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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 20 April 1993
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Welsh Boundary Commission
Mr. Hain : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the deputy chairman of the Parliametary Boundary Commission for Wales is to be appointed.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The appointment of the deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales will be made as soon as possible, following consultation with Opposition parties.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
BCCI
Mr. Darling : To ask the Attorney-General if the Serious Fraud Office is still pursuing inquiries into possible criminal conduct of individuals connected with the Bank of Credit and Commerce International ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : Yes. Three persons have already been indicted at the Central Criminal Court on charges connected with the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. It is expected that a fourth person will be extradited from France in the near future. Other lines of inquiry are being pursued and the investigation will continue while there is still a realistic prospect of bringing criminal charges against persons in England.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Attorney-General what steps have been taken by the Serious Fraud Office to interview (a) the British citizens in Abu Dhabi and (b) the persons in Pakistan who have indicated that they will co- operate with the Serious Fraud Office in furnishing information about BCCI.
The Attorney-General : Requests have been made to interview detainees and view documents in Abu Dhabi. So far, it has not been possible to arrange for such access.
I have taken the persons mentioned at (b) to be those about whom the hon. Member wrote to my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General. His letter of 29 July 1992 to the hon. Member explained the basis on which it would be possible to interview those persons and, since the Serious Fraud Office is unable to contact the individuals save through the hon. Member, sought assistance in confirming their willingness to be interviewed on that basis. No such confirmation has been received.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Students
Mr. Beggs : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of Northern Ireland students obtain employment outside college or university term time annually.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Labour Relations Agency
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons are employed by the Labour Relations Agency ; and how many employees are (a) Roman Catholic and (b) Protestant.
Mr. Atkins : As at 15 April 1993, 54 persons were employed by the Labour Relations Agency, of whom 25 were Roman Catholic and 29 were Protestant.
Electricity Interconnector
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards establishing the electricity interconnector between Northern Ireland and the British mainland.
Mr. Atkins : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Wigan (Mr. Stott) on 15 March, Official Report, column 47.
Housing
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the amount of money spent on (a) new build, (b) improvement schemes and (c) maintenance schemes by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in each of the estates under its control in the seven housing districts of Belfast in each of the last five years.
Mr. Atkins : This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but I have been advised by the chief executive that the information is not readily available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Squatters
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many squatters have had court proceedings taken against them by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for illegal occupancy in each year since 1988.
Mr. Atkins : The chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has advised that details of the number of squatters who have had court proceedings taken against them are available for only the last three years. The numbers are as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1990-91 |133
1991-92 |227
1992-93 |172
Punishment Shootings
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many punishment shootings occurred in Northern Ireland in each year since 1990.
Mr. Mates : There were 106 casualties as a result of terrorist shooting attacks within own communities in 1990, 76 in 1991 and 133 in 1992.
Explosions
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many explosions occurred in Northern Ireland in each year since 1990 ; and how many deaths and injuries were sustained by the security forces in these years.
Mr. Mates : The number of explosions which have occurred and the number of members of the security forces who have been killed or injured in each year since 1990 in Northern Ireland as a result of the security situation is as follows :
Year |Explosions<1> |Security force|Security force
|deaths |injuries
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |167 |27 |428
1991 |230 |19 |302
1992 |222 |9 |468
<1> Excludes incendiary devices
Local Government Personnel
Mr. Peter Robinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total number of local government personnel in Northern Ireland in each year since 1990 ; and what was the total cost in salaries and wages in each case.
Mr. Mates : The information, which is available only for financial years, is as follows :
Year |Number of personnel|Salary/Wages cost
|£ million
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
31 March 1990 |9,324 |95.2
31 March 1991 |9,082 |97.6
31 March 1992 |8,935 |101.0
Information for the year ended 31 March 1993 is not yet available.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Capital Projects
Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements he has made to monitor the extent to which the private sector is participating in the Government's programme of capital projects.
Mr. Portillo : Departments are being asked to notify the Treasury on a regular basis of cases being considered, or in hand, where the total expenditure involved by the public
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and/or private sector exceeds £5 million. In addition, the Treasury expects to obtain information about other projects through its normal contacts with Departments.Value Added Tax
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement as to the reasons for the increase in value added tax write- offs between 1990 and 1991.
Sir John Cope : The increase in value added tax write-offs between 1990 and 1991 was attributable primarily to an increase in the number of VAT registered traders being declared insolvent. The figures for 1991 also include some £80 million written off following a special review of long standing debts on the VAT ledger.
Mr. Jon Owen Jones : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances the 20 per cent. penalty on value added tax debt is incurred.
Sir John Cope : The maximum rate of surcharge affects only those who persistently fail to submit returns and pay tax on time. As a result of proposals announced in the recent Budget statement and subject to the passage of the Finance Bill, no surcharges of 20 per cent. will be issued for tax periods ending on or after 1 April 1993. Prior to 1 April 1993, a taxpayer would incur a 20 per cent. surcharge only if at least six returns or payments were submitted late.
Exchange Rates
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the current rate of currency exchange to the pound sterling for (a) Bermuda, (b) Gibraltar, (c) Hong Kong, (d) the Cayman Islands, (e) Montserrat, (f) St. Helena and (g) Turks and Caicos.
Mr. Nelson : At the close of the London Market on Friday 16 April the sterling exchange rates were :
Area |Currency --------------------------------------------------------- (a) Bermuda |Bermudian $ 1.52 (b) Gibraltar |Gib £ 1.00 (c)Hong Kong |HK $ 11.7898 (d) the Cayman Islands |CI $ 1.2551 (e) Montserrat |E Carr $ 4.1099 (f) St. Helena |£ 1.00 (g) Turks and Caicos |US $ 1.5250
The Gibraltar pound is fixed at parity with sterling. The currency in St. Helena is sterling, and that in Turks and Caicos is the US dollar.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Dioxins
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what maximum levels of concentrations of dioxins and furans within samples of soil and herbage are allowable before these trigger further surveys within an area into the concentrations of dioxins and furans in food and beverages ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : No specific maximum concentrations of dioxins and furans in soil and herbage have been set as a
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trigger for a corresponding survey of locally produced foods. The Ministry's general approach is to consider the need for a survey of local foodstuffs only when the concentrations or patterns of dioxins and furans in soil or herbage in a specific area differ significantly from normal background levels.Mr. Barnes : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the maximum tolerable concentrations of dioxins and furans which are allowable in differing types of milk, milk products, meat, meat products, fish, fats, oils, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cereals, cereal products, water and other beverages ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames : The Ministry has established a maximum tolerable concentration--MTC--of dioxins and furans in whole milk of 0.7 ng TEQ/kg. Action is necessary to prevent direct consumption of milk if it contains dioxins and furans at concentrations above the MTC. No MTCs have been set for dioxins and furans in other foods listed.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of confirmed cases of BSE during the first three months of 1993 that were (a) under two years of age, (b) aged two to three years, (c) aged three to four years, (d) aged five to six years and (e) aged seven or more years.
Mr. Soames : The number of cases of BSE confirmed in Great Britain in cattle in which the age has so far been determined in the first three months of 1993 by age at onset of clinical signs of disease, is as follows :
Age Band (Years) |Number of cases ---------------------------------------------------- Under 2 |0 2 and less than 3 |5 3 and less than 4 |189 4 and less than 5 |1,803 5 and less than 6 |3,266 6 and less than 7 |1,206 7 and over |437
The majority of these cases will have been clinically affected and reported in 1992, and consequently the data cannot be used as an expression of incidence in the first quarter of 1993.
Mrs. Browning : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give his Ministry's estimated annual figures for BSE in beef cattle for the next five years.
Mr. Soames : The number of cases of BSE occurring in beef cattle has always been a small part of the total. However, because it is still not possible to calculate accurately the extent to which the national herd was exposed to BSE agent through feed, accurate predictions of future incidence cannot be made.
Slaughterhouses
Mr. Nicholls : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is able to report on the outcome of the independent review of slaughterhouses, and of the recent consultations on the Government's proposals to limit meat inspection charges ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Gummer [pursuant to his reply, 31 March 1993, c. 251-52] : I have now considered recommendations from my officials to refuse to grant licences to slaughterhouses in England. I am delighted that, following very thorough scrutiny of all the applications and an intensive programme of advice from my veterinary officers specialising in meat hygiene, we have been able to license 438 slaughterhouses, almost all the premises for which applications were made. I have refused only seven applications, all of them from premises which had failed on successive inspections to comply with the basic hygiene requirements of the regulations.
A small number of slaughterhouses which have not yet agreed a work plan to upgrade their premises have been given a time-limited licence to 31 May to enable outstanding problems to be resolved. No further licence will be issued unless by the end of that period the operator has agreed to a satisfactory work plan. The state veterinary service will continue to be flexible in finding practical solutions in individual premises. But we will not allow businesses which have invested in meeting the new structural standards to be disadvantaged by unfair competition from plants where structure-related hygiene problems persist.
Marine Pollution
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in fulfilment of paragraphs B4.1 and B4.2 on radioactive substances in annex 3 of the action plan of the ministerial meeting of the Oslo and Paris Commissions on the Prevention of Marine Pollution, 21 and 22 September 1992.
Mr. Maclean : I have been asked to reply.
The question of criteria for assessing and/or reporting on best available techniques for the prevention and elimination of pollution by radioactive substances in the north-east Atlantic--paragraph B.4.1--is one which has been the subject of extended debate among the contracting parties of the Paris convention. Further discussion of the possibility of developing such criteria will no doubt continue. The adoption of further measures-- paragraph B.4.2--will be considered as and when necessary. The United Kingdom is applying the best available techniques and sees no need for any measures to be adopted by the Paris commission.
DEFENCE
Departmental Property (Scotland)
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the disposal of his Department's property in Scotland.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : It is the Government's policy that the defence estate should be no larger than necessary for defence purposes. In order to ensure the best return is achieved for the taxpayer it is our normal policy to offer surplus property for sale on the open market although special provisions apply to the sale of surplus housing.
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Army Personnel Centre
15. Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the relocation of the Army personnel centre ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Work is still in hand to determine the location of the Army personnel centre, but I hope to be in a position to make an announcement soon.
United Kingdom Air Defence
16. Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the Royal Air Force assets which are deployed in the air defence of the United Kingdom ; and what they were in (a) 1983 and (b) 1973.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Currently we have seven Tornado air defence variant squadrons, three Rapier squadrons and one Sentry airborne early warning squadron deployed in the air defence of the United Kingdom. In addition, 50 dual-role Hawk trainer aircraft are available as interceptor day fighters. This compares to a United Kingdom air defence force in 1983 of five Phantom and two Lightning squadrons, one Bloodhound and three Rapier squadrons and one Shackleton airborne early warning squadron. Seventy two dual-role Hawk trainer aircraft were then available as interceptor day fighters. In 1973 we had one Phantom and five Lightning squadrons, one Bloodhound squadron and one Shackleton AEW squadron.
Amphibious Warfare
17. Mr. Bates : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he intends to take to improve the United Kingdom amphibious warfare capability.
Mr. Aitken : We are committed to improving Britain's amphibious warfare capability. We recently announced that we are going ahead with a new helicopter carrier and we expect to place an order later this year. We are proceeding with our plans to upgrade our three older landing ships logistic, Sir Bedivere, Sir Percival and Sir Geraint. We are also continuing with project definition studies for replacements for our two assault ships.
Nuclear Tests
18. Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the discussion his Department's ministers and officials have had with the United States Government about nuclear tests.
Mr. Rifkind : We are in close contact with the United States Government on nuclear testing, at both ministerial and official level.
25. Mr. Connarty : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his United States counterpart regarding nuclear testing.
Mr. Rifkind : I shall be discussing a wide range of issues with Mr. Aspin later this week.
Communications with Industry
19. Mr. Congdon : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to improve its communications with industry.
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Mr. Aitken : We have taken a number of initiatives to improve communications between my Department and industry. They include special conferences, meetings, briefings and industrial visits all with a new emphasis on providing the maximum information to industry, subject to the constraints of security and commercial
confidentiality.
Infantry Strength
20. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the total infantry strength in 1994 ; and what the figure was in 1984.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The total trained strength of the infantry on 1 April 1994 is expected to be about 29,000. The total trained strength of the infantry on 1 April 1984 was 38,373.
Bosnia
21. Dr. Blackburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many tons of food and other humanitarian aid have been escorted by United Kingdom forces on behalf of the United Nations in Bosnia.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : As at 18 April, 474 convoys escorted by British troops have carried 33,224 tonnes of humanitarian aid. A further 6,751 tonnes of aid have been flown into Sarajevo by 449 sorties of RAF Hercules.
Scott Inquiry
22. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pages of evidence he has submitted to Lord Justice Scott's inquiry.
Mr. Aitken : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 26 March 1993, Official Report, column 759.
European Fighter Aircraft
23. Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next expects to meet the Spanish Defence Minister to discuss the EFA.
Mr. Aitken : My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans at present to discuss Eurofighter 2000 with Senor Garcia Vargas. I met my Spanish opposite number, Senor Flos Bassols, along with the German and Italian State Secretaries on 5 April. We reviewed the progress that has been made in the task of reorientating the Eurofighter 2000 project in line with the agreement reached between my right hon. and learned Friend and the other three Ministers of Defence on 10 December 1992.
Nuclear Missile Capabilities
24. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those countries which possess a nuclear missile capable of striking Britain.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Within the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus have such missiles on their territories--these are centrally controlled. The only other country outside NATO with such a capacity is China.
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Peace Dividend
26. Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the peace dividend.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Under the plans set out in the 1992 Autumn Statement, Cm 2096, the underlying defence budget will decline by around 12 per cent. in real terms between 1990-91 and 1995-96.
Market Testing
27. Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will report on progress with market testing in the armed forces.
Mr. Aitken : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 March 1993, Official Report, columns 547-48 .
Aldermaston
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what inquiries were made about the health and safety record of companies bidding to take over the running of the Aldermaston nuclear weapons plant ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : Comprehensive and detailed inquiries were made about all aspects of the companies which bid for the contract to operate the atomic weapons establishment. These included health and safety factors, which were particularly important in judging the competition.
British Army of the Rhine
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops are currently serving in Germany ; at what cost to the Exchequer ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The military manpower strength of the British Army of the Rhine is currently about 40,000 and the defence budget provision for BAOR is some £1,275 million for 1993-94.
Yugoslavia
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions to date British troops have come under fire in former Yugoslavia.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : To date, there have been about 70 incidents in which British troops or the convoys they were escorting have come under fire or sustained injury or damage as a result of military type activities by indigenous forces. Except in a small number of cases it is not possible to distinguish between incidents in which UNPROFOR vehicles and/or personnel have been deliberately aimed at and those where they have sustained collateral damage as a result of an attack on a nearby target.
Outrider Laser Weapon
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his intention to procure for British forces the Outrider laser weapon system.
Mr. Aitken : The Outrider combat protection system is a United States research programme involving laser
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technology. The United Kingdom is also involved in research in this field, including in collaboration with the United States. No decisions have been taken on the procurement by the United Kingdom of systems which might result from such research.Reserve Forces
Sir Keith Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the present and proposed tasks for (a) the Royal Naval Reserve, (b) the Royal Marines Reserve, (c) the Territorial Army and (d) the RAF Reserve ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Royal Naval Reserve exists to augment the Royal Navy with trained personnel in times of tension and general war. Its present major tasks are the defence of ports and anchorages ; naval control of shipping ; the provision of naval parties for ships taken up from trade ; and the manning of ships of the 10th mine counter-measures squadron. The main purpose of the Royal Marines Reserve is to provide trained reinforcements to bring units of commando forces up to full war establishment on mobilisation. The Territorial Army provides formed units and sub-units, and some individuals, to complete the mobilised army order of battle. Some units would form part of the Allied Command Europe rapid reaction corps, and others contribute to the direct defence of the United Kingdom. The mobilisation tasks of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve are to support the Royal Air Force with units, squadrons and flights in the maritime headquarters, ground defence, air movements, aeromedical evacuation, intelligence support, photographic interpretation, foreign language interrogation, and public relations roles, and with a small number of air electronics operators for Nimrod maritime patrol duties.
Work is continuing on the future role of the Reserves and proposals will be announced to the House later in the year.
Transport Aircraft
Mr. Alexander : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the future development of large transport aircraft and the replacement of the Hercules C130 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : We have received a number of representations on this subject from hon. Members and industry. I can confirm that we intend to replace or modernise the Royal Air Force's C-130 fleet. We have no plans to participate in a new development programme, as we believe that the technology already exists to meet our requirements.
WALES
Dredging
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what date the Llanelli Sand Dredging Company commenced dredging on the Helwick bank ; and if he will indicate the tonnage of sand dredged on a weekly basis to date.
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