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Mr. Paice: I have been asked to reply.
The chairman of the Barnsley and Doncaster training and enterprise council has informed the TEC's board of directors that he intends to step down from the role of chairman before the end of 1995. The appointment of a new chairman is a matter for the TEC board, which has appointed a sub-group to consult local organisations,
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including both local authorities and chambers of commerce in the TEC area.TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Coal Privatisation
Mr. Byers: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to release details of the advice given by civil servants to the Secretary of State for Energy in 1991 on the awarding of the contract for advice on the privatisation of the coal industry to the National Audit Office. [20513]
Mr. Page: The National Audit Office has access to all the relevant papers on the appointment of N. M. Rothschild as advisers to the Government on coal privatisation.
Mr. Byers: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if any of the information concerning the reasons for awarding the consultancy contract on the privatisation of the coal industry to N. M. Rothschild, the advice given by civil servants to Ministers, the terms on which the contract was awarded, how value for money was to be judged and subsequent costs controlled is held in files marked as being not for National Audit Office eyes. [20514]
Mr. Byers: To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date his Department became aware that Mr. Richard Budge had provided advice to N. M. Rothschild and Son on matters relating to the privatisation of the coal industry. [20515]
Mr. Page: In connection with the privatisation of the coal mining operations of British Coal the Department and N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd. held discussions with a wide selection of then existing and prospective coal industry participants, including Mr. Budge, in the period prior to the submission of tenders for the regional coal companies in September 1994. At no time has Mr. Budge provided advice to N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd.
Instruments of Torture
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what Government or training and enterprise council support has been provided in the last five years to companies that produced equipment used for purposes of torture. [20286]
Mr. Eggar: My Department has not knowingly supported companies which produce equipment intended for the purpose of torture. Questions on TEC support should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the value of the trade in British torture equipment. [20296]
Mr. Ian Taylor: I know of no such trade. Export licences would not be granted for licensable goods if there were good reasons to suppose that they would be used for the purposes of torture.
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Business Links
Dr. John Cunningham: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much was spent on business links before September 1994. [19454]
Mr. Heseltine: The total amount spent on the development of business links by DTI up to 31 August 1994 was £3.61 million.
Allowances and Costs
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list for each agency and the central Department for which he is responsible (a) the total amount of removal costs and associated expenses reimbursed to officials who were required to relocate as part of their employment, (b) the amount of each of the highest three claims that were concluded and settled and (c) the average amount of each claim in each of the last three years. [19650]
Mr. Ian Taylor: As regards the central DTI, the following amounts of removal costs and associated expenses were reimbursed to officials required to relocate as part of their employment:
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994-95 |2,234,526 |(includes 694,559 provision for relocation costs for merger of WSL with AEA)
1993-94 |1,634,070 |(includes 143,108 provision for relocation costs for merger of WSL with AEA)
1992-93 |1,418,515 |-
The other expenditure details requested are not identified separately and to provide the information would entail
disproportionate cost.
I have asked agency chief executives to reply direct in respect of the expenditure for which they are responsible.
Letter from W. Edgar to Mr. David Shaw, dated 26 April 1995 : I refer to your question to the President of the Board of Trade concerning the amount of removal costs and associated expenses reimbursed to officials who are required to relocate as part of their employment. The expenditure of NEL is as shown below. Please note that in both years where expenditure was incurred only one official was involved and thus the total also represents the answer to part (b) and part (c) of your question. I trust you will find the information supplied to be satisfactory for your purposes.
|£
--------------------
1992-93 |nil
1993-94 |1,927
1994-95 |3,073
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the President of the Board of Trade 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. [19564]
Mr. Ian Taylor: As regards the central DTI, the subsistence element of claims by officers who travel on official business (a) within the United Kingdom and (b)
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outside the United Kingdom is not recorded separately from the travel costs element.To provide the information requested would entail disproportionate cost.
I have asked agency chief executives to reply direct to the hon. Member as they have their own budgetary responsibility for United Kingdom and overseas travel and subsistence.
Letter from W. Edgar to Mr. David Shaw, dated 26 April 1995: I would refer to your question to the President of the Board of Trade concerning the total amount paid in subsistence allowances for travel, within and outside the United Kingdom in the last three years. The management information system NEL does not separate travel and subsistence costs and does not differentiate between travel and subsistence within or outside the UK. It is not possible therefore to supply the information you require.
Letter from Peter Clapham to Mr. David Shaw, dated 26 April 1995:
I am writing in response to your questions to the President of the Board of Trade regarding i) subsistence allowances and ii) removal costs and associated expenses, in each of the last three years.
Subsistence Allowances
a) Within the UK--disproportionate cost rule applies. NPL's accounts do not separately identify subsistence costs from travel costs.
b) Overseas--disproportionate cost rule applies for the reason given above.
Removal Costs
a) Total removal costs and associated expenses reimbursed--£17,643 in 1992/93, £15,613 in 1993/94 and £9,354 in 1994/95.
b) Amount of each of the three highest claims concluded and settled-- disproportionate cost rule applies. To obtain this information NPL would need to request that CSL Managed Services (formerly ASA), who handle claims on NPL's behalf, consult each individual relocation file for the last three years and total all expenses paid from each individual file.
c) Average amount of each claim in the last three
years--disproportionate cost rule applies. All files from last three years would need to be consulted to endure that cases did not start outside the three year period, or started within the three year period but have yet to be completed.
I hope this provides the information you require.
Letter from P. R. S. Hartnack to Mr. David Shaw, dated 26 April 1995:
You recently tabled two questions to the President of the Board of Trade, concerning subsistence allowances and removal costs. I have been asked to reply with respect to the Patent Office.
I am afraid that subsistence payments--in connection with both UK and overseas travel--are not separately identified from the related travel costs on our information system, and differentiating them would involve disproportionate cost.
The total amount of removal costs and associated expenses reimbursed to Patent Office officials over the past three years was £748,000 in 1992 93; £381,000 in 1993 94; and £354,000 in 1994 95. These figures exclude advance of salary for house purchase, since this amounts to a repayable loan. The number of relocation cases in the Patent Office has been high over the past three years, since we have been completing the move from London to South Wales. We would need to research individual files in order to determine the three highest claims, which I regret would involve disproportionate cost. The same is true for the average amount of each claim, since many cases are protracted and will overlap with the three years in question.
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Letter from Peter Joyce to Mr. David Shaw, dated 26 April 1995: The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your Question about removal costs paid to officers relocated in the last three years.The Insolvency Service Executive Agency paid the following removal and associated costs:
1992 93: £427,000
1993 94: £252,000
1994 95: £250,000
The figure for 1994 95 is provisional pending clearance of the final accounts for the year.
The further information which you have sought about the three highest claims and the average amount of each claim is not readily identified by CSL Managed Services (formerly the Accounts Services Agency) which maintain The Insolvency Service's Vote accounts, and could only be obtained from the examination of individual files at disproportionate cost.
Letter from Peter Joyce to Mr. David Shaw, dated 26 April 1995: The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your Question about the amounts paid in subsistence allowances in the last three years.
The Insolvency Service Executive Agency paid the following travel costs and subsistence allowances, chargeable against the Vote:
1992 93: £328,000
1993 94: £342,000
1994 95: £370,000
CSL Managed Services (formerly the Accounts Services Agency) which maintain The Insolvency Service's Vote accounts do not separately identify subsistence allowances from travel costs nor differentiate between UK and overseas travel and subsistence. The specific information which you have sought in relation to subsistence allowances could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The figure for travel and subsistence for 1994 95 is provisional pending clearance of the final accounts for the year.
The figures do not include travel costs and subsistence allowances chargeable against the estates of bankrupts and companies in compulsory liquidation incurred by Official Receivers and their staff in carrying out their functions under the Insolvency Act 1986. Information in relation to such costs and allowances could only be obtained from the examination of individual estate accounts at disproportionate cost.
Letter from Jim Norton to Mr. David Shaw, dated 26th April 1995:
The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply on behalf of the Radiocommunications Agency to your two written Parliamentary Questions concerning subsistence allowances and removal costs.
Subsistence Allowances
There would be a disproportionate cost involved in providing the information requested for each of the last three years as we do not separately identify subsistence costs and travel costs for either UK or overseas travel.
Removal Costs
--The Radiocommunications Agency has spent the following amount on removal costs for its staff relocating as part of their employment: 1992 93: £64,439
1993 94: £55,338
1994 95 £104,038
You have asked for details of the three highest claims and the average amount of each claim in the last three years. There would be a disproportionate cost invovled in providing this information as we would have to consult each case for the last three years to total all expenses paid from each individual file and to ensure that cases did not start outside the three year period or started within the three year period but have yet to be completed.
I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful.
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Letter from R. D. Worswick to Mr. David Shaw, dated 11 April 1995:The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your questions about subsistence allowances and removal and associated expenses with respect to the Laboratory of the Government Chemist. Most of the information you requested is not readily available, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
We do not keep records which distinguish between the subsistence costs of any trip and the travel costs. We record the total of "travel and subsistence". The total "travel and subsistence" costs for the last three years is (in £k):
|1992-93|1993-94|1994-95
-------------------------------------------
Within UK |167 |156 |115
Outside UK |47 |72 |98
This expenditure is associated with fulfilling contracts for customers, attending scientific meetings and pursuing new areas of business.
Removal Allowances
The total amount of removal costs and associated expenses charged to the Laboratory of the Government Chemist are (£k):
1992 93: 18
1993 94: 6
1994 95: 6
I regret that it would require manual searches of records and would not be cost effective to provide further breakdown of these figures.
Letter from Seton Bennett to Mr. David Shaw, dated 26 April 1995:
The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory to your questions about subsistence allowances and removal costs.
(a) Subsistence allowances
The CSL Managed Services (formerly ASA) do not separately identify subsistence costs from travel costs, nor do they differentiate between UK and overseas travel and subsistence. However, I am able to provide composite figures for expenditure on all travel and subsistence for the last three years.
They are:--
1992 93: £55,126
1993 94: £66,098
1994 95: £46,529 (Provisional)
(b) Removal costs
This Agency has had no expenditure on removal costs in the last three years.
Letter from David Durham to Mr. David Shaw, dated 6 April 1995: You recently tabled two Parliamentary Questions requesting information about removal costs and associated expenses reimbursed to officials on relocation, and subsistence allowances for travel within and outside the United Kingdom. I have been asked to reply as Chief Executive of the Companies House Executive Agency.
As far as removal costs are concerned, this agency has not incurred any of these expenses. As regards subsistence allowances, I am afraid this information is not available except at
disproportionate costs. This is because we do not separately identify subsistence costs from travel costs when recording claims in our accounting system.
Manufacturing Firms
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of United Kingdom companies he now assesses to be world class. [20561]
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Mr. Eggar: A recent study by IBM and the London business school shows that the United Kingdom has a similar proportion to Germany of world- class manufacturing firms. Forty UK firms are in the Fortune 500 list of top global companies. In terms of profitability, 16 of the top 25 companies in Europe are UK-based.
Sellafield
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what application British Nuclear Fuels has made for a change of use in its site licence for Sellafield, as part of its decision to offer Nuclear Electric and Scottish Nuclear long-term storage contracts for spent nuclear fuel. [20398]
Mr. Page: None. No change is required to BNFL's Sellafield site licence to allow long term storage of spent fuel, although BNFL will be submitting a revised safety case to the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate which takes account of the new contracts.
Royal Mail
Mr. Wilson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy that the Royal Mail should be able to negotiate a single contract with all the train operating units or companies. [20647]
Mr. Page: Contracts for transport services are a commercial matter for the Post Office. I understand from the Post Office that all Royal Mail's external rail transport services are covered by contractual arrangements with Rail Express Systems.
Departmental Report
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much staff time, and at what estimated cost, was put into compiling the departmental annual report; and what were the figures for each year for which figures are available since 1990. [20175]
Mr. Heseltine: Drafting and editing of the departmental report is co -ordinated by a small editorial team, using information gathered from a wide variety of sources within the Department. It is not possible to quantify the time devoted by staff other than the editorial team to these activities.
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The table shows the estimated staff time and associated costs of the editorial team for each departmental report since 1991 92. These figures are published each year in MINIS. Figures are not available for the 1990 91 report, which predated MINIS, but are not expected to have been substantially different from 1991 92. Costs are expressed in 1994 95 prices.
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