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Arms Exports

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider providing that final approval for licences for arms exports to Governments with poor human rights is made by a parliamentary Select Committee. [5879]

Mr. Lang: The issues of parliamentary scrutiny and the location of the export licensing authority within Government are matters on which views were sought in my Department's consultative document "Strategic Export Controls" (Cm. 3349) which was presented to Parliament in July. The consultation period closed at the end of October and the Department is currently considering the responses and follow-up action to the consultation.

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will impose an export licence requirement prior to negotiation of each individual arms transfer. [5887]

Mr. Lang: My Department's consultative document, "Strategic Export Controls" (Cm. 3349), presented to Parliament in July, sought views on all aspects of strategic export control procedures and policy, including the possibility of new legislation. The consultation period closed at the end of October and the Department is currently considering the responses and follow-up action to the consultation.

28 Nov 1996 : Column: 363

Newsagents

Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the number of professional newsagents in business currently and in each of the last five years. [6403]

Mr. MacShane: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many professional newsagents are in business in South Yorkshire; and how many there were in each of the last five years. [6617]

Mr. Page: This information is not available from official sources.

Correspondence

Mr. Pawsey: To ask the President of the Board of Trade for what reasons his Department took from 16 July to 25 October to decide that the letter from the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth relating to his constituent, Mr. C. V. Cottle, was the responsibility primarily of Her Majesty's Treasury. [6621]

Mr. John M. Taylor: Unfortunately, my Department has no record of having received my hon. Friend's letter of 16 July to my hon. Friend, the then Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for company affairs.

As soon as my hon Friend brought it to my private office's attention on 17 October that there was an outstanding letter, officials searched the correspondence database. No reference to this letter was found. My hon. Friend therefore kindly faxed to my office a copy of the letter on the same day. On its receipt it was forwarded to my officials who advised, shortly afterwards, that it was more appropriate for Her Majesty's Treasury to answer. The letter was duly transferred to Her Majesty's Treasury on 25 October.

Nuclear Energy

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the relationship between trends in the output of nuclear energy generated and the United Kingdom's CO2 obligations. [4850]

Mr. Page: Government policy is to ensure that the United Kingdom meets its commitments under the framework convention on climate change which it ratified in 1993. Emission of carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas, are expected to be 6 to 13 million tonnes of carbon below their 1990 level by 2000. Projected increases in electricity generation by nuclear power stations are estimated to contribute savings in emissions of 2.9 million tonnes of carbon in 2000.

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to promote long-term generic research into nuclear energy. [4851]

Mr. Page: The Government believe that the generation of energy using nuclear fission is a mature technology and consequently that future research in that area should be funded by industry. The Government continue to support research into nuclear fusion as part of the European Union programme.

28 Nov 1996 : Column: 364

Electric Cars

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade by what means his Department supports the development of electric cars. [4852]

Mr. Greg Knight: Alternative propulsion technology, including electric and hybrid motors, is a key theme in the developing foresight vehicle initiative. The DTI is also supporting a number of trials of alternatively fuelled vehicles, including electric vehicles. In addition, the Department assists British companies in bringing relevant technology to the international market--for example by supporting a British presence at the recent international electric vehicle exhibition in Osaka, Japan.

Fast-breeder Reactors

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the research evaluated by his Department relating to the issue of fast-breeder reactors as fast burners; and what discussions his officials have had with the managers of the Super Phoenix project. [4854]

Mr. Page: In 1992 the Government concluded that their continued funding of fast-reactor research was no longer sufficiently justified by the potential for power production of plutonium burning. My officials have had no recent contact with the managers of Super Phoenix.

Riot Contact Equipment

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what trans-shipment licences have been granted for the movement of electro-shock batons from South Africa to Britain and then beyond within the last five year; and if he will make a statement. [2484]

Mr. Lang [holding answer 6 November 1996]: None.

Research

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of Government expenditure on funding of (a) fundamental research and (b) applied research, in the expectation of profitable outcome for each year since 1990; and what proportion in currently available figures this represents of the total available to his Department for scientific research. [4272]

Mr. Ian Taylor [holding answer 25 November 1996]: The information is not available in the form requested. Government-funded research is classified into basic research and applied research, using the definitions in the OECD publication, "The Measurement of Scientific Activities", the so-called "Frascati Manual"--OECD Paris, 1994. ISBN 926414202 9. The breakdown by these categories over the years 1990-91 and 1994-95 for both total Government expenditure and DTI implementation on research is as follows:

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Net Government research expenditure by Frascati type of research activity£ million cash

	1990-91	1991-92	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95
Total Government research
Basic	1,288	1,362	1,512	1,572	1,722
Applied	1,799	1,734	1,846	2,069	1,955
Total	3,087	3,097	3,358	3,641	3,677
Applied as percentage of total research	58	56	55	57	53
Government civil research Science and engineering base (SEB)
Basic	1,222	1,299	1,428	1,470	1,641
Applied	463	485	509	591	509
Applied as percentage of total SEB research	27	27	26	29	24
Other civil research
Basic	83	75	61	68	83
Applied	911	793	803	822	780
Applied as percentage of total other civil research	92	91	93	92	90
Total civil research
Basic	1,291	1,361	1,511	1,571	1,724
Applied	1,408	1,325	1,310	1,415	1,287
Total	2,698	2,686	2,820	2,986	3,011
Applied as percentage of total civil research	52	49	46	47	43
Government defence research
Basic	0	0	0	0	0
Applied	389	411	538	654	666
Total	389	411	538	654	666
Department of Trade and Industry research
Basic	0	0	0	2	2
Applied	420	278	278	267	236
Total	420	278	278	269	238
Applied as percentage of total DTI research	100	100	100	99	99

Source:

Annual Reviews of Government funded R and D, 1992, 1993.

Forward Looks of Government funded SET, 1994, 1995.SET Statistics 1996.

Export Credits (Argentina)

Sir Jim Lester: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the outcome of the Export Credits Guarantee Department's reassessment, commenced in August 1995, of the premium rate chargeable in respect of exports to Argentina; how the rate charged now compares to the rates chargeable prior to this review; what information he has on the rates charged for comparable cover in the United States, France, Germany

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and Italy; what factors underlie the difference between these rates and the ECGD rates; and if he will make a statement. [6221]

Mr. Lang [holding answer 27 November 1996]: The ECGD's most recent review of Argentina pointed to improving risk prospects, which resulted in a premium rate reduction of around 7 per cent. The ECGD's benchmark premium rate is now 7.75 per cent., compared with the average of the rates of USA, France, Germany and Italy of 4.46 per cent. and of the average of all the main export credit agencies--ECAs--of 5.12 per cent. I am unable to provide information on individual ECA rates, which have been given to the ECGD in confidence.

The ECGD is required to match its premium to the perceived risk; its premium is consistent with the view of Argentinian risk taken by bond markets as reflected in yield spreads. We do not know precisely what factors other countries take into account in setting premium rates; but others such as Eximbank (USA) are charged with providing competitive premiums. Work is well advanced in the OECD and the EU on premium harmonisation.

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