| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Employment Regeneration
27. Mr. Hanson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what new steps he intends to take to regenerate employment in former coal mining areas. [555]
6 Nov 1996 : Column: 586
Mr. Page: My right hon. Friend the then President of the Board of Trade announced a package of measures totalling £200 million to help areas affected by pit closures. This framework of regeneration measures is now in place in all areas and major projects are under way.
Business Failures
28. Mrs. Bridget Prentice: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is (a) the current monthly rate of business failures and (b) the total number of business failures since April 1992. [556]
Mr. John M. Taylor: In the third quarter of 1996 there were, on a seasonally adjusted basis, 1,369 compulsory liquidations, 2,054 creditors' voluntary liquidations and 6,657 bankruptcy orders.
Since the beginning of April 1992 there were, on a seasonally adjusted basis, 31,691 compulsory liquidations, 49,090 creditors' voluntary liquidations and 141,607 bankruptcy orders.
Ceramics Industry
29. Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the ceramics industry. [557]
Mr. Greg Knight: The UK ceramics industry has a distinguished history of achievement both at home and overseas and is rightly recognised as a world-wide centre of excellence for materials and technology.
However, a changing world environment and intensified competition pose new challenges which must be overcome if the UK is to improve and maintain its performance. To this end, the Government are working in partnership with the sector via channels such as the tableware strategy group to address specific competitiveness issues crucial in maintaining and building on the success of the industry.
Aerospace Industry
30. Mr. Pike: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions his Department has held in the last year in respect of research and development in the United Kingdom in the aerospace industry. [559]
Mr. Greg Knight: My Department has held a wide range of discussions in the last year in respect of research and development in the United Kingdom aerospace industry. These discussions include: ministerial meetings with the Society of British Aerospace Companies and individual companies, meetings involving the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and the Technology Foresight Defence and Aerospace Panel, discussions with the Ministry of Defence and Defence Research Agency and discussions with companies about research and development projects under the Department's civil aircraft research and demonstration programme.
Nuclear Safety
31. Mr. McAllion: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he next intends to visit Dounreay to discuss issues relating to nuclear safety. [560]
6 Nov 1996 : Column: 587
Mr. Page: My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has no plans to visit Dounreay.
Far East
Mr. Fabricant: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he next plans to visit the far east to discuss bilateral trade; and if he will make a statement. [546]
Mr. Lang: Members of the Government have been regular visitors to the far east in support of our exporters, and to encourage further trade and investment with this dynamic region. I have visited the region three times this year accompanied by more than 200 British business men. I have no further plans to visit in the immediate future on matters of bilateral trade, although I shall lead the UK Delegation to the Singapore ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation in December.
Balance of Payments
Mr. Eric Clarke: To ask the President of the Board of Trade in which years since 1979 the UK recorded a surplus in the balance of payments current account. [550]
Mr. Lang: The current account was in surplus in each of the years between 1980 and 1985. In the second quarter of 1996 the current account was in surplus by the largest amount for over nine years.
Petrol Prices
Mr. Battle: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the average pump price of (a) four-star petrol and (b) unleaded petrol for each year since 1990. [2663]
Mr. Page: The average annual pump prices of four star and premium unleaded petrol for the years 1990 to 1995, and the first nine months of 1996, including all taxes, are given in the table.
| Four star petrol | Premium unleaded petrol | |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 44.87 | 42.03 |
| 1991 | 48.48 | 45.07 |
| 1992 | 50.28 | 46.07 |
| 1993 | 54.12 | 49.44 |
| 1994 | 56.87 | 51.58 |
| 1995 | 59.75 | 53.77 |
| 1996(23) | 60.59 | 55.44 |
(23) Average for 1996 relates to the period from January to September, inclusive, only.
Environmental Standards
Mr. Bennett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy in respect of the Singapore conference on trade and the environment in respect of accommodating environmental good practice within World Trade Organisation rules. [539]
Mr. Greg Knight: The Singapore ministerial meeting in December will be an important first opportunity to take stock of the work of the World Trade Organisation's committee on trade and environment. The Government
6 Nov 1996 : Column: 588
continue to support the EU's work in this committee--for example, in its efforts to clarify the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements and World Trade Organisation rules. The Government support further work by the committee after the Singapore ministerial conference.
Brazilian Mahogany
Mr. Chris Davies: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the volume of Brazilian mahogany to be imported into the United Kingdom over the next 12 months. [2114]
Mr. Lang: The data on which to base such a forecast is not available.
Mr. Davies: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy with regard to the import of Brazilian mahogany into the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [2115]
Mr. Lang: The Government consider that it is generally better to promote a policy of sustainable forest management rather than to impose trade bans on imported timber. The convention on international trade in endangered species prohibits commercial trade in 800 animal and plant species and controls it in a further 25,000 cases. Current scientific evidence does not justify a complete ban on imports of Brazilian mahogany. However, at the last CITES conference in November 1994 the UK supported a proposal to add it to appendix II of the convention which would have subjected it to controls. Although this proposal was not agreed, a number of countries where the species occurs announced that they would list Brazilian mahogany in appendix III. Accordingly, with effect from 16 November 1995 those countries have had to issue CITES permits to confirm that export of Brazilian mahogany is not detrimental to the species; other countries where the species occurs have had to issue certificates to confirm that their exports have not originated in countries with the appendix III listing; and permits to import the species into the UK have been required.
Social Chapter and Minimum Wage
Mr. Dunn: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent representations he has received from the manufacturing sector in respect of the implications of the social chapter and the minimum wage. [525]
Mr. Lang: My colleagues and I continue to receive representations on the social chapter and a national minimum wage during our contacts with industry. The overwhelming view is that the social chapter and a national minimum wage would seriously damage competitiveness and employment.
Business Links
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many companies have been assisted by Business Link. [541]
Mr. Page: The number of different businesses using Business Link nearly doubled between July 1995 and June 1996 from 56,513 different businesses using Business Link at least once in the first quarter from July to September 1995 to 107,159 doing so in the quarter from
6 Nov 1996 : Column: 589
April to June 1996. This means that over 8,200 different businesses are now using Business Link each week. The figures for the final quarter are based on returns from 79 Business Link partnerships out of the 81 that were operational in this period.
Business Forms and Surveys
Mr. Barry Field: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of business forms and surveys have been abolished over the last 10 years. [2568]
Mr. Page: Figures prior to 1993 could only be produced at disproportionate cost. Since 1 April 1993, DTI and its executive agencies have reduced the number of separate business forms and survey forms by 19 per cent.--expected total for 1996-97. This reduction represents more than 500,000 fewer forms issued.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |