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Oil Tanker Shipping Lanes
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to review oil tanker shipping lanes around the United Kingdom coastline and in United Kingdom waters; and if he will make a statement. [16812]
Mr. Norris: The Marine Safety Agency has undertaken maritime traffic surveys using mobile radar. We shall continue to consider the effectiveness of existing ship routeing and reporting measures, and the need for any new measures, in the light of those surveys.
Single European Currency
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 14 February, Official Report, column 574, when he expects to assess the impact of a single European currency on freight and passenger transport to and from the continent. [16969]
Mr. Watts: The United Kingdom will agree to take part in a single currency only if it is in our national interest to do so, given the circumstances at the time. A full assessment of the benefits and disadvantages will be carried out nearer the time, before the decision is made.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Regional Supply Network
Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 12 February, Official Report, columns 404-405, if he will publish the quarterly monitoring reports obtained from each regional supply network and the national totals. [15686]
Mr. Page [holding answer 20 February 1996]: Reports based on the monitoring information collected from regional supply network offices will be made available on a quarterly basis. The first of these reports will be placed in the Library of the House in June 1996 and quarterly thereafter. The first report will supply information for the first year of regional supply network operation and for business link operations in the 1995-96 financial year. The performance of an individual regional supply office is a commercial matter for that office and information about individual offices will, therefore, not be included in the report.
Naval Sonar Equipment Exports
Mr. Cousins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what goods have been exported under the export licence for naval sonar equipment approved at an interdepartmental meeting on 28 June 1988. [16312]
Mr. Lang:
The application approved at the IDC on 28 June 1988 was an arms working party application inquiring about the supply of 360 degree naval sonar to Iraq. The approval given to that application simply indicated that, should the company submit an export
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licence application, it was likely that it would be granted. It did not give the company authority to export these goods.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the amount of the Export Credits Guarantee Department's exposure in trade with Iraq (a) at the beginning of December 1988 and (b) at the end of December 1989; and what was the largest sum this Export Credits Guarantee Department exposure reached. [16654]
Mr. Oppenheim
[holding answer 22 February 1996]: ECGD estimated its maximum potential exposure on Iraq at £900 million at the end of 1988 and at £1,150 million at the end of 1989.
ECGD's highest estimate of its maximum potential exposure on Iraq was £1,260 million in September 1986.
Maximum potential exposure is calculated on the assumption of full utilisation of credit facilities, but taking into account repayments. Current exposure is £652 million. The difference is accounted for by a mixture of repayments since 1989, together with facilities not being fully utilised.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what have been the costs of the Scott inquiry in respect of (a) press and communications, (b) legal aid bills, (c) printing and publications, (d) administration and (e) telephone bills. [17048]
Mr. Lang:
The information is as follows:
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects the creditors of BCCI will receive their payments. [17348]
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Mr. Oppenheim:
The payment of the first dividend remains subject to the resolution of court proceedings in Luxembourg and the Cayman islands. The liquidators hope to be able to make such a payment by the summer of this year.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the current level of fees paid to the solicitors to the liquidators of BCCI. [17347]
Mr. Oppenheim:
The fees paid to solicitors by the English liquidators of BCCI in the year to 15 January 1996, the fourth year of the liquidation, totalled approximately £5.2 million.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the current level of fees paid to the liquidators of BCCI Touche Ross. [17346]
Mr. Oppenheim:
Total fees authorised for the English liquidators for the year to 15 January 1996, the fourth year of the liquidation, amounted to £9.4 million.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many people were employed in the textile industry making colour woven fabric in each year since 1987. [17794]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
Information on the number employed in the textile industry making colour woven fabric is not available. Information on employment in the textile weaving industry is available for 1991 and 1993 when 14,000 and 13,200 people respectively were employed in the industry in Great Britain.
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many inward investment projects have settled in England as a result of guidance given by the Invest in Britain Bureau over the past three years; and if he will make a statement. [17729]
Mr. Eggar:
Although the IBB can offer guidance to potential investors, the final decision on where to invest rests solely with the company. The following table shows numbers of projects that have located in England over the last three financial years, where the Invest in Britain Bureau has had a significant involvement.
(a) The cost of press and communications in respect of the Scott inquiry is not readily quantifiable. Sir Richard Scott has had a full time press officer allocated to his team, and various officers of departmental press offices have been involved as the normal course of their duties required. The cost of purchasing copies of Sir Richard Scott's report for the media was £18,000.
(b) As far as I am aware, no individual received legal aid in connection with their appearance as a witness to the Scott inquiry. The total amount paid by Government in legal advice for witnesses to the inquiry to date is £1,210,000.
(c) HMSO normally bears the costs of printing, publishing and distributing all parliamentary publications, with the overall aim of recovering these from sales revenue. However, in this case, and at the request of Sir Richard Scott, my Department has agreed to pay a subsidy in the region of £85,000 so that the cover price can be contained at a level which ensures that the report is as accessible as possible to the general public.
(d) The administration costs of Sir Richard Scott's inquiry team to date amount to £153,000. This includes the cost of office machinery and computers as well as stationery, typing etc. but does not include salary costs of the staff in the inquiry team.
(e) Records are not kept in such a way as to quantify the size of the telephone bills relating to the Scott inquiry.
| Year | Number of England projects |
|---|---|
| 1992-93 | 38 |
| 1993-94 | 63 |
| 1994-95 | 56 |
Export Controls
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what priority he accords to foreign policy objectives in establishing export controls. [17362]
Mr. Lang
[holding answer 26 February 1996]: The Government attach considerable importance to their foreign policy objectives in establishing export controls.
28 Feb 1996 : Column: 568
Mr. Nigel Griffiths:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recourse is open to people who do not receive advertised services from fan clubs to which they have paid money. [17550]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
People who do not receive services for which they have paid have recourse under civil law for breach of contract. They could take legal advice on how to take the matter forward from their local citizen's advice bureau or law centre or a solicitor. Their local authority trading standards department may also be able to intervene if an offence has been committed under legislation which it is responsible for enforcing.
Mr. Griffiths:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to license fan clubs. [17549]
Mr. Taylor:
I have no plans to do so.
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