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Computer Games
Mr. French : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will refer computer games manufacturers to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Investigation of anti-competitive practices or monopolistic behaviour is the responsibility of the Director General of Fair Trading. The director general makes references to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission where he considers it appropriate.
Directors' Emoluments
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has to examine a sample of company accounts for compliance with the Companies Acts requirements for disclosures on directors' emoluments.
Auditors
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 6 November, Official Report, column 439 , what action he has taken against Ernst and Young for the audit failures identified by the inspectors.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Copies of the reports have been forwarded to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will seek to amend the Register of Auditors and Information about Audit Firms Regulation 1991 to require the recognised supervisory bodies to record criticisms by the DTI inspectors against the relevant firm's name.
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Companies Acts Inspectors
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 4 November, Official Report, column 310 , if he will indicate the amount paid to each of the Guinness inspectors.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The amounts paid are as follows :
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|Total |Fees |Disbursements
|£ |£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D. Donaldson, QC |328,000 |285,000 |43,000
I. G. Watt, FCA, CBE |1,435,000 |1,185,000 |250,000
Transcripts of trials (paid direct) |30,000 |- |-
|----- |----- |-----
Total cost of inspection to end October 1992 |1,793,000 |1,470,000 |293,000
All figures include VAT. The fees paid to Mr. Watt include charges for support services provided by KPMG Peat Marwick.
Company Accounts
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby on 3 November, Official Report, column 139, if he will provide the names of the three companies whose accounts he has referred to the financial reporting review panel ; and what has been the outcome of such referral.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : No. In the interest of fairness the panel does not disclose the names of the companies it inquires into while the inquiries are in train and it normally announces its findings only when it has reached an adverse conclusion. I understand that in one of the three cases the panel concluded that no action was called for and the other two are under consideration. A copy of the procedures of the panel was placed in the Library of the House in June 1991.
Auditing Standards
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to appoint an inquiry into the setting of auditing standards in the United Kingdom.
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Mr. Neil Hamilton : I have no such plans.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has for legislation under which company auditors would owe a duty of care to creditors.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I have no such proposals.
Post Office
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the present methods of financing capital expenditure employed by the Post Office and its subsidiaries ; and what changes are proposed following the autumn statement.
Mr. Leigh : The Post Office and its subsidiaries finance capital expenditure from internally generated funds. No changes are proposed following the autumn statement.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the capital expenditure of the Post Office and each of its subsidiaries for each of the last five years ; and what are the projections for the current year.
Mr. Leigh : Capital expenditure of the Post Office group and its principal constituent businesses for each of the last five years, as stated in the annual accounts, was as follows :
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£ million
|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Group |131.3 |173.5 |257.5 |335 |269
Letters/Parcels |101.3 |131.4 |197.8 |257 |-
Royal Mail |- |- |- |- |189
Parcelforce |- |- |- |- |30
Post Office Counters |13.3 |21.6 |21.3 |40 |44
Girobank |13.6 |12.6 |10.2 |- |-
Notes:
1. Separate accounts for Royal Mail and Parcelforce first published
in 1991-92.
2. Girobank sold in July 1990.
Projected capital expenditure of the Post Office Group for 1992-93 is £344 million in total the breakdown between the principal constituent businesses remains commercially confidential.
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Mr. Vaz : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he was first informed of the costs of the liquidation of BCCI.
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Mr. Neil Hamilton : My officials have been made aware at various times since the winding-up order on 14 January 1992 of some of the detailed aspects of the cost of the liquidation of BCCI. Detailed figures given to the House by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury on 6 November 1992, Official Report, column 593, were supplied to my officials by the Touche Ross liquidators on 5 November 1992.
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Defence Industries
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what initiatives have been taken by the Government since 1990 to encourage the arms and defence industries in the north west region to diversify into other areas.
Mr. Sainsbury : Diversification is essentially a matter for the commercial judgment of the companies concerned. My Department helps them with its wide range of programmes, including those in the enterprise initiative and "Managing into the 90s". A special seminar was held in Blackburn on 12 May 1992. The north west is benefiting from four projects under the European Community's PERIFRA scheme.
Coal Industry
Mr. Cummings : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement concerning his discussions with British Coal and the power generators on the provision of British Coal mined coal for the generating market prior to the announced closure of 31 coal mines.
Mr. Eggar : As my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade made clear to the House on 19 October, Official Report, columns 205- 7, he was advised by British Coal before the closures were announced of the need to end production at the pits concerned in order to bring supply in line with demand.
Mr. Cummings : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement concerning the recent planning application by British Coal to demolish certain buildings at Easington colliery while this colliery is in the review procedure.
Mr. Eggar : I understand that British Coal made an application on 15 October to demolish certain buildings at Easington colliery ; and that following my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade's announcement on 19 October of a moratorium in respect of 21 pits, which include Easington, British Coal has suspended further action in respect of this application.
Mr. Cummings : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the mining consultants Boyd's was requested to assess the viability of the 10 collieries currently in the review process and due to close in January 1993 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : Last year John T. Boyd Company was asked to assess the viability of 28 collieries, chosen by British Coal on a representative basis. Of the collieries studied, five are among the 10 collieries which have subsequently become subject to statutory consultation. The five pits are Betws, Parkside, Trentham, Grimethorpe and Houghton Main.
Mr. Lewis : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total amount of opencast coal produced in each year since 1979.
Mr. Eggar : The total amount of opencast coal produced since 1979 was as follows :
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|c|Opencast production|c| Year |Thousand tonnes ------------------------------------------------ 1979 |12,862 1980 |15,779 1981 |14,828 1982 |15,266 1983 |14,706 1984 |14,306 1985 |15,569 1986 |14,275 1987 |15,786 1988 |17,899 1989 |18,657 1990 |18,134 1991 |18,620 Source: Table A6 of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 1992.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the amount of coal from opencast operations for each of the last five years.
Mr. Eggar : The amount of opencast coal produced during the last five years was as follows :
<
Year |Opencast production
|(thousand tonnes)
------------------------------------------------------------
1987 |15,786
1988 |17,899
1989 |18,657
1990 |18,134
1991 |18,620
Source: Table 12 of the Digest of United Kingdom Energy
Statistics 1992.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the amount of coal from deep mine operations in each of the last five years.
Mr. Eggar : The amount of deep-mined coal produced during the last five years was as follows :
Year |Deep-mined
|production
|(thousand tonnes)
------------------------------------------------------
1987 |85,957
1988 |83,762
1989 |79,628
1990 |72,899
1991 |73,357
Source: Table 12 of the Digest of United Kingdom
Energy Statistics 1992.
Development Area Status
Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider the request for the restoration of development area status from Wansbeck district council before the conclusion of the current coal industry inquiry.
Mr. Sainsbury : I am considering all the representations that have been submitted in the current review of the assisted areas map, including the request by Wansbeck district council. Our decision about the Morpeth and
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Ashington travel-to-work area, about which the council is concerned, will be announced when the new assisted areas map as a whole is designated.Assisted Areas
53. Mr. Charles Kennedy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his timetable for his review of the assisted area status map ; what parliamentary proceedings will be involved ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 30 October 1992] : I refer the hon. Member to the consultation document on the review of the assisted area map issued on 9 June 1992.
Section 1(7) of the Industrial Development Act 1982 specified the necessary Parliamentary proceedings. Subject to this minimum requirement the Government will decide on the most appropriate parliamentary proceedings in due course.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
122. Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what representations he has received regarding the outcome of the London- Cardiff review of the Export Credits Guarantee Department carried out by the ECGD board of management ; when he expects to make a decision on the board's recommendations ; and if he will make a statement ;
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(2) what consideration is being given to the board of management of the Export Credits Guarantee Department's review concerning the London-Cardiff review of ECGD operations.Mr. Needham [holding answer 19 November 1992] : I have endorsed the recommendation of the ECGD management board that three should be no major change to the distribution of functions between London and Cardiff for at least three years.
Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade for how many years his Department keeps records of export credit guarantees before shredding or other means of disposal.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 24 November 1992] : The Export Credits Guarantee Department keeps records of each of its guarantees for as long as it has a potential liability under that guarantee, and for a period thereafter which varies according to the nature and details of the case.
Tobacco
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the volume of tobacco imports in pound million and kilos for each year from 1979-80.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 19 November 1992] : The information is given in the table.
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Year |Imports |Average annual
|percentage change
|over previous
|period
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |2,700,692 |n.a.
1990 |3,820,593 |7.2
1991 |4,011,752 |5.0
1992 |3,979,761 |-0.8
Covers imports of all United Kingdom steel industry products.
n.a.= not applicable.
Source:Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are his best projections of the impact of the single European market on tobacco imports ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 19 November 1992] : I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given on 9November 1992 by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General, to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn), Official Report, column 544 .
Policy Initiatives
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the initiatives which he has taken on EC regional policy during the British Presidency of the EC ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 23 November 1992] : The immediate and overriding issue concerning EC regional policy is the size of the budget for the cohesion and structural funds for the period from January 1994. The United Kingdom Presidency hopes that agreement on this and the other aspects of the future financing of the Community from 1993 will be agreed at the Edinburgh European Council on 11-12 December.
Steel
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total production of liquid steel in Great Britain in each year since 1979.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 23 November 1992] : Steel production is usually measured in terms of "crude steel production". This measure the crude output that can
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go forward for further processing, and is typically 1-2 per cent. less than the initial output of liquid steel. Information about crude steel production is regularly published by the Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau in "Iron and Steel Industry Annual Statistics", which is available in the Library of the House.Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total quantity of steel imports for (a) the part-year from 1 January 1992 to the most recent record available, (b) the equivalent part-year period for 1991, 1990 and 1985 and (c) the percentage change year on year.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 23 November 1992] : The information is as follows :
Year |Imports |Average annual
|percentage change
|over previous
|period
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |2,700,692 |n.a.
1990 |3,820,593 |7.2
1991 |4,011,752 |5.0
1992 |3,979,761 |-0.8
Covers imports of all United Kingdom steel industry products.
n.a.= not applicable.
Source:Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau.
Engineering
Mr. Jenkin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what measures he intends to introduce to strengthen the United Kingdom's engineering industry.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 24 November 1992] : I refer the hon. member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of trade gave the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. Pawsey), on 16November 1992, Official Report, columns 71-72, which described Government action to help manufacturing. Engineering represents a very large proportion of our manufacturing GDP and I hope it will benefit in full measure from the policies my right hon. Friend set out in that reply.
Oil and Gas Reserves
Mr. Hardy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the proportion of the United Kingdom oil and gas reserves which have so far been taken from offshore fields.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 24 November 1992] : Section2.4 and table 7 of the Brown Book (Development of the Oil and Gas Resources of the United Kingdom) published in April 1992 set out my Department's latest estimate, at 31 December 1991, of total potential recoverable reserves of oil and gas in the United Kingdom. These showed that remaining reserves could be up to 3.9times as much as cumulative production to the same date in the case of oil and up to 4.2 times as much in the case of gas.
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Nuclear Programmes
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what specifically-allocated financial contributions have been made in 1991-92 to 1992-93 by Nuclear Electric, Scottish Nuclear and British Nuclear Fuels plc to the Atomic Energy Authority fusion programme.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 24 November 1992] : None.
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects a commercial prototype fusion reactor to enter service in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement on its current development progress.
Mr. Eggar : [holding answer 24 November 1992] : Nuclear fusion is not expected to provide the basis for a commercially viable source of energy at least until the middle of the next century. There are no current plans for the development of a commercial prototype fusion reactor in the United Kingdom.
Photovoltaics
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the current programme of assessment studies into photovoltaics being undertaken by his Department ; what is the cost of the programme ; and if he will list the location of the studies.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 24 November 1992] : There are three assessment studies currently ongoing :
1. "A feasibility and design study for a photovoltaic building demonstration" by the university of Cardiff (at Cardiff). 2. "Grid connection of photovoltaic systems" by Halcrow Gilbert Associates (at Swindon).
3. "Photovoltaic modules as a cladding for commercial building" by British Petroleum (at Leatherhead).
The total cost of these studies is £232,000.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to launch a programme of demonstration projects into photovoltaics.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 24 November 1992] : I have no plans to launch a programme of demonstration projects into photovoltaics, but my officials are giving consideration to a proposal for a particular project which would be located at the university of Northumbria.
Severn Bridge
Mr. Murphy: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if he intends to meet the new owners of the Severn bridge to discuss toll charges.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I have been asked to reply.
I have no plans to do so. The charges are governed by the provisions of the Severn Bridges Act 1992.
HEALTH
Agencies
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those agencies in her Department which are being considered for privatisation or contractorisation.
Mr. Sackville : None of the agencies in this Department is being considered for privatisation or contractorisation
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at present. As announced by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary Office of Public Service and Science on 17 November at column 104, privatisation and contractorisation are always considered as alternatives to agency status before any agency is established, and would normally be re-examined as options during the course of each agency's periodic review. Any major change in the status of an agency would be the subject of an announcement.Salaries
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what remuneration has actually been paid by each health service trust in England to chairmen and non-executive directors in 1991-92 ; (2) what was the total cost of remuneration of chairmen and non-executive directors of national health service authorities and trusts in each year since 1988-89 ;
(3) what remuneration was actually paid to chairmen and non-executive directors in 1991-92 by each regional health authority in England and Wales ;
(4) what remuneration was actually paid by each family health service authority in England to chairmen and non-executive directors in 1991-92 ;
(5) if she will provide by district health authority in England details of remuneration paid to chairmen and non-executive directors in 1991-92 detailing (a) fees, (b) other emoluments, (c) pensions and (d) the total.
Dr. Mawhinney : Information from the 1991-92 annual accounts of health authorities, NHS trusts and family health services authorities in England will be available later in the year. Figures which are separately identifiable in the formats of the annual accounts for the earlier years are shown in the table. Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
£000 (cash)
|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Health authorities
Chairmen's remuneration |2,753 |2,832 |4,875
Family health services authorities
Chairmen's remuneration |430 |450 |1,003
Members' remuneration |- |- |2,234
Notes:
1. The figures for health authorities relate to regional and
district health authorities and the special health authorities for
the London postgraduate teaching hospitals.
2. Arrangements to remunerate-essentially to compensate-members
of family health services authorities-formerly family practitioner
committees-for their time spent on FHSA business were introduced
only during 1990-91.
Expenditure
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide, by individual health authority in England, details of the increases in management and administrative expenditure together with the variations in in-patients, out-patients, day patients and accident and emergency patients treated since 1 April 1989 and the percentage variations thereof.
Dr. Mawhinney : Information from the annual accounts of health authorities and the relevant statistics for 1991-92
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will be available later in the year. This will then enable comparisons to be drawn with the expenditure and activity data held centrally for 1989-90.
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