| Previous Section | Home Page |
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Beef Premium
Mr. Hanson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of the arrangements for payment of beef premium from 1 January 1993.
Mr. Curry : Commission legislation giving effect to the new premium scheme is still in the course of preparation and arrangements for its application in the United Kingdom cannot therefore be finalised. I recognise the need for some form of transitional arrangement so that the provision of animals for slaughter is not interrupted in the early months of the year, but this is still to be negotiated.
Agriculture Council
Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Agriculture Council held on 26 and 27 October.
Mr. Gummer : I chaired the meeting of the Council of Agriculture Ministers in Luxembourg on 26 and 27 October. My hon. Friends the Minister of State in my Department and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Scotland represented the United Kingdom. Following a short discussion on GATT I confirmed on behalf of the Community, that the Commission should
Column 683
attempt urgently to seek an accommodation with the United States on the Uruguay round and the oilseeds dispute following the mandates already given by the Council and using the Commission's powers under the treaty of Rome. I understand talks will resume shortly. Progress was made on a wide range of other issues dealing with the implementation of CAP reform and of the single market. Decisions will be needed on these before the end of year.Bananas
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the relationship between the single market for bananas and (a) the Lome convention and (b) GATT negotiations in the Uruguay round.
Mr. Curry : The Government are determined that the arrangements for the single market in bananas should meet its Lome convention obligations, whilst being compatible with a successful outcome to the GATT Uruguay round.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the division of licences on the single market for bananas amongst (a) Latin American producers, (b) the Association of Caribbean Producers and (c) European Community producers.
Mr. Curry : Negotiations are continuing on single market arrangements for bananas. No agreement has yet been reached. The Commission proposal would require licensing of all fruit from non-EC and non-ACP sources and of imports from ACP origins that exceed traditional volumes of trade. The detailed provisions for licence allocation are complex but would broadly distribute 66.5 per cent. of the total on the basis of past trade in non-EC and non-ACP fruit ; 30 per cent. would be available to operators who undertook to market a related quantity of EC or ACP fruit ; 3.5 per cent. would be available to newcomers to the trade.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement concerning the level of banana exports to the European Community in 1993 from (a) Caribbean exporters and (b) Latin American exporters.
Mr. Curry : The precise level of banana exports to the European Community in 1993 will depend on many factors. Negotiations on the bananas dossier are continuing and it is therefore not possible, at this stage, to forecast the level of imports in 1993 from either the Caribbean or Latin America.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to what extent (a) Caribbean, (b) Latin American and (c) European Community producers will have access to banana markets under the single market system.
Mr. Curry : Negotiations are continuing on single market arrangements for bananas. The Commission's proposals would apply a quota to all imports of bananas from non-EC and non-ACP sources, including Latin America ; non-traditional volumes from ACP sources would also be covered ; EC and ACP supplies would continue free of duty ; all others would face a 20 per cent. duty. No agreement has so far been reached regarding the single market arrangements.
Column 684
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans Her Majesty's Government have for the maintenance of an orderly market at the start of 1993 if the single market for bananas is not fully in place.
Mr. Curry : The Government are working hard to secure agreement on a common organisation of the market in bananas by the end of this year. We shall be discussing with the Commission and other member states what arrangements may be necessary at the start of 1993 in the light of developments in the negotiations.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the responsibilities of Her Majesty's Government to Commonwealth banana exporters as a result of the Lome convention.
Mr. Curry : The Lome convention imposes obligations on all EC member states. In particular, article 1 of protocol 5 of that convention states :
"In respect of its banana exports to the Community markets, no ACP State shall be placed, as regards access to its traditional markets and its advantages on those markets, in a less favourable situation than in the past or at present."
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement concerning the establishment of a quota system under the single market for bananas.
Mr. Curry : The Commission has proposed a system for the common organisation of the Community banana market based on an absolute quota on imports from non-EC and non-ACP sources, and on ACP supplies above traditional levels. This proposal provides the basis for the negotiations between member states that are currently under way.
Geopathic Stress
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research his Department is currently carrying out into geopathic stress ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : The Department currently spends about £50 million a year on agricultural research relevant to environmental problems. Details are given in the MAFF publication "Scientific Research and Development : The Environment", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
CAP Reforms
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what consideration was given to introducing the common agricultural policy reforms over more than one year ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) when more information about the detail of the common agricultural policy reforms will be made available to farmers ; (3) what representations he has received about the speed of the common agricultural policy reforms.
Mr. Curry : The Ministry is in regular contact with representatives of consumer, farming and environmental organisations to discuss all aspects of the common agricultural policy reforms, which are being phased in over a four-year period. An explanatory booklet on the arable
Column 685
scheme was sent to farmers at the beginning of September ; a copy was placed in the Library of the House. Discussion of detailed rules for the reformed beef and sheepmeat regimes is still continuing ; farmers will be given information on these as soon as it is available.Eggs
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to introduce salmonella testing on eggs imported into the United Kingdom from the EC and marketed in the United Kingdom as packed in the United Kingdom, before such eggs are introduced into the retail market.
Mr. Soames : Imported eggs are already subject to salmonella testing and where positive results are found these are pursued with the exporting member state. To delay the distribution of such eggs would be a clear breach of European Community law.
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to fix a date for ending salmonella testing on laying flocks to bring the United Kingdom into line with the rest of the EC.
Mr. Soames : The package of measures introduced by the Government to combat salmonella in poultry, including the testing of laying flocks, has been an important factor in helping to restore confidence in British eggs.
We shall continue to keep these measures under review, taking account of the progress being made in Brussels towards the introduction of Communitywide measures for the control of salmonella in poultry.
Suckler Cows and Sheep
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what will be the base year for suckler cows and sheep used to establish the quota for herds and flocks.
Mr. Curry : For suckler cow premium, the Government have chosen to base quotas on claims in respect of the 1992 marketing year. For ewe premium, individual producers will receive quota equal to their eligible sheep numbers in 1991, provided they also made a valid claim in 1992. However, the total quota available to the United Kingdom industry will be based on the number of eligible animals in the national flock in 1990. The difference between the 1991 and 1990 numbers--some 320,000 ewes--will be used to create the national ewe premium quota reserve.
These decisions provide the United Kingdom suckler cow and sheep industries with the maximum quota permitted under the Council regulations.
Milk
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements he intends to make to fund the individual farmer for milk recording under the new system in place of the milk marketing board.
Mr. Curry : I understand that the Milk Marketing Board envisages that its proposed successor co-operative would continue to offer a milk recording service. This would be available to non-members on a commercial basis. It will be open to other organisations to offer competing services.
Column 686
PRIME MINISTER
Libya
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with President Bush over the circumstances surrounding the imposition of sanctions by the United Nations against Libya ; and what plans Her Majesty's Government have to raise the issues surrounding Lockerbie at the United Nations.
The Prime Minister : The Government have worked closely with the American administration on all aspects of the Lockerbie case, including United Nations Security Council resolutions 731 and 748.
Bloodstock
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Prime Minister if he will institute an interdepartmental review of the case for reducing the level of value added tax on bloodstock in the United Kingdom to reduce the difference between the United Kingdom rate and the rates levied in France and Ireland.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 26 October 1992] : The Government recognise the regional economic importance of the bloodstock industry. My right hon. Friend the Paymaster General has worked hard with industry representatives to ensure that it is not significantly disadvantaged by the continued difference in VAT rates between member states. The introduction of the flat rate farmers' scheme and a 0.75 per cent. cut in betting duty in the 1992 Budget will help to secure the right environment in which the industry can compete successfully.
Ministers receive many well-argued cases for tax relief, many of which appear at least as deserving of a reduced rate as bloodstock. The Government believe that their long-standing policy of a VAT system based on a zero rate and a single positive rate is simple for all traders and cheap to administer.
Pit Closures
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received from the General Secretary of the TUC about pit closures ; and what reply he is sending.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 26 October 1992] : Following British Coal's announcement of pit closures on 13 October the General Secretary of the TUC, Mr. Willis, wrote to me on 15, 17 and 20 October.
In replying, I noted that the issues he raised had been addressed in Parliament on a number of occasions and that we looked forward to the TUC's contribution to the widespread consultation announced by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.
Mr. Willis also wrote to me twice on 26 October. I shall reply to these letters shortly.
Column 687
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Departmental Offices
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement about (a) the timetable, (b) the location, (c) the space requirement and (d) the cost of the provision of new office accommodation for his Department.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend is considering the future location of the Department, which requires approximately 70,000 sq ft of useable space. He expects to make an announcement on the matter in due course and the Department will then move to its new headquarters as soon as possible.
Appointments
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list all the names of public appointments that he has made, giving the period for which the appointment was made, relevant qualifications of the appointee and what remuneration each currently receives.
Mr. Key : The Department of National Heritage is still in the process of setting up central records and the information required to answer this question is not yet centrally available.
National Lottery
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage whether a national lottery will be classified by the Government as gambling.
Column 688
Mr. Brooke : The Government made it quite clear in the White Paper "A National Lottery : Raising Money for Good Causes", Cm. 1861, that lotteries, including the national lottery, represent the "softest" form of gambling. Properly regulated, the national lottery will provide a harmless form of entertainment.
Exhibition, Upper Waiting Hall
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Royal Armouries' new museum in Leeds to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.
Mr. Key : I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Administration Committee, arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from 26 to 30 October 1992.
Tourism
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many (a) foreign and (b) domestic visitors are estimated to have been to (i) the Tower of London, (ii) Hampton Court and (iii) Greenwich in each of the years from 1987 to 1991 ; and how many are expected to visit each in 1992, 1993 and 1994.
Mr. Key : The figures for estimates of the number of visitors to the Tower of London, Hampton Court and Greenwich are published annually by the British tourist authority and the English tourist board. These figures, which are set out in the table, are not compiled on a foreign/domestic visitor basis.
Column 687
|1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tower of London |2,289,400|2,181,700|2,214,000|2,298,700
Hampton Court |590,600 |533,000 |538,800 |521,000 |502,400
Cutty Sark, Greenwich |375,700 |401,000 |360,100 |411,000 |437,500
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich |442,000 |707,400 |423,800 |563,000 |587,900
Figures rounded to the nearest hundred.
There are no projected figures for the period 1992 to 1994.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Home Carers
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to exempt home carers from obligations for classified business miles payments, for education purposes.
Mr. Dorrell : I am very much aware of the important and valuable service provided by home carers. If carers receive motor mileage allowances in respect of business journeys or volunteer driving, no tax is payable if the allowances do no more than cover their costs. The allowances are liable to tax only if the allowances exceed actual costs and so result in a profit. If, however, the hon. Member is concerned about the tax treatment given in a particular case, I would be happy to look into it if he would let me have the usual details.
Column 688
Fraud
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has saved from the investigation of fraud in the latest year for which figures are available ; and what are the targeted savings for the next financial year.
Mr. Dorrell : Such information is not available. But in the year 1991-92 the direct yield from Inland Revenue counter-evasion work was some £1.4 billion, excluding any future or deterrent effects.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number of people prosecuted for fraud by his Department in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Dorrell : The number of successful Inland Revenue prosecutions for false accounts or returns of income, false claims to personal allowances, deductions or repayments, false PAYE returns, and sub- contractor exemption certificate frauds, in the year 1991-92 was 167.
Column 689
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number of whole-time equivalent staff employed by the Inland Revenue to detect and prosecute fraud ; and what is the cost of their employment.
Mr. Dorrell : During the year 1991-92 a total of 3,600 staff units were employed by the Inland Revenue in the detection and prosecution of possible or actual tax evasion, including fraud. The cost of their employment was some £115 million.
Mortgages (Negative Equity)
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of mortgages in England with negative equity, and the number who will benefit directly from the recently announced changes in limits to unsecured loans and MIRAS entitlement.
Mr. Nelson : Estimates of the number of households with negative equity have varied considerably. A figure of around 1 million for the United Kingdom was published in the August edition of the "Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin".
The number of those who will benefit directly from the measures recently announced by the Government will depend on a range of factors, including the proportion of them who wish to move ; the way in which they choose to go about it ; their personal circumstances ; the attitude of their lender ; and the extent to which mortgage indemnity insurance can be transferred. In practice, the number of potential beneficiaries is likely to be in the tens of thousands.
EC Contributors
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the net contributors to the EC and the amount they each contribute ; and if he will list the net recipients of funds from the EC and how much each receives.
Sir John Cope : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Southend, East (Sir T. Taylor) on 22 June 1992, at column 5 .
Research and Development
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated amount currently being spent on all forms of research and development excluding defence ; and what were the comparable figures for 1982 and 1972.
Mr. Nelson : The available information for 1990 is given in table 2.2.2 of the "Annual Review of Government Funded Research and Development 1992", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Figures for 1989 were published in the 1991 edition. Information for 1982 and 1972 on a comparable basis is not available.
Housing Associations
Ms. Walley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has made to representations from the National Federation of Housing Associations about the retention of the £2 billion grant for housing associations ; and if he will make it his policy that no cuts in expenditure will be made to the budget for the west midlands.
Column 690
Mr. Portillo : It would not be appropriate for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor to respond in detail to representations in advance of his autumn statement on 12 November.
Fact-finding Visits
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the fact-finding visits made in the last 12 months by the chief executive of each executive agency for which he is responsible ; and what were the findings resulting from each visit.
Mr. Nelson : The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executives of the Royal Mint, Central Statistical Office and Valuation Office executive agencies. I have asked each of them to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from W. McLennan chief executive of the Central Statistical Office to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 28 October 1992.
I have been asked to reply direct to question No. 49, which you tabled for answer on 26 October 1992.
Neither I, nor my predecessor, Sir Jack Hibbert, have made any official fact-finding visits in the last twelve months.
Letter from R. R. B. Shutter, chief executive of the Valuation Office Agency to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 27 October 1992 In your question to the Chancellor ref : 3/0470 you ask for a note of the factfinding visits made in the last year by Chief Executives :
The principal factfinding visits made by me are as follows :
Visit |Objective
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visits to Annual Conference |To hear staff views on pay,
and other meetings of the | conditions of service and other
Trade Unions representing | issues, and to make "state of
Agency staff. | affairs" speech at the
| Conference.
Visits to regional meetings of |To give an account of issues
managers and staff in the |facing the Agency and to hear
network | staff views.
Visits to meetings of the Royal |To give an Agency view on
Institution of Chartered | technical and management
Surveyors, other professional | matters; to present prizes and
bodies and management | awards and give advice to
seminars. | students.
Visits to meetings of other Chief |To give an Agency view on public
Executives. | sector management issues and
| to hear views of colleagues.
Visits to (and with) various |On customer relations (attitude
Management Consultants. | survey of VO customers), on Council Tax (tendering ar-
| rangements and also financial
| appraisal of tendering firms)
| and on pay and performance
| management (in preparation
| for new pay agreement with
| Unions).
I am at your disposal if further assistance is required. Letter from A. D. Garrett, chief executive of the Royal Mint, to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 26 October 1992.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to respond to your Written Questions.
I can confirm that I have made no factfinding visits and have published no papers in the last 12 months.
Executive Agencies
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for the last 12 months, the titles of papers published by the chief executive of each executive agency for which he is responsible.
Column 691
Mr. Nelson : The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executives of the Royal Mint, Central Statistical Office and Valuation Office executive agencies. I have asked each of them to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from R. R. B. Shutler, chief executive of the Valuation Agency, to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 27 October 1992.
In your question to the Chancellor ref : 3/0458 you ask for a note of the papers given or published by Chief Executives during the last year.
Apart from speeches to professional bodies, the only articles or papers written by me are :
"Keeping an eye on the recession" GTI Surveying Journal (advice to students)
"Spread of experience" GTI Surveying Journal
(article for students on career progression)
(GTI=Graduates to Industry)
Valuation Office, Business Plan 1992-93
(my plans for the Agency, the current year)
Annual Report 1991-92
(my appreciation of the outturn for last year)
Please let me know if I can assist further.
Letter from W. McLennan, chief executive of the Central Statistical Office, to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 28 October 1992. I have been asked to reply direct to question no. 75 which you tabled for answer on 23 October 1992.
2. A paper titled Official Statistics in the UK : is there cause for concern, by my predecessor Sir Jack Hibbert, was published in Statistical News No. 96, Spring 1992.
Letter from A. D. Garrett, chief executive of the Royal Mint, to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 26 October 1992
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to respond to your Written Questions.
I can confirm that I have made no factfinding visits and have published no papers in the last 12 months.
| Next Section
| Home Page |