of breaches of these undertakings and the continued import of salmon at below the Norwegian buying-in price. The Scottish and Irish industries are collecting detailed evidence to support these claims, and officials of the fisheries Departments expect to discuss the implications with the Commission as soon as that evidence is submitted.
The Commission is also expected to announce shortly, after consultation with the industry and member states, its measures to improve the collection of information on salmon imports by customs authorites of member states. This should provide a firmer basis for monitoring the EC market for salmon. At present, it is not possible to estimate the amounts of Norwegian salmon entering the EC market at prices below those set by the Norwegian authorities for buying-in surplus production.
ENERGY
Hydrocarbon-related Research
2. Dr. Michael Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what initiatives he is taking to promote the United Kingdom's programme of hydrocarbon-related research.
Mr. Wakeham : My Department gives financial help to the offshore supplies industry for research and development in five key areas of technology. These are sub-sea production systems, advanced underwater engineering, drilling and production, exploration technology and reservoir technology.
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Together with the Natural Environment Research Council, the Department has recently launched a Link programme in hydrocarbon reservoirs. My Department also sponsors a programme of research into enhanced oil recovery, in collaboration with the oil industry.Continental Shelf
7. Mr. Dover : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the level of direct employment on the United Kingdom continental shelf (a) in 1979 and (b) in 1990.
Mr. Moynihan : Direct employment increased by 65 per cent. to reach a new record level of 36,500 in 1990 compared with only 22,000 in 1980, the earliest year for which comparable figures are available.
26. Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many development projects were approved on the United Kingdom continental shelf in 1990 ; and what was the level of investment associated with them.
Mr. Wakeham : In 1990, 18 development projects were approved worth some £4.8 billion at 1990 prices.
Electricity (Disconnections)
17. Mr. Donald Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what are the latest figures he has for the level of disconnection for debt for electricity supply.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Disconnections for non-payment of bills in England and Wales are at the lowest figure since records began in 1976, when disconnections stood at more than double the present figures.
In the year ended 31 March the total number of such disconnections stood at 51,637 or 0.27 per cent. of all domestic credit customers.
Gas Pricing
19. Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress the Director General of OFGAS has reported to him in adjusting the tariff for horticultural customers following the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report into gas pricing.
Mr. Moynihan : Industrial gas prices are set by British Gas in competition with other fuels and subject to normal competition law. Under its published price schedules British Gas is not permitted to discriminate against--or in favour of--any class of user.
27. Mr. McAvoy : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next expects to meet the Director General of OFGAS to discuss the mechanism for setting price levels for British Gas customers.
Mr. Wakeham : I regularly meet the Director General of Ofgas and discuss a range of matters of mutual interest.
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
20. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will report on the progress of the home energy efficiency scheme.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Initial experience in operating the scheme has confirmed that it meets a real need and is being well received. But it has also shown that to benefit customers and energy efficiency, work must be closely monitored and controlled to maintain a high standard.
Column 59
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the (a) grants and (b) advice given to public sector householders in the parliamentary constituency of Southwark and Bermondsey by the home energy efficiency scheme.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Such an analysis of grants paid could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Where other work is undertaken under the scheme, grants of up to £10 are available for the provision of basic energy advice covering such matters as the effective use off heating controls, avoidance of condensation, and practical ways in which the public can save energy.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any further plans for the insulation of buildings in order to conserve energy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The energy efficiency office is continuing to undertake a variety of programmes to promote energy efficiency in buildings, some of which were referred to in "This Common Inheritance".
These include :
the home energy efficiency scheme, which provides grants to low income householders for basic insulation measures ;
a new domestic campaign, with the Department of the Environment, to explain the link between energy use and its effect on the environment and to promote energy efficiency in the home ;
the best practice programme, which provides authoritative and impartial advice and information to building professionals and managers ;
promotion of energy efficiency in Government buildings, with the objective of reducing energy consumption by 15 per cent. over five years ;
a campaign, with the Department of Health, to achieve 15 per cent. savings over five years in the national health service in England ; seminars with the Department of the Environment to promote energy efficiency to chief executives and leaders of local authorities ; seminars, with the Department of Education and Esso, for head teachers and governors of schools.
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