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Air Pressure Gauges
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce new standards for the maintenance of air pressure gauges on garage forecourts.
Mr. Leigh : I have been asked to reply.
My Department has no plans to introduce requirements relating to the maintenance of air pressure gauges on
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garage forecourts. The testing of hot tyres can produce misleading or inaccurate readings however accurate the gauge might be. Tyres should always be tested cold.Motorists should therefore use their own gauges to check their tyres when cold. This is why my Department has approved British standard 4613 on portable gauges for the purposes of the general safety requirement under section 10(3) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
EMPLOYMENT
Earnings
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the information from the 1991 new earnings survey data on respectively, the numbers of full-time employees on adult rates in (a) greater Manchester, (b) Merseyside, (c) Cheshire, (d) Lancashire and (e) the north west region, whose weekly earnings excluding overtime were less than £185, less than £140 and less than £130 per week for (i) manual males, (ii) non-manual males, (iii) all full-time males, (iv) manual females, (v) non-manual females and (vi) all full-time females, giving the total sample size in each case.
Mr. Forth : The information available from the 1991 new earnings survey is given in the table.
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Full time employees on adult rates whose pay was unaffected by absence and whose
gross weekly earnings (excluding overtime) were below the
folowing specified amounts
April 1991
|£ 130 |£ 140 |£ 180 |£ 190
|Numbers in|Numbers in|Numbers in|Numbers in|Total in
|sample |sample |sample |sample |sample
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater Manchester
Manual men |153 |230 |600 |716 |1,741
Non manual men |73 |103 |280 |325 |1,916
All men |226 |333 |880 |1,041 |3,657
Manual women |163 |211 |318 |332 |386
Non-manual women |205 |299 |715 |815 |1,621
All women |368 |510 |1,033 |1,147 |1,007
Merseyside
Manual men |50 |70 |262 |303 |791
Non manual men |39 |58 |150 |172 |861
All men |89 |128 |412 |475 |1,652
Manual women |56 |69 |112 |118 |146
Non-manual women |116 |156 |381 |432 |849
All women |172 |225 |493 |550 |995
Cheshire
Manual men |51 |66 |229 |277 |758
Non manual men |16 |22 |79 |90 |767
All men |67 |88 |308 |367 |1,525
Manual women |54 |64 |111 |116 |148
Non-manual women |68 |96 |250 |287 |609
All women |122 |160 |361 |403 |757
Lancashire
Manual men |71 |108 |346 |410 |878
Non manual men |27 |47 |144 |160 |869
All men |98 |155 |490 |570 |1,747
Manual women |96 |118 |184 |191 |213
Non-manual women |117 |167 |367 |403 |755
All women |213 |285 |551 |594 |968
North West
Manual men |325 |474 |1,437 |1,706 |4,168
Non manual men |155 |230 |653 |747 |4,413
All men |480 |704 |2,090 |2,453 |8,581
Manual women |369 |462 |725 |757 |893
Non-manual women |506 |718 |1,713 |1,937 |3,834
All women |875 |1,180 |2,438 |2,694 |4,727
Source: New Earnings Survey
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the information from the 1991 new earnings survey data on the numbers of part-time employees on adult rates in (a) greater Manchester, (b) Merseyside, (c) Cheshire, (d) Lancashire and (e) the north-west region whose hourly earnings excluding overtime were less than £5, less than £4.50, less than £4, less than £3.50 and less than £3 per
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week under the following headings, giving total sample size in each case : manual males, non-manual males, all part- time males, manual females, non-manual females and all part-time females.Mr. Forth : The information available from the 1991 new earnings survey is given in the table. The information is not available for part- time male employees.
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Part time employees on adult rates whose pay was unaffected by absence and whose gross hourly earnings (
excluding overtime) were below the
following specified amounts.
April 1991
|£ 3.00 |£ 3.40 |£ 3.60 |£ 4.00 |£ 4.50 |£ 4.80 |£ 5.40 |Total in
sample
|Numbers |Numbers |Numbers |Numbers |Numbers |Numbers |Numbers
|in sample|in sample|in sample|in sample|in sample|in sample|in sample
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater Manchester
Manual women |92 |204 |237 |298 |341 |350 |361 |373
Non-manual women |76 |177 |230 |321 |400 |429 |462 |596
All women |168 |381 |467 |619 |741 |779 |823 |969
Merseyside
Manual women |62 |144 |160 |202 |229 |234 |241 |253
Non-manual women |40 |106 |122 |157 |203 |224 |249 |326
All women |102 |250 |282 |359 |432 |458 |490 |579
Cheshire
Manual women |53 |89 |100 |123 |131 |138 |144 |153
All women |85 |177 |213 |259 |295 |318 |343 |394
Non-manual women |32 |88 |113 |136 |164 |180 |199 |241
Lancashire
Manual women |57 |128 |149 |188 |207 |211 |214 |225
Non-manual women |53 |115 |134 |166 |203 |220 |258 |333
All women |110 |243 |283 |354 |410 |431 |472 |558
North West
Manual women |264 |565 |646 |811 |908 |933 |960 |1,004
Non-manual women |201 |486 |599 |780 |970 |1,053 |1,168 |1,496
All women |465 |1,051 |1,245 |1,591 |1,878 |1,986 |2,128 |2,500
Source:New Earnings Survey.
EC Social Charter
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he proposes to introduce legislation to implement the EC proposals under the social charter in addition to those which relate to the working hours of miners in British collieries following the proposed repeal of the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908.
Mr. Forth : Matters relating to the repeal of the Coal Mines Regulation Act are for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy.
Many of the proposals in the European Commission's social action programme are still being considered or have yet to be published. Where legislation is required to implement directives already agreed, proposals will be brought forward within the timetable for implementation set out in each proposal.
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Small Firms
Sir David Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many schemes his Department runs to provide help or finance for small firms ; and if he will list them.
Mr. Forth : The Department runs or supports three schemes providing help or advice for small firms as well as local schemes through training and enterprise councils. These are :
Information counselling and consultancy
Locally tailored schemes through Training and Enterprise Councils.
Training
Locally tailored schemes through Training and Enterprise Councils.
Finance
Enterprise Allowance through Training and Enterprise Councils. The Loan Guarantee Scheme
Loan Funds of the Prince's Youth business Trust/Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust.
Informal Investment projects.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Electricity Supply
Sir Gerrard Neale : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made since publication of the Government's White Paper in relation to the development of proposals for the introduction of competition in the supply of electricity ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : Proposals for the introduction of competition in the supply of electricity have now been drawn up. They provide for a staged transition from the present situation in which Northern Ireland Electricity enjoys a monopoly position, to the creation of a market in which generators and suppliers will be able to compete freely, with consumers benefiting from the resultant downward pressure on costs. Faster progress to full supply competition is prevented by the physical constraints of the Northern Ireland Electricity system.
This transition is likely to be achieved in three distinct phases. In phase I, immediately following privatisation, authorised alternative suppliers-- second tier suppliers--will be able go compete with NIE (Transmission, Distribution, Supply) in the supply of electricity to end users. This will allow consumers choice between suppliers or, in the case of large consumers, allow them to make arrangements to supply themselves under licence.
Phase II will be an intermediate step and will establish a partial electricity trading system which will permit direct trade between some generators and suppliers. The Director General of Electricity Supply will be responsible for the development of this arrangement, in consultation with all interested parties, and, as a further spur to the growth of competition in supply, the Director General of Electricity Supply will have powers to cancel selected power purchase agreements betwen NIE (TDS) and the generators in tranches between November 1996 and 2010. Appropriate safeguards for NIE (TDS) and the generators will be incorporated in the licences.
Phase III will achieve full supply competition in which generators and suppliers will be able to trade freely, thus allowing consumers to derive the maximum benefit from competition in this market. This will probably necessitate the introduction of some form of pooling and settlement arrangement. No date for achieving this has been set.
Cross-border Terrorism
Mr. Maginnis : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many arrests have been made in the Irish Republic in connection with Republican terrorist incidents with a cross-frontier element which have occurred in Northern Ireland since 1 January 1990 ; what charges have been brought ; what convictions achieved ; and if he will give details.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 17 December 1991] : This is a matter for the authorities in the Republic of Ireland. Records are not kept in a way which enables statistics of arrests, charges, and convictions in the Republic of Ireland to be linked meaningfully to terrorist incidents with cross-border element. However, statistics on extraterritorial prosecutions in the Republic, which involve a cross-border element in the sense that the offender has fled to the Republic, were given in replies by
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my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General to my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Mr. Stanbrook) on 19 December 1988, Official Report, column 94 ; to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) on 14 May 1990, Official Report, column 280 ; and by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington on 11 November 1991, Official Report, column 352 and 2 December 1991, Official Report, column 13.PRIME MINISTER
EC Social Chapter
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the propositions in the social chapter of the treaty on European Union which (a) have not already been implemented in the United Kingdom and (b) would have to be implemented if the United Kingdom were a signatory to the social chapter ; and what is his assessment of the effect on British industry of each of the propositionsin (b) .
The Prime Minister : The treaty on European union confirms that the social provisions chapter within the existing treaty of Rome will be maintained without change. The chapter contains no propositions, but establishes the basis upon which the Community may support member states in the pursuant of their objectives. It is, and will remain, the basis for the development of a sensible social dimension respecting national diversity and subsidiarity and consistent with the priority of employment creation.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Kashmir
13. Mr. James Lamond : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit Kashmir in the near future.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans to visit Kashmir.
Brazil
14. Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to meet the President of Brazil to discuss relations with Brazil.
Mr. Garel-Jones : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no such plans.
Abu Dhabi
15. Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens remain unable to leave Abu Dhabi until they receive their passports.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Our embassy in Abu Dhabi knows of four such British passport holders. There may be others who have not informed the embassy.
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European Community (Presidency)
16. Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what specific plans he has for when the United Kingdom next has the presidency of the European Community ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Garel-Jones : Detailed plans for the United Kingdom presidency will be made nearer the time in the light of progress during the Portuguese presidency. Among the issues likely to be at the top of the United Kingdom's agenda are completion of a liberal single market by the end of 1992 and preparations for the future enlargement of the Community. There will be a number of events connected with our presidency including a European organ festival in Bolton.
East Timor
17. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is currently taking to make clear Her Majesty's Government's position to Indonesia in respect of its occupation of East Timor.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The Indonesian authorities are well aware that we do not recognise their annexation of East Timor.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is now in a position to make a further statement on the incident at Santa Cruz cemetery, Dili, East Timor, on 12 November.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have condemned the killings in Dili. We will discuss with our EC partners what further action, if any, might be appropriate when the contents of the report of the Indonesian national commission of inquiry are known.
38. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to receive a report of the investigation into the recent killings in East Timor.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We expect the draft report to be available soon.
30. Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government has made in the United Nations about the situation in East Timor.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We continue to support the efforts of the UN Secretary-General to bring about a solution to the problem of East Timor.
Maastricht
18. Mr. Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advantages he expects to flow from the Maastricht summit.
20. Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the discussions at Maastricht.
Mr. Hurd : I refer my hon. Friends to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 11
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December. In the ways which my right hon. Friend set out, the Maastricht agreement will equip the Community and its member states to work more closely together, organising each aspect of their work in the most effective way rather than forcing it into a single pattern. We believe that this will add to the strength of the work.37. Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Maastricht negotiations.
Mr. Garel-Jones : I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 11 December. The agreement reached at Maastricht is good for Britain and for Europe. It provides for strengthened intergovernmental co-operation in the field of foreign policy and in combating cross-border crime, drugs trafficking and in other areas of interior and justice policy. It will make the Community more efficient and accountable. The Community is now in good shape to face the challenges of the rest of the 1990s, including enlargement.
EC Foreign Policies
19. Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next proposes to have discussions with his European Community partners concerning the development of common European Community foreign policies.
Mr. Hurd : I meet my European Community partners regularly. The common foreign and security policy agreed at Maastricht will strengthen intergovernmental co-operation and joint action with our partners in agreed areas of policy.
Ukraine
21. Mr. Stevens : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on political and commercial relations with the Ukraine.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are developing an active political and commercial relationship with Ukraine. A British official is based in Kiev to establish a permanent British mission. The British Council also is establishing a prescence. A senior Foreign Office official held talks in Kiev with the Ukrainian leadership on Saturday. Earlier this month a Ukrainian delegation visited Britain, including the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament and the chairman of the national bank. The know-how fund has sponsored a food distribution project and is looking at projects in banking and privatisation. There are several joint ventures and a number of British companies have offices in Ukraine.
34. Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to recognise Ukraine as an independent state.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Ukraine and the other republics of the Soviet Union are discussing among themselves their future relationships and their approach to the union's international obligations. We therefore have not taken a decision on recognition, but a British representative now based in Kiev is working to establish a full diplomatic mission there.
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28. Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to meet the President of Ukraine to discuss the establishment of closer relations following the outcome of the recent referendum.Mr. Douglas Hogg : We actively are developing closer relations with Ukraine. A British representative now based in Kiev is working to establish a permanent British mission. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs very much looks forward to meeting President Kravchuk in due course.
EC Association Agreements
22. Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards EC association agreements with Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.
Mr. Garel-Jones : I am delighted to be able to tell the House that the European Community's association agreements with Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, which were the result of a United Kingdom initiative in 1989, were signed in Brussels on Monday 16 December 1991. The agreements contain a variety of measures designed to bolster the economies of these countries and bring them closer to the Community and its member states. They include trade liberalisation provisions to promote economic development through the gradual establishment of a free trade area. The agreements will also help prepare them for the eventual membership of the Community which they seek.
Burma
24. Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts Her Majesty's Government are making to increase the pressure on the military Government of Burma to hand over power to the National League for Democracy.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have repeatedly called on the Burmese military junta to respect the results of the elections in May 1990 which the National League for Democracy won by a landslide. The EC suspended all non- humanitarian aid to Burma in 1988 and in 1991, at British initiative, imposed an embargo on defence sales to Burma. On 30 November, we co- sponsored a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for an improvement in the human rights situation and for progress towards democratic government in Burma.
Tibet
25. Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards Tibet.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We regularly express concern to the Chinese authorities about reports of human rights abuses in Tibet and press them to provide an acceptable degree of autonomy there.
Indonesia
26. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the ambassador of Indonesia to discuss human rights issues ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : My noble Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs summoned the Indonesian ambassador on 13 November, to express our grave concern about recent human rights abuses in Indonesia.
Our position has also been clearly set out in EC/Council of Europe declarations and in the presidency statement to the third committee of the United Nations on 19 November.
Soviet and Yugoslav Republics
23. Mr. Anderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Yugoslavia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The tragedy of Yugoslavia is one of my main preoccupations. We and our EC partners are devoting great effort to working for a settlement. We hope that the conditions necessary for the deployment of a United Nations peace-keeping force can be met soon. A long-term solution will be possible only when the Yugoslavs themselves show a genuine political will to reach a peaceful settlement.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the United Kingdom will recognise Croatia and Slovenia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : EC Foreign Ministers agreed on 16 December to recognise those Yugoslav republics which meet certain conditions. A final decision on implementation will be taken on 15 January after advice from the arbitration commission of Lord Carrington's conference on Yugoslavia.
27. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his current policy on recognition of the Soviet and Yugoslavian component republics as they seek or achieve independence.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The republics of the Soviet Union continue to discuss among themselves their future relationships. We therefore have not yet taken decisions on recognition.
On Yugoslavia, we fear that recognition now would increase the danger of civil war spreading and undermine current international efforts to negotiate peace. This position is under constant review.
33. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the total number of casualties in Croatia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Conflicting reports and an absence of reliable independent sources mean that it is difficult to give precise figures for casualties in Croatia. Most estimates fall between 5,000 and 10, 000 deaths.
Afghanistan
29. Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards a solution of the conflict in Afghanistan.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The United Nations, in line with the United Nations Secretary-General's peace proposals of 21
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May continues to play a key role in seeking a political solution. The United Nations is hoping to convene a meeting of representatives of all significant Afghan opinion in the near future to discuss the establishment of a transitional administration.The United States and Soviet Governments have agreed to end their supply of arms to all sides in the conflict by 1 January 1992. Furthermore, a mujaheddin delegation recently reached a substantial measure of agreement with Soviet leaders on principles regarding transitional arrangements within Afghanistan and the return of prisoners.
All these developments represent encouraging progress towards a resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan.
Middle East
31. Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to meet the Israeli Foreign Minister in order to discuss the middle east conference.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs saw the Israeli Foreign Minister in September. He has no plans at present to meet him again, but we have frequent discussions with members of the Israeli Government about the middle east peace process. I met Mr. Netanyahu on 26 November.
EC Union
32. Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition of subsidiarity it is his policy to accept in the context of EC union.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We strongly endorse the definition of subsidiarity agreed at Maastricht. This is a clear, justiciable definition which states that the Community shall take action only if the objective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the member states.
Cuba
35. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to meet with
representatives of the Cuban Government to discuss that country's role in the security arrangements for the central American region.
Mr. Garel-Jones : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no such plans.
Cyprus
36. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about relations between the United Kingdom and Cyprus.
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