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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 6 December 1994
CHURCH COMMISSIONERS
Accounts
Mr. Barnes: To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will list the names of the loss-making companies owned by the Church Commissioners, giving in each case the amount of money lost by these companies in the last financial year.
Mr. Alison: The Commissioners own shares in 44 subsidiary undertakings, of which the 12 most significant are listed in their annual report and accounts. In 1993, the Commissioners' total recognised capital and revenue gains and losses amounted to a net gain of £294.1 million. Within this total, five subsidiary companies incurred losses amounting to £472,000 as follows.
|£
-------------------------------------------------------
Deansbank Atlanta Inc |398,000
Cricklewood Estates (Investments) Ltd. |21,000
Cedarvale Ltd. |20,000
Cricklewood Trading Estates Ltd. |17,000
CEDIC Ltd. |16,000
Mr. Barnes: To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make it his policy to release the full accounts of the Church Commissioners; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alison: I refer the hon. Member to the answers that I gave the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 5 December.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Secret Files
Mr. Boateng: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department further to his answer of 30 November to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Mr. Byers), Official Report , column 695 , concerning secret files held by his Department, how many of (a) the three top secret files and (b) the 124 secret files contain information about past or potential applicants for judicial posts from the ranks of (i) the Bar and (ii) the Law Society; how many contain information about serving judges; and how many contain information about retired judges.
Legal Aid
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will take measures to ensure that legal aid is not provided for the wealthy.
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Mr. John M. Taylor: The Lord Chancellor is anxious to ensure that legal aid is directed to those whose need is greatest. He is considering what changes, if any, might need to be made to the financial conditions for legal aid, and expects to issue a consultation paper shortly seeking views on some specific proposals.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
BBC
Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, what response he has received to the White Paper, "The Future of the BBC", Cm 2621.
Mr. Dorrell: Comments on the White Paper were invited by 31 October. Ninety-four organisations and 109 individuals have sent in their views. I am placing a list of the organisations in the Libraries of the House. I will carefully consider all the comments received before reaching final conclusions.
Public Lending Right Scheme
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, what will be the rate per loan payable to authors under the public lending right scheme in February 1995 in respect of loans of their books by public libraries from July 1993 to June 1994.
Mr. Dorrell: The Registrar of Public Lending Right has proposed to me, on the basis of the size of the fund this year and of information about loans of books by local library authorities, that the rate per loan for the payments which will be made under the public lending right scheme next February should remain 2p. In the light of consultation with interested organisations, I have agreed to the registrar's proposal.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Research Councils
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the annual salary of the Director-General of the research councils; and if he will make a statement on the work of the Director-General since his appointment.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: The annual salary of the Director-General of research councils is £75,000 with the possibility of an annual lump- sum non-pensionable performance bonus of up to 20 per cent. of salary. Since taking up appointment in January 1994, the Director-General has carried out the functions set out in paragraphs 3.26 3.28 of the White Paper, "Realising Our Potential".
EMPLOYMENT
National Vocational Qualifications
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the cost of producing the National Council for Vocational Qualifications annual report of September 1994.
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Mr. Paice: The cost of producing the annual report for 1993 94 published by the National Council for Vocational Qualifications in September 1994 was £32,218.
Mr. Norman Hogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many full national vocational qualifications have been awarded in the current year and in each year from 1992; at which levels these awards were made; and how many, at each level, were awarded in construction, engineering, manufacturing, health and
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social care, business administration, accounting and financial services and management respectively.Mr. Paice [holding answer 28 November 1994]: Figures for the number of national vocational qualifications awarded in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are collected by the National Council for Vocational Qualifications. Figures are not readily available in the format requested. The statistical data laid out in the 11 occupational areas under which NCVQ collects information is shown in the following tables:
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National vocational qualifications awarded 1992-1994<1>
1992 1993 1994<1>
Occupational |L1 |L2 |L3 |L4 |L5 |L1 |L2 |L3 |L4 |L5 |L1 |L2 |L3 |L4 |L5 |Totals
areas/NVQ level
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tending animals plants and land |1,490 |1,221 |0 |0 |0 |2,437 |1,895 |5 |0 |0 |2,333 |2,504 |125 |2 |0 |12,012
Extracting and providing natural resources |0 |781 |0 |0 |0 |1 |1,715 |0 |0 |0 |58 |2,602 |1 |0 |0 |5,158
Construction |0 |3,057 |4,609 |0 |0 |2,954 |12,557 |4,467 |3 |0 |4,175 |9,014 |4,475 |0 |0 |45,311
Engineering |630 |5,965 |1,551 |448 |0 |999 |10,691 |1,819 |435 |0 |2,506 |15,004 |3,532 |596 |0 |44,176
Manufacturing |186 |2,218 |1,970 |0 |0 |543 |2,225 |3,184 |0 |0 |1,322 |3,334 |3,917 |0 |0 |18,899
Transporting |23 |79 |114 |0 |0 |0 |445 |51 |0 |0 |1 |911 |73 |0 |0 |1,697
Providing goods and services |8,655 |25,820 |1,108 |1 |0 |12,405 |31,095 |1,138 |3 |0 |9,177 |23,962 |750 |6 |0 |114,120
Providing health, social care and protective services |13,351 |3,594 |50 |0 |0 |3,568 |7,529 |284 |0 |0 |3,244 |9,577 |921 |0 |0 |42,298
Providing business services |23,413 |45,271 |2,350 |6,190 |118 |25,032 |48,802 |5,218 |7,082 |241 |21,209 |37,903 |6,755 |9,863 |653 |240,100
Communicating |0 |0 |3 |4 |0 |0 |0 |2 |16 |0 |0 |0 |2 |49 |0 |76
Developing and extending knowledge and skill |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |74 |18 |0 |0 |0 |174 |100 |2 |369
|-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |--------
Totals |47,928 |88,006 |11,756 |6,643 |118 |47,939 |116,954 |16,242 |7,557 |241 |44,025 |104,811 |20,725 |10,616 |655 |524,216
All figures represent the numbers of NVQ awards that have been made by Awarding Bodies and notified to NCVQ, there is a variable delay between the award of the certificate to an individual and the notification of that award to NCVQ.
<1> The figures for 1994 represent only those awards notified until the end of the third quarter.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
HIV and AIDS
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of Government funding has been allocated (a) bilaterally, (b) multilaterally and (c) through non- governmental
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organisations to support HIV and AIDS programmes outside the United Kingdom for each year since 1976.Mr. Baldry: Expenditure figures on HIV/AIDS are available for the 1986 87 financial year onwards reflecting the fact that most developing countries started HIV/AIDS programmes in or after 1987, the same year that the World Health Organisation's global programme on AIDS was established.
ODA expenditure on HIV/AIDS: 1986-87 to 1993-94 Expenditure shown as |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91 |1991-92 |1992-93 |1993-94 |Total a percentage of total spending on HIV/AIDS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bilateral<1> |- |19.6 |12.5 |28.0 |22.8 |20.9 |25.3 |20.2 |22.0 Multilateral<1> (WHO/GPA) |70.0 |74.2 |65.9 |60.5 |62.4 |62.0 |53.7 |55.6 |61.0 Non-governmental organisations<1> |30.0 |6.2 |21.6 |11.5 |14.8 |17.1 |21.0 |24.2 |17.0 Total expenditure on HIV/AIDS (£'000) |357 |7,074 |3,893 |7,690 |7,652 |8,033 |9,252 |10,881 |54,832 Notes: <1> Percentage of total annual expenditure is shown for bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental support. The bilateral figures relate to expenditure on projects which are exclusively HIV/AIDS related, and includes contributions to National AIDS Control Programmes via WHO trust fund mechanisms. No separate bilateral expenditure figures for HIV/AIDS are available before 1987-88. Advance payments to WHO/GPA were made in 1987-88 of £2.25 million and in 1993-94 of £1.9 million
Indonesia
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the projects on
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which British aid to Indonesia has been spent in the last two years; and what was the value in each case.Mr. Baldry: The projects supported under the British aid programme to Indonesia on which there has been
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expenditure in the last two years are listed in the table. This shows the aid programme allocation for each project and the expenditure on each in the last two financial years.
Expenditure (£
thousands)
Sector and Project |Allocation |1992-93 |1993-94
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) Renewable National Resources
Rice Development Project |1,659 |110 |64
Cloves Disease Research |706 |11 |6
Coastal Fisheries-University of Diponegoro |384 |159 |30
Animal Health Phase 4 |1,687 |742 |381
Coastal Prawn Culture |1,298 |313 |298
Regional Physical Planning, Map Improvement and Training Project |655 |46 |0
Forestry Senior Management Team |1,793 |434 |574
Forestry Conservation |1,984 |425 |565
Forestry Training |2,454 |368 |785
Forestry Research |2,644 |418 |654
Provincial Forest Management |1,800 |0 |366
(B) Energy-Gas
Gas Distribution-Phase 1 |4,193 |40 |0
Gas Distribution-Phase 2 |5,509 |1,177 |1,587
Support to LEMIGAS (Petroleum Authority) |4,762 |1,373 |431
(C) Education
Active Learning and Professional Support at Primary level |1,708 |470 |477
Libraries, Books and Information Development Project |747 |223 |29
English Language Teaching at the National level |1,325 |514 |192
English Language Teaching in Government Institutions |1,789 |613 |408
Biotechnology |428 |98 |73
(D) Mining and Geological Exploration
South Sumatera Geological Survey Project |2,261 |516 |331
Ombilin Coal Mine Training School |377 |36 |0
(E) Public Administration and Finance
Assistance to Regional and Local Government Finance |905 |370 |310
Police Management Training |713 |268 |126
Indonesian Civil Service Training Institute (LAN) Assistance to Public Admin |120 |51 |21
(F) Public Works
Survey and Mapping Advisers Project |400 |4 |0
Local Consultants/Professional Engineers Training Project |1,735 |232 |370
(G) Energy-Electric Power
Bali Power Study |305 |44 |0
Electricity Authority (PLN) Training Project Phase 2 |1,162 |117 |0
Electricity Authority (PLN) Training Project Phase 3 |1,202 |330 |373
Mini Hydros |5,610 |596 |302
(H) Projects financed from the Aid and Trade Provision
Steel Bridging (Phase I) |6,642 |366 |397
Navigational Aids |6,386 |370 |416
Bandung Television Studio |9,734 |562 |632
Scattered Diesels |5,891 |377 |409
Cigading Port Extension |13,266 |774 |829
Radio Studios Rehabilitation |5,040 |304 |304
Cigading/Serpong Railway |24,690 |553 |<1>2,257
Citayam/Cibinong Railway |20,105 |850 |505
Radio Communication System for the Ministry of Forestry |34,111 |1,421 |1,384
Western Universities Equipment |13,671 |654 |814
Flight Simulator |4,659 |139 |211
Bali and Medan Airport Security |10,455 |501 |628
Jambi Power Station |5,345 |139 |280
Steel Bridging (Phase II) |3,669 |197 |218
Shortwave Radio Transmitters |26,911 |815 |1,373
(I) Training
Training in the United Kingdom |(Annual) |1,498 |1,125
<1>Under-collection by ECGD in 1992-93
Rwanda
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many loans requested by Rwanda from the World bank and the IMF since 1989 are being withheld until repayments on existing loans are resumed.
Mr. Baldry: All 13 active loans, of which eight have been approved since 1989, from the World bank and one IMF structural adjustment facility programme are currently under suspension. The bank has an emergency reconstruction loan under preparation.
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when and under what conditions loans were disbursed to Rwanda by the IMF and the World bank after 1989.
Mr. Baldry: The information requested is as follows:
International Development Association (IDA) credits approved 1990-93 Date ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ March 1990 |Public enterprise reform May 1990 |Transport sector December 1990 |Communications April 1991 |Education sector June 1991 |Structural adjustment June 1991 |Population June 1992 |Food security and social action February 1993 |Energy sector rehabilitation Note: Loans under implementation which were approved before 1990 are not included.
IMF --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 1991 |SAF (structural adjustment facility) programme
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are Rwanda's outstanding debts to (a) the World bank (b) the IMF and (c) the United Kingdom.
Mr. Baldry: As at the end of June 1994, Rwanda had a total of $474 million in loans disbursed and outstanding to the World bank, SDR8.76 million to the IMF and no debt currently owed to the United Kingdom. Arrears to
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the World bank totalled $9.5 million. The bank has received firm indications of support from a number of bilateral donors to assist in clearing these arrears.TREASURY
Debt Relief
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the levels of debt relief for low-income countries for each year since 1991 92; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson: The amount of official bilateral debt relief that the United Kingdom has given low-income countries each year since 1991 92 is as follows:
|Debt Rescheduled|Debt Reduction
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |558.41 |347.29
1992-93 |113.43 |61.57
1993-94 |11.49 |115.27
|------- |--------
Total |683.33 |524.13
Internet
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to expand the provision of information via the Internet; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nelson: The Treasury's Internet service was launched on 15 November 1994. The information currently provided includes news releases, speeches, minutes of the Chancellor's monthly monetary meetings with the Governor of the Bank of England, reports of the panel of independent forecasters and details of the fundamental expenditure review of Treasury running costs.
The Budget speech and related material were made available on the Internet for the first time this year. More information will be added in due course.
The Treasury Internet service can be accessed via the following addresses:
|Address
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email mailing lists |maillist @hm-treasury.gov.uk
Email file transfer |ftpmail @hm-treasury.gov.uk
File transfer (FTP) |ftp.hm-treasury.gov.uk
World Wide Web |http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
Email for help |info @ hm-treasury.gov.uk
Building and Civil Engineering Benefit Scheme
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when his Department last conducted a review of the taxation arrangements for the building and civil engineering benefit scheme.
Sir George Young: Information about the tax affairs of particular taxpayers, including individual pension schemes, is confidential.
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the
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current operation of the building and civil engineering benefit scheme.Sir George Young: A number of representations have been received asking that members of this scheme be permitted to contribute to personal pensions and retirement annuities.
Building Refurbishment
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will itemise the refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years, indicating the costs involved and the nature of the refurbishments.
Mr. Nelson: The Treasury has not financed any refurbishment work in the buildings it occupies in Parliament street or Allington Towers. Responsibility for any such work would fall to Property Holdings.
Income Statistics
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many persons in the United Kingdom had annual pre-tax incomes of (a) more than £400,000 and (b) between £200,000 and £400,000 at the latest date for which figures are available; and how many such people there were in 1973 and 1983, taking account of changes in prices.
Sir George Young: The table provides estimates of numbers of individuals for 1992 93, the latest year for which information is available at such high levels of income, and for 1983 84 and 1973 74.
|Pre-tax income range
|(adjusted for
|changes in prices)
|£200,000-£400,000 |Above £400, 000
|Thousands |Thousands
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992-93 |16 |4
1983-84 |3 |1
1973-74 |4 |1
The income ranges used for 1983 84 and 1973 74 have been adjusted to take account of changes in retail prices up to 1992 93.
Income Tax Bands
Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what would be the total aggregate cost in a full year of raising the upper limit of the lower rate income tax band from £3,200 to £10,000 and the upper limit of the basic rate band to £30,000 assuming no change in personal allowances from those announced in the Budget; (2) what would be the total cost in a full year of raising the upper limit of the lower rate income tax band from £3,200 to £10,000 assuming no change in personal allowances from those announced in the Budget.
Sir George Young: Based on assumptions in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" 1995 96, the full-year cost, at 1995 96 income levels, of extending the width of the lower-rate band to £10,000 is estimated to be £5.3 billion. If the basic rate limit were also increased to £30,000, the total cost would be £6.9 billion. These costs do not take into account any behavioural changes which might result for the introduction of the new regime.
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Gross Debt Interest
Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions for interest rules underlie the Red Book projections for general Government gross debt interest of £26.6 billion for 1996 97.
Mr. Nelson: It is not conventional to publish market-sensitive projections such as interest rates.
EEC Contributions
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount paid in contributions (a) net and (b) gross to the EEC since 1972.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Shaw) on Tuesday 29 November, Official Report, columns 608 10 .
Customs and Excise
Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans Her Majesty's Customs and Excise has to increase the technical assistance it provides to overseas administrations.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: Customs intends, on a full cost recovery basis, to increase the amount of technical assistance which it provides on the existing Government-to-Government basis and in association with business. This would include the secondment of skilled staff to firms providing services in the areas of customs and indirect taxation.
This expansion will help to improve the opportunities for consultancy and training delivered on overseas development aid programmes. It will also increase the advice that we can give the emerging democracies of central Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, and to drug-source countries. It will extend the United Kingdom's influence around the world, thereby adding to the indirect benefits which can be produced for our economy.
Public Service Pensions
Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to increase public service pensions from April 1995.
Mr. Aitken: Under the legislation governing them, public service pensions are increased annually by the
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same percentage as state earnings-related pensions, additional pension. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security announced on 29 November, Official Report column 629-30 , that additional pension will be increased by 2.2 per cent., in line with the annual increase in the retail prices index up to September. Public service pensions will therefore be increased by 2.2 per cent. from 10 April 1995. Pensions which have been in payment for less than a year will receive a pro-rata increase.Disabled People
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the budget allocated by his Department and associated agencies for each of the next five years for, and how many staff or staff hours equivalent have been allocated to achieve the objectives of, the programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 5 December 1994]: Expenditure by the Treasury and its associated agencies in support of the programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity in the civil service for disabled people comprises a number of cost elements in respect of staff numbers, training, recruitment advertising, special equipment, modification of buildings and accommodation. This expenditure cannot be disaggregated from that allocated to other items in the Department's and agencies' equal opportunities budgets. The number of staff or staff hours equivalent allocated specifically to achieve the objectives of the programme for action cannot be estimated, since successful implementation will require the commitment not only of equal opportunities officers and disabled persons officers but of a variety of staff in the personnel function together with individual line managers.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number and percentage of disabled people employed by his Department and associated agencies over the past five years; and what are the projected figures for the next five years.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 5 December 1994]: Figures are available only for those staff who are registered as disabled, but the Treasury and its associated agencies employ a number of people with disabilities who have chosen not to register. The information in respect of the number of registered disabled people for the years 1990 to 1994 is shown in the table. Projected figures are not available.
x
Registered disabled staff
HMT PAYMASTER CSO<1> ROYAL MINT VALUATION OFFICE*
|Number |Per cent.|Number |Per cent.|Number |Per cent.|Number |Per cent.|Number |Per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |30 |1.0 |35 |3.9 |- |- |21 |2.1 |- |-
1991 |29 |1.0 |34 |3.7 |16 |1.5 |20 |2.0 |59 |1.1
1992 |26 |0.9 |31 |3.2 |16 |1.4 |14 |1.3 |48 |0.9
1993 |12 |0.6 |29 |3.2 |24 |1.8 |14 |1.4 |63 |1.2
1994 |12 |0.9 |27 |3.2 |24 |1.7 |15 |1.5 |65 |1.3
<1> Information is not available prior to 1991 when the CSO and Valuation Office became Executive Agencies.
Taxation
Dr. Howells: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the total raised in Wales from forms of taxation, other than income tax and VAT, (a) in 1990, (b)
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in 1991, (c) in 1992, (d) in 1993 and (e) in the first six months of 1994;(2) what was the total raised in Scotland from forms of taxation, other than income tax and VAT, (a) in 1990, (b)
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in 1991, (c) in 1992, (d) in 1993 and (e) in the first six months of 1994.Sir George Young: The information requested is not available.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Internet
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to provide information via the Internet; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Ian Taylor: The broadband communications Command Paper, published on 22 November, was the first Command Paper to be made available on Internet. DTI press notices are already available on Internet. The DTI Internet cable is:
http://www.open.gov.uk/dti/broadband comms.htm.
The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency recently announced an initiative on the wider use of Internet in government. Department officials are considering how effective Internet would be for the distribution of departmental information.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many civil servants since 4 May 1979 have left the Export Credits Guarantee Department and have within two years joined companies engaged in contracts with his Department.
Mr. Needham: Since 4 May 1979, 82 civil servants have, following their retirement or resignation from ECGD, obtained prior approval under the civil service rules governing outside business appointments to join companies that have business contacts with the Department.
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration is given to human rights in the allocation of cover by the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
Mr. Needham: The ECGD's function is to underwrite payment risks associated with capital goods and project exports. A separate export licensing process takes account of broader issues such as the human rights record of overseas Governments. The issue of export licences is the responsibility of the DTI's export licensing unit. ECGD's cover is conditional on export licences being obtained where required.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make available a complete list of all payments made under the auspices of the Export Credits Guarantee Department in relation to defence contracts signed from 1979 onwards with (a) Jordan, (b) Saudi Arabia, (c) Oman, (d) Kuwait, (e) Brunei, (f) Malaysia and (g) Indonesia.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 5 December 1994]: The ECGD's information systems, which reflect the Department's business needs, do not provide such a sectoral analysis. Extracting the data with reasonable accuracy would involve disproportionate expense.
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Advisory Bodies
Mr. Harvey: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the Overseas Projects Board in each of the last three years.
Mr. Needham: The Overseas Projects Board met five times in 1992, four times in 1993 and three times in 1994, including one scheduled for 7 December. The DTI provides a small secretariat. The only costs are those associated with arrangements for meetings, which are marginal. The board provides advice to Ministers and to Government officials in plenary meetings and, occasionally, in smaller ad-hoc groups. It does not currently produce submissions and reports.
Mr. Harvey: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the engineering technology advisory committee in each of the last three years.
Mr. Eggar: The engineering technology advisory committee--ETAC--was established in 1990 to advise the DTI on its support policy for engineering technology. Its only report was produced in 1993 and contained the committee's views on future strategy in this area. The committee met on six occasions from 6 September 1991 until its dissolution in October 1993. Secretarial support for it was provided by the Department. The actual expenditure incurred by the 14 members of the Committee related to travel expenses only and amounted to a total of £4,918.70 over its two-year life.
Mr. Harvey: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the monitoring committee on misleading price indications in each of the last three years.
Mr. Ian Taylor: The monitoring committee on misleading price indications was disbanded in May 1993. The committee reported to Ministers in December 1991 and subsequently convened once in February 1992 to discuss its report with the then Minister for Consumer Affairs. A working group formed from the committee to examine service charges in hotels and restaurants met once, in February 1992, and reported to Ministers in August 1992. Both the committee and the working group were chaired and serviced by officials from the Department of Trade and Industry. No other costs were incurred.
Building Refurbishment
Mr. Milburn: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will itemise the refurbishment works
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undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years, indicating the costs involved and the nature of the refurbishments.Mr. Ian Taylor: Over the past three years we have carried out only three refurbishment projects. These are listed by year of completion:
|£
Year |Project |Thousands
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |No projects completed in this year
1992-93 |No projects completed in this year
1993-94 |Partial refurbishment of Ashdown House to enable
|additional staff to be accommodated
|following the closure of 1-19 Victoria Street |4,532
|Full refurbishment of Kingsgate House to
|convert to open plan accommodation |4,211
|Refurbishment of sub-standard parts of Eastcote site|720
Car Sales
Mr. Cousins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what new proposals for the deregulation of car sales dealing the European Commission has made; and what is the United Kingdom Government's policy on those proposals.
Mr. Jonathan Evans: The European Commission has put a number of proposals to member states to renew and amend Commission regulation 123/85, which governs the selective and exclusive dealership agreements for motor vehicles. These proposals would prohibit a number of restrictions on competition which are permissible under the current regulation in order to increase the competition in the trade. They would, in particular, provide dealers with the opportunity to sell more than one make of vehicle on sites which were separate and distinct. Restrictions on dealers advertising outside their contract territory would be prohibited. Dealers would also be permitted to purchase spare parts from any source, provided that they were of equivalent quality.
The Government welcome these proposals, which are in many respects similar to the recommendations contained in the 1992 Monopolies and Mergers Commission report. Member states have put their views on the draft to the Commission, which will consider whether to amend the text before publishing the draft for public consultation shortly.
Rowntree
Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what factors Her Majesty's Government took into account when Nestle took over Rowntree; what representations he has received on the performance of this company with particular reference to United Kingdom based employment since that take over; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jonathan Evans: The Director General of Fair Trading's advice to the then Secretary of State for Trade and Industry remains confidential. All relevant factors were taken into account in reaching the decision not to refer this merger to the Monopolies and Mergers
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