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European Court Decisions
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to the reply of the Attorney-General of 30 October, Official Report, column 12 relating to decisions of the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, if he will list those European Court decisions relating to responsibilities of his Department over the past two years; and if he will further indicate the estimated annual cost to public funds of each decision. [41206]
Mr. Lang [holding answer 2 November 1995]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him today by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Boothferry (Mr. Davis).
BCCI
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last met the liquidators of BCCI to discuss progress with the liquidation. [41288]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 3 November 1995]: My officials last met the joint liquidators on 31 March 1995.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many creditors reports have been published by the liquidators of BCCI. [41289]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 3 November 1995]: Three annual reports to the Secretary of State made under regulation 14 of the Insolvency Regulations 1994 have been made available to the creditors of BCCI. In addition, the joint liquidators have reported to the creditors on specific issues as they have arisen in the liquidation.
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Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outstanding settlement issues in the BCCI liquidation. [41290]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 3 November 1995]: No. These are matters for the joint liquidators.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much creditors' money is currently held by the liquidators of BCCI. [41291]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 3 November 1995]: The joint liquidators are holding funds of £415 million. Additional sums have been recovered and are held in pool realisation accounts on behalf of the pooled liquidation. Sums held in these accounts currently amount to $694 million.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much money has been recovered by the liquidators of BCCI since the liquidation commenced. [41292]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 3 November 1995]: The joint liquidators had recovered £694 million since their appointment. In addition, $694 million has been recovered directly into pooled realisation accounts by the liquidators of the pooled liquidation.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much money has been received by the liquidators of BCCI from (a) the USA settlements (b) other parties and (c) the sale of First American bank. [41291]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 3 November 1995]: The pooled liquidations have received $487 million in respect of American settlements. The liquidators of the pooled liquidations have not yet received any funds from the sale of the First American bank.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the total of fees taken by the liquidators of BCCI, Touche Ross, in respect of the liquidation (a) in dollars, (b) in £ sterling. [41295]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 3 November 1995]: Total authorised fees drawn by the joint liquidators to 15 October 1995 amount to £116 million.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the total fees taken by the solicitors acting for the liquidators of BCCI Messrs Lovell White Durrant in respect of the liquidation (a) in dollars and (b) £ sterling. [41296]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 3 November 1995]: Legal fees paid to Messrs Lovell White Durrant and other solicitors by the joint liquidators amount to approximately £50 million.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he now expects the creditors of BCCI to receive their first compensation payment. [41297]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 3 November 1995]: The joint liquidators have advised my officials that the timing and amount of any distribution to creditors is dependent on the determination of the appeal currently before the Court in Luxembourg.
Felixstowe-Zeebrugge Ferry Service
Mr. David Porter: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when his Department was first informed of the
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closure of the P and O ferry service from Felixstowe to Zeebrugge; what steps his officials took to assess the impact of the closure on the economy of Suffolk; and if he will now make a statement. [41082]Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 6 November 1995]: My Department was first made aware of the closure of the Felixstowe to Zeebrugge ferry service on 27 September. While regrettable, the closure of the service is a commercial matter for the company. The Government office for eastern region monitors the state of the economy in Suffolk but no separate assessment has been made of the impact of the closure of the ferry service.
Felixstowe is this country's largest container port. It is expanding and only two weeks ago exceeded its own container handling records. I have no plans to make a statement.
Post Office Closures
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to prevent post office closures in rural areas. [41687]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 6 November 1995]: The commercial prospects of the network of post offices have already been much enhanced by Government initiatives on automation, and on freedom to take on new business. We will continue to work with the Post Office to make sure that the benefits of these initiatives are captured.
Rom Data Corporation
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 2 March, Official Report , column 719 , if his Department was aware of the previous business and bankruptcy record of directors of Rom Data Corporation in Cornwall before making grants to the Company in (a ) 1991 92 and (b) 1994. [34648]
Mr. Lang [pursuant to his reply, 19 July 1995, c. 1562]: The Department has now conducted its own investigation into the circumstances of the regional selective assistance grant made to the Rom Data Corporation and has passed the relevant information to the SFO, which has agreed to investigate the matter further. In addition, the Department's internal inquiries to date suggest that the background to the directors of the Rom Data Corporation may not have been investigated at the time that the decision was made to make the grant in 1991, in which case the replies given by my hon. Friends on 2 March 1995, column 719 and 19 July 1995, columns 1561 62 may not be correct. As soon as these inquiries have been completed, I will report further.
SCOTLAND
Toll Exemptions
Mr. Macdonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the exemptions for which vehicles displaying disabled orange badges are eligible on the (a) Tay bridge (b) Erskine bridge (c) Forth road bridge and (d) Skye bridge. [40141]
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Disabled persons who display orange badges on their vehicles to officers at the Tay, Erskine and Forth road bridge toll booths and complete the appropriate form are exempt from tolls. The procedure applies for each trip across these bridges. Disabled drivers who are exempt from payment of vehicle excise duty are exempt from tolls on Skye bridge. Other users of Skye bridge can buy a book of 10 tickets and can cross at £2.44 for each journey. This is less than the 50 per cent. fare reduction
provision--£2.70--offered by the ferry operators, Caledonian MacBrayne, for vehicles displaying an orange badge whose drivers can produce documentary proof of their disability. The exemption arrangements were put before the public local inquiry which considered the Skye bridge toll arrangements and no objections were received. However, I have written to the chairman of Skye Bridge Ltd. in order to discuss the exemption arrangements.
Caledonian MacBrayne
Mr. Macdonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the annual revenue earned by Caledonian MacBrayne from carriage of commercial goods vehicles on all routes to and from the Western Isles in (a) 1980, (b) 1985, (c) 1990 and (d) 1995 at 1995 values. [40140]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is set out in the table:
|RPI adjusted (base
Year |Revenue |December 1994)
|£000 |£000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |1,190 |2,582
1985 |1,530 |2,341
1990 |2,193 |2,527
1994-95 |2,566 |2,566
Sporting Venues (Security)
Mr. McFall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration has been given to the establishment of an inspectorate for sport to lay down basic rules for security and safety at sporting venues following the death of boxer, James Murray. [41129]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: There are a number of provisions in place to deal with security and safety at sporting venues in Scotland, including powers under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 and the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980. There are no plans to adjust these provisions or to establish an inspectorate for sport. Medical safeguards for boxing are matters for the British Boxing Board of Control and have recently been the subject of a review.
Temporary and Part-time Staff
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff are currently employed in his Department and in related agencies on (a) temporary or casual employment contracts and (b) part-time employment contracts, given as an actual figure and as
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a proportion of the total workforce; and what were the corresponding figures for five years ago. [41116]Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Breakdowns by department and executive agency for 1 April 1995 of the number of permanent staff, the number of casual staff--normally those engaged for a period of up to 12 months, but, exceptionally, up to two years--and of the number of part-time staff are presented in the civil service staff in post summary table for 1 April 1995, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Estimates on a comparable basis for 1 April 1990 have also been placed in the Library of the House.
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Farm Woodland Premium Schemes
Mr. Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost to public funds of the farm woodland premium schemes in the years ended March 1993, 1994 and 1995; and what is the projected cost for each of the next two years. [40882]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: Expenditure in Scotland on annual payments to farmers participating in the farm woodland scheme and farm woodland premium scheme in each of the last three financial years, estimated expenditure for the current year and the existing PES provision for next year, are shown in the table.
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£ Thousand
|Current |Existing PES
Actual estimate provision
expenditure
|1992-93 |1993-94 |1994-95 |1995-96 |1996-97
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Farm woodland scheme (closed to new applicants
31 March 1992) |446 |461 |414 |470 |470
Farm woodland premium scheme (opened 1 April
1992) |14 |485 |1,089 |1,650 |2,200
Total |460 |946 |1,503 |2,120 |2,670
Official Inquiries
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all the official inquiries the Lord Advocate's Department has undertaken over the last five years indicating the dates they were initiated and the dates when findings were released to the public. [41454]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The Lord Advocate's Department has not undertaken any official inquiries in the last five years. On 14 September 1992, W. A. Nimmo Smith QC and J. D. Friel, regional procurator fiscal of north Strathclyde, were invited by the Lord Advocate to undertake an inquiry into an allegation of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in Scotland. Their report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 26 January 1993.
Forests
Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what financial aid he intends to provide to rural local councils to maintain public access to forests. [41705]
Mr. Kynoch: The Government appreciate the value of our forests for access and recreation, and we have taken steps to strengthen the arrangements for making agreements to maintain public access to forests which are sold by the Forestry Commission. The commission will meet the local authorities' legal costs in drawing up these agreements.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the mean (a) tier one payment and (b) tier two payment for each environmentally sensitive area in Scotland. [41701]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: The information is set out in the table.
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£
|Mean tier 1 |Mean tier 2
|payment during|payment during
|1994-95 |1994-95
------------------------------------------------------------------
Breadalbane |1,602 |3,735
Loch Lomond |1,469 |1,369
Stewartry |1,120 |4,431
Central Borders |1,200 |3,500
Machair of the Uists
and Benbecula, Barra
and Vatersay |323 |975
Central Southern
Uplands |952 |4,235
Western Southern
Uplands |912 |5,305
Cairngorms Straths |1,722 |3,899
Argyll Islands |1,099 |0
Shetland Islands |601 |1,570
Mrs. Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total payment for each environmentally sensitive area in Scotland for the past two fiscal years. [41703]
Mr. Robertson: The information is set out in the table.
|£ |£
|1993-94 |1994-95
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Breadalbane |154,000 |229,000
Loch Lomond |77,000 |77,000
Machair of the Uists
and Benbecula,
Barra and Vatersay |215,000 |109,000
Stewartry |453,000 |335,000
Central Borders (formerly known as
Whitlaw/Eildon) |50,000 |36,000
Central Southern Uplands |11,000 |150,000
Western Southern Uplands |3,000 |59,000
Cairngorms Straths |- |17,000
Argyll Islands |- |24,000
Shetland Islands |- |8,000
Total |963,000 |1,044,000
Mrs. Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many units in each environmentally sensitive area were entered under tier one only in Scotland.
Mr. Robertson: The total number of agreements under the Scottish environmentally sensitive area scheme is 930: the numbers containing tier one requirements only are set out in the table below:
|Number<1>
---------------------------------------------
Central Southern Uplands |34
Western Southern Uplands |14
Stewartry |4
Argyll Islands |1
<1> As at 3 November 1995.
Decommissioning
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of applications for fishing vessel decommissioning in the most recent decommissioning round received from each port of registration in Scotland from which applications were received; and what was the number of successful applications in each case. [41261]
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 6 November 1995]: The table lists by port the number of decommissioning applications received in Scotland under the third round of the scheme, and the number of successful applications in each case:-
|Number of |Number of
|applications|successful
Port |received |applications
----------------------------------------------------
Aberdeen |2 |2
Arbroath |4 |4
Ayr |7 |7
Buckie |2 |0
Campbeltown |3 |1
Eyemouth |3 |1
Fraserburgh |6 |5
Kirkwall |3 |2
Lerwick |5 |0
Lossiemouth |3 |2
Mallaig |4 |3
Macduff |2 |0
Oban |1 |1
Peterhead |5 |4
Pittenweem |1 |0
Stornoway |10 |10
Total |61 |42
Rules and Regulations
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the rules and regulations he proposes to repeal or amend by means of reference to the Deregulation Committee before the end of 1995; and if he will make a statement. [41539]
Mr. Kynoch [holding answer 6 November 1995]: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given earlier by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
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Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the estimated saving to the Exchequer by the repeal of each rule and regulation which has so far been the subject of a reference to the Deregulation Committee from his Department; and in how many cases a compliance cost assessment has been carried out. [41540]
Mr. Kynoch [holding answer 6 November 1995]: My Department has an interest in two of the draft deregulation proposals laid to date. The explanatory document which is presented to the Committee alongside each draft order contains an assessment of the benefits, including any cost savings, to business and to any other persons whom the draft order is intended to benefit.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what regulations his Department proposes to repeal by the end of 1995; if he proposes to conduct a compliance cost assessment on each regulation repealed; and what is the estimated cost of undertaking a compliance cost assessment to assess the advantages or disadvantages of such a repeal. [41558]
Mr. Kynoch [holding answer 6 November 1995]: The Scottish Office is currently taking forward the review or repeal of legislation in areas as diverse as the sale of farmed salmon roe, social work, slaughterhouses and town and country planning. The requirement to carry out a compliance cost assessment applies to regulations which impose additional burdens on business while the programme of repeals and amendments is concerned with reducing the burden.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Archaeological Sites
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the archaeological sites that have been revealed as (a) crop marks and (b) parch marks in field as a result of aerial photography during the last 12 months. [40006]
Mr. Sproat: Archaeological aerial photography is carried out in England by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, supported by regional aerial archaeologists assisted by RCHME grants. I am pleased to say that advantage was taken of the recent exceptional drought and additional funds were made available to survey Stonehenge and other nationally important areas. However, it is not the RCHME's practice to distinguish between buried archaeological sites displayed in cereal and other arable plants, knows as, "crop marks", and those presenting themselves under conditions of exceptional drought in grass, known as "parch marks". For the purposes of recording and interpretation, parch marks are regarded as a specialised sub-category of crop mark. A list of photographs showing crop marks is not available in an abbreviated form, although details and copies of all photographs funded by grants are readily available for consultation at the RCHME's headquarters in Swindon.
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Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list by type of project (a) how many schemes have been approved to date under the private finance initiative, (b) what is the value of those schemes and (c) what public sector contribution will be required both initially and as a revenue support during the lifetime of the schemes. [41743]
Mr. Sproat: In the Department of National Heritage, which includes its two agencies, five projects have been approved to date: (i) Royal Armouries project (Historic Royal Palaces Agency; (ii) Hampton Court catering (Historic Royal Palaces Agency); (iii) Dell Restaurant (Royal Parks Agency);
(iv) Lido, Hyde Park (Royal Parks Agency);
(v) Car Parking, Regents Park and Hyde Park (Royal Parks Agency).
In the bodies sponsored by the Department, one project has so far been approved, for computer equipment for the British Library. The total value of these projects is:
(i) Royal Armouries: £42.7 million
(ii) Hampton Court: £1.3 million
(iii) Dell Restaurant, Regents Park £0.8 million
(iv) Lido, Hyde Park: £0.5 million
(v) Car parking, Regents Park and Hyde Park: £0.1 million; and, (vi) British Library computer equipment: £0.55 million. The initial and continuing public sector contributions are:
|Initial £ million |Continuing
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Royal Armouries |1.5 |£18.5 million over
|the five years
|1993-98
(ii) Hampton Court |0.3<1> (1995-96) |+ £0.17 million to
catering |date
(iii) Dell Restaurant, |0.14 |Small positive
Regents Park |annual return
|expected.
(iv) Lido, Hyde Park |0.3 |Small positive
|annual return
|expected.
(v) Car Parking, |None |+£0.275 million to
Regents Park and |date (1995-96)
Hyde Park
(vi) British Library |None |None
computer equipment
<1> Positive figures indicate that projects generate income, and require no
continuing revenue support.
Ministerial Transport
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what has been the cost of ministerial transport in each of the past five years; what allowance has been paid to Ministers who use their own vehicles; and what has been the cost in each of the past five years. [40736]
Mr. Sproat: The Department of National Heritage was established in 1992 and figures are not therefore available
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before the 1992 93 financial year. The cost of ministerial use of the Government car service in the years for which information is available is as follows:£ thousands
1992 93: 167.2
1993 94: 192.7
1994 95: 151.3
Figure includes cost attributable to Permanent Secretary's office.
No allowance has been paid to Ministers who use their own vehicles.
Stonehenge
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what success she had had in carrying out the pledges made by the Government in respect of the protection, conservation, presentation and rehabilitation of the world heritage site at Stonehenge; and if she will make a statement. [40005]
Mr. Sproat: Stonehenge, with its surrounding landscape, is one of the most important of Europe's pre-historic monuments. Its significance is recognised by its designation as a world heritage site. The Government fully support the efforts of English Heritage and the National Trust to improve the setting of the stones and provide better facilities for visitors. The possible re-routing of the A303 trunk road is a key factor in any plans for improving the Stonehenge landscape. Discussions have taken place between the Department of Transport, the Ministry of Defence, English Heritage, and my Department; and the Highways Agency will be holding a planning conference in early November for public discussion of route options.
Special Adviser
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the job description of her special adviser Mr. John Bercow; how many other applicants applied for the post; what is his salary and length of service contract; and if she will make a
statement. [39517]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: With the approval of the Prime Minister, and after interviewing a number of candidates, I appointed Mr. Bercow personally as my special adviser. For special advisers' roles and salary arrangements, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to the hon. Member for Paisley, South (Mr. McMaster) on 28 February 1995, at columns 484 85 . The appointments of special advisers terminate in the circumstances set out in the model appointment letter for special advisers. A copy is in the Library.
Public Libraries
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, further to her Department's press release, "Public Libraries in the 1990s," if she will list all the lottery awards made to public libraries to date. [38746]
Mr. Sproat: There have been five awards made to public libraries to date. The awards are as follows:
Distributing Body |Date |Recipient |Region |Amount £
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arts Council of Wales |24 March 1995 |The Cardiff Old Library Trust |Cardiff |2,000,000
Arts Council of Wales |17 July 1995 |Clwyd Library and Information |Mold |6,000
|Service
Scottish Arts Council |1 September 1995 |Scottish Poetry Library |Edinburgh |506,301
The National Heritage Memorial Fund |19 September 1995 |Tameside Central Library |Ashton-Under-Lyne |1,400,000
The Arts Council of England |21 September 1995 |Bradford Central Lending Library|Bradford |58.310
In addition, the Ruskin library at the university of Lancaster has been awarded a grant of £2,314,259 to provide a new home for the world's greatest collection of the works of John Ruskin, the 19th century social reformer and critic. Though the library is not, in essence, a public lending library, the award will make the collection easily accessible to the general public for the first time.In addition, the Ruskin library at the university of Lancaster has been awarded a grant of £2,314,259 to provide a new home for the world's greatest collection of the works of John Ruskin, the 19th-century social reformer and critic. Though the library is not, in essence, a public lending library, the award will make the collection easily accessible to the general public for the first time.
Mr. Chris Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the number of functioning public libraries in England annually since 1979. [41718]
Mr. Sproat [holding answer 6 November 1995]: Such information is contained in the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's "Public Library Statistics", copies of which are held in the House Library. The latest actual information is for 1993 94, but estimates are available for 1994 95.
Television Cabling
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the percentage of the land area of each county in England which is (a) cabled and (b) currently being cabled. [41672]
Mr. Sproat: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will give powers to the Independent Television Commission to alter and amend the boundaries of a local delivery area proposed by a cable franchise applicant so as not to exclude sizeable towns and adjacent settlements. [41674]
Mr. Sproat: The Broadcasting Act 1990 gives the ITC powers to determine the areas to be covered by local delivery licences and to alter those areas when licences come up for renewal.
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