| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 720
Mr. Baldry : I will write to the hon. Member and put the replies in the Library.
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the regional total of capital expenditure on housing by the local authorities in England for (a) 1979-80, (b) 1982-83, (c) 1985-86 and (d) each year since 1988-89 for each standard English region ;
(2) what was the capital expenditure on housing by each local authority in England for (a) 1979-80, (b) 1982-83, (c) 1985-86 and (d) each year since 1988-89 ;
(3) what was the national total of capital expenditure on housing by local authorities in England for (a) 1979-80, (b) 1982-83, (c) 1985-86 and (d) each year since 1988-89 ; and if he will give the breakdown of the total between (i) non-metropolitan district councils, (ii) county councils, (iii) metropolitan district councils, (iv) London boroughs and (v) the City of London.
Sir George Young : I will write to the hon. Member.
Revenue Support Grant
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the revenue support grant given to Barnet and Wandsworth in 1993-94 ; and what is the amount expressed relative to the respective populations.
Mr. Baldry : The information requested is as follows.
Local authorRevenue Support
Grant, 1993-94
|£ million |£ per head
--------------------------------------------
Barnet |93.823 |314.93
Wandsworth |160.203 |619.18
Government Car Service
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many cars there are in the Government car service ; and how many (a) use lead free petrol, (b) are fitted with catalytic converters and (c) are electric powered.
Mr. Baldry : There are currently 193 cars in the Government car service fleet ; 181 use lead-free petrol and 144 are equipped with catalytic converters. With the exception of some vehicles which cannot be readily replaced, the entire GCS fleet will use unleaded petrol with catalytic converters by 1 April 1994.
No electric-powered vehicles are currently in use by the GCS. Electric- powered vehicles were trialled, but were not found to be capable of the required operating range.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what quantities of plutonium-contaminated radioactive waste material is currently stored at the Drigg site ; and what plans there are to remove this material to Sellafield.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much plutonium-contaminated material is currently being stored at Drigg low -level waste dump ; whether this material is intended to be moved to Sellafield ; and to what extent the containers currently intended to be used for these transports comply with IAEA regulations.
Mr. Eggar : I have been asked to reply.
Column 721
The Drigg site is owned and operated by British Nuclear Fuels plc and is used for the disposal of solid low-level radioactive waste. It has also been used for the storage of plutonium- contaminated material, a category of intermediate level waste. I understand that the company is planning to move this material to Sellafield for interim storage and pre-disposal treatment. Any such movements are subject to regulation by the Department of Transport as the national competent authority.Wood Report
Mr. Cormack : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his response to the Wood report.
Mr. Curry [holding answer 27 October 1993] : The Government have carefully considered the Wood report on the rating of plant and machinery, and industry's responses to it. The committee has produced a package of measures to update the law, to harmonise the rating systems, and to remove the substantial differences between the rules in the various parts of the United Kingdom.
We have decided that the major recommendations of the report should be implemented throughout Great Britain for the 1995 rating revaluation of all non-domestic property. The main change to the committee's propoals will be to apply these rating rules whatever the valuation technique used.
Implementation of the recommendations will involve replacing secondary legislation in England and Wales, and amending primary legislation in Scotland. The Government will consult interested people shortly on the way in which this will be done.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Reprocessed Uranium
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what quantities of reprocessed uranium have been returned to overseas customers with reprocessing contracts with British Nuclear Fuels plc to date ; what quantities remain stored in the United Kingdom and at which locations ; and what arrangements have been put in place for the future management of reprocessed uranium arising from foreign contracts.
Mr. Eggar : Except for small quantities which have already been returned, uranium arising from reprocessing to date by British Nuclear Fuels plc of irradiated nuclear fuel on behalf of overseas customers is stored under international safeguards by the company at its various sites.
Plans for the usage of current and future uranium from reprocessing are a commercial matter for British Nuclear Fuels plc and its customers. The new oxide fuels complex at Springfields has the capability to fabricate nuclear fuels using recycled uranium from the thermal oxide reprocessing plant.
Nuclear Safety
Mr. Dafis : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will bring forward proposals to require (a) the nuclear installations inspectorate and (b) Nuclear Electric to
Column 722
publish data on routine radioactive combination caused by the decommissioning of the Berkeley nuclear power station.Mr. Eggar : No. Decommissioning of Berkeley nuclear power station is regulated by the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate by means of conditions attached to the nuclear site licence. These include the need for consideration of a safety case for decommissioning and arrangements for reporting incidents including those involving radioactive contamination. No significant radioactive contamination incidents have arisen during the decommissioning of Berkeley. Routine monitoring for contamination off site is carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the data are published annually.
Disqualified Directors
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps are being taken to ensure that Companies House keeps the register of disqualified directors up to date.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The register of disqualified directors is maintained and updated by Companies House from information supplied to it on new disqualifications from the various courts throughout the country. The register currently contains the names of all those directors notified to Companies House by the courts.
Companies House is working with the Lord Chancellor's Department to improve reporting by the courts.
Newspapers
Mr. William Ross : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will commission research into the arrangements for the supply and distribution of newspapers in Northern Ireland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : No, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has no plans to commission research into the arrangements for the supply and distribution of newspapers in Northern Ireland.
On 19 August 1992 the Director General of Fair Trading referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission--MMC--the supply of newspapers from publishers to wholesalers and wholesalers to retailers in England and Wales. The MMC reported to the President of the Board of Trade on 30 July. Its recommendations are still under consideration and until the report is published it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.
The terms of reference of the MMC's inquiry exclude Scotland and Northern Ireland, primarily because newspaper distribution arrangements there are different. However, the Office of Fair Trading continues to keep these markets under review and, when the MMC's report is published, will examine the general principles arising from its conclusions to see whether any action is warranted.
Prescribed Quantities
Mr. Jonathan Evans : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to seek to amend the United Kingdom's national legislation on prescribed
Column 723
quantities ; and what action he proposes to make in relation to current EC legislation on prescribed quantities and unit pricing.Mr. McLoughlin : Under the existing national legislation certain pre -packed goods, including products such as biscuits, breakfast cereals, pasta and bread, must be produced in specified standard sizes. This restricts choice for the consumer--the standard sizes may not always suit their needs--and can impose an unnecessary burden on business.
Accordingly, the Government are today issuing a consultation document to interested parties about abolishing these requirements where this would not conflict with mandatory EC legislation. With similar concerns in mind, the Government also propose to discuss with the European Commission ways of reducing the burden of the EC's legislation on standard sizes and on related unit pricing. This requires retailers to display the price per unit of measurement for certain categories of pre-packed goods where they are not made up in standard sizes.
European Regional Aid
Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the President of the Board of Trade which areas he has proposed to the European Commission should be designated under objectives 2 and 5(b) of the European structural funds.
Mr. Sainsbury : I placed in the Library of the House on 11 October a detailed list of the areas that have been proposed. In summary, the population coverage of the proposals is as follows :
'000s
|Objective 2 |Objective 5(b)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Scotland and Wales |5,211 |1,087
Northern England |9,866 |409
English Midlands |4,822 |415
Southern England |3,525 |909
Gibraltar |30 |-
The Government have taken careful account of the many representations received, a list of which I have also placed in the Library. Most of the current objective 2 and 5(b) areas, with the exception of the highlands and islands of Scotland and Merseyside, are included. These two areas, like Northern Ireland, have already been designated as objective 1 areas.
A number of urban areas not previously designated, including parts of London, are included under the objective 2 criteria, which allow for the designation of urban areas with very high unemployment or industrial dereliction.
The areas proposed under objective 5(b) represent a significant increase in the coverage of British rural areas. This is made possible both by the promotion of the highlands and islands to objective 1 and the increase in financial allocations agreed at the Edinburgh Council last December. A number of areas dependent on fishing have also been proposed under both objectives, as specifically provided for in the regulations agreed by the Council in July.
Further detailed information about the extent of the proposed areas may be obtained from Mr. G. Roach in my Department--telephone 071 215 2659 or 2556.
There will now be consultation between the Commission and the Government before the Commission
Column 724
publish its decision probably in early December. The Commission may want to reduce the coverage of the United Kingdom's and other member states' proposals to keep allocations across the Community as a whole to a reasonable limit.The Government's proposals are however realistic and I look forward to the structural funds continuing to make a significant contribution to the economic development of the United Kingdom's priority industrial, urban and rural areas.
The Government sent their proposals to Brussels on 6 October in order to meet the deadline set by the European Commission.
Beer and Cider
Mr. Riddick : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his Department's review of policy on section 43 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985 relating to froth on beer or cider.
Mr. McLoughlin : My hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough and Horncastle (Mr. Leigh) announced on 29 March, Official Report, columns 50- 51 that, as part of the Government's deregulation initiative, the Department of Trade and Industry was reassessing the costs and benefits of the implementation of section 43 and that interested parties had been asked to provide information relevant to this reassessment.
We have now completed our reassessment of the commencement order which was made last year and which would bring section 43 into force from next April. After reviewing the costs of complying with the order, and considering the views of consumers, enforcement authorities and business we have concluded that these costs are disproportionate to the consumer benefit. They would include the cost to licensees of replacing brim measure glasses with new lined glasses or installing meters. It was also clear from the consultations that in most cases the costs of extra beer would be passed on to the consumer, with price increases amounting to about 7p a pint in pubs now using brim measures.
Accordingly, I have today revoked the commencement order thus allowing the continuation of the existing case law that a pint of beer may consist of liquid and a reasonable head. We will also bring forward, as soon as parliamentary time permits, legislation to repeal section 43.
I understand that the Brewers' Society is issuing revised guidance to its members on the dispense of draught beer. It will say that a pint of draught beer with a head should contain a minimum of 95 per cent. liquid. This guidance is issued in conjunction with organisations representing licensees. Trading standards officers will be able to refer to the guidance in court cases about short measure and the courts can be expected to attach considerable weight to it. If customers are unhappy with the amount of liquid beer they have received they are already able to ask for, and should get, a top-up. The Brewers' Society's revised guidance will state that such requests should always be received with good grace.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what response he has made to the letter sent to him on 4 August by Professor Horlock in his capacity of
Column 725
chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations on nuclear waste management in the United Kingdom.Mr. Eggar [holding answer 27 October 1993] : I have sent a copy of Professor Horlock's letter of 4 August, and of my reply, to the hon. Member and have placed a copy of each in the Library of the House.
Insolvency Service
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of reports from insolvency practitioners were rejected by the Insolvency Service in the latest available year ; and if he will provide a breakdown of the numbers and percentages of rejected reports according to each principal reason for rejection.
Mr. Neil Hamilton [holding answer 27 October 1993] : The percentage of reports from insolvency practitioners rejected at the vetting stage during the 12 months to 30 September 1993 was 80.3 per cent.--3,345 reports.
Of those reports, 70 per cent. identified elements of unfit conduct, but the case was not considered to be sufficiently serious or evidentially strong enough to justify proceeding in the public interest or there was clear mitigation or some other relevant factor ; 24 per cent. were linked with one or more other
companies/individuals subject to other insolvency procedures or proceedings ; 5 per cent. were submitted with insufficient time remaining to prepare the evidence and with an insufficient basis to seek leave to extend the statutory time limit ; and 1 per cent. where the whereabouts of the director were not known and service would be unlikely to be effected.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Overseas Staff and Premises
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the cost for the current financial year of his Department having (a) premises and (b) personnel overseas ; and what were the comparable figures for 12 months ago.
Mr. David Davis : The expenditure by my Department on premises and personnel overseas is as follows :
|Current financial |Previous financial
|year (estimated) |year
|£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Premises<1> |10,044 |7,323
Personnel<2> |1,037,086 |956,991
Notes:
<1> These costs relate to HMSO's recently opened European Sales Office in
Germany.
<2> These costs include the staffing of HMSO's European Sales Office (an
estimated £43,551 in 1993 and £29,654 in 1992). The remainder covers the
cost of British civil servants serving with European Community institutions
in furtherance of the Government's initiative for wider representation in
Europe.
Column 726
DEFENCE
Low Flying
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what communications have taken place between his Department and the German authorities concerning the German experience of operating a computerised low flying management system.
Mr. Hanley : My Department holds frequent discussions with the German authorities, at all levels. These cover a wide range of topics of mutual interest, and have included the German experience of operating a computerised low flying management system. The system in use in Germany is, however, somewhat different in scope and purpose to the automated low flying, flight planning, inquiry and notification system currently being developed for use in the United Kingdom.
Nuclear Weapons Accidents
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will declassify the RN manual BR4022 and the RAF manual AP 110A-0103-IAI, both relating to accident procedures, and subsequent amendments lists ; and if he will make those documents available to civilian emergency services and local authorities with emergency planning responsibility.
Mr. Hanley : No. The documents are already available to students on the relevant MOD training courses. Furthermore, the MOD document for local authorities and emergency services, issued in December 1992, gives appropriate guidance on contingency planning and the countermeasures that should be taken to protect the public.
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will organise a nuclear weapon transport accident exercise in Scotland.
Mr. Hanley : Officers from Scottish emergency services and local authorities already participate in the exercises that are an integral part of the MOD's regular nuclear accident response training courses. The MOD also conducts a programme of other nuclear accident response exercises with relevant authorities throughout the United Kingdom. A variety of scenarios are addressed in such exercises, including nuclear weapon transport accidents. An exercise addressing nuclear weapon contingency planning at Coulport was held earlier this year; a nuclear weapon transport exercise will be held in due course in Scotland.
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on liaison arrangements and communications equipment which would be used between the RAF incident team and local civilian services and authorities in the event of a nuclear weapons accident in (a) Scotland and (b) other parts of the United Kingdom ;
(2) if he will make a statement on contingency planning for an accident involving a nuclear weapon transported by air over Scotland; and if such weapons are transported by air over Scotland.
Mr. Hanley : Contingency plans for all forms of nuclear weapon transport are described in the MOD guidance
Column 727
document for local authorities and emergency services, issued in December 1992. A copy has already been placed in the Library. It is the long-standing policy of successive Governments to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any particular place or time; this applies also to the routes that are used for their transportation.Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the maximum amount of time during which traffic on a public road might have to be stopped in a worst case scenario nuclear weapon transport accident.
Mr. Hanley : The duration of traffic restrictions would clearly be entirely dependent on the specific circumstances of an accident.
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will incorporate his Department's guidance to local authorities on response to nuclear weapon transport accidents into the nuclear accident procedures course.
Mr. Hanley : The guidance document for local authorities and emergency services was issued in December 1992. It has already been incorporated into the nuclear accident procedures course.
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will extend the scope and participation of the nuclear accident procedures course to provide local authority input on the same basis as the special safety study period.
Mr. Hanley : Local authority emergency planning officers already lecture to both courses, and equally organisers of both courses encourage constructive inputs from the officers and officials, whether from local authorities or elsewhere, who attend the courses.
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide for participation by health boards and regional health authorities in nuclear accident procedures courses and special safety study periods in future.
Mr. Hanley : Officials from health boards and regional health authorities already attend both courses, and have done so for some years.
5 Airborne Brigade
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 21 October, Official Report, column 328, if he will list the wheeled and tracked transport currently available to 5 Airborne Brigade, showing specifically the number of (a) six-wheeled buggies, (b) Land-Rovers, (c) light-wheeled tractors and (d) eager-beavers ; if he has any plans to increase the on-ground mobility of the brigade ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : 5 Airborne Brigade's current peacetime establishments for the vehicles listed are :
(a) All Terrain Mobile Platforms ("six wheeled buggies") : although 5 Airborne Brigade has no formal establishment for these vehicles, 39 are currently available for the Brigade's use.
(b) Trucks Utility Light/Medium ("Land Rovers")--663.
(c) Light Wheeled Tractors--13.
Column 728
(d) Rough Terrain Forklifts (formerly known as "Eager Beavers")--22.In addition, 5 Airborne Brigade uses the following types of wheeled and tracked vehicles :
Motorcycles
Ambulances
Cars and Vans
Minibuses
Recovery Vehicles
Trucks 1 Tonne, 4 Tonne, 8 Tonne
Trucks Utility Heavy
Demountable Rack Offloading and Pick-Up System
(DROPS) Medium Mobility Load Carriers
Trailers
Earth Moving Plant
Barrack Mechanical Handling Equipment
The wheeled and tracked transport currently provided for the brigade is sufficient to meet its training and operational needs.
Normandy Landings
Mr. Hanley : The Ministry of Defence has overall responsibility for organising the Government's participation in commemorative events marking the 50th anniverasary of the D-Day landings. An announcement of our plans will be made shortly.
| Next Section
| Home Page |