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Wavertree Technology Park
Mr. Alton: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when an announcement will be made about the application of Sony for regional grant assistance for the development of a site at Wavertree technology park, Liverpool; how many jobs are involved; what representations he has received from hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle: An announcement will be made shortly. Two hundred and fifty new jobs are involved. The only other representation on this matter, received by my
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Department has been from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle).Electricity Disconnections
Ms Gordon: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many electricity disconnections have been carried out since 1993.
Mr. Charles Wardle: Disconnection figures are kept by the Office of Electricity Regulation. However, I can confirm that 3,297 electricity customers were disconnected in 1993, and for the first six months of 1994, 654 customers were disconnected.
Departmental Property
Mr. Byers: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what properties are owned or leased by his Department for the use of Ministers; what was the total running cost for each property for the latest year broken down into (a) furniture and fittings, (b) maintenance, (c) staffing, including the number of butlers, cooks and housekeepers, (d) food and hospitality and (e) other costs; what is the estimated value of each property; and how many times in the latest year the property was stayed in overnight by a Minister.
Electricity
Mr. Nigel Griffiths: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was (a) the average household electricity bill for each of the regional electricity companies for each year since 1985 and (b) the combined average for England and Wales in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms.
Mr. Charles Wardle: Annual bills for households consuming 3,300 KWh of electricity in a year for each regional electricity company in England and Wales are given in the tables.
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Average annual household<1> electricity bills in current price terms<2>
£ per year
Regional electricity |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
company
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Midlands Electricity |200 |210 |208 |217 |229 |247 |273 |288 |282
Eastern Electricity |193 |200 |196 |208 |222 |241 |266 |279 |281
London Electricity |217 |221 |212 |224 |238 |259 |288 |296 |292
Manweb |213 |222 |220 |233 |249 |269 |296 |307 |309
Midlands Electricity |204 |211 |208 |220 |234 |253 |279 |288 |281
Northern Electricity |204 |212 |205 |220 |236 |260 |290 |304 |307
Norweb |202 |210 |208 |217 |230 |248 |274 |283 |284
Seeboard |205 |210 |205 |218 |233 |252 |279 |290 |285
South Wales Electricity |211 |219 |214 |228 |245 |273 |304 |315 |313
South Western Electricity |210 |216 |208 |228 |246 |270 |299 |313 |316
Southern Electric |194 |200 |196 |213 |230 |249 |275 |287 |283
Yorkshire |202 |211 |209 |222 |238 |256 |279 |289 |282
England and Wales<3> |205 |212 |207 |221 |236 |257 |284 |295 |293
Average annual household<1> electricity bills in real (1990) price terms
£ per year
Regional electricity |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
company
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Midlands Electricity |262 |266 |251 |247 |244 |247 |257 |259 |246
Eastern Electricity |253 |254 |236 |237 |237 |241 |250 |251 |245
London Electricity |284 |280 |256 |255 |253 |259 |270 |267 |254
Manweb |280 |282 |265 |266 |265 |269 |278 |277 |269
Midlands Electricity |268 |268 |251 |251 |249 |253 |262 |260 |244
Northern Electricity |268 |269 |248 |250 |251 |260 |273 |274 |267
Norweb |265 |267 |251 |247 |245 |248 |258 |255 |247
Seeboard |268 |267 |247 |248 |248 |252 |262 |261 |248
South Wales Electricity |277 |278 |258 |260 |261 |273 |285 |284 |272
South Western Electricity |276 |274 |251 |259 |262 |270 |280 |282 |275
Southern Electric |255 |254 |237 |243 |244 |249 |258 |258 |246
Yorkshire |264 |267 |252 |252 |253 |256 |262 |260 |245
England and Wales<3> |268 |269 |250 |251 |251 |257 |266 |266 |255
Notes:
<1> 3,300 kWh is the average United Kingdom consumption of a household on the standard domestic electricity tariff.
<2> No account has been taken of any rebates paid by some electricity companies in recent years nor of discounts for direct debit payments.
<3> England and Wales figures are a simple average of the bills of the constituents regional electricity companies.
<4> Real prices are the cash figures adjusted to 1990 price levels by excluding the effect of general inflation as measured by the GDP (market prices) deflator.
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Mr Nigel Griffiths: To ask the President of the board of Trade how many and what percentage of households are currently supplied by each regional electricity company.
Mr. Charles Wardle: The number and percentage of households supplied by each regional electricity company in England and Wales in 1993 are given in the table:
|Number of domestic
Regional electricity |consumers |Percentage of total
company |(thousand) |domestic consumers
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eastern Electricity |2,776.4 |13.3
East Midlands
Electricity |2,033.1 |9.7
London Electricity |1,692.6 |8.1
Manweb |1,224.3 |5.8
Midlands Electricity |1,990.1 |9.5
Northern Electricity |1,322.5 |6.3
Norweb |1,942.2 |9.3
Seeboard |1,781.3 |8.5
Southern Electric |2,313.0 |11.0
South Wales Electricity |856.9 |4.1
South Western Electricity |1,148.8 |5.5
Yorkshire Electricity |1,870.0 |8.9
Total |20,951.2 |100.0
Mr. Nigel Griffiths: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the percentage change in average household electricity bills for each of the regional electricity companies for each year since 1985, and the combined average for England and Wales.
Mr. Charles Wardle: The information requested is as follows:
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Percentage change on the previous year in average annual household electricity bills in current price terms<1><2>
Regional Electricity |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
Company
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Midlands Electricity |+4.8 |-1.0 |+4.4 |+5.9 |+7.7 |+10.6 |+5.3 |-2.0
Eastern Electricity |+3.4 |-2.0 |+6.5 |+6.7 |+8.4 |+10.5 |+4.8 |+0.7
London Electricity |+1.9 |-4.2 |+5.7 |+6.4 |+8.7 |+11.0 |+3.0 |-1.5
Manweb |+4.0 |-1.1 |+6.3 |+6.7 |+8.0 |+10.0 |+3.9 |+0.5
Midlands Electricity |+3.5 |-1.6 |+5.9 |+6.4 |+8.1 |+10.4 |+3.3 |-2.7
Northern Electricity |+3.7 |-3.1 |+7.1 |+7.2 |+10.4 |+11.6 |+4.8 |+0.7
Norweb |+4.0 |-1.2 |+4.5 |+6.0 |+7.9 |+10.4 |+3.2 |+0.2
Seeboard |+2.6 |-2.6 |+6.6 |+6.8 |+8.3 |+10.5 |+3.9 |-1.5
South Wales Electricity |+3.6 |-2.4 |+6.8 |+7.3 |+11.5 |+11.1 |+3.9 |-0.8
South Western Electricity |+2.7 |-3.7 |+9.5 |+8.0 |+9.8 |+10.5 |+5.0 |+0.8
Southern Electric |+3.1 |-2.1 |+8.7 |+7.7 |+8.3 |+10.7 |+4.3 |-1.4
Yorkshire Electricity |+4.5 |-1.0 |+6.3 |+7.2 |+7.9 |+9.0 |+3.3 |-2.5
England and Wales<3> |+3.5 |-2.2 |+6.5 |+6.9 |+8.8 |+10.5 |+4.1 |-0.8
Notes:
<1> Based on the assumption that the average household consumes 3,300 kWh of electricity each year.
<2> No account has been taken of any rebates paid by some electricity companies in recent years nor of discounts for direct debit payments.
<3> England and Wales figures are based on a simple average of the bills of the constituent regional electricity companies.
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Mr. Nigel Griffiths: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the change in the average household electricity bill for each of the regional electricity companies for each year from 1985, and the combined average change each year for England and Wales in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms. Mr. Charles Wardle: The information requested is as follows:
Change on the previous year in average annual household electricity bills in current price terms <1><2>
£
Regional electricity |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
company
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Midlands Electricity |+10 |-2 |+9 |+13 |+18 |+26 |+14 |-6
Eastern Electricity |+7 |-4 |+13 |+14 |+19 |+25 |+13 |+2
London Electricity |+4 |-9 |+12 |+14 |+21 |+29 |+9 |-4
Manweb |+9 |-2 |+14 |+16 |+20 |+27 |+12 |+1
Midlands Electricity |+7 |-3 |+12 |+14 |+19 |+26 |+9 |-8
Northern Electricity |+8 |-7 |+15 |+16 |+24 |+30 |+14 |+2
Norweb |+8 |-2 |+9 |+13 |+18 |+26 |+9 |+1
Seeboard |+5 |+5 |+13 |+15 |+19 |+26 |+11 |-4
South Wales Electricity |+8 |-5 |+14 |+17 |+28 |+30 |+12 |-2
South Western Electricity |+6 |-8 |+20 |+18 |+24 |+28 |+15 |+3
Southern Electric |+6 |-4 |+17 |+16 |+19 |+27 |+12 |-4
Yorkshire |+9 |-2 |+13 |+16 |+19 |+23 |+9 |-7
England and Wales<3> |+7 |-5 |+13 |+15 |+21 |+27 |+12 |-2
Notes:
<1> Based on the assumption that the average household consumes 3,300 kWh of electricity each year.
<2> No account has been taken of any rebates paid by some electricity companies in recent years nor of discounts for direct debit payments.
<3> England and Wales figures are based on a simple average of the bills of the constituent regional electricity companies.
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Change on the previous year in average annual household electricity bills in real (1990) price terms <1><2><4>
£
Regional electricity |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
company
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Midlands Electricity |+4 |-15 |-4 |-3 |+3 |+10 |+2 |-14
Eastern Electricity |- |-17 |+1 |-1 |+4 |+9 |+1 |-7
London Electricity |-4 |-25 |-1 |-2 |+6 |+11 |-3 |-13
Manweb |+2 |-17 |+1 |-1 |+4 |+9 |-1 |-8
Midlands Electricity |- |-17 |- |-2 |+4 |+9 |-3 |-15
Northern Electricity |+1 |-21 |+3 |- |+9 |+13 |+1 |-7
Norweb |+2 |-16 |-4 |-2 |+4 |+9 |-3 |-8
Seeboard |-2 |-20 |+1 |-1 |+5 |+9 |-1 |-12
South Wales Electricity |+1 |-20 |+2 |+1 |+13 |+12 |-1 |-12
South Western Electricity |-2 |-23 |+8 |+2 |+8 |+10 |+2 |-7
Southern Electric |- |-17 |+6 |+1 |+4 |+10 |- |-12
Yorkshire Electricity |+3 |-15 |+1 |- |+4 |+6 |-2 |-15
England and Wales<3> |- |-19 |+1 |- |+6 |+10 |-1 |-11
<1> Based on the assumption that the average household consumes 3,300 kWh of electricity each year.
<2> No account has been taken of any rebates paid by some electricity companies in recent years nor of discounts for direct debit payments.
<3> England and Wales figures are based on a simple average of the bills of the constituent regional electricity companies.
<4> Real prices are the cash figures adjusted to 1990 price levels by excluding the effect of general inflation as measured by the GDP (market prices) deflator.
Column 1247
Mr. Nigel Griffiths: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the price charged in pence per kWh by the regional electricity companies to typical standard
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tariff domestic customers for each year since 1985, and the combined figure for England and Wales.Mr. Charles Wardle: The information requested is as follows:
Price of electricity to domestic consumers (p/kWh)<1><2>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Column 1249
Receptions
Mr. Milburn: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 27 October, Official Report , column 782 , if he will provide a list of names and employers of the people attending the receptions organised by his Department.
Mr. Ian Taylor: The receptions referred to in my previous answer were public events. Attendees were as follows:
|Employer (at the
|time of the
Name |receptions)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Helen ApSimon |Imperial College
Janis Bailey |Chambernet UK
Diana Barron |Enskilda Asset Management
Sue Birley |Imperial College
Moira Black |Price Waterhouse
Margaret Boden |University of Sussex
Jane Bradford |Nat West Small Firms Service
Elaine Brant |Self Employed
Gisela Burg |Expotus Ltd.
Alison Carnwath |J. Henry Schroder Wagg
Paddy Challens |Kuwait Investment Office
Shiela Clark |Packaging Innovation Ltd.
Janet Cockcroft |Bottoms Mill Co. Ltd.
Hilary Cropper |FI Group plc
Peggy Czyzak-Dannenbaum |La Fornaia Ltd.
Brenda Dean |Graphical, Paper and Media
|Union
Irene Dorner |Midland Montagu
Ilana Duncan |British Gas plc
Sue Farr |Thames Television plc
Amelia Fawcett |Morgan Stanley International
Clare Frankl |Self Employed
Jackie Gourlay |Cheval Investment Management
|Ltd.
Pamela Gray |Sphinx Ltd.
Anne Hacker |Biocompatables Ltd.
Jan Hall | Coley Porter Bell
Judith Hanratty |British Petroleum plc
Pauline Harrison |University of Sheffield
Rosaline Hedley-Miller |Kleinwort Benson Ltd.
Patricia Hodgson |BBC
Sara Holmes-Woodhead |Ricardo International plc
Penelope Hughes |Schweppes Beverages Ltd.
Jane Irvine |Post Office
Catherine James |Grand Metropolitan plc
Kate Jenkins |Self Employed
Kazimiera Kantor |Grand Metropolitan plc
Geraldine Kaye |Gaaps
Joanna Kennedy |Ove Arup and Partners
Pat Kenrick |Industrial Training Services Ltd.
Janet Langdon |GEC Alsthorn
Eva Lauermann |British Airways plc
Alicja Lesniak |J. Walter Thompson Group Ltd.
Janet Lewis-Jones |Self Employed
Morag Macdonald |Post Office
Anna Mann |Whitehead Mann Group plc
Pat Marsh |Sandwell College
Margaret Matheson |Island World Productions Ltd.
Christine McNulty |Applied Futures
Janet Morgan |Self Employed
Gillian Nott |British Petroleum plc
Christina Osbourne |Business Solutions
Jane Priestman |Self Employed
Gail Redwood |British Airways plc
Gillian Reynolds |Lloyds Register of Shipping
Ann Robinson |Institute of Directors
Bridget Rosewell |Business Strategies Ltd.
Lynda Rouse |Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ltd.
Patricia Scott |Thorn EMI plc
Juduth Skiff |Forum UK
Sarah Springman |St Catherines College,
|Cambridge
Fiona Steele |CBI
Rosemary Thorne |Sainsbury plc
Jane Tozer |Softwright Systems Ltd.
Claire Tritton |Severn Trent Council plc
Anna Vinton |The Reject Shop plc
Ann Warner |Universtity College London
Mandy Webb |APV Vent-Axia
Dorothy Wedderburn |City of London Polytechnic
Joy Weston |Gatwick Airport
Anne Wright |Sunderland University
Ministers
Gillian Shepherd |Secretary of State for Employment
<1>Baroness Denton |PUSS Consumer Affairs, DTI
<1>Timothy Eggar |Minister for Energy, DTI
Tim Sainsbury |Minister for Industry, DTI
Richard Needham |Minister for Trade, DTI
Neil Hamilton |PUSS Corportate Affairs, DTI
Department of Trade and Industry
Rolande Anderson
Catherine Bell
Pauline Birch
John Cooke
David Evans
Rose Ferguson
Elliot Finer
Adrian Green
Colin Hicks
Valerie Hillman
Charles Henderson
Peter Joyce
Keith Levinson
Michael Lunn
William Macintyre
Alison McMillan<1>
Jonathan Phillips<1>
Kenneth Poulter
Robert Priddle
Christopher Robbins
Jim Roddie
Arthur Russell
Paul Salvidge
Keith Shotton<1>
Robin Simpson<1>
Stephen Speed
Jonathon Spencer
Alec Sugden
Timothy Walker
Christopher Wilcock<1>
Ann Wilks
Angie Wilson
Cabinet Office
Anthony Merifield
David Barrows<1>
Women's National Commission
Moira Jones<1>
<1> Attended both receptions.
Coal Industry
Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the consultancies undertaken by Warden Armstrong, mining consultants; what were their terms of reference; when they were started and completed; and at what cost.
Mr. Eggar: Wardell Armstrong were engaged from 5 August 1991 to provide advice to the Secretary of State on technical matters, including licensing, in connection with the privatisation of the coal industry. This work is continuing. Details of Wardell Armstrong's fees are commercially confidential.
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to publish the bids for the British Coal opencast contract in south Wales.
Mr. Charles Wardle: British Coal frequently lets contracts to manage various aspects of its opencast coaling operations in South Wales and elsewhere. Publication of bids for such contracts would be a matter for British Coal.
There are no plans to publish the bids for the sale of the South Wales Regional Coal Company. This information is commercially confidential. It was announced on 12 October that the preferred bidder for South Wales is Celtic Energy.
Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what salaries the part-time members of the coal authority receive.
Mr. Charles Wardle: The part-time members of the Coal Authority receive a salary of £5,500 per annum.
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what guidelines or procedures his Department has in place to ensure there are no conflicts of interests between managers at British Coal who manage tenders to the private sector and who subsequently sit on the board of a firm set up to operate such tenders or contracts.
Mr. Eggar: This is a matter for British Coal.
Mr. Cummings: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list for each coal stocking site in the county of Durham the length of planning consents for the stocking of coal, the owners of the sites and the tonnage of coal stocked on each site.
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Mr. Charles Wardle: This is a matter for British Coal. However, I understand that the only such site in the county of Durham is the former Easington colliery site.
Face Paints
Mr. Nigel Griffiths: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will revise his Department's procedures for detecting dangerous products, with particular reference to face paints; and if he will ensure that measures are taken to license face paint; (2) if he will institute an immediate inquiry into the company selling the children's face paint which has resulted in children in Edinburgh being taken to hospital, with particular reference as to how the product came to be made available; and if he will ensure that his consumer safety unit co-ordinates the recall of all Aqua Fantasy face paint products.
Mr. Ian Taylor: Face paints for children are subject to the requirements of the Toys (Safety) Regulations 1989, as amended in 1993 and the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 1989, as amended in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994. These regulations implement EC directives. Day-to-day enforcement of safety legislation is the responsibility of local authority trading standards departments. Trading standards officers have all the necessary powers to enforce safety legislation and to take appropriate action when an unsafe product is found on sale.
There are no requirements to license face paints but the toys regulations require manufacturers or their authorised representative to maintain a dossier to demonstrate the safety of their products and to make this available to the enforcement authorities on request. A similar provision will be introduced for cosmetics by an amendment to the cosmetics directive.
The consumer safety unit of my Department is in close contact with the Department of Health and the trading standards administration about the face paints sold under the name of "Aqua Fantasy". It has been established that there are two importers of the products, both of whom are co-operating with trading standards officers in the recall of the products. Tests are also being carried out on the paints to establish whether they meet the safety regulations applicable to them.
The Department of Health issued a press release on 31 October alerting the public to the dangers associated with the face paints. Information is also being sought from the manufacturer and the United Kingdom importers on the possible causes of the recent accidents given that these products have been on the market for four years.
Spencer Stuart Consultants
Mr. Byers: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many contracts his Department or Government agencies responsible to his Department have entered into with Spencer Stuart consultants in the last two years.
Mr. Ian Taylor: The Department is not aware of any contracts for consultancy advice awarded centrally to Spencer Stuart consultants in the last two years. I have asked the chief executives of the agencies to reply direct to this question, as it falls into the category of their day-to-day operational matters. I will arrange for copies of these letters to be placed in the Library of the House.
Column 1253
Insolvency Service
Mr. Devlin: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what advice he has received on the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations with regard to the Insolvency Service.
Mr. Jonathan Evans: No decision to contract out work of official receivers has yet been taken.
In the circumstances it is far too early to consider the issue of Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, the implications of which may not become clear until the nature of proposals in any bidding process could be assessed.
Mr. Devlin: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish the full Stoy Hayward report on the privatisation of the Insolvency Service.
Mr. Jonathan Evans: Stoy Hayward's report has been published by placing copies in the Libraries of the House and DTI library. The published version of the report does not include the appendices produced by the consultants as these contain financial information which is commercially confidential.
Easington Colliery
Mr. Cummings: To as the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with the various interested bodies on the future development of the Easington colliery site.
Mr. Charles Wardle: This is a matter for British Coal. I understand that British Coal, which occupies the site under a long lease, is currently in discussion with the freeholder over the future of the site.
Mr. Cummings: To ask the President of the board of Trade when he expects the coal at present stocked on the Easington colliery site to be sold or removed.
Mr. Charles Wardle: This is a matter for British Coal.
Monopolies and Mergers Commission
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will ensure that Sir Peter Levene will not be involved in discussions of references to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jonathan Evans: Decisions on references of mergers to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission are for my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, after receiving independent advice from the Director General of Fair Trading. Anyone may put views to the Director General on possible references. In reaching his decision, the President takes great care to ensure that no conflicts of interest arise. He will naturally not discuss with Sir Peter Levene any case in which there might be such a conflict.
Bankruptcy
Mr. Devlin: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what legal advice he has received on the impact that privatisation could have on future disqualification of bankrupts.
Mr. Jonathan Evans: Stoy Hayward Consulting reported that the contracting out of official receivers' case administration work would enable official receivers to concentrate more on their investigative role and I have
Column 1254
not been advised that contracting out would have any impact on the Insolvency Service's disqualification effort.Nolan Committee
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to make available to the Nolan committee documents held by his Department on British-registered companies with which Ministers of former Ministers of Her Majesty's Government had a business involvement before becoming Government Ministers after they had entered Parliament.
Mr. Heseltine: I shall write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.
Al-Bilad (UK) Ltd.
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will institute an investigation into the trading activities of Al-Bilad (UK) Ltd.
Mr. Heseltine: I shall write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.
NORTHERN IRELAND
NHS Trusts
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish an up-to-date list of all the chairs and non-executive directors of each national health service trust board indicating the gender and occupation of each individual.
Mr. Moss: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) to the hon. Member for Dunfermline, West (Ms Squire) on 17 October, Official Report , column 88 .
Agricultural Development Operational Programme
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many claims are still outstanding in respect of the agricultural development operational programme; how long on average they are outstanding; and what arrangements he is making for urgent payment.
Mr. Ancram: My hon. Friend Baroness Denton will write to the hon. Gentleman.
Departmental Property
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what properties are owned or leased by his Department for the use of Ministers; what was the total running cost for each property for the latest year available broken down into (a) furniture and fittings, (b) maintenance, (c) staffing, including the number of butlers, cooks and, housekeepers, (d) food and hospitality and (e) other costs; what is the estimated value of each property; and how many times in the latest year the property was stayed in overnight by a Minister.
Sir Patrick Mayhew: I will write to the hon. Member.
Spencer Stuart Consultants
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many contracts his Department or Government agencies responsible to his Department have
Column 1255
entered into with Spencer Stuart consultants in the last two years.Sir John Wheeler: Our records show that Spencer Stuart consultants were not employed by any of the Northern Ireland Departments or agencies during the financial year 1992 93 and 1993 94.
Student Accommodation
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what inspection and supervision of student accommodation in the private sector is carried out by
Column 1256
university representatives in respect of students living away from home; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Ancram: I will write to the hon. Gentleman.
Market Testing
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his current calculation of the costs of preparation for market testing in his Department in terms of (a) payments to consultants and (b) other costs.
Sir John Wheeler: The costs shown in the table are a cumulative total of the costs incurred by the Northern Ireland civil service departments and the Northern Ireland Office in support of the delivery of the competing for quality programme.
Column 1255
|1 April 1992- |1 October 1993- |1 January 1994-
|30 September 1993|31 December 1993 |30 June 1994
|£ |£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Consultancy Costs |278,900 |56,000 |283,600
Other Departmental Costs |144,300 |181,300 |431,500
Total |423,200 |237,300 |715,100
Column 1255
Prison Service
Mr. Ellestson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for the future management of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.
Sir John Wheeler: Following completion of a prior options study into the future management of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the Government have decided that the service should now begin preparations to become a next steps agency on 1 April 1995. That will give the service greater freedom to manage its resources within a framework which sets out its responsibilities, targets and appropriate performance measures. The Prison Service will continue to be accountable to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State.
Military Complaints Procedures
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what response he has received from the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland to the recommendations contained in the first annual report of the independent assessor of military complaints procedures.
Sir Patrick Mayhew: I have received a detailed reply from the General Officer Commanding, Sir Roger Wheeler, to the proposals contained in David Hewitt's first annual report. I very much welcome the positive response from the GOC, which states that he will be able to adopt five of the seven recommendations and all 11 suggestions made by Mr. Hewitt.
I wish to pay due credit to the complaints procedures operated by the army in Northern Ireland, which have helped to establish and maintain a good and improving relationship with the community. The GOC has made it clear to me that procedures are constantly reviewed so that improvements can be made where necessary, and Mr. Hewitt's proposals will play a central part in this. Both the GOC and I look forward to receiving his continued suggestions and advice.
Column 1256
PRIME MINISTER
Media and Broadcasting
Mr. Allen: To ask the Prime Minister which individual or institution will receive from the President of the EU Parliament the resolution of the EU Parliament on media ownership.
The Prime Minister: The President of the European Parliament will submit the resolution on the Commission Green Paper " Pluralism and Media Concentration on the Internal Market " to the Commission and the Council.
Book Purchase
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will obtain for the 10 Downing street library, a copy of a recently published book details of which have been supplied to him; and if he will seek clarification from the United States Government regarding the references to it therein;
(2) if he will instigate an investigation into matters in the letter from the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent on 26 October.
The Prime Minister: I have not seen the book referred to. If I have anything to add at a later stage, I will write to the hon. Member.
The Guardian Newspaper
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Prime Minister when the Cabinet Secretary first knew of the alleged use of House of Commons notepaper by The Guardian newspaper to obtain information about the hotel bill of the right hon. Member for Thanet, South (Mr. Aitken); when the Prime Minister was informed; and what steps he took to bring the matter to the attention of the House authorities.
The Prime Minister: The matter first came to the attention of my right hon. Friend, the Member for Thanet, South following the publication of an article in The Guardian on 10 May 1994; he reported it to me and the Cabinet Secretary on 11 May 1994.
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My right hon. Friend considered raising a complaint immediately but decided not to pursue the matter at that time. What has since been revealed is that the forgery was part of a concerted attempt to cover up collusion.Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 3 November.
Sir Peter Tapsell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 3 November.
The Prime Minister: I will be presiding at a meeting of the Cabinet and having meetings with ministerial colleagues and others.
Departmental Property
Mr. Byers: To ask the Prime Minister what properties are owned or leased by his Office for the use of Ministers; what was the total running cost for each property for the latest year available broken down into (a) furniture and fittings, (b) maintenance, (c) staffing, including the number of butlers, cooks and housekeepers, (d) food and hospitality and (e) other costs; what is the estimated value of each property; and how many times in the latest year the property was stayed in overnight by a Minister.
Spencer Stuart Consultants
Mr. Byers: To ask the Prime Minister how many contracts his Department or Government agencies responsible to his Department have entered into with Spencer Stuart consultants in the last two years.
The Prime Minister: So far as I am aware, none.
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