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Structural Funds
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide details of the distribution of EU objective 3 structural funding in Scotland in respect of (a) 1994 and (b) 1995 to date. [239]
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 21 November 1995]: The amount claimed for 1994 by Scottish-based applicants is £46.3 million. This excludes a small amount of grant claimed for Scottish projects run by applicants based elsewhere in Great Britain.
For 1995, £45.3 million has so far been committed to Scottish projects. A further £1 million will be committed before the end of the calendar year.
Distribution of objective 3 moneys within Scotland, by area or agency, is not yet available.
Mr. Kennedy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to announce his conclusions on the review of Highlands and Islands airports; if he intends to publish the consultants' report; and if he will make a statement. [226]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
[holding answer 21 November 1995]: The report by Quayle Munro has not yet been received and no conclusions have been reached.
No decision has been made on whether the report will be published.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how his Department publicises payment practices other than as percentages of invoices paid late. [965]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
The Department's payment practices are publicised in the departmental report and the guide to suppliers wishing to do business
22 Nov 1995 : Column: 169
with the Scottish Office--"Selling to The Scottish Office". The Department's standard terms and conditions of contract give details of payment terms and what action should be taken by suppliers on late payment of invoices. The booklet and standard terms and conditions are available on request.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average length of time it takes for his Department to pay invoices. [923]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
In 1994-95 the Scottish Office paid suppliers on average 10 days from receipt of a valid invoice or the goods or services, whichever was the later.
This was the result of pursuing three objectives:
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he holds on the impact of dredging policy and building on low-lying land on both sides of the Clyde on the likelihood of flooding; and if he will make that information available. [1225]
Mr. Kynoch:
Developments on low-lying land adjacent to rivers face an inherent risk of flooding, however small. The assessment of this risk is primarily for developers and owners and a national planning policy guideline, planning and flooding, has been published to ensure that this is fully taken into account in the planning process. Strathclyde regional council, and the port authority jointly commissioned a study in 1988 of the possible effects of dredging operations reducing in line with the needs of the port. This concluded that this would have little effect on the risk of fluvial or tidal flooding but might lead to operational concerns for sewerage systems.
Mr. Simon Coombs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the state of the tourism industry in Scotland. [770]
Mr. Kynoch:
Tourism is a major contributor to the Scottish economy. My right hon. Friend has made clear his commitment to the industry. I am pleased to say that all the signs are that the industry has done well in 1995. In the first seven months alone, tourism trips to Scotland from within the United Kingdom were up by 24 per cent. over the same period last year, bednights up 32 per cent. and spend up by 15 per cent. Overseas trips to the UK as a whole also rose substantially and I expect Scotland to show a similar position. This success is underpinned by substantial Scottish Office support for tourism, through the Scottish tourist board and the enterprise agencies. We intend to continue to support the industry in its efforts to become still more competitive.
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Mr. Stewart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on what basis he will determine the allocation of borrowing consents to the new unitary authorities in 1996-97 and 1997-98; and if he will make a statement. [778]
Mr. Kynoch:
On the basis of relative needs and inherited legal commitments.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all those in his Department who have authority to issue public interest immunity certificates; how many such certificates have been issued in each of the last five years; and what were the main reasons for them. [1432]
Mr. Soames:
Ministers alone sign public interest immunity certificates in this Department. Since April 1992 the total number of PII certificates signed remains as stated in my answer of 16 October 1995 to the hon. Member for Clwyd, South-West (Mr. Jones), Official Report, columns 27-28. In the event, not all the certificates have been used. They cover a number of individual subjects, including the screening of certain members of the armed forces from the public at various criminal or civil proceedings and the protection of certain information from disclosure.
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the extramural contractors to the chemical and biological defence establishment, Porton Down, have agreed to allow disclosure of their contractual relationship with CBDE, in line with CBDE's open government initiative. [1593]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive, DERA, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 22 November 1995:
Mr. Arbuthnot:
This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive, DERA, to write to the hon. Member.
22 Nov 1995 : Column: 171
Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 22 November 1995:
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department publicises payment practices other than as percentages of invoices paid late. [950]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
The payment of the vast majority of the Department's bills and those of its agencies is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Accounts Agency. The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency is responsible for paying its own bills. I have asked the chief executives of these agencies to reply.
Letter from P. J. Trevelyan to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 22 November 1995:
22 Nov 1995 : Column: 172
Mr. Arbuthnot:
The payment of the vast majority of the Department's bills and those of its agencies is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Accounts Agency. The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency is responsible for paying its own bills. I have asked the chief executives of these agencies to reply.
Letter from P. J. Trevelyan to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 22 November 1995:
You asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average length of time it takes for his Department to pay invoices. This matter falls to me, as Chief Executive of the Defence Accounts Agency for reply. This statistic is not recorded locally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
1. The aim of paying all suppliers within the period stipulated by the contract--normally, but not always, 30 days. This objective was met on 96 per cent. of payments in 1994-95.
2. The desirability of taking advantage of early settlement discounts where this makes good business sense.
3. The need to batch together payments covering several invoices in order to minimise the administrative costs of making payments.
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what specific measures have been implemented by the chemical and biological defence establishment to make it more open about its current activities. [1594]
Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking how many extramural contractors have agreed to allow disclosure of their contractual relationship with the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which includes CBDE as one of its divisions.
Forty four of our extramural contractors have agreed to their contractual relationship with CBDE being disclosed to the public. They include university departments and industrial companies.
I hope this information is helpful.
Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking what specific measures have been implemented by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment to make it more open about its current activities has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which includes CBDE as one of its divisions.
CBDE places a high degree of importance on publicising the work it carries out to protect the UK Armed Forces from the threat presented by chemical and biological weapons. The staff at CBDE have always published the results of their work in technical journals and represented CBDE at scientific conferences. While it was an autonomous Next Steps Agency CBDE also provided four full Annual Reports and Accounts detailing its activities. These will continue in future under the auspices of DERA. In addition CBDE encourages visits from all interested parties and has welcomed members of parliament and representatives from local and district councils, schools, universities and the local and national media.
I hope this information is helpful.
Letter from John Chisholm to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 22 November 1995:
You asked the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department publicises payment practices other than as percentages of invoices paid late. As Chief Executive of the Defence Accounts Agency I have been asked to reply.
All new MOD contractors receive a 'Prompt Payment Guide' and billing timetable from the Liverpool payment office. This booklet provides guidance on MOD payment procedures to help contractors submit bills correctly and therefore receive prompt payment. Contractors are invited to submit bills fortnightly in accordance with the timetable. Information about payment arrangements over Christmas and Easter is printed on the remittance advice notes which detail payments made. Details of payment schedules are also published widely throughout MOD.
Because the MOD payment targets are key targets for the Defence Accounts Agency they are published in the Agency's Corporate Plan. Performance against the targets is published in the Agency's Annual Report and the House of Commons Official Report. The agreed target for financial year 1995/96 is to pay 97% of bills within 11 days of receipt at Liverpool, and all within 30 days. Currently the 11 day target is being achieved, and 99.99% is being achieved for the 30 day target.
You asked the Secretary of State for Defence how his Department publicises payment practices other than as percentages of invoices paid. I am replying for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency.
Details of payment practices are included in the terms and conditions of contracts sent to suppliers. Additionally we are preparing a new booklet, to be published shortly, that is intended to assist companies in doing business with DERA. This will include a section on our bill paying policies.
I hope this is helpful.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average length of time it takes for his Department to pay invoices. [935]
Letter from John Chisholm to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 22 November 1995:
The statistics which are readily available to the Liverpool payment office go back two and a half years. During this time 99.99% of bills have been paid within 30 days of presentation of a valid invoice. The Liverpool payment office also measures its performance against a higher departmental standard of payment within 11 days of receipt of a valid invoice. It achieved its 1993/94 target of 96%, and its 1994/95 target of 97%. It has also achieved its 1995/96 target of 97% so far this financial year.
Some low value bills are paid locally throughout MOD, but information about these is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
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