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Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 3 December 1996

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Northern Ireland Newspapers

Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which weekly newspapers from Northern Ireland he (a) receives each week and (b) has cancelled delivery of this year. [7108]

Dr. Liam Fox: None.

MEPs (Pensions and Allowances)

Mr. Jacques Arnold: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the allowances and the pension arrangements currently available to British Members of the European Parliament. [7111]

Mr. David Davis [holding answer 2 December 1996]: Members of the European Parliament may claim expenses that they incur in performance of their parliamentary duties as follows: general office costs; travel within their member state and to official meetings or conferences; subsistence costs while attending official meetings; and costs of employing secretaries or assistants.

Pension arrangements for United Kingdom Members of the European Parliament are analogous to those for Members of the House of Commons. They are financed by the Exchequer and by contributions from individual MEPs at a rate of 6 per cent. of basic salary. MEPs may also subscribe to the European Parliament's additional voluntary pension scheme. Two thirds of payments to the scheme come from the EP budget, one third from participating MEPs.

Venezuela

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to visit Venezuela. [7308]

Sir Nicholas Bonsor: My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary has no plans to visit Venezuela in the immediate future.

I visited in May this year and met several Venezuelan Ministers, including the President.

DEFENCE

State Opening of Parliament

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 19 November, Official Report, column 504, what were the numbers

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and ranks of all service personnel who took part in the state opening of Parliament; what is their (a) individual daily pay rate and (b) total daily pay rates; and how many days each group was involved in preparation and de-briefing for the event. [5854]

Mr. Soames: The numbers and ranks of the military personnel who took part in the state opening of Parliament together with the individual average daily pay rates of the participating ranks and the total daily pay rates, are as follows:

Rank	Numbers (a)	Daily pay rate £(b)	Total daily pay rate £ (a x b)
Major General	1	179.88	179.88
Colonel	3	140.38	421.14
Lieutenant Colonel	3	120.78	362.34
Major	17	89.64	1,523.88
Captain	27	69.48	1,875.96
Lieutenant/2nd Lieutenant	22	53.10	1,168.20
Warrant Officer (1st Class)	7	68.52	479.64
Warrant Officer (2nd Class)	24	64.89	1,557.36
Staff Sergeant	36	60.23	2,168.28
Sergeant	95	52.36	4,974.20
Corporal	166	47.58	7,898.28
Lance Corporal	244	39.43	9,620.92
Private	855	34.59	29,574.45
Total	1,500		61,804.53

These figures represent gross daily rates of pay which are paid to service personnel irrespective of where they are serving or the nature of their duties. They are not additional costs to the MOD in respect of the state opening of Parliament. Participating units spent less than a full day in preparation for this ceremony.

Lease Contracts

Mr. Colvin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration was given to leasing rather than purchasing the airportable dozer (future purchase number ELWS1A/20, the aircraft potable water/toilet servicing vehicles (future purchase number SMC41C/3457), self-propelled access platforms (future purchase number SMC31ARAF335), helicopter for empire tests pilots school (future purchase number TEBD333307), the crawler dozer (future purchase number EMD1A/151) as listed in MOD contracts bulletin volume 11 number 6. [5169]

Mr. Arbuthnot [holding answer 2 December 1996]: In each of the five cases in question, the entry in the contracts bulletin is in the "Future Purchases" section, which is intended to inform companies of MOD's forthcoming requirements at the earliest opportunity. The actual invitations to tender have not yet been finalised and when they are, or even before, there will be an opportunity for companies to submit innovative proposals such as leasing. Any such proposals which are received will be given full consideration. However, in specific cases, it may not be practical or cost-effective to lease instead of buy, as it may be necessary to modify the equipment to accommodate military service needs. For example, in the case of the helicopter requirement, the civil air register calls for different operating requirements from those which apply with the military register.

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TRANSPORT

Railtrack (Stevenage Station)

Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will investigate allegations of payments requested from train operators by Railtrack in respect of trains passing through Stevenage station. [6655]

Mr. Watts: I am not aware of any such allegations.

Aviation Regulation and Safety

Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the standards of aviation regulation and safety within United Kingdom airspace; and if he will make a statement. [6966]

Mr. Bowis: The Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for the regulation of civil aviation in the UK. It sets high safety standards and consequently the UK has a good aviation safety record.

Boeing 737s

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 26 November, Official Report, column 154, what inspections are being undertaken by the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure that Boeing's instructions regarding defective rudders are being implemented. [6967]

Mr. Bowis: No specific inspections by the Civil Aviation Authority are required. The aircraft operator is responsible for ensuring that mandatory inspections, such as those required by US Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive 96-23-51, are carried out. UK operators are aware of the importance of complying with airworthiness directives and have always been assiduous in doing so.

An aircraft cannot be released to service by its maintenance organisation until all mandatory action has been carried out and recorded in the maintenance records. CAA control over this process is exercised through regular audits of organisations and their maintenance records.

Air Traffic Control

Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will establish an independent review of United Kingdom air traffic control arrangements, with special reference to separation distances, supervision of air traffic control movements, and the inability of those concerned to meet the targets set for them; and if he will ensure that some of the members of such a review are drawn from experts outside Europe. [6965]

Mr. Bowis: The good safety record of the UK National Air Traffic Services does not justify such a review.

MV Derbyshire

Mr. Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 19 November, Official Report, column 479, what criteria were used to determine that Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute was best qualified to conduct the Phase 2 survey of the MV Derbyshire; what was the role of the European Commission in making the decision; at what stage competitive tendering took place

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or will take place for the work; which companies have been or will be invited to tender; and if he will make a statement. [7106]

Mr. Bowis: The criterion was the ability to meet the specification for phase 2 of the project drawn up by the three technical assessors, having particular regard to the availability of, and experience of using, the appropriate photographic and sonar technology and the ability to manipulate and present the data recovered. Because of Woods Hole's unique capabilities and experience, which is not matched by any commercial party, it was appointed without a formal tendering exercise. A full assessment of worldwide capabilities in this area was undertaken and the decision to appoint Woods Hole was taken jointly by the Department and the European Commission.

Rainworth Bypass, Nottinghamshire

Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the need for the Rainworth bypass, Nottinghamshire; and what plans he has to provide financial assistance for the scheme. [6844]

Mr. Watts: As part of its transport policies and programme submission, Nottinghamshire county council has provided information about Rainworth bypass in line with the guidance issued annually to local authorities by my Department. The case of the bypass will be considered very carefully in the light of competing bids for major new schemes and other areas of spending. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will make an announcement shortly.

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