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Committee of the Regions
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consult with Welsh representative on the Committee of the Regions before he goes to the European Union summit in Brussels.
Mr. Goodlad : My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will see the Welsh representatives at a meeting with all United Kingdom nominees to the Committee of the Regions on 8 December.
Tibet
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken to encourage dialogue between China and Tibet on the future of Tibet ; and if he will make it his policy to ensure that the option of Tibetan independence is on the agenda of such dialogue.
Mr. Goodlad : We have consistently urged the Chinese authorities to begin talks, without pre-conditions, with the Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, and to allow Tibetans greater autonomy. It is for the parties concerned to decide the agenda for such talks. Neither we nor our European partners believe that independence is a realistic option.
Kashmir
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the names and nationality of each member of a delegation of the International Commission of Jurists who visited Kashmir in August ; if he will arrange for their report to be placed in the Library ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The members of the delegation from the International Commission of Jurists who visited Kashmir in August were Sir William Goodhart from the United Kingdom, Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn from Thailand, Dr. Dalmo Dallari from Brazil and Mrs. Florence Butegwa from Uganda. Their report is expected in January. As soon as a copy is available we will arrange for it to be placed in the Library.
Exports
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy regarding exports to (a) Israel, (b) Iran, (c) Iraq, (d) Syria, (e) Kuwait, (f) Saudi Arabia, (g) Jordan and (h) Egypt.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
Apart from Iraq, which is subject to a UN trade embargo and where special arrangements therefore apply, United Kingdom exporters are free, and indeed encouraged, to trade with the countries listed. However, goods covered by the Export of Goods Control Order 1992, as amended, are subject to various restrictions, which will vary from country to country.
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NATIONAL FINANCE
Overseas Visits
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many visits abroad the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has made during 1993 ; and what was (a) the cost to public funds and (b) the purpose of each visit.
Mr. Portillo : I made a visit to Mexico and Chile from 3-11 July. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the United Kingdom's relations with the two countries, and to promote trade and investment : several British businessmen accompanied me. Two of the companies represented on the visit have since won major contracts. British Gas was awarded the investment distribution concession for the US$1.1 billion natural gas pipeline between Argentina and Chile. North West Water signed in September a £285 million 10-year contract with the Mexico City authorities for metering, billing and management services.
The cost attributable to my own participation in the visit, which was borne by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was £5,526.
Taxation
Mr. Hain : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest figures for the proportion of gross domestic product paid in (a) income tax and (b) income tax plus value added tax, for each country in the European Union.
Mr. Nelson : International comparisons of income tax and VAT receipts are not readily available. However, figures for taxes on personal income and for taxes on general consumption as a share of GDP can be found in tables 10 and 28 of the 1993 edition of Revenue Statistics of OECD member countries, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Value Added Tax
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what date the United Kingdom is obliged under the terms of relevant European directives and other agreements to cease to zero-rate each of those categories of goods and services which benefit from such zero rating ; what levels of value added tax within the United Kingdom would be able or obliged to apply to each of those different categories of goods and services after that date ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : The United Kingdom is not obliged under any EC directive or other agreement to cease current zero rates of VAT.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to harmonise United Kingdom value added tax rates with those which pertain in other European countries ; by what date ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir John Cope : I have no proposals to harmonise value added tax rates in the United Kingdom with those charged in other European countries.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's long-term plans for the zero rating for value added tax purposes of the sale of new houses.
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Sir John Cope : My right hon. and learned Friend said in his Budget statement that he had no proposals to make any changes to the VAT base.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if (a) VAT for goods and services currently zero rated and (b) VAT for goods and services currently exempt are included in his definition of the tax base.
Private Health Insurance
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the tax yield in a full year of 3 per cent. tax on private health insurance premiums.
Sir John Cope [holding answer 6 December 1993] : Private health insurance premia are included within the accident and health category of insurance premia. The yield from tax at 3 per cent. on all insurance premia in this category is estimated to be about £100 million in 1995-96.
TRANSPORT
London Underground
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he will make funds available for London Underground to commence work on line renewal of the Northern line ;
(2) when he will make funds available for London Underground to commence work on replacement of escalators at St. Paul's, Notting Hill Gate, Highgate and Marylebone stations ;
(3) when he will make funds available for London Underground Ltd. to be able to commence work on the renewal of signalling systems on the Hammersmith, Circle and District lines.
Mr. Norris : London Transport's grant settlement for the three years to 1994-95 was announced on 30 November. Decisions on the timing of individual investment projects are for the management of London Transport and London Underground.
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to authorise the construction of the North Greenwich station on the Jubilee line.
Mr. Norris : This will depend on completion of negotiations between London Underground Limited and British Gas on a financial contribution by British Gas to the costs involved.
Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from London Underground regarding projects considered essential for the delivery of a proper service to its customers.
Mr. Norris : I am regularly briefed by London Underground on many aspects of its investment programme.
Railways Regulator
Mr. Nicholls : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who will be the regulator for the railways industry ; and when h
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Mr. MacGregor : I have appointed Mr. John Swift QC as rail regulator and international rail regulator. Parliamentary approval to new expenditure on administrative and other costs of the regulator will be sought in a new estimate to establish an Office of the Rail Regulator Vote (Class VI, Vote 8). Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £500,000 will be met by repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund.M25
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many written representations he has received about the proposed link roads alongside the M25 between junctions 12 and 16 ; and how many of these came from (a) residents of Staines and (b) other residents of the Spelthorne constituency.
Mr. Key : Some 4,250 individual letters have been received in response to public consultations on proposals for link roads between junctions 12 and 16 of the M25. Of these, 263 came from addresses in Staines and 114 from Ashford, Ashford Common, Laleham, Poyle, Shepperton, Stanwell, Stanwell Moor and Sunbury. In addition, some 8, 500 pre-printed postcards were received during the consultations and other correspondence has been received subsequently but no statistics have been compiled about the origins of these.
Heathrow Report
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many written representations he has received about the proposals contained in the Heathrow and south-west quadrant orbital movements study--HASQUAD-- report ; and how many of these came from (a) residents of Sunbury on Thames and (b) other residents of the Spelthorne constituency.
Mr. Norris : To date some 1,700 written representations have been received, of which about 125 were from residents of Sunbury on Thames and about 30 were from other residents of the hon. Gentleman's constituency.
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to be in a position to decide on the future of the proposals contained in the Heathrow and south-west quadrant orbital movements study-- HASQUAD--proposals.
Mr. Norris : I hope to make an announcement on the future of the HASQUAD study recommendations at the earliest opportunity, after I have been able to give careful consideration to all the comments received.
Railtrack
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rate of return on (a) existing and (b) new investment he is asking Railtrack to achieve.
Mr. Freeman : We are currently discussing with Railtrack the setting of appropriate financial targets including the required rate of return on investment.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total value of assets transferring to the ownership of Railtrack on 1 April 1994.
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Mr. Freeman : British Rail, in conjunction with Railtrack and its auditors, is presently working on the identification of the assets to be transferred to Railtrack, and the values to be ascribed to them.
River Thames
Mr. Congdon : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department will promote the increased use of the River Thames for transporting London's waste to points of disposal.
Mr. Norris : The River Thames working group, which I chair, is examining the benefits and potential of maximising all types of traffic on the River Thames, including the transportation of waste. The working group is expected to produce and publish its recommendations next summer.
Quality Assurance Standards
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to ensure that when putting contracts out to tender his Department includes on the tender list companies which have acquired the BS5750 quality assurance standard.
Mr. Key : Most of my Department's contracts are placed with the road construction industry.
Several firms within the industry have already introduced recognised quality management schemes on a voluntary basis but the number to have done so is not yet sufficient to ensure proper competition if such schemes were mandatory.
For that reason it is not yet a departmental requirement that firms invited to tender for roadworks contracts must have such schemes in place.
However, my Department is working towards the gradual introduction of quality management requirements within the framework of BS5750. As a first step, we are proposing to introduce quality plans for individual contracts starting next year.
Nuclear Materials
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department received a request from the Campaign for Freedom of Information for information about the environmental aspects of transporting nuclear materials ; when a reply was sent ; and if he will make a statement on the time scale.
Mr. Key : A request was received by the Department on 30 September 1993 and acknowledged on 12 October. I expect that a full reply will be sent within the next five days.
British Summer Time
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by year since 1979 the number of children killed as a result of road traffic accidents (a) before attending school in the morning and (b) after school had ceased in the afternoon when clocks were set at (i) Greenwich mean time and (ii) British summer time.
Mr. Key : I regret that the information requested is not available. Road casualty statistics do not distinguish between school days and holidays.
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Motorway Safety
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evidence he has as to the consequences of adding additional lanes to existing motorways for the risks of death and serious injury resulting from multiple or other types of accident.
Mr. Key : Available evidence from existing four-lane motorways in Britain does not suggest that accident rates are significantly different on them as compared with three-lane motorways. Motorways are widened to increase capacity and so relieve congestion. If this were not done more vehicles would be forced on to all-purpose roads where the accident rate is significantly higher.
Vehicle Inspectorate
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who is carrying out the current survey of staff attitudes at the Vehicle Inspectorate ; and what is the cost.
Mr. Key : The current staff attitude survey is being conducted by Peratee Ltd. at a cost of £6,000 plus VAT. Peratee Ltd. are advising the Vehicle Inspectorate on the adoption of total quality management practice. The survey is part of a wider contract the total cost of which is £59,000 VAT.
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of staff employed at the Vehicle Inspectorate for each year since 1990.
Mr. Key : The average number of staff employed by the Vehicle Inspectorate in each of the last three financial years is as follows :
|Number
---------------------------
1990-91 |1,653
1991-92 |<1>1,879
1992-93 |1,861
<1> This includes 255
staff from the Traffic
Enforcement Organisation
which was integrated into
the inspectorate in April
1991.
Staff numbers are expressed as full-time equivalents.
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of vehicles inspected by the Vehicle Inspectorate for each year since 1990.
Mr. Key : This data has been published in the VI Annual Report and Accounts for 1992-93, a copy of which has been deposited in the House of Commons Library. With the exception of five small schemes, the relevant data are summarised in the table.
Inspections |1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual tests
HGV vehicles |778,693 |587,252 |578,499
HGV trailers |272,117 |268,270 |266,485
PSVs |85,558 |85,907 |87,484
HGV notifiable alterations |20,029 |15,882 |21,498
PSV notifiable alterations |3,102 |2,926 |2,200
Class IV, V and ambulances |13,397 |12,168 |13,228
Class VII |- |81,546 |44,484
Roadworthiness enforcement
HGVs inspected at roadside |112,661 |117,477 |126,370
PSVs inspected at roadside |20,527 |21,106 |24,895
Private and LGVs inspected at roadside |12,405 |35,231 |31,176
Operator licensing
HGV number of vehicles inspected |59,085 |60,974 |62,093
PSV number of vehicles inspected |6,786 |7,288 |8,128
Traffic enforcement
HGVs examined |281,140 |266,746 |295,124
PSVs examined |32,584 |33,778 |40,508
|------- |------- |-------
Total |1,698,084 |1,596,551 |1,602,172
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total equipment budget for the Vehicle Inspectorate for each year since 1990.
Mr. Key : The budget for capital expenditure on equipment is summarised below. The budget covers the purchase of testing equipment such as roller brake testers, load simulators and smoke meters. The budget includes spare parts, but does not include staff and other costs involved in maintaining the equipment.
Year |Budget ------------------------------ 1990-91 |1,542,795 1991-92 |1,911,100 1992-93 |2,110,700
Vehicle Excise Duty
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated saving to the Exchequer of the repeal of the disabled passenger scheme for exemptions from vehicle excise duty.
Mr. Key : There were around 20,000 beneficiaries in the disabled passengers scheme at the date of repeal on 13 October 1993. These disabled people will continue to benefit from exemption from vehicle excise duty (VED) for as long as their disability remains. There were around 4,000 new applications per year at the time of repeal, so the estimated saving to the Exchequer is about £500,000 in the first year.
Trans-European Road Network
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the final decision by the Council of Ministers on TERN.
Mr. Key : I have today placed in the House Libraries copies of the Council decision on the creation of a trans-European road network.
A41
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the growth in traffic on the A41 at Aston Clinton since the opening of the Berkhamsted-Kings Langley bypass ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : None, but traffic counts indicate an additional 2,700 vehicles per day (average 16-hour weekday) an increase of 13.5 per cent. above figures taken before completion of Berkhamsted-Kings Langley bypass.
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Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement about the design standards proposed or applied to the various sections of the east-west route for which his Department has published proposals or which have already been opened to traffic ;
(2) what plans he has to review his Department's traffic forecasts for the east-west route following the inclusion of the route in the trans-European road network ; and if he will make a statement ; (3) whether he plans to upgrade the design standards of all or any part of the east-west route following its inclusion in the trans-European road network ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave him on 24 November at column 60. Inclusion in the TERN has no bearing on the standards or volume of traffic on the route.
Driver Identification Numbers
Sir Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State, if he will list the smallest number of separate identification numbers that a person with a driving licence can have ; and how many persons are employed in the various Departments of state to administer these separate registers, stating the number employed in each case.
Mr. Key : For driving licence purposes the "driver number" is the only identification number required. It is automatically generated by computer when a driving licence is issued and requires no additional staff effort. There is no link between the driver number and any other identification number.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Information Security
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has incorporated the code of practice for information security management, published by the British Standards Institution, into relevant contracts with information technology suppliers.
Sir John Wheeler : The security requirements for IT systems and services used by central Government
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Departments are stated in the Government IT security policy document. This document is supported by use of the CCTA risk analysis and management method--CRAMM--and baseline security for IT systems--BSITS--risk analysis methods and by supporting advice and guidance published by the Government IT security authorities. These are regularly reviewed to ensure best practice ; have been developed specifically for use within Government ; and have been in operation for some time. The code of practice for information security management was developed by and established for use by commercial organisations and does not specifically address the requirements for the protection of official information.Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the operation of his Department's sensitive documents unit ; how many staff are employed in its operation ; and approximately how many documents per annum come within its purview.
Sir John Wheeler : There is no sensitive document unit in the Northern Ireland Office or in any of the Northern Ireland Departments.
Mink Farms
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many mink farms have operated in each county in Northern Ireland in each year since 1984 ; and how many there are at present.
Mr. Ancram : There has only ever been one licensed mink farm in Northern Ireland. It was situated in Co. Down and was in operation during the period from 1984 to 1991. There are no licensed mink farms in Northern Ireland at present.
Overseas Visits
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits abroad he has made during 1993 ; and what was (a) the cost to public funds of each visit and (b) the purpose of each visit.
Sir Patrick Mayhew [holding answer 1 December 1993] : I have made six visits abroad in 1993, to 1 December. The available information requested is :
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Date |Location |Purpose |<1>Travel
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22 January 1993 |Republic of Ireland |Attend inter-governmental conference |£5,708.16
31 March 1993 |Republic of Ireland |Attend football international |£3,781.84
1-8 May 1993 |USA |Promoting Northern Ireland |£19,570.17
25 May 1993 |Republic of Ireland |Attend inter-governmental conference |£5,706.33
26-27 July 1993 |Republic of Ireland |Speaking engagements |£3,515.40
11 November 1993 |France |Wreath laying ceremony on behalf of Her Majesty's Government at the Somme|£1,360.00
|-------
|Total expenditure |£39,277.90
<1> These figures are for travel costs of the Secretary of State and, where applicable, accompanying officials.
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NATIONAL HERITAGE
Television Franchises
Mr. McWilliam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if the changes of rules for television franchises will exempt Tyne Tees/Yorkshire because of his announced two-franchise limit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Holdings plc owns two companies, which each hold a regional ITV licence. If the Broadcasting (Restrictions on the Holding of Licences) (Amendment) Order 1993 is approved, the present limit on the holding of only two licences to provide regional ITV services would remain, although only one London licence could be held. If the holder of another ITV regional licence wanted to own Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Holdings, it would have to make arrangements to keep within the limit of two licences.
Liverpool
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for NationalHeritage what plans he has to visit Liverpool to discuss the museums in the city ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : I have no plans to visit Liverpool at the present time. Since taking office, however, I have visited both the Walker art gallery and the Liverpool museum, and have also been to the Lady Lever art gallery and the Tate gallery, Liverpool.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how often he has visited Liverpool since he was appointed.
Film Industry
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what information he has concerning the extent to which United Kingdom television producers are currently using facilities in the Republic of Ireland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke [holding answer 6 December 1993] : Successive Governments have refrained from interfering in questions of television programme content and production. This is a matter for the broadcasters concerned, so long as they act within the law.
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