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Pleasure Craft
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the recommendations agreed this week on value-added tax on the import of pleasure craft ; and if he will make a statement.
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Sir John Cope : Proposals by the EC Commission about VAT on pleasure craft currently under temporary importation arrangements are still under discussion in the Council as part of the simplification directive. I will write to the hon. Member with details when the proposal is adopted.
Leasing Agreements (NHS)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what way the relaxation of leasing agreements will be applied to the provision of equipment or materials within the national health service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : Provided that the great majority of the risk stays with the private sector, the capital value of the leased asset will not count against the health authority's allocation or trust's external financing limits. In the past this provision has been restricted to leases satisfying a short term need. It will continue to be necessary to demonstrate the value for money of leasing as opposed to purchase.
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
Mr. Darling : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconsider his decision not to publish those parts of Lord Justice Bingham's report into the supervision of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International which disclose the use of BCCI accounts to facilitate the trade of arms with Iraq ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 17 November 1992] : Neither my right hon. Friend the Chancellor nor I are aware of any evidence that BCCI accounts were used to facilitate the trade of arms for Iraq. As for the Bingham report, my right hon. friend the Chancellor has already made it clear to the House that the balance of public interest weighs against publishing any of the appendices.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 16 November, Official Report, column 26, whether the Bank of England is liable, as a result of the indemnity given to Price Waterhouse when commissioning the section 41 report on BCCI, to defray any damages or costs awarded against Price Waterhouse as a result of the action recently instituted on behalf of the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 27 November 1992] : The indemnity given to Price Waterhouse by the Bank of England when commissioning the section 41 report on BCCI is limited to any cost, liabilities and expenses arising out of their appointment, investigation and report. It would not cover any cost, liabilities and expenses were it shown that these had been caused by Price Waterhouse's own negligence or wilful default.
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Nationalised Industries
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the guidelines for the capital spending, investment policies and external financing limits of the nationalised industries as they existed prior to his autumn statement ; what new guidance he has given to the nationalised industries and trade agencies ; and if he will place a copy of all relevant documentation in the Library.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 30 November 1992] : The main elements of the control framework for nationalised industries are set out in the relevant parts of the 1978 White Paper "The Nationalised Industries" (Cm 7131), and summarised in the statistical supplement to the 1991 autumn statement (Cm 1920). The latter document also sets out the external financing limits planned for 1992-93.
Further detailed and technical central administrative guidance is issued from time to time, in internal working documents.
In addition, Ministers responsible and Departments may give guidance to particular industries from time to time.
No general guidance on these subjects has been issued to the nationalised industries since the Chancellor's autumn statement. The new external financing limits are, however, set out in the "Autumn Statement 1992" (Cm 2096).
Inland Revenue, Dundee
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the staff at the Caledonia house tax office in Dundee belong to non-mobile civil service grades ; and what right these individuals have to choose to stay with the Inland Revenue in Dundee, and to refuse a compulsory transfer to an office outwith Dundee.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 30 November 1992] : Twenty four of the staff at Dundee 4 Inland Revenue office, Caledonia house, Dundee are in non-mobile grades. Each is obliged to accept a transfer into another office only if it is within a reasonable daily travelling distance of his or her home.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what accommodation is provided in Dundee for (a) the tax district 3 office, (b) the tax district 1 office, (c) the collector of taxes office and (d) the taxes inquiry centre ; from whom this accommodation is leased in each case ; and what would be the cost in each case of terminating the lease at six months' notice.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 30 November 1992] : The accommodation occupied is as follows :
Office |Address |Area occupied sq
|metre
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dundee 3 Tax District |Overgate House Marketgait Dundee|890
Dundee 1 Tax District |2 Court House Square Dundee |990
Dundee Collection Office |Overgate House Marketgait Dundee|680
Dundee Tax Inquiry Centre |2 Court House Square Dundee |340
As is common with Government Departments, the Inland Revenue pays an accommodation charge to
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Property Holdings, which acts as landlord in relation to the Inland Revenue and rents the buildings for Crown use.Column 107
The Inland Revenue incurs no cost by surrendering the buildings to Property Holdings after giving six months' notice of its intention to do so.Independent Taxation
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whom he consulted before taking the decision to close the tax offices at Dundee and Falkirk, and to concentrate the work arising from independent taxation for women in the office in Glenrothes ; how many Inland Revenue staff will now be required to change their place of work to Glenrothes as a result of this decision ; and what assessment has been made of the civil servants' increased travel costs arising out of this decision.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 30 November 1992] : We approved the Inland Revenue's decision to concentrate work on tax repayment claims in Glenrothes and four other Inland Revenue offices, in order to ensure that resources are used efficiently within the Inland Revenue. It is not yet possible to say how many, if any, Inland Revenue staff will be required to change their place of work to Glenrothes as a result of the decision : the wishes and preferences of individual members of staff will be fully taken into account in considering this. Increased travel costs stemming from a change in an individual's place of work will also be taken into account and may, depending on the circumstances, be met by the Inland Revenue for up to three years.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Private Detectives
Mr. Cohen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what use his Department and the Department of Energy made of private detectives in each of the last five years ; at what cost ; and if he will list the firms involved.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Information on the use of private detectives in the context of the question is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Denham : To ask the President of the Board of Trade 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. Neil Hamilton [holding answer 18 November 1992] : Information on the use of private detectives in the context of the question is not available centrally and could be obtained only at
disproportionate cost.
Nuclear Electric plc
Mr. Cohen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what conditions are attached to the spending of the fossil fuel levy by Nuclear Electric ; and what proportion of the levy is applied to the decommissioning of nuclear plants.
Mr. Eggar : The non-fossil fuel obligation and the fossil fuel levy arrangements were introduced to secure the benefits of nuclear and other non-fossil fuel energy in increasing diversity of supply and reducing CO"2 emissions. The levy is needed to cover the additional costs
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associated with nuclear and renewables generation over those of fossil generation. In the case of nuclear, these additional costs include so-called back-end costs, which comprise the reprocessing of spent fuel, the decommissioning of stations and other plants and the treatment and disposal of resulting waste.Loan Sharks
Mr. Redmond : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will take action to control criminal activities and extortion by unauthorised loan sharks.
Mr. Leigh : The Director General of Fair Trading and local authority trading standards departments are responsible for enforcing the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which prohibits unlicensed persons from carrying on the business of lending sums of less than £15,000 to individuals. Enforcement of the criminal law on making unwarranted demands with menaces and on unlawful harassment of debtors is a matter for chief constables.
Plutonium
Mr. Flynn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now make it his policy to publish details of amounts and destinations of all civil plutonium exported under safeguards from the United Kingdom.
Mr. Eggar : Information on the exports of civil plutonium under safeguards are published annually by my Department. The information is as detailed as possible within the constraints given in my answer to the hon. Member on 14 May 1992, Official Report, column 170.
Shipping
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total tonnage of shipping constructed in the United Kingdom in each year since 1973.
Mr. Sainsbury : Records held by the Department of Trade and Industry cover merchant shipbuilding constructions since 1976. Figures of the period prior to this date are not available. Warship building is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and is excluded from these figures.
The total tonnage of merchant registered ships of 100 gross tonnes and over constructed in the United Kingdom for each year since 1976 is as set out in the table.
|c|Compensated Gross Tonnage ( Thousands)|c| Year |Completions ------------------------------------ 1976 |898 1977 |693 1978 |709 1979 |584 1980 |513 1981 |254 1982 |418 1983 |349 1984 |288 1985 |262 1986 |168 1987 |236 1988 |87 1989 |144 1990 |208 1991 |142
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Regulatory Measures
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the main measures increasing regulation in any area for which his Department has responsibility, which his Department has caused to be put into effect since the last general election.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Since 9 April 1992, two pieces of primary legislation have been brought into effect by my Department. The Competition and Services (Utilities) Act 1992 (some provisions have not yet been implemented) ;
The Timeshare Act 1992.
Deregulation
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the main measures of deregulation, or simplification of regulation, which his Department has carried out, or caused to be carried out, since 9 April.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : My Department continues to make a good contribution to the Government's deregulation initiative. Since 9 April 1992 the main measures are as follows :
Nine partnerships have been established between local authorities and businesses as a result of a DTI initiative to make local authority regulation more effective and less burdensome ; The companies Act 1985 (Accounts of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Publications of Accounts in ECUs) Regulations 1992 has come into effect and reduces the burden of reporting on small and medium-sized companies ;
A scrutiny of the procedures for approving and monitoring oil and gas field development and production activity offshore and onshore has been completed. Its overall effect will be to bring about a more streamlined system for approving developments and the scrutiny's recommendations will be implemented in the near future ;
A new telecommunications class licence, which revoked the class licence for the running of branch telecommunications system and clarifies, simplifies and improves arrangements for the provision of resale services from rented telecommunications capacity ; A new radiocommunications licence for road contractors, which removes the previous need for a separate
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licence for each contract.Work is currently going on in my Department to identify a new programme of work under the deregulation initiative for 1993 and beyond.
Running Costs
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1.5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year ; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.
Mr. Eggar : Prior to the merger of the Department of Trade and Industry with the Department of Energy, the two Departments published targets for efficiency savings of 3.7 per cent. and 2.3 per cent. respectively. The running cost allocations to each department for this year reflected those savings, which the Department is on course to achieve. Furthermore, as a result of the merger, the Department has been able to reduce the overhead costs of common functions and services, with savings to date of 60 posts. These savings have been used to strengthen the Department's sponsorship role and to support other priority activities.
Manufactured Goods
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the value in current prices, for each year since 1979, of (i) civil aeroplanes, (ii) washing machines, (iii) ships, (iv) cameras, (v) television sets, (vi) motor cycles, (vii) computers and (viii) cars and buses which were (a) manufactured in the United Kingdom, (b) manufactured by non-United Kingdom companies in the United Kingdom and (c) imported into the United Kingdom.
Mr. Needham : The sales information for non-United Kingdom companies in the United Kingdom is not available. Information on United Kingdom manufacturers' sales on United Kingdom imports is given in the table.
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|c|United Kingdom imports and manufacturers' sales<1> (£ millions)|c|
|c|(1) United Kingdom manufacturers' sales<2>|c|
|Civil aircraft and |Washing machines |Cameras |Televisions |Computers |Ships and boats |Cars and commercial|Motor cycles
|parts<4> |vehicles
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |<5>- |168 |45 |395 |347 |- |4,424 |-
1980 |353 |178 |37 |395 |413 |- |4,295 |-
1981 |417 |167 |38 |405 |364 |648 |4,032 |-
1982 |477 |178 |29 |431 |391 |1,072 |4,388 |-
1983 |582 |207 |34 |508 |548 |1,101 |4,267 |4
1984 |712 |210 |34 |494 |948 |1,037 |4,856 |-
1985 |836 |230 |33 |494 |1,279 |1,387 |6,078 |-
1986 |1,099 |231 |56 |516 |1,032 |575 |6,517 |-
1987 |1,009 |259 |59 |592 |1,957 |835 |8,669 |-
1988 |1,333 |276 |45 |607 |2,394 |900 |9,838 |4
1989 |1,501 |247 |56 |545 |2,445 |1,080 |10,941 |3
1990 |1,860 |268 |- |848 |2,684 |1,216 |- |1
1991 |1,700 |245 |- |1,004 |- |1,160 |10,648 |-
-------
(2) United Kingdom Imports<3>
1979 |- |59 |64 |117 |190 |- |2,978 |100
1980 |- |59 |69 |105 |247 |270 |2,464 |128
1981 |227 |70 |87 |- |399 |233 |2,448 |117
1982 |245 |77 |85 |187 |494 |267 |3,295 |87
1983 |378 |93 |91 |251 |723 |110 |4,232 |88
1984 |479 |100 |102 |249 |916 |299 |4,322 |68
1985 |894 |124 |111 |186 |1,046 |149 |4,889 |76
1986 |353 |136 |136 |226 |1,080 |322 |5,653 |78
1987 |513 |131 |145 |227 |1,369 |184 |5,915 |84
1988 |712 |158 |149 |256 |1,449 |183 |8,014 |103
1989 |1,819 |144 |157 |265 |1,777 |186 |8,674 |123
1990 |1,899 |128 |136 |218 |1,741 |138 |8,282 |165
1991 |1,584 |137 |131 |245 |- |298 |6,106 |130
<1> Information on sales and imports is not directly comparable. The product classifications used for the collection of sales and trade information differ, and sales information is not collected from
smaller companies.
<2> There have been changes over the years in the products included in the headings and to the coverage of the inquiries. Therefore, the series may not be consistent over time. Full details for each
product are in the relevant Business Monitors.
<3> A new system of product classification was introduced on 1 January 1988.
<4> Sales statistics are not available, therefore, turnover is used.
<5> not available.
Data sources: PQ and PA business monitors 3302, 3454, 3460, 3733, 3633, 3634, 3650, 3510, 3521, 3610 and the Society of British Aerospace Companies.
Nuclear Power Stations
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish estimates for the average amount and value of fossil fuel used in the construction of a nuclear power station in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Eggar : It is very difficult to make estimates of the amount and value of fossil fuels utilised in the construction of any power station. In particular, it is difficult to hypothecate electricity used in the manufacture of materials used in the construction of the station to any particular fuel source.
Assisted Areas
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the areas which have submitted an application to obtain assisted area status ; and if he will list the names of individuals or organisations which submitted the applications.
Mr. Sainsbury : At the most recent count, on 16 November, there had been 1,550 formal written representations received in my Department and the Welsh and Scottish Offices about the review of the assisted areas map. Providing information about each individual or organisation in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, as the consultation paper about the review issued in June made clear, representations received are available for inspection at specified offices of the three Departments concerned.
Defence Cuts
Sir Nicholas Bonsor : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 4 November to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins), Official Report, columns 313-15, if he will list those proposals he received for European Commission funding under the Perifra II scheme concerned with retraining and resettlement of former members of the armed forces and their families, or civilians displaced as a result of reduced defence expenditure, identifying those proposals subsequently forwarded to Brussels, those which were subsequently approved and the estimated expenditure in each case ; what is the total expenditure for this programme throughout the European Community ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Sainsbury : A proposal from the Royal British Legion was the only such proposal received for the second year of the Perifra scheme. The costings of individual grant applications are not normally published as they may contain commercially sensitive information.
This proposal was transmitted to the European Commission, and was awarded 1,969,000 ecu in grant towards the design and construction of a training centre. The total expenditure on Perifra committed in 1993 throughout the Community was 50 million ecu.
Major Energy Users Council
Mr. Beggs : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the principal members of the Major Energy Users Council ; and if he will make a statement on his most recent discussions with the council.
Mr. Eggar : The Major Energy Users Council represent large energy users in many industrial sectors. Officials met the MEUC last month. It was agreed that the MEUC would survey the electricity prices paid by their members in 1991 and 1992. My Department will then compare the results of this survey with our own statistics.
Electricity Contracts
Mr. Beggs : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a list of the principal sectors of industry in which large users of electricity in Great Britain have successfully negotiated beneficial supply contracts with the private sector electricity generating companies.
Mr. Eggar : DTI statistics show that the average electricity prices paid by industry fell by 12 per cent. in real terms between the second quarter of 1992 and the second quarter of 1989, before the electricity supply industry was privatised. Individual contracts are a commercial matter for the companies concerned.
Power Generation
Mr. Dowd : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) which other EC countries have invested in coal-water mixtures ; and which intend to use it as a source of power generation ;
(2) how much has been invested into research of coal-water mixtures as a clean source of power generation since 1980 by (a) his Department and (b) British Coal ;
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(3) how much (a) his Department and (b) British Coal intend to invest in research and development of coal-water mixtures in the financial year 1993-94.Mr. Eggar : The use of coal water mixtures was investigated by industry during the 1980s, with support from the European Commission. British Coal, with EC support, invested about £1.1 million and industrial companies also contributed to the collaborative research programme. Several other EC countries also received EC support for research on coal water mixtures, including France, Germany and Italy. My Department has not provided financial support for research on coal water mixtures.
The conclusions of the research were that the use of coal water mixtures in power station boilers was technically feasible but it was not economic. In particular it was a more expensive method of reducing sulphur emissions from coal fired power stations than gas desulphurisation equipment. Neither my Department nor British Coal has any plans for further research on coal water mixtures.
Mr. Dowd : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much has been invested by his Department in (a) oil, (b) gas and (c) nuclear fuels as a source of power generation.
Mr. Eggar : My Department's expenditure on nuclear research directed specificially at power generation in 1991-92 was £80.1 million. There was no expenditure on oil or gas research for power generation.
Debt Payment
Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation to require businesses over a certain size to pay their bills promptly.
Mr. Leigh : Though we understand the frustrations felt by small businesses because of delayed payments, we remain unconvinced that legislation would prove effective. The majority of organisations representing small firms share the Government's view that the effect of a legislative approach would be, at best, minimal and could even be
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damaging to the small firms sector. We remain interested however to receive views on how an effective legislative framework might operate.Thermo-Lag 330-1
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what use is made of Thermo-Lag 330-1 produced by Thermal Science Inc., in British nuclear power plants for the purpose of protecting electrical systems in the event of an emergency.
Mr. Eggar : This is a matter for the operators of nuclear power plants.
Animal Experiments
Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochdale (Ms. Lynne) of 2 November, Official Report, column 60, what progress has been made with his European Community counterparts in the development of standards in respect of the testing of cosmetics on animals.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 19 November 1992] : At the meeting of the Council of Ministers held on 3 November, we secured agreement on a common position on the proposed sixth Council amendment to the EC cosmetics directive which includes a ban on the use of ingredients tested on animals after January 1998, with a provision for the Commission on scientific advice, to propose the postponement of the ban where validated alternative testing methods are not available by then.
Support Programmes
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the support programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises run by his Department with the latest available figures for annual expenditure and take-up ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 25 November 1992] : The support programmes run by my Department for small and medium sized enterprises are as follows :
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Scheme |Take-up 1991-92 |Expenditure 1991-92
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Enterprise Initiative Consultancy Scheme |14,387 cases |£64.4 million
Loan Guarantee Scheme |2,941 loans guaranteed |£27.541 million
Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology (Smart); |180 stage 1 grants |£12 million
Support of Projects Under Research (SPUR); |148 grants |£318,000
Your Business Success; |75,000 kits |£1 million
Graduate Enterprise; |5,200 students |£340,000
The Export Marketing Research Scheme (ERMS); |221 projects |£1.1 million
Regional Enterprise Grants; |975 grant offers |£7.3 million
Development Projects |individual projects |£350,000
|late payment development projects with three trade associations|£30,000 each
|informal investment demonstration projects with five TECs |£100,000 in 1992-93
During next year my Department will start support for up to 15 pilot schemes which will provide businesses with a single point of access to information and advice.
Manufactured Imports
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of manufactured goods imported, in current and real terms, for each financial year since 1979-80 from (a) the rest of the European Community, (b) Japan, (c) South Korea and (d) Taiwan ; and what was the percentage change between 1979-80 and the current year.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 26 November 1992] : Information is not available for financial years nor for individual countries in real terms. The available information, in current prices and for calendar years, is given in the table.
|c|United Kingdom imports of manufactured goods<1>|c|
Current prices £ million
|<2>European|Japan |South Korea|Taiwan
|Community
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |16,225 |1,441 |256 |211
1980 |16,023 |1,666 |229 |222
1981 |16,607 |2,154 |313 |311
1982 |19,903 |2,572 |307 |324
1983 |24,233 |3,250 |424 |447
1984 |28,050 |3,650 |426 |574
1985 |31,768 |4,036 |469 |561
1986 |35,325 |4,863 |641 |687
1987 |39,808 |5,413 |915 |989
1988 |45,912 |6,452 |1,133 |1,133
1989 |52,768 |6,980 |1,134 |1,334
1990 |54,102 |6,607 |943 |1,193
1991 |49,646 |6,655 |905 |1,250
Percentage change, 1979 to 1991
|206 |362 |254 |492
Average annual percentage change, 1979 to 1991
|10 |14 |11 |16
<1> Sections 5 to 8 of the Standard International Trade Classification.
<2> European Community is defined in terms of its 1991 membership
throughout.
Source: Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, CSO.
Utilities Regulation
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the cost of regulation in 1991-92 for (a) telecommunications, (b) gas and (c) electricity ; and what are the expected corresponding figures for 1992- 93.
Mr. Neil Hamilton [holding answer 30 November 1992] : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) Official Report, column 345 . Details of the 1992- 93 budgets for the regulators may be obtained from the regulators themselves, or from published Government expenditure plans :
|Budget 1992-93 (£
|million)
------------------------------------------------------
OFFER |10.0
OFTEL |8.055
OFGAS |<1>3.203
<1>Information supplied by OFGAS.
Albania
Mr. Wareing : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what trading links now exist between the United Kindom and Albania ; what talks he has held with that country in respect of such trade ; what subjects in respect of trade were discussed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 26 November 1992] : The United Kingdom's present trade with Albania is small, with exports of less than £2 million and imports of £250,000 in the period to the end of September this year. In part, this is due to the extremely difficult economic conditions which prevail there. None the less there have been several visits by British companies to the market recently which have shown some long-term potential in sectors such as tourtism, agriculture and food processing, and mineral extraction. I hope these early forays can be built on in the future.
Trading Standards Departments
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what consultation he has had with the county councils in Wales in relation to the reorganisation of trading standards departments ; if the reorganisation will follow the boundaries of the unitary authorities ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what proposals he has to administer the trading standards service in Wales following local government reorganisation ; what consultations he has had with county trading standards officers in Wales in relation to joint boards to provide the service ; and what proposals he has for local democratic accountability in relation to joint boards.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 26 November 1992] : My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has had no such consultation. A Department of Trade and Industry official participated in the environment and public protection services sub-group set up by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. The sub-group, which also included representatives of the district and county councils, discussed the future arrangements for the trading standards service in Wales. Its report is in the Library. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will announce his decisions in due course.
Business Statistics
Mr. Milburn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 19 November, Official Report, column 225, to the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) if he will give a breakdown by region and by county of the number of businesses that have registered and deregistered in each year since 1981.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 27 November 1992] : A breakdown of the number of businesses that have registered and deregistered for VAT by region and by county for the years 1980 to 1990 was published in "VAT Registrations and Deregistrations, County and District Analyses 1980 to 1990", a copy of which is available in the Library or online via NOMIS. For further information, contact the NOMIS team at : NOMIS, Unit 3P, Mountjoy research centre, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3SW.
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Girobank
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place the final sale contract documents for the sale of Girobank in the Library.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 30 November 1992] : No. The final sale documents for the sale of Girobank are commercially confidential documents belonging to the Post Office as vendor and the Alliance and Leicester building society as purchaser.
999 Calls
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what approaches and representations he has received from commercial organisations over the future management of 999 calls.
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