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Departmental Property
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the annual cost to his Department and his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies of their empty and under-utilised properties for (a) 1979-80, (b) 1989-90, (c) 1991-92, (d) 1993-94, (e) 1994-95, (f) 1995-96 and (g) 1996-97. [11435]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is providing figures for vacant space on the common user estate. These
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figures cover most of my Department's properties. This reply supplements the central response by supplying information covering properties classed as departmental estate for which my Department, including its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, currently has direct responsibility.
The cost of vacant property on the departmental estate for which my Department was responsible in 1995-96 is expected to be £215,000. Figures for empty property prior to 1995-96 are available only at disproportionate cost.
Responsibility for the remainder of the civil estate occupied by my Department will transfer to my Department from the Department of the Environment on 1 April 1996. The transfer is expected to increase the cost of vacant property for which my Department is responsible by £1,200,000 for 1996-97.
The annual cost of under-utilised property in my Department can be estimated only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Byers:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what level of export credit guarantees extended to companies in or the Government of Nigeria has been claimed by United Kingdom companies; and what is the estimated cost to the taxpayer. [9822]
Mr. Oppenheim
[holding answer 16 January 1996]: As at 31 December, 1995 the Export Credits Guarantee Department had paid claims on Nigeria of £1,840 million which were yet to be recovered, the ECGD's records are not held in a way that enables it to arrive at a cumulative total of all claims which it has ever paid on Nigeria.
Such claims paid by the ECGD on its trading operations do not represent a direct charge against public expenditure, although to the extent payments by the ECGD in any one year exceed receipts there is a corresponding increase in the PSBR.
Mr. Robin Cook:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has (a) read, collated or received and (b) authorised civil servants or any other persons to read,
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collate or receive copies of draft sections of Sir Richard Scott's report circulated by Sir Richard Scott to Ministers, civil servants and other persons. [10224]
Mr. Lang
[holding answer 18 January 1996]: The handling of extracts of Sir Richard's draft report, subject to guidance received from the inquiry, is for those to whom they are sent. The Government do not disclose details of correspondence between the inquiry and individual witnesses.
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will estimate the amount paid under Export Credits Guarantee Department guarantees since 1980 in relation to trade with (a) Jordan and (b) Saudi Arabia; if he will give the amount paid to banks under buyer credit and line of credit facilities, the amount paid directly to exporters under short-term or supplier credit facilities and the amount subsequently recovered; and if he will estimate the proportion of each figure paid in respect of (i) the export of military and related equipment and (ii) the export of military and related equipment where the end user has been assessed to have been Iraq. [11251]
Mr. Nelson
[holding answer 24 January 1996]: As at the end of December 1995, the total amount of claims paid and recoveries made since 1980 under ECGD guarantees in relation to trade with Jordan and Saudi Arabia was as follows:
| Claims Paid | Recoveries | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buyers credit and lines of credit | Short term and supplier credit | Buyer credit and lines of credit | Short term and supplier credit | |
| Jordan | 273 | 14 | 38 | 14 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | 63 | 0 | 26 |
The ECGD estimates that approximately 85 per cent. of the claims paid on Jordan in respect of project and capital goods were in respect of military and related equipment. The ECGD does not maintain its records in a way which enables it to categorise its short-term business by industry sector.
The ECGD has no record of cases where the end user was in Iraq.
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the total principal value of payments by the Export Credits Guarantee Department to the Midland bank since 1980 in respect of trade with Saudi Arabia by (a) Astra Holdings and its subsidiaries, (b) British Aerospace and its subsidiaries, (c) Royal Ordnance and its subsidiaries, (d) Vickers and its subsidiaries, (e) Racal and its subsidiaries, (f) Plessey and its subsidiaries and (g) Thorn EMI and its subsidiaries. [11308]
Mr. Nelson
[holding answer 24 January 1996]: The ECGD has no record of payments to Midland bank since 1980 in respect of capital goods and project business with Saudi Arabia by any of the named companies. In the case
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of its now privatised short-term business the ECGD maintains no record of the supplier in cases where it has paid claims to banks.
Mrs. Jane Kennedy:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the percentage change in each year since 1990 in (a) the volume of manufactured exports and (b) the volume of manufactured imports; and in each year, what proportion of imports consisted of (i) capital and intermediate goods and (ii) consumer goods. [11900]
Mr. Oppenheim
[holding answer 25 January 1996]: The information is given in the two tables:
| Exports | Imports | |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1.0 | -7.0 |
| 1992 | 2.0 | 7.5 |
| 1993 | -1.0 | 2.0 |
| 1994 | 13.7 | 8.8 |
(19) Changes in the indices of trade in 1990 prices.
| Capital and intermediate goods | Consumer goods | |
|---|---|---|
| Per cent. | Per cent. | |
| 1990 | 30.3 | 18.4 |
| 1991 | 31.0 | 17.2 |
| 1992 | 32.0 | 18.1 |
| 1993 | 33.2 | 18.7 |
| 1994 | 34.5 | 18.5 |
Notes:
(20) Proportions derived from imports in current prices.
Source:
Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, CSO.
Stamp Prices
Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consultations his Department had with the Treasury prior to the 1995 Budget announcement regarding the impact on small and medium enterprises of a rise in the price of stamps. [11957]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 29 January 1996]: My Department had discussions with the Treasury on a range of issues in determining the financial targets which were set for the Post Office in the 1995 Budget. These did not specifically include the impact on SMEs of an increase in letter tariffs, as it is for the Post Office to assess the detailed impact of such changes on its customers which will depend primarily on the nature of their business. Letter tariff rates were last increased on 1 November 1993 and the Post Office has undertaken to maintain these rates until at least 31 March 1996, the longest period of stability since the late 1960s.
Business Links
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the members of each business links board. [11961]
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Mr. Page
[holding answer 29 January 1996]: The information requested is not available. It could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what requirements are placed on business links to publish their membership; [11958]
(3) in what form the membership of the boards of business links is published. [11949]
Mr. Page
[holding answers 29 January 1996]: Business link proposals to be considered by the business link national assessment panel have details of board membership, giving names and company details, where known. Business links inform training and enterprise councils in their area of business link board membership. Although there are no formal requirements to publish their membership, most business links are required to register board membership with Companies House as private limited companies by guarantee.
(2) what requirement there is on business links to ensure that members of their boards include those working in firms with (a) under 50 employees, (b) 20 employees, and (c) 10 employees; [11960]
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