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European Space Agency
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the British contribution to the European Space Agency, the Hermes spaceplane and the Columbus project, in each of the last five financial years, together with the projection for the current year ; if he will express these figures as a percentage of the total expenditure and of the German contribution ; and if he will also express the annual British contribution in standard prices.
Mr. Leigh : United Kingdom contributions in each of the last five financial years and projected contribution in 1992-93 are :
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ESA £ million
|Historic|1992-93 |Hermes |Columbus
|prices |prices
------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |81 |112 |0 |5
1988-89 |90 |116 |0 |8
1989-90 |88 |106 |0 |6
1990-91 |94 |105 |0 |7
1991-92 |100 |105 |0 |11
1992-93 |100 |100 |0 |13
ESA accounts on a calendar year basis. The following percentages are therefore on that basis :
United Kingdom contribution as a
percentage of:
|ESA |German
|total |contribution
|expenditure
----------------------------------------------------
1987 |12 |49
1988 |8 |37
1989 |7 |31
1990 |6 |23
1991 |6 |27
Net Book Agreement
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the European Court's decision on the net book agreement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Until I have seen the text of the court's ruling, I cannot comment on it.
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will now refer the net book agreement to the Office of Fair Trading.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The net book agreement falls within the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 and as such is a matter for the Director General of Fair Trading to consider.
Deregulation
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are his plans during the United Kingdom presidency of the EC for promoting deregulation both at a Community level and in member states' implementation of EC directives.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : During the United Kingdom presidency of the Community, the Government plan to introduce a resolution at the Industrial Affairs Council aimed at strengthening the Commission's fiche d'impact system of assessing the costs to business of Community legislation and encouraging the Commission to consult business more fully before proposing legislation. We will continue to attach importance to prompt implementation of Community directives by member states. In the United Kingdom, we will continue to press the Departments responsible to implement Community directives on time and with the minimum possible burden to business.
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how he proposes to ensure that the work of the deregulation liaison Minister in each Department is monitored and that an overall view of the Government's achievements in the field of deregulation is brought together ; and if he will publish an annual report of those achievements.
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Mr. Neil Hamilton : Progress under the deregulation initiative in all regulatory departments is co-ordinated and monitored by the deregulation unit in the Department of Trade and Industry. As the Minister with particular responsibility for the initiative, I take an active lead in liaising with deregulation Ministers in other Departments. Reports of progress and announcements are made regularly ; the most recent such announcement was on 18 February, Official Report , columns 122-25 . As stated by the Prime Minister on 19 May, Official Report , column 113 , there is a ministerial committee on industrial, commercial and consumer affairs whose terms of reference are"to consider industrial, commercial and consumer issues, including questions of competition and deregulation".
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what visits he has made to his EC counterparts in each member state to discuss deregulation matters since 18 April ; what agreements came out of such meetings ; and what plans he has for making further progress in deregulation matters during the United Kingdom's presidency of the EC.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I and my ministerial colleagues have met our EC counterparts and European Commissioners on a number of occasions since 18 April. The importance of minimising the burdens on business of community legislation was emphasised in relevant meetings. During the United Kingdom presidency, I and my colleagues will attach great importance to making progress on minimising burdens on business.
European Atomic Energy Agency
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to bring forward proposals during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Council to reduce the secrecy stipulations in article 194 of the treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Agency.
Mr. Eggar : The Commission has the exclusive right to bring forward proposals in the fields covered by the treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community. We are not aware that the Commission has any plans to make proposals in respect of article 194.
Hospital Radio
Mr. Amess : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what conclusions his Department has drawn from recent tests concerning hospital radio receiving its own frequency ;
(2) what progress has been made in securing an individual frequency for hospital radio.
Mr. Leigh : My Department--the Radiocommunications Agency--and the Radio Authority have recently completed the pilot experiment at East Surrey hospital, Redhill. The Radiocommunications Agency and the Radio Authority are meeting shortly to reach conclusions on the results of the experiment and discuss future plans for hospital radio.
Property Misdescriptions Act 1991
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the progress which has been made in drafting the orders which arise under the
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terms of the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 ; if he will indicate when he expects the drafts of the proposed orders to be published ; and when he intends to lay the proposed orders before the House.Mr. Leigh : My Department circulated a draft Property Misdescriptions (Specified Matters) Order for public consultation last December. The proposed order is being redrafted in the light of responses to the consultation, and my hon. and noble Friend the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms intends to lay it before Parliament as soon as possible.
European Year of the Elderly
Mr. Redmond : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has for his Department to celebrate the European Year of the Elderly in 1993 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heseltine : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 13 July, Official Report, columns 430-31 .
Shipbuilding
Ms. Quin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with representatives of the United Kingdom shipbuilding industry on the current EC proposals to aid shipyards in east Germany ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : I discussed the EC proposals to aid the east German shipbuilding industry during a meeting with a delegation from the Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers Association on 24 June.
RECHAR
Mr. Hardy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what payment has been received this year under the RECHAR programme ; and when arrangements will be completed to allow RECHAR grants to be paid.
Mr. Sainsbury : For the RECHAR programmes, the United Kingdom has so far this year received payments of £33,793,000 from the European regional development fund.
The approval of projects is the responsibility of the programme monitoring committees, which are now meeting. Arrangements are in place for RECHAR grants to be paid in respect of approved projects once the normal conditions for payment have been met.
Bicycles
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on circumvention of the generalised system of preferences tariff by Asian bicycle companies.
Mr. Needham : Although this is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General, I have agreed to reply.
A number of investigations have been carried out by Customs and Excise to verify that bicycles coming from Asian countries have been manufactured in accordance with the rules of origin of the generalised system of preferences. No evidence has been found of circumvention. Customs continues to monitor imports to ensure that correct rates of duty are imposed.
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Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has any plans to review the European Community policy whereby Chinese bicycles enjoyed generalised system of preferences duty free status ; if he has any plans to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Taiwanese bicycles ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Needham : The operation of the European Community's generalised system of preferences scheme is due for review this year. The concerns of the bicycle manufacturers, along with those of other sectors of industry, will be considered during discussions in the Community. I have no plans to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Taiwanese bicycles, since such action is a matter of Community competence. The European Commission is currently carrying out an anti-dumping investigation into imports of these bicycles.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many bicycles were imported from (a) China and (b) Taiwan in (i) 1990 and (ii) 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : The number of bicycles imported into the United Kingdom from China and Taiwan in 1990 and 1991 were as follows :
1990 |1991 -------------------------------- China |100,983|141,874 Taiwan |694,032|657,738
I have nothing to add to my earlier replies on this subject.
European Funds
Mr. Cash : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the United Kingdom's contribution to (a) the EC European agricultural guidance and guarantee fund, guidance section, (b) the European social fund and (c) the European regional development fund ; and what was the United Kingdom receipt, by region, of these funds for the current year.
Mr. Sainsbury : Member states contribute to the EC budget as a whole rather than individual parts of it. The United Kingdom's share of contributions in 1992 is forecast to be around 17 per cent. before abatement. Forecast structural funds receipts in 1992 for the EC as a whole and for the United Kingdom are shown in the table. Figures showing receipts by regions of the United Kingdom are not readily available.
Forecast Structural Funds Receipts for 1992
£ million
|Total EC|United
|Kingdom
--------------------------------------------------------------
(A) European Agricultural Guidance
and Guarantee Fund Guidance
Section |1,874 |80
(B) European Social Fund |3,370 |411
(C) European Regional Development
Fund |5,302 |458
Total Structural Funds |10,546 |949
Agencies
Mr. Milligan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what targets he has set the National Engineering Laboratory agency for 1992-93.
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Mr. Heseltine : When the National Engineering Laboratory was launched as an executive agency in October 1990, it was set the longer-term target of recovering its full economic costs through arm's length contracts from customers by 1994-95. I congratulate the chief executive and his staff on the excellent progress they have made towards meeting this target.
In addition to building on the position reached in respect of the above target, the agency has been set the following targets for 1992-93 :
Non-Department of Trade and Industry income as a proportion of full economic costs to grow by 10 per cent. compared with the results for 1991- 92--as published in the agency's annual report 1991. Fee earning hours on "arm's length" contracts, as a proportion of all hours, to increase by 10 per cent. compared with the published results for 1991-92.
Fee earning hours on "arm's length" contracts, as a proportion of available engineer hours to increase by 7 per cent. compared with the published results for 1991-92.
Per capita office space to reduce by 10 per cent. compared with 1991-92.
By 1 October 1992 to introduce a concise contract-completion questionnaire, to provide systematic feedback from all clients of all technical centres as part of NEL's commitment to deliver to its clients the standard of service they require.
To train at least 60 per cent. of staff in six of the basic competences they will require for operating in a commercial environment.
Mr. Milligan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what targets he has set the National Weights and Measures Laboratory agency for 1992-93.
Mr. Leigh : The agency has been set the following key targets for 1992-93 :
to operate within its current expenditure budget ;
to achieve the specific objectives set out in its 1992-93 to 1995-96 corporate plan, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House in April this year ;
to reduce the unit cost of a programme-hour by 1.5 per cent. in real terms.
The agency is also required to meet a number of other targets, including quality of service targets. Its achievements against these last year will appear in its annual report 1991-92, which is due to be published shortly.
These targets will be subject to annual review.
Mr. Milligan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what targets he has set the Insolvency Service executive agency for 1992-93.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The Insolvency Service expects to deal with about 36,000 new insolvencies in 1992-93 and against this background I look to it to preserve the very considerably efficiency gains it has already achieved. The service will continue to bring proceedings for the disqualification of directors of failed companies where these are in the public interest, and to submit prosecution reports where there is evidence of criminal behaviour.
The quality of service targets for 1992-93 are :
to report to creditors on assets and liabilities within nine weeks in at least 75 per cent. of all cases.
to hold the initial meeting of creditors within 12 weeks in at least 80 per cent. of all cases.
to check and action at least 95 per cent. of payment requisitions within 10 days or by the due date.
to submit reports within 10 months in at least 80 per cent. of cases where there is evidence of criminality.
to submit disqualification reports within 15 months in at least 80 per cent. of cases where there is evidence of unfit conduct by directors.
I have set it a target of completing the administration of at least 24,000 cases in 1992-93.
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I would like to congratulate the chief executive and his staff on their success last year in handling a considerably increased workload whilst managing to achieve most of their targets. For 1992-93, I have asked the chief executive to ensure a consolidation of the productivity gains already made. At the same time I have raised the target for a reduction in real terms of the average unit cost of the initial stage for bankruptcies and liquidations to 45 per cent. over the period 1990-91 to 1992-93.Mr. Milligan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what targets have been set for the Companies House executive agency for 1992-93.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The chief executive of Companies House has been set the following quality of service and financial performance targets :
to make all documents available for public inspection within a maximum of five working days of receipt in Companies House ; to provide a two-hour search service for all customers, and to provide a one hour search service to all customers by April 1994 ; to achieve a compliance rate for companies filing accounts and annual returns of 86 per cent. by June 1993 and 90 per cent. by June 1994 ;
to reduce real unit costs by 2 per cent. in 1992-93 ;
to achieve a 6 per cent. average annual return in the form of an operating surplus expressed as a percentage of average net assets employed at current values.
Executive agency status has led to significant improvements in efficiency and in the standard of service provided to Companies House's customers. The adoption of trading fund status last October has further increased the quality and flexibility of the agency's financial management, placing its finances on a more commercial footing.
The targets which I have set are designed to ensure that Companies House builds on these improvements in its performance, by requiring further increases in efficiency and improvements in the rate of compliance.
Urban Regeneration Agency
Mr. Milligan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what will be the relationship between English Estates and the proposed new Urban Regeneration Agency.
Mr. Heseltine : I greatly value the work English Estates does in the assisted areas and elsewhere to ensure the provision of premises and sites for new and growing businesses. I see great advantage in bringing this role within the remit of the new Urban Regeneration Agency. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and I have, therefore, agreed that the activities of English Estates should be subsumed within the new agency when it is set up.
Counterfeit Goods
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made in dealing with the problems of counterfeit consumer goods ; and if he will give the latest estimate of the cost to the manufacturing industry of this illicit trade.
Mr. Leigh : The Government's role in combating counterfeiting is limited to providing the necessary legislative framework. Around three years ago, provisions
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came into force making the counterfeiting of a trade mark a criminal offence carrying heavy penalties. The enforcement of the law is the responsibility of local trading standard officers, who may act either on their own initiative or on intelligence from industry. There is also the possibility for industry to take civil action against counterfeiting. The Government have no figures of their own as to the extent of the trade in counterfeit consumer goods.Electricity
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many people were employed in the electricity division of the Department of Energy on 1 July 1990.
Mr. Eggar : One hundred and thirteen people were employed in the Department's electricity divisions as at 1 July 1990.
Mr. Harvey : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will seek to amend legislation so as to allow electricity companies to establish that premises are lawfully occupied before being compelled to connect supply.
Mr. Eggar : The obligation to supply electricity derives from section 16 of the Electricity Act 1989. Any dispute arising under that section may be referred to the Director General of Electricity Supply. The Government have no plans to amend this legislation.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consultations he has had with the Director General of Electricity Supply concerning his decision of 7 July on the target real rate of return on assets and annual maximum price change formula on domestic electricity prices via the cost passed through mechanism.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 13 July 1992] : I have consultations with the Director General of Electricity Supply from time to time on a range of issues. Licence conditions, including the price controls, are a matter for the director general.
Nuclear Power
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the impact of the coal privatisation programme on the competitive position of Sizewell B with regard to the merit order ; what further consultations he has had with the EC competition directorate general concerning the applicability of (a) the existing nuclear operating agreement and (b) the nuclear levy payments to Sizewell B in the period 1994 to 1998, (c) extension of life of the Magnox stations and (d) extension of life of the nuclear levy beyond 1998 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : The capacity and output from Sizewell B is included in Nuclear Electric's contract with the regional electricity companies, which expires on 31 March 1998. The treatment of Sizewell B by the appropriate regulatory authorities will be no different from that of Nuclear Electric's existing stations. The commercial arrangements relating to Nuclear Electric's operations up to 1998, including Sizewell B, were notified to the European Commission in March 1990 under state aid notification procedures.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what assessment he has made of the impact on
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eastern bloc and European nuclear safety of the $100 million fund set up at the Group of Seven to cover retrofitting Soviet-designed nuclear power stations ;(2) if he will make a statement on the conclusions of the G7 summit meeting on Soviet-designed eastern bloc nuclear reactor safety problems and Group of 24 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development retrofit safety programmes and the British nuclear industry contribution to those programmes.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 13 July 1992] : I welcome these important conclusions, which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister referred to in his statement to the House on 13 July 1992. As he explained, the G7 countries have given support to a multilateral programme of action to improve the safety of Soviet-designed nuclear power plants in the former Soviet Union and central and eastern Europe. The programme aims to achieve significant improvements in the short-term in operational safety and in strengthening regulatory regimes in those countries. A supplementary multilateral mechanism, details of which have still to be settled, will be set up to fund necessary short-term safety improvements which are not adequately covered by bilateral programmes of assistance.
At the same time, the programme lays the foundation for longer-term safety improvements by setting in train energy studies covering replacement sources of energy and the scope for, and cost implications of, upgrading nuclear plants of more recent design. The G7 countries have urged other interested states to contribute to the programme. The group of 24 OECD countries--G24--will co-ordinate this assistance through existing but strengthened procedures. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will assist in the administration of the multilateral fund in close liaison with the G24 and will report on the potential financial requirements for future energy supplies.
The British nuclear industry is already playing an active part in bilateral and international assistance programmes and I expect it to make an enhanced contribution within the framework of the multilateral programme which has now been agreed.
EC Structural Funds
Ms. Quin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 6 July, Official Report, column 27, about the future of the EC structural funds, how he defines "appropriate" priority.
Mr. Sainsbury : The first priority for the European regional development fund is clearly objective 1. The Government consider that objective 2 comes next and should be given clear priority over other operations by this fund.
Multi-level Marketing
Mr. Harvey : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will bring forward proposals to require all multi-level marketing associations to belong to an organisation enforcing the standards of the Fair Trading Act 1973.
Mr. Leigh : No. I have not seen any evidence of the need for such a requirement.
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Offshore Licensing
Mr. Dafis : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will make it his policy to withdraw from the 14 round of offshore licences those blocks of the Pembrokeshire coast that are likely to impact on the Skomer marine nature reserve ;
(2) if he will make it his policy to withdraw from the 14 round of offshore licences those blocks in Cardigan bay which are likely to have impact on those areas which qualify for designation as special protection areas under the EC directive on the conservation of wild birds.
Mr. Eggar : Blocks to be offered in the second stage of the 14th round at the end of July are still under consideration. Potential impact on the environment will be taken into account before any blocks are released for licensing.
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