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Mr. Aitken : Details of information provided to Lord Justice Scott's inquiry are a matter between the inquiry and my Department.
F3 Tornado
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 13 December, Official Report, column 529, what consultations he has had with the International Standards Organisation and the British Standards Institution concerning Airwork's ISO 9001 certification ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : We have had no such consultations.
Quangos
122. Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names of all individuals who are or were members of the House of Lords who since 1979 have been appointed to any quasi-autonomous non- governmental organisations, excluding appointments as justices of the peace, giving in each case the title of the post, any salary payable and the duration of the appointment.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is not held centrally and could not be compiled without disproportionate cost. However, on 1 August 1993 six members of the House of Lords were holding positions on MOD public boards. They are as follows :
The Lord Bridges--Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies Advisory Board. Unsalaried.
The Baroness Platt of Writtle--Member of the Meteorological Committee. An honorarium of £250 per annum is payable.
The Earl of Swinton--Chairman of the Anglo American Community Relations Committee, Menwith Hill Station. Unsalaried.
The Baroness O'Cathain--Member of the National Employers' Liaison Committee. Unsalaried.
The Duke of Westminster--Member of the National Army Museum. Unsalaried.
The Lord Gregson--Chairman of the Royal Military College of Science Advisory Council. Unsalaried.
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names of all former hon. Members who since 1979 have been appointed to quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations, excluding appointments as justices of the peace, giving in each case the title of the post, any salary payable and the duration of the appointment.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names of all former British representative members in the European Parliament who since 1979 have been appointed to quasi-autonomous non- governmental organisations, excluding appointments as justices of the peace, giving in each case the title of the post, any salary payable and the duration of the appointment.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Companies (Dealings)
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what dealings he, or any member of his Department, has had, whether for export promotion or for any other purposes, with (a) A.T.E. International Ltd., (b) Admincheck Ltd., (c) Advance Electronics Development Ltd., (d) Archin Centre I.C.E. Ltd., (e) Atlas Equipment Co. Ltd., (f) Atlas Air conditioning Co. Ltd., (g) Dominion International, (h) Endshire Export Marketing, (i) Falcon Systems, (j) Geodesigns, (k) Investacast Precision Castings Ltd., (l) Meed International Ltd., and (m) Rajbrook Ltd.; and what was the purpose of his dealings with each of these companies.
Mr. Aitken : My officials have found no record of any dealings with the companies listed.
Joint Analysis Centre, Molesworth
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many American citizens work at the joint analysis centre at Molesworth ; how many British citizens work at the centre ; whether GCHQ staff are employed at the centre ; whether toxic chemicals are stored on or near the centre ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : There are currently 463 US military and civilian personnel, and four United Kingdom military personnel assigned to the joint analysis centre--JAC--at RAF Molesworth. No United Kingdom civilians are employed at the JAC. Additionally, there are United Kingdom and United States staff located at RAF Molesworth and RAF Alconbury who support the JAC. There is a hazardous waste storage facility at RAF Molesworth which stores items temporarily until they can be disposed of in accordance with regulations. Examples of hazardous items stored at this facility are petroleum, paint products and dry batteries.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what justification there is for the expansion of the joint analysis centre at Molesworth ; what is the connection between this station and Menwith Hill station in North Yorkshire ; how much the expansion of the joint analysis centre at Molesworth has cost ; Who paid for the expansion of the centre ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : No expansion of the joint analysis centre at RAF Molesworth is currently being undertaken. The decision to locate the JAC at RAF Molesworth, announced by my predecessor on 11 January 1990 at columns 691-92, has entailed construction work at the station. Use has also been made of existing facilities at RAF Molesworth although some modification work has been necessary. This work is ongoing and has been subject to normal planning procedures. The role of the centre is to process and analyse military information from a variety of sources.
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Fire Precautions
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of all letters from fire authorities relating to his Department's buildings and facilities received over the last 10 years following fires.
Mr. Hanley : As far as can be determined only five letters have been received from local fire authorities in the last 10 years. These relate to fires at MOD main building--27 April 1985--AWE Burghfield--2 December 1988- -RAF Coltishall--21 April 1990, Allenbrooke barracks, Larkhill--7 July 1991 and RAF Carlisle--23 March 1992. A copy of the letter of 3 May 1985 from the London fire brigade is already in the Library and copies of the others will now be placed therein.
Fraud
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the level of reported fraud in the Ministry of Defence in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
Mr. Hanley : Latest estimated figures for loss to MOD arising from fraud for the financial years 1990-91 to 1992-93 were as follows :
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1990-91 53 cases valued at £984,0001991-92 45 cases valued at £63,000
1992-93 54 cases valued at £205,000
These figures exclude "procurement fraud"--fraud perpetrated by contractors including corruption of officials by contractors and collusion between officials and contractors.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's policy for dealing with employees found guilty of fraud.
Mr. Aitken : My Department's policy is that civilian staff who commit fraud are liable to be dismissed. Mitigating considerations may affect the penalty in individual circumstances.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilians were judged to be guilty of fraud in his Department in 1990, 1991 and 1992 ; and how many were dismissed.
Mr. Aitken : The number of civilian staff found guilty of fraud in the Ministry of Defence in 1990, 1991 and 1992 were 68, 140 and 88 respectively. The numbers dismissed in each of these years were 27, 52 and 44.
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Irregular Expenditure
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he has taken following the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General to the Commons Public Accounts Committee published on 15 March 1993 to cut irregular expenditure in his Department.
Mr. Hanley : I refer the hon. Member to the Treasury minute on the "28th Report from the Committee of Public Accounts 1992-93"--Cm 2199.
Contracts
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money was set aside in (a) 1990, (b) 1991 and (c) 1992 to cover increased costs incurred through delay in producing contracts placed by his Department.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of contracts placed by his Department in the last five years show cost increases in excess of 25 per cent. by the time of completion.
Mr. Aitken : The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures his Department has taken to ensure that contracts with foreign companies do not cost more than originally planned.
Mr. Aitken : My Department's aim is to award contracts to United Kingdom and overseas suppliers at fixed or firm prices, against tight specifications.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the standard practice of his Department on indexing payments for inflation up until the scheduled delivery date only in contracts for the procurement of equipment.
Mr. Aitken : My Department would normally consider the indexing for inflation of payments to contractors in any contracts with a duration of over five years. Our standard practice is not to continue such indexing beyond the scheduled delivery date if contracts fail to achieve this.
Project Management
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what steps he has taken to rationalise the definition of in-service dates on individual projects to enhance comparability ; (2) what is his current definition for an in-service date in relation to the procurement of equipment ;
Mr. Aitken : An equipment's in-service date is generally defined as the date by which the equipment, or a specified number of equipments will contribute to operational capability. The interpretation of this definition can vary because of the differing characteristics of equipment, and the ways in which they are used. My Department's current approval processes require that the basis for defining the in-service date should be explained at the start of procurement.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures he has implemented to improve project management in the light of his Department's "Learning from Experience" report.
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Mr. Aitken : A directorate was established as a centre of expertise for project management to pursue the recommendations of the learning from experience report and provide support and guidance to all project office staff. The training available to project managers has been improved ; structured risk management has been introduced for all projects and a help desk has been set up to which project managers can refer queries. A regular project managers newsletter is produced to disseminate new initiatives and best practices derived from the lessons learned from other projects.
Computer Theft
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the estimated value of computer theft in his Department in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
Mr. Hanley : The estimated value of the theft of computer hardware during the period in question is £94,000, which occurred in financial year 1990-91.
Government Car Service
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annual cost to the Department of the car service for Ministers in 1990-91 ; and how many vehicles were involved.
Mr. Hanley [pursuant to his reply, 8 December 1993, column 741] : The answer I gave the right hon. Member on 15 December at column 741 contained an error. The cost to the Defence budget of providing five vehicles for Defence Department Ministers in 1990-91 was some £200, 000.
Defence Establishments (Shoeburyness)
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the defence establishments in the area of Shoeburyness, Essex.
Mr. Aitken : The proof and experimental establishment, Shoeburyness and the environment test centre, Foulness were included in my Department's recent review of test and evaluation facilities. I hope to be in a position to make an announcement on the outcome of this review shortly.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Laboratory Agencies
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total sum expended on consultancy advice centrally as part of the review of the laboratory agencies in the financial year 1992-93 ; and what amount is projected for 1993-94.
Mr. McLoughlin : The fees paid for consultancy advice for the review are confidential for commercial reasons.
Energy Advisory Panel
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) of 26 November, Official Report, column 254 , if he will now consider making public details of the discussions of his energy advisory panel.
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Chemical Weapons Convention
Mr. Cohen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress his Department has made towards the ratification of the chemical weapons convention.
Mr. Sainsbury : The United Kingdom signed the chemical weapons convention in January 1993. The Government continue to take a leading role in the preparatory commission which is working towards the establishment of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, as envisaged by the chemical weapons convention--CWC. The DTI is working with the FCO and MoD to make preparations for the implementation of the CWC in the United Kingdom.
Deregulation Task Force
Mr. Nigel Evans : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will name the small business representatives on the task force looking into deregulation, and the businesses they operate.
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Mr. Neil Hamilton : The 14 task force members who represented small business and their businesses are :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Michael Everard |Everard & Son Ltd. Mr. G. W. (William) Cottham |Yorkshire Rider Ltd. Mr. Maurice Denyer |Fowler (Bros) Cowfold Ltd. Mr. J. Roger Humber |House Builders Federation Mr. Chris Drew |SORIS Mr. A. E. H. (Alistair) Salvesen |Dawnfresh Seafoods Ltd. Mr. Robin Bloomfield |Oakridge Farm Ltd. Mr. John Gardner |VG Distributors Ltd. Mr. Jonathan Swift |British Hardware Federation Mr. Michael Ann |Drusilla's Park Miss Sonia Elkin |former Small Firms Director, CBI Ms Clare Spottiswoode |Euro Utility Systems Ltd. Mr. Derek Cavalier |Eltham Group Ltd. Mr. John Simpson |Kalme Prototype Ltd.
Company Failures
Dr. Wright : To ask the President of the Board of Trade in how many failures of limited liablity companies reports of unfit or criminal conduct have been made to him ; and in how many cases
disqualification orders or prosecutions have been undertaken.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The information is as follows :
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Number of |Financial Year |Disqualification|Disqualification|Prosecution |Prosecutions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1990-91 |4,508 |251 |518 |170 |23 1991-92 |6,156 |326 |689 |203 |26 1992-93 |6,713 |446 |689 |176 |18 <1>1993-94 5,074 302 (not yet available) <1>8 months.
Konver Programme
Mr. Pike : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what bids have been made under the Konver programme and what allocations have been made ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett) on 10 December, Official Report , column 430.
Textiles
Mr. Pike : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the bids made under the Retex programme and the allocations made ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : A list of all those Retex proposals which were put before the Retex programme monitoring committee, and those projects which have been approved, has been placed in the Library of the House.
Education and Training Targets
Dame Angela Rumbold : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to ensure that his Department is fully committed to the national education and training targets ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sainsbury : The Department of Trade and Industry is wholly committed to the national targets. The Department encourages the spread of the Investors in
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People initiative in its "Winning in the '90s" business strategy roadshow. DTI Ministers also meet regularly with the National Advisory Council for Education and Training Targets to support their work in leading industry towards achieving the targets.Newspaper Distribution
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to meet representatives of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents to discuss the Government's response to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on national newspaper distribution.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Following publication on 9 December of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) report on the supply of national newspapers I announced that the Secretary of State had decided to prohibit by order certain restrictions on wholesale supply which the MMC had found to be against the public interest. A notice of the Secretary of State's intention to lay an order before Parliament was published on 21 December.
Written representations were invited from any persons whose interests are likely to be affected by the order. At this early stage of consultation no meetings with any individuals or organisations have been arranged.
Post Office Privatisation
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the Government's policy on the privatisation of the Post Office, together with the timetable for its implementation.
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Mr. McLoughlin : The Government are conducting a review of the structure and organisation of the Post Office. Continued public sector ownership, as well as private sector options, are being considered. The review is still continuing, and no decisions have been taken. An announcement will be made in due course.
Bank of Commerce and Credit International
Mr. Vaz : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the visit by Touche Ross the liquidators of BCCI to Abu Dhabi.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : No. This is a matter for the liquidators.
Utility Regulators
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will extend the power of the utility regulators to ensure that the rights of low-income consumers are protected.
Mr. McLoughlin : Each utility regulator already has a duty to protect the interests of all consumers in respect of prices and quality of service.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what response he has made to the citizens' advice bureaux report, "Out of Control", a copy of which has been sent to him ; and if he will ask the utility regulators to investigate the CAB's findings.
Mr. McLoughlin : Ministers are considering the CAB report, as are the utility regulators, who also received copies.
Utilities (Consumers)
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will seek discussions with the utility chairmen about the rights of low- income consumers.
Mr. McLoughlin : This is a matter for the regulators, who have a duty to protect consumers' interests.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will ask the National Consumer Council and the utilities consumer committees to consider what improvements might be made in the rights of low -income consumers.
Mr. McLoughlin : The National Consumer Council and the utilities consumer committees have a duty to consider the interests of all consumers.
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Extended Warranty Schemes
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will consider if the practice of other high street retailers of promoting their extended warranty schemes rather than the ones offered cheaper by manufacturers may breach the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976 ;
(2) if he will refer extended warranty schemes operated by white goods retailers to the Director General of Fair Trading.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Under the competition legislation responsibility for considering and, if appropriate, investigating allegations of restrictive trade practices, anti-competitive behaviour and abuse of market power lies with the Director General of Fair Trading, Sir Bryan Carsberg. I am asking Sir Bryan to consider whether the practice identified by the hon. Member warrants investigation and to write to the hon. Member.
Vietnam
Mr. Mullin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when Export Credits Guarantee Department cover for trade with Vietnam will be restored ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : Now that Vietnam has normalised its relationship with the International Monetary Fund and is making arrangements with its creditors to restructure its outstanding trade debts restoration of ECGD cover is under urgent consideration. I expect a decision to be taken in the next month or so.
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