| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. McLoughlin : Much progress has been made in eliminating the need for licensing these devices. The statutory instrument "The Wireless Telegraphy (Short Range Devices) (Exemption) Regulations 1993"--SI No. 1993/1591--consolidated previous such regulations and lists the 16 major categories of devices which are licence exempt. Other licensed services are continually reviewed as candidates for exemption.
Bankruptcies
Mr. Wigley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many bankruptcies were registered by the Insolvency Service for each year since 1986 for (a) the United Kingdom and (b) each standard region; and if he will express these figures as a proportion of the total numbers of enterprises in each case.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Details of the number of company and personal insolvencies are compiled for England and Wales as a whole, and for Northern Ireland and Scotland. This information is given in the table. However, it should be noted that a minority of personal bankruptcies do not relate to the failure of enterprises. No regional breakdown of insolvencies in England and Wales is available. Estimates of the number of enterprises are made by DTI for the United Kingdom as a whole. None was made in 1987, and 1992 figures are not yet available. The table gives these data and expresses the number of insolvencies as a proportion of the number of enterprises. No breakdown of the number of enterprises below United Kingdom level is available.
Column 609
Insolvencies of Enterprises in the United Kingdom
United KinEngland and Wales(00Scotland Northern Ireland Total UnitPer cent. Insolvenciess
[NL] |(1) |(2) |(1) |(3) |(1) |(2)
1986 |2,481 |14,405 |7,093 |511 |437 |132 |193 |22,771 |0.92
1987 |n/a |11,439 |6,994 |456 |808 |165 |135 |19,997 |n/a
1988 |2,806 |9,427 |7,717 |396 |1,401 |116 |162 |19,219 |0.68
1989 |2,888 |10,456 |8,138 |428 |2.301 |144 |238 |21,705 |0.75
1990 |2,834 |15,051 |12,058 |470 |4,350 |128 |286 |32,343 |1.14
1991 |2,696 |21,827 |22,632 |616 |7,665 |181 |366 |53,287 |1.98
1992 |n/a |24,425 |32,106 |670 |10,845 |173 |404 |68,623 |n/a
(1) Company compulsory liquidations and creditors' voluntary liquidations.
(2) Individual bankruptcy orders. Note that a minority of personal bankruptcies do not relate to insolvencies of
enterprises.
(3) Sequestrations (equivalent in Scottish law to bankruptcy orders).
Additionality
Mr. Wigley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received during 1993 in support of adherence to the principle of additionality in allocating European Community funding.
Mr. Sainsbury : I and my ministerial colleagues have received a number of such representations. In all cases, we have been able to give the assurance that the United Kingdom adheres to the principle of additionality.
RAF Chivenor
Mr. Harvey : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what additional support he intends to allocate to North Devon for economic development in the light of the Government's proposal to run RAF Chivenor down to a care and maintenance programme.
Mr. Sainsbury : Both Barnstaple and Ilfracombe travel-to-work area-- TTWA--in which RAF Chivenor is located and the Bideford TTWA were designated as intermediate areas in August 1993. Since 1 August 1993, the Department of Trade and Industry has received six formal requests for regional selective assistance from applicants in north Devon which has already resulted in four offers of assitance. In addition, my officials are talking to several other companies about possible projects. The Government have also proposed to the EC that north Devon should be included in the objective 5(b) programme for Cornwall and Devon.
North Devon will benefit from its share of the £736,779 which was recently allocated to Devon and Cornwall under the Konver programme ; indeed, one of the projects which has been approved relates specifically to a "one-stop shop" to help people dependent on RAF Chivenor to find alternative employment.
Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when Her Majesty's Government provided Euratom with (a) system performance demonstration documents and (b) commissioning worksheets for the THORP plant, as part of the establishing of safeguards plans by Euratom.
Mr. Eggar : Documents on safeguards implementation are supplied in confidence by British Nuclear Fuels plc to the parties concerned.
Column 610
Euratom
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information Her Majesty's Government provided to the European Commission, pursuant to article 78(2) of the Euratom treaty.
Mr. Eggar : None. It is for the operators of facilities using source or special fissile materials to provide information to the European Commission in accordance with article 78 of the Euratom treaty.
Granby Street Post Office, Liverpool
Mr. Parry : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will meet the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside and members of the Granby Street Post Office Campaign Group before the Christmas adjournment to discuss the closure of the local post office; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The decision to close Granby Street sub-post office is an operational matter for Post Office Counters Ltd. and follows the decision of the sub-postmaster to resign. It would not, therefore, be appropriate for my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to discuss the matter with the hon. Member and the Granby Street Campaign Group.
Mr. Parry : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how the criteria of (a) social responsibility and (b) profitability have been applied to the closure of the Granby street post office, in Liverpool.
Mr. McLoughlin : A major factor in the planned closure of the Granby Street sub-post office in Liverpool is the wish of the proprietor of the privately owned business to resign, following repeated robberies in recent years, and the absence of suitable applicants to take over this office. The Post Office has therefore decided to relocate the nearby Lodge lane premises to larger premises some 600 yards from the existing Granby street site. This will accommodate the volume of business transacted at the two sub-post offices.
Mr. Parry : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has had about the proposed closure of the Granby street post office, Liverpool 8, from the Liverpool city council, the Post Office Users Advisory Committee, local councillors and clergymen ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : In addition to representations from the hon. Member, my right hon. Friend the President of the
Column 611
Board of Trade has received representations from the Liverpool Riverside constituency Labour party, Granby Labour party, Liverpool money advice support unit, Emmanuel holiness church, Princess Park health centre, Princes Park housing co-operative and the Granby Street post Office Campaign.Mr. Parry : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the representations which have been sent to the Post Office opposing the proposed closure of Granby street post office, Toxteth, Liverpool 8.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Post Office informs me that it has received representations about the proposed closure of Granby Street sub-post office in Liverpool from the following representatives, bodies and organisations :
Granby Street Campaign Group
Emmanuel Holiness Church
Granby Labour Party
Robert Parry MP
Cllr. J. Rossington St. Michael's and Dingle Ward
Adullam Homes Housing Corporation
University of Liverpool
Princes Park Health Centre
Methodist Church : Liverpool South Central
Cllr. G. Ben-Tovim
English Churches Housing Group
Liverpool Riverside Constituency Labour Party
Liverpool Money Advice Support Unit
Ponsonby Neighbourhood Centre
Liverpool Federation of Council Tenants and Residents Associations Educational Opportunities Initiative in Liverpool 8
Age Concern Liverpool
Granby Liberal Democrats
Princes Park Housing Co-operative Ltd.
Cllr. P. Clein
Father N. Postlethwaite
Trafford Activities Group
In addition, letters have been received from 46 members of the public.
Post Office (Closures)
Mr. Parry : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what appeal machinery is open against the closure of a post office.
Mr. McLoughlin : Post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Counters Ltd.
Mr. Parry : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what criteria are used for the closure of post offices in inner city areas.
Mr. McLoughlin : The criteria used by Post Office Counters Ltd in considering the closure of post offices on the resignation of a subpostmaster or subpostmistress in urban areas are the proximity of other post offices ; the difficulty customers would face in reaching another office ; the amount and type of business done ; the ability of nearby offices to absorb additional work and the likely future development of the area.
Offshore Operators
Mr. Salmond : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he will take to ensure that offshore operating companies are required to have insurance cover to indemnify them against the costs of fines associated with health and safety prosecutions when applying for operating licences ; if he will ensure that such requirements are built into licence conditions ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 612
Collieries
Mr. Tipping : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the number of collieries operated by (a) British Coal and (b) others immediately prior to the restructuring date specified in the Coal Industry Bill.
Mr. Eggar : The operation of collieries is a matter for British Coal Corporation and independent coal producers.
Civil Nuclear Plants
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to combat terrorist threats to civil nuclear plants.
Mr. Eggar : Strict physical protection measures which follow international recommendations are in force and these are kept under regular review to ensure their continuing effectiveness. It is Government policy not to disclose the detail of the measures which are taken.
Electricity Imports
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence and written agreements which he and his Department have had with Electricite de France or with the French Government about the import of electricity.
Mr. Eggar [holding answer 10 December 1993] : The Government are not a party to the agreements governing trade in electricity between Britain and France, which are summarised in the coal review White Paper, Cm 2235, from paragraph 7.95. Since the publication of the White paper the Government have had further discussions with the French authorities on the non-leviable status of electricity imports from France, the transparency of the French energy market, and access for British generators to export electricity to and through France.
Patent Office
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the future of the Patent Office.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 10 December 1993] : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 9December 1993, Official Report , column 348.
Small Firms
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about his Department's assistance to small firms to achieve BS5750 standards.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 13 December 1993] : BS5750 is a voluntary standard and the decision to seek certification is a matter for individual companies. However, help for small firms to achieve BS5750 is available through my Department's enterprise initiative consultancy scheme under which DTI will pay up to half the cost of specialist help lasting up to 15 days. Also, the relevance of the standard and its relationship to total quality management and company competitiveness is
Column 613
highlighted in the "Managing in the 90s" programme ; an awareness programme promoting an integrated approach to best management practice.Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the total : The net cost of the scheme for the period April 1982 to March 1993 was £185.5 million, shown below by financial year. No figures are available for the period June 1981 to March 1982.
|£m
------------------
1982-83 |10.8
1983-84 |27.2
1984-85 |32.9
1985-86 |27.1
1986-87 |11.3
1987-88 |3.6
1988-89 |3.8
1989-90 |5.6
1990-91 |16.5
1991-92 |27.5
1992-93 |19-2
National Measurement System
Sir Keith Speed : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what his Department's expenditure was on the national measurement system in (a) 1991-92 and (b) 1992-93 ; what is the comparable forecast expenditure for the succeeding three years ; and what is the comparable planned increased expenditure from 1991-92.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 13 December 1993] : My Department spent £41.2 million on the national measurement system in 1991-92, and £42.2 million in 1992-93. We expect an outturn of £42 million for 1993-94. The budgets for the following two years have not yet been finalised.
Sir Keith Speed : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations have been received from industry calling for the national physical laboratory and the national measurement system to be retained and adequately funded ; and what account will be taken of those views.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 13 December 1993] : The CBI and the instrumentation and control trade association, GAMBICA, have made clear their support for my Department's objective of providing a well- founded measurement infrastructure as an underpinning factor in UK competitiveness and the importance they attach to its continuation. A number of companies have made similar points to my Department. These views will be fully taken into account as we develop our policy in the area. My Department also engages consultants to canvas a wide range of opinion in industry on the appropriate areas of work under the national measurement system when the various programmes funded by the Department come up for renewal.
Column 614
EDUCATION
Hasmonean Preparatory School
12. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to determine the application by Hasmonean prep school to become voluntary aided.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend expects to announce a decision shortly.
Educational Performance, London
13. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what initiatives he plans to take to improve educational performance in London ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : Parents and pupils in London, as elsewhere, are benefiting from the Government's policies on the national curriculum, local management, and self-governing status for schools. The new four-yearly independent inspection cycle will enable us to monitor standards and take effective action where individual schools are proving inadequate.
Truancy
15. Mr. Pope : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to reduce the level of truancy in schools.
Mr. Patten : Parents are responsible in law for securing their children's regular attendance at school and local education authorities are responsible for ensuring that they do so. The Department is supporting the work of LEAs and schools in this area under the reducing truancy programme of the grants for education support and training scheme. In 1993-94, projects are being funded in 71 LEAs to a value of £9.6 million.
24. Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement about his Department's policy on truancy.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend expects local education authorities and schools to make maximising attendance one of their key tasks. To help them, the Department is currently supporting projects to a value of some £9.6 million in 71 English local education authorities under the reducing truancy component of the grants for education support and training scheme 1993-94.
Mr. Merchant : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list for each local education authority (a) the school population, (b) the number of prosecutions for truancy in the latest available year and (c) the average truancy rate for schools, excluding independent schools, in each area.
Mr. Robin Squire : The information requested on the school population and average rate of unauthorised absence for each LEA is published in the "National Unauthorised Absence Tables 1992-93", copies of which are available in the Library.
Information on the number of prosecutions for truancy is not collected centrally.
Column 615
Student Loans
16. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with the Student Loans Company regarding the ability of former students to repay their loans.
Mr. Boswell : I and my officials have frequent discussions with the Student Loans Company about a wide range of issues, including matters relating to the repayment of loans.
Nursery Education
14. Ms Janet Anderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will meet the Association of County Councils to discuss the provision of nursery education.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend has not received any recent request from the Association of County Councils for a meeting to discuss nursery education. Department for Education officials are periodically in touch with the association on educational matters.
17. Mr. Mudie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the provision of nursery education.
21. Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to extend the provision of nursery education.
Mr. Robin Squire : I refer the hon. Members to the reply that I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, Leith (Mr. Chisholm).
Sixth Forms
18. Mr. Moss : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to encourage more schools to develop the use of sixth forms.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. Friend intends shortly to publish a framework of criteria to guide his future decisions on proposals for new sixth forms. The extension of choice and diversity will have a central place in this framework as well as need, effectiveness and cost.
School Uniforms
19. Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to make uniforms compulsory in schools.
Mr. Patten : The Government believe that school uniforms can help foster a sense of responsibility and encourage high standards and good behaviour, but it is for individual governing bodies to decide whether to require the wearing of uniforms by their pupils. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State has no plans to make uniforms compulsory in maintained schools.
Student Unions
20. Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received about Government proposals to remove automatic funding for student unions and student welfare services.
25. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has had about his proposals regarding student unions.
Column 616
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend has received about 3,000 representations since he announced the Government's proposals for student union reform on 1 July. Our proposals provide for core students union services, including welfare, to be available to all students and supported with public funds, where universities and colleges choose to provide those services in that way.
Grant-maintained Schools
22. Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many grant-maintained schools there are in Hampshire ; how many have voted against grant-maintained status ; and how many further applications there are.
Mr. Robin Squire : There are currently 25 self-governing schools in Hampshire and a further five which have been approved for self-governing status and will join the sector in January. One school has an application in the pipeline having voted yes. Six schools have returned a no vote in parental ballots to date, but one of these re-balloted and is self- governing. One school is due to hold a ballot before Christmas.
Special Educational Needs
23. Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the staffing implications for schools and local education authorities in implementing the draft code of practice for special educational needs.
Mr. Forth : The draft code of practice, which reflects expert advice and seeks to codify existing good practice, is presently subject to extensive consultation. My right hon. Friend and I will consider all representations received during the consultation process before laying a revised version of the code before Parliament.
| Next Section
| Home Page |