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Mr. Wakeham : I have recently returned from the far east where I visited Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea in order to promote the United Kingdom's wide-ranging expertise in the energy sector. I hope that my visit will provide opportunities for the United Kingdom oil industry to participate in the development of oil and gas fields in the region.
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Coal Industry
13. Mr. Lofthouse : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any plans to meet the chairman of British Coal to discuss the Rothschild report ; and if he will make a statement.
17. Mr. Eadie : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he intends to meet the chairman of British Coal to discuss the future of the coal industry.
Mr. Wakeham : I meet the chairman of British Coal regularly to discuss all aspects of the coal industry.
27. Mr. Barron : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current status of the Rothchild's report on British Coal.
Mr. Wakeham : Rothschild, along with the Government's other advisers on coal privatisation, are analysing options for the sale of the industry. No decision on the form or timing of privatisation will be taken until after the general election.
28. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many pits were working in January 1984 ; and how many are still in operation.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : At the beginning of the financial year 1984-85 British Coal had 170 producing collieries. There are currently 54 collieries in operation.
22. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next intends to meet representatives of the Scottish TUC to discuss the future of the coal industry.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I have no immediate plans to meet representatives of the Scottish Trades Union Congress to discuss the future of the coal industry.
Wood
19. Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what initiatives he is undertaking to promote the use of wood as a fuel.
Mr. Moynihan : The latest Government initiative to promote the use of wood as fuel is a project to demonstrate the first commercial application of short rotation arable coppice as an energy crop. My Department is also co-funding feasibility studies to promote the use of the residues from forestry operations to fuel power stations with a proposed total installed capacity in excess of 20 MW.
Waste Incineration
20. Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress has been recently made in generating electricity by the incineration of waste products.
Mr. Moynihan : Orders made under the non-fossil fuel obligation have so far set an obligation to secure a declared net capacity of 375.63 MW from a total of 21 schemes for waste incineration.
Energy Conservation
21. Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he will visit the Findhorn Foundation to discuss matters relating to energy conservation.
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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I am aware of the good work of the Findhorn Foundation on sustainable development and, in particular, their commendable efforts in constructing highly energy-efficient housing. Officials working on behalf of my Energy Efficiency Office are keeping in touch with the Foundation's initiatives.
Coal Mining (Productivity)
23. Mr. Alison : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy by how much British Coal's productivity has changed since 1984-85.
Mr. Wakeham : Productivity in 1984-85 was exceptionally low due to the miner's strike. Compared to 1983-84, the year preceding the strike, productivity in British Coal mines has increased by an impressive 105 per cent.
Energy Efficiency
24. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has any new initiatives under preparation to improve Britain's record on energy efficiency.
Mr. Wakeham : Several substantial new initiatives are currently under way to improve energy efficiency. These include the "Making a Corporate Commitment Campaign" that I announced on 16 October, the "Helping the Earth begins at Home" campaign which the Secretary of State for the Environment and I launched on 4 November, the voluntary scheme for labelling of domestic appliances which I announced on 12 November, and the energy management assistance scheme which will come into effect next year.
Pylon Lines
25. Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has received about the construction of pylon lines in Teesside.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : My right hon. Friend is considering applications for his consent to install two such lines on Teeside--between Norton and Saltholme and between Lackenby and Picton. In respect of the Norton--Saltholme proposals, four objections have been received from individuals within the time allowed for such objections and three objections, including one from a relevant planning authority, outside that time. In the case of the Lackenby--Picton proposals, two objections have been received from relevant planning authorities, and over 400 other objections from individuals, together with nine petitions.
Domestic Heating and Insulation
26. Mr. Sayeed : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has about the improvement in heating and insulation levels in domestic properties since 1981 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has about the improvement in heating and insulation levels in domestic properties between 1981 and 1990.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Between 1981 and 1990 the level of loft insulation increased from 75 per cent. to 90 per cent,
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the level of cavity wall insulation increased from 9 per cent. to 22 per cent. and the level of central heating ownership increased from 59 per cent. to 79 per cent.Energy Prices
29. Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what has been the change in the price of gas and electricity, respectively, since privatisation compared to the retail prices index.
Mr. Wakeham : Since privatisation in 1986, the average price for all supplies of gas from British Gas has increased by 10 per cent., compared with an increase in the retail prices index (RPI) of 30 per cent. over the same period. The average price of all electricity sold has increased by 3.7 per cent. since the regional electricity companies in England and Wales were privatised in the fourth quarter of 1990, whereas the RPI has increased by 3.2 per cent.
Redundant Pipelines
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any proposals to modify the Petroleum Act 1987 in relation to the dismantling of redundant structures and pipeline networks.
Mr. Moynihan : The Offshore Safety Bill makes provision for those powers in the Petroleum Act 1987 which relate to the ability to make safety regulations for the abandonment of offshore installations and pipelines to be made an "existing statutory provision" of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Wind-generated Electricity
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress has been made with regard to establishing a schedule of commencement dates for the additional wind-generated electricity capacity recently announced by his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Moynihan : Details of the commissioning dates associated with individual projects which obtained contracts under the 1991 Renewables Order are commercially confidential. However, all wind projects included under this order are planned to commission by mid-1993.
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department's Energy Technology Support Unit has been invited to attend or make a presentation at the European wind energy conference to be held in Amsterdam.
Mr. Moynihan : The European wind energy conference was held in Amsterdam on 14-18 October 1991. Officials from my Department and the Energy Technology Support Unit attended and contractors to our programme contributed papers.
Energy Policy
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's memorandum on energy policy which was submitted to the National Economic Development Council earlier in the current year.
Mr. Wakeham : I have today placed in the Library of the House a copy of the memorandum I submitted to the
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NEDC earlier this year. This addressed energy efficiency rather than general energy policy. For a succinct statement of the latter, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 1 December 1989 at column 451.Nuclear Facility Attachments
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many of the 40 agreed nuclear facility attachments mentioned in the European Commission reply 1358/90 of 14 March 1991, Official Journal of the European Communities C168, volume 34, of 27 June 1991, were negotiated for facilities in the United Kingdom ; and if he will list the current number of any such agreements.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : At 14 March 1991, one facility attachment was in force at the Capenhurst works. A further facility attachment came into force for plutonium store 9 at Sellafield on 1 May 1991.
Euratom Safeguards
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has received any indication from Euratom as to when the second bi-annual report on the operation of Euratom safeguards will be released ; and what information was requested from, and through, his Department in preparation for this report.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I have received no such indication. Euratom has sought no information from my Department specifically in connection with this report.
Energy from Waste
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what contribution was made by his Department to the conference on "Energy from Waste, Clean, Green and Profitable", held at the CBI in London on 9 October 1991.
Mr. Moynihan : The energy technology support unit, on behalf of my Department, gave a paper and helped to organise and publicise the conference on energy from waste. An official from my Department attended.
Euratom
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy who are the United Kingdom appointees to the scientific and technical committee of Euratom.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : A list of all appointments to the current Euratom scientific and technical committee was published by the Commission in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 23 February 1989 (OJ 89/C44/02, volume 32). The United Kingdom members are :
Mr. H. J. Dunster (formerly Director, National Radiological Protection Board).
Dr. F. Feates (formerly Chief Inspector, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution).
Dr. D. Pooley (Managing Director, Nuclear Business Group, AEA Technology).
Dr. B. Woodfine (formerly Managing Director, ANS Consultants Ltd.).
Dr. J. K. Wright (formerly Director of Health and Safety, Nuclear Electric).
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Nuclear Energy
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will obtain for his Department's library a copy of "The International Politics of Nuclear Waste", by Andrew Blowers et al, published in August 1991 ; and if he will arrange for the library to subscribe to the newsletter "Soft Energy Europe" published by Ove of Copenhagen.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : A copy of "The International Politics of Nuclear Waste" is in my Department's library. My Department is also on the mailing list of the free newsletter, "Soft Energy Europe".
Nuclear Industry
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consideration he has given to the implications for the work of his Department in its monitoring of the activities of the United Kingdom civil nuclear industry of the statement made by the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Authority at its 35th conference.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The Director-General's interesting and important statement to the 35th conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency covered a wide range of issues affecting all aspects of the agency's activities. The Government are reflecting on the implications of this statement, especially those aspects which may have an impact on our own nuclear industry. The United Kingdom will continue to take an active part in the discussions of the agency, on the questions raised by the director-general.
Monktonhall Colliery
Mr. Eadie : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assurances were given to the Midlothian consortia, in discussions on Monktonhall colliery, in respect of a possible dispensation by the mines inspectorate on the permitted manpower that can be employed in private mines ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The limit on the number of men who may be employed below ground in a licensed mine was increased from 30 to 150 by the Coal Industry Act 1990. British Coal may therefore issue licences only in conformity with this manpower limit. Any changes to the limit would require primary legislation.
Mr. Eadie : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy who arranged the meeting between the Minister with responsibility for coal with the Midlothian consortia to discuss Monktonhall colliery in Midlothian ; and who was present at the meeting.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I and my officials met representatives of the Monktonhall mineworkers consortium following a request from the leader of the City of Edinburgh council Conservative group.
Sizewell
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about safety at Sizewell power station, Suffolk, in the light of recent flooding.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The incident to which my hon. Friend refers occurred on 3 December when two out of the
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station's four sea water cooling pumps were flooded. Both reactors were shut down normally by station staff and all post shut-down safety functions operated satisfactorily as intended. There were no injuries and there was no release of radioactivity.The incident has been rated as a level 1 on the international nuclear event scale--the lowest rating.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what representations he has had about both safety and life expectancy of the Sizewell power station, Suffolk, in the past six months ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : My hon. Friend wrote to me about this recently and I will reply shortly. That apart, I have received one other representation from a constituent of my right hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. MacGregor).
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what discussions he has had about the continued use of Sizewell A power station in Suffolk ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : This is a commercial matter for Nuclear Electric plc, which must of course continue to satisfy the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate that the very high standards of safety required by them are being met.
Nuclear Waste (Accidents)
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department has made any notifications to the EC on accidents involving nuclear waste in the United Kingdom since the decision of the European Council on this matter on 14 December 1987.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : No. The situation warranting a formal report under the EC decision has not arisen in this country.
EMPLOYMENT
Tourism
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of Government expenditure on tourism is accounted for by grants to the British Tourist Authority, the English tourist board, Scottish tourist board and Welsh tourist board, respectively.
Mr. Jackson : Of the £60.9 million total in grants in aid which the Government have allocated in 1991-92 to these four statutory tourist bodies, some 48 per cent., £29.2 million, is for the British Tourist Authority ; 24 per cent., £14.9 million for the English tourist board ; 15 per cent., £9.1 million for the Scottish tourist board and the remaining 13 per cent., £7.7 million for the Wales tourist board.
Training (North-West)
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are on youth training schemes in the north-west.
Mr. Jackson : In October, the latest date for which information is available, there were about 48,000 young people on youth training in the north-west region.
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Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many job club entrants and leavers there were in the north-west between January and September 1991 ;
(2) how many young people in the north-west region have had their entitlement to bridging allowances terminated ;
(3) how many people from the north-west region attended restart interviews between January and June 1991.
Mr. Jackson : Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service executive agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the agency's chief executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.
Youth Training
Ms. Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the number of accidents on the youth training scheme, fatal, major and minor for the period from January to March 1991.
Mr. Jackson : Table A gives the YT accident figures.
Quarter |Fatal |Major |Minor --------------------------------------------------- January-March 1991 |3 |100 |359 Notes: (a) Employment Department figures for trainees have been compiled on a similar basis to those prepared by the Health and Safety Executive for employed persons. However, the Employment Department's figures include a number of accidents to trainees in educational establishments, and road traffic accidents, which would not have been reportable to the Health and Safety Executive had the individuals been employed. (b) Major injuries are classified according to the severity criteria laid down in the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985. These regulations, which came into force on 1 April 1986, reclassified fractured wrists and ankles as major injuries. These were not classed as major injuries in the previous regulations, the Notification of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1980 (NADOR).
Public Holidays
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, further to his answer of 2 December, Official Report, c. 27, what status is accorded to the Queen's birthday and Liberation day as public holidays in the Netherlands.
Mr. Jackson : According to the Royal Dutch embassy in London the Queen's birthday and Liberation day are holidays taken by Netherlands' civil servants and some shops and offices. They are not considered national public holidays and their status appears to be similar to that of Her Majesty the Queen's official birthday on 15 June, for which United Kingdom civil servants are allowed a "privilege day" holiday.
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list public holidays in each of the European Community member states, using the same definition as the European Commission in the Official Journal of 30 January 1991, OJ 91/C22/02.
Mr. Jackson : I am not aware of any general definition of "public holidays" used by the European Commission
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and the publication referred to by the hon. Member does not contain one. This is an area where member states' custom and practice varies considerably and illustrates the difficulties in putting forward hasty proposals for harmonisation.Redundant Mineworkers
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many miners made redundant since 1985 (a) gained full-time employment within one year of redundancy and (b) remained unemployed for one year or more after redundancy.
Mr. Jackson : The information is not available.
Iraqi Nuclear Scientists
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what applications for temporary employment permits have been issued through his Department since 1970 for Iraqi nuclear scientists to work in (a) the United Kingdom nuclear industry and (b) nuclear research at United Kingdom academic institutions.
Mr. Forth : Since 1984, prior to which date information is not available, the Department's records show that no work permits have been issued for Iraqi nationals to work as nuclear scientists in either the United Kingdom nuclear industry or in nuclear research at United Kingdom academic institutions.
Special Needs Training
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what consideration was given to the training needs of people with special needs when the contracts with each training and enterprise council were negotiated by his Department.
Mr. Jackson : Training for people with special needs was covered in each training and enterprise council's business plan which formed part of its contract with the Department.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether any allowance is made in funding provided to training and enterprise councils to take account of the extra costs of providing training for people with special needs.
Mr. Jackson : Training and enterprise councils are contractually required to provide suitable training for people with special needs. The funding which the TEC receives from the Department takes account of the level of special training needs.
Accident, Isles of Scilly
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will direct the Health and Safety Executive to interview the crane driver injured in the accident which occurred on 13 July 1991 at St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly.
Mr. Jackson : No. The Health and Safety Executive already had sufficient information from its investigation to take up with the company the necessary action to prevent a recurrence of the accident.
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Mr. A. A. Binns (Accident)
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the actions taken by the Health and Safety Executive in connection with the fatal accident to Mr. A. A. Binns on 6 November 1990 at Beeston, Nottingham, in the premises of Boots plc ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : The Health and Safety Executive investigation into the fatal accident on 6 November 1990 to Mr. A. A. Binns at Boots plc., Beeston, Nottingham started on the day of the accident. HSE examined the nature of the task being carried out at the time of the accident and the working procedures being followed, interviewed witnesses, including the man working with Mr. Binns when the accident happened, examined the technical evidence available and also considered the experience of the fitters involved.
In addition, HSE prepared a report on the investigation for HM coroner and provided evidence and assistance at the inquest.
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