| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Food and Drink Industry
Dr. Strang: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what was the contribution of food and drink wholesale and retail distribution to the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom in 1995 (a) in cash and (b) as a percentage of gross domestic product; [15327]
- (2) what was the contribution of the food and drink industry in total to the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom in 1995 (a) in cash and (b) as a percentage of gross domestic product; [15325]
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 74
(3) what was the contribution of catering to the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom in 1995 (a) in cash and (b) as a percentage of gross domestic product. [15328]
Mr. Oppenheim:
The detailed information required to answer these questions is compiled only every five years. Latest available information is for 1990 and is published in the United Kingdom national accounts Central Statistical Office methodological paper No.1
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 75
"The measurement of output in the estimation of GDP", which is available in the Library of the House. Data for 1995 are not expected to be available before 1998.
Dr. Strang:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the contribution of food and drink manufacturing to the gross domestic product of the United kingdom in 1995 (a) in cash and (b) as a percentage of gross domestic product. [15326]
Mr. Oppenheim:
The latest available information is for 1994 and shows the contribution to GDP by food and drink manufacturing to be £16,749 million, 2.9 per cent. of total GDP. Information for 1995 will not be available until August 1996. It will be published in table 2.3 of the United Kingdom national accounts "The Blue Book", which is available in the Library of the House.
Mr. Steen:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list each regulatory body for which he is responsible indicating for each the percentage of business people on the board. [15741]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
The Office of Fair Trading, Office of Electricity Regulation, Office of Gas Supply and Office of Telecommunications are independent non-ministerial Government Departments. Statute creates the posts of director general and provides for him/her to have an office. There are no boards of management.
Mr. Robert Ainsworth:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 6 February, Official Report, columns 141-44, if he will list in each case (a) the value of the offer and (b) the name of the firm and the constituency in which it is located. [15626]
Mr. Oppenheim:
Information on accepted offers of regional selective assistance, over £75,000, is published in "Labour Market Trends", formerly the "Employment Gazette". This is given on the basis of travel-to-work areas.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what investigation has been carried out by his Department's export control organisation into the sale of equipment and technology to Iraq by the Astra company since 1985. [15965]
Mr. Oppenheim:
The activities of Astra, insofar as they relate to the sale of equipment and technology to Iraq since 1985, are covered in Sir Richard Scott's report. The Trade and Industry Committee is examining the DTI's role in granting export licences to BMARC, a subsidiary of Astra Holdings plc from May 1988, for the export of naval guns to Singapore. BMARC was known as Astra Defence Systems Ltd. between June 1989 and April 1991. My Department has carried out investigations in order to assist both these inquiries.
Mrs. Beckett:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the last figures for (a) United Kingdom and (b) EU average (i) inflation, (ii) industrial production and (iii) trade outside the EU. [11059]
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 76
Mr. Lang:
Data on UK and EU average inflation is regularly published by Central Statistical Office in its retail prices index first release. Indices of industrial production for the UK and EU average are regularly published in the OECD main economic indicators. Information on UK and EU trade outside the EU is regularly published by Eurostat in "External Trade", monthly statistics. Copies of all three publications are available in the Library of the House.
Mrs. Beckett:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the trade balance for each EU country with the rest of the EU. [11061]
Mr. Lang:
The information requested is provided in the table:
| £ billion | |
|---|---|
| Belgium/Luxembourg | 10.1 |
| Denmark | 1.7 |
| France | -4.3 |
| Germany | 10.1 |
| Greece | -5.7 |
| Ireland | 5.1 |
| Italy | 4.5 |
| Netherlands | 24.7 |
| Portugal | -3.7 |
| Spain | -4.4 |
| UK | -4.6 |
Note:
(7) Visible exports less visible imports.
Source:
Intra and Extra EU Trade, published by Eurostat.
Export Licences
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the name of the applicant in respect of each piece of correspondence dealt with by his Department on export licensing dated 6 April 1988. [15719]
Mr. Oppenheim: Information is not held in this form.
Nuclear Power
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 6 February, Official Report, columns 146-47, what assessment he has made of whether the proposed sale of part of the nuclear power generation industry complies with EC rules; and if he will make a statement on the extent of Govnerment subsidy in respect of the sale of the nuclear power generation industry. [16209]
Mr. Lang: The proposed sale of part of the nuclear power generation industry will comply with EC rules. It is not the Government's intention to pay subsidy to British Energy plc.
Waste Processing
Mrs. Beckett:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what liabilities the Government propose that British Energy carry for reprocessing waste; and if he will make a statement. [16193]
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 77
Mr. Lang:
The Government have made it clear that in the restructuring of the nuclear generators liabilities will follow assets. British Energy will therefore carry those liabilities associated with its assets.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 12 February, Official Report, column 404, when he expects to announce the results of his review into the small firms loan guarantee scheme. [15687]
Mr. Page:
I expect to be able to make an announcement shortly.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the benefits to small and medium-sized enterprises from the first meeting of the small business ministerial group. [15679]
Mr. Page:
The first meeting of the small business ministerial group took place on Monday 30 October 1995. The group has already met its initial objective of providing a forum for co-ordinated and cohesive policy to help small firms.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to ensure that his Department identifies the size of its suppliers by the number of their employees. [15610]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
The Department's standard form requesting tenders or quotations for routine purchases includes a "Statement of Size of Organisation", which asks for details on the number of employees and annual turnover.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 5 February, Official Report, column 17, how many press officers worked, and how much of the budget was spent, on small business issues for each year listed. [15635]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
As fostering the creation and development of small and medium-sized businesses is one of the objectives of the DTI, it follows that a proportion of most departmental press officers' time is spent on small business issues.
It is not possible to disaggregate the centrally managed budgets to show spend on small business issues separately.
Mr. Steen:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade on which occasions in the last three years officials have vetoed draft EC legislation on the ground that a fiche d'impact had not been correctly prepared. [13647]
Mr. Oppenheim
[holding answer 9 February 1996]: The correct preparation of fiches d'impact is a very important part of our consideration of proposals for EC
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 78
legislation. It is one of the factors taken into account when Ministers consider the UK's negotiating position on a particular proposal.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |