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Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration the evaluation process initiated in March 1990 has given to the appropriateness of sponsorship by licensed insolvency practitioners of debt helplines or other such means of promulgating insolvency advice to the public.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 21 May 1992] : The sponsorship by insolvency practitioners of helplines is a matter for the ethical committees of the recognised professional bodies to consider. The evaluation of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 did not specifically cover this area.
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in the evaluation exercise of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985, the procedures operative in other European countries and in the United States of America and Canada have been considered.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 21 May 1992] : In its review of bankruptcy and insolvency law in Scotland, the Scottish Law Commission considered the procedures operative in a number of other countries and took these into account in framing the recommendations which led to the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985. The Government's evaluation of that Act did not expressly consider practices in other countries.
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state for each district council in each year since 1976 (a) the total number of local authority houses allocated to debtors, as defined by section 73(1) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985, and spouses of debtors, (b) the total rent due by debtors or spouses of debtors, (c) the total rent written off or to be written off by local authorities in respect of debtors or spouses of debtors and (d) what specific allowance is taken of such rent arrears in computation of Government funding for local authorities.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 21 May 1992] : Information relating to local authority house
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allocations to debtors, as specified by section 73(1) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985, and to the spouses of such debtors is not held centrally. Nor is information relating to outstanding rent arrears or rent arrears written off in respect of such debtors or the spouses of such debtors. While estimated local authority rent arrears written off as irrecoverable are included in estimated eligible expenditure for the purpose of determining the housing support grant payable to local authorities in any year, no separate estimate is made of the rent arrears written off in respect of such debtors or the spouses of such debtors.Salmon
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his response to the application for producer organisation status with the extension rule submitted by the Scottish Salmon Growers Association.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 21 May 1992] : My officials have had discussions with representatives of the industry about the establishment of producer organisations for salmon but have not yet received a formal application for consideration.
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the salmon farming industry about Crown Estate rentals ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 21 May 1992] : There have been no recent discussions about rental payments to the Crown Estate. Rents for salmon farms are being reviewed with effect from 1 January 1992. The Crown Estate's rental arrangements are subject to independent determination by the valuation office and I understand that further representations by the industry will be heard next month.
Shellfish
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional resources he is making available to local authorities to enable environmental health officers to undertake the classification of shellfish harvesting areas to meet the requirements of EC directive 91/492.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 21 May 1992] : Environmental health officers have not been asked to undertake the classification of shellfish harvesting areas. The exercise is being undertaken by my Department's marine laboratory in Aberdeen. The local authority role is limited to the collection of samples and their transmission to the marine laboratory.
Draft regulations for implementing this directive and that for the placing on the market of fishery products (EEC 91/493) will shortly issue for consultation. COSLA has indicated its intention to raise resource implications for local authorities arising from the tasks environmental health authorities will be expected to undertake under both directives. Any representations received will be given careful consideration. It should be borne in mind that substantial resources were provided to local authorities linked to the implementation of the Food Safety Act to which these directives are closely linked.
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Sequestration
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will institute an inquiry into the demands placed upon resources of local government as a result of sequestrations in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 21 May 1992] : My right hon. Friend has no plans to institute such an inquiry.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Packaging
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has to reduce wasteful packaging in the retail industry ; whether his Department is monitoring the progress of the German regulations relating to secondary packaging ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh : Industry itself has already made good progress in reducing packaging waste--for example, by reducing the weight of packaging materials and using recycled material in new packaging ; and a number of major companies have been actively involved with Government in supporting pilot resource recovery schemes. Ministerial colleagues regularly meet representatives of industry, including the retail sector, to discuss further ways in which packaging waste can be reduced. My Department and the Department of the Environment, have commissioned a study to establish whether economic instruments, such as taxes, levies, waste disposal charges and tradeable permits could help us achieve our recycling target. This is due to be completed later this year.
The Government are concerned about the potential for trade restrictions and distortions to competition which could arise as a result of the introduction of unilateral packaging measures in other member states and we have made our views known to the European Commission. The Commission has indicated that it is examining the situation and we have urged them to reach a speedy conclusion.
Financial Reporting Council
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what arrangements he has made for the financing of the Financial Reporting Council beyond the first three years of its life.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The next step is for the Financial Reporting Council to consider the amount and sources of its future funding. I understand that this will be discussed at its next meeting.
Auditing
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to promote the role of internal auditors.
Accounting Standards Board
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has plans to propose legislation under which the Accounting Standards Board will be required to hold all its meetings in the open.
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Mr. Neil Hamilton : No.Financial Reporting Review Panel
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any plans to investigate the operations of the Financial Reporting Review Panel.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : No. I know of no matters concerning the Financial Reporting Review Panel which would call for such inquiries.
Manufactured Trade
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the deficit or surplus in (a) manufactured trade and (b) invisibles with (i) Japan, (ii) the USA and (iii) Germany, of (1) the United Kingdom, (2) France and (3) (except for (iii)) Germany in each year since 1990.
Mr. Nedham : Information on the balance of trade in manufactured goods is contained in the table. Information on the bilateral balances for invisible trade is not available.
United Kingdom, France and Germany's
crude balance<1> of Trade in
Manufactured Goods<2> with Japan, USA
and Germany 1980-91
United Kingdom
Balance with:
|Japan |USA |Germany
US$ Millions
----------------------------------------
1980 |-2,758 |-3,226 |-4,623
1981 |-3,322 |-2,211 |-4,292
1982 |-3,581 |-2,290 |-5,826
1983 |-4,024 |-1,740 |-7,475
1984 |-3,906 |-1,718 |-6,809
1985 |-4,130 |-461 |-7,420
1986 |-5,739 |1,577 |-9,850
1987 |-6,838 |1,462 |-12,237
1988 |-8,762 |-1,192 |-15,428
1989 |-8,258 |-1,809 |-15,770
1990 |-7,702 |-3,626 |-13,607
1991 |-8,359 |-4,171 |-6,938
United Kingdom, France and Germany's
crude balance<1> of Trade in
Manufactured Goods<2> with Japan, USA
and Germany 1980-91
France
Balance with:
|Japan |USA |Germany
US$ Millions
----------------------------------------
1980 |-1,786 |-3,592 |-5,101
1981 |-1,855 |-2,475 |-5,366
1982 |-2,103 |-2,303 |-6,984
1983 |-1,790 |-1,461 |-5,219
1984 |-1,869 |146 |-4,494
1985 |-1,979 |482 |-4,863
1986 |-3,259 |-451 |-7,649
1987 |-4,101 |-228 |-10,024
1988 |-4,970 |-1,231 |-11,472
1989 |-5,093 |-2,570 |-11,925
1990 |-6,052 |-5,255 |-10,983
<4>1991 |-3,444 |-5,780 |-7,099
United Kingdom, France and
Germany's crude balance<1> of
Trade in
Manufactured Goods<2> with
Japan, USA and Germany 1980-91
Germany
Balance with:
|Japan |USA
US$ Millions
--------------------------------
1980 |-3,578 |2,602
1981 |-3,708 |2,598
1982 |-3,153 |3,674
1983 |-3,647 |4,923
1984 |-4,034 |8,041
1985 |-4,441 |10,126
1986 |-7,082 |15,041
1987 |-8,274 |16,373
1988 |-8,810 |12,606
1989 |-9,051 |8,064
1990 |-9,720 |9,375
<4>1991 |-10,939|2,965
Notes:
<1> Exports (fob) less imports
(cif).
<2> Standard International
Trade Classification Sections
5-8.
<3> Figures for 1991 include
eastern Germany.
<4> provisional.
Based on the reported trade of
the United Kingdom, France and
Germany.
Source: United Nations
Commodity Trade Statistics,
EUROSTAT.
#9330
Hallmarking
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to continue the arrangement for the hallmarking of gold, silver and platinum articles by the established British Assay offices ; and if he will make a statement on the European Commission's proposals on this.
Mr. Leigh : The Government is firmly of the view that the British hallmarking system is the best means of protecting both consumers and traders in the precious metals field. The Commission has indicated that it does not intend to put forward proposals for a harmonised precious metals regime at this stage. We will, however, seek to ensure in any future negotiations on a common system that the principles enshrined in the British hallmarking system are maintained.
Company Reports
Mr. Wigley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will ensure that no company in Wales is prosecuted for a late submission of annual reports to Companies House, if they submitted such a report in the Welsh language within the appropriate time scale.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : New regulations are being introduced on 1 June this year which will enable private limited companies whose registered office is situated in Wales to deliver accounts in Welsh only.
If the Directors of Welsh private limited companies, who produce their accounts in Welsh, deliver them to the Registrar in an acceptable form and within the prescribed period, the question of prosecution does not arise.
Similarly, late filing penalties only apply to companies which deliver their accounts outside the prescribed period.
Directors (Accountability)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to ensure that directors of public companies should be more accountable to their shareholders ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I welcome the work of the Accounting Standards Board in developing proposals for large companies to include with its annual report and accounts an operating and financial review. I look forward to the contribution of the Cadbury committee which is expected soon.
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Cloth (Pentachlorophenol)
Ms. Janet Anderson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce measures to ban the importation of cloth treated with pentachlorophenol.
Mr. Needham : The Government are conscious of the threat posed to the environment by the use of pentachlorophenols (PCPs) in textile production. However, I do not believe that it would be appropriate to ban imports of cloth treated in this way since there are at present no completely adequate substitutes for PCPs in protecting certain textiles from rotting. The detection of treated cloth at its port of entry would in any case be almost impossible. Nor are we generally able to discriminate against imports arriving from other member states of the European Community.
British Coal Pension Funds
Mr. Hardy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the present value of the pension funds held for emoployees of British Coal or their dependants ; and if he will announce the arrangements to be made to protect both the benefits and the funds themselves following privatisation.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 May to the Member for St. Helens, North (Mr. Evans), Official Report, col. 156. The present values of the pension funds are a matter for the trustees of those pension funds.
Nuclear Electric (Support)
Mr. Hardy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what the total value of the support provided for Nuclear Electric has been since this business was formed.
Mr. Eggar : In each of 1990-91 and 1991-92 the nuclear industry received approximately £1.25 billion through the fossil fuel levy. The allocation of this income between Nuclear Electric plc, British Nuclear Fuels Limited and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is commercially confidential.
Gas-fired Power Stations
Mr. Hardy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the working lifespan of a gas-fired power generating station constructed in 1992 ; and what steps he is taking to ensure that adequate supplies of gas at reasonable prices will be available throughout the period involved.
Mr. Eggar : The Government's aim is a competitive market within which the lifespan of individual power stations and the arrangements for fuelling them are matters for their operators.
In the Government's observations on the Fourth Report of the Energy Select Committee (Session 1989-90), "The Cost of Nuclear Power", (a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House) the lifetime of a combined cycle gas turbine power station was assumed to be between 20 and 40 years.
United Kingdom offshore gas reserves alone are sufficient to meet likely levels of United Kingdom demand for gas, including power generation, well beyond the turn of the century.
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Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Mr. Vaz : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps are being taken towards the fulfilment of the undertaking to hold a creditors' meeting in connection with the BCCI liquidation.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The joint liquidators of BCCI have informed my officials that they have set up a working party to consider how the difficulties of organising an effective meeting under section 141 of the Insolvency Act 1986 may be overcome. The joint liquidators have also indicated that the working party's preliminary report will be available shortly.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of meetings between his officials and the liquidators of BCCI on (a) the costs of the liquidation, and the breakdown of the costs and (b) the number of former customers of BCCI who have been placed into receivership by the liquidators.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The cost of the liquidation of BCCI are a matter for the court. The appointment of administrative receivers to companies who were former customers of BCCI is not a matter which requires reference to the Secretary of State.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he received the copy sent to him of the letter to the liquidators from Messrs Zaiwalla concerning the liquidators' injunction against Mr. Masihur Raham, the former financial controller of BCCI ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The relevant parts of my Department have no record of the receipt of any such letter.
Coal Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the companies or individuals who have approached him about the privatisation of the coal industry.
Mr. Eggar : A number of companies and individuals have approached me about the privatisation of the coal industry including British Coal and the British Association of Colliery Management.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make public details of all communications he receives from the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission on the safety consequences of coal privatisation.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he first consulted the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission about the safety consequences of coal privatisation.
Mr. Eggar : I wrote to the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission on 19 May formally to seek the commission's advice on the safety implications of coal privatisation.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will consult the unions in the mining industry to seek their views on the safety consequences of the privatisation of the coal industry.
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Mr. Eggar : I have already written to the coal industry trade unions seeking their views on all aspects of privatisation.Dounreay
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will review the phase out strategy for the fast reactor programme at the nuclear power development establishment at Dounreay.
Mr. Eggar : The nuclear industry have made a proposal to extend the life of the prototype fast reactor at Dounreay by three years from the announced closure of March 1994 until March 1997. I am currently considering their proposal.
Dolphins
Mr. Flynn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy on the GATT panel conclusions on the United States embargoes on tuna caught by methods that are not dolphin-safe.
Mr. Needham : The European Commission is handling the matter within the GATT on behalf of the Community. The United Kingdom supports the Commission in urging the United States to adopt the findings of the GATT panel report on the United States tuna embargoes.
RECHAR
Mr. Hardy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what payments have been made to local authorities under the RECHAR scheme during 1992 ; and what further payments are expected to be made during this year.
Mr. Sainsbury : No payments have been made so far under the RECHAR programmes. The RECHAR programme monitoring committees will soon be able to meet consider applications for grants. Payments to local authorities and others, in respect of projects selected for grant, will follow in accordance with the normal structural funds procedures.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects RECHAR monies to be released to qualifying local authorities.
Mr. Sainsbury : The RECHAR programme monitoring committees will soon be able to meet to consider applications for grants. Payments to local authorities and others, in respect of projects selected for grant, will follow in accordance with the normal structural funds procedures.
Waste Paper
Mr. Paice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress his Department is making concerning the expected shortfall in supply of waste paper to United Kingdom mills.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 19 May 1992] : We are not aware of an expected shortfall in the supply of waste paper to United Kingdom mills. Sourcing of raw materials is a matter for industry.
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Trading Figures
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the trading figures between the United Kingdom and Liberia for each of the past five years ; and what Export Credits Guarantee Department rating that country is given.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 20 May 1992] : Figures for United Kingdom/Liberia trade for the last five years are :
£ million
|1987|1988|1989|1990|1991
-----------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom exports |13.5|11.6|15.1|8.6 |8.8
United Kingdom imports |7.3 |9.5 |12.7|13.2|0.9
Trade balance |+6.2|+2.1|+2.4|-4.6|+7.9
ECGD medium-term cover (ie for business on credit terms of two years or more) is not available for Liberia.
Export credit cover for short term business (ie generally on credit of up to 180 days) became the responsibility of the private sector in December 1991.
Companies (South African Interests)
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consultations the Department of Trade and Industry has held on the future of the EC code of conduct for companies with interests in South Africa (a) with other EC Governments and (b) others ; what have been the results of those consultations ; and what has been the policy of Her Majesty's Government in these consultations.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 21 May 1992] : In the light of the recent political changes in South Africa, the EC Presidency has initiated discussions on the future of the code of conduct and its reporting requirements. We are consulting the main reporting companies as part of this reassessment and will reach a view as to the Government's future policy in the light of this.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the President of the Board of Trade why publication of the annual summary of United Kingdom companies' responses under the EC code of conduct for companies with interests in South Africa has been delayed ; and when it will be published.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 21 May 1992] : The normal timetable for the presentation to Parliament of this year's annual summary of United Kingdom companies' responses under the EC code of conduct was delayed because of the Dissolution of Parliament on 16 March. The summary will be presented soon.
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy in respect of encouraging companies to respond to the EC code of conduct for companies with interests in South Africa for the period ending 30 June.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 21 May 1992] : The Government have always encouraged companies to comply with the reporting requirements of the EC code of conduct, while recognising that compliance is voluntary.
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North Korea
Mr. Flynn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has on the outcome of the recent visit to North Korea by the Secretary-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency's, in regard to the application of nuclear safeguards, pursuant to the nuclear non- proliferation treaty.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 21 May 1992] : The International Atomic Energy Agency has made a report in the form of a press release on this visit. A copy of the press release has been placed in the Library of the House.
EMPLOYMENT
Training
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employment training and youth training places were available in Barrow-in- Furness for each financial year since 1987 ; and what number will be available during 1992-93.
Mr. McLoughlin : The information is not available in the form requested.
At the end of 1991-92 financial year, there were approximately 3, 600 young people on YT and 1,200 people on ET in the Cumbria TEC area, of which Barrow-in-Furness is a part.
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of those completing employment training and youth training schemes in Barrow-in-Furness secured full-time employment in each of the years from 1987 onwards.
Mr. McLoughlin : The following table provides all the information available for Barrow-in-Furness and for the Cumbria TEC area which includes Barrow-in-Furness.
PQ 3211/1992 Per cent. Leavers completing agreed training entering full-time employment<1> ------------------------------------------------ 1987-88 |n/a<2> |n/a<4> |76 1988-89 |n/a<3> |91 |86 1989-90 |n/a<4> |90 |86 1990-91 |43 |n/a<5> |82 April-July 1991 |29 |n/a<5> |n/a<4> <1> Including self-employment. <2> Programme not operating. <3> No follow-up survey of leavers in operation. <4> Not available because of low number of responses. <5> Information no longer available. Sources: ET National follow up survey YTS/YT National follow up survey.
Column 336
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what additional training schemes in Barrow and Furness are being proposed by his Department for 1992-93 and 1993-94 to help those employees made redundant from VSEL secure new employment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : Cumbria training and enterprise council (TEC) is responsible for training in Barrow and Furness.
The chief executive of Cumbria TEC has already contacted the hon. Member to arrange a meeting at which he will brief the hon. Member on the efforts the TEC has made to create opportunities for the potential and present work force of Barrow.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list for each local enterprise company area in Scotland and for Scotland and Great Britain as a whole, for the year 1990-91, the total costs of provision of employment training, and the shares going to (a) trainees and (b) training providers.
Mr. McLoughlin : The total cost of employment training in 1990-91 was £1,076 million in Great Britain, of which £527 million was paid to trainees in allowances. It is not possible to identify separately the amounts paid to training providers.
Costs for 1990-91 cannot be identified separately for Scotland. Local enterprise companies (LECS) did not become operational until 1 April 1991 ; therefore, expenditure information by LEC area for 1990-91 is not available.
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