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Mr. Soames: The costs of fuel used by members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in travelling to fox hunt meets are met privately by the individuals taking part. The requirement for reimbursement does not, therefore, arise.
Mr. Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what circumstances it is permitted for individuals who are not serving members of the armed forces to use army horses or equipment to hunt; and what charges are made for the use of such equipment. [19540]
Mr. Soames: Individuals who are not serving members of the armed forces are not permitted to use Army horses or equipment to hunt.
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Mr. Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from what date members of the armed forces who hunt have been liable for the costs of fuel for transport to and from hunt meets. [19538]
Mr. Soames: So far as we have been able to determine, members of the armed forces who are permitted to hunt have always been liable for the costs of fuel for transport to and from hunt meets.
European Armaments Agency
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his European Union counterparts in respect of the markets which the European arms procurement agency will endeavour to satisfy; and if he will make a statement. [19446]
Mr. Freeman: Ministers and officials of my Department have played a full part in discussions, within the forum of the Western European Armaments Group, on the concept and role of a European armaments agency. These discussions continue.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if membership of the European arms procurement agency will be subject to parliamentary approval. [19445]
Mr. Freeman: Discussions on a European armaments agency continue. Formal parliamentary approval would not be necessary if the UK were to become a member of such an agency, but Parliament will, of course, be kept informed of developments.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the United Kingdom's proposed joining of the European arms procurement agency will affect the policy of (a) subsidiarity in defence and (b) the resources available for diversification of defence industries. [19443]
Mr. Freeman: Discussions on a European armaments agency continue. If the UK became a member, this would not affect the principle that decisions on armaments procurement for the UK armed forces are the preserve of Her Majesty's Government. It is not envisaged that UK membership of a European armaments agency would have any effect upon the resources available for diversification of defence industries.
Allowances
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the total amount paid by his central Department, and each agency for which he is responsible in subsistence allowances for travel (a) within the United Kingdom and (b) outside the United Kingdom in each of the last three years. [19549]
Mr. Freeman: The information requested is as follows:
|£ million
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) 1992-93 |36.589 million<1>
1993-94 |Ministry of Defence |40.944
|Atomic Weapons Establishment|0.583
|Defence Research Agency |3.694
1994-95 |Ministry of Defence |39.944
|Atomic Weapons Establishment|0.450
|Defence Research Agency |4.392
(b) 1992-93 |7.345 million<1>
1993-94 |Ministry of Defence |4.998
|Atomic Weapons Establishment|0.242
|Defence Research Agency |1.231
1994-95 |Ministry of Defence |3.801
|Atomic Weapons Establishment|0.070
|Defence Research Agency |1.690
<1>Separate figures for defence agencies are not available.
Haymes Garth
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total cost of (a) all structural repairs, to Haymes Garth and (b) all other work carried out to the building, and the total sums expended. [19781]
Mr. Soames: The total cost of refurbishing Haymes Garth was £380, 000; of which £80,000 was spent on essential external maintenance, £68,000 was spent on furniture and fittings and £232,000 on structural work and alterations.
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what sums were spent on (a) redecoration, (b) curtains and (c) other furnishings to Haymes Garth; what were the estimated costs in each such category; and by whom and on what dates these (i) estimates and (ii) payments were authorised.
Mr. Soames: The total sum spent on redecoration, curtains and other furnishings to Haymes Garth was £68,000. The original allocation for these items was £60,000. RAF Support Command costed and approved the work at Haymes Garth.
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by whom and on what date the decision was taken to renovate Haymes Garth.
Mr. Soames: The decision to retain Haymes Garth was taken by the then Air Officer Commanding in Chief RAF Support Command in February 1992, and the renovation programme stemmed from that decision.
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date Air Chief Marshall Sir Sandy Wilson was informed that he was to occupy Haymes Garth; and when he took up residence. [19785]
Mr. Soames: Sir Sandy Wilson took up residence at Haymes Garth in May 1993, and had been aware that he was to occupy the house from August 1992.
Small Arms Spares
Sir Nicholas Bonsor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason he has decided not to proceed with the market-test initiative on the management and supply of small arms spares; and if he will make a statement. [18799]
Mr. Freeman: The market test of management and supply of small arms spares was withdrawn from full competition because of insurmountable intellectual property rights and critical item manufacture problems. However, the market testing process has identified changes in procurement processes which, once introduced, will lead to efficiency savings.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Rules and Regulations
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what requirements there are for officials in his department to introduce a compliance cost assessment for all rules and regulations coming before him and his Ministers; and how many compliance cost assessments have been issued in his Department in the first three months of this year. [19351]
Mr. Ancram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Under- Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs on 19 April, Official Report, column 189. My officials follow the procedures set out in that answer.
Four compliance cost assessments were issued in Northern Ireland in the first three months of this year.
Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects work to start on the repair of the fire damage and refurbishment of Parliament buildings, Stormont; and what is his estimate of the completion date for this project. [19467]
Mr. Moss: The debris resulting from the fire on 2 January has now been removed from the former Commons chamber. A detailed examination of the damage has been undertaken to assess its extent and to develop options for repair and refurbishment. I will make an announcement when this assessment is completed.
DNA Sampling
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Northern Ireland what plans he has to amend the law to allow the RUC to make greater use of DNA sampling. [20333]
Sir Patrick Mayhew: I intend to introduce legislation which will allow the RUC to take full advantage of developments in the technology of DNA analysis and give the police in Northern Ireland the opportunity to take samples from those suspected of a range of offences in wider circumstances than at present. It is vital that the RUC should be able to make use of technological innovation in the detection and investigation of crime at the earliest opportunity. These measures will facilitate the use of improved technology for the analysis of DNA samples and fine-tune the law in other areas. They will assist the RUC to maintain its well-earned reputation for professionalism and their standards of excellence in investigating and detecting crime.
In addition, I plan to clarify the law in Northern Ireland on the status of prisoners when they are required for interview by the police and in respect of prisoners who are unlawfully at large in Northern Ireland so that they may be arrested and returned to custody as swiftly as possible no matter what part of the UK from which they are unlawfully at large.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Advisers
Ms Eagle: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many advisers his Department employs broken down to show (a) political advisers and (b) economic advisers; at what grade and salary they are employed; and what are their minimum working hours in each case. [19415]
Mr. Heseltine: My Department employs one political adviser and one chief economic adviser. Their salary and conditions of work are negotiated individually in relation to their previous earnings, and are confidential. Economic advice is obtained from career civil servants, who may be employed on a variety of working patterns. Their grades range from grade 3 to economic assistant.
Insolvency Service
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in full the official receiver's responses on whether the work of the Insolvency Service should be contracted out. [19936]
Mr. Jonathan Evans: The responses from official receivers are still being considered. If a decision is made to seek parliamentary approval for an enabling order a digest of the official receiver's responses will be published by laying copies in the Library of the House.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many people and what percentage of the work force are employed in small and medium enterprises. [19093]
Mr. Page: At the end of 1991, 14 million people, or 67 per cent. of the work force, excluding central and local government, were employed in enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
Business Links
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many Business Link initiatives are now fully operational in the United Kingdom. [19095]
Mr. Page: Ninety Business Links are open in England as at 12 April 1995. Separate arrangements for providing support services for businesses in the rest of the United Kingdom are being developed by the offices for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Regional Supply Networks
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the budget allocated to the regional supply networks in the current year. [19094]
Mr. Page: The budget allocated to the regional supply network in the 1995 96 financial year is £2.8 million.
Advertising
Mrs. Ann Taylor: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list each non-departmental public body and agency for which he has responsibility and, for each, list separate figures for the spending by that body or agency on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising, (d) other promotional materials and activities, (e) the totals in each year of (a) to (d) and
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(f) the proportion of (e) that was spent on recruitment advertising for each year since 1979 80 or for each year of its existence if it has been created since then; and what are his latest estimates of (a) to (f) for the years 1994 95 and 1995 96. [17622]Mr. Heseltine: The NDPBs sponsored by my Department are listed in the publication "Public Bodies 1994", copies of which are available in the Library of the House. The other information requested is not available centrally and could not be compiled without incurring disproportionate cost.
The DTI's executive agencies are detailed on pages 80 to 84 of my Department's annual report--Cm 2804--which is also available in the Library of the House. I have asked the chief executives of these agencies to write direct to the hon. Member giving the other information requested.
Letter from P. R. S. Hartnack to Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 20 April 1995:
The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply on behalf of the Patent Office to the parliamentary question tabled by you on 28 March 1995.
Promotional expenditure of the Patent Office since its inception as an executive agency (in March 1990) is shown below in the format requested:
£000
|Other |Proportion of
|promotional |total on
|matters |recruitment
|Newspaper |and |advertising
|advertisiing |activities |Total |(per cent.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
actual
1990-91 |56 |580 |636 |1.1
1991-92 |71 |813 |884 |2.5
1992-93 |398 |989 |1,387 |0.6
1993-94 |409 |1,136 |1,545 |0.0
forecast
1994-95 |228 |643 |871 |0.8
1995-96 |156 |450 |606 |1.0
There has been no expenditure on television and radio advertising in the period
shown. The main objective of our advertising is to encourage British companies, and
individuals, to obtain patents, trade marks and registered design protection; and
thus to promote innovation and the international competitiveness of British
industry and commerce through intellectual property rights.
Letter from John Hobday to Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 20 April 1995 : I am replying to your Question of 28 March to the President of the Board of Trade in which you asked for information on expenditure on promotional activities by non-departmental public bodies and agencies for which he has responsibility.
The accounts Services Agency was created in October 1991, since when it has had no spending on television, radio or newspaper advertising. It had however spent some £26,000 on other promotional material and activities as follows:
|£
------------------------------
1992-93 |5,600
1993-94 |8,300
1994-95 |<1>12,100
<1>Estimated. None of the
advertising was in respect of
equipment.
You will wish to know that
the Accounts Services Agency
ceased to be an agency on 31
March after which the
services provided by it were
contracted-out to the CSL
Group Limited.
Letter from David Durham to Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 20 April 1995:
You recently tabled a Parliamentary Question asking about the total expenditure on all forms of advertising, promotional materials and activities, by non departmental public bodies and agencies since 1979.
Following the answer given by the President of the Board of Trade, I am replying as Chief Executive of Companies House which became an Executive Agency of the Department of Trade and Industry in November 1988.
Companies House Executive Agency advertising expenditure in £000 is as follows:
|(a) |(b) |(c) |(d) |(e)
Year |TV |Radio |Newspapers|Other |Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |0 |0 |incl. in D|303 |303
1990-91 |0 |0 |224 |174 |398
1991-92 |0 |0 |190 |137 |327
1992-93 |0 |0 |332 |168 |500
1993-94 |0 |80 |122 |164 |366
1994-95 |0 |0 |174 |205 |379
Total |0 |80 |1,042 |1,151 |2,273
The estimate for 1995-96 is: |0 |0 |200 |276 |476
These figures include expenditure on advertising to raise the awareness of Late Filing
Penalties and to inform and remind companies of the due dates for filing; on exhibitions,
literature and leaflets, and on publications including the annual report to Parliament.
It is not possible to give precise figures on the amount of our budgets spent on recruitment
advertising. While not included in the above figure, it is between 1% and 2% of the total at
column (e). On the handful of occasions when a recruitment agency has been involved, the fee
has covered advertising, sifting, preliminary interviews etc.
I hope this is helpful to you.
Letter from Peter Joyce to Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 20 April 1995 : The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your Question about expenditure on advertising and on other promotional materials and activities.
The Insolvency Service, which became an Agency in March 1990, does not place advertisements or produce promotional material of its functions. It does however publish an Agency Annual Report, at a cost of some £13,000 for the 1993 94 report.
Recruitment advertising is undertaken from time to time at both national and local level. Expenditure was devolved to the Agency from 1993 94. The amounts expended have been £14,900 for1993 94 and £4,594 for 1994 95.
Official Receivers of The Insolvency Service are required to place in newspapers and other journals, notices concerning specific matters relating to individual insolvency cases, for example a notice of the making of a bankruptcy order. The cost of these are a charge on the estates of the bankrupts and companies in compulsory liquidation to which they relate.
Letter from W. Edgar to Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 20 April 1995 : I refer to your Parliamentary Question to the President of the Board of Trade on the subject of advertising for each
non-departmental public body and agency for which he is responsible. NEL has not incurred any expenditure on either television advertising or radio advertising. The total expenditure on newspaper advertising and other promotional materials and activities is shown on the attached schedule together with the proportion of
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that total which was spent on recruitment advertising. The period covered is from financial year 1992/93 which is when the data started being recorded in the detail you require.I trust you will find the information satisfactory for your purposes.
NEL Executive Agency
Financial year |Total expenditure|Recruitment as
|percentage
|£
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992-93 |38,010 |9
1993-94 |59,437 |24
1994-95 |43,689 |35
1995-96 |45,000 |5
Letter from Seton Bennett to Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 20 April 1995:
Expenditure on advertising
The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory to your question about expenditure on advertising.
While NWML takes every opportunity to bring its activities to the attention of interested parties, the use of paid advertising is rare and there has been no such expenditure since 1992. Expenditure in previous years, for which figures are not readily available, was limited to occasional advertisements in specialist journals. For 1995 96 advertising expenditure is likely to be £5,000.
For 1993 94 expenditure on promotional materials and activities was £8,245.67. In 1995 96, this is likely to increase to approximately £9,500.
Expenditure on recruitment advertising has been restricted to local newspapers and amounts to approximately £1500 over the last five years.
Letter from Dr. Peter Clapham to Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 20 April 1995:
I am writing in response to your question to the President of the Board of Trade about expenditure on advertising and promotional activities by agencies for which he is responsible. NPL became an Executive Agency in July 1990.
NPL does not use television or radio advertising, and we record expenditure on recruitment advertising separately from expenditure on other forms of advertising and promotion. The table below sets out (i) NPL's annual expenditure on recruitment advertising; (ii) expenditure on publicity, which covers the external cost of advertisements in the technical press, exhibitions and other promotional activities and materials; and (iii) the approximate amount of expenditure within (ii) accounted for by paid advertisements in the print media. All figures are in £000.
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|(i) |(ii) |(iii)
|Advertising in print
|Recruitment |Publicity |media included in
|advertising |(ii)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990-91 |28 |<1>50 |-
1991-92 |54 |165 |22
1992-93 |32 |413 |12
1993-94 |22 |283 |22
1994-95 (est) |34 |463 |12
1995-96 (est) |15 |402 |15
<1>Agency expenditure only. Most publicity in 1990-91 was included in DTIs central publicity
expenditure.
I hope this provides the information you require.
Letter from R.D. Worswick to Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 5 April 1995:
pq on promotional activity
The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to write to you about the spend on promotional activity by the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.
The promotional activity undertaken by LGC is primarily in support of its scientific programmes, seminars and scientific events; but the figures also include expenditure on more general promotion of LGC and its annual report and accounts.
The attached table sets out the information that is readily available.
Spend by LGC on Promotional Activities by Financial Year
£000 (ex-vat)
Activity |1991-92 |1992-93 |1993-94 |1994-95
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a) Television |0 |0 |0 |0
b) Radio |0 |0 |0 |0
c) Technical press |3 |6 |4 |13
d) Other promotional activities<1> |271 |253 |175 |237
e) total |274 |268 |194 |262
f) recruitment advertising
as per cent. of total |n/a |6 per cent.|8 per cent.|5 per cent.
<1>The majority of these activities are in support of DTI's Validity of Analytical
Measurements the initiative aimed at creating awareness of quality issues concerned with
chemical measurements.n/a Not available.
Letter from Jim Norton to Mrs. Ann Taylor, dated 20 April 1995: The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your question about advertising costs for this Agency.
Since becoming an Agency in 1990 it has spent the following on advertising.
Column 235
|A |B |C |D |E |F
|Newspapers
|TV |Radio |Magazine |Other publicity|Recruitment |Year totals
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990-91 |Nil |Nil |- |171,426 |- |<1>171,426
1991-92 |Nil |Nil |- |216,166 |- |<1>216,166
1992-93 |Nil |Nil |- |<2>229,579 |59,643 |289,222
1993-93 |Nil |Nil |38,018 |149,786 |57,149 |244,953
1994-95 (Estimated) |Nil |Nil |19,129 |192,505 |47,500 |259,134
1995-96 Projection |Nil |Nil |40,000 |245,000 |40,000 |325,000
<1>Expenditure for columns C, D and E are not kept separately 1990-92.
<2>Expenditure for columns C and D not kept separately 1992-93.
-- Consultancy Brokerage Scheme
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will reconsider his specific proposals for a
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consultancy brokerage scheme following representations received about them. [18904]Mr. Ian Taylor [holding answer 18 April 1995]: I have received a number of representations from
Column 237
organisations and individuals in the consultancy industry about the DTI's consultancy brokerage service. My officials have also consulted widely within the industry and across a range of relevant interest groups. The concept of such a service has been generally welcomed. As with all new initiatives, I am willing to consider constructive proposals for its further development.Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the President of the Boardof Trade how many consultants have to date joined the consultancy brokerage scheme; and if he will make a statement. [18905]
Mr. Ian Taylor [holding answer 18 April 1995]: As at 11 April 1995, 152 consultants had applied to join the DTI's consultancy brokerage service. Invitations to join the service were issued in late January and no deadline was set. We aim to recruit many more consultants and are actively considering how to speed up the pace of applications.
Government Funding
Mr. Cohen: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what Government funding has been provided to (a) the Industrial Research and Information Services Ltd, (b) the Industrial Trust and (c) Kennington Industrial Company in each year since 1965; and for what purposes it was granted. [17259]
Mr. Page [holding answer 3 April 1995]: My Department has no knowledge of these companies and no record of having given the financial assistance.
TRANSPORT
Air Traffic Control (Privatisation)
Mr. Legg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in preparing the Civil Aviation Authority's air traffic control functions for privatisation and in preparing the timetable for privatisation. [18931]
Mr. Norris: Following discussion with interested parties, progress has been made in addressing the issues raised during the public consultation on privatisation of the CAA's air traffic control functions.
The chairman of the CAA has also instigated a number of management changes designed to secure a greater degree of separation between the national air traffic services and the CAA's other businesses.
Aircraft Regulations
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what regulations apply to cabin baggage on aircraft; how these are enforced; and if he will make a statement; [18971]
(2) how many reported accidents to airline passengers involving cabin baggage have occurred in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [18970]
Mr. Norris: Articles 29 (6) and 37 (2) (d) (ii) of the Air Navigation Order 1989 cover the safe carriage of cabin baggage in UK- registered aircraft and regulation 4 of the Air Navigation (General) Regulations 1993 covers the weighing of cabin baggage. Compliance with these requirements is enforced by the Civil Aviation Authority.
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In addition, under UK aviation security requirements, all items of cabin baggage must be screened to a specified standard before they may be taken on board an aircraft. Airlines are also required to check to ensure that disembarking passengers have not left behind any baggage. Monitoring and enforcement of security requirements is carried out by my Department's aviation security inspectors. Minor accidents involving cabin baggage are not reportable incidents under the Air Navigation Order. However, the Civil Aviation Authority advises me that in the past five years it has received five reports of incidents in which passengers have received minor injuries in accidents involving cabin baggage.Airline Charges
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of comparative charges to airlines in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the United States of America; and if he will make a statement. [19143]
Mr. Norris: I have not made any such assessment.
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