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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday, 16 December, 1993
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what formal or informal approaches Her Majesty's Government have received from Governments of nations with utilities with a contract with British Nuclear Fuels plc for the use of THORP, to cancel or vary the contract or its terms ; and what steps have been taken to alert other departments.
Dry Cleaning
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what research he has commissioned and what grants he has offered for research on future dry cleaning technology from OTEC (MSG) Ltd. ; and if he will place the conclusions of that research in the Library.
Mr. McLoughlin : OTEC is a subsidiary of Master Services Group--MSG- -which leads a project assisted by a Department of Trade and Industry grant under DEMOS--DTI's environmental management options scheme. The grant fo £134,332 over 13 months is in support of the research and development of a hydrocarbon non-halogenated fluid as a possible replacement for CFC 113, a solvent used in the dry-cleaning industry. Production of CFC 113 is to be phased out by 1 January 1995.
A summary of the results of the project will be issued in late 1994 for the benefit of the dry cleaning industry, and will be placed in the Librry of the House.
Solvents
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what compliance tests were carried out on European regulations to phase out the use of solvent 113 ; who conducted these tests ; and what alternative solvents or technologies were recommended.
Mr. McLoughlin : My Department commissioned consultants Touche Ross to carry out a study into the effect of phase out of CFC 113--solvent 113-- in the solvent-using sector. Copies of its report "The use of CFC 113 and 1,1,1 trichloroethane as solvents in UK industry" dated October 1992 were placed in the Library of the House.
My Department has also produced a free leaflet entitled "Ozone Depleting Solvents. CFC Phase Out : Advice on Alternatives and Guidelines for Users", which is also in the Library of the House, and has supported a nationwide series of seminars organised by the Engineering Employers Federation to advise users on the range of alternatives.
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Research and Development
Mrs. Anne Campbell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the spending on research and development in each of the last five years given in 1992-93 prices in his Department.
Mr. Heseltine : The Department of Trade and Industry's expenditure on research and development is recorded in the "Annual Review of Government Funded Research and Development", copies of which are placed in the Library of the House. Table 1.2.3. of the latest edition shows DTI expenditure on research and development from 1987-88, based on 1991-92 prices. Revised figures, based on 1992-93 prices, will be published in the 1994 forward look of science and technology, which replaces the annual review.
British Nuclear Fuels plc
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects BNFL to publish its accounts for 1992-93 ; and what reasons it has given for the delay.
Mr. Eggar : BNFL will file its accounts for 1992-93 within the period allowed by the Companies Act 1985, as amended, for laying and delivering accounts. In accordance with section 244 of the Act, BNFL has claimed and been granted a three-month extension to this period on the ground that it is a company which carries on business or has interests outside the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The accounts are now due to be delivered to Companies House on or before 31 January 1994.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the average annual running costs of BNFL plants at (a) Capenhurst, (b) Springfields, (c) Chapelcross, (d) Sellafield and (e) Calderhall.
Mr. Eggar : This is a matter for British Nuclear Fuels plc.
Press Releases
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many press releases his Department has issued in each year since 1979.
Mr. Eggar : The following numbers of press notices were issued by the Department for the years requested.
Year |Number of notices |Department
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |897 |Department of Trade, Department of Industry
| and Department of Consumer Protection
1980 |937 |Department of Trade and Department of
| Industry
1981 |944 |Department of Trade and Department of
| Industry
1982 |1,039 |Department of Trade and Department of
| Industry
1983 |956 |Department of Trade, Department of Industry
| and subsequently, from June 1983, the
| merged Department of Trade and Industry
1984 |762 |Department of Trade and Industry
1985 |839 |Department of Trade and Industry
1986 |931 |Department of Trade and Industry
1987 |816 |Department of Trade and Industry
1988 |944 |Department of Trade and Industry
1989 |876 |Department of Trade and Industry
1990 |799 |Department of Trade and Industry
1991 |724 |Department of Trade and Industry
1992 |838 |Department of Trade and Industry, including
| Department of Energy from April
1993 |745 |Department of Trade and Industry, including
| Department of Energy from April, up to
| 14 December
Bankruptcies
Mr. Dowd : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many companies have been declared bankrupt each year since 1989, including that year.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Information on company insolvencies is regularly published by the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry, in "Business Briefing", copies are available in the Library of the House. The figures concerned were most recently published in the edition dated 5 November.
Administration
Mr. Morgan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total expenditure by his Department on administration in 1992-93 ; what is the estimated outturn for expenditure by his Department on administration for 1993-94 in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms in, 1992-93 prices ; and what is his estimate for expenditure on administration by his Department for 1994-95 in (a) cash terms and (b) 1992-93 prices.
Mr. Eggar : The final outturn for the recurrent costs of running the Department in 1992-93 is £291.2 million. The running costs limit for 1993-94 is £330.6 million. An estimated outturn will be published in the spring in the 1994 departmental report and the unified Budget supplement. The Department's planned running costs expenditure for 1994-95 will be published in the unified Budget supplement.
Electricity Licences
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to relax the conditions of the order which exempts companies from the requirement to hold an electricity generation or supply licence.
Mr. Eggar : Following consultations with the Director General of Electricity Supply, electricity companies and other interested parties, I have decided to amend the Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) Order 1990 to reduce the regulatory burden on small generators, own generators and consumers who sell on a small proportion of the electricity they purchase. The changes will be made as early as possible in 1994, I expect the changes to be broadly as follows, subject to considering the detailed technical amendments that will be required to achieve our aims. At present, small generators require a generation licence unless each of their generating stations provides not more than 10 MW, disregarding power going to certain qualifying customers on site. I will extend this exemption to cover generating stations which have a capacity of less
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than 100 MW and provide more than 10 MW but not more than 50 MW, disregarding power going to certain qualifying customers on site. At present, a consumer without an electricity supply licence may resell electricity to franchise customers if that electricity was originally purchased from the local public electricity supplier or in certain cases a second tier supplier. I propose to extend the exemption to allow the resale of electricity purchased from a second tier supplier to any franchise customers located on the reseller's site--this subject to overall limits based on the proportion and aggregate amount resold ; these are expected to be 10 per cent. and 250 MWH per site respectively. I am also minded to exempt the resale of electricity purchased from an own generator subject to the same conditions and limitations.The existing exemptions for own generators and deminimis generators allow for the provision of electricity to qualifying groups of companies. I propose to allow more companies to be included in such qualifying groups by reducing the proportion of shares required to be held in a company for it to qualify as a subsidiary forming part of a qualifying group. I am also examining how we might allow certain joint venture companies to be included in a qualifying group. At present, an own generator requires a supply licence unless at least 51 per cent. of the electricity from his generating station goes to qualifying customers located on the own generator's site. I will remove this condition. In future, the proportion of electricity provided to particular customers will not be a factor in determining whether a supply licence is needed.
At present, most generators who are exempt from the need for a generation licence but who have stations over 200 KW capacity must notify the Secretary of State of their name and address. I will remove that requirement.
These changes will encourage own generators and others by reducing the regulatory burden with which they must contend.
In addition, the Director General has granted a full second tier supply licence to Nuclear Electric. This will help to promote competition in the provision of electricity supply contracts to non franchise customers.
The Government recognise the concern that rises in pool prices have caused, particularly to those large users who are on pool related contracts. The Director General of Electricity Supply has investigated the matter. He has carried forward work on the costs and margins of National Power and PowerGen and other relevant issues and has concluded that further steps need to be taken to ensure that customers are protected in future and to allow the satisfactory development of the industry. Discussions with the companies are continuing and he anticipates being able to decide by mid January whether a Monopolies and Mergers Commission reference is required. In their White Paper "The Prospects for Coal", the Government said that they would consider whether allowing large users to trade outside the electricity pool would be beneficial to the electricity market.
The responses to my Department's consultation paper on dedicated generation established that there were many practical problems to be overcome if a workable dedicated generation scheme were to be found which would not disadvantage other consumers. The Government have concluded that they should not proceed with amendments to the order which would allow an interim scheme to operate within the electricity pool.
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I have, therefore, asked the Director General of Electricity Supply to look further into the possibility of trading outside the pool and to report on this by 30 June 1994. He has agreed.European Economic Area
Mr. Congdon : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the European economic area will enter into force.
Mr. Needham : Following ratification of the European Economic Area-- EEA--agreement by all EC member states and participating states of the European Free Trade Association the Community formally concluded the EEA at the ECOFIN Council on 13 December. This means that the European Economic Area will enter into force on 1 January 1994.
The European Economic Area agreement extends most of the EC's single market to five states of the European Free Trade Association : Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden ; Liechtenstein may join later. The United Kingdom ratified the EEA on 15 November 1993.
Remote Sensing
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has for a legal national regime in which remote sensing can be accommodated ; and what plans he has to develop an international regime in which the interests of have-not technology states can be accommodated.
Mr. McLoughlin [holding answer 15 December 1993] : I have no plans to add to the provisions of existing legislation including those of the Outer Space Act 1986. United Nations resolution 41/65 of 3 December 1986 creates an international framework within which the International Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, of which the British National Space Centre is a member, is at present exploring mechanisms for the closer involvement of developing countries.
Nuclear Power
Mr. Merchant : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress he has made in preparing for the Government's review of the future prospects for nuclear power in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : In their White Paper "The Prospects for Coal", CM 2235, the Government undertook to bring forward work on their review of the future prospects for nuclear power and to make a further announcement later this year.
The Government have received a considerable number of representations about the review from hon. Members, members of the public, the nuclear industry and other interested parties, both on the areas which the review should cover and on the way in which the review should be conducted. In addition, the Trade and Industry Select Committee made recommendations in its report "British Energy Policy and the Market for Coal"--HC 237--earlier this year. The Government are carefully considering these representations as part of their preparatory work on the review. Some of the issues identified in the context of this
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work are the extent to which nuclear power is now competitive ; the present economics of nuclear power generation ; nuclear power's contribution to diversity and security of supply ; and environmental aspects of nuclear power.We will announce the precise terms of reference for the review, and how it will be conducted, as soon as possible.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Commercial Property Law
Mr. Stern : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he intends to bring forward legislation to put into effect the reports announced on 31 March to implement most of the Law Commissioner's recommendations for reforming the law on commercial property leases.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Legislation to give effect to the Government's decision to implement the recommendations in the Law Commission's report, "Landlord and Tenant Law : Privity of Contract and Estate"--Law Com. No. 174--for all future leases including commercial leases but not for existing leases, will be introduced as soon as there is a suitable opportunity.
Judges
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will introduce requirements for all judges to undergo comprehensive medical and psychological examinations prior to appointment and thereupon annually.
Mr. John M. Taylor : High Court judges, circuit judges and district judges are required to undergo a medical examination as a condition of their appointment. In addition, medical examinations of serving judges are undertaken when appropriate. The Lord Chancellor has no plans to revise the current requirements.
Special Ministerial Advisers
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what arrangements are made to ensure that special advisers to Ministers in his Department do not have access to the kind of information, and are not involved in the type of business, that would be likely to create suspicion of impropriety in relation to subsequent employment ;
(2) if he will list the names and job descriptions of each special ministerial adviser employed in his Department showing any particular outputs for which each adviser is responsible.
Mr. John M. Taylor : There are no special advisers to Ministers in the Lord Chancellor's Department.
Departmental Offices (Heating Bills)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list, by location the annual fuel heating bills for each of his Department's offices for the last four years, and for this year to date.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Department's courts and offices are organised administratively into six circuits, the
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Supreme Court group and headquarters. The total expenditure for the last two financial years and year to date are as follows :
Location |1991-92 |1992-93 |1993-94
[NL] |£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------------
Circuits
Midland and Oxford |1,047,150|991,539 |456,937
North Eastern |596,478 |692,134 |230,214
Northern |640,705 |714,775 |409,274
South Eastern |2,514,268|2,338,134|668,232
Wales and Chester |315,991 |300,854 |206,347
Western |332,923 |455,838 |192,910
Supreme Court |643,157 |640,979 |237,755
Headquarters |421,374 |399,934 |218,899
|----- |----- |-----
Total |6,512,046|6,534,187|2,620,568
Details of expenditure incurred prior to 1991-92 are not held centrally. A detailed list of expenditure in each individual court and office has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Clean-break Settlements
Mr. Hall : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many clean-break settlements have been agreed in divorce cases since the inception of the Child Support Agency.
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Mr. John M. Taylor : This information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Children (Court Appearances)
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many court cases there have been in each of the last two years involving children (a) under 17 years and (b) under 14 years ; how many of these children requested the use of (i) video link, (ii) video recording and (iii) the use of screens in court ; and how many requests were granted.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The information sought by the hon. Member on the total number of criminal cases involving children in the last two years has not been collated, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The tables give the information sought with regard to the usage of live television link equipment, pre-recorded video evidence and screens in criminal cases in the Crown court. In non-criminal cases, existing legislation does not allow for either television links or pre-recorded video evidence to be used, and the information sought with regard to the use of screens is not collated.
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i. Live TV Link Applications (s.32 Criminal Justice Act 1988). Implementation 5 January 1989.
|Age Unknown<1> |Under 14 |Under 17 |Mixed age range |Total number of cases
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992
1 January-30 September 1992
Granted |229 |229
Refused |9 |9
1992
1 October-31 December 1992
Granted (or case disposed of prior to
trial) |60 |12 |7 |79
Refused |0 |0 |0 |0
1993
1 January-to date
Granted (or case disposed of prior to trial)
|270 |120 |57 |447
Refused |8 |4 |2 |14
<1> Prior to the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 the age of the child was not recorded. The Mixed age range' column includes those cases where the child
witnesses spanned both age ranges.
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ii. Pre-Recorded Video Interview Application (s.32A Criminal Justice Act 1988, as inserted by s.54 Criminal Justice Act 1991). Implementation
1 October 1992.
|Under 14 |Under 17 |Mixed age range |Total number of cases
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992
1 October-31 December 1992
Granted (or case disposed of prior to trial) |4 |2 |1 |7
Refused |0 |0 |0 |0
1993
1 January-to date
Granted (or case disposed of prior to trial) |122 |42 |32 |196
Refused |4 |0 |1 |5
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iii. Applications to use Screens
|Under 14 |Under 17 |Mixed age range |Total number of cases
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993
Granted |19 |24 |11 |54
Refused |0 |0 |0 |0
Note: Applications to use screens were not recorded prior to 1 January 1993.
High Court Judges
Mr. Cox : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the number of High Court judges who are (a) Asian and (b) black, on 1 December.
Mr. John M. Taylor : As at 1 December 1993, there were 94 High Court judges. The ethnic origin of those appointed as High Court judges has not been recorded formally in the past, but it is known that none is black or Asian.
Press Releases
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many press releases his Department has issued in each year since 1979.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Lord Chancellor's Department issued 170 press releases in 1986 ; 147 in 1987 ; 182 in 1988 ; 175 in 1989 ; 206 in 1990 ; 245 in 1991 ; and 333 in 1992. A total of 297 have been issued to 14 December in 1993. There are no records of press releases before 1986.
Immigration
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many adjudicators there are (a) at first instance and (b) on appeal dealing with immigration cases ; how many are (i) full-time and (ii) part-time, and how many are (1) black, (2) Asian and (3) female.
Mr. John M. Taylor : There are dealing with immigration cases (a) 116 immigration adjudicators at first instance and (b) 12 legal members and 27 lay members on appeal.
Of the immigration adjudicators at first instance, 16 are full time and 100 are part time ; three are black, four are Asian and 23 are female.
Of the members of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, three are full time and 36 are part time ; four are black, six are Asian and 14 are female.
Administration
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the total expenditure by his Department on administration in 1992-93 ; what is the estimated outturn for expenditure by his Department on administration for 1993-94 in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms in, 1992-93 prices ; and what is his estimate for expenditure on administration by his Department for 1994-95 in (a) cash terms and (b) 1992 -93 prices.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The total expenditure by the Lord Chancellor's Department on running costs for 1992-93,
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estimated outturn for 1993-94 and plans for 1994-95 in(i) cash terms and (ii) real terms (in 1992-93 prices) are shown in the table :
£'000
|1992-93|1993-94|1994-95
-----------------------------------------------
Cash terms |396,548|419,000|427,000
1992-93 prices |396,548|405,811|397,653
Expenditure Review
Mrs. Lait : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what will be the terms of reference of the Lord Chancellor's Department proposed fundamental review of expenditure by his Department.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Government announced in February 1993 that they would conduct in-depth reviews of all public spending by every department of state. The work will examine long-term trends in spending on individual programmes to assess whether they are sustainable, and seek out areas from which the state might withdraw altogether or where better targeting is now appropriate. The "Financial Statement and Budget Report" laid before the House of Commons on 30 November 1993 mentioned that the next batch of reviews would cover, among others, the legal departments.
The terms of reference of the review will be to :
(a) assess whether the trends in expenditure on courts and legal services are sustainable and advise what must be done if they are not ;
(b) consider whether public expenditure by the legal departments in England and Wales has a clear purpose, whether the purpose is right for the 1990s and if so whether it is being pursued cost effectively.
The review team will make its first report to the Lord Chancellor by June 1994.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION
Quangos
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission, what plans exist to modernise audit and accountability arrangements for Government and quangos.
Sir Peter Hordern : The Comptroller and Auditor General is the statutory auditor of all Government Departments, executive agencies, and of a wide range of other public sector bodies. In addition, he audits the accounts of some other public sector organisations by agreement. For all these bodies, the Comptroller and Auditor General reports to Parliament.
The Comptroller and Auditor General is also the auditor of some 50 per cent. of executive non-departmental public bodies. For other non- departmental public bodies the
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auditor, normally from the private sector, is appointed by the responsible Secretary of State. The accounts of these bodies are laid before Parliament.Recent reviews of the financial audit methods of the National Audit Office suggest that they are comparable with best practice in the auditing profession in the United Kingdom.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Arts Expenditure
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what has been public expenditure on the arts in real terms in each year since 1979.
Mr. Brooke : Government funding for the arts is mainly provided through the Arts Council. Since 1979, its grant in aid in each year has been, in 1979-80 prices
|£000s
----------------------
1979-80 |63,125
1980-81 |59,980
1981-82 |61,995
1982-83 |65,678
1983-84 |66,053
1984-85 |66,703
1988-86 |65,771
1966-87 |81,706
1987-88 |79,689
1988-89 |81,704
1989-90 |77,940
1990-91 |81,537
1991-92 |84,711
1992-93 |92,922
1993-94 |91,799
Arts Funding
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many meetings he has held with the Secretary of State for the Environment to discuss local authority funding of the arts ; and when the meetings took place.
Mr. Brooke : I have had no bilateral meetings with the Secratary of State for the Environment specifically to discuss local authority funding for the arts, but my officials remain in contact with their colleagues in the Department of the Environment on this and other issues.
Departmental Offs Department's offices for the last four years, and for this year to date.
Mr. Sproat : My Department was established in April 1992. In the year 1992-93, the Department and its agencies spent £225,367 on identifiable heating costs. In the current year, we have spent £161, 064 on identifiable costs. Costs are estimated in some cases where the new Department was a part-occupier of other Department's premises, or where energy costs refer also to other uses.
The breakdown of costs is as follows :
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|£
------------------------------------------------
1992-93
Horseguards road |2,441
Grove house |1,210
Historic Royal Palaces Agency:
Hampton court |61,500
Kensington palace |15,854
Tower of London |141,416
Banquetting house |2,946
1993-94 to date
Horseguards road |274
Grove house |1,746
Historic Royal Palances Agency:
Hampton court |53,700
Kensington palace |8,175
Tower of London |97,169
Time Zone
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations his Department has received on the subject of Britain's time zone.
Mr. Brooke : My Department has received representations on a move to central European time from its sponsor bodies and various trade organisations. All have been in favour of such a change.
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what studies his Department has commissioned on the effects of an extra hour of evening daylight on rates of participation in outdoor sports activities ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : There has been no direct assessment of this kind. However the Sports Council, which is my Department's adviser on matters relating to sport and active recreation, takes the view that an additional hour of evening daylight would help to increase the opportunities for participation.
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what estimate his Department has made of the likely effect on the British tourist industry of an extra hour of evening daylight all through the year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : There has been no direct assessment of this kind. However, the English tourist board, which is my Department's adviser on domestic tourism matters, takes the view that an additional hour of evening daylight would help to extend the tourist season by enabling many outdoor attractions to open to a later hour. Such a move would also promote greater employment opportunities.
Commercial Television
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what mechanism there is for taking into account when determining his policies towards the awarding of commercial television franchises and towards possible mergers and takeovers in commercial television the level of violence depicted on television.
Mr. Brooke : The licensing and regulation of commercial television are matters for the Independent
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Television Commission, which carries out the responsibilities laid on it by the Broadcasting Act 1990. All licensees, regardless of ownership, have to comply with the ITC programme code, which includes guidance on the portrayal of violence in programmes.Press Releases
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many press releases his Department has issued in 1992 and 1993.
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