| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Lilley : I have regular meetings with business people and will continue to do so.
Social Charter
21. Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from industrialists in support of the social charter.
Mr. Lilley : I have received none.
Film Industry
23. Sir Anthony Durant : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he intends to propose any new initiatives to boost investment in the film industry.
Mr. Leigh : We are waiting for the report of the working party which is looking at ways of increasing private sector investment in film production.
Business Taxation
24. Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from industrialists about the level of taxation on business.
Mr. Lilley : I receive a wide range of representations from industrialists about business taxation. Industry welcomed the 2 per cent. cut in the main rate of corporation tax announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in his Budget statement. And it welcomes the fact that we have the lowest rate of corporation tax in both the EC and the G7.
Telecommunications
25. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the operation of public purchasing directives in the telecommunications sector.
Mr. Redwood : The directives on public purchasing are part of the Community's single market programme. The supplies directive requires Government Departments, local authorities and certain other public bodies to award contracts above a certain threshold in value terms--currently £132,000 for regional and local government and £88, 500 for central Government--in accordance with procedures designed to secure the non-discriminatory treatment of suppliers, including those supplying telecommunications equipment.
The utilities directive will apply from 1 January 1993 similar procedures to the procurement practices of entities, including those in the private sector, operating in the telecommunications, water, energy and transport sectors.
26. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the citizens charter as it relates to telecommunications customers.
Column 515
Mr. Redwood : I have received a number of representations warmly welcoming the Government's policy, as set out in the citizens charter, for enabling new standards of service to be set for the benefit of telecommunications customers.Manufacturing Industry
27. Mr. Eadie : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next expects to meet the president of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss manufacturing industry.
Mr. Lilley : I meet the president and other representatives of the CBI regularly to discuss manufacturing industry and other issues of mutual interest.
28. Dr. Kumar : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to increase Government support to manufacturing industry.
Mr. Leigh : The Government support manufacturing industry by pursuing policies aimed at fostering a competitive environment, encouraging innovation, restoring incentives and, above all, defeating inflation.
Securities and Investments Board
29. Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next expects to meet the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board to discuss its work and remit.
Mr. Redwood : I meet the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board from time to time to discuss a range of issues.
Industrial Policy
30. Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will next meet representatives of the east midlands regional Confederation of British Industry to discuss industrial policy.
Mr. Lilley : Ministers and officials of my Department keep in touch with the CBI on a wide range of business matters. I last met regional CBI representatives when I attended the CBI's national conference on 4 November 1991 and the Minister for Corporate Affairs met the vice-chairman of the east midlands regional CBI in Nottingham on Friday 22 November.
34. Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next plans to meet representatives of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss industrial policy.
Mr. Lilley : Ministers and officials of my Department keep in touch with the CBI on a wide range of business matters.
Manufacturing Investment
31. Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has recently received about manufacturing investment.
Mr. Lilley : I receive a great deal of correspondence relating to manufacturing investment. The latest figures show that the fall in manufacturing investment has halted.
Column 516
In the third quarter of 1991, manufacturing investment was 2 per cent. higher than in the previous quarter, and over one third higher than 10 years earlier.Liquidations
32. Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many United Kingdom firms have gone into liquidation during the past 12 months ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : The numbers of company liquidations due to insolvency in the United Kingdom in the 12 months to June 1991 were :
|Number
--------------------------------
England and Wales |19,337
Scotland |574
Northern Ireland |211
I will write to the hon. Gentleman to provide further information when the official insolvency statistics for the third quarter are published on 29 November.
Trade Statistics
33. Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the latest figures for trade between (a) Germany and the United Kingdom and (b) Japan and the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : Information on United Kingdom visible trade is regularly published in "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom", which is available in the Library of the House.
Eastern Europe
36. Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on development of British trading links with eastern Europe.
Mr. Sainsbury : British trading links with eastern Europe have developed in a number of welcome ways. At Government level we took the lead in bringing about last week's initialling of association agreements between the EC and Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland ; we have also opened three new diplomatic posts in the Baltic republics and are establishing consulates-general in Kiev and St. Petersburg.
EC Competition Policy
37. Mr. Madel : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next plans to meet Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan to discuss European competition policy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : My right hon. Friend and I meet Sir Leon Brittan regularly, to discuss a wide range of issues.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his plans for the future of the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
Mr. Sainsbury : Following the privatisation of its insurance services business, the ECGD will continue to provide credit insurance support and export finance facilities for project exporters.
Column 517
Auditor Monitoring
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will propose legislation under which the public would have access to the results of auditor monitoring as carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 1989.
Mr. Redwood : No. The recognised supervisory bodies are considering the publication of an annual report giving details of their monitoring of auditors. The bodies propose in any case to announce decisions to withdraw registration from a firm, whether resulting from monitoring activities or otherwise.
Company Investigations
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will propose legislation under which the auditing firms criticised in his Department's inspectors' report would be required to meet a portion of the cost of the investigation.
Mr. Redwood : My right hon. Friend has no plans to introduce such legislation.
Ernst and Young
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, since his Department's inspectors' criticisms of Ernst and Young in reports relating to Sound Diffusion, Milbury and Rotaprint, he has received any assurance that the firm has raised its standards.
Mr. Redwood : Copies of the reports to which the hon. Member refers have been forwarded to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales as the relevant professional body. The institute has referred one of the reports to the joint disciplinary scheme as giving rise to a question of public concern. All the reports are still under consideration.
Rotaprint
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to ask Ernst and Young to bear part of the costs of the inspectors' inquiry into Rotaprint.
Mr. Redwood : No. My right hon. Friend has no powers to do so.
Auditors
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry further to his answer of 19 November, Official Report, column 115, on how many occasions the firm has been criticised in reports by Department of Trade and Industry inspectors.
Mr. Redwood : Five reports of Companies Act inspectors published since 1 January 1988 contain criticisms of the firms which now form Ernst and Young.
Consumer Credit
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to review the licence fees for consumer credit and ancillary businesses.
Column 518
Mr. Leigh : No. The licence fees for consumer credit and ancillary credit business are kept under review by the Director General of Fair Trading.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to increase the upper limit for loans that fall within the scope of the Consumer Credit Act to £25,000.
Mr. Leigh : It is intended that the monetary limits in the Consumer Credit Act should be reviewed next year and it would not be appropriate to prejudge the outcome of that review.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to amend the Consumer Credit Act 1974 in order to place a duty on lenders to make a credit reference search for all loans or revolving credit limits of £500 or more.
Mr. Leigh : No. Lenders should be allowed to choose the method or methods of checking the creditworthiness of prospective borrowers.
Competition and Services (Utilities) Bill
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received regarding the Competition and Services (Utilities) Bill.
Mr. Redwood : A number of representations have been received about the Competition and Services (Utilities) Bill, from organisations and individuals, and I am pleased by the interest, generally positive and constructive, which has been shown.
Estate Agents
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all the statutes and regulations which regulate the entitlement to the use of the description estate agent ; and when they came into effect.
Mr. Leigh : There is no legislation regulating the use of the description estate agent. However, under the Estate Agents Act 1979 the Director General of Fair Trading can prohibit a person from doing estate agency work if that person appears unfit for such work and has engaged in certain types of misconduct.
Economy
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the decline in the economy of north Staffordshire.
Mr. Leigh : The economy of north Staffordshire will, like other parts of the country, benefit from the Government's success in reducing inflation and the ensuing resumption of economic growth. The latest CBI regional survey shows a sharp resurgence in business confidence in the west midlands region as a whole.
EC Industry Council
Mr. Andrew MacKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the discussions which took place in the EC Industry Council on 18 November.
Column 519
Mr. Lilley : The Industry Council meeting on 18 November adopted a resolution concerning electronics, information and communication technologies, and agreed to extend the steel aids code for five years. The Council considered Commission communications on biotechnology, textiles and maritime industries, and the Commission's 20th annual report on competition policy ; and it discussed the financial arrangements for the European Coal and Steel Community, the position of the automobile industry, and industrial co-operation with eastern Europe.Operational Programmes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the European Commission to approve funding for the operational programmes to cover the years 1992 and 1993.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 21 November 1991] : A number of United Kingdom operational programmes for "Objective 2" grants from the European Community structural funds in 1992 and 1993 are due for approval by the Commission at the end of this year.
EC Structural Funds
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the implementation of article 9 of EC regulation 4253/88 about an additional economic impact within regions of the United Kingdom eligible to receive EC structural fund grants.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 21 November 1991] : Article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) 4253/88 requires that
"the increase in the appropriations for the Funds provided for in Article 12(2) of Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88"
should have
"a genuine additional economic impact in the regions concerned" and result in
"at least an equivalent increase in the total volume of official or similar (Community and national) structural aid in the Member State concerned".
The increase in appropriations referred to relates to the doubling of the funds between 1987 and 1993. However United Kingdom receipts from the funds are not expected to increase in real terms over this period. In these circumstances, article 9 will not have any practical impact in the United Kingdom. The estimates available to me suggest that the United Kingdom is the only member state in this position.
ECGD Insurance Services Group
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his reply of 18 November, Official Report, column 37, when he expects the final price for the sale of the Export Credits Guarantee Department Insurance Services Group to NCM will be settled.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 21 November 1991] : The detailed terms of the sale are in the final stages of negotiation. As is normal practice, the sale price will be disclosed when the sale has been concluded.
Column 520
Raleigh Industries
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to reply to the letter from H. J. W. Knight, managing director of Raleigh Industries, regarding imports of mainland Chinese bicycles at GSP zero rating ; and if he will make a statement on this problem.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 26 November 1991] : I replied to Mr. Knight's letter on 7 November. The Government's position remains as set out in my letter.
Departmental Telephone Calls
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 26 November 1991] : Accurate information is not currently available on the total number of calls made to directory inquiries by my Department. The Department uses CCTA logging equipment on our central Government telecommunications network but the data provided are not sufficient to give comprehensive information. Charging was introduced by BT for directory inquiries in April 1991 and the Department is currently in the process of advising staff of the most economic way of finding external telephone numbers.
PRIME MINISTER
European Summit
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations in annex 7 of the Presidency report of the current year's European summit.
The Prime Minister : Following the Government's initiative at the Luxembourg European Council in April, the Twelve have tabled a resolution at the UN General Assembly aimed at the early establishment of a register of conventional arms transfers under UN auspices. The resolution was approved by a large majority in the first committee of the General Assembly on 15 November. We expect that the General Assembly as a whole will soon agree the establishment of such a register.
The Twelve continue to discuss the application of the common criteria identified by the European Council as guidelines for their national policies on conventional arms exports. Similar guidelines were agreed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, at a meeting in London on 17-18 October. United Kingdom arms exports are wholly consistent with these guidelines.
Debt Relief
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Prime Minister how much will be written off the outstanding debts owed by the poorest and most indebted countries under the plan announced by him at the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit.
The Prime Minister : Debt relief of around two thirds will be granted to the poorest and most heavily indebted countries, subject to satisfactory performance under an IMF programme.
Column 521
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Prime Minister what progress he has made in persuading other creditor nations to offer debt relief under the plans announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.The Prime Minister : Discussions continue in the Paris Club on the implementation of the Trinidad terms proposals for providing greater debt relief to the poorest and most heavily indebted countries. Our objective remains to secure maximum participation in a multilateral agreement to provide greater debt relief. However, as I made clear at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, the United Kingdom, acting in concert with as many creditors as possible, will implement Trinidad terms in the very near future if the Paris Club is unable to reach agreement.
Environmental Assessments
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister when Her Majesty's Government first received notification from the EC Environment Commissioner of the dissatisfaction of the European Commission with the implementation by the United Kingdom, following transposition into United Kingdom law, of the 1985 EEC directive on environmental assessment of major projects ; what responses have been made to the Commission by Her Majesty's Government to date ; and if he will place copies of correspondence on the matter in the Library.
The Prime Minister : The Commission's article 169 letter of 22 March 1990 alleged infraction of directive 85/337/EEC in connection with a proposed waste disposal installation at Outlands Head quarry, Derbyshire. Following the United Kingdom's reply of 21 May 1990, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion about that case on 28 February 1991, to which the United Kingdom replied on 30 April 1991. The only other formal complaint by the Commission about our application of this directive has been Commissioner Ripa di Meana's well-publicised article 169 letter of 17 October 1991. The Commission has asked for a reply by 17 December.
Correspondence between the Commission and member states about alleged infractions of European law is generally conducted in confidence.
Civil Service
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Prime Minister what are the conventions whereby civil service departments take steps to consult the opposition about their policies towards the end of a Parliament ; and when such steps are planned to be taken before the end of the current Parliament.
The Prime Minister : The convention is that, by authority of the Prime Minister, in the last six months of a Parliament of when a general election has been called, Opposition parties may arrange, with the authority of their party leaders and through the head of the civil service, contacts with senior civil servants. These arrangements are designed to allow briefing on factual questions on departmental organisational changes which Opposition parties have in mind or which may result from Opposition
Column 522
party policies. Any exchanges would be confidential. I will be prepared to authorise such arrangements from the end of this year.SOCIAL SECURITY
Disabled People
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a further statement on the action he intends to take following the ruling of the European Court of Justice in relation to benefit payments to people with disabilities who move to other EC member states.
Mr. Scott : The European Court of Justice has ruled that, for European Community nationals who have been subject to United Kingdom legislation as employed or self-employed persons, mobility allowance is an invalidity benefit and may be exported when a beneficiary moves to another European Community country. The independent adjudicating authorities have interpreted the ruling as applying equally to attendance allowance, and are now giving effect to it.
Social Security Appeals
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will give for each year since the Social Security Act 1975 came into effect the total number of inquiries held under section 93(3) ; if he will break down each year's total to give figures for each type of question listed in section 93(1) ; and if he will give for each year the number of inquiries where the Secretary of State accepted the recommendations in the report and the number where he did not ; (2) what guidelines have been issued to persons appointed to hold inquiries under section 93(3) of the Social Security Act 1975 ; and if he will place the guidelines in the Library ;
(3) if he will list for each year since the Social Security Act 1975 came into effect the names and positions of the persons appointed to hold inquiries under section 93(3).
Mr. Jack [holding answer 18 November 1991] : The function of an inquirer appointed under section 93(3) of the Social Security Act 1975 is to hear evidence, elicit the facts, and report to the Secretary of State who then gives his decision on the basis of the facts of the case and the law which applies to those facts. Inquirers are appointed from a pool of qualified lawyers with relevant experience who receive initial training, which includes attendance at inquiries as an observer.
The appointment to hold an inquiry is limited to a particular case and a list of all those who have undertaken these appointments could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
I am placing in the Library a copy of form CF 100 "Notes regarding Inquiries held under the Social Security Acts" which is sent to all parties appearing at an inquiry.
The total number of inquiries held and the breakdown into the types of question listed in section 93(1) for each year since that Act came into effect are as follows :
Column 523
Financial |Total |Categorisation of|Inquiries related|Unclassified
year |employment and |to claims for
|liability for |contributory
|contributions |benefit
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1975-76 |131 |104 |18 |9
1976-77 |96 |67 |14 |15
1977-78 |58 |42 |8 |8
1978-79 |103 |89 |3 |11
1979-80 |80 |72 |3 |5
1980-81 |64 |61 |1 |2
1981-82 |29 |27 |2 |-
1982-83 |46 |40 |5 |1
1983-84 |52 |40 |12 |-
1984-85 |75 |64 |9 |2
1985-86 |42 |40 |2 |-
1986-87 |41 |39 |2 |-
1987-88 |39 |36 |3 |-
1988-89 |51 |50 |1 |-
1989-90 |37 |36 |1 |-
1990-91 |48 |45 |3 |-
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |992 |852 |87 |53
Note:
Unclassified cases are those where the records now available do not specify the type of question.
| Next Section
| Home Page |