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Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what measures he is taking to ensure that the
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timetable for organising grant-maintained status ballots is sufficient for consultation purposes ; and if he will make a statement ;(2) if he will take measures to ensure that the distribution of ballot papers on grant-maintained status occurs at the end of the consultation period rather than the middle ;
(3) if he will draw up a code of conduct to cover all those involved in the organisation of ballots and consultations on grant-maintained status.
Mr. Robin Squire : The Education Bill will streamline the procedures for acquiring grant-maintained status. Both the existing and prospective statutory provisions offer scope for local consultation and debate before a ballot on grant-maintained status is initiated, in the period prior to a ballot and during the ballot period itself. Individual governing bodies are best placed to determine the most appropriate timing for a ballot in their school's circumstances, within the statutory time scale.
The Department provides detailed guidance on the conduct of ballots and any significant deviation from that may lead to the Secretary of State declaring the ballot void. We are currently discussing with local authority interests the promulgation of a common code of conduct on the provision of information about grant-maintained status ; this would cover the activities of the Department, local authorities and the grant-maintained schools centre.
Unqualified Teachers
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers are teaching subjects they have no qualifications to teach ; and what progress has been made and measures taken to reduce the numbers.
Mr. Robin Squire : The latest information is provided by the 1992 secondary school staffing survey. The table shows the percentage of full- time secondary teachers in England who gave some tuition in a subject in which they held no post-A level qualification, and the percentage of tuition this represented. About half of this tuition was by teachers with five or more years' experience of teaching the subject.
Subject |Percentage of |Tuition by these
|teachers without a|teachers as a
|qualification |percentage of all
|tuition in subject
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mathematics |22 |10
Biology |14 |11
Chemistry |5 |3
Physics |6 |4
General Science |16 |9
CDT |50 |34
English |27 |14
French |18 |9
German |24 |13
Other Languages |34 |19
History |28 |11
Geography |29 |10
Music |19 |5
Art |24 |7
Physical Education |32 |9
Religious Education |54 |25
Compared with the results of the 1988 secondary school staffing survey, these figures show a slight improvement.
The Department has funded a range of measures which have enhanced the skills of existing teachers and improved the supply of secondary subject specialists. These include £170 million currently being spent on in- service training, and specific support for upgrading non-specialist teachers of physics, chemistry and French. There has been a 44 per cent. increase in recruitment to secondary teacher training since 1990.
Teachers (Early Retirement)
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers took early retirement, and for what reason, during each of the last five years.
Mr. Forth : The number of teachers from England and Wales who took early retirement and claimed retirement benefits during each of the last five years is shown in the table.
The figures include teachers in FE and PCFC colleges and the independent sector as well as maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools.
Retirements on grounds of efficiency or redundancy include those teachers who were over the normal retirement age of 60 when benefits were paid.
Reason for
retirement
Financial year |Interest of |Redundancy |Ill-health
|efficiency
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |8,971 |3,389 |3,412
1989-90 |9,633 |2,675 |4,123
1990-91 |8,981 |2,691 |4,938
1991-92 |7,357 |2,932 |4,656
<1>1992-93 |8,360 |3,833 |4,775
<1> Provisional.
Higher Education, London
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what resources are being made available in 1993-94 to the Higher Education Funding Council to cover the additional costs of providing higher education in London ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : The Government do not separately identify London costs in its grant to the Higher Education Funding Council for England. It is for the funding council to determine allocations for London and other institutions within its overall grant.
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OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Regional Development Funds
Mr. Keith Hill : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the British contribution to the European development fund is (a) being used for projects that directly benefit the poorest people in developing countries and (b) helps meet the goals established at the world summit for children.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The European Commission does not produce statistics in the form requested. The Commission and member states are currently working on a common approach to poverty alleviation, which will be presented to the Council of Development Ministers in December.
Yugoslavia
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 6 July, Official Report, column 85, why United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cash grants for host families accommodating refugees do not apply to displaced persons or refugees accommodated in Serbia ; what access these families have to additional support ; what efforts are made to ensure that displaced Bosnians remain with host families in Serbia rather than seeking asylum overseas ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The UNHCR finds it impractical at present to operate a system of cash grants for host families who accommodate displaced people in Serbia. Instead it provides food and other essential humanitarian supplies to displaced people through the Serbian Red Cross and the EC family parcel programme.
UNHCR provided over 35,000 tonnes of humanitarian supplies for displaced people in Serbia in the first six months of 1993. These measures are designed to help to meet the basic humanitarian needs of displaced people so as to enable them to remain in Serbia, as close as possible to their homes in Bosnia-Herzegovina, until such time as they are able to return.
Aid
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make it her policy to publish before the end of the year criteria by which Her Majesty's Government will judge their performance on targeting aid at the reduction of poverty and meeting basic needs.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The overall aim of our aid programme is to promote sustainable economic and social development, in order to improve the quality of life and reduce poverty, suffering and deprivation, in developing countries. Our six priority objectives for the aid programme support this overall aim. They are :
to promote economic reform and longer term economic growth ; to promote good government ;
to help developing countries to define and carry out poverty reduction strategies ;
to promote human development, including better education and health, and children by choice ;
to promote the social, economic, legal and political status of women in developing countries ; and
to help developing countries tackle national environmental problems.
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We are currently developing a new policy information markers system, as part of a further improvement to our monitoring systems, which will enable us to provide reports on progress against each of these objectives. If the trials are successful, we hope to have produced the first reports by the end of 1994.Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to secure a balance of bilateral and multilateral expenditure on oveseas development aid.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Our aid allocations through both bilateral and multilateral channels are kept under regular review. Most of our multilateral aid commitments result from negotiated agreements covering several years ahead.
Angola
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been Her Majesty's Government's response to the United Nations appeal for US$226 million to fund relief and emergency work in Angola.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 20 July 1993] : We have allocated 3,000 tonnes of food aid and up to £2 million of humanitarian assistance. The food aid is now being shipped to Angola through the world food programme, and some £800,000 of humanitarian assistance has already been committed to support proposals by Save the Children Fund and CARE.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Yugoslavia
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the number of prison camps currently understood to be operated by (a) Bosnian-Croats, (b) Bosnian-Muslims and (c) Bosnian-Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina ; and if he will indicate the size of each and publish the names of those prisons where the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or other international agencies have been unable to gain access.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The International Committee of the Red Cross--ICRC --regularly visits 2,200 people held by Bosnian Croats in six places of detention, 1,023 held by Bosnian Muslims in 15 places of detention and 1,023 prisoners held by Bosnian Serbs in eight places of detention. The ICRC suspects that further places of detention in unknown locations may exist.
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the economic and diplomatic sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro on the infant mortality rate in those republics ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : None. Supplies of essential humanitarian relief, including medical supplies and foodstuffs distributed by the international humanitarian aid agencies are exempted from United Nations sanctions imposed on Serbia and Montenegro under United Nations Security Council resolution 820 of 17 April.
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 14
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July, Official Report, column 455 , if he will place a copy of Dr. Karadzic's letter to the Prime Minister of 31 March in the Library together with the Prime Minister's reply.Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Mr. Wareing) on 14 April at column 542 about Dr. Karadzic's letter. I do not plan to elaborate further ; it is important to maintain the confidentiality of such correspondence.
Mr. Booth : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contributions the United Kingdom has made to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for its activities in former Yugoslavia since the beginning of the year ; and what contributions have been made by other major donors.
Mr. Hurd : Since January 1993 the United Kingdom has given £27.8 million in cash and kind to UNHCR for its work in former Yugoslavia. On 12 July we announced a further £12.5 million for projects directly in support of UNHCR plus £6 million in kind for the world food programme. This makes Britain the leading bilateral donor to UNHCR's programmes in the former republics this year. We are aware that, as winter approaches, there must be a major effort by the international community to meet the needs of the people of Bosnia. Contributions by major donors for 1993 are :
UNHCR figures, as of 6 July 1993, in US dollars Country |US$ ----------------------------------------------- European Community |16,447,538 Denmark |3,542,673 France |12,074,030 Germany |3,680,981 Italy |857,143 Netherlands |5,586,592 Switzerland |10,489,510 United Kingdom |<1>63,814,433 United States |23,000,000 Japan |10,000,000 <1> Sterling equivalent approximately £42.5 million. This is higher than the £27 million in United Kingdom records because some "in kind" contributions, made at the end of 1992, were not logged by UNHCR until 1993.
Mostar (Ethnic Cleansing)
Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on new ethnic cleansing of Muslim women and children by Croats in Mostar ; what is the effect of these developments on his policy towards Croatia's exemption from economic and diplomatic sanctions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : There are continuing reports of ethnic cleansing by all sides. European Community Foreign Ministers agreed to consider withdrawing Croatia's preferential trading benefits with the European Community, in view of continued Croatian involvement in the conflict in Bosnia.
Fundacion Collegio de Inglaterra, Colombia
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much British Government finance has been given to the Fundacion
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Collegio de Inglaterra in Bogota, Colombia, in the past five years ; for what purpose ; and from what budget heading.Mr. Lennox-Boyd : None directly.
The British Council has provided books and equipment to the school over the past five years to a total value of £30,000.
Research Projects
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 1 December 1992, Official Report, column 86 , if the university scientists working on the research projects mentioned have been able to publish the results of these projects in open scientific literature.
Mr. Hurd : As made clear in the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the hon. Member on 1 December 1992, at column 86 , the research commissioned is confined to unclassified subjects. We retain proprietary rights over the research, but the results may be published by the relevant academic institution, if it wishes.
Armenia
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the prevailing economic situation in Armenia ; and what recent discussions he has had to resolve matters.
Mr. Goodlad : The Armenian economy continues to suffer from the disruption of links with the other republics of the former Soviet Union, and from the economic blockade resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The United Kingdom has contributed over £1 million bilaterally, and the EC over £3 million, to alleviate suffering in Armenia in the last year. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met the Armenian Prime Minister, Hrant Bagratian, during his visit to London in May and urged him to seek a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict so that the process can begin of rebuilding the Armenian economy.
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how United Kingdom diplomatic links with Armenia are organised ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Goodlad : We are in full diplomatic relations with Armenia, which we recognised on 31 December 1991. Sir Brian Fall, who resides at Moscow, is accredited as Her Majesty's ambassador to the Republic of Armenia. He has presented his credentials in Yerevan and both he and his staff visit Armenia frequently. We are keeping the possibility of opening an embassy in Yerevan under review. The Republic of Armenia opened an embassy in London last year. The Armenian ambassador, Dr. Armen Sarkissian, presented his credentials to Her Majesty the Queen in March.
Angola
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if the United Kingdom supported the removal of the UNAVEM II mandate in Angola when it was debated by the Security Council ; and if he will make a statement ;
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(2) when Her Majesty's Government last held talks on the Angolan war with other members of the Security Council.Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 20 July 1993] : The Security Council discussed Angola and adopted Security Council resolution 851 on 15 July. The resolution, which the United Kingdom helped to prepare, extends the mandate of UNAVEM II until 15 September. The Security Council will consider appropriate action against UNITA if an effective ceasefire is not in force in Angola by that date. Meanwhile, we shall continue to support efforts by the United Nations to persuade UNITA to agree with the Government a peaceful negotiated settlement to the tragic conflict in Angola.
We shall also continue to support humanitarian relief operations. In response to the most recent United Nations appeal we have pledged up to £2 million of emergency assistance and, through the world food programme, 3,000 tonnes of food aid.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of state for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards peace in Angola ; and what initiatives Her Majesty's Government have taken in this area.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answers 20 July 1993] : The new United Nations Secretary-General's special representative, Mr. Beye, who replaced Miss Margaret Anstee last month, met President dos Santos on 5 July and the UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi on 8 July to discuss the resumption of peace talks under United Nations auspices.
We took an active part in preparing Security Council resolution 851, which the Security Council adopted on 15 July. This extends the mandate of UNAVEM II and provides for the Council to consider taking action against UNITA if an effective cease-fire is not established by15 September.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Research Councils
Mrs. Browning : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the report on the detailed allocation of responsibilities between the new research councils will be completed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : I asked Sir David Phillips to conduct this study acting as if he were fulfilling the role of the new director general for the research councils. He has now submitted his report and copies have been placed in the Library. I have accepted all of Sir David's recommendations and I have invited him to continue to oversee the further work of the Office of Science and Technology designed to effect a smooth transition to the new research council system by 1 April 1994.
Sir Giles Shaw : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who is to be the new director general of research councils.
Mr. Waldegrave [pursuant to the reply, 19 July 1993, c. 42] : In the recent White Paper "Realising our Potential" I announced my intention to appoint a new director general of research councils to support me in the exercise of my statutory functions in so far as they relate to the research councils.
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I am pleased to announce that this new post is to be advertised in journals and newspapers over the next week or so. The open recruitment competition, which will be supplemented by executive search, will be run by the recruitment and assessment services. My aim is to announce an appointment, to take effect from 1 January 1994, at the end of October.In the meantime, I am most grateful to Sir David Phillips, chairman of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils, for the excellent support which he is giving me as acting director general of research councils.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Bank of England
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has for separating the banking regulation and supervisory roles of the Bank of England from its banking functions.
Mr. Nelson : I have no such proposals at this time.
Earnings Statistics
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland the (i) highest,(ii) lowest and (iii) average weekly and annual income of (1) per household, (2) per wage or salary earner and (3) per capita and indicate for each country the percentage of each category below the official poverty line.
Mr. Nelson : The figures are derived from the 1991 family expenditure survey. The information is available only on a weekly basis. The average weekly income (1) per household, (2) per wage or salary earner and (3) per capita for each country is given in the table. There is no officially defined poverty line in the United Kingdom.
_
Average weekly
income (£)
|per household |per wage or salary|per capita
|earner
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
England |373.20 |250.90 |153.30
Scotland |316.20 |259.70 |140.70
Wales |297.40 |221.70 |123.80
Northern Ireland |296.50 |211.70 |107.20
The figures are rounded to the nearest 10p.
Incomes
Ms Corston : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 30 April, Official Report, column 572, what was the average equivalised disposable income at (a) current and (b) April 1993 prices for 1979, 1987, 1990 and 1991 of (i) single-parent households, (ii) two-parent households with (1) one child, (2) two children and (3) three or more children and (c) other households with children by quintile groups of households.
Mr. Nelson : The figures are available only at current prices and are as follows :
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Average equivalised disposable income by household type and by quintile groups
£ per year
Quintile groups
of all households
ranked by
equivalised
disposable income
Household type |Bottom |2nd |3rd |4th |Top |All households
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979
One adult with children |1,772 |2,713 |3,625 |4,713 |7,705 |3,151
Two adults with one child |1,882 |2,812 |3,664 |4,696 |7,206 |4,281
Two adults with two
children |2,000 |2,794 |3,656 |4,744 |7,649 |4, 081
Two adults with three or
more children |1,898 |2,800 |3,579 |4,715 |7,278 |3,308
Other households with
children |2,032 |2,811 |3,666 |4,739 |6,841 |4,080
1987
One adult with children |3,751 |5,268 |7,168 |9,981 |17,605 |5,386
Two adults with one child |3,600 |5,516 |7,465 |10,178 |17,318 |9,627
Two adults with two
children |3,644 |5,562 |7,446 |10,138 |18,607 |8,996
Two adults with three or
more children |3,610 |5,440 |7,452 |10,007 |16,886 |7,041
Other households with
children |3,556 |5,432 |7,542 |10,122 |16,125 |7,900
1990
One adult with children |4,466 |6,651 |9,817 |14,835 |22,630 |7,086
Two adults with one child |4,126 |7,044 |9,921 |14,578 |26,635 |14,215
Two adults with two
children |4,302 |7,113 |10,080 |14,206 |23,712 |12,022
Two adults with three or
more children |4,138 |6,948 |9,713 |13,943 |31,631 |10,157
Other households with
children |4,302 |6,953 |9,870 |14,419 |24,198 |11,708
1991
One adult with children |5,105 |7,477 |10,830 |15,434 |23,108 |7,867
Two adults with one child |4,469 |7,688 |11,088 |15,488 |26,878 |14,841
Two adults with two
children |4,759 |7,830 |11,046 |15,379 |26,645 |12,993
Two adults with three or
more children |4,571 |7,809 |11,026 |15,347 |26,471 |11,223
Other households with
children |4,743 |7,774 |10,990 |15,423 |26,276 |12,572
The quintile groups are based on all households ranked by equivalised disposable income. Thus any difference between the average equivalised disposable income of household types within each quintile group is likely to result from sampling errors.
These figures are not strictly comparable over time because of changes in classification of both income and taxation and because of changes in the family expenditure survey.
Ms Corston : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 28 April, Official Report, columns 402-4, what was the average equivalised disposable income of (a) the top and the bottom quintile groups and (b) the top and the bottom decile groups at current prices, and at April 1993 prices in 1979 and 1991.
Mr. Nelson : The figures are available only at current prices. The figures for 1979 were given in the answer of 28 April 1993, Official Report, columns 402-4.
The figures for 1991 are as follows :
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Average equivalised disposable income for all households ranked
by
equivalised disposable income
Using the McClements equivalence scale with a household of a
married couple=1
Quintile groups Decile groups
£ per year |Bottom |Top |Bottom |Top
------------------------------------------------------------------
1991 |4,877 |28,472 |4,044 |35,689
These figures are not strictly comparable with those for earlier years because of changes in classification of both income and taxation and because of changes in the family expenditure survey.
European Community
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the purpose of the agreement made at the ECOFIN meetings of June and July 1992 in relation to zero rates for VAT ; and if the agreement is legally binding.
Sir John Cope : No agreement was made at the ECOFIN meetings of June and July 1992 in relation to zero rates for VAT. The ability to retain our zero rates was agreed at the ECOFIN meeting on 24 June 1991. This subsequently formed part of Council directive 92/77/EEC of 19 October 1992 supplementing the common system of value added tax and amending directive 77/388/EEC on approximation of VAT rates. This agreement is legally binding.
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Yorkshire and Humberside
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has for the gross domestic product for Yorkshire and Humberside and for each constituent area for the most recent financial years for which figures are available.
Mr. Nelson : Regional estimates of GDP are compiled only on a calendar year basis, not financial year. The latest available estimates for the Yorkshire and Humberside region are for 1991 and were published in the December 1992 issue of "Economic Trends". The latest figures available for the constituent counties are for 1989, which were published in the November 1991 issue of "Economic Trends". These articles contain a breakdown of GDP in £ millions and £ per head of population and economic trends and are available in the House Library.
Securities and Investments Board
Mr. Burns : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received a report from the Securities and Investments Board on the exercise of its functions under the Financial Services Act 1986.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : The board's report for 1992-93, made in accordance with section 117 of the Act, was laid before Parliament today. Copies are being placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.
Government Stock Purchases
Mr. Denzil Davies : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate, for the latest available financial year, of the proportion of the public sector borrowing requirement which was funded with purchases of Government stock by the pension funds and life assurance companies.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 19 July 1993] : The PSBR was £36.5 billion in 1992-93. Data for 1992 in the financial statistics table 3.5 of the Central Statistical Office's database show that net purchases of gilts by British pension funds and life assurance companies were £15.5billion. Gilt sales to pension funds and life assurance companies were therefore 42 per cent. of the PSBR.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Public Interest
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Attorney-General if he will now publish the definition of the public interest used by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The Attorney-General : The general principles applied by the Crown Prosecution Service in respect of the public interest are set out in the code for Crown prosecutors. The code is published and laid before Parliament each year in the annual report of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The annual report for 1992-93 was published on 13 July 1993.
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Attorney-General what is the lowest grade of officer in the Crown Prosecution Service authorised to discontinue cases on the grounds of public interest.
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The Attorney-General : The power under section 23 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 to discontinue proceedings may, by virtue of section 1(6) of the Act, be exercised by any Crown prosecutor subject to any directions given by the director. Those with management responsibilities in the service are responsible for ensuring that cases are assigned to lawyers having both the experience and authority necessary to take decisions to continue or terminate proceedings. The level of authority will depend upon the nature, seriousness or complexity of the case.
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Attorney-General what percentage of cases the Crown Prosecution Service discontinued on grounds of public interest in the latest year for which figures are available ; and how many defendants were neither very elderly, frail nor suffering from some injury.
The Attorney-General : The Crown Prosecution Service does not record centrally the proportion of cases that are discontinued on public interest grounds as opposed to evidential grounds, nor therefore is any information available about whether the defendants were very elderly, frail or suffering from injury. Such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
International Investmecheduled to take place on 12 July in Gibraltar in response to the letter of request for evidence in relation to the affairs of International Investments Ltd., Gibraltar--in liquidation--first submitted to the Gibraltar authorities on 5 November 1990 from Belfast magistrates court of 15 November 1990.
The Solicitor-General : As a result of the letter of request for evidence in relation to the affairs of International Investments Ltd.--in liquidation--issued by Belfast magistrates' court on 1 November 1990, the Supreme court of Gibraltar made an order on 16 June 1993 requiring witnesses named in the letter of request to attend before a special examiner on 12 July 1993 to give evidence on oath and produce documents.
A hearing took place on 12 and 13 July 1993. A number of witnesses were examined and their depositions recorded. The hearing has been adjourned to allow consideration to be given to certain documents which have now become available. It is anticipated that the hearing will recommence in October 1993.
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