| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
British Coal Enterprise
Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those companies that have prequalified as potential buyers for British Coal Enterprise. [3384]
Mr. Page [holding answer 30 November 1995]: The sale of British Coal Enterprise is a matter for British Coal. Details of the pre-qualifiers are commercially confidential and are not being released by British Coal, but I understand that there has been a very positive interest in purchasing BCE or its various activities.
Small Firms
Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions his Department has had with the British Standards Institution regarding a British standard for small firms. [3692]
4 Dec 1995 : Column: 50
Mr. Page: This Department has had no discussions with the British Standards Institution regarding a British standard for small firms. As I stated in my reply on 22 November 1995, Official Report, column 209, there are no plans to introduce a British standard for small firms.
Public Service Contracts
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what powers he has to intervene when there is evidence of anti-competitive activity by local authorities in the award of contracts for public services; [3778]
(2) how many councils have been investigated by the Office of Fair Trading for favouring their in-house supplier over external contractors bidding for work under CCT; and if he will list them. [3779]
Mr. John M. Taylor: Under legislation governing local authorities, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is responsible for investigating behaviour by local authorities in connection with compulsory competitive tendering for contracts for public services.
Cycle Imports
Mr. Simpson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many cycles were imported from (a) China and (b) south-east Asia as a whole in each of the last five years; what has been the allotted quota for each of these years; and by what month in the year the quota was exceeded. [2440]
Mr. Oppenheim: The figures for imports of bicycles from China and south-east Asia for 1990 to 1994 are given in table 1. There are no import quotas for bicycles. However, a "ceiling" on duty-free imports of bicycles into the EC under the previous generalised system of preferences scheme was introduced in 1991. When a ceiling was reached, full import duty could be reimposed at the request of a member state. Duty was reimposed on imports of bicycles from a number of countries in south-east Asia at various points--in some instances, at the request of the United Kingdom. Details of ceilings and duty reimpositions under the GSP scheme are provided in table 2. A revised EC GSP scheme introduced from 1 January this year contains no limits on the amount of a product that could be imported under it. Instead, a fixed rate of reduced duty is applied to sensitive products. In the case of bicycles this is set at 70 per cent. of the full duty.
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 101.0 | 141.9 | 127.6 | 7.7 | 12.5 |
| ASEAN | 121.6 | 136.3 | 412.5 | 318.2 | 395.2 |
| Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia | 119.0 | 125.1 | 361.1 | 300.2 | 387.2 |
| Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea (north and south) | 1,048.0 | 1,012.6 | 1,001.6 | 664.1 | 624.2 |
Note: ASEAN = Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines. Source: Her Majesty's Customs & Excise.
4 Dec 1995 : Column: 51
| Year | EC ceiling (ECUs) | Country | Ceiling reached(13) | Duty reimposed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 9,004,000 | China | 14 June | 10 September |
| 1992 | 9,454,000 | China | 27 March | 12 May |
| Indonesia | 21 August | 22 November | ||
| Thailand | 21 August | 22 November | ||
| 1993 | 9,454,000 | China | 8 February | 14 May |
| Indonesia | 6 August | 5 December | ||
| Malaysia | 6 August | 30 November | ||
| Thailand | 6 August | 5 December | ||
| South Korea | 1 December | |||
| 1994(14) | ||||
| January to June | 4,727,000 | Indonesia | 22 July | |
| Malaysia | 22 July | |||
| Thailand | 22 July | |||
| South Korea | 22 May | |||
| July to December | 4,727,000 | India | 17 November | |
| Malaysia | 9 November | |||
| Thailand | 1 December | |||
(13) The date on which the United Kingdom were notified that the
ceiling was reached.
(14) The GSP scheme was under review in 1994 and was operated as
two separate six monthly schemes in that year.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the latest assessment he has made of the probability of BSE entering the human food chain. [1993]
Mrs. Browning: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Sir G. Johnson Smith) on 28 November 1995, Official Report, columns 530-31.
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures are currently in place to prevent cattle infected with BSE from entering the food chain. [2668]
Mrs. Browning: The following measures are in place to prevent issue from cattle infected with BSE from entering the food chain:
- (i) BSE is a notifiable disease;
(ii) all cattle suspected to be suffering from BSE are killed and their carcases incinerated;
(iii) all cattle receive an ante mortem inspection at the slaughterhouse. Any that display signs of BSE are killed and the carcases incinerated; and
(iv) cattle which are incubating BSE but are not yet showing clinical signs cannot be identified. All cattle are therefore assumed to be potentially infected, and the tissue in which infectivity may be present are removed and cannot be used in human food or animal feed. The tissues are the so called specified bovine offals--brain, spinal cord, spleen and tonsils of cattle over six months of age and the thymus and intestines of all cattle.
4 Dec 1995 : Column: 52
my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Sir G. Johnson Smith) on 28 November, Official Report, columns 530- 531.
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers have been prosecuted to date for falsifying documents relating to BSE in cattle. [2670]
Mrs. Browning: Farmers' declarations that cattle have not resided on a holding in which a case of BSE has been confirmed during the previous six years, or that individual animals are less than two and a half years of age, are required for export purposes. They do not form part of our comprehensive system for the protection of the consumer in this country.
Responsibility for enforcement and prosecution in relation to these declarations rests with local authorities. Although the Department is often kept informed at local level, we do not keep central records of such prosecutions and information on total numbers could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Executive Agencies (Overseas Travel)
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list for each of his executive agencies for the last financial year in respect of overseas travel by agency staff (a) the costs of the travel, (b) the countries visited and (c) the posts held by the staff concerned. [2287]
Mr. Douglas Hogg: Responsibility for this matter is delegated to agency chief executives and I have asked them to reply to the hon. Member direct.
Letter from George Trevelyan to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:
4 Dec 1995 : Column: 53
4 Dec 1995 : Column: 54
Letter from Phillip Needham to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your question about overseas travel made by staff in this Agency for the last financial year as this matter is within my operational responsibility.
The total cost of overseas travel between 1 April 1994 to 31 March 1995 was £77,986.
Countries visited by Agency managers were Belgium, Denmark, Eire, France, Greece, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United States.
In all, 62 managers were involved with official business visits and a number of these visited several of the countries concerned over the year. These include the Agency's Finance Director, Chief Accountant, Finance Policy Adviser, Finance Group Managers, Finance Managers, the Head of Information Systems, Group Manager Business Systems, Group Manager IT Development, Information Systems Contracts and Procurement Manager, Computer Services Senior Accounts Manager, Internal Market Director, Head of Internal Market Operations, Internal Market Group Manager, Scheme Managers, Technical Services Managers, Deputy Technical Services Manager, Procurement Manager, Head of External Operations, Group Managers External Operations, External Operations Scheme Managers, Group Manager Anti-Fraud Unit and Anti-Fraud Unit Scrutineers.
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply on behalf of this Agency to your Parliamentary Question number 62. In this you sought details for this Agency, for the last financial year, for a) the cost of travel, b) the countries visited and c) the post held by the staff concerned in respect of overseas travel.(2287)
Letter from Johnston McNeill to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:
ADAS was formed as an Executive Agency in April 1992 and is jointly owned by MAFF and the Welsh Office. It undertakes a broad range of consultancy and R&D work for commercial customers as well as government.
In recent years, ADAS has been heavily involved in overseas work mostly in Central and Eastern Europe. The majority of work concentrates on consultancy to the emerging governments in matters related to re-structuring of agriculture and food production. Approximately £1.4 million of ADAS income derives from this source. The Agency incurs approximately £200,000 per annum in travelling expenses. These are relating to visits made by ADAS in order to secure future business, visits made to deliver consultancy services and visits to International conferences where these are required to update the professional knowledge of ADAS staff.
Letter from G. K. Bruce to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:
As Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), I have been asked to respond to your question regarding overseas travel with respect to this Agency.
As you may know, the MHS was established as an Executive Agency of MAFF on 1 April this year. Since that time there has been no overseas travel by any member of staff.
Letter from J. M. Rutter to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has asked me to reply, in respect of the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD), to your question about overseas travel.
During the 1994/95 financial year the cost of overseas travel undertaken by PSD staff totalled £42,339. Details of the countries visited and the posts held by the officers concerned could only be provided at disproportionate cost but the greater part of this expenditure relates to attendance at meetings in Brussels.
Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:
The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about the costs of overseas travel by staff of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, the countries visited, and the posts held by the staff concerned, as these are operational matters for which I am responsible.
The cost of overseas travel, including subsistence, in 1994/95 was £126,863.82. Full details of the countries visited and the posts held by the staff involved could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The main element of overseas travel however, was by immunological inspectors (Grade 7 equivalent) in the VMD, carrying out inspections of manufacturing premises for immunological veterinary medicines in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and in Europe, and by staff, mainly at Grade 7 level and above, attending meetings of scientific, Commission and Council working groups in Brussels. In both cases, all or part of the travel costs is recovered from the companies involved or from the Commission.
The Minister has asked me to reply to your question on overseas travel by staff in the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (known as the Central Veterinary Laboratory until 30 September 1995).
In the last financial year, overseas travel costs in the Central Veterinary Laboratory amounted to £40,008. Due to internal management restructuring we have only been tracking the costs from the beginning of this financial year and, consequently, are not able to provide any further breakdown. However, the posts held by staff and the countries visited will be varied as we consider overseas travel, for the purpose of attending conferences and presenting papers, an essential component of the scientific development of staff.
Letter from Professor P. I. Stanley to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 4 December 1995:
You asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to provide information for each of his executive agencies relating to overseas travel by agency staff in the last financial year. The Minister has asked me to reply to you in respect of his Central Science Laboratory (CSL) Agency as this is an operational matter for which I am responsible.
In 1994-95:
(a) The total cost of overseas travel was £175,779.
(b) Countries visited were: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA.
(c) The posts held by staff concerned were 109 scientific and 3 administrative. The main purpose of overseas travel was either to present scientific papers at conferences or to represent the UK in EU meetings.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |