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Mr. Eggar : Reprocessing the spent fuel represents the best value for money, based on both technical and economic grounds.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the implications for the frequency of plutonium nitrate shipments from Dounreay to Sellafield of plans to increase the rate of prototype fast reactor spent fuel reprocessing over the next three or more years.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for the Western Isles (Mr. Macdonald) on 22 June 1993, Official Report, column 134.
Research and Development
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has on United Kingdom industrial research and development spending, by sector, in each of the past five years ; what these figures are as a percentage of (a) sales, (b) profits and (c) dividends ; and what comparison his Department has undertaken with the top 200 companies world wide.
Mr. Sainsbury : Data on United Kingdom business enterprise research and development expenditure by detailed product group for 1988-1992 were published in table 2 of the Central Statistical Office "First Release" (CSO(93)188) a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Research and development expenditure as a percentage of sales is given in table 3 of the same publication.
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Research and development expenditure as a percentage of sales, profits, and dividends for individual United Kingdom companies is published in "The 1993 UK R&D Scoreboard" a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. This publication also contains similar data for the 200 international companies spending most of research and development. The data in the scoreboard are drawn from annual reports and accounts and are not directly comparable to the data published by the Central Statistical Office.Net Book Agreement
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to receive the Office of Fair Trading report of the inquiry into the net book agreement.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : This is a matter for the Director General of Fair Trading who announced on 23 November 1993 that he would consider again the case for applying to the restrictive practices court for leave to have its decision in respect of the net book agreement reviewed.
Charter Markets
Mr. Dafis : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has consulted the Secretary of State for the Environment on the environmental effect of his proposals to change the legislation regarding charter markets ; and what assessment he has made of the compatibility of those proposals with recent planning guidance on out-of-town shopping developments.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Consultations have, of course, taken place between myself and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Environment, on all these matters and the Government's proposals in the Deregulation Bill take due account of all the relevant issues.
Renewable Energy
Mr. Flynn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a list of all initiatives that are currently planned or operating which will exploit tidal power.
Mr. Eggar : The Department's tidal energy programme is now being completed. Remaining work consists mainly of generic studies of the impact of tidal barrages on the environment.
Specific studies are being completed on steel-concrete sandwich composite for use in tidal barrages, mud transport in shallow water, fish deterrence, estuary sediment prediction, bird populations and mesocosm studies.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of the non-fossil fuel obligation fund is allocated to (a) nuclear power, (b) wind power, (c) geothermal power, (d) tidal power and (e) other renewable energy sources.
Mr. Eggar : The level of payments to the individual technologies contracted under the non-fossil fuel obligation, and financed by the fossil fuel levy, depends on the contracts which the regional electricity companies sign in fulfilment of the NFFO orders, on the amounts of electricity generated under these contracts, and the market price of electricity. The Director General of Electricity Supply has estimated that in 1993-94 around 6 per cent. of the amount raised by the fossil fuel levy will go to renewables generators.
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Mr. Asil Nadir
Mr. Mullin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action the Official Receiver has taken against Mr. Asil Nadir under the Insolvency Act 1986.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The Official Receiver has discharged his usual functions under the Insolvency Act, 1986 in relation to the bankruptcy of Mr. Nadir.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when Mr. Asil Nadir will be eligible to be discharged as a bankrupt ; and if he will give an assurance that he will not automatically be discharged.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Under section 279 of the Insolvency Act, 1986 most bankrupts are automatically discharged on the third anniversary of their bankruptcy. In Mr. Nadir's case the third anniversary of his bankruptcy is 25 November 1994. However, the court may, on the application of the Official Receiver, suspend the discharge of any bankrupt who fails to comply with any of his obligations under the Act, for example to co- operate with his trustee.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Selection, pursuant to his answer of 31 January, Official Report, columns 522-23 ; what qualifications the Committee of Selection ascertained under the terms of paragraph 2 of Standing Order No. 86 in respect of the nomination of the hon. Members for Stroud (Mr. Knapman), for Hexham, (Mr. Atkinson), for Leeds, North-East (Mr. Kirkhope), for Swindon (Mr. Coombs) and for Blackpool, North (Mr. Elletson) to serve on the First Scottish Standing Committee in respect of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill.
Sir Fergus Montgomery : It is not the practice of the Committee of Selection to comment upon its private deliberations.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Chairman of the Committee of Selection, pursuant to his answer of 31 January, Official Report, columns 522-32, what documents the Committee of Selection had before it in ascertaining the qualifications of hon. Members nominated to serve on the First Scottish Standing Committee in respect of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill.
Sir Fergus Montgomery : It would not be appropriate to disclose the material the Committee of Selection uses during its private meetings.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Public Bodies
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage who are the members currently appointed to the board of the national museum of science and industry.
Mr. Sproat : The members of the board of trustees of the science museum are :
Sir Austin W. Pearce CBE (Chairman)
Professor Sir Eric Ash CBE FEng FRS
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Dr. Mary D. ArcherThe Lord Brabourne CBE
The Viscount Downe DL
Miss Mary S. Goldring OBE
Mrs. Anita Higham BA Lesl Med
Mrs. Joanna Kennedy CEng
HRH The Duke of Kent KG GCMG GCVO ADC
Dr. Bridget Ogilvie FI Biol
Sir Michael Quinlan GCB
Sir Dennis E. Rooke CBE ERS FEng
Leopold de Rothschild Esq CBE
Professor Sir John M. Thomas FRS
Sir Christopher S. Wates FCA
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage who are the members currently appointed to the Board of the Greater Manchester museum of science.
Mr. Sproat : The members of the board of trustees of the Manchester museum of science and industry are :
John Lee Esq. (Chairman)
Michael Bailey Esq.
Louis Brennan Esq.
Mrs. Joan Brown
Ms Gayle Broughall
Michael Dyble Esq.
Professor Michael Gordon Gibbons BSc BEng MSc PhD
Mrs. Virginia Halliwell
Ben F. Hurren Esq.
Ms Sue Runyard
Sir Gilbert Thompson
Dr. John Thynne
Col. John Timmins
Anthony Wilson Esq.
F. D. Wilson Esq.
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage who are the members currently appointed to the board of the national portrait gallery.
Mr. Sproat : The members of the board of trustees of the national portrait gallery are :
Rev. Professor Owen Chadwick, OM, KBE, DD, PPBA (Chairman) Sir Anthony Acland
Mrs. Jane Benson
Sir Roger de Grey (ex officio)
Henry N. L. Keswick, Esq, MA
Professor Norbert C. Lynton, BA
Sir Oliver N. Millar, KCVO, FBA
Lord Morris, MA, DPhil
The Rt. Hon. Tony Newton, OBE, MP (ex officio)
Professor Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi
Professor John M. Roberts, MA, DPhil
Sir David Scholey, CBE
Mrs. Claire Tomalin
Mrs. Winifred Tumin
John Tusa, Esq
Lord Weidenfield
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage who are the members currently appointed to the board of the British library.
Mr. Sproat : The present members of the British library board are :
Sir Anthony Kenny FBA (Chairman)
Full-Time Members
Brian Lang (Chief Executive)
Michael Smethurst (Director, General Humanities and Social Sciences)
David Russon (Director General, Science Technology and Industry) Part-Time Members
Penelope Lively
David Peake
The Hon. Edward Adeane, CVO
John Forty, CBE, PhD, DSc
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Ronald Utiger, CBEMichael Griffith, CBE, DL
Dame Ann Warburton, DCVO
Henry Heaey, FLA
Timothy Rix
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage who are the members currently appointed to the Library and Information Services Council.
Mr. Sproat : The present members of the Library and Information Services Council (England) are :
Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer KBE, FRS (Chairman)
Peter Cox
Philip Holmes
Nigel Macartney
Sally Marshall
Michael Messenger
Nigel Oxbrow
Sheila Pantry
Keith Crawshaw
Sir Charles Chadwyck-Healey
Duncan Turner
Christopher Heinitz
David Leadbeater
Brian Burch
John Hicks
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