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British Coal Opencast
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the procedures whereby British Coal Opencast is given preferential treatment over other mineral operators, and bring British Coal into line with other operators ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : Yes. We are bringing British Coal's permitted development rights for opencast exploration into line with those available to other mineral operators by amendment to the General Development Order. Other matters are under review.
Roads (Planning)
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement clarifying the role of an inspector when presiding over an appeal against a decision by a local planning authority to refuse permission for the construction of an access from a trunk road to a side road in those cases where the authority concerned had been directed by the Department of Transport to refuse such an application.
Mr. Baldry : The role of a planning inspector in such circumstances is to visit the site, review all the material considerations made in writing or in person at the public inquiry and produce a report with recommendations on whether the appeal may be allowed, subject to conditions, or dismissed. It is then for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment to decide the appeal in the light of that report.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance about the impact
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upon businesses is given by his Department to local planning authorities when considering applications to retain accesses to side roads from trunk roads.Mr. Baldry : The Department's planning policy guidance note 13 gives advice on highways considerations in development control, including the question of access to primary routes. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of that note.
Homelessness
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 19 October, to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Ms. Jackson), Official Report, column 215, what plans he has to amend homelessness legislation to end the alleged practices of women becoming pregnant in order to obtain council house tenancies.
Mr. Baldry : The Government have no immediate plans for further legislative change, although the operation of the homelessness legislation is monitored closely.
Drinking Water Inspectorate
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if it remains his policy to transfer the drinking water inspectorate to the proposed environmental protection agency.
Mr. Maclean : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend on 15 July 1992 to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertfordshire, West (Mr. Jones), Official Report, column 858.
Tarmac plc
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he is making to protect the security of defence establishment and royal palace records following the transfer of PSA Projects to Tarmac plc ; and whether Tarmac employees will receive any security vetting.
Mr. Howard : Records on work completed by PSA Projects have been archived within government and will not be transferred with PSA Project Ltd. on sale to Tarmac plc. Classified records for current projects will be loaned to PSA Projects Ltd. but will be returned to Government once work is completed. Government Departments will continue to be responsible for security arrangements on their establishments and the same procedures will be followed in the future as has been followed in the past. The private sector, including Tarmac Construction Ltd., has worked on Government defence contacts for many years and is aware of the rules governing the control and access for classified documents. In general, existing PSA Projects staff will continue to work on the projects on which they are currently engaged. Security vetting of any new employees of PSA Projects Ltd. will be organised as necessary after completion of the sale. PSA Projects does not hold records on royal palaces.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what performance targets he has set for the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre executive agency for 1992-93.
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Mr. Baldry : The key performance measure for the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre is the net balance on its operating account. The target for 1992-93 is an operating deficit of £1.49 million. The centre has also projected room occupancy levels for the year of 1,242 days usage and revenue from catering commission and presentational facilities, expressed as a percentage of room hire, of 15 per cent. and 18 per cent. The centre will be expected to meet or better these projections.
Mersyside Development Corporation
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the exit plan of the Merseyside development corporation will include the transfer of land and assets to community development trusts ; and whether the Merseyside development corporation will be allowed to negotiate during the current period of the transfer of land and assets to community development trusts.
Mr. Robin Squire : The exit plans of Merseyside development corporation will, at the appropriate time, consider all options and assets will be transferred to the appropriate body. MDC is encouraged to dispose of land and assets throughout its lifetime, but is required to obtain market value in relation to the use proposed.
Vehicle Pollution
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will meet with the Institution of Environmental Health Officers and the National Society for Clean Air to discuss an effective framework for vehicle nuisance control that would include noise, smoke and gaseous pollution detection from road vehicles ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : As the matter falls within the remit of the Secretary of State for Transport, I have been asked to reply. Provisions for enhanced emission testing and control at annual testing and spot checks have already been implemented for petrol-powered cars and diesel-powered heavy vehicles as part of an already comprehensive and established framework for curbing nuisance from noise and emissions from vehicles in use. The provisions for emission control will be expanded to remaining diesel-powered cars and light vehicles from 1 January 1993, with further reductions planned in line with our obligations under the European Community roadworthiness directive, 92/55/EEC. Noise controls also form an integral part of current and planned future action, backed by appropriate research at the Transport Research Laboratory, to improve enforcement of this particularly intrusive nuisance. All interested parties, including EHOs and the NSCA, will be fully consulted prior to making new regulations.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Euthanasia
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if, following the conviction of Dr. Cox for attempted murder, he will carry out a review of the law regarding euthanasia.
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Mr. Jack : I have been asked to reply.
The Government have no plans to carry out a review of the law in this area.
DEFENCE
Vacant Property, Northern Ireland
Mr. Nigel Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many units of personnel accommodation are vacant awaiting sale, vacant for letting and vacant awaiting repair in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As at 30 September 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 32 MOD-owned service married quarters vacant awaiting sale, 179 vacant for letting to entitled service personnel and 108 vacant awaiting works in Northern Ireland. This excludes barrack and mess accommodation.
Nuclear Testing
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department plans to maintain the safety of the United Kingdom's nuclear warheads following the withdrawal of underground nuclear testing facilities in September 1996.
Mr. Aitken : If testing ends in 1996, we shall have to rely on alternative methods to ensure the safety of our weapons. Alternative technologies exist, but are not at present an adequate substitute for underground testing. Their development is a matter which we will now be considering.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the circumstances under which the United Kingdom would continue underground nuclear testing after September 1996.
Mr. Aitken : Assuming the current United States legislation is not amended, the prohibition on testing at Nevada will be lifted if another country tests after September 1996.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies his Department is undertaking regarding the testing of nuclear weapons without resort to underground nuclear testing.
Mr. Aitken : We have been involved with work on alternative technologies for proving nuclear warheads for many years. However, they are not at present an adequate substitute for underground testing.
US Energy Appropriation Laws
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the implications of the United States energy appropriation legislation for (a) the United Kingdom's Trident warhead programme, (b) the WE177 replacement programme and (c) the ability of the United Kingdom to develop new nuclear warheads.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : There are no implications for the Trident warhead programme, the tests for which have been completed. No decision has been taken on WE177 replacement, but development of a suitable warhead could be completed even assuming that we are unable to test beyond 1996. It remains our view that a minimum programme of testing is the best means of ensuring the continuing safety and credibility of our deterrent.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
East Timor
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Comonwealth Affairs if the Government will exert their influence in the European Community and the United Nations Security Council to urge the imposition of concerted trade sanctions against Indonesia until such time as a United Nations monitored referendum for independence is held in East Timor.
Mr. Goodlad : The Government do not believe that the imposition of trade sanctions against Indonesia would be an appropriate or effective way of promoting a solution to the East Timor question.
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Comonwealth Affairs what measures Her Majesty's Government have taken as current President of the European Community to advance Portugal's legal and political efforts to address the political and human rights situation in East Timor.
Mr. Goodlad : As current President of the Community, the United Kingdom has made representations and taken action with the Indonesians on the situation in East Timor on the basis of agreed Community views and policies. We have made clear continuing Community concerns about the human rights situation in East Timor and about disparity in the sentencing of those involved in last year's Dili incident. We have welcomed the recent resumption of a dialogue between Portugal and Indonesia, under the United Nations Secretary-General's auspices, about East Timor.
Nuclear Materials
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to raise the problems of clandestine nuclear materials sales and the import of red mercury from the Commonwealth of Independent States into the European Community in the next meeting of European political co-operation under his presidency.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : It is this Government's policy to take every appropriate opportunity to raise with other Governments the problem of sales of clandestine nuclear materials from the CIS and elsewhere. We discuss this issue both with our European partners and, in a wider context, with other nuclear suppliers.
Punjab and Kashmir
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of India regarding abuse of human rights by security forces in Punjab and Kashmir ; and what was their response.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Both bilaterally and with our European Community partners, we have regularly raised with the Indian Government our concerns about abuses by security forces in Punjab and Kashmir. They have told us of their determination to investigate allegations of abuses and to bring wrongdoers to justice, and that over 250 members of the security forces in Kashmir and Punjab have been punished.
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European Community
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals the United Kingdom has put to the European Council to make more transparent its decision-making processes in the European Communities.
Mr. Garel-Jones : As presidency, the United Kingdom proposed an initiative at the Birmingham European Council to increase transparency in the Community's decision-making processes. It was agreed that Foreign Ministers would come forward with suggestions before the Edinburgh European Council, including the possibility of some open Council discussion. The Commission also offered to consult more widely before proposing legislation.
Subsidiarity
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list (a) the existing and (b) the proposed legislative acts of the EC which he proposes to seek to have withdrawn as offending against the principle of subsidiarity.
Mr. Garel-Jones : It is too early to specify which items will pass or fail the subsidiarity test. We are working to put procedures in place in the Commission and Council to ensure all proposals for legislation in future comply with the principle of subsidiarity. The Birmingham declaration called for decisions on this at Edinburgh, where the Commission will also present the first results of its review of existing Community legislation.
EC General Affairs Council
Mrs. Angela Knight : 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 General Affairs Council on 21 September.
Mr. Hurd : I chaired an extraordinary session of the General Affairs Council in New York on 21 September. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs--my right hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones)--represented the United Kingdom. The Council met to consider the way forward after the French referendum on the treaty on European union. The Council noted that ratification procedures were well advanced in most member states and agreed the importance of a speedy and successful conclusion of the process, without reopening the present text, on the timing foreseen in article R of the treaty.
The Council welcomed the statement issued on 20 September by Economic and Finance Ministers meeting in Washington. Ministers agreed that the preoccupations which had been expressed in the wider debate in all member states over recent months should be addressed in the future internal and external development of Europe. They welcomed the presidency's decision to convene a special European Council in October to consider these issues.
The Council also welcomed the presidency's determination to make progress on other urgent business, including the completion of the single market and negotiations on the Community's finances. A copy of the declaration issued by the Council on21 September has been placed in the Library of the House.
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Foreign Affairs Council
Mr. Dickens : 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 5 and 6 October.
Mr. Hurd : I chaired the Foreign Affairs Council on 5 October with the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs--my right hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones)--representing the United Kingdom. My right hon. Friend took the chair for the session on 6 October, attended by my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade. Foreign Ministers received a report from the Committee of Permanent Representatives on work in hand to follow up the remit from the Lisbon European Council to undertake urgent work on procedural and practical steps to implement the principle of subsidiarity. It was agreed that COREPER should press on with this work, including the adoption of new procedures for addressing subsidiarity in the Council, and report back to the Foreign Affairs Council on 9 November. I also briefed colleagues on the presidency's objectives for the Birmingham Special European Council.
Ministers had a general discussion of the Commission's future financing proposals. I explained how the United Kingdom presidency intended to handle negotiations between now and the Edinburgh European Council.
The Council welcomed the Commission's opinions on the applications from Austria and Sweden to join the Community, and instructed work on the Community's general negotiation framework for the European Free Trade Association applicants to continue. The Council recalled the importance of developing relations with Turkey, Cyprus and Malta in accordance with the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council. Ministers discussed recent developments in the former Yugoslavia. They expressed full support for the efforts of Lord Owen and Mr. Vance, and agreed that the Community should continue to increase pressure on the Serbs, who were failing to honour the commitments given at the London conference. Ministers agreed on the need for increased help for refugees and displaced persons and called for an end to atrocities and for the investigation of war crimes. The Council discussed the Uruguay round and agreed that a final effort was needed to conclude the negotiations by the end of the year. It urged the Commission to continue to negotiate constructively and to report to the Birmingham European Council. The Council approved the Commission's mandate for negotiations with third countries for extension of the multi-fibre arrangement. The Council noted with concern the large number of anti- dumping and countervailing duty cases filed by US industry against EC steel products, and called for an early resumption of talks on the multilateral steel arrangement. The Council discussed the establishment of the single market in bananas, and re-affirmed the aim to renew agreement by the end of this year.
The Council agreed the negotiating directives for new partnership and co- operation agreements with the states of the former Soviet Union. The Council heard an account from my noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development on the visit of the troika of Development
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Ministers to Somalia. Ministers agreed a statement expressing sympathy for the victims of the air crash near Schiphol airport. Ministers met the Foreign Ministers of Poland, Hungary and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic in the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council and issued a joint statement welcoming the process of strengthening dialogue and co-operation between them.Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement in the Official Report on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council held on 20 July.
Mr. Hurd : I chaired the first Foreign Affairs Council of the United Kingdom presidency in Brussels on 20 July. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs--my right hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones)--represented the United Kingdom. The main item on the Council's agenda was the follow-up to the Lisbon European Council. I explained how the United Kingdom presidency intended to handle negotiations on the Community's finances over the next six months, and there was broad support for our approach. On subsidiarity, President Delors reported on the Commission's planned new working procedures and on its review of existing Community rules. The Council instructed the Committee of Permanent Representatives to examine possible new Council procedures. On enlargement, the Council agreed to consider the available Commission opinions on the European Free Trade Association applicants on 5 October. Ministers discussed a presidency paper on developing EC relations with Turkey. I briefed EC partners about the presidency's plans to invite the Foreign Ministers of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia to a meeting in the margins of the October Foreign Affairs Council and to host a meeting with Heads of State or Government of these countries in London on 28 October.
Ministers had a full discussion on the former Yugoslavia and issued a statement reaffirming their commitment to Lord Carrington's conference. I reported on my visit to the region. Ministers decided that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should not be regarded as the sole successor of the former Yugoslavia and that it should therefore be excluded from international bodies. Ministers agreed that an additional 120 mecu package of emergency EC aid should be made available immediately for use in the former Yugoslavia. They welcomed the decision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to convene an international conference on refugees in and from the former Yugoslavia. The Council adopted a Commission proposal to amend the seventh directive on aid to shipbuilding. It had a preliminary discussion of the Commission's negotiating mandates for partnership and co-operation agreements with the former Soviet Union. It also discussed the Commission's mandate for a revised co-operation agreement with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a proposal by the European Court of Justice to transfer a range of cases from its jurisdiction to that of the court of first instance.
Ministers agreed a statement marking the third anniversary of Aung San Suu Kyi's detention. I reported on plans to arrange a visit by the troika of Foreign Ministers to South Africa in early September. A Co-operation Council with Egypt was held in the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council.
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Nuclear Tests
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy towards a moratorium on United Kingdom nuclear tests.
Mr. Garel-Jones : Rather than declare unilateral moratoria, we believe the right approach is to restrain testing to the minimum level necessary to ensure the safety and credibility of nuclear weapons. In our case, this has meant testing less than once a year.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's assessment of the potential impact of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty on the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons arsenal.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We believe a limited programme of nuclear tests continues to be the best means of ensuring the safety and credibility of our nuclear deterrent.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the maximum number of underground nuclear tests that the United Kingdom is permitted to carry out under the terms of the United States energy appropriation legislation.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what restrictions are placed on the purposes for which the United Kingdom may conduct underground nuclear tests under the terms of the United States energy appropriation legislation.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy towards the negotiation of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Garel-Jones : We have always accepted the long-term goal of a comprehensive test ban, to be achieved on a step-by-step basis.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's assessment of the potential impact of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty on the prospects for agreement at the non-proliferation treaty extension conference in 1995.
Mr. Garel-Jones : The case for extension of the non-proliferation treaty stands irrespective of the state of progress towards a comprehensive test ban.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the United Kingdom will resume direct negotiations towards a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty.
Mr. Garel-Jones : When we believe it would be in the best interests of our security to do so.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the conditions under which the United Kingdom may be entitled to conduct a nuclear test under the terms of the United States energy appropriation legislation.
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Mr. Garel-Jones : The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act requires the United States President to determine that nuclear tests conducted by the United Kingdom are in the interests of United States national security.
Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what alternative sites are being considered by his Department for conducting underground nuclear tests.
EC Treaties
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those topics which under the current treaties of the European Community, as amended by the treaty on European union, will be within the exclusive competence of the Community, with an authority for each item on the list.
Mr. Garel-Jones : I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General's answer to his question of Tuesday 19 May 1992. The European Community has exclusive competence where that is conferred upon it by treaty provision or measures taken under the treaty. It is not possible to draw up an exhaustive theoretical list. Current examples include the common agricultural policy, the common commercial policy and the external tariff.
Human Rights Mission (China)
Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the forthcoming human rights mission to China by Lord Howe of Aberavon.
Mr. Goodlad : My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister proposed to Premier Li Peng in January that a delegation should visit China to exchange views on human rights issues and to study China's provisions and practices in this area. The Chinese People's Institute for Foreign Affairs has invited my right hon. and noble Friend Lord Howe to lead a delegation to China between 1 and 8 December. Lord Howe has invited three hon. Members and a number of experts in the relevant field to accompany him. Details of the programme are under discussion.
European Year of Elderly People
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek an increase in the budget allowed to the Commission for the European year of elderly people.
Sir John Cope : I have been asked to reply.
When the Budget Council met on 23 July, to establish its first reading draft budget for 1993, it agreed the figure of 3.5 million ecu for the programme for the elderly and the European year of older people and solidarity between generations, judging this to be appropriate provision for 1993.
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SCOTLAND
Anaesthetists
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by regional health board the current establishment requirement for anaesthetists ; and what is the number in post.
Mr. Allan Stewart : No establishment requirement figure is set by the Scottish Office. The numbers--whole-time equivalent--of consultant anaesthetists in post in Scotland at 30 September 1991, the latest date for which information is available, are given in the table :
Consultant anaesthetists in post by health
board
as at 30 September 1991
|Whole-time
|equivalent
--------------------------------------------
Scotland |294.9
Argyll and Clyde |15.6
Ayrshire and Arran |19.6
Borders |5.0
Dumfries and Galloway |6.5
Fife |14.0
Forth Valley |13.0
Grampian |26.9
Greater Glasgow |86.9
Highland |8.5
Lanarkshire |24.5
Lothian |47.8
Orkney |-
Shetland |-
Tayside |25.6
Western Isles |1.0
Water and Sewerage
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the members of his advisory committee on water, stating for each their relevant qualifications and any shareholdings held in the private water companies in England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro : My right hon. Friend has no advisory committee on water.
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to bring forward amendments to section 1(a) of the Water (Scotland) Act 1980 ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro : Alternative forms of organisation for water and sewerage services in Scotland are currently being considered. A consultation paper will be issued shortly.
Property Law Report
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to receive the report of the Scottish Law Commission on property law and abolition of the feudal system.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Scottish Law Commission is at present analysing responses received to its discussion paper No. 93, "Property Law : Abolition of the Feudal System", published in July 1991, and will publish a final report thereafter. Since several substantial issues have been raised by consultees, the commission is unable to give a precise indication of when the report will be available.
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