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Education Authority Funding
Mr. Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 21 February, Official Report, columns 153-54, on the total amounts of grants provided to local authorities responsible for education if he will provide the figures separately for each local authority. [20278]
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Mr. Curry: I have arranged for the figures for all local authorities to be placed in the Library.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have a statutory base, and which (a) publish their advice to Government, (b) publish an annual report and (c) lay an annual report before Parliament (i) under a statutory requirement and (ii) voluntarily. [20100]
Sir Paul Beresford: Details of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by my Department are listed in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies 1995". A copy is available in the House of Commons Library.
I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him on 27 April 1995, Official Report, column 616. The information contained in that answer remains correct.
None of the advisory bodies has a statutory requirement to publish an annual report or lay it before Parliament. The following advisory NDPBs publish annual reports on a voluntary basis: the Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances, the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, the Local Government Commission for England and the Property Advisory Group, the report for 1995 being its first.
Mr. Betts:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what values of payments were outstanding within his Department on 5 March, which were beyond the date on the invoice and, where no date was specified, older than 28 days. [20478]
Sir Paul Beresford:
The information requested is not held centrally by my Department and is available only at disproportionate cost.
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Arms Exports
Mr. Redmond: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to end subsidies to the arms export trade; and if he will make a statement. [17915]
Mr. Oppenheim: It has been long-standing Government policy for the Export Credits Guarantee Department to support defence exports on no more favourable terms than apply to civil sales. The ECGD operates to a financial break-even objective on its new business, applying the same prudent underwriting criteria, cover policy and premium rates to civil and defence business.
Although there is the possibility of a subsidy arising from fixed rate export finance supported by the ECGD, the United Kingdom has been at the forefront of international negotiations to progressively eliminate the potential for such subsidy. The minimum interest rates supported under FREF are determined by international agreements, and fixed by reference to market levels.
While defence-related exports are not covered by these agreements, the ECGD applies the same rules in financing support for defence sales as for civil sales.
Mr. Miller:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list all cases since 1987 in which his Department has bought computer capacity from (a) other Departments and (b) the private sector, giving the value of each contract and the name of the private sector contractors. [19467]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
My Department does not purchase raw computer capacity as such. Instead, a range of computer-related services is procured from a variety of sources. Following decentralisation of related budget responsibilities to individual management units, central records do not cover all uses of such services. In addition, the costs of those services reflect not only the computer capacity required but the specialist manpower and communication facilities needed to deliver them.
The majority of these services are currently delivered to my Department by Hoskyns plc following its success in a market test in 1994. The total value of services delivered during the first year of the contract was £6.7 million. Prior to the market test these services were delivered from in-house capacity. In addition, my Department has used the Treasury's Chessington Computer Centre for staff pay and pensions since 1980 at a current annual cost of £354,000.
Mr. Alan Williams:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) where inward investment seminars and conferences were held by his Department in 1995; and what was the range of numbers participating; [19939]
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Mr. Oppenheim:
For the financial year 1995-96, my Department's Invest in Britain Bureau has been involved with the following seminars and conferences for inward investors:
(2) how many inward investment seminars or conferences were held by his Department in 1995 and at
what cost; and what cost was incurred in renting the venues. [19946]
| Where held | Overall costs | Cost of venue £ | Number of participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen, Denmark | Seminar sponsored by Den Danske Bank | Nil | 15 |
| Munich | £25,000 | 864.80 | 130 |
| Stuttgart | Sponsored by BW Bank | Nil | 50 |
| Seminar with IHK Frankfurt | Arranged by Chamber of Commerce | Nil | 20 |
| Osaka, Japan | (7)£80,075 | (7)4,678 | 153 |
| Aomori, Japan | (7)£1,952 | (7)1,861 | 35 |
| Akita, Japan | (7)£1,623 | (7)1,664 | 36 |
| Morioka, Japan | (7)£2,415 | (7)2,254 | 46 |
| Yamagata, Japan | (7)£1,709 | (7)1,407 | 24 |
| Taipei Computer Association, Taiwan | (8)£140 | Nil | 6 |
(7) £1 = 140 Yen.
(8) £1 = 40 NT$.
Bankruptcy
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 5 March, Official Report, columns 135-36, if he will give powers to shareholders of public companies to enable them to receive a detailed explanation of the reasons for a creditor company's refusal to initiate an action for bankruptcy in instances where the debt is in excess of £50,000 and where the debtor is an hon. Member. [19936]
Mr. Oppenheim: In general, shareholders of companies delegate to their board to management decisions such as the enforcement of debts owed to the company. A power for shareholders to intervene in these specific circumstances would not be appropriate.
Government Contracts
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what procedures are in place to verify the credentials of private companies who tender for Government contracts. [20189]
Mr. John M. Taylor: A copy of the chapters from my Department's procurement manual providing guidance on the procedures for verifying the credentials of private companies which tender for DTI contracts has been placed in the Library of the House.
Reform Assistance
Mr. Wigley: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the criteria used for establishing areas eligible for regional assistance in the United Kingdom are identical with those used in other EU countries; and if he will make a statement. [20009]
Mr. Oppenheim: The criteria for eligibility for grants under the regional objectives of the EC structural fund are, in general terms, identical. They are contained in Council regulation (EEC) 2052/99 as amended by 2081/93 (OJ L193 of 31 July 1993). The criteria for designating areas eligible for support under the regional
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selective assistance scheme are based on travel-to-work areas and are not therefore identical to those used in other EU countries.
Compliance Unit
Sir Cranley Onslow: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what cases are currently being pursued by his Department's single market compliance unit. [20221]
Mr. Oppenheim: The single market compliance unit is currently pursuing about 70 cases. The details of these are commercially confidential.
Manufactured Exports (Germany)
Sir Cranley Onslow: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps his Department is taking to investigate the extent of German non-tariff barriers against the import of manufactured goods from the United Kingdom. [20220]
Mr. Oppenheim: My Department has issued studies on the operation of the single market in public procurement, the chemicals sector and in respect of standards, testing and certification. The Department also analyses the complaints to its single market compliance unit. The unit received 13 complaints in 1995 alleging specific unjustified German non-tariff barriers to trade in manufactured goods. The Department has taken all of these up with the European Commission, the German Government, or both.
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