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Contracts
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidelines are currently in force in his Department and its executive agencies relating to competitive tendering and the use of single negotiated tenders; on what grounds single negotiated tenders can be used; and what procedures are in place within his Department to ensure that the use of single negotiated tenders in competitive tendering processes is justified in all cases. [22857]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to his question on 19 March, Official Report, column 166. Single negotiated tenders are acceptable only in exceptional circumstances such as where there is effectively no choice of contractor--for example, for reasons of compatibility--or where such action is judged to offer economic advantages; or where there is extreme urgency to provide or restore a service.
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many contracts for goods or services have been awarded by his Department and its executive agencies on the basis of single negotiated contracts in each of the last three years; if he will list the companies involved and the value of the contract in each case; what percentage this represented of contracts awarded by his Department and its agencies after competitive tendering; and, in each case, why the contracts were awarded on the basis of a single negotiated tender. [22873]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is not recorded centrally within the Department, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of answering parliamentary questions in each Session since 1989-90. [22905]
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: This Department does not calculate the data requested, and they could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Cash Limits
Mr. Gallie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes he intends to make to the cash limits for 1995-96 within his responsibility. [24065]
Mr. Michael Forsyth: The non-voted cash limit Scottish Office/LA1, which covers local authority non-housing capital expenditure, is to be increased by £10,500,000 from £599,303,000 to £609,803,000. There will be an increase in net capital allocations to meet a fall in anticipated European regional development fund receipts and to meet the effect of severe weather. This increase is fully offset by a reduction of £5,000,000 in the non-voted cash limit SO/ERDF from £120,025,000 to £115,025,000 and a reduction in roads and transport class XIV, vote 2 amounting to £5,500,000 so that it will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.
Renfrewshire Healthcare NHS Trust
Mr. Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) clinical nurse managers and (b) practice development nurse posts are to replace the existing 74 ward sister and charge nurse posts employed by Renfrewshire Healthcare NHS trust. [21731]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 20 March 1996]: Ward sister and charge nurse posts in Renfrewshire Healthcare NHS trust will, on implementation of the trust's revised nursing management and organisational structure, be replaced by 46 clinical nurse manager posts and six practice nurse development posts.
These changes will enable the number of nursing posts involved in direct patient care to increase from 210 to 230.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the national health service bodies sponsored by his Department which are subject to (a) investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, (b) scrutiny by the Audit Commission, (c) scrutiny by the National Audit Office, (d) statutory provisions for open government, (e) performance indicators and (f) provisions under the citizens charter. [21831]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 21 March 1996]: All the 47 NHS trusts, 15 health boards and five special health boards in Scotland are subject to investigation by the health service commissioner and scrutiny by the National Audit Office. They are also all subject to scrutiny by the Accounts Commission, the equivalent body in Scotland to the Audit Commission England and Wales. Those bodies are subject to any statutory provisions for open government and provisions under the citizens charter which may be relevant to them and to any performance indicators as may be deemed appropriate.
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TREASURY
Economic Statistics
Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest annual (a) inflation, (b) unemployment, (c) growth rate and (d) balance of payments figures for each of the members of the European Community. [22062]
Mrs. Angela Knight: The latest comparable data for these inquiries are set out in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development publication "Main Economic Indicators", which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Pound Coin
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) by what means the differing traditions in Northern Ireland are represented on the 1996 Northern Ireland £1 coin; [22011]
- (2) who was the designer of the 1996 £1 coin for Northern Ireland. [21983]
Mrs. Angela Knight: The design shows a gold collar of the first century BC, found at Broighter, County Londonderry in 1896, an ornate cross of the style used in the old Celtin Church of Britain, and the flower of the yellow pimpernel which flourishes around Lough Neagh. The designer is Mr. Norman Sillman.
Manufacturing Exports
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the United Kingdom percentage share of exports of manufactures by the main manufacturing countries in terms of volume for each year since 1985. [22965]
Mrs. Angela Knight: The data requested are set out in the table.
| Year | Percentage | Year | Percentage | Year | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 9.4 | 1982 | 7.5 | 1989 | 7.2 |
| 1976 | 9.1 | 1983 | 7.2 | 1990 | 7.3 |
| 1977 | 9.2 | 1984 | 7.1 | 1991 | 7.3 |
| 1978 | 8.7 | 1985 | 7.1 | 1992 | 7.1 |
| 1979 | 8.3 | 1986 | 7.9 | 1993 | 7.1 |
| 1980 | 8.0 | 1987 | 7.5 | 1994 | 7.1 |
| 1981 | 7.3 | 1988 | 7.2 |
Note:
(1) Calculation of shares follows OECD practice of converting constant price volume data into a common US dollars basis at 1991 exchange rates.
Source:
OECD, Datastream, CSO.
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the United Kingdom percentage share of exports of manufactures by the main manufacturing countries giving the figures in United States dollars for each quarter since 1992. [22960]
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Mrs. Knight: The data requested are set out in the table.
| Year/Quarter | Percentage | Year/Quarter | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Q1 | 7.0 | 1993 Q4 | 7.1 |
| 1992 Q2 | 7.2 | 1994 Q1 | 7.1 |
| 1992 Q3 | 7.1 | 1994 Q2 | 7.0 |
| 1992 Q4 | 7.3 | 1994 Q3 | 7.1 |
| 1993 Q1 | 7.3 | 1994 Q4 | 7.1 |
| 1993 Q2 | 7.1 | 1995 Q1 | 6.6 |
| 1993 Q3 | 7.1 | 1995 Q2 | 6.5 |
Note:
(2) Calculation of shares follows OECD practice of converting constant price volume data into a common US dollars basis at 1991 exchange rates.
Source:
OECD, CSO.
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors underlay the scale of the rise in exports of manufactures in the fourth quarter of 1995 relative to the fourth quarter of 1994. [22958]
Mrs. Knight: The growth of exports of manufactures depends on a number of factors, such as the growth of world trade, the competitiveness of British exports and the degree of spare capacity.
Inflation
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were (a) the Bank of England and (b) the Treasury forecasts two years ago of the rate of inflation in February 1996. [22962]
Mrs. Angela Knight: Neither the Bank of England nor the Treasury publishes monthly forecasts of inflation. The Bank of England publishes its quarterly forecasts for inflation in its inflation reports. The Treasury publishes its forecasts in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" and in the "Summer Economic Forecast". Copies of all these documents are available in the House of Commons Library.
House Insurance
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer under which section of which Act owners of domestic properties were given the right to alter the insurer of their home from the one specified by their building society as mortgagee. [19514]
Mrs. Angela Knight [holding answer 7 March 1996]: The practice of building societies allowing borrowers to alter the insurers of their homes flows form the code of practice on the linking of services which the Building Societies Association brought into effect on 1 January 1988. It does not depend on any statutory underpinning.
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