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Mr. David Hart
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what circumstances Mr. David Hart is permitted to visit British defence manufacturers (a) as part of his duties as an independent adviser and (b) in an individual capacity; if he will list those firms which have been visited by Mr. Hart in the last 12 months; on which occasions his Department made the arrangements for these visits; who paid for the visits; and on what occasions the firms involved were given advance notice of the visit. [5933]
Mr. Portillo: During the last 12 months, Mr. David Hart visited British Aerospace and Loral in his capacity as the independent adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence. The visits were arranged by my officials; Mr. Hart paid for his own travel arrangements.
Air Marshal Sir John Walker
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what relationship Air Marshal Sir John Walker currently has with his Department; and if he will make a statement. [5992]
Mr. Soames: Air Marshal Sir John Walker retired from the RAF on 5 January 1995. Since that time, he has had no formal relationship with my Department.
Airspace Routes
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the criteria used to assess whether an advisory route class F airspace should be upgraded to an airway class A airspace; and if he will list all such advisory routes which have been so upgraded in the last five years. [5166]
Mr. Norris: I have been asked to reply.
The Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for airspace planning. I understand that the CAA would consider upgrading an advisory route, class F airspace, to an airway, class A airspace, if there were more than 10,000 air transport movements a year on that route. During the last five years, there have been no advisory routes upgraded to an airway.
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Connected Lender Liability
Mr. Matthew Banks: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the report on connected lender liability issued by the Director General of Fair Trading in May this year; and if he will make a statement. [6880]
Mr. John M. Taylor: We have given careful consideration to the arguments and recommendations in the report but are not at present persuaded by them. We will establish more fully the factual evidence bearing on the questions at issue, in particular on the associated costs and benefits for consumers, creditors and other industries. Therefore, my Department will shortly issue a consultation document and we shall consider responses to it before reaching final decisions.
Oil and Gas Licensing
Mr. Ainger: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those areas in Wales for which companies have expressed an interest in the seventh onshore oil and gas licensing round. [6163]
Mr. Page: We are unable at the present time to release details of the areas applied for in the seventh round as this information could give a competitive advantage to an applicant when deciding on a work programme. Details of the areas applied for will be made available once the work programmes are agreed. However, I can say that applications have been received for five blocks in Wales. None of the applications is for acreage within the watery areas around Wales.
Special Advisers
Mr. Bayley: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many special advisers are employed by his Department; and what is the total annual salary bill for these posts. [5290]
Mr. Lang: I have one special adviser. Salaries for special advisers are negotiated individually in relation to their previous earnings, and are confidential. They are, however, normally paid on a special advisers' salary spine of 34 points ranging from £19,503 to £67,609. Appointments are non-pensionable, and the salary spine reflects this.
Departmental Payments
Mr. Betts: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of bills to his Department were paid in accordance with agreed contractual conditions or, where no such contractual conditions existed, within 30 days of receiving goods and services or the presentation of a valid invoice in the last year for which figures are available. [5696]
Mr. John M. Taylor: A survey of the DTI's payment performance from December 1994 to October 1995 has just been completed. This has shown that, over the period, 93 per cent. of our bills were paid within 30 days or within the agreed credit period.
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Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Betts: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will provide forecasts for the current year and next five years of expenditure on schemes provided under the PFI. [5732]
Mr. John M. Taylor: Although my Department has a number of PFI projects under consideration, none has been finally agreed and no revenue forecasts have been made.
Mr. Betts: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will provide a breakdown of administration costs incurred to date and forecast for the future on PFI work. [5731]
Mr. Taylor: The private finance initiative within the DTI is one of the responsibilities of the MINIS-- management information system for Ministers--unit within the finance and resource management division of my Department. This unit is expected to cost £249,000 in 1995-96 and broadly similar amounts for future years.
Swan Hunter (Redundancy Payments)
Mr. Byers: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the total amounts paid to date by the redundancy payments section to former employees of the Swan Hunter shipyard, Tyneside in respect of (a) compensation for insolvent employers' failure to give proper statutory notice, (b) redundancy payments from the national insurance fund, (c) payments received through protective awards made by industrial tribunals and (d) refunds of notional tax deducted in the calculation of routine payments. [6143]
Mr. John M. Taylor: The information is as follows:
| Amount £ | |
|---|---|
| (a) Compensation for the employer's failure to give proper statutory notice | 2,759,178 |
| (b) Statutory redundancy payments | 7,236,025 |
| (c) Protective award payments | 1,968,607 |
| (d) Refunds of notional tax deductions | 75,692 |
The identity of the 20 largest purchasers of postmark advertising is commercially confidential. "The Health of the Nation" strategy is to encourage people to make healthy choices. It does not seek to discourage consumption of individual food products.
Postmark Advertising
Mr. Cousins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much net and gross income was derived from sales of postmark advertising in the last three years; if he will list the 20 largest purchases of postmark advertising over the last year; and if he will make it his policy that the Post Office should ban the advertising of products whose consumption is discouraged in "The Health of the Nation" targets. [4953]
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Mr. Oppenheim: I understand from the Post Office that income from postmark advertising in the last three years has been as follows:
| Year | £ |
|---|---|
| 1993-94 | 200,450 |
| 1994-95 | 138,680 |
| 1995-96(16) | 171,360 |
(16) To date.
Protective Clothing (Toxic Gas)
Mr. Cousins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade which headings of the export control order and the standard industrial trade classification cover (a) protective clothing for use against toxic chemical gas whether in an industrial or military setting and (b) equipment for the detection of toxic gas, and decontamination equipment for toxic gas; and in which years these products become licensable exports. [5476]
Mr. Oppenheim: Protective clothing for defence against chemical warfare agents and equipment for the detection of them are controlled in entry ML7 of the Export of Goods (Control) Order (EG(C)0) 1994. This entry has been in force since at least 1978, but to go back further would incur disproportionate cost. Industrial equipment for detecting toxic gas is covered in entry 2B351, which came into force on 31 December 1992 under the EG(C)0 1992. Since 1 July 1995, the control exists through the Dual Use and Related Goods (Export Control) Regulations 1995. In addition, the "End Use" control applies to otherwise unlicensable goods where chemical weapons use is known or suspected. Under the standard industrial trade classification the categorisation system is too broad to positively identify the type of equipment in this enquiry.
Miracle Products
Mr. Hain: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what resolutions were passed at recent meetings of the Council of Consumer Ministers relating to "miracle products"; if he will set out the terms of all resolutions; if he will make a statement on the definition of the term "miracle product"; and if he will make a statement. [6121]
Mr. John M. Taylor: At its meeting on 9 November 1995, the EU Consumer Council of Ministers adopted a resolution on products presented as being beneficial to health, commonly referred to as "miracle products".
The resolution asks the Commission, in close co-operation with the member states, to describe the current situation regarding:
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or cure diseases or complaints or adjust bodily functions or mental state, but where there is generally no scientific evidence to substantiate such claims or properties.
"Miracle products" are those products, other than officially registered medicinal products, presented as having properties which prevent, diagnose, treat, alleviate
the practice in the trade of miracle products in the member states
the functioning, at Community and national level, of existing mechanisms regarding the protection of consumers against these practices and to submit its findings to the Council by 1 November 1996 at the latest.
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