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Mr. Key : Yes. We intend to include the necessary provisions in regulations under clause 8 of the Local Government Finance Bill.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether students in households where the landlord is liable for payment of the council tax and passed on this cost through higher rents will be eligible for compensation through a rebate system ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Most students do not have access to housing benefit ; nor will they be entitled to council tax benefit. However, properties where all the residents are students will be exempt from the council tax. There will be a 25 per cent. discount in respect of any property with only one non- student resident. These arrangements will apply regardless of whether the students or their landlord would be the liable person.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the landlords of student halls of residence will be exempt from liability for the council tax.
Mr. Key : The Government intend to make an order under clause 4 of the Local Government Finance Bill exempting student halls of residence from the council tax. We are presently discussing the details of this exemption with the local authority associations.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the system of personal discounts for the council tax will be implemented in relation to full-time students.
Mr. Key : The Local Government Finance Bill provides for students to be eligible for discounts. Educational institutions will be required to provide students on request with certificates which local authorities will be able to use as evidence that a person should be disregarded.
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Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to introduce a system of joint and several liability for the council tax.Mr. Key : The Government's proposals for joint and several liability are set out in clauses 6(3) and 9 of the Local Government Finance Bill.
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the projected annual costs of collecting the council tax in the Easington district council area.
Mr. Key : We have made no estimate of the cost of collecting the council tax for individual authorities, but over the country as a whole we would expect it to be no more than half the cost of collecting the community charge.
Housing Improvements (Manchester)
Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what sums have been allocated to the city of Manchester for the housing improvement programme in each of the last 10 years in (a) cash terms and (b) adjusted for inflation.
Mr. Yeo : Since 1981-82 local authorities have been able to augment the borrowing power of their housing investment
programme--HIP--allocations by using the prescribed proportion of their capital receipts. Manchester city council has made substantial use of receipts to fund capital expenditure over this period. HIP allocations and gross capital expenditure for the last 10 years were :
£ thousands
HIP allocation Gross expenditure
|Cash |1991-92|Cash |1991-92
|prices |prices
------------------------------------------------
1982-83 |53,430 |89,370 |52,453 |87,736
1983-84 |44,528 |71,182 |50,770 |81,160
1984-85 |40,499 |61,656 |70,700 |107,635
1985-86 |36,050 |52,013 |46,564 |67,183
1986-87 |29,227 |40,826 |49,555 |69,222
1987-88 |31,555 |41,805 |83,268 |110,316
1988-89 |29,234 |36,135 |93,109 |115,089
1989-90 |21,005 |24,382 |110,426|128,180
New Capital Finance System<1>
1990-91 |52,153 |55,804 |52,783 |56,478
<2>1991-953,900 53,900 not available
Notes:
<1>From 1990-91, under the new capital finance
system, the HIP
allocation does not convey borrowing approval
directly.
<2>Provisional estimate of final allocation.
An initial HIP allocation of £34.9 million--£33.4 million at 1991 -92 prices--has been issued for 1992-93 and additional resources-- supplementary credit approvals--may be allocated later.
Special Wastes
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to update water management paper 23 on special wastes.
Mr. Baldry : My hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside announced in July a timetable for the revision of waste management papers. Waste management paper No. 23, on special wastes, forms
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part of that timetable and is due to be issued for consultation in July this year and published in January 1993.House Building
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new houses were constructed in the Easington district council area in each year since 1988-89, by (a) the council, (b) housing associations and (c) private companies.
Mr. Yeo : The information for 1988 and 1989 is published in "Housebuilding in England by Local Authority Area 1980-89", and for 1990 in "Local Housing Statistics : England and Wales", volume No. 97. Copies are in the Library. Returns received for the first 11 months of 1991 show 80 dwellings completed in the Easington district council area, all built by private enterprise.
Waste Disposal
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what reasons waste management papers 4 and 26 do not envisage the granting of a waste disposal licence after planning permission from a district council.
Mr. Baldry : Disposal licences under the Control of Pollution Act 1974 have to be issued in accordance with the Collection and Disposal of Waste Regulations 1988, SI 1988 No. 819, after planning permission has been obtained. The advice given in waste management paper No. 26 on landfilling of wastes is that an application for a licence can be rejected only on the grounds of danger to public health or risk of water pollution--paragraphs 2.50 and 2.54. This reflects the wording of section 5(3) of the Control of Pollution Act. Waste management paper No. 4 is a technical memorandum providing guidance on how a licence should be devised by a waste disposal authority. The paper refers to the extant guidance in WMP 26 and statutory requirements of the Control of Pollution Act on granting of licences and cases where they may be refused.
Light Rail System Coventry
Mr. Butcher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make it his policy to refuse any application for a light rail transit line between Coventry city centre and the Westwood Heath area ;
(2) what assessment he has made of the traffic and financial viability of the proposed light rail transit line from Coventry city centre to the Westwood Heath area ;
(3) if he will come to an early decision on the viability of the proposed Coventry city centre to Westwood heath light rail transit line ;
(4) if he will make it his policy to seek the views of (a) traders in Earlsdon street and (b) residents of properties in Coventry South West affected by the proposed light rail transit line from Coventry city centre to the Westwood Heath area, before reaching a decision on the viability of the line.
Sir George Young : So far as the matters raised are for central Government, they will be for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Transport to consider. Until a firm proposal is made and detailed justification for it is submitted, no assessment can be made
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of the proposed route. However, local residents will be consulted on proposals affecting them and any objections will be considered at a public local inquiry.Local Government Finance
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, on the basis of the best information available, he will publish a table showing for each region and each class of local authority in England, for housing capital receipts and other capital receipts, showing (a) total cash backed capital receipts available to local authorities at 31 March 1990, and the amount of those receipts that were set aside as provision for credit
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liabilities, (b) the total of capital receipts received by local authorities in 1990-91 and the amount of those receipts set aside as provision for credit liabilities, (c) total capital receipts spent by local authorities in 1990-91, (d) the estimated total of capital receipts local authorities received in 1991-92, and the amount of those receipts that are likely to be set aside as provision for credit liabilities and (e) the estimated total of capital receipts spent on capital projects in 1991-92.Mr. Key : The information requested is as follows. The figures are taken from local authority returns to the Department where available, estimates have been made for missing data.
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Capital receipts 1990-91-by region and class
|Total receipts|of which |Total receipts|of which |Receipts used
|31 March 1990 |reserved part |1990-91 |reserved part |in 1990-91
|£ million |£ million |£ million |£ million |£ million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals by Class
Shire Counties |247 |118 |229 |102 |128
Metropolitan Districts |343 |210 |607 |397 |305
London Boroughs |1,396 |888 |729 |485 |495
Non Metropolitan Districts |4,554 |2,968 |1,516 |1,059 |1,171
Other Authorities |81 |53 |65 |24 |57
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total all England |6,621 |4,237 |3,146 |2,067 |2,156
Totals by Region
South East |3,736 |2,399 |1,627 |1,090 |1,146
South West |713 |449 |218 |137 |173
East Anglia |310 |202 |106 |68 |89
West Midlands |444 |285 |271 |184 |191
East Midlands |641 |404 |192 |107 |168
North West |299 |193 |300 |187 |160
Yorks & Humberside |279 |175 |264 |177 |139
Northern Region |199 |130 |168 |117 |90
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total all Regions |6,621 |4,237 |3,146 |2,067 |2,156
Forecast capital receipts 1991-92-by region and class
|Total receipts|of which |Receipts used
|1991-92 |reserved part |in 1991-92
|£ million |£ million |£ million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals by Class
Shire Counties |167 |77 |137
Metropolitan Districts |497 |301 |224
London Boroughs |631 |394 |350
Non Metropolitan Districts |971 |636 |804
Other Authorities |50 |16 |50
|------- |------- |-------
Total All England |2,316 |1,424 |1,565
Totals by Region
South East |1,124 |682 |794
South West |163 |98 |167
East Anglia |106 |69 |65
West Midlands |201 |130 |102
East Midlands |140 |87 |134
North West |239 |143 |132
Yorks & Humberside |195 |120 |105
Northern Region |148 |95 |66
|------- |------- |-------
Total All Regions |2,316 |1,424 |1,565
Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what forecasts he has made as to the likely levels of (a) housing capital receipts and (b) other capital receipts, generated by local authorities in England in 1992-93 ; what proportion of those receipts is estimated to be required to be set aside as provision for credit
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liabilities ; and what amount of capital receipts are estimated to be spent on capital projects within the financial year.Mr. Key : Estimates of this nature are uncertain but at the time of the autumn statement total capital receipts likely to be generated by local authorities in 1992-93 were forecast at £3.0 billion. This total is likely to be split between housing and non-housing receipts in the ratio of 3 : 1. It is estimated that around two thirds of the total would be required to be set aside as provision for credit liabilities. It is further estimated that £1.2 billion of capital receipts, both accumulated and in-year, would be spent on capital projects during 1992-93.
Pollution Control
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the relationship between a district council's planning responsibilities for pollution control and those of a county council.
Mr. Yeo : The main land use planning responsibilities of district councils in England are the preparation of local development plans and decisions on planning applications for most types of development. County councils prepare structure plans, with which local plans must generally conform, and minerals and waste local plans ; they are the development control authority for "county matters", principally mineral and waste disposal developments. In all of these functions, authorities may take into account
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the pollution aspects of development where they are relevant to the development and use of land. But we do not expect local planning authorities to use their planning powers to duplicate pollution controls under environmental protection legislation--whether operated by the National Rivers Authority, HM inspectorate of pollution, county councils as waste management authorities or district councils as pollution control authorities.We intend to publish a draft planning policy guidance note on planning, pollution control and waste management issues later this year.
Homelessness
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what statistics he has concerning homeless people in the Easington district council area who are aged (a) 16 and 17 years, (b) 18 to 20 years and (c) over 20 years.
Mr. Yeo : Local authorities report the number of households for whom they accept responsibility to secure permanent accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act. The quarterly P1(E) returns identify such households by the category of need but not by age. The total number of households accepted by Easington district council under these provisions in the third quarter of 1991 was 25.
In the second quarter of this year the return was revised to identify for the first time :
(i) households in priority need who were accepted as homeless because the household contained vulnerable young person(s) (aged 16 and over) and ;
(ii) young single homeless people who were not in priority need for whom the authority nevertheless agreed to secure permanent accommodation.
Since then, Easington district council has reported accepting only one such household, in the first of these two categories in the second quarter of 1991.
Cold Weather Credits
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to meet representatives from the Campaign for Cold Weather Credits.
Mr. Yeo : I have no such plans.
Poll Tax
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the costs to the poll tax payers in Easington for collecting the poll tax in 1990-91 ; and what are the projected costs for 1991-92.
Mr. Key : The cost of collecting the community charge in Easington in 1990-91 and 1991-92 is estimated to be £699,000 and £793,000 respectively. Revenue expenditure is financed by Government grants, contributions from the non-domestic rates pool and withdrawals from reserves, in addition to community charges. It is therefore not possible to identify what components of these costs are financed directly by community chargepayers.
Voluntary Sports Clubs
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of the areas that are being considered as part of his Department's further
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analysis of its survey into the granting of discretionary rate relief to voluntary sports clubs ; what is the timetable for this further analysis ; and by what date his Department will review its guidance to local authorities on discretionary rate relief to voluntary sports clubs.Mr. Key : The further analysis is of the policy statements provided by charging authorities about the way in which they granted discretionary rate relief in 1990-91 to charities and other non-profit making bodies including sports clubs. We expect the analysis to be complete by mid- February. Depending on the results of this analysis, and taken with details of the numbers of properties granted relief in 1990-91, we will decide whether our guidance to authorities needs to be reviewed. We expect to announce our conclusions following consideration of the analysis.
Municipal Waste Water
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the consultation paper on the modus operandi proposed to be used by Her Majesty's Government in implementing the European Community directive on the treatment of municipal waste water.
Mr. Baldry : A consultation paper on the criteria for identifying sensitive areas and less sensitive areas--urban waste water treatment directive--and polluted waters--nitrate directive--will be issued within the next few months.
Royal High School, Edinburgh
Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans for the letting or sale of space in the Royal high school building, Edinburgh ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 16 December 1991] : The Crown Office buildings in Edinburgh have been occupied by the Crown Office since January 1982. There are no immediate plans to dispose of this building. Plans are in hand to colocate the Crown Office with the new Edinburgh sheriff court in 1994 and the future of this building will have to be reviewed closer to that date.
Rent Increases
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide information for 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90 and 1990-91 on the levels of rent increases for rented accommodation for each county in England for (a) local authorities, (b) housing associations and (c) stock transferred from local authorities to housing associations.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 17 December 1991] : The estimated annual percentage changes in average local authority rents and registered rents for unfurnished housing association tenancies, which cover the majority of housing association tenants, are as follows. Comparable information is not available for transferred stock.
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Annual percentage change in local authority rents
|Average
|weekly rent
|1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91 |1990-91
|£
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |4 |7 |9 |22 |24.17
Bedfordshire |4 |13 |7 |19 |24.41
Berkshire |3 |10 |11 |18 |25.75
Buckinghamshire |4 |10 |10 |40 |27.77
Cambridgeshire |5 |8 |10 |19 |22.82
Cheshire |6 |4 |6 |9 |17.87
Cleveland |4 |7 |10 |6 |25.07
Cornwall |5 |5 |6 |16 |22.67
Cumbria |7 |10 |19 |12 |22.60
Derbyshire |5 |7 |6 |8 |19.80
Devon |4 |11 |8 |20 |24.20
Dorset |6 |12 |10 |21 |28.10
Durham |0 |9 |12 |12 |23.02
East Sussex |5 |7 |10 |14 |26.34
Essex |4 |8 |8 |22 |25.18
Gloucestershire |5 |10 |7 |26 |24.43
Greater Manchester |2 |11 |13 |11 |22.27
Hampshire |7 |8 |9 |15 |26.60
Hereford and Worcester |4 |8 |9 |15 |22.16
Hertfordshire |6 |5 |11 |29 |25.08
Humberside |6 |9 |8 |10 |20.73
Isle of Wight |8 |8 |15 |11 |28.45
Kent |6 |9 |13 |27 |28.66
Lancashire |6 |11 |11 |13 |24.04
Leicestershire |5 |10 |11 |7 |22.27
Lincolnshire |9 |9 |11 |9 |20.95
London |4 |14 |9 |21 |29.05
Merseyside |5 |4 |6 |7 |22.13
Norfolk |8 |6 |6 |14 |21.70
North Yorkshire |6 |9 |9 |21 |21.81
Northamptonshire |3 |8 |7 |13 |21.12
Northumberland |2 |6 |7 |6 |19.80
Nottinghamshire |3 |8 |8 |10 |21.57
Oxfordshire |6 |9 |10 |23 |23.92
Shropshire |5 |10 |8 |15 |22.72
Somerset |9 |8 |8 |22 |23.29
South Yorkshire |9 |2 |3 |5 |19.09
Staffordshire |7 |9 |9 |13 |21.02
Suffolk |5 |5 |9 |18 |22.15
Surrey |5 |7 |16 |26 |29.89
Tyne and Wear |6 |6 |7 |3 |19.05
Warwickshire |3 |10 |3 |15 |21.94
West Midlands |8 |8 |14 |15 |25.07
West Sussex |7 |8 |5 |28 |27.92
West Yorkshire |5 |8 |11 |8 |19.82
Wiltshire |5 |8 |3 |20 |23.25
Note: Rent changes shown for 1987-88 relate to the change in average rents between April 1986
and April 1987, but will include most of the
increases for 1987-88. Those for later years are derived from estimates of financial year
average rents.
Annual percentage changes in registered rents of unfurnished housing association tenancies
|Average
|annual rent
|1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91 |1990-91
|(£ )
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |8 |9 |10 |12 |2,010
Bedfordshire |5 |6 |8 |7 |1,615
Berkshire |8 |7 |8 |10 |2,133
Buckinghamshire |7 |7 |8 |12 |1,645
Cambridgeshire |6 |6 |7 |8 |1,437
Cheshire |5 |6 |7 |9 |1,359
Cleveland |6 |6 |7 |10 |1,639
Cornwall |11 |10 |12 |13 |2,099
Cumbria |5 |6 |6 |11 |1,099
Derbyshire |9 |9 |8 |9 |1,751
Devon |9 |10 |10 |11 |2,040
Dorset |7 |8 |11 |13 |1,957
Durham |6 |6 |8 |8 |1,485
East Sussex |8 |8 |7 |10 |1,944
Essex |7 |7 |8 |11 |1,838
Gloucestershire |10 |9 |12 |13 |1,763
Greater Manchester |7 |7 |9 |9 |1,355
Hampshire |8 |8 |9 |10 |1,848
Hereford and Worcester |6 |7 |9 |10 |1,669
Hertfordshire |6 |9 |10 |11 |1,634
Humberside |7 |5 |9 |10 |1,642
Isle of Wight |7 |11 |9 |12 |1,849
Kent |7 |7 |8 |11 |2,130
Lancashire |5 |6 |7 |7 |1,404
Leicestershire |6 |7 |8 |9 |1,477
Loncolnshire |6 |6 |7 |7 |1,582
London |7 |8 |9 |10 |1,716
Merseyside |7 |7 |7 |9 |1,195
Norfolk |6 |7 |8 |9 |1,776
North Yorkshire |7 |7 |9 |10 |1,760
Northamptonshire |6 |6 |8 |8 |1,575
Northumberland |6 |7 |8 |9 |1,655
Nottinghamshire |7 |7 |8 |10 |1,646
Oxfordshire |7 |7 |8 |8 |1,821
Shropshire |6 |6 |11 |12 |1,690
Somerset |6 |7 |8 |8 |1,734
South Yorkshire |7 |8 |10 |10 |1,566
Staffordshire |6 |10 |9 |8 |1,596
Suffolk |6 |8 |10 |9 |1,649
Surrey |7 |9 |7 |11 |1,969
Tyne and Wear |7 |6 |7 |9 |1,419
Warwickshire |5 |6 |7 |9 |1,411
West Midlands |6 |7 |8 |10 |1,429
West Sussex |7 |7 |8 |11 |1,834
West Yorkshire |7 |7 |8 |11 |1,535
Wiltshire |7 |9 |10 |10 |1,847
Note: Percentage changes are derived by annualising rent increases on tenancies re-registered (
most are subject to re-registration every two years)
in the financial year. Those for 1987-88 and 1988-89 are based on re-registrations in 1987 and
1988, respectively.
Small Firms
Sir David Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many schemes his Department runs to provide help or finance for small firms ; and if he will list them.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 18 December 1991] : The only scheme my Department runs to provide help specifically for small firms is the preferential treatment they receive under the non-domestic rating transitional arrangements. However, small firms may also receive help under the following schemes :
Environmental technology innovation scheme
Urban programme
Inner urban areas Act grants
City action team special budgets.
In addition, schemes operated by bodies sponsored by my Department also help small firms. The following schemes, all operated by the Rural Development Commission, are targeted on small businesses : Business advice
Loans fund
Marketing initiatives
Support for training.
Small firms may also benefit from these other schemes run by sponsored bodies although they are not specifically aimed at them : Rural Development Commission schemes for fully funded small workshop unit construction ;
partnerships with local authorities to construct small workshop units ;
redundant building grants ;
rural transport development fund ;
English Heritage repair grants for listed buildings.
The Rural Development Commission also provides support for local enterprise agencies which in turn help small businesses.
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Agricultural Occupancy
Mr. Alexander : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to ease the agricultural occupancy planning conditions attached to a farm dwelling when a farmer has had to go out of farming after a specified number of years.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 19 December 1991] : Conditions that restrict the occupancy of a dwelling to an agricultural worker seek to keep the dwelling available for the purposes which justified its provision. The Department's model agricultural occupancy condition, in DOE circular 1/85, enables a dwelling to be occupied by either someone "last employed" in agriculture or an agricultural worker in the locality. If circumstances change, an application can be made to the local planning authority for the condition to be lifted.
Drinking Water (Pollution)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he intends to take to prevent the air pollution levels of the past week affecting the drinking water supply drawn from watercourses in the affected areas.
Mr. Trippier [holding answer 20 December 1991] : None. I am advised that the high air pollution levels recently experienced in London should not have had any adverse effect on the quality of drinking water as there was no concurrent rain to wash the pollution into the water supply. The current blustery weather conditions should have dispersed the pollution.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Malta
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has had from the Government of Malta about Lockerbie-related issues.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Maltese Government co-operated extensively during the complex and lengthy investigation and were kept fully briefed on the findings of the investigation. We continue to maintain regular contacts with the Maltese Government.
Switzerland
Mr. Jessel : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition in the Palace of Westminster from 13 January 1992 to mark the 700th anniversary of Switzerland.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We understand that, under procedures agreed by the Services Committee, arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for this exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall for a week from 13 January 1992.
European Union
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which language common foreign and security policy texts adopted, pursuant to the footnote to article K of the treaty on European union will initially be written before they are translated into all the official Community languages.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The language of initial drafting is likely to depend on the presidency. Current practice in European political co- operation is for texts to be drafted and worked on simultaneously in English and French.
Kuwait
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what new initiatives are being taken to discover the fate of the remaining Kuwaiti citizens that have not been accounted for since the end of hostilities in the Gulf war.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are maintaining pressure on Iraq to fulfil all its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions, including the return of missing Kuwaiti and third country nationals. We fully support Kuwait's efforts through the International Committee of the Red Cross to establish the whereabouts of its missing citizens. We shall continue to raise this question on appropriate occasions at the UN and elsewhere.
Soviet Republics
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Governments of the Soviet republics in respect of the application of the principles of human rights to their proposals on citizenship rights.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : On 31 December we in concert with our EC partners, recognised eight former Soviet republics
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as independent states, after they had provided satisfactory assurances inter alia on human rights including citizenship rights. We regularly raised human rights issues with the former Soviet authorities. We shall continue to do so with the governments of these newly independent states, making clear that their approach in this respect will influence the development of our bilateral relations.Maastricht Agreements
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish at an early date a White Paper setting out the text of the contents of the treaty of Maastricht, less the articles which amend articles of the treaty of Rome, together with a second section which clearly shows the deletions, amendments, and proposed standing text of the putative treaty of Rome as it would stand, given full ratification of the agreements reached at Maastricht.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The full text of the treaty on European union, including amendments to the treaty of Rome, will be published as a White Paper after the definitive version has been signed by member states.
China
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the United Kingdom Government has had with the Government of the People's Republic of China concerning a comprehensive test ban treaty.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : None recently, but both the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China are members of the conference on disarmament in Geneva, which includes discussions of nuclear testing matters on its agenda. China has made clear that it will undertake no further atmospheric testing of nuclear devices.
EC Jurisdiction
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will state the definition of, or criteria determining, those matters falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the European Community, or list those matters not within that category, stating in either case the relevant bases in treaty articles or protocols.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The EC has exclusive jurisdiction where that is conferred upon it by treaty provision or measures taken under the treaty. Current examples include the CAP, common commercial policy and the external tariff.
Foreign Affairs Council
Mr. Lester : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report a statement on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 December.
Mr. Hurd : My right hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, represented the United Kingdom at the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 December. The Council underlined its commitment to a successful conclusion of the Uruguay round and stressed the importance of opening up world trade, particularly for those countries
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