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EU Telecommunications Council

Mr. Dover: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the EU Telecommunications Council on 28 November. [8509]

Mr. Ian Taylor: I represented the UK at the Telecommunications Council held in Brussels on 28 November.

The Council unanimously agreed a resolution on illegal and harmful content on the internet, based on the self-regulatory principles of the UK's NetWatch scheme.

No progress was made on a draft directive on postal services. A number of compromises concerning the second stage of liberalisation were considered but none attracted sufficient support.

There was a short debate on key issues of a directive on the application of open network provision to voice telephony in a competitive environment. Additionally, the European Commission made presentations on: the work of an experts group on potential health risks linked to mobile telecommunications; the Commission's Communication "Europe at the forefront of the global information society--Rolling Action Plan", its Green Paper on numbering policy for telecommunications services in Europe; and on an informal meeting on satellite communications held in Paris on 10 October.

Working Time Directive

Mr. Dover: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his response to the rejection by the Court of Justice of the European Communities of the United Kingdom's

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application to have the EU working time directive annulled; what plans he has to consult on implementing the directive; and if he will make a statement. [8510]

Mr. Lang: The European Court of Justice has now given its judgment, and we will obey the law. In due course, we will secure changes to the EC treaty which will mean that the directive no longer affects the United Kingdom.

The directive is a complicated document. Its implementation will mean imposing novel limits and controls on working time. Unlike any other EU member state, we have no framework of law which we could easily extend or modify to comply with the arbitrary working time limits required by the directive. Implementation measures must be carefully tailored to the circumstances of British business, to minimise disruption and avoid imposing any unnecessary burdens. That is why we need to consult widely on all the issues and options arising from the terms of the directive.

I am today issuing a consultation document on implementing the directive. The consultation document seeks views on various issues, such as enforcement arrangements; taking advantage of "derogations" and "options" the directive allows; defining certain terms, for example, what hours are to count as "night time"; and setting particular limits, for example, the duration and terms of a standard "in work" rest break and the standard reference period for averaging night work hours.

The consultation period will last until 6 March. We will then take stock of the position in the light of responses.

Small Businesses

Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 2 December, Official Report, column 498, on small business statistics what plans he has to keep figures on (a) the percentage of United Kingdom small and medium enterprises which export, (b) the figures in each European Union country and (c) the European Union average. [7833]

Mr. Page: My Department plans to continue to assess information from any available source that might contain data on the percentage of United Kingdom SMEs that export, or similar data for all other EU countries, or an EU average.

Exports (Libya)

Mrs. Beckett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the goods and services in respect of which licences for export to Libya were issued in each year since 1992. [2969]

Mr. Lang [holding answer 7 November 1996]: The export of licensable goods is regulated by both the Export of Goods (Control) Orders, the EC regulation on dual-use goods, and the associated Dual-Use and Related Goods (Export Control) Orders. These are supplemented in the case of Libya by the Libyan sanctions orders.

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Table 1 lists, by legislation heading, the category of goods for which licences were issued, after full consideration under the EG(C)O and dual-use goods regulations.

The Libyan sanctions orders additionally confer licensability to the supply of materials to airfields, technical advice or training to air or ground personnel, direct insurance for aircraft, oil pumping or refining equipment and an assets freeze against the Government or public authorities in Libya. The types of goods for which licences have been issued again after full consideration by my Department since 1992 are summarised in the list.

Table 1: Legislation categories under which export licences have been issued for Libya since 1992EG(C)0 1991

IL 1460(17)	IL 1529	IL 1567	A2
IL 1501	IL 1533	IL 1572	End use control
IL 1502	IL 1537	ML1 (pre-embargo)
IL 1520	IL 1564	PL 7007
IL 1527	IL 1565	PL 7011(17)

(17) Licences in those categories were revoked post-embargo. N.B.:

The basis of the numbering system used for categories changed after the EG(C)01991)

Following entries under the EG(C)0 1992, EG(C)0 1994 or DUEC 1995

IC350	4A003	5A990	A10
2B230	4A004	7A001	A20
2B350	5A001		End use control

General description of goods for which licences for Libya have been issued under the Libyan sanctions orders
Alarm detection equipment
Aviation training
Catalyst loading sacks
Case wear rings
Flowmeters and spare parts therefor
Pump system for the Great Man Made River project
Pumps and spare parts for pumps
Repair of premises
Spare parts for gas turbine compression drives
Spare parts for heaters
Spare parts for manufacturing equipment for pump control panels
Storage of aircraft components
Turbine blade examination kits.

WALES

Health Care (Private Sector)

Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department spent purchasing health care from the private sector in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [7234]

Mr. Gwilym Jones: The amount spent purchasing health care from non-NHS providers--that is, the private

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sector together with non-profit-making organisations--for each of the last three years is as follows:

	£000
1993-94	11,775
1994-95	15,599
1995-96	23,396

It is for health authorities to purchase health care appropriate to the needs of their resident population.

Christmas Expenditure

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department will spend on Christmas trees and decorations this year; how many Christmas trees will be bought for his Department's headquarters; and what are the type and country of origin of the trees. [7559]

Mr. Hague: Fifty pounds will be spent on decorations. No expenditure will be incurred on Christmas trees.

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much his Department plans to spend on celebrating Christmas and the new year. [7579]

Mr. Hague: My Department has no central budget for Christmas celebrations and no special expenditure is forecast beyond the purchase of departmental Christmas cards at a cost of £1,052.

Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

Mr Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements he has discussed with the chairman of the Cardiff Bay development corporation and the relevant local authorities concerning the rental payments on private finance initiative deals entered into by the corporation after transfer of all assets and liabilities to the local authorities after the winding up of the corporation. [8000]

Mr. Hague: None. The corporation has not yet entered into financial commitments on any PFI deals. I will be considering wind-up issues, including the transfer of assets and liabilities, following receipt in March next year of the corporation's report on the outcome of its consultations with local authorities and other bodies about its draft wind-up action plan.

Gwent Health Authority

Mr. Morgan: To ask the secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Gwent health authority regarding concerns expressed by the district auditor about the sum outstanding from the executive car loan of the previous chief executive. [7999]

Mr. Hague: None. This will be a matter for the health authority to address.

Welsh Health Common Services Authority

Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 28 November, Official Report, column 402, if he will place a copy of the post-project evaluation on the move to Crickhowell house in the Library. [8023]

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Mr. Hague: The report was prepared by the authority and I have asked the chief executive to let the hon. Member have a copy.

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