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Companies (Financial Assistance)
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 18 June, Official Report, columns 457-58, if he will list (a) the number and (b) the date of applications to his Department's south-west regional office for regional selective assistance that can be readily identified as being prepared by company W since 1990; and how many applications have been received by his Department's south-west office since this date. [35266]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 1 July 1996]: The Department has examined all the cases which have been considered by the South West industrial development board since 1990 and subsequently been the subject of a grant offer. Company W appears to have prepared 23 out of the 99 cases falling into this category. The application dates of these cases were:
6 June and 29 October 1991;
1 September 1992;
5 January, 14 June, 8, 22 and 28 October and 2 December 1993;
6, and 24 January, 18 April, 6 May, 15 June, 5 and 12 July and 24 November 1994;
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6 February, 1 March and 1 and 2 November 1995;
23 February and 15 March 1996.
South West Industrial Development Board
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 18 June, Official Report, column 464, if he will state (a) the name of the relevant company, (b) the reason it was deemed sufficient for Mr. X to remain in the meeting, (c) the amount of financial assistance applied for, (d) the amount finally offered and (e) the amount granted. [35263]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 1 July 1996]: The applicant concerned was Pall Europe Ltd. Mr. Roger Harris declared that his firm was the worldwide auditor for Pall Corporation, but that he had no personal involvement in the work. It was deemed sufficient for him to remain in the meeting on condition that he abstained from any vote on the application. The offer was for the amount applied for--£950,000. No payments have yet been made.
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 18 June, Official Report, columns 461-64, if he will list the relevant conflict of interests by (a) member of the South West industrial development board and (b) the relevant company. [35267]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 1 July 1996]: The board members declared their personal interests to the Department and acted correctly in not involving themselves in discussions of cases where a conflict with those interests arose.
It is a matter of public record that Mr. Roger Harris's abstentions stemmed from the fact that KPMG, of which he is a senior partner, acted for the applicants as grant advisers or in other capacities.
Electro-shock Equipment
Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what market research reports which referred to the trade in electro-shock weapons have been partially funded by his Department's export market research scheme since June 1994. [36363]
Mr. Oppenheim [holding answer 10 July 1996]: The Department is not aware of any reports which refer to electro-shock batons having received support from the export marketing research scheme since June 1994.
Research Councils
Mr. Ingram: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 19 June; Official Report, column 513, when he expects to place in the Library, the memoranda and supporting documentation relating to the prior options review. [37457]
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Mr. Ian Taylor [holding answer 15 July 1996]: I have today placed in the Library of the House memoranda setting out the rationale underlying the decisions announced on the following establishments:
Establishment for which DTI Ministers are responsible:
Central Laboratory of the Research Councils
Institute of Arable Crops Research (BBSRC-funded institute)
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (BBSRC-funded institute)
John Innes Centre (BBSRC-funded institute)
Silsoe Research Institute (BBSRC-funded institute)
National Weights and Measures Laboratory
Establishments for which Scottish Office Ministers are responsible:
Fisheries Research Services
Forestry Commission Research Division
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute
Scottish Crop Research Institute
Scottish Agricultural Science Agency
Establishment for which MAFF Ministers are responsible:
Directorate of Fisheries Research.
Mr. Ian Taylor [holding answer 15 July 1996]: Prior options reviews of MRC, NERC and BBSRC institutes remain to be completed. The review of the BBSRC's Institute of Arable Crops Research, Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Jon Innes Centre and Silsoe Research Institute estimated pension transfer costs at up to £72.5 million and contingent staff liabilities at up to £64 million. The review of the Royal Observatories did not make any assessment for redundancy costs of privatisation. Pension transfers costs are still being assessed.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Contracts
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will publish a list showing the number, nature and value of contracts awarded by her Department to Coopers and Lybrand, KPMG, Price Waterhouse, Ernst and Young, Deloitte and Touche, Arthur Andersen , Grant Thornton, BDO Stoy Hayward, Pannel Kerr Forster, and Robson Rhodes and their subsidiaries and associates, during 1995 and 1996. [37328]
Mr. Robin Squire: The information requested is not available without incurring disproportionate cost.
Public Bodies
Sir Malcolm Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the total number of full-time equivalent staff within her Department engaged in the administration, oversight, audit and other regulation of each of the non-departmental
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public bodies, agencies and similar bodies, sponsored by her Department, indicating the division within her Department responsible for each. [37504]
Mr. Robin Squire: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Costs
Sir Malcolm Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what are the total costs to her Department of the administration, oversight, audit and other regulation of all local authority activities within its responsibility, excluding work undertaken by Ofsted. [37502]
Mr. Robin Squire: No discrete record is maintained of the cost incurred by the Department in dealing with issues relating to local authority responsibilities for education and employment. Many different elements of the Department's work relate to local authorities, and they could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Staff
Sir Malcolm Thornton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the total number of full-time equivalent staff in her Department engaged in the administration, oversight, audit and other regulation of local authority activities within the responsibility of her Department, excluding that undertaken by Ofsted, indicating the division within her Department which has responsibility for each activity. [37501]
Mr. Robin Squire: No discrete record is maintained of the numbers of staff in the Department involved with issues relating to local authority responsibilities for education and employment. Many different elements of the Department's work relate to local authorities, and they could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost.
Pupils, Devon
Mr. Allason: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the total number of children educated in Devon by the local education authority in (a) 1994-95, (b) 1995-96 and (c) 1996-97. [37425]
Mr. Robin Squire: A total of 145,093 pupils, including 3,018 part-time pupils, were being taught in schools maintained in Devon local education authority in January 1995. Information for January 1996 will be available in the autumn.
Internet
Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to ensure that major publications from his Department are accompanied by a simultaneous electronic release of the text on the Internet. [37231]
Mr. Robin Squire: In line with the Government's open government policy, the Department always considers if it is appropriate to use the Internet to augment other publishing routes. An example is the recent publication of "The Skills Audit", which was published simultaneously on the Internet. The responsibility for considering the
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Internet as an additional publishing medium for our Command Papers and priced documents rests primarily with HMSO.
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