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Mr. Neil Hamilton : The purpose of the discussion was to assist officials in advising me on how to respond to points made in representations to the Department. In particular the Department needed to be clear whether the representations made to us revealed any evidence that the company was not complying with the Beer Orders or undertakings given to the Director General of Fair Trading following the MMC report on the Elders IXL Ltd./Grand Metropolitan plc merger ; and further, whether the company was abiding by assurances given to Ministers in 1991 about treatment of tenants. On the level of rents, the release of a pub from tie affects its market rent because it allows the tenant/lessee freedom of choice in sourcing his beer and in obtaining discounts.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 5 July, Official Report, column 36, what assurances have been obtained from Inntrepreneur Estates Ltd. in respect of its treatment of their lessees since 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : In meetings with the company, my officials have been assured that the company continues to abide by the assurances given to Ministers in 1991 about the treatment of tenants. In addition, I understand that the company has recently introduced more flexibility into leasing arrangements ; for example, the incorporation, where appropriate, of a three-year break clause, exercisable by the lessee only, into the standard Inntrepreneur lease.
Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986
Mr. Bell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the operation of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
Mr. Neil Hamilton [holding answer 22 June 1993] : There has been no formal assessment of the legislation by the Attorney-General. The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has responsibility for the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. The Department monitors the effectiveness of all legislation for which it is responsible.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Ainger : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what volume, in cubic metres, of intermediate level radioactive waste will remain in the United Kingdom under return of waste agreements between British Nuclear Fuels plc and overseas customers (a) in absolute terms and (b) as a proportion of the waste imported ;
(2) what volume, in cubic metres, of low level radioactive wastes will remain in the United Kingdom under return of waste agreements between British Nuclear Fuels plc and overseas customers (a) in absolute terms and (b) as a proportion of the waste imported.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 23 June 1993] : Since 1976, BNFL's contracts for the reprocessing of overseas spent fuel have contained options for the return of wastes. Under these agreements, the company has the right to return all three types of waste--high, intermediate and low- level--to the country of origin. The possible substitution for low and intermediate-level waste of a radiologically equivalent amount of high- level waste, in addition to the customer's normal HLW allocation, was referred to in my reply to the hon. Member of 7 June 1993, Official Report, column 161.
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European Regional Development Fund
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the Council of Ministers meeting on Friday, 2 July in relation to the European regional development fund.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 8 July 1993] : I refer to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Kincardine and Deeside on 6 July, Official Report , columns 105-06 .
Misleading Pricing
Mr. Moss : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what response he has made to the recommendations of the Monitoring Committee on Misleading Price Indications ; and if he will publish their report.
Mr. McLoughlin [pursuant to the answer given by the hon. Member for Gainsborough and Horncastle (Mr. Leigh) on 7 May 1993, Official Report, columns 276-77] : My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms has announced today that the Department is going out to consultation on proposed regulations under section 26 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 which would require resellers of tickets for theatre performances and other such events to tell consumers the standard of the seat being offered including its face value.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Ballygowan
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated population of Ballygowan ; and what the population of Ballygowan was 10 years ago.
Sir Patrick Mayhew : Prior to 1991, the official mid-year estimates of population were not produced to ward level. However, the 1991 census records the population of the ward of Ballygowan as 4,027. Allowing for boundary changes, the comparable 1981 census figure is estimated at 2,949.
Optical Appliances Vouchers
Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has beenland in each year since 1986.
Sir Patrick Mayhew : The information is as follows :
Year |Total number of |Total cost of
|vouchers redeemed |vouchers scheme (£)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986<1> |62,519 |972,808
1987 |124,222 |2,287,157
1988 |122,080 |2,485,425
1989 |119,207 |2,681,090
1990 |118,152 |2,889,159
1991 |<2>141,687 |3,573,688
1992 |<2>162,365 |4,381,207
<1> The 1986 figures represent only six months as the scheme was introduced on
1 July 1986.
<2> The figures for 1991 and 1992 are provisional.
Source: Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for Health and Personal Social
Services.
Opera House, Belfast
Mr. Mandelson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the estimated cost of repairing the Opera house in Belfast after its recent bombing ; if he expects this cost to be met from ordinary funding of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ancram : The estimated cost of repairing the Grand Opera is £1.75 million. The Compensation Agency has accepted liability for the necessary repairs.
Arts Council
Mr. Mandelson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding is allocated to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for the current year ; and what were the figures for the five preceding years.
Mr. Ancram : In the current financial year the Arts Council of Northern Ireland will receive funding amounting to £6.349 million. Allocations in the five preceding years were :
|£ million
------------------------------
1988-89 |4.272
1989-90 |4.797
1990-91 |5.565
1991-92 |6.461
1992-93 |6.580
President, Irish Republic
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many representatives of Her Majesty's Government have been in attendance during engagements performed by the President of the Irish Republic during each of her private visits to Northern Ireland.
Sir John Wheeler : A representative of Her Majesty's Government was in attendance at one event attended by the President of the Irish Republic in February 1992 during one of her five private visits to Northern Ireland. On that occasion the then Secretary of State, Mr. Brooke, hosted a reception in Stormont castle.
Disallowed Unemployment Benefit
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by month for the last 12 months and by employment region the number of people disallowed unemployment benefit.
Mr. Ancram : Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Alec Wylie. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Alec Wylie to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 8 July 1993 :
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As I am responsible for Social Security operational matters, your recent Parliamentary Question on the number of disallowances of Unemployment Benefit in the employment regions of Northern Ireland each month in the last 12 months has been passed to me for reply.Column 350
There are 11 Districts in Northern Ireland for social security purposes. The number of people disallowed Unemployment Benefit for each of the last twelve months in the Districts is set out in the table attached.I hope you find this information helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report and copies will be placed in the Library.
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Unemployment benefit disallowances in Northern Ireland
from July 1992 to June 1993
1992 1993
District |July |August |September|October |November |December |January |February |March |April |May |June
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast North |175 |145 |136 |134 |160 |140 |140 |150 |140 |152 |115 |201
Belfast South and Down 174 150 161 182 197 161 139 178 193 137 111 168
North West |132 |101 |141 |170 |163 |168 |133 |119 |148 |181 |180 |172
Laganbann |123 |165 |147 |240 |217 |210 |201 |203 |212 |182 |186 |202
North East |150 |104 |122 |186 |203 |189 |174 |176 |210 |211 |184 |176
Central |161 |72 |105 |132 |94 |82 |167 |105 |123 |170 |99 |112
Mourne |121 |113 |107 |164 |149 |151 |131 |165 |174 |131 |153 |151
East |184 |205 |266 |715 |545 |349 |317 |435 |364 |369 |404 |542
Belfast West |62 |92 |67 |59 |69 |33 |89 |61 |101 |49 |114 |86
South East Antrim |194 |218 |238 |410 |265 |235 |299 |350 |342 |329 |259 |315
West |104 |64 |118 |120 |113 |126 |91 |143 |150 |145 |83 |85
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |1,580 |1,429 |1,608 |2,512 |2,175 |1,844 |1,881 |2,085 |2,157 |2,056 |1,888 |2,210
PRIME MINISTER
UK-Japan Nuclear Trade
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister whether he discussed the matter of United Kingdom-Japan nuclear trade during his visit to the G7 summit in Tokyo.
The Prime Minister : At our meeting, the Prime Minister of Japan and I discussed a wide range of bilateral and international issues.
Serbia
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had during the past two weeks with Lord Owen on the issue of the selective lifting of sanctions against Serbia ; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I have had no such discussions with Lord Owen during the past two weeks. At the Group of Seven economic summit in Tokyo on 7-9 July, I and other Heads of Government reaffirmed that sanctions will be upheld against Serbia and Montenegro until the conditions in the relevant Security Council resolutions on the former Yugoslavia are met.
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Public Bodies
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister what is the Government's policy towards the appointment of known members of the Labour party to non- ministerial public bodies, including health authorities and hospital trust boards.
The Prime Minister : The Government seek to make all appointments, including those to health authorities and NHS trusts, on merit. Individuals are carefully appraised against the key criteria set for each appointment which cover the qualities, skills and experience required. Details of political affiliation are not specified, and are not required on nomination forms. The successful candidate is the one who meets the criteria, and has the ability and aptitude to meet the demands of the appointment, and to contribute to the effective working of the body concerned.
Overseas Visits
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the destination, dates and purpose of each official overseas visit he has undertaken since November 1991.
The Prime Minister : The information requested is as follows :
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Destination |Purpose of visit |Dates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italy |NATO Summit Meeting |6-8 November 1991
Germany |Bilateral |10 November 1991
Italy |Bilateral |27 November 1991
Germany |Bilateral |27 November 1991
Netherlands |Bilateral |1 December 1991
Republic of Ireland |Bilateral |4 December 1991
Netherlands |European Council |8-10 December 1991
USA |United Nations Security Council Meeting |30-31 January 1992
Poland |Bilateral |25-26 May 1992
Czechoslovakia |Bilateral |26-28 May 1992
Hungary |Bilateral |28-29 May 1992
Germany |Bilateral |5 June 1992
USA |Bilateral |6-9 June 1992
Colombia |Bilateral |9-10 June 1992
Brazil |United Nations Conference on Environment|10-12 June 1992
| and Development (UNCED)
Portugal |European Council |25-27 June 1992
Germany |G7 Economic Summit |6-8 July 1992
Finland |CSCE Summit |9-10 July 1992
Spain |Olympic Games |7-9 August 1992
Spain |Bilateral |16-17 September 1992
France |Bilateral |30 September 1992
Egypt |50th Anniversary Commemorations at |23-25 October 1992
| El Alamein
Belgium |Bilateral |23 November 1992
Italy |Bilateral |27 November 1992
Luxembourg |Bilateral |30 November 1992
Greece |Bilateral |27-28 November 1992
Spain |Bilateral |30 November to
|1 December 1992
Portugal |Bilateral |1 December 1992
Denmark |Bilateral |2 December 1992
Netherlands |Bilateral |6-7 December 1992
Republic of Ireland |Bilateral |7 December 1992
France |European Parliament Plenary |15-16 December 1992
Canada |EC/Canada Talks |17-18 December 1992
USA |EC/United States Talks |18-20 December 1992
Bosnia |Visit British Forces |22 December 1992
India |Republic Day Celebrations |23-28 January 1993
Oman |Bilateral |28 January 1993
Saudi Arabia |Bilateral |28 January 1993
USA |Bilateral |23-25 February 1993
Switzerland |Bilateral |5-6 April 1993
Austria |Bilateral |6 April 1993
France |Bilateral |27-28 May 1993
Denmark |European Council |20-22 June 1993
Japan |G7 Economic Summit |5-9 July 1993
SCOTLAND
Mortgage Rescue Schemes
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress Scottish Homes has made with developing mortgage rescue schemes in Scotland ; and if he will make a statement relating to future plans for progressing such schemes.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : I asked Scottish Homes in 1991 to consider the need for such schemes in Scotland. After consulting the Building Societies Association it advised that due to the generally low level of repossessions and the relative buoyancy of the Scottish housing market, specific mortgage rescue schemes were not appropriate in Scotland. The situation is kept under review.
Crown Office
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representatives of the Crown Office have attended courses in racial awareness.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is an equal opportunities employer whose training courses where appropriate have a component dealing with racial awareness. Procurators fiscal are also encouraged to meet representatives of local community relations councils and similar bodies to discuss issues of concern to ethnic minorities. Crown Office staff meet and correspond from time to time with the Commission for Racial Equality.
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to enable the Crown Office to equip procurators fiscal and depute fiscals to prosecute in cases of racially motivated crimes.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : It is not the function of the Secretary of State for Scotland to equip prosecutors to carry out their duties. Procurators fiscal have been instructed by my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate always to take into account, when considering whether proceedings are in the public interest, evidence that a crime was racially motivated. They will also ensure that information about such an aggravating factor is brought to the attention of the court before sentence is passed.
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (a) how many cases of racial harassment or racially motivated crimes or offences have been reported by Scottish police forces to the Crown Office during the last full year for which such figures are available, (b) how many of such cases have been brought to prosecution by the Crown Office and (c) how many such prosecutions have resulted in convictions.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Figures are not available which show the total number of cases of racial harassment reported by the police to procurators fiscal, although in 1992 the police recorded 38 cases in the category comprising offences under the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Public Order Act 1986. Cases involving racial harassment are often prosecuted at common law and in that event prosecutions and convictions are not being recorded in such a way as to allow those which are racially motivated to be counted separately.
Labour Statistics
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were registered as unemployed in the Greenock
travel-to-work-area ; and what was the figure in (a) 1985, (b) 1988 and (c) 1991.
Mr. Stewart : In April 1993, the number of people registered as unemployed in Greenock travel-to-work-area was 5,726, representing 13.2 per cent. of the work force.
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The equivalent figures in April 1985, 1988 and 1991 were (a) 9, 368--19.5 per cent.-- (b) 9,116--20.9 per cent.--and (c) 5,699--13.5 per cent.NATIONAL HERITAGE
Foreign Tourists
8. Mr. Nigel Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what initiatives the Government are taking to increase the number of tourists from abroad to this country.
Mr. Sproat : The British Tourist Authority receives £32 million from my Department to promote Britain overseas. My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that the number of overseas visits to the United Kingdom over the three months to April is 12 per cent. up on the same period last year.
I am also conducting an urgent and detailed inquiry into regulations affecting tourism to establish the scope for deregulation and so allow the industry to become more competitive.
British Library
11. Mr. Gerrard : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received regarding the new British Library site at St. Pancras.
Mr. Brooke : I have received several representations on various aspects of the St. Pancras project.
Theatre-in-Education
15. Mr. John Owen Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will establish an independent inquiry into the funding of Theatre-in-Education.
Mr. Sproat : My Department does not involve itself in the funding of individual arts organisations. It is for the appropriate agencies--in this case, the Arts Councils, regional arts boards and local authorities--to consider support of Theatre-in-Education in the context of their own funding policies and priorities.
English Heritage
16. Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he next plans to meet the chairman of English Heritage to discuss funding.
Mr. Brooke : I have frequent meetings with the chairman of English Heritage at which a whole range of issues, including funding, are discussed.
Industrial Heritage
17. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what recent assessment his Department has made on the implications for the tourism industry of industrial national heritage.
Mr. Sproat : The English Tourist Board has designated 1993 as Industrial Heritage Year with the regional tourist boards undertaking a series of promotional activities on this theme. It is too early to make any assessment of the outcome of the campaign. However, I understand that there has been an encouraging response to the campaign "Experience the Making of Britain".
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Arts and Sports, Chelmsford
19. Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement about opportunities for funding for arts and sports in Chelmsford.
Mr. Sproat : Funding for the arts in Chelmsford is mainly provided by the borough council with Essex county council. Chelmsford borough council supports its own directly managed venues and promotions. The Government-funded regional arts board, Eastern Arts, supports the Chelmsford Spectacular and the Chelmsford Cathedral Festival. All of these bodies offer individual project grants. Chelmsford borough council and Eastern Arts have supported a feasibility study into the possibilities of converting Chancellor Hall into a major regional dance centre and, as a follow-up, are presently launching a more detailed architectural study of Chancellor Hall.
The Government's business sponsorship incentive scheme has this year made an award of £4,000 to a Chelmsford-based arts organisation, the Essex Regional Dance Council, to match sponsorship by United Distillers, London.
In addition to local authority funding, financial assistance for sport is provided through the Sports Council and the business sponsorship incentive scheme for sport, both sponsored by my Department, the Foundation for Sport and the Arts (FSA) and the Football Trust. In recent years Chelmsford has benefited from a number of these sources, including a grant of £100,000 from the FSA in 1992 to rebuild an indoor cricket school at the Essex County Cricket Club ground.
The Crescent, Buxton
20. Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the latest information he has on plans to restore the Grade I listed Crescent in Buxton.
Mr. Sproat : A public local inquiry into my right hon. Friend's draft compulsory purchase order for the former St. Ann's hotel has been arranged to take place in Buxton on 17 August. If the order is subsequently made, my right hon. Friend's intention is to dispose of the building to High Peak borough council, which would carry out the necessary repairs.
Sports Grant
21. Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what level of grant will be given to the new United Kingdom Sports Commission and Sports Council for England.
Mr. Brooke : I announced on 9 July, Official Report, column 599-602, that the Government did not intend to proceed with the creation of the United Kingdom Sports Commission.
Television News
22. Mr. Milligan : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessments he has made of the ability of the Independent Television Commission to preserve the quality of the news coverage of ITV.
Mr. Brooke : The ITC became the regulator, rather than the broadcaster, of ITV on 1 January this year. The
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Commission has shown its determination to ensure that the ITV companies comply with the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 1990 and the conditions of their licences.Press Regulation
23. Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consultations he has held with owners and editors of national newspapers about the proposals by the Press Complaints Commission to strengthen self-regulation.
Mr. Brooke : None ; but I have regular informal contacts with a range of owners and editors of national newspapers and am well aware of their views on press self-regulation, as on other matters. On 5 March I met representatives of the Press Standards of Finance Ltd. to discuss the industry's response to Sir David Calcutt's review of press self-regulation.
Hotel Tax
24. Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what response he has made to the proposal by the Association of Metropolitan Authorities for a tourism tax on hotels.
Mr. Sproat : I am aware of the document produced by the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, although I have not been approached for a response. I shall monitor developments with interest, although local taxation is primarily a matter for the Department of the Environment.
I am glad to see that the paper acknowledges the difficulties inherent in introducing a tourism tax. Many sectors of the tourism industry are opposed to the idea, and the impact of such a tax on tourism earnings would have to be very carefully considered.
British Broadcasting Corporation
25. Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to discuss the renewal of the BBC charter with governors of the BBC.
Mr. Brooke : None at present. I discussed the future of the BBC, and other matters, when I met the board of governors and senior managers on 16 June.
National Museums
26. Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he proposes to visit the national museums of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England to discuss funding ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sproat : I visit many museums throughout the United Kingdom. I have direct funding responsibility for the national museums of England only.
Taylor Report
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress has been made on the implementation of the Taylor report.
Mr. Brooke : Six clubs in the FA Premier League and First Division of the Football League have already met the requirement of seating for all, and many others will achieve this objective within the next few months.
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National Lottery
Mr. Amess : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress is being made towards determining the site for the headquarters of the national lottery.
Mr. Sproat : My hon. Friend is an extremely effective champion of anything that is in the good interests of Basildon. I congratulate him on that. In this case, of course, the choice of a site for the headquarters of the national lottery is not a matter for Ministers, but for the chosen operator of the national lottery. The choice of the operator, which will be made by the Director General of the Office of the National Lottery--OFLOT-- will not be made until after the National Lottery Etc. Bill has received Royal Assent, and the Director General of OFLOT has been appointed.
My hon. Friend may care to identify potential candidates for the role of operator of the national lottery, before one such candidate is chosen, and explain to them all, and seek to convince them of the benefits, as he sees them, of Basildon as a site, so that whoever is chosen is fully briefed on Basildon. No doubt other hon. Members may also seek to convince potential operators of the benefits of other sites for the headquarters of the national lottery
Windsor Castle
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when work on the repairs at Windsor castle are expected to be completed.
Mr. Brooke : The reconstruction of the fire-damaged areas is planned to be completed in 1998. I am pleased to announce that the Duke of Edinburgh will be chairing a committee to advise on the restoration project. The deputy chairman will be the Prince of Wales. Other members are the president of the RIBA, the chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission, the chairman of English Heritage, the Lord Chamberlain and two other members of the royal household, and the Permanent Secretary of my Department.
Regional Theatre
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received about the future of British regional theatre.
Mr. Brooke : The Arts Council recently conducted an artistic review to set its funding priorities. Following that review, I have received a number of letters about the future of particular theatres and support for drama. The levels of funding given to theatres and drama companies are matters for the Arts Council.
EDUCATION
LEA Spending
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to improve the analysis of local education authority spending figures by his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : For the 1992-93 financial year, we aim to have a complete data set by January 1994, about two months earlier than hitherto.
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Achievement of this aim depends on LEAs completing and submitting the relevant returns on time.Non-teaching Staff
Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will provide for each local education authority the numbers of (a) non-teaching staff in schools and (b) non-teaching staff employed centrally, providing for each group a breakdown by job function into (i) education support staff, (ii) premises related, including school meals, caretakers and (iii) administration.
Mr. Robin Squire : Information on the full-time equivalent numbers of education support and administrative staff employed in maintained schools in England in January 1992--the latest date for which information is available--is shown in the table. Information on premises-related staff in schools is not collected centrally. Similar information on centrally employed non-teaching staff is not collected by the Department, although tables showing the total numbers of teachers and lecturers and of other staff employed in the education service of each local authority have been placed in the Library.
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