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Enterprise Agencies (Employment Initiatives)

Dr. Goodson-Wickes: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on enterprise agencies in relation to employment initiatives. [29091]

Mr. Page: Enterprise agencies are independent local companies whose boards are drawn from local industry and the community. They offer a range of business services to new and established small firms including advice and counselling, specialist financial services, business skills training and the provision of managed workspace. A majority of enterprise agencies are partners in business link and are often local deliverers of training and enterprise council and business link services to start-up and micro firms.

Steelworkers

Mr. MacShane: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to ensure that there is a fair distribution of (a) Rechar, (b) Resider, (c) Retek and (d) Konver funds to address the needs of unemployed steelworkers. [29975]

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Mr. Eggar: I will announce the allocations as soon as possible, after giving full consideration to the representations I have received from the hon. Gentleman and others.

Late Payments

Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 15 May, Official Report, column 495, when he expects to be in a position to state on what date his Department will be publishing the table of results of all Departments and their agencies for 1995-96. [30437]

Mr. Page [holding answer 21 May 1996]: I refer to my answer of 15 May on this subject. The figures are currently being collated and I would expect to be able to announce a publication date shortly.

Export Credit Guarantees

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the top 10 recipients of export credit guarantees granted by the Export Credits Guarantee Department in each of the last five years. [30154]

Mr. Nelson [holding answer 20 May 1996]: It has been the policy of successive Governments not to disclose information about commercial relations between the Export Credits Guarantee Department and individual companies unless the relevant parties have agreed to this.

Coal Investments Ltd.

Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the extra funding requirement needed by the Coal Authority as a result of the administrative receivership of Coal Investments Ltd.; and if he will make a statement. [30260]

Mr. Page: This is a matter for the Coal Authority.

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Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration

Mr. Ainger: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) when he expects to publish draft regulations to implement the environmental impact assessment directive 85/337/EEC for offshore oil and gas exploration activities; and if he will make a statement; [29584]

(2) when he gave an undertaking to implement the environmental impact assessment directive 85/337/EEC for offshore oil and gas exploration activities; what consultations he had undertaken with interested parties; and when that consultation period ended. [29587]

Mr. Page [holding answer 16 May 1996]: The Government are committed to implementing directive 85/337/EEC in so far as it applies to offshore oil and gas activities and I intend to seek comments from interested parties on our proposals in the near future.

Scientists and Engineers

Mr. Ingram: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 12 March, Official Report, column 526-28; how many professional scientists and engineers of each category were employed at each grade, including unified grades, in each year in the regional offices from their inception. [29831]

Mr. John M. Taylor [holding answer 20 May 1996]: The data requested are not available from the inception of regional offices. Records are available for the period since 1985 and are shown in the table, with the position as at 1 January in each year. Integrated Government offices were created out of regional offices on 1 April 1994. The figures for 1995 and 1996 reflect the number of relevant DTI officials in the integrated Government offices.

Data on the specialisms held by staff in the unified grades are not maintained historically, but the current position is shown in the table.

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	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	Current
	Science Group
Higher scientific officer	2	2	3	4	5	6	5	6	4	3	5	6
Senior scientific officer	8	7	8	8	8	6	6	5	4	4	5	4
	Professional and technology group
Higher professional and technology officer	2	4	4	3	3	3	5	6	7	6	9	7
Senior professional and technology officer	6	7	8	6	4	5	7	10	10	10	9	9
	Unified grades (with science or engineering discipline)
Grade 6													2
Grade 7													7
Senior civil service													2

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Mr. Ingram: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 12 March, Official Report, columns 526-28, how many professional scientists and engineers of each category were employed at each of the unified grades in the headquarters division of his Department in each year since 1991. [29830]

Mr. Taylor [holding answer 20 May 1996]: Data on the specialisms held by staff in the unified grades are not

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maintained historically. The current number of officers in the headquarters divisions of the Department with a science or engineering discipline is 117 at grade 7 level, 23 at grade 6 level and 17 in the senior civil service.

Mr. Ingram: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 12 March, Official Report, columns 526-28, how many professional scientists and engineers of each category were employed at each

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grade, including unified grades, in each of his Department's agencies in each year since 1991. [29833]

Mr. Taylor [holding answer 20 May 1996]: The table shows data for all agencies since 1991 with the position as at 1 January in each year for which relevant information is available. The environmental work of the Warren Spring Laboratory executive agency were merged with that of the Atomic Energy Authority in April 1994; the National Physical Laboratory became a contractually operated agency in October 1995; the National Engineering

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Laboratory executive agency was privatised on 1 November 1995; and the Laboratory of the Government Chemist executive agency was sold on 1 April 1996.

Historical data on the specialisms held by staff in the unified grades are not maintained, but of the Department's agencies, the National Weights and Measures Laboratory currently has two grade 7s and one in the senior civil service with a science or engineering disciple and the Radiocommunications Agency has 19 at grade 7 level, six at grade 6 and two in the senior civil service.

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	Science group				Professional and technical group
	Assistant scientific officer	Scientific officer	Higher scientific officer	Higher scientific officer (development)	Senior scientific officer	Professional and technology officer	Higher professional and technology officer	Senior professional and technology officer
	Companies House
1991	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1992	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1993	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1994	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1995	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1996	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
	Insolvency Service
1992	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1993	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
1994	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
1995	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
1996	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Laboratory of the Government Chemist
1991	66	63	63	0	33	5	2	6
1992	64	61	67	1	41	5	3	6
1993	49	60	69	1	38	2	4	3
1994	43	63	68	0	40	3	4	4
1995	32	60	64	0	35	3	3	4
1996	28	60	54	0	34	3	3	3
	National Engineering Laboratory
1991	14	21	67	0	50	17	6	4
1992	11	22	59	0	55	16	10	4
1993	9	23	57	0	54	16	10	3
1994	9	23	53	0	49	14	11	2
1995	5	21	37	0	34	12	8	2

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Year	Professional and technical group
	Assisted scientific officer	Scientific officer	Higher scientific officer	Higher scientific officer (development)	Senior scientific officer	Professional and technology officer	Higher professional and technology officer	Senior professional technology officer
	National Physical Laboratory
1991	57	87	133	0	111	7	8	14
1992	44	96	137	0	113	7	8	14
1993	33	86	144	1	111	7	8	15
1994	26	73	150	1	108	5	8	17
1995	32	71	161	1	100	5	6	17
	National Weights and Measures Laboratory
1991	0	2	0	0	1	4	9	7
1992	0	2	0	0	0	5	9	9
1993	0	1	0	0	0	6	10	8
1994	0	1	0	0	0	7	10	7
1995	0	0	0	0	0	8	10	7
1996	0	0	0	0	0	7	10	7
Patent Office
1991	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Radiocommunications Agency
1991	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	17
1992	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	20
1993	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	27
1994	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	26
1995	0	0	0	0	0	0	28	22
1996	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	25
	Warren Springs Laboratory
1991	24	30	63	0	45	2	2	0
1992	27	34	59	0	51	2	2	0
1993	23	25	52	1	48	1	2	0
1994	16	22	48	0	44	1	1	0

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22 May 1996 : Column: 277

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