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Nuclear Proliferation
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he as to tackle the problem of nuclear proliferation.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Preventing nuclear proliferation is among our foreign policy priorities. We shall continue to work to extend and reinforce the nuclear non-proliferation regime, in particular through further accessions to the non-proliferation treaty and an indefinite extension of the treaty at the 1995 extension conference ; a strengthened International Atomic Energy Authority safeguards regime ; and stricter supplier controls on nuclear material and technology.
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Libya
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions Britain has applied to the United Nations sub-committee on sanctions against Libya, for permission to allow an air ambulance to be sent to Libya to collect British citizens who were in Libya ; how long the whole process took on each occasion ; what were the results of the requests and what ensuing action was taken ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The United Kingdom has submitted only one application to the United Nations sanctions committee (Libya) for permission to send an air ambulance to collect a British national. Approval in principle was given by members of the committee within 12 hours of the application being made. However, the patient recovered and evacuation was not necessary.
There is no need to make a statement.
Mercenaries
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he proposes to ratify the United Nations international convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We did not sign the convention and therefore do not propose to ratify it. Implementation of the convention would require primary legislation. Following the consideration of the whole question by the Diplock committee, we decided not to introduce legislation on mercenaries. We still do not consider that the need for such legislation has been established.
Iran
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Government of Iran over the executions of political dissidents and demonstrators following arrests made at demonstrations in Mashhad, Arak and other Iranian cities in April, May and June.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We continue to make clear to the Iranian Government our serious concern at their human rights record, both bilaterally and together with our EC partners. They can be in no doubt of our views.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what military equipment has been exported to Iran since 29 October 1985.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : No licensable defence equipment has been exported to Iran in breach of the guidelinies set out by the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 29 October 1985, which remain strictly enforced. It has been the consistent policy of this and previous Administrations not to comment on specific cases for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
Cuba
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was Her Majesty's Government's position at the United Nations
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Security Council on the request from Cuba for a special Security Council meeting to discuss the refusal of the United States of America to extradite two United States citizens involved in the bombing of a Cubana Airline plane in 1976 ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Garel-Jones : We raised no objection. The United Nations Security Council met on 21 May to consider the matter.
Visas
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries require British passport holders of Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani origin to obtain visas while not requiring British passport holders in general to do so.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate expense.
Radioactive Materials
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what medical or industrial radioactive materials are known to exist in (a) the British Virgin Islands, (b) Anguilla and Monserrat, (c) the Cayman islands, (d) the Falkland islands, (e) South Georgia and the South Sandwich islands and (f) the Turks and Caicos islands, respectively, that will be covered by the trilateral Euratom International Atomic Energy Agency-United Kingdom nuclear safeguards agreement pursuant to additional protocol No. 1 of the treaty of Tlatelolco --Com (92) 197 final--currently awaiting approval by the Council of Ministers and IAEA board of governors.
Western Sahara
Ms. Glenda Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise the western Sahara referendum with the United Nations Secretary-General ; and if he will urge him fully to deploy United Nations forces (MINURSO) in the area to implement sanctions against those violating the ceasefire and to intervene personally to end the current stalemate.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : There will be opportunities to discuss these issues with the United Nations Secretary-General during his present visit to London.
Ms. Glenda Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to give a firm commitment to a free and fair referendum for the Sahrawi people.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We continue to give our full support to the United Nations Secretary-General's settlement plan, which provides for the holding of a United Nations-supervised referendum to enable the Sahrawi people to determine their own future.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Nuclear Power
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what applications British Nuclear Fuels plc has made to his Department to conclude subsidiary
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arrangements under the provisions of article 2 of the United Kingdom-Republic of Korea bilateral co-operation agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, Cm 1961.South America
Mr. Wray : To ask the President of the Board of Trade for each year since 1986, what were the figures for the 10 most exported goods/services (a) in volume and (b) in pounds sterling from (i) Argentina, (ii) Brazil, (iii) Chile, (iv) Colombia, (v) Mexico and (vi) Venezuela ; and what were the figures for arms exports.
Mr. Needham : Details of the value of exports of goods from the United Kingdom to individual countries are published in table V of the "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom." Information on exports of services to individual countries is not readily available.
It has been the consistent policy of successive Governments not to disclose particulars of defence trade with other countries, for reasons of commercial confidentiality.
Mr. Wray : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, for each year since 1986, what were the figures for the 10 most imported goods/services (a) in volume and (b) in pounds sterling from (1) Argentina, (ii) Brazil, (iii) Chile, (iv) Colombia, (v) Mexico and (vi) Venezuela.
Mr. Needham : Details of the value of imports of goods into the United Kingdom from individual countries are published in table II of the Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom. Information on imports of services from individual countries is not readily available.
Regional Selective Assistance
Dr. Wright : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what factors and criteria are taken into account in considering applications for regional selective assistance.
Mr. Sainsbury : Information on regional selective assistance (RSA) is contained in my Department's booklet "Regions", a copy of which is in the Library.
Nuclear Material (Imports)
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much nuclear material has been imported from Iraq since March 1991.
Nuclear Power
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what response has been made by Her Majesty's Government to the European Commission communication to the Council of Ministers on the implementation of on-site laboratories at Sellafield for the verification analysis of safeguards samples (SEC (92)515 final) dated 25 March ; and what estimate he has made of new costs that would be incurred by the United Kingdom on the adoption of the Commission proposal.
Mr. Eggar : There has been no discussion on the topic of Euratom's on-site laboratories in the Council. The
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United Kingdom is, however, generally supportive of the proposal. It is anticipated that the use of on-site laboratories will provide savings to the Commission by removing the need to ship safeguards samples to the continent for analysis.Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish the total cost of research and development to date for (a) the Magnox nuclear programme, (b) the advanced gas-cooled reactor programme, (c) the steam-generated heavy water reactor programme and (d) the fast breeder reactor programme and if he will indicate the extent to which these costs were borne by Nuclear Electric or its predecessor bodies.
Mr. Eggar : Total expenditure to date by the Atomic Energy Authority on research and development into nuclear reactors is :
|£ million
----------------------------------------
Gas cooled reactors |480
Water reactors |475
Fast reactors |1,830
P
The figures are expressed as historic costs. Separate figures for the Magnox and advanced gas-cooled reactor programmes are not available. The contributions to these programmes by Nuclear Electric and its predecessors are a matter for the company.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions since 1990 nuclear material has been withdrawn from safeguards under article 14 of the 1978 tripartite agreement between the United Kingdom, Euratom and the International Atomic Energyf Agency.
Mr. Eggar : Forty-one withdrawals of nuclear material have been made from safeguards, under article 14 of the UK-Euratom-IAEA tripartite safeguards agreement, since 1 January 1990.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he is able to indicate, without providing any details that would be commercially sensitive, whether Nuclear Electric or British Nuclear Fuels plc has applied to sell any quantities of depleted uranium abroad since 1990.
Mr. Eggar : All export licence applications are commercially confidential. Provision of this information is therefore a matter for the companies concerned.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the additional administrative work needed by his Department if the European Council adopts the proposal for a regulation on security measures applicable to classified information produced or transmitted in connection with Euratom
activities--Com(92)56 final--issued on 24 February.
Mr. Eggar : It is not yet clear how much information would be affected which is not already covered in Council regulation (Euratom) No. 3, which came into force in 1958. An early decision on the proposal is not in any case expected, nor would we expect it be adopted in its present form.
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Guernsey
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what relationship his export licensing department has with trade authorised by companies registered in the states of Guernsey.
Mr. Needham : Exports of goods from Guernsey are authorised by the states of Guernsey board of administration under the powers conferred upon it under the Import and Export (Control) (Guernsey) Law 1946. The states of Guernsey export controls mirror those of the United Kingdom as implemented under the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1991.
Since 1976 the states of Guernsey have consulted Her Majesty's Government before issuing export licences for certain highly sensitive goods subject to export control in the United Kingdom under Export of Goods (Control) Orders.
Expo 92
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has any plans to re-use the British pavilion at Expo 92 as a permanent showplace for British industry in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : I have appointed estate agents Healey and Baker and Sturgis International to market the British Pavilion for future use in Seville or elsewhere. The Government have no plans to retain the building for official purposes.
Export Licences
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will now make it his policy to reply to questions on export licences in cases where it is demonstrable that false declarations were made in regard to the end user certificate.
Mr. Needham : If right hon. and hon. Members have any evidence about false declarations in regard to any aspect of export licensing, I should be glad to receive it. However, it has been a long-standing practice to protect the confidential nature of export licence applications. Since the vast majority of such applications are made in good faith by responsible exporters, I intend to maintain the practice of confidentiality.
Torus Project
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the future of the joint European Torus project.
Mr. Eggar : Strategic decisions on the future of the joint European Torus (JET) project are a matter for the Council of Ministers. Decisions on the management of the project are the responsibility of the JET council. In December 1991 the Council of Ministers adopted a decision which extended the life of the project to 1996.
Departmental Reorganisation
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has for reorganising his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heseltine : In a speech on 1 June, I announced that I would be reshaping some of the Department of Trade
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and Industry on more sectoral lines ; and in his statement to the House on 16 June-- Official Report, columns 777-78--my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer made it clear that I would announce details before the summer recess.I intend to reorganise my Department so as to relate more closely to individual sectors of the industry. The reorganisation will include three main elements :
the creation of a new industrial competitiveness division to see what lessons can be learnt from other leading industrialised countries and to help ensure that policies of all Government Departments take due account of the need to promote the competitiveness of British industry and commerce ;
the adoption of a sectoral approach to the industries for which the DTI is responsible by explicitly recognising the extent to which we already follow such an approach and establishing new divisions to cover the key sectors which are not dealt with at present ; assigning to all the sectoral divisions, both new and existing, an explicit role to sponsor their industries, not in an uncritical way but as a basis for an informed dialogue and a constructive partnership between Government and business.
The new structure will allow for the establishment of some new divisions, and the recasting of some previously existing divisions so as to establish a division dealing with industrial competitiveness, together with a range of sectoral divisions dealing with industries including chemicals and biotechnology, steel, metals and minerals, textiles and retailing, electronics and electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, vehicles, aerospace, and telecommunications and posts. In addition, there will, of course, remain other sector-orientated divisions, including the divisions previously belonging to the Department of Energy dealing with fuels, as well as divisions dealing with research and technology policy, the environment, and information and manufacturing technology. Although the DTI has a long-established programme of inward and outward secondment with industry, I am also making clear that the Department will be looking for further industrial secondees. I also expect to fill a small number of posts with staff drawn from the National Economic Development Office.
A reorganisation on these lines, with the relevant divisions having a clear remit to sponsor the industry with which they deal, will, I am convinced, be welcomed by industry and commerce.
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Timeshare
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will increase the funding of trading standards officers to investigate the sales practices of timeshare firms.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 1 July 1992] : It is the responsibility of individual local weights and measures authorities to fund the trading standards service in their area.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will examine the complaints received by trading standards officers about the timeshare sales practices of International Resort Sales and Travel Ltd., Dunblane ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 1 July 1992] : If any such complaints are passed to me, they will be carefully examined. However, enforcement of legislation on sales practices is mainly a matter for the trading standards departments of local weights and measures authorities.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider introducing legislation to prevent timeshare agents posing as market researchers.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 1 July 1992] : No. This practice, which I deplore, has been well publicised by the Office of Fair Trading. I do not consider that legislation is necessary.
Textiles and Clothing
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to encourage a better balance of trade in textiles and in clothing products.
Mr. Needham : The key to a better trade balance in textiles and clothing products lies in the industries' international competitiveness. A range of Government programmes is available to help firms improve their competitive performance. Exports of textiles and clothing in the first quarter of 1992 were 9 per cent. higher than in the same period last year.
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