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Mr. Needham : In 1992, the value of invisible imports from Norway was £3.84 billion. My Department does not make projections on United Kingdom trade with individual countries.
Transport Equipment
29. Mr. Gapes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment his Department has made of the future prospects for the transport equipment sector ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : My Department's sponsor divisions make continual assessments of the competitiveness and future prospects of the sectors for which they are responsible, including those sectors which fall within the generic description of transport equipment.
Trade Statistics
32. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his Department's estimate of the value of Britain's total (a) exports and (b) imports for January to May.
Mr. Needham : Figures for total trade over the period are not yet available. In the period January to May, the value of the United Kingdom's non-EC visible exports was £22.7 billion and the value of imports was £27.8 billion.
Telecommunications
Mr. Carrington : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has received a report by the Director General of Telecommunications for the year 1992 as required under section 55 of the
Telecommunications Act 1984.
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Mr. McLoughlin : Yes. The ninth report by the Director General of Telecommunications is being published today. It covers the period 1 January to 31 December 1992. Copies of the report have been laid before each House of Parliament.
Inntrepreneur Scheme
Mr. Wareing : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will reply to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby for answer on 10 June relating to investigations into the Inntrepreneur scheme.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 June, Official Report, column 23.
Trade Marks
Mr. Hoon : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his proposed timetable for legislation relating to trade marks.
Mr. McLoughlin : A Bill to implement the proposals in the White Paper "Reform of Trade Marks Law"--Cm 1203--has been fully drafted, and will be introduced as soon as the parliamentary timetable permits.
Auditing
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions auditors have acted as company secretaries in each year since 1990.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : This is a matter for Companies House. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from David Durham to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 21 June 1993 :
As this is a matter which is within my responsibility as Chief Executive and Registrar of Companies, I am writing to you direct. I should explain that the Companies Act does not prohibit an auditor from acting as secretary to a company provided, of course, that he does not carry out the audit of that company's accounts. We, therefore, have no reason to compile figures of this nature, and it would involve disproportionate costs to identify from company records occasions where an auditor has acted as company secretary. We have, since 1990, received one complaint which suggests that an auditor is acting as secretary to the company whose accounts he is auditing. That complaint was received this year and we are currently investigating the matter. We have also dealt with one case where the secretary of the company carried out the audit of the company's accounts. He was formally warned that he would be liable to prosecution if he repeated the offence.
I hope that the above information is helpful to you.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment his representative on the Auditing Practices Board has made of the going concern exposure draft circulated to the One Hundred Group of Directors.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : My Department has sent comments on the draft guidance for directors of listed companies on going concern and financial reporting direct to the secretary of the working group on going concern, in response to an invitation from the chairman of that group.
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Leyland DAF
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he has taken against Leyland DAF for late filing of its annual accounts at Companies House.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : This is a matter for Companies House. I have therefore, asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member. Letter from David Durham to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 21 June 1993 :
As this is a matter which is my responsibility as Registrar of Companies House, I am writing to you direct.
I have checked the register and can find only two companies within the Leyland DAF group who have failed to submit up-to-date accounts. They are Leyland DAF Limited and Leyland DAF Holdings Limited. I can confirm that Companies House was aware of the failure of the directors of these companies to deliver accounts for the period ended 31 December 1991. This was followed up with the companies in accordance with normal procedures.
I was subsequently notified that an administrative receiver had been appointed for both companies on 3 Febwelve months of the receivership and 6 monthly periods thereafter.
Should the companies survive the receivership and emerge as active and wishing to remain on the register, the directors will be obliged to deliver outstanding statutory documents including those which became outstanding prior to the appointment of the receiver. I hope this reply has covered the points tabled in your question.
Reporting Accountants
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has to ban reporting accountants from subsequently acting as receivers and liquidators for the same business.
Company Investigations
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade for which companies he has published an interim report by his Department's inspectors since 1979 but a final report remains unpublished.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Dunlop Holdings Ltd. and Ramor Investments Ltd. Substantial interim reports were published on 17 February 1981 and 22 March 1983 respectively.
Modified Accounts
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many small and medium-sized companies have filed modified accounts at Companies House in each year since 1990 ; and in how many cases the filing of such accounts was found to be unwarranted.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : This matter is for Companies House. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from David Durham to Mr. Austin Mitchell dated 21 June 1993 :
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As the information requested is part of my responsibility as Registrar of Companies, I have been asked to reply to you direct. The following modified or abbreviated accounts were accepted for filing :
|Small |Medium
--------------------------------
1990-91 |252,368|3,767
1991-92 |270,754|4,386
1992-93 |303,125|5,202
Of these, in the years in question, in 6, 5 and 4 cases respectively the accounts were subsequently found to have been accepted in circumstances where the company did not meet the relevant criteria.
Sellafield
Mr. Simpson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what safeguards will ensure the safe transport of radioactive waste to, and reprocessed fuel from, the Sellafield site ; and what security measures will be in force to prevent unauthorised access to the reprocessed fuel in transit.
Mr. Eggar : Radioactive materials are only transported in extremely robust containers designed and built to meet or exceed stringent internationally agreed standards laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Appropriate measures are taken to ensure the security of these movements.
THORP
Mr. Simpson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what uses, other than use in power stations, are planned for the reprocessed fuel produced from the thermal oxide reprocessing plant.
Mr. Eggar : The thermal oxide reprocessing plant is a civil facility and the nuclear materials arising from it must be used for peaceful purposes only. In practice, these are normally electricity generation or research.
Mr. Simpson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what restrictions are envisaged on the uses of reprocessed fuel from the thermal oxide reprocessing plant ; and how the restrictions on the use of reprocessed fuel will be policed and monitored.
Mr. Eggar : Nuclear materials arising from the thermal oxide reprocessing plant will be used for peaceful purposes only. This will be subject to verification by inspectors under international safeguards agreements.
Patents
Mr. Wigley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many patents have been awarded by the United States of America for United Kingdom-based work in each year since 1988 ; and what information he has on the number of patents awarded by the United States of America to (a) France, (b) Germany and (c) Japan in the same period.
Mr. McLoughlin : The annual report for the fiscal year 1991 of the United States Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks shows the number of patents issued by the United States to residents of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan to be as follows :
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Year Place of
residence
|United Kingdom |France |Germany (Fed. Rep)|Germany (Dem. Rep)|Japan
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988 |2,677 |2,829 |7,587 |47 |16,704
1989 |3,378 |3,310 |8,756 |58 |20,907
1990 |2,946 |3,032 |7,727 |38 |20,170
1991 |2,974 |3,094 |7,584 |0 |21,464
The territorial base of the work leading to the patents is not recorded.
The report for 1992 has not yet been received.
Research and Development
Mr. Wigley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish figures showing the level of business enterprise research and development as a proportion of gross domestic product for (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the United States of America (c) Italy, (d) France, (e) Germany and (f) Japan during 1991 and 1992.
Mr. Sainsbury : The information is available from the OECD's publication "Main Science and Technology Indicators", published in 1992, and the Central Statistical Office's bulletin "Business Enterprise Research and Development 1991", published on 25 February 1993, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Thomason : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to take account of the contribution of the waste-to-energy industry in his Department's renewable energy strategy review.
Mr. Eggar : The Government are working towards 1500 MW of new renewable energy electricity generating capacity by the year 2000 supported by a continuing research and knowledge programme. We plan to take the potential of waste to energy projects into account when developing policy for renewables.
Warren Spring Laboratory
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith), of 27 May, Official Report, column 692 and to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan), of 10 June, Official Report, column 303, which organisation will inherit the Warren Spring Laboratory's membership of the European network of environmental research organisations.
Mr. McLoughlin : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) on 22 June, Official Report, column 141.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what expenditure has been committed, either directly or in penalty clauses, to the construction of the replacement Warren Spring Laboratory in Welwyn Garden City.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 15 June 1993] : I refer the hon. Member to my reply regarding the estimated cost of a replacement laboratory on 22 June, Official Report, column 142. Around £6 million has been committed to the purchase of the site at Welwyn Garden City and preparatory work for the construction of the replacement laboratory. The site will be resold.
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Consumers Association
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last met the Consumers Association ; and what was discussed.
Mr. McLoughlin : My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has not met the Consumers Association. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms has met them on the following occasions over the last year : 9 June 1992 : Discussion included reform of the Sale of Goods Act, EC Directive on Unfair Contract Terms, UK Presidency and the Monopolies and Mergers Commissions' report on car prices. 17 July 1992 : Visit to CA Research laboratory in Harpenden. 15 February 1993 : Discussion centred on arrangements for the provision of effective advice and enforcement of consumer protection.
8 December 1992 : To discuss proposals relating to the tying in of services to loans secured on land.
Coal
Mr. Tipping : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what further discussions he has had about financial subsidy for additional coal contracts between British Coal and the generators ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Mr. Porter) on 16 June, Official Report, columns 603-5.
Offshore Exploration
Mr. Ainger : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the blocks in the 14th round from which licence applications have been withdrawn because of the impact of proposed petroleum revenue tax changes.
Mr. Eggar : In any licensing round, information on blocks applied for but not awarded is regarded as commercially confidential.
EC Technology and Industry Conference
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to participate in the European Commission's conference on its fourth framework programme on technology and industrial policies in London on 6 July.
Mr. McLoughlin : My Department has been asked to participate in the one day conference entitled "The Future of EC R&D and Industrial Policy", in London on 6 July. One of my officials, Mr. Adrian Grilli of the innovation policy division has agreed to chair this event being run by the Institute of European Trade and Technology. Mr. Allan Mayo will be speaking for the Office of Science and Technology which is responsible for co- ordinating all United Kingdom policy on EC research and development.
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what have been the costs incurred to date by the Scott inquiry.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 21 June 1993] : The DTI is responsible for meeting the direct costs incurred by the Scott inquiry which, to date, total about £150,000.
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Offshore Pollution
Mr. Ainger : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the type and quantity in tonnes of (a) drilling chemicals and (b) production chemicals notified to him as discharged by offshore operations in each year since 1979 ; and what is his best estimate of the proportion this represents in each year of the total amount of each chemical discharged into United Kingdom waters.
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Mr. Eggar [holding answer 10 June 1993] : Prior to 1987 the Department did not collect details of the tonnages of chemicals discharged offshore. A trial collection of data was made in 1987 and another in 1990, but there are doubts as to the completeness of the returns for those years. The first comprehensive annual return was that for 1991 which is set out in the table ; the 1992 data are currently being collated. The products covered by the return are not in general discharged to the sea except from offshore installations.
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Chemicals used/discharged 1991
Chemical Product |Drilling |Production
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antifoam |X |X
Asphalts/asphalt based products |X
Biocides |X |X
Carrier Solvent |X |X
Coagulants/Deoilers |X |X
Corrosion inhibitors |X |X
Cutting wash fluids |X
Defoamers |X
Demulsifiers |X
Detergents/Cleaning fluids |X
Dispersants |X
Drilling lubricants |X
Dyes |X
Emulsifiers |X
Fluid loss control |X
Gas Treatment |X
Gels |X
Inorganic chemicals |X
Lignosulphonates lignites |X
Lost circulation material |X
Oxygen scavengers |X
Polymeric viscosifiers and filtrate reducers |X
Shale inhibitors |X |X
Shale inhibitors/encapsulators |X
Thinners |X
Viscosifiers |X
Weighting agents and inorganic gelling agents |X
|----
Total |200,997
Bank Auditors
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has for legislation under which auditors of banks would be appointed by a body similar to the Audit Commission.
Mr. Nelson : I have been asked to reply.
There are no such proposals. The appointment of auditors remains a matter for individual banks.
Timber Imports
Mr. Gallie : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the monthly cost of United Kingdom imports of timber for each month from March 1992 to March 1993.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 22 June 1993] : The available information is given in the table.
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United Kingdom imports of timber<1>
£ thousand
|EC<2> |Non-EC|Total
--------------------------------------
1992
March |10,497|66,466|76,963
April |10,606|75,053|85,659
May |9,760 |76,383|86,143
June |10,508|86,998|97,506
July |10,973|82,644|93,617
August |8,069 |75,624|83,693
September |10,387|77,335|87,722
October |10,351|77,720|88,071
November |9,993 |78,090|88,083
December |7,281 |61,550|68,831
1993
January |n/a |67,742|n/a
February |n/a |62,220|n/a
March |n/a |68,775|n/a
Notes:
1. Timber is defined as heading
245.01, 246, 247 and 248 of the
Standard International Trade
Classification (revision 3).
2. Figures for EC trade will be
available later in the year.
Source: Business Monitor MM20,
Overseas Trade Statistics of the
United Kingdom.
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