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Regional Assistance
Mr. Pike : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the excess of the bid for objective 2 status based on EC target population ; what discussions will take place with the EC to reduce the list to meet the target population specified by the European Commission ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what criteria is used by the European Commission to reduce the list of proposed objective 2 areas to meet the target population as specified by the Commission ;
(2) what is the total population of the proposed objective 2 areas ; and what is the amount by which that total exceeds the target population for objective 2 areas in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Sainsbury : The procedure is governed by article 9 of Council Regulation 2081/93, which
(a) sets out various statistical criteria for objective 2 areas ;
(b) requires each member state to "propose" a list of areas ; (c) requires the Commission to "establish" the list taking into account the national priorities and situations, in close consultation with the Member State concerned, and after consulting an advisory committee of all member states ; and
(d) stipulates that assistance should be genuinely concentrated on the areas most seriously affected
The last is known as the "principle of concentration". A recital of the regulation, which is not legally binding, says that objective 2
"could cover up to 15 per cent. of the Community population". The previous regulation contained a similar recital, but the actual coverage was then 16 per cent.
I understand that the proposals of all member states together amount to 22 per cent. of the Community population. Neither the Council regulation nor the Commission specifies target populations in individual member states.
I shall shortly be meeting the Commissioner responsible. Our consultation will be governed by article 9 of the Council regulation.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) of 22 July,
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Official Report , column 366, with which Governments and on what dates intergovernmental letters on nuclear waste have so far been exchanged.Mr. Eggar : All contracts since 1976 for reprocessing overseas spent fuel in the thermal oxide reprocessing plant have been covered by inter governmental letters on the return of wastes arising. These have been exchanged with the authorities in Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Switzerland, normally before or shortly after the contracts to which they apply were signed.
British Gas
Mr. Tipping : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those individuals and organisations who have responded to his consultation on the Monopolies and Mergers report on British Gas ; if he will summarise those views ; and if he will place copies of all the submissions received in the Library.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : As at 1 November, my Department had received some 91 representations from a variety of companies, organisations, and individuals, covering a wide range of views. As the representations were made in confidence, it is not appropriate to give details, but I expect to be able to indicate the range of views in due course, once they have all been fully assessed and a decision has been taken.
Regional Aid (South Yorkshire)
Mr. Illsley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much of the EC funds committed to regional aid have been allocated to south Yorkshire ; how much has already been claimed by local authorities in south Yorkshire ; and how much is yet to gain approval for projects in south Yorkshire.
Mr. Sainsbury : South Yorkshire has been allocated approximately £180 million from the European regional development fund and the European social fund for the period 1989-93.
Projects have so far been approved to the value of £150 million, nearly half of which has been for projects undertaken by local authorities.
Nuclear Industry
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on discussions he has had with (a) Nuclear Electric and (b) British Nuclear Fuels over the transfer of liabilities for nuclear waste and decommissioning costs arising from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel at Sellafield.
Mr. Eggar : I meet Nuclear Electric and British Nuclear Fuels regularly to discuss a range of issues.
Crown Post Offices
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many Crown post offices there were in (a) Pendle and (b) Lancashire and (c) England for each year since 1987.
Mr. McLoughlin : The numbers of Crown post offices in Pendle, in Lancashire and in the United Kingdom for each year since 1987 were as follows :
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|Pendle |Lancashire |United Kingdom
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |3 |23 |1,499
1988-89 |3 |23 |1,493
1989-90 |3 |20 |1,339
1990-91 |1 |17 |1,167
1991-92 |1 |16 |1,019
1992-93 |1 |15 |917
October 1992 |1 |14 |881
The numbers of Crown post offices in England in these years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Nuclear Materials (Exports)
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 21 October, Official Report, column 303, if he will list the intergovernmental nuclear co-operation agreements which facilitate the export of nuclear materials.
Mr. Eggar : The United Kingdom has concluded bilateral intergovernmental nuclear co-operation agreement with Australia, Belgium, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. These agreements have been laid before the House and published in the treaty series.
North Korea
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the report made by the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the United Nations general assembly on ths attempts by the agency to complete nuclear safeguards arrangements with North Korea, pursuant to obligations under the nuclear non- proliferation treaty.
Mr. Eggar : The United Kingdom commends the IAEA for its efforts to implement safeguards in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). In this connection we fully support the report of the Director General to the United Nations General Assembly and approve the report's emphasis on the need for full nuclear transparency. We urge the DPRK to act on the concerns expressed in the report and comply fully with its IAEA safeguards agreement immediately, and confirm its commitment to the non-proliferation treaty permanently.
Refuse-to-Energy Plant, Belvedere
Mr. Evennett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he has received the inspector's report in respect of the public inquiry dealing with the proposed Cory refuse-to-energy plant in Belvedere ; (2) when he expects to be able to make a statement on the proposed Cory refuse- to-energy plant in Belvedere.
Mr. Eggar : My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade received the inspector's report yesterday.
My right hon. Friend will give timely and careful consideration to the report and will announce his decision on the application at the earliest possible opportunity after having considered the report.
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Northern Region
Mr. Devlin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the state of the economy in the Northern region.
Mr. Eggar : The economy of the Northern Region has undergone a transition over the last decade and now has a broader manufacturing base. This process has been helped substantially by overseas investment worth some £2 billion.
A regional survey of business confidence compiled and published by the Northern Development Company recorded high levels of business confidence throughout the Northern region during the third quarter of 1993 with levels of investment, turnover and profit all continuing to rise.
Company Law
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what assessment he has made of the implications of the European Court of Justice decision Penete Corni and others v. Administrazione dello Finanzo Dello Stato and others ref C-71/91 and C-179/81 upon the options for changing the operation and role of Companies house including (a) full privatisation, (b) partial privatisation and (c) contracting out some of the activities of Companies house ; (2) what consultations he has had about the effect of the ruling by the European Court of Justice in Ponente Corni and Others v Administrazione dello Finanzo Dello Stato and others ref. C-71/91 and C- 179/81, on charging a registration fee to companies in excess of the actual cost of procedure ; what representations he has had on this matter ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I am studying the judgment of the European Court of Justice on these cases. I have not received any representations and there has been no consultation with outside bodies.
Forged Stamps
Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what warnings have been issued by the Post Office and the Government about the sale of forged stamps in private retail outlets.
Mr. McLoughlin : This is an operational matter for the Post Office, but I understand that the Post Office issued no warnings because it judged that the attendant publicity would cause unnecessary panic and also prejudice investigations. The investigations have led to the arrest of 24 people in the London area.
Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the impact on Post Office revenue of recent stamp forgeries.
Mr. McLoughlin : This is an operational matter for the Post Office, but I understand that recent sampling of mail at major sorting offices in London indicates that the loss of revenue is unlikely to exceed £1 million, or less than 0.03 per cent. of total annual revenue in 1992-93.
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Konver Programme
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the membership of the national committee co-ordinating the Konver programme, together with the organisation each represents.
Mr. Sainsbury : I expect to take a decision shortly on which bodies should be invited to nominate a representative to serve on the national Konver programme monitoring committee.
Office of Telecommunications
Mr. Stephen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what changes he has to announce to the cash limit and gross running costs limit for the Office of Telecommunications.
Mr. McLoughlin : Subject to Parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for class IV, vote 10, Office of Telecommunications, will be increased by £223,000 from £8,233,000 to £8,456,000.
The gross running costs limit for the Office of Telecommunications will also be increased by £223,000 from £7,861,000 to £8,084,000. The increase will enable the Office of Telecommunications to pay for personnel services provided by DTI in full. There is also a take-up of the end-year flexibility entitlement (£50,000) as announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993 at columns 512-517.
The increase will be offset by additional VAT refunds of £60,000, by a transfer from DTI (class IV, vote 1) a charge to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
Departmental Offices
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the future of 1-19 Victoria street.
Mr. Eggar : The Department of Trade and Industry and Property Holdings have concluded an agreement with Legal and General Property for the refurbishment of 1-19 Victoria street for reoccupation by DTI as its headquarters building.
Work on site will start shortly and will take approximately 27 months.
When DTI returns to 1-19 Victoria street, it will give up Ashdown house-- the building at 123 Victoria street--and other central London buildings, which account for considerably more space than 1-19 Victoria street.
Warship Yards
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the date of future meetings arranged between himself and Commissioner van Miert to discuss intervention funding for warship yards.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 3 November 1993] : There is no date arranged at the moment ; Vice President van Miert is currently in Japan. I shall be speaking to him by telephone on his return and will meet with him thereafter as necessary.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the results of his meeting with
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Commissioner Van Miert on intervention funding for warship yards on 25 October ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 3 November 1993] : The negotiations which took place on 25 October between my officials and officials in the EC Commission were useful and constructive. I will continue to maintain a close interest in this issue.
Post Office
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the return on capital employed in the Post Office in 1992-93 ; and what is that projected for 1993-94.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 3 November 1993] : The financial targets set for Royal Mail and Post Office Counters are to achieve respectively an annual average return on capital employed of 16 per cent. and 9.3 per cent. over the three years 1992-93 to 1994-95. In 1992-93 the actual returns on capital employed achieved by Royal Mail and Post Office Counters were respectively 16.3 per cent. and 9.6 per cent.
Parcelforce was set the financial target of achieving at least break-even in 1992-93 and 1993-94. In 1992-93, Parcelforce incurred a small loss, giving a negative return on capital employed of 5.7 per cent.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was (a) the planned and (b) the outturn expenditure on capital investment in the Post Office in 1992-93 ; what was the planned capital investment in 1993-94 in last year's autumn statement ; what is that currently planned ; and if he will express the figures for 1993-94 both in cash and on a common price base with 1992-93.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 3 November 1993] : Planned capital expenditure by the Post Office in 1992-93 was £344 million ; outturn expenditure was £343 million. The Post Office's capital expenditure limit for 1993-94 set in last year's autumn statement was £321 million and remains at that figure ; in 199ts for the Post Office for 1992-93 and 1993-94 in cash and standard price terms.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 3 November 1993] : The EFL targets set for the Post Office for 1992-93 and 1993-94 are as follows :
£ million
|Cash |1992-93 prices
------------------------------------------------------------
1992-93 |<1>-66 |-66
1993-94 |-181 |-176
<1> The EFL outturn for 1992-93 was -£80 million.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the direct actual and whole-time equivalent employment in the Post Office and each of its subsidiaries as at 1 April 1992, 1 October 1992, 1 April 1993 and 1 October 1993.
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Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 3 November 1993] : The direct actual and whole-time equivalent employment in the Post Office and each of its subsidiaries as at 1 April 1992, 1 October 1992, 1 April 1993 and 1 October 1993 were as follows :
|Post Office |Post Office Counters|SSL Ltd |Total Post Office
|Ltd |group
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Actual
1 April 1992 |191,800 |16,900 |1,400 |210,100
1 October 1992 |189,100 |16,800 |1,400 |207,300
1 April 1993 |184,600 |16,400 |1,400 |202,400
1 October 1993 |183,900 |15,100 |1,300 |200,300
Wholetime equivalent
1 April 1992 |181,700 |15,400 |1,400 |198,500
1 October 1992 |178,900 |15,100 |1,400 |195,400
1 April 1993 |174,300 |14,700 |1,400 |190,300
1 October 1993 |173,100 |13,400 |1,300 |187,800
Note: The above figures are to the nearest hundred. Direct actual employment represents all full-time staff plus part-time
staff counted as 1; whole-time equivalent employment represents all full-time staff plus part-time staff counted as ".
British Approvals Board for Telecommunications
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the membership of the British Approvals Board for
Telecommunications together with their date of appointment, remuneration and other allowances, other public appointments and directorships.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 3 November 1993] : The British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT) is a private company without share capital, limited by guarantee. As a registered company, it is required to lodge a copy of its audited accounts and directors' details with Companies House. These show that the composition of the board (emoluments during 1992, if any, follow in brackets) is : the chairman (£8,500), the managing director and secretary (£62,304), the finance director (less than £5,000) and eight non-executive directors.
Their details are given as follows :
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Name |Position |Date Appointed |Other Directorships ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. K. F. Whittle CBE |Chairman |30 June 1993<1> |Chairman BEAB Mr. J. Pearcy |Financial |30 June 1993<1> |Director BEAB Mr. G. D. Clarke |Managing Director and Secretary |1 January 1987 |Director, Surrey TEC Mr. J. F. Barrett |Director |24 November 1992 |Director, Digital Equipment UK Mr. R. P. Boardman |Director |30 June 1993<1> Mr. K. E. Clarke |Director |7 August 1992 |Director, BT (CPB) Ltd. Mr. D. G. Hyde |Director |11 October 1990 |Oftel, (Nominated by Secretary of State) Mr. H. Peltor CBE |Director |17 January 1991 |Director, BREMA, Director, BEAB Mr. N. A. Perrin |Director |1 January 1988 |Director, EEA Dr. D. A. Leakey |Director |1 June 1989 Dr. A. O'Dochartaigh |Director |17 January 1991 |Director of Communication-Bass plc <1> Date of re-election.
Public Rights
Dr. Wright : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing whether the public have a statutory right to (a) attend all board or committee meetings, (b) inspect the minutes of meetings, (c) inspect the annual reports, (d) inspect the annual accounts and (e) inspect a register of members' interests of each executive non- departmental public body for which his Department is responsible.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 2 November 1993] : A list of executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) sponsored by my Department is set out in "Public Bodies 1992" a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
With one exception, none of the executive NDPBs sponsored by DTI is required by statute to give the public rights to attend all board of committee meetings, inspect the minutes of meetings or inspect a register of members interests. The exception in the National Consumer Council which is required under company law to file details of members' interests.
The following NDPBs are either required by statute to publish their annual report or lay them before Parliament :
Advisory Committees on Telecommunications
Area Transport Users' Consultative Committees
British Hallmarking Council*
Central Transport Consultative Committee
Domestic Coal Consumers' Council
English Industrial Estates Corporation*
Gas Consumers' Council
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London Regional Passengers' CommitteeNational Consumer Council*
Policyholders' Protection Board*
Post Office Users' National Council
Post Office Users' Councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority*
The bodies marked with an asterisk, together with the Hearing Aid Council, are also either required to publish their annual accounts or lay them before Parliament.
Refrigerant Containers
Sir Cranley Onslow : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from the British Aerosol Manufacturers Association about the terms of the draft Environmental Protection (Non- Refillable Refrigerant Containers) Regulations 1993.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 3 November 1993] : My Department has received representations from BAMA expressing concern that aerosol sprays for freezing purposes would be banned under the terms of these Regulations. I understand from my colleagues at the Department of the Environment that the regulation was not designed to include aerosols and the definitions have been revised to ensure that the regulation affects only refrigerants in disposable containers which are supplied for servicing refrigeration equipment.
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Royal Mail International
Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of Royal Mail International traffic is classified as concessionary printed paper rate--under 100 g ; and if he will make a statement concerning its withdrawal.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 3 November 1993] : Concessionary printed paper rate items weighing less than 100 g represent 2.5 per cent. of total Royal Mail International traffic volume. The recent tariff changes for international printed paper traffic were necessary to ensure that the prices properly reflect the costs of providing the service.
Electrical Installations
Mr. Riddick : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his Department intends to introduce regulations requiring electrical installations affected by BS7671, IEE wiring regulations, to be installed by registered contractors in a manner similar to that used for gas installations under the Confederation of Registered Gas Installers registered contractor scheme.
Mr. Baldry : I have been asked to reply.
Electric wiring is already controlled through the Electricity Supply Regulations 1988, as amended in 1990, and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. I am also considering the desirability of incorporating relevant electric wiring work into the Building Regulations, but the Government have no proposals to require all electrical installations to be installed by registered contractors.
Cash Limits
Mr. Carrington : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what changes will be made to his Department's cash limits and running costs limit for 1993-94.
Mr. Heseltine [pursuant to the reply, 1 November 1993, c. 58] : The Department's gross running cost limit as shown in table 2 of the original Estimate booklet (HC 495-IV) was overstated by £566,000 and should have been £327,424,000 as shown on the face of the Estimate for class IV, vote 1 at subheads C1 and CZ(6). The increase of £875, 000 from £327,424,000 to £328,299,000 sought in the Winter Supplementary remains unchanged.
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