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Vietnam
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are to make grants from the know-how fund available for Vietnam ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The know-how fund provides specialist skills and training for the former Soviet Union and eastern and central Europe. We are providing £10 million worth of similar technical co-operation for Vietnam under our aid programme to that country.
Commonwealth Institute
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with other Commonwealth Governments about the increasing their funding of the Commonwealth Institute ; and what discussions he has had with the Commonwealth Secretariat about improving links between the Secretariat and the Commonwealth Institute, and expanding financial support from the Commonwealth to the Commonwealth Institute.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : All Commonwealth high commissioners in London and the Commonwealth Secretary-General are, ex-officio, governors of the institute's board. Through them, the assessors on the board, appointed by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to represent Government Departments in the United Kingdom, maintain a continuing dialogue on the level of funding and support provided by Commonwealth Governments and the Commonwealth secretariat, in addition to the direct contacts between the institute's staff and high commissions and the secretariat.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what purpose the Commonwealth Institute building would be put if the Commonwealth Institute closes or virtually closes in 1996 ; and what representations have been made to him by the appropriate local authority about the planning implications of the closure of the Commonwealth Institute, or about acceptable alternative uses for the building.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The board, the director-general and staff of the institute are developing a re-launch strategy to
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ensure that the institute does not close in 1996. Any alternative use to which the institute's building could be put would have to take account of the building's grade II* listed status and the terms of the 999 year lease governing the use of the site and building. On 13 October 1993, the Council of the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea adopted the following resolution :"That this Council notes with dismay the proposal to withdraw funding from the Commonwealth Institute and regrets that should the Institute close, its valuable role in promoting inter-cultural awareness will be lost."
In conveying the resolution to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, the Leader of the council argued that since it occupies a grade II* listed building the Commonwealth Institute was unique in the borough and that alternative uses for the building would be very hard to find if the institute had to leave.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received urging his Department to continue grant in aid to the Commonwealth Institute beyond 1996 ; what were the main conclusions of the inquiry, carried out by Lord Armstrong, into the Commonwealth Institute ; if he will place a copy of Lord Armstrong's report in the Library ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We have received many representations from MPs and members of the public.
In his review of the Commonwealth Institute, Lord Armstrong identified four options for the institute :
(i) a larger grant in aid
(ii) a continuation of the status quo
(iii) the transfer of the Institute's collection elsewhere, and look separately at the buildings
(iv) the closure of the Institute.
In his conclusions, Lord Armstrong advised against closure ; assumed increased Government funding to be unlikely ; and recommended that the institute should be enabled to continue to run as at present, while the feasibility of transferring the collection of objects to another institution was examined. He judged that if there was no prospect of a significant increase in Government funding it would be unsatisfactory for all concerned to keep the institute ticking over indefinitely at the present level.
I have placed a copy of Lord Armstrong's review in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with the Departments for Education and for National Heritage and other Government Departments from his Department about spreading or switching funding of the Commonwealth Institute ; and what discussions he has had with private sector interests about private sponsorship of the work of the Commonwealth Institute.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : My Department consulted other Government Departments, including the Departments for Education and National Heritage, before the decision to cease funding in 1996 was announced on 21 September 1993. No other Government Department was able to assist financially.
The outlines for a relaunch plan were presented by the board of governors to the institute's annual general meeting on 16 November 1993. The detailed implementation including the financing of this plan is under preparation by the director-general.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Public Bodies
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the President of the Board of Trade who are the members currently appointed to the Post Office users councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Mr. McLoughlin : The members of the Post Office users councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as at 21 January 1994 are as follows :
Scotland
Mr. Andrew O. Robertson (Chairman)
Mr. Richard J. Ardern
Dr. Tom N. A. Begg OBE JP
Lady Jane Forbes
Mrs. Vivian B. Greenhill
Mr. D. G. Marnoch
Mrs. Elizabeth A. Packard
Mr. Alastair J. Turnbull
Mr. Peter Wilson JP
Mr. Edward Young
Wales
Dr. Eleanor M. James (Chairman)
Mr. Gordon Donaldson
Mr. Donald R. Dutton JP
Mr. Graham S. Hall
Mr. C. F. Hay
Mrs. Margaret M. Kerridge
Mr. Huw Ifor Lewis
Mr. Lawrence Murphy
Miss Meryl Pike
Mr. Ellis Roberts
Mr. Neville W. Simms MBE
Mr. Anthony D. White
Northern Ireland
Mrs. Gwen Savage (Chairman)
Mr. Ralph G. Bauer
Mrs. R. P. M. Goldie
Mrs. Olive M. Marshall
Mr. James O. McDonald MBE
Deaconess Hilary M. McDowell
Mr. Albert J. Sherrard
Mr. John D. Thompson
Mr. George B. Turkington
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the President of the Board of Trade who are the members currently appointed to the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for England.
Mr. McLoughlin : The members of the English Advisory Committee on Telecommunications as at 21 January 1994 are :
Miss Moira E. Black (Chairman)
Ms Anne Ballard
Mrs. Diana C. Banks OBE
Mr. Harry Branchdale
Mr. Iain R. Bryce
Mr. Samuel J. Cooper
Mr. John D. Green
Mr. Robert F. Little
Mr. Brian M. Love
Ms Claire B. Milne
Mr. Douglas R. Oram
Dr. Joyce M. Wood
Aerospace Industry
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his Department's assistance to the British aerospace industry.
Mr. Sainsbury : Since 1979 the Department has provided over £1.5 billion of support for major civil
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aerospace projects in the form of launch aid and support for research and technology. The DTI also helps the industry to sell its products and services abroad, in co-operation with other Departments, and ECGD has provided over £735 million of export credit cover to support these sales over the last three years.Ferrous Scrap
Mr. Michael : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what is his assessment of the impact of increased demand and price for ferrous scrap internationally on the United Kingdom industry ; and what steps he intends to take to help the United Kingdom industry ; (2) what assessment his Department has made of (a) demand and (b) price of ferrous scrap in the current year and in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Sainsbury : The Government have been closely monitoring recent developments. Ferrous scrap is an internationally traded commodity and as such will vary in price according to the level of supply and demand.
I have agreed to meet a delegation from the steel and foundry industries. We have also discussed these matters with the European Commission, which is currently undertaking an in-depth study of the international scrap market. We will be studying the results carefully.
Mr. Michael : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the level of export of ferrous scrap (a) in terms of tonnage and (b) in terms of value in each of the past 10 years ; and what is his projection for 1994.
Mr. Sainsbury : The information requested is published in the "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, Central Statistical Office", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Advertising
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list all television advertising, newspaper advertising, radio advertising and other promotional campaigns with a budgeted cost in excess of £10,000 conducted by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies (i) in the current financial year and (ii) planned for 1994-95, showing for each the objectives and mechanisms for assessing the effectiveness of the advertising.
Mr. Eggar : The Department's publicity advertising in the current year has included the following :
Export Services
Objective : to encourage firms to make use of Overseas Trade Services in tackling markets abroad.
Assessment : responses and take up of information and services. Business in Europe
Objective : to encourage United Kingdom firms into other European markets, and to provide information and help.
Assessment : responses and take up of information and services. Small firms merit award for research and technology
Objective : promotion of the SMART scheme to stimulate technological innovation in small firms.
Assessment : responses and applications.
Firework safety
Objective : to alert the public to the need to enjoy fireworks safely.
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Assessment : injury statistics are published annually.Inward investment
Objective : to promote the United Kingdom as the preferred European location for foreign investment.
Assessment : awareness and monitoring of the number and quality of responses.
Queen's awards
Objective : to attract applicants for the Queen's Awards for Export, Technological and Environmental Achievement.
Assessment : responses and applications.
The Department has many other promotional programmes, most of which have involved little or no advertising expenditure in the current year. Each has its own objectives and evaluation arrangements. Examples of topics covered are : DTI services to business ; export promotion ; small firms and business link ; innovation and technology services ; consumer affairs ; industry sponsorship ; business and the environment ; deregulation ; renewable energy ; United Kingdom space interests ; assisted areas ; manufacturing and management best practice ; and United Kingdom offshore supplies expertise. Most of these activities will continue in 1994-95, and media allocations will be made during the year according to need. Details of advertising and other promotional activities by the Department's agencies are not held centrally.
Nuclear Reprocessing
Mr. Salmond : To ask the President of the Board of Trade for what reasons the reprocessing of a final load of pressure for the reactor fuel was authorised following the termination of the fast reactor programme.
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