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Information Systems Strategy StudyData Review Study
Market Opportunity Task Force Policy Study/Market Change Analysis Activity
Total cost of contracts----£871,735
Coopers and Lybrand--
Contracts issued between 1 March 1992 and 28 February 1993 Review of Cash Position of British Technology Group plc Further Analysis of Assessment of Computer Misuse Act 1990 IS Strategy for Facilities Management Group
BTG Privatisation : Financial Advice for Post-Privatisation Monitoring
Study to Explore and Enhance Business Awareness : Computer Misuse Market Testing of IT Services Branch
Research Study on Supplier Relationships
Coal Review : Support
Total cost of contracts----£192,840
Contracts issued between 1 April 1991 and 31 March 1992 Market Assessment Study of Computer Misuse
BTG : Reporting Accountants
Conference : Selling to Firms and Industries once in Public Sector Review of Radiocommunications Agency's Licensing Procedures Work Programme Following Local Authority Regulation of Business Seminar
Study into Radiocommunications Agency's Networking Requirements Citizen's Charter and Local Authority Regulation
Local Authority Regulation of Business
Ozone Depleting Substances
BTG : Reporting Accountants
Total cost of contracts----£608,540
These figures do not include contracts issued by those Executive Agencies which have delegated authority to engage consultants.
Shipbuilding
Mr. Hutton : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was (a) the total expenditure of and (b) the number of successful bids for funding to the intervention fund for shipbuilding in each year since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : The number of merchant vessels of 100 gross tonnes and over on which funding from the shipbuilding intervention fund was offered and the amount of assistance paid in financial years from 1979-80 to 1992-93 are set out in the table.
Number of merchant vessels on which SIF was offered and the
amount paid
Financial Year |Number of vessels on|Amount of SIF
|which SIF offered |assistance paid
|£ million
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |20 |31.9
1980-81 |27 |41.9
1981-82 |62 |49.1
1982-83 |19 |47.9
1983-84 |14 |36.2
1984-85 |9 |20.1
1985-86 |29 |25.9
1986-87 |18 |17.4
1987-88 |13 |13.6
1988-89 |31 |38.7
1989-90 |28 |37.5
1990-91 |15 |28.7
1991-92 |10 |31.1
Note: Because of the timing of the SIF grant payments, there is no direct link
between the number of vessels ordered and the total grant in any one year.
European Community Funding
Mr. Leighton : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what projects in Britain are or will be assisted by the extra money allocated to the European investment bank at the Edinburgh summit.
Mr. Sainsbury : The European investment bank has so far approved loans under the new, temporary facility agreed at Edinburgh to Lothian regional council for water supply, sewerage and road infrastructure schemes and to North West Water Services Ltd. for improvement of waste water infrastructure.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 17 February to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Mr. Coe), Official Report, column 269, what response he has had to his application for objective 1 status for Northern Ireland, Merseyside, the Highlands and Islands, rural Wales, Devon and Cornwall and South Yorkshire ; what counter-proposals he has ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : Northern Ireland's objective 1 status was confirmed at the European Council at Edinburgh.
I am pleased to report that the Commission announced on 24 February that it had decided to propose the highlands and islands and Merseyside for objective 1.
The Government will continue to press the case for the other areas they believe should become objective 1 : Devon and Cornwall, rural Wales and South Yorkshire.
The final decision on which regions are eligible for objective 1 rests with the Council of Ministers in the context of the review of the structural funds regulations. I do not expect that decision to come for several months.
Insurance Cover
Mr. David Porter : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the extent of the practice of denying insurance cover to owners of property because they wish to rent to people in receipt of DSS benefits ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I have received a number of letters about the difficulty of obtaining insurance cover for properties where tenants are in receipt of social security benefits. Insurance cover for many properties in multi-occupation has become more difficult to obtain following reviews by insurance companies of types of business that had generated substantial losses. I am assured that companies are not assessing the risks they are prepared to underwrite solely on the status of the tenants. Following discussions with my officials and the Department of the Environment, the Association of British Insurers has now produced some guidance for owners of tenanted property on how to minimise the risks they present to insurers.
Trade Barriers
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list all EC or United Kingdom trade barriers, including industry to industry quotas and anti-dumping duties, which affect exports from the Czech Republic or Slovakia to the United Kingdom and EC.
Mr. Needham : The United Kingdom does not maintain any national quantitative restrictions against the Czech
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and Slovak Republics. The Government are not aware of any inter-industry agreements which restrict trade with the United Kingdom or the EC.In December 1991 the EC and Czechoslovakia signed an association agreement which establishes co-operation in a range of fields and, in particular, provides for the creation of a GATT-compatible free trade area within a maximum of 10 years--based on the principle of asymmetry in the dismantlement of trade barriers with the EC taking the lead. The trade provisions entered into force on 1 March 1992 under an interim agreement which abolished tariffs and quantitative restrictions on 50 per cent. of Czechoslovakian industrial exports to the EC and provided for the liberalisation of almost all tariffs and quantitative restrictions within the next four years. The interim agreement has since been extended until separate, new association agreements can be negotiated with the Czech Republic and Slovakia following the division of the federal republic.
The European Community maintains Community-wide restrictions on a number of textile and agricultural products from the Czech and Slovak republics and I will write to my hon. Friend with details of these. The following anti- dumping measures are currently in place : 1. Artificial Corundum
Price Undertaking
2. Hexamine
Price Undertaking
3. Urea
Volume Undertaking
4. Potassium Permanganate
Variable duty linked to a mimium price of 2.20 ECU/kg 5. Seamless Steel Tubes
30.4 per cent. provisional anti-dumping duty
On 25 February the EC Industry Council agreed in principle that tariff quotas should be negotiated with east European countries on their exports up until 1995 of sensitive steel products to the Community. It is now for the Commission to make suitable proposals to member states ; the Government are concerned that these should be as liberal and as short-term as posssible.
Rural Mail Deliveries
Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider the maintenance of second deliveries of mail in rural areas as part of his review of the Post Office.
Mr. Leigh : The Government remain fully committed to a nationwide letter service with delivery to every address in the United Kingdom, within a uniform structure of prices, but the detailed organisation of deliveries is an operational matter for the Post Office.
Girobank
Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what account he is taking of the criticisms made by the National Audit Office over the sale of Girobank in his consideration of the future of Parcelforce and the Post Office.
Mr. Leigh : I have noted the comments made by the National Audit Office, and in particular its conclusion that a successful sale of Girobank was eventually achieved. I look forward to reading the report from the Public Accounts Committee in due course.
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Waste
Mr. Dafis : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 9 November 1992, Official Report, column 587, if he will list the specific types of waste to which his figures refer, including the commodity codes given to those substances.
Mr. Eggar : The figures which I gave previously refer to wastes on the EC red and amber lists, which contain elements that may be hazardous. Red and amber list wastes are identified in EEC council regulation No. 259/93 of 1 February, published in the Official Journal of the European Communities of 6 February. Statistics on the exports of these wastes are publically available. They can be obtained from the appointed marketing agents for HM Customs and Excise, by reference to the commodity codes listed in Business Monitor MA21 "Guide to the Classification of Overseas Trade Statistics", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Owners Abroad
Mr. Bellingham : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what pre -bid guidance was given by the Director General of Fair Trading to Airtours plc before its bid for Owners Abroad plc was launched ; what importance he attaches to such guidance in his decision on referral to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heseltine : Any pre-bid guidance is given on a confidential basis. We do not therefore comment on whether guidance is given in a particular case. Such guidance is based on the information available at the time, which does not normally include comments by third parties. Where guidance is given, it is the Secretary of State who decides what it should be following advice from the Director General of Fair Trading. Such guidance is not binding on the Secretary of State in his merger reference decision.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date the Minister for Corporate Affairs withdrew from considering the Airtours bid for Owners Abroad ; what reasons were given for this withdrawal ; and what part the Minister has played in his Department's handling of the bid since December.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 1 March 1993] : My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State decided on 15 February to stand aside from consideration of whether the Airtours bid for Owners Abroad should be referred to the MMC. It had come to his attention from correspondence that the chairman of Airtours lived in his constituency. Although he was advised that it would have been legitimate for him to continue to take part in the competition decision, he decided not to do so to avoid any possibility of misunderstanding. Prior to receipt of this correspondence he was responsible, with me, for the Department's interest in this as in other merger cases.
Export Licences
Mrs. Lait : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy towards export licences for South Africa ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : Export licence applications for South Africa, as for any other destination, are examined on their
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merits on a case-by-case basis. Licensable goods are listed in the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1992, as amended. This takes account of the United Kingdom's commitments under the United Nations (Sanctions) Order SCR 392 1976, which covers the arms embargo.Mrs. Lait : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the maximum and minimum times taken to grant export licences for (a) South Africa, (b) Poland and (c) Israel.
Mr. Needham : There are no minimum or maximum timescales. Applications for South Africa and Israel which do not require advice from other Government Departments, and provided that the exporter has provided complete documentation, are normally issued within four to five working days from receipt. Applications which need further information from the exporter or are referred to other Government Departments for advice normally take four to six weeks to process.
Similarly, applications for Poland which do not need to be referred to our partners in COCOM are normally issued within five working days once the documentation is complete. Applications which are referred to COCOM take at least 75 working days.
Gas and Oil Investment
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the total financial investment to date in offshore exploration and extraction and the piping of supplies to the mainland for (a) gas and (b) oil.
Mr. Eggar : Total investment in the United Kingdom continental shelf up to the end of 1992 on exploration and appraisal, field developments, pipelines, and shore terminals for oil and gas amounted to some £122 billion in 1992 prices. It is not possible to allocate this expenditure between offshore and onshore activity, or between oil and gas.
Gas Consumption
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the maximum consumption of gas, as an increase in percentage terms over present consumption, that existing supply connections could sustain.
Mr. Eggar : This is a matter for British Gas plc.
Aviation Equipment
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing imports and exports of aircraft, aerospace and aviation-related equipment each year since 1987 in cash terms, distinguishing between the EC, the USA, Japan and other countries.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 1 March 1993] : The information is not available in the form requested. Total imports and exports for the aerospace industry since 1987 to the latest available full year are as follows :
Military and Civil Aerospace Trade £ billion Year |Exports |Imports |Trade balance ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1987 |5.0 |2.7 |2.3 1988 |5.4 |3.7 |1.6 1989 |8.0 |5.5 |2.4 1990 |8.0 |5.9 |2.0 1991 |7.9 |5.4 |2.5 1992 |7.7 |5.2 |2.5 Source: Overseas trade statistics for the United Kingdom.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will estimate the value added per head, and contribution to gross domestic product of the aircraft, aerospace and aviation equipment industries in each of the years since 1987.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 1 March 1993] : Figures since 1987 to the latest available year for standard industrial classification 364--aerospace equipment manu-facturing and repairing--are as follows :
2
Gross value added Contribution to
at factor cost manufacturing GDP
Total per head
|£ million|£ |Per cent.
--------------------------------------------------
1987 |3,472.4 |19,486 |3.87
1988 |3,866.8 |22,666 |3.87
1989 |4,895.8 |29,015 |4.52
1990 |5,648.0 |32,459 |5.09
Source: Annual Census of Production
Assisted Areas
Mr. Madel : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what further consideration he has given, following the debate on 21 January, to granting assisted area status for the Dunstable area ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 1 March 1993] : We are continuing our consideration of the many bids which have been made for assisted area status.
Competition
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what guidance is given to Ministers in his Department about possible conflicts of interest when they are dealing with competition matters.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 1 March 1993] : Ministers with competition responsibilities receive general procedural guidance as a matter of course on handling competition decisions. This includes guidance on possible conflicts of interest. Such guidance is supplemented as necessary.
Renewable Energy Advisory Group
Mr. Flynn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the membership of his Department's renewable energy advisory group ; what was the attendance of each REAG member ; what is the present place of employment of each REAG member ; and what are the criteria used in appointing experts to serve on the REAG.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 1 March 1993] : The membership of the renewable energy advisory group is listed in the table :
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Member |Place of employment ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Mary Archer |National Energy Attended 6 meetings |Foundation Mr. John Bellak |Severn Trent plc Attended 8 meetings Professor Sir Hermann Bondi |Churchill College, Attended 7 meetings |Cambridge Mr. Peter Goldsworthy |NORWEB plc Attended 7 meetings Mr. David Heathcoat-Amory |Member of Parliament Attended 5 meetings (member until April 1992) Dr. Martin Holdgate |International Union for the Attended 4 meetings |Conservation of Nature (chairman from June 1992) |and Natural Resources Mr. Gerald Leach |Stockholm Environment Attended 5 meetings |Institute Dr. David Lindley |National Wind Power Ltd. Attended 8 meetings Mr. Colin Moynihan |Consultant Chaired 5 meetings (chairman and member until April 1992) Mr. Peter Oppenheimer |Christ Church College, Attended 6 meetings |Oxford Mr. Jeremy Sainsbury |Fred Olsen Ltd. Attended 9 meetings Professor Arnold Wolfendale |Durham University Attended 5 meetings Members of the group combined expertise from the renewable energy industry, business, management and academia.
Defence Diversification
Mr. Denham : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what action applicable to Hampshire the Government are taking to attract European Community funds for the purpose of defence diversification ;
(2) what discussions the Government have held with the European Commission about the diversification of defence industries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 1 March 1993] : At the initiative of the European Parliament 130 million ecu, or about £106 million, comprising 85 million ecu, or £69.3 million, from the European regional development fund and 45 million ecu, or £36.7 million, from the European social fund was entered into the European Community budget for 1993 for a programme to be called CONVER to assist regions affected by the decline in the armaments industry and the closure of military bases. The Government will give careful consideration to the Commission's proposals for implementing this programme, which are expected to be issued shortly. The structural funds regulations require assistance from the ERDF to be concentrated in regions already designated for objectives 1, 2 and 5(b). Since many areas in the United Kingdom which have a high concentration of defence-related firms and military bases, including Hampshire, are not located within such regions, their prospects of benefiting from CONVER seem likely to be limited to assistance from the European social fund, which can be spent anywhere in the Community.
Imports and Exports
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the level of imports and exports for each member country of the OECD during 1992.
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Mr. Needham : Data are not available in the form requested. Figures relating to 1991 are published in "Monthly Statistics of Foreign Trade, Series A, February 1993, OECD", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, Information on United Kingdom trade for 1992 is published in "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, Business Monitor MM20, December 1992", which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Japan
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the level of imports and what was the value of exports in Britain's trade with Japan in each year since 1987.
Mr. Needham : Information on the topic is regularly published in "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics", a copy of which is available in the Library.
Visible Exports
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the percentage change in the level of United Kingdom visible exports in value terms to EC and Eastern European countries since 1989.
Mr. Needham : The information is given in the table.
L
Value of United Kingdom visible exports
(change on previous year) (per cent.)
|EC |Eastern Europe and
|former USSR
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989 |15.8 |14.6
1990 |15.8 |0.5
1991 |7.9 |-15.3
1992 |1.9 |35.8
Source: Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Hardy : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the amount of aid given to the printing industry from central funds by Governments of EC countries which apply a positive rate of VAT to printed materials.
Mr. Sainsbury : I have made no such assessment.
Official Entertainment
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much was spent on official entertainment in his Department during 1991-92 and 1992-93 to date.
Mr. Eggar : My Department spent £537,336 on entertainment in the 1991-92 financial year and has spent £427,935 to date in the 1992- 93 financial year. The figure for 1991-92 includes expenditure by the former Department of Energy.
Renewable Energy
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will make a statement on the present state of discussions with the European Commission on support for renewable energy beyond 1998 ;
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(2) what plans he has to announce a third non-fossil fuel obligation renewables order ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Eggar : Discussions with the European Commission are continuing. Decisions on any further renewables orders will be taken in the light of the coal review and the REAG report.
Sellafield
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will seek an urgent meeting with the chairman of British Nuclear Fuels plc to discuss recent radioactive leaks following operational accidents at Sellafield.
Mr. Eggar : I meet the chairman of British Nuclear Fuels plc from time to time to discuss a range of issues involving the company. Occurrences involving releases of radioactivity into the environment are primarily matters for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate, are carrying out investigations into the causes of the recent releases.
Correspondence
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will reply to the two letters from Mr. T. E. Blyth, managing director of John Herth and Co. Ltd., sent to him on 13 November 1992 and 6 January 1993, and to the two letters from the hon. Member for Hertfordshire, West on the same matter dated 20 November 1992 and 13 January 1993.
Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 26 February 1993] : I regret that it has taken so long to reply to these letters. I have now done so.
Furniture Safety
Mr. David Porter : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received (a) on behalf of retailers and (b) on behalf of waste disposal operators about the effect of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) (Amendments) Regulations 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 23 February 1993] : My Department has received 39 letters on behalf of retailers of upholstered furniture about the fire resistance requirements of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations, as amended, applicable to second-hand furniture from 1 March this year. No representations on behalf of waste disposal operators have been received.
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