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Mr. Leigh : I have received a number of representations from interested parties and the general public concerning the Post Office review.
I have held meetings, or am due to hold meetings, with the following in connection with the review of the structure and organisation of the Post Office : the Post Office, the Post Office Users National Council, Union of Communication Workers, National Communications Union, Communications Managers Association, National Union of Civil and Public Servants, Post Office Unions Council, the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, the Association of International Courier and Express Services, TNT Express (UK), DHL International (UK) Ltd, Securicor Omega Express, Britdoc, Mail Users Association, Direct Marketing Association, Periodical Publishers' Association, British Printing Industries Federation, European Mail and Express Services Users Association.
In addition, my officials and the consultants appointed to advise the Government have met Business Post, Electronic Equipment Association, Mail Order Traders Association, BT, Girobank and other Government Departments.
A variety of published sources have been used as well as information provided by the Post Office and the Government.
Mr. French : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to publish the results of the review of the structure and organisation of the Post Office.
Mr. Leigh : The review is not yet complete. We will announce its conclusions in due course.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the limit he has announced on public sector pay increases for the current year is applicable to employees of (a) Parcelforce, (b) the Royal Mail and (c) Post Office Counters ; and what account will be taken of offers already made to representatives of staff.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 17 November 1992] : The pay policy announced by my right hon. Friend will apply to all public sector pay settlements over the next 12 months including those employed by public corporations such as the Post Office.
The recent formal pay offer made to Royal Mail employees with effect from 1 October this year will be honoured since negotiatiions have already been completed, but their October 1993 pay settlement will be constrained by the pay policy.
Ms. Estelle Morris : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what financial benefit accrued to Post Office
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Letters, Post Office Counters and Parcelforce as a result of their holiday from paying contributions as employer to the superannuation funds of their respective employees during each year since 1987.Column 228
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 17 November 1992] : The financial benefits accruing from reductions in the employer's contribution to the Post Office staff superannuation scheme for each year since 1987 are as follows :
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£ million
|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Royal Mail |Nil |13 |29 |106 |105
Post Office Counters |Nil |2 |5 |16 |15
Parcelforce |Nil |1 |2 |9 |8
There have been no reductions during this period to the employer's contribution to the Post Office pension scheme.
Ms. Estelle Morris : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what financial subventions other than a contributions holiday Post Office letters, Post Office Counters and Parcelforce have received from the superannuation funds of their respective employees.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 17 November 1992] : None.
Refuse-to-energy Incinerator, Belvedere
Mr. Evennett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to receive the inspector's report from the public inquiry into the proposed refuse-to-energy incinerator in Belvedere.
Mr. Eggar : The inquiry is still sitting. The timing of his report is a matter for the inquiry inspector.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Robathan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made towards achieving the Government's objective of working towards a figure of 1000 MW of electricity generating capacity from renewable energy sources by the year 2000 ; whether he expects that target to be met ; and what impact the non-fossil fuel obligation will have on its achievement.
Mr. Eggar : Contracts in England and Wales for more than 500 MW of new renewables-based generation capacity were signed in the first two rounds of the non-fossil fuel obligation, of which 185 MW should be operational by the end of the current financial year, with a further 350 MW scheduled for further years. Seven MW of that NFFO capacity have been withdrawn. Some 6 MW of new capacity were also contracted in Scotland under transitional arrangements. Further new NFFO capacity in England and Wales, capacity which might be expected under NFFO-type arangements in Scotland and in Northern Ireland, and some non-grid-connected capacity, will help the United Kingdom in working towards 1000 MW of new renewables-based capacity in the United Kingdom by the year 2000, as specified in the 1990 White Paper on the environment.
Mr. Robathan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects the renewable energy advisory group to submit its report ; and whether he will publish it.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 2 November 1992, Official Report, column 60 .
Mr. Robathan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment his Department has made of the
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availability beyond 1998 in other EC member states of financial support equivalent to the non-fossil fuel obligation.Mr. Eggar : The energy technology support unit, on behalf of the DTI, will be conducting a detailed assessment in the coming year of arrangements in other EC member states for the development of the market for electricity from renewable sources of energy. The assessment, which will cover any termination date for such support, will be published when completed.
Mr. Robathan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider decoupling incentives for renewable energy sources from support given to nuclear energy.
Mr. Eggar : Proceeds from the levy on almost all sales of electricity to final customers in England and Wales are used to fund the supply of electricity from both nuclear and renewable sources. However, this support for nuclear is not given at the expense of that for renewables. My Department is in discussion with the European Commission about support for renewables after 1998.
Environmental Auditing
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to prepare British enterprises for the introduction of EC environmental auditing standards.
Mr. Eggar : A proposal for an EC regulation which would introduce a voluntary environmental management and auditing scheme is presently under discussion by the EC Environment Council. The proposal, which has been the subject of extensive consultation with United Kingdom business, would permit appropriate industry standards for environmental management to be used as a basis for the scheme. In the United Kingdom, the British Standards Institution is currently piloting such a standard, BS7750, among some 150 businesses including a number of small firms. My Department has also initiated or participated in a number of seminars to alert businesses to the provisions of the EC scheme and the existence of BS7750.
Disconnections
Ms. Gordon : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give the number of disconnections of domestic (a) gas and (b) electricity supply during 1991 broken down into (i) standard region, (ii) utility region and (iii) local authority district.
Mr. Eggar : Disconnection figures are kept by the Office of Gas Supply, the Gas Consumers Council and the office
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of Electricity Regulation. However, I can confirm that 18,631 gas and 38,720 electricity customers were disconnected during 1991.Opencast Coal
Dr. Wright : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the annual level of production of opencast coal in England, Wales and Scotland in each year since 1983-84.
Mr. Eggar : The annual production of opencast coal in England, Wales and Scotland between 1983-84 and 1991-92 was as follows :
Thousand tonnes Year |England |Wales |Scotland |Total production ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1983-84 |10,221 |1,547 |3,031 |14,799 1984-85 |10,127 |1,738 |2,640 |14,550 1985-86 |10,009 |2,174 |3,081 |15,264 1986-87 |10,093 |1,523 |2,970 |14,586 1987-88 |11,352 |1,677 |3,347 |16,376 1988-89 |12,104 |1,748 |4,151 |18,003 1989-90 |12,413 |2,088 |4,115 |18,616 1990-91 |12,034 |1,865 |4,372 |18,271 1991-92 |11,605 |2,402 |5,012 |19,019
Mr. Eggar : The merger enabled the Department to reduce immediately the overhead costs of common functions and services and further rationalisations and savings continue to be made. These savings have been used to strengthen the Department's sponsorship of British industry through the creation of a number of sectoral divisions. No staff have been made redundant, although many are now doing different jobs within the Department and in response to the new priorities which Ministers have set.
Property Misdescriptions Act 1991
Mr. David Porter : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to implement the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991.
Mr. Leigh : My hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms has laid before Parliament today an order which will give effect to the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991. Finding the right property is never easy, and people need to be able to rely on what they are told about property offered for sale. Nobody wants to waste time travelling to view properties which, had the particulars been accurate, he or she would have ruled out as unsuitable.
The Property Misdescriptions (Specified Matters) Order 1992 lists those characteristics of property which it will be an offence to misdescribe. These "specified matters" cover most characteristics of property commonly included in estate agents' particulars of sale.
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The Act does not require information to be supplied in respect of these matters, but if an agent chooses to provide information then it must not be false or misleading.Offences under the Act will attract a maximum fine of £5,000 on conviction before a magistrates court and an unlimited fine on conviction before a Crown court. The Act will be enforced by local authority trading standards officers--in Northern Ireland, by officers of the Department of Economic Development trading standards branch. My hon. and noble Friend has also laid before Parliament today a further order under the Estate Agents Act 1979.
The Estate Agents (Specified Offences) (No. 2) (Amendment) Order 1992 adds offences under the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 to those offences which can give rise to the issue of prohibition or warning notices against estate agents by the Director General of Fair Trading.
Both orders will come into force on 4 April 1993.
Cosmetics (Animal Tests)
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the United Kingdom Government's position on proposals put forward by the European Parliament and Commission to phase out the use of animals to test cosmetics by 1 January 1998 when they were discussed by COREPER-- the Committee of Permanent Representatives in September.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 3 November 1992] : The United Kingdom position at the COREPER meeting on 16 September to discuss the proposed sixth council amendment to the directive on cosmetics was that tests on live animals for testing the safety of cosmetic ingredients should be phased out as soon as there are suitable validated alternatives. The Council has now reached a political agreement on a common position which includes a ban on the use of ingredients tested on animals after 1 January 1998, with a provision for the Commission to propose the postponement of the ban, in respect of the continuing need for particular tests, if alternative testing methods are not available by then.
Assisted Areas
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many of the representations he received to his consultation paper on assisted areas advocated (a) the creation of further development areas, (b) the creation of intermediate areas, (c) the maintenance of the status quo, (d) the reduction of development areas and (e) the reduction of intermediate areas.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 16 November 1992] : My ministerial colleagues and I have received a number of representations relating to particular areas. All have advocated either development or intermediate area status for their respective areas ; which may involve upgrading from non-assisted area status, upgrading of existing assisted areas status, or the maintenance of the status quo. No representations have advocated reduced coverage.
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British Coal
Mr. Churchill : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish details of the current level of public subsidy to British Coal, together with a schedule of payments made in each of the last 12 months, specifying on which vote these payments are borne.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 17 November 1992] : The current provision for assistance to the coal industry is contained in class V, vote 1 of the Supply estimates 1992-93. Section B of this vote provides for grant payments to British Coal in 1992-93 of £571.8 million. Grant payments since October 1991 have been as follows :
|£ million
-----------------------------------
October 1991 |33.6
November 1991 |42.8
December 1991 |39.2
January 1992 |51.3
February 1992 |35.8
March 1992 |133.2
April 1992 |203.2
May 1992 |95.9
June 1992 |14.2
July 1992 |30.9
August 1992 |46.4
September 1992 |53.2
In addition to Government financial support, British Coal has been benefiting from the high margins, over and above world market prices, that the electricity generators pay for their coal supplies from the corporation. Under present contracts, which have been operating since April 1990, this assistance amounts to about £1 billion annually.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Sheep Dip
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of adverse human reactions to organophosphorus sheep dip have been reported in the last two years.
Mr. Soames : During 1991, a total of 135 reports involving suspected human adverse reactions to organophosphorus sheep dips were received. For 1992, a total of 121 reports have been received up to 9 November. A significant proportion of the reports received since 1990 are historical cases where a suspected adverse reaction had occurred more than one year previously.
Diet
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the figures of consumption of essential foods for a healthy diet, for families with children under five years in (a) the richest income groups and (b) the poorest income groups ; and if he will subdivide these figures by region.
Mr. Soames : All foods can be components of a healthy diet. No single food is essential. It is the overall balance of foods--and so of nutrients--which is important. The Ministry's national food survey does not separate families with children under five from families with older children, but the results do indicate that in general the diets of
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families in all income groups and regions contain adequate levels of minerals and vitamins, but rather more fat and less fibre than that recommended by the Chief Medical Officer's Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy in its report on dietary reference values published in 1991. As part of a separate study, the Government are currently measuring the diets and health status of children under five years in all regions and income groups. It is planned to publish the results from this in 1994.Pesticides
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he gives on the use of chemicals to control aphis gossypii ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : The melon and cotton aphid--Aphis gossypii--has become a significant problem in some edible and ornamental glasshouse crops because of its ability to develop resistance to certain chemical pesticides. The Agricultural Development Advisory Service advises growers that effective chemical control is possible by the approved use of nicotine aphicides. Non-chemical controls, such as the controlled use of predatory and parasitic organisms, have also proved to be effective for some crops. The Ministry and the Horticultural Development Council are currently funding a number of research projects aimed at improving and developing such biological controls.
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make representations to the pesticide industry to ensure that compensation is paid to victims of drinking water contaminated with atrazine and simazine.
Mr. Soames : The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides concluded in May that levels of atrazine and simazine found in water do not endanger the health of consumers at the concentrations found in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the chief inspector of the drinking water inspectorate, in his report for 1991, concluded that the amounts of pesticides ingested in drinking water were far smaller than the amounts which are known to be harmful or likely to cause harm. There is, therefore, no justification for representations of the kind suggested.
Foxes
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many complaints his Department has received in each of the last five years on fox predation.
Mr. Soames : There is no requirement to notify the Department of instances of fox predation. Those suffering losses of livestock, poultry of game, are free to exercise control as long as they do not use a prohibited method.
Abattoirs
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has to offer grant aid to abattoirs to meet latest EC standards ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : The Department has no plans to offer grant aid to abattoirs which need to upgrade to meet the new EC standards. Compliance with statutory requirements has never brought with it any guarantee of help to defray the costs
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involved. The provision of grant aid would be quite unfair on those who have already made the commitment of their own funds to come up to standard.Private Detectives
Mr. Denham : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions since 1979 his Department has engaged private detective agencies to investigate the activities of British citizens ; and if he will list the date and purpose of each investigation.
Mr. Curry : None. The only use of such agencies by the Department since 1979 has been for the purpose of tracing debtors. Such use ceased in 1987. Information as to the dates and cases is not available centrally and its extraction from the files would be disproportionate in time and resources.
Agriculture Council
Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Agriculture Council held on 16 and 17 November.
Mr. Gummer : I chaired this meeting of the Council at which my hon. Friend the Minister of State in my Department represented the United Kingdom.
The Council discussed the general agreement on tariffs and trade Uruguay round and the EC/US oilseeds dispute in the light of well-publicised, negative comments from some parts of the Community. Following a vigorous discussion, I was able to record unanimous agreement in the Council that the Commissioner should negotiate with the United States consistently within the conclusions of the recent Birmingham summit. These provide for the Commission to be instructed actively to pursue a settlement. I understand negotiations will in fact resume later today.
The Council agreed a 7 per cent. devaluation of the green pound to take effect immediately. This is a necessary step since charges on intra- community trade, like monetary compensatory amounts, will not be possible in the single market from 1 January 1993, and the knowledge that green and market rates will be aligned by that date was acting as an incentive to speculation. The move will be widely welcomed by British farmers ; when fully worked through it will add less than 1 per cent. to the food price index.
The Council also agreed the principal regulation on the control of payments under the reformed common agricultural policy. This is a major step toward combating the possibility of fraud in the new system.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Exchange Rate
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what details he has of the exchange controls in force in other EC countries.
Mr. Nelson : The 1988 capital liberalisation directive (88/361/EEC) prohibits exchange controls between member states, except in certain limited circumstances. However, four member states--Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain--enjoy a derogation which allows them to
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retain certain restrictions. In the case of Ireland and Spain, the remaining restrictions are due to be lifted by the end of this year. In the case of Portugal and Greece, the restrictions may be retained up to the end of 1995 if the Council agrees an extension to their derogations.Deputy Secretaries
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials at deputy secretary level in the Treasury (a) have a degree in economics (b) were educated at state schools and (c) went to Oxbridge, as a percentage of all deputy secretaries in the Treasury.
Mr. Nelson : Of the Treasury officials at grade 2--deputy secretary- -level, 50 per cent. have a degree in economics, 50 per cent. were educated at state schools and 33 per cent. went to Oxbridge.
Private Detectives
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use his Department has made of private detectives in each of the last five years ; at what cost ; and if he will list the firms involved.
Bank of England
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the job specification of the Governor of the Bank of England ; and if he will make a statement of his previous experience and professional qualifications.
Mr. Nelson : The Bank of England Act 1946 and the Bank's charter provide for the office of Governor. The charter requires the Governor to render his exclusive services to the bank.
The present Governor is a qualified lawyer and has served as a director and chairman of a number of industrial, commercial and financial companies.
VAT
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of VAT which will be paid in respect of community care.
Sir John Cope : No such estimate has been made, but no change in the tax on domiciliary care is anticipated as a result of the transfer of resourcing from DSS to local authorities.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much VAT was collected in 1991-92 on domiciliary care charges.
Sir John Cope : No estimates have been made of the VAT collected on domiciliary care charges.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the criteria for exemption from VAT.
Sir John Cope : VAT is a wide-ranging tax on consumer expenditure with strictly limited reliefs. Exemptions from VAT are provided for under schedule 6 to the Value Added Tax Act 1983. They refelct the United Kingdom's obligations under article 13 of the EC sixth VAT directive, subject to the transitional derogations in article 28. Article 13 specifies two categories :
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A. Exemptions for certain activities in the public interest, for example health, education, postal services.B. Other exemptions.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will seek an amendment to the EC sixth directive in order to remove all domiciliary care costs from VAT.
Sir John Cope : My right hon. Friend has no plans to seek such an amendment.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research has been done to identify and quantify the effect on the level of VAT and excise revenue resulting from the introduction of the single market on1 January 1993.
Sir John Cope : The Cecchini report assessed the benefits of introducing a single European market. It did not specifically address the impact on VAT and excise revenues. It estimated that, in the medium-term, the single market could boost gross domestic product growth across the European Community by an average of 4.5 per cent. Growth of this order would provide a significant boost to VAT and excise receipts.
The introduction of the single market may give rise to some revenue loss in the United Kingdom. We estimate that the increase in cross-border shopping resulting from the abolition of intra-EC travellers' allowances will give rise to a revenue loss of around £250 million.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans Customs and Excise have to issue a VAT payers charter setting out standards of service to VAT payers.
Sir John Cope : The taxpayers charter, which was launched jointly by Customs and Excise and Inland Revenue, initially in 1986, and updated in 1991, sets out standards that taxpayers, including payers of VAT, can expect. In addition, Customs and Excise launched its VAT charter standard document on 22 September 1992. It sets out in more detail service standards for VAT.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many additional VAT inspectors' posts were identified by the Customs and Excise 1991-92 management plan as being necessary to deal with increased potential for VAT fraud under the single market ; how many will actually be appointed ; and if he will make a statement : (2) how far Customs and Excise will be able to give extra attention to those businesses involved in intra-EC trade without reducing the number of visits and controls to those traders not involved in inter-EC trade.
Sir John Cope : The 1991-92 management plan did not quantify the additional posts to be allocated for reinforcing controls on intra- Community traders. Some 200 new posts will be created for control visiting in 1993-94. It will be for local managers to determine how best to deploy these relative to all revenue risks, whether flowing from the single market or not. Overall, Customs and Excise expects that control of the new arrangements for intra-EC trade, together with closer attention to the interpretation of VAT liability law, will increase the move towards longer and more thorough visits, and reduce to some extent the coverage of less risky traders.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action is being taken to ensure that
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