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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 31 March 1994

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Child Witnesses

Mr. Alton : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many pre-recorded pre-trial interviews, in line with the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and the "Manual of Good Practice", have been made since the coming into force of the Act ; how many have been presented in evidence in child abuse cases ; and how many have been refused as evidence.

Mr. John M. Taylor : It is estimated that between the date of implementation of the relevant provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 1991- -1 October 1992--and 30 September 1993, in excess of 14,000 interviews with child witnesses have been recorded on videotape. Between 1 October 1992 and 1 January 1994, there were 306 applications to submit a pre-recorded videotaped interview with a child witness under section 32A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, as amended by section 54 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. In 109 cases the tapes were shown in court. Applications to submit pre-recorded evidence have been refused in only 10 cases.

Mr. Alton : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what measures are being taken by courts in Liverpool to protect child witnesses with particular reference to use of screens, television link equipment and pre-recorded interviews ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John M. Taylor : Two sets of television links and video playback equipment are in place in the Crown court sitting at Liverpool combined court centre. Arrangements can be made for screens to be available at the Crown and County court in Liverpool if required. All magistrates courts in Liverpool have access to screens and video playback equipment, and the youth court is equipped with TV links. When necessary, child witnesses appearing before the magistrates may use the television links in place at the Crown court centre.

Mr. Alton : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which courts in Liverpool have child liaison officers to protect child witnesses ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John M. Taylor : There is a designated child liaison officer for every Crown court centre, including the one at Liverpool combined court centre.

SCOTLAND

Public Appointments

Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of public appointments made by his Department in 1993 were of (a) Asians and (b) black people ; and if he will list their names.


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Mr. Lang : Except for children's panels where ethnic origin is neither sought nor recorded, as far as I am aware, no Asian or black people were appointed in 1993 to the bodies sponsored by the Scottish Office and listed in "Public Bodies 1993".

Traffic Orders

Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many temporary traffic orders were made by local authorities in each year since 1985 under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to restrict or prohibit the use of footpaths or bridleways for which the Scottish Office gave consent under section 15(2) of that Act for an extension of the period for which the order was in force.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Temporary traffic orders affecting footpaths and bridleways are not identified separately from those affecting road traffic and the information could be supplied only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many, and what percentage of officers in each of grades 1 to 7 and overall in his Department are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled, respectively.

Mr. Lang : The number and percentage of officers in grades 1 to 7, including grade equivalents, and overall in the Scottish Office, its executive agencies and associated departments, excluding the Scottish prison service, who were (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled, are shown below :


Number and percentage of officers who are women-position as   

at                                                            

1 April 1993                                                  

Grade (and             |Women       |Percentage               

equivalents)                                                  

--------------------------------------------------------------

1                      |-           |-                        

2                      |-           |-                        

3                      |4           |16.7                     

4                      |3           |16.7                     

5                      |17          |12.7                     

6                      |37          |18.5                     

7                      |80          |17.1                     

                                                              

All Grades (Headcount) |2,811       |42.2                     

Notes:                                                        

At April 1993, the total number of respondents to my          

Department's Ethnic Monitoring Survey who described           

themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority was 29 or 0.5   

per cent. of the total number of respondents. Of that number  

3 were at Grade 7 level and above.                            

At 1 July 1993, there were 2 registered disabled persons at   

Grade 6 level and one at Grade 7 level which represents 1 per 

cent. and 0.2 per cent. respectively of staff in these        

grades. There were 87 registered disabled persons (1.3 per    

cent.) who were recorded as employed in my Department.        

Motorists (Culpable Homicide Charges)

Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many drivers of motor vehicles have been charged with culpable homicide in the last 20 years for which information is available ; how many such charges have proceeded to trial ; and how many convictions have resulted.


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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is not available. However, I understand that there are very few such prosecutions- -no more than one or two per year on average.

Full-time Employment

Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the definition in terms of hours of a full-time job in 1979 and what is it now ; and if he will list the changes in definition with their dates and the reasons for them.

Mr. Michael Forsyth : I have been asked to reply.

For the purposes of collecting and producing statistical information, a full-time worker is defined, in terms of hours worked, as an employee who works more than 30 hours per week, excluding overtime. For teachers and academics this is modified to 25 hours or more per week.

This definition has been used consistently since before 1979.

PRIME MINISTER

Proton Cars

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Prime Minister how many Proton cars were purchased by the Cabinet Office in each of the last 10 years for which information is available ; and at what cost.

The Prime Minister : None.

Official Entertainment

Mr. Boyes : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total cost of his official entertaining in each year since 1990-91 ; if he will list the receptions held in each year at his office's expense ; and what was the cost of each reception.

The Prime Minister : The total cost of official hospitality by my office, for each year since 1990-91, is as follows :


Year    |Cost         

        |£            

----------------------

1990-91 |23,830       

1991-92 |40,976       

1992-93 |30,023       

An outturn for 1993-94 is not yet available.

Former Prime Ministers

Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister (1) what restrictions govern the spending by former Prime Ministers of their annual allowances ;

(2) if he will list the total allowances paid to each former Prime Minister in each year since 1991 ;

(3) what mechanisms are in place to monitor the use of allowances paid to former Prime Ministers.

The Prime Minister : On 1 April 1991, I introduced an allowance to assist former Prime Ministers with the continuing heavy burden of office and secretarial costs arising from their special position in public life. The allowance is similar in purpose and amount to the parliamentary office costs allowance but is paid in respect of public not parliamentary duties.


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The total payments from the allowance are as follows :


Year       |Payment              

           |£                    

---------------------------------

1991-92    |88,956               

1992-93    |124,981              

1993-94    |<1>130,000           

<1> Estimate.                    

I do not think it right to disclose the amounts claimed by individual former Prime Ministers, any more than the House discloses details of claims by individual Members under the office costs allowance.

Payments from the allowance are subject to the same scrutiny and controls as other payments from voted monies.

Local Government Legislation

Mr. Vaz : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the Acts of Parliament and Consolidation Acts that affect local government which have been introduced by his Department since 1990.

The Prime Minister : None.

Injunctions

Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions, and when, since January 1990 the Government have met costs of injunctions against publications ; at what cost ; against which publications and on behalf of which Departments or Ministers.

The Prime Minister : There are no centrally held records of such cases.

Interception of Communications Act 1985

Mr. Batiste : To ask the Prime Minister when the annual report of the commissioner appointed under the Interception of Communications Act 1985 will be laid before the House ; and if he will make a statement.

The Prime Minister : A copy of Sir Thomas Bingham's second annual report, for 1993, has been laid before the House today in accordance with section 8(7) of the Interception of Communications Act 1985. The confidential annexe to the report has been excluded from that copy in accordance with section 8(8) of the 1985 Act. I am grateful to the commissioner for his report. I note in particular his observations that the Secretaries of State take great care to satisfy themselves that the warrants are necessary for the purposes stated in the Act, and that the system for the issue of warrants is working as intended by Parliament.

Sir Thomas Bingham's appointment as commissioner will end on 10 April. I am grateful to him for the work he has done in that capacity. He will be succeeded, with effect from 11 April, by Lord Nolan.

Security Service Act 1989

Mrs. Angela Knight : To ask the Prime Minister when the annual report of the commissioner appointed under the Security Service Act 1989 will be laid before the House ; and if he will make a statement.

The Prime Minister : A copy of Lord Justice Stuart-Smith's fourth annual report, for 1993, has been laid


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before the House today in accordance with section 4(6) of the Security Service Act 1989. The confidential annexe to the report has been excluded from that copy in accordance with section 4(7) of the 1989 Act. I am grateful to the commissioner for his work in reviewing the issue of warrants and in providing assistance to the tribunal as provided in the Act. His report confirms that he is satisfied that the Secretaries of State have exercised their warranty powers in accordance with the provisions of the 1989 Act.

Sarajevo

Mr. Bates : To ask the Prime Minister what progress has been made with the initiative which he and President Clinton announced for the reconstruction of Sarajevo.

The Prime Minister : The draft report of the United Kingdom-United States civil planning mission for Sarajevo is now available. It is being circulated widely among donors, and President Clinton and I hope to transmit the final version to the United Nations Secretary-General shortly. I shall place a copy in the Library of the House.

When I was in Sarajevo, I announced a United Kingdom contribution of £5 million for the most immediately needed activities. These are under way. They include help to restore electricial power more widely in Sarajevo, immediate repairs to the gas system to enable domestic gas consumers to use their facilities again safely, the extension of the tram system, and a programme of help to the hospitals in Sarajevo to support the work which is being done there.

I am pleased to say that the United States is making available a similar immediate contribution. Discussions are now taking place with the United Nations and other donors on how best to take forward the recommendations in the report.

Union (Scotland)

Sir Fergus Montgomery : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on Scotland's position in the Union.

The Prime Minister : The Government stand firmly behind Scotland's place in the Union. That is the basis on which we fought the last election and, as a result, were the only party to increase both our share of votes and number of seats in Scotland.

I intend to continue to reaffirm the Government's commitment to Scotland's position at every possible opportunity, including during future visits to Scotland.

I regret that, in answering a question from the hon. Member for Glasgow, Shettleston (Mr. Marshall) on 10 March, I stated that the data for the opinion poll to which he referred were collected before my most recent visit to Scotland. I subsequently ascertained that they were collected after the visit.

Council of Europe

Sir Michael Grylls : To ask the Prime Minister what changes there are to the United Kingdom delegation to the Council of Europe and the Western European Union.

The Prime Minister : Baroness Lockwood has resigned as a substitute member of the delegation, and has been replaced by Baroness Gould of Potternewton.


Column 904

Iraq (Pharmaceutical Products)

Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 16 March, Official Report, column 704, what action he is taking on the document concerning pharmaceutical products required in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, and on the provision of water pumps and water filters to Baghdad.

The Prime Minister [holding answer 30 March 1994] : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 23 March, Official Report, column 260.

Institute of Irish Studies

Mr. Parry : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the hon. Members who have written to him asking for his support for the funding of a chair at the institute of Irish studies at the university of Liverpool ; and if he will make a statement.

The Prime Minister [holding answer 30 March 1994] : I have received representations from the hon. Member. I will reply in due course.

Friendly Countries

Mr. Byers : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) of 23 March, Official Report, column 259-60, if he will list those countries and Governments presently regarded as friendly.

The Prime Minister [holding answer 30 March 1994] : These countries would include all those which share our objective of seeking a stable international order characterised by the peaceful settlement of disputes, the international rule of law,

non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and good government and respect for human rights.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Farming Incomes

Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of all farming incomes in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the EC has been made up by subsidies in each year since 1990 ; and what is her estimate for each of the next three years.

Mr. Jack : Total income from farming is a net figure arrived at by subtracting gross input from gross output, of which subsidy payments are a part, and then taking into account land and labour costs, depreciation and interest charges. The table below expresses CAP expenditure as a percentage of farmers' total output for both the United Kingdom and the European Union. National payments to farmers by other member states are not readily available and so, to make comparisons meaningful, such payments are not included in the United Kingdom figures. Estimates for future years are not available.


                  |1991     |1992     |1993               

                  |per cent.|per cent.|per cent.          

----------------------------------------------------------

United Kingdom<1> |12       |12       |18                 

European Union<2> |16       |16       |n/a                

n/a=Not available.                                        

Source: Tables 6.1 (calendar years) and 9.1 (financial    

years) of agriculture in the United Kingdom 1993.         

<2>EUROSTAT.                                              

Appointments

Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what information her Department holds or obtains relating to individuals who have been appointed, or may be considered for appointment, to paid or unpaid posts for which a Minister has to approve the person or shortlist for the appointment, in particular relating to active involvement in (a) extreme left-wing organisations, (b) extreme right-wing organisations and (c) involvement in any of the political parties represented in the House of Commons ;

(2) what procedures her Department has to prevent the possible appointment of individuals with extreme political views to posts for which a Minister has to approve the person or shortlist for the appointment.

Mr. Jack : In making appointments, we look carefully at a range of criteria including merit, experience and suitability to ensure that the most appropriate people are appointed for the job. Information held by the Ministry in respect of individuals relate to these qualities.

Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list each appointment for which a Minister has to approve the appointment or shortlist for the appointment, showing for each appointment (a) which Minister exercises the responsibility, (b) the salary, if any, attached to the post, (c) the term of the appointment and (d) the person currently appointed to the post.

Mr. Jack : Information about ministerial appointments, including appointments attracting salaries, to public bodies sponsored by this Ministry are given in "Public Bodies 1993". Except where otherwise stated in that publication, appointments are made by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food either solely, or jointly with the Ministers of other Departments. All appointments are normally made for a three-year term and the names of appointees are generally made public by means of MAFF news releases.

Details of public bodies subject to joint appointments are given in the table and the names of the appointees to those bodies were given in the answers to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle) in the Official Report , references as shown.


Appointments made by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and   

Food,                                                             

jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales.     

                                                    |Column       

------------------------------------------------------------------

Agricultural Training Board-15 February 1994        |752          

Horticultural Development Council-16 February 1994  |845          

Meat and Livestock Commission-15 February 1994      |752          

Farm Animal Welfare Council-9 February 1994         |273          

Consumers' Committee for Great Britain-9 March 1994 |274          

Salmon Advisory Committee-10 February 1994          |427          


Appointments made by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,

                                                                     

jointly with the Secretary of State for Wales.                       

                                                       |Column       

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales                       

 (Chairman and independent members)-14 February 1994   |583          

Consultative Panel on Badgers and Tuberculosis                       

 (Chairman)-9 February 1994                            |272          

Consumers' Committee for England and Wales-9 February                

 1994                                                  |272          

Hill Farming Advisory Committee for England, Wales and               

 Northern Ireland (Members)-16 February 1994           |845          

Dairy Produce Quota Tribunal-17 February 1994          |979          

Sugar Beet Research and Education Committee-15                       

 February 1994                                         |752          


<

Appointments made by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries 

and Food,                                                   

jointly with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales   

and Northern                                                

Ireland.                                                    

                                              |Column       

------------------------------------------------------------

Food From Britain-15 February 1994            |752          

Home Grown Cereals Authority-16 February 1994 |844          

Sea Fish Industry Authority-17 February 1994  |979          


Appointments made by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries  

and Food,                                                    

jointly with the Secretaries of State for Health, Scotland,  

Wales and                                                    

Northern Ireland.                                            

                                               |Column       

-------------------------------------------------------------

Food Advisory Committee-16 February 1994       |843          

Veterinary Products Committee-14 February 1994 |582          


Appointments made by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and  

Food,                                                            

jointly with the Secretary of State for Health.                  

                                                   |Column       

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes-17               

 February 1994                                     |983-84       

Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee-14                  

 February 1994                                     |582          


Appointments made by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and 

Food,                                                           

jointly with the Secretaries of State for Employment,           

Environment,                                                    

Health, Scotland and Wales.                                     

                                                  |Column       

----------------------------------------------------------------

Advisory Committee on Pesticides-10 February 1994 |426-27       

Lettuce Imports

Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action she is taking to assess the extent to which dumping of Spanish iceberg lettuce on the British market is undermining British growers ; and what corrective action she is prepared to take.

Mr. Jack : Lettuce prices on United Kingdom markets are currently extremely low, largely as a result of over-supply within the Community. However, as I told the hon. Gentleman during the debate on the common agricultural policy on 24 March, if he can provide firm evidence to support these claims of unfair competition we will pursue the matter vigorously with the Commission and the member states concerned.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Janner : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many, and what percentage of officers in each of grades 1 to 7 and overall in her Department are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities or (c) disabled, respectively.


Column 907

Mr. Jack : The information for MAFF and its executive agencies is as follows :


Column 907


Grade             Women                             From ethnic                       Registered                                        

                                   minorities                                         disabled                                          

equivalent                                                                            people                                            

                 |Number          |Percentage      |Number of       |Percentage total|Number          |Percentage of                    

                                  |of total        |respondents to  |of all                           |total staff                      

                                  |staff           |questionnaire   |respondents to                                                     

                                                                    |questionnaire                                                      

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1                |-               |-               |-               |-               |-               |-                                

2                |1               |16.7            |-               |-               |1               |16.7                             

3                |1               |4.0             |-               |-               |-               |-                                

4                |-               |-               |-               |-               |-               |-                                

5                |10              |8.6             |1               |0.9             |1               |0.9                              

6                |13              |8.3             |-               |-               |-               |-                                

7                |150             |16.3            |15              |1.7             |2               |0.2                              

All staff        |4,857           |46.0            |426             |4.4             |159             |1.6                              

Notes:                                                                                                                                  

1. Figures for women and ethnic minorities are on a "head-count" basis and cover non-industrial staff as at 1 April 1993. The ethnic    

minority figures derive from a voluntary ethnic questionnaire and the response rate on that date was 94 per cent.                       

2. Figures for women exclude 11 officers on loan or seconded to other Government Departments.                                           

3. Figures for registered disabled persons are on a full-time equivalent basis and cover non-industrial and industrial staff as at 1    

July 1993. The figures do not include staff with disabilities who have chosen not to register as disabled.                              

4. All figures exclude casuals or seasonal staff.                                                                                       

Sheep Annual Premium

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list by county how many applications for payment of sheep annual premium she has received in the current year ; and what proportion in each county remained unpaid on 1 March.

Mr. Jack : The table shows for each county the total number of claims under the 1994 sheep annual premium scheme lodged with the Ministry. No claims have been paid as at 1 March. It is expected that the first advance payment will be made in the autumn in the usual way.


County                 |Number of Claims                 

---------------------------------------------------------

Durham                 |1,032                            

Cleveland              |117                              

West Yorkshire         |691                              

South Yorkshire        |203                              

North Yorkshire        |3,793                            

York District          |115                              

Humberside             |483                              

Hereford and Worcester |2,911                            

Gloucestershire        |1,074                            

Warwickshire           |805                              

West Midlands          |75                               

Bedfordshire           |177                              

Cambridgeshire         |180                              

Essex                  |267                              

Hertfordshire          |141                              

Norfolk                |422                              

Suffolk                |330                              

Derbyshire             |1,173                            

Leicestershire         |895                              

Lincolnshire           |631                              

Northamptonshire       |765                              

Nottinghamshire        |285                              

Dorset                 |606                              

Avon                   |405                              

Wiltshire              |1,512                            

Somerset               |506                              

Cheshire               |663                              

Merseyside             |22                               

Shropshire             |1,955                            

Staffordshire          |1,007                            

Greater Manchester     |215                              

Cumbria                |3,852                            

Lancashire             |1,762                            

Tyne and Wear          |30                               

Northumberland         |1,486                            

Cornwall               |1,762                            

Devon                  |4,635                            

Berkshire              |144                              

Buckinghamshire        |539                              

Hampshire              |458                              

Isle of Wight          |110                              

Kent                   |1,115                            

Greater London         |23                               

Oxfordshire            |494                              

Surrey                 |303                              

East Sussex            |673                              

West Sussex            |364                              

                       |---                              

Total                  |41,206                           

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by what date she expects all applications for sheep annual premium in the current year to be paid out.

Mr. Jack : I expect payments under the 1994 sheep annual premium scheme to be completed by June 1995.

Salmon

Mr. Beith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in the context of her consideration of a proposal to postpone the opening date of the north-east coast salmon drift net fishery, she will also consider the proposal made by netsmen that the season should be extended to the end of September.

Mr. Jack : I can confirm that my right hon. Friend has received a request from the National Federation of Fisherman's Organisations to extend the season for the north-east coast salmon drift net fishery if the opening date is postponed ; this will, of course, be looked at carefully.

Central Science Laboratory

Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the future of the Central Science Laboratory.


Column 909

Mr. Soames : An enlarged and strengthened Central Science Laboratory agency is being launched on 1 April. This results from the merger of the CSL agency and the food science laboratories at Norwich and Aberdeen.

The new agency will be equipped to provide my Department with a range of scientific services and research and development to protect the food chain from the field to the consumer. The merger will produce significant benefits in terms of efficiency with a reduction in overheads and the more cost effective use of equipment and facilities. The enlarged agency will be better placed to respond to the challenge of competitive tendering in relation to the commissioning of research and development by my Department and the market testing of services.

A copy of the agency's framework document is being placed in the Library of the House.

Clenbuterol

Mr. David Porter : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the testing of pig liver pa te for Clenbuterol.

Mr. Soames : Following the publication in October 1993 of a report by Somerset county council that traces of Clenbuterol had been found in samples of pig liver pa te manufactured in Belgium, sampling of pa te across the United Kingdom was increased under the retail animal products survey. Between September and November 1993, 71 samples of pig liver pa te , of which 48 were manufactured in Belgium, were purchased from retail outlets throughout the United Kingdom and screened for residues of Clenbuterol. The results of the first 25 samples, which showed no evidence of contamination with Clenbuterol, were announced in a written answer on 26 October 1993, Official Report, columns 562-63. Analysis of the remaining samples has been completed. None has shown any evidence of contamination with Clenbuterol.

ENVIRONMENT

Freephone and Freepost

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the use of freephone and freepost facilities currently being operated by his Department ; how much these facilities are costing ; for what purposes these facilities are being used ; and how much his Department has spent on operating freephone and freepost facilities in each financial year since 1979.

Mr. Baldry : My Department operates a freephone information service which gives information on current air pollution levels. The telephone number is 0800 556677.


Costs for |£                  

------------------------------

1992-93   |29,629             

1993<1>   |38,588             

<1> To date.                  

A freephone inquiry service was operated for the duration of the rent to mortgage advertising campaign, from October 1993. The purpose of the service was to assist the public in obtaining a leaflet giving further information about the scheme. The costs of the freephone service were £16,036. A freepost facility for the same purpose cost an additional £1,995.


Column 910

A freepost reply service was used for the questionnaires enclosed in the document "London : Making the Best Better" at a cost of £2, 750.

My Department also operates a general freepost service which can be used for inquiries and replies to major publicity campaigns. In the financial year 1993-94 the cost of this service has been approximately £4,950.

There were no costs for freepost or freephone services in 1992-93 except for the air quality line above.

Information on the years prior to 1992-93 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance his Department has given to companies to inform them of their charter rights in regard to Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.

Mr. Atkins : On 22 March HMIP launched its charter in the shape of a booklet "Pollution Prevention--Our Common Concern". Some 30,000 copies have been printed.

The launch was made at the ET '94 exhibition at the national exhibition centre in Birmingham, where HMIP had a stand. By the end of the exhibition 1,200 copies had been taken by visitors, many of them from industry.

In addition, copies have been sent to every local authority, trade associations, environmental groups, and to every Member of this House. It was also the subject of a full press release to all national and regional media.

Copies are also available in every HMIP regional office, and pollution inspectors have been tasked to ensure that every company they inspect or visit receives a copy.

The HMIP charter is also referred to in the DOE Publication "Your Council and the Environment" and in the HMIP booklet "Protecting Britain's Environment".

The full tex of the charter will shortly become available to the public via the new "ECOFACTS" 24-hour a day phone-in, fax-out line, as part of a battery of HMIP information including an index to the public registers held at regional offices.

Initial reaction to the publication has been very encouraging.


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