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Investment

Mr. Milburn: To ask the President of the Board of Trade for each year since 1979, what was the value of (a) inward investment, (b) outward investment, (c) acquisitions in the United Kingdom by overseas companies, (d) acquisitions overseas by United Kingdom companies and (e) the proportion of inward investment that is accounted for by acquisitions in the United Kingdom by overseas companies. [7829]

Mr. Greg Knight [holding answer 6 December 1996]: The table shows the flows of direct investment in each year. Their volatility reflects the economic cycle and the peaks and troughs of acquisitions. They are, therefore, not a good indicator of the general trend of direct foreign investment.

Since 1979, the total stock of inward investment into the UK has more than tripled, and the UK continues to be the number one location for Japanese, US and Korean investment in the EU.

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 699

	(a) Inward investment £ million	(b) Outward investment £ million	(c) Acquisitions in the UK £ million	(d) Acquisitions overseas £ million	(e) Percentage acquisitions in inward investment
1979	3,030	5,889	166	1,384	5.5
1980	4,355	4,867	797	1,772	18.3
1981	2,932	6,005	875	2,403	29.8
1982	3,027	4,091	249	915	8.2
1983	3,386	5,417	556	1,919	16.4
1984	-181	6,042	659	2,685	n/a
1985	4,504	8,430	677	3,094	15.0
1986	5,837	11,649	1,355	6,521	23.2
1987	9,449	19,147	2,999	6,985	31.7
1988	12,006	20,863	3,147	7,665	26.2
1989	18,567	21,503	5,889	9,513	31.7
1990	18,514	10,490	9,952	7,198	53.8
1991	9,058	9,056	4,781	4,754	52.8
1992	9,184	10,850	6,272	5,037	68.3
1993	10,298	17,026	5,309	3,681	51.6
1994	6,823	18,363	2,960	6,667	43.4
1995	20,480	25,546	12,304	6,213	60.1

Note:

Figures represent the flows of direct net investment. Investment includes investors' shares of the unremitted profits, their net acquisition of share and loan capital, changes in inter-company accounts and changes in branch/head office indebtedness. Inward investment includes property investments by overseas companies and investments made by individuals. Outward investment includes real estate transactions by non-bank financial institutions and persons. It also includes non-bank financial institutions' loans and mortgages to overseas residents.

Source:

"United Kingdom Balance of Payments, The Pink Book" 1990, 1994, 1996.

Office for National Statistics.

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 701

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 701

Road Haulage Firms (Liquidations)

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many road haulage firms have gone into liquidation in each year from 1990 to 1995. [9128]

Mr. John M. Taylor: The table shows company compulsory liquidations and individual bankruptcies for the road transport industry in England and Wales 1992 to 1995--1992 is the first complete year for which data are available.

Insolvencies: road haulage industry(England and Wales)

Year	Company compulsory liquidations	Individual bankruptcy orders
1992	397	1,736
1993	294	1,481
1994	235	1,149
1995	204	924

Source:

DTI.

Confidential Payments to Individuals

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the grants and other financial assistance within his responsibility which are paid to private individuals whose identity is kept confidential.[9710]

Mr. Greg Knight: Unless information falls under one of the exemptions in the code of practice on access to Government information, the identity of recipients for grants and financial assistance paid to individuals is made publicly available.

EU Third Framework Programme Grants

Mr. Radice: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the names of each United Kingdom company

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 702

and institution which received grants under the European Union third framework programme between 1991 and 1994. [9048]

Mr. Ian Taylor: Full information on research projects funded in individual member states by the third framework programme is held only by the European Commission, and is not distributed to member states. UK researchers have, however, participated vigorously in the EU's framework programmes. Commission statistics show that 2,337 UK research teams participated in projects funded under the third framework--more than in any other member state.

Mr. Radice: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what the total spending on research and development in the United Kingdom was under the European Union third framework programme between 1991 and 1994. [9047]

Mr. Taylor: The UK's notional contribution to the European Community research and development budget for the period of the third framework programme was:

Financial year	National UK contribution to EC budget £ million
1990-91	207.3
1991-92	189.3
1992-93	252.9
1993-94	285.0

British Coal Enterprise

Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last discussed the sale of British Coal Enterprise with the chairman of British Coal; and what receipts have been achieved from the sale of British Coal Enterprise (a) outplacing and career counselling, (b) finance and business loan and (c) workshop activities. [9700]

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Mr. Page: My ministerial colleagues and I meet the chairman of British Coal as necessary to discuss a range of issues. Officials in my Department remain in close touch with British Coal about the sale of British Coal Enterprise, which is a matter for British Coal.

Telephones

Ms Walley: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy on households' access to a telephone for access to emergency services; and if he will make a statement. [8448]

Mr. Ian Taylor: Access to emergency services for all those on the telephone is guaranteed by licence conditions. The number of households with a telephone has risen substantially from 78 per cent. in 1984 to 92.4 per cent. in 1995-96. Conditions in licences authorising the provision of payphones require the provision of free access from payphones to the emergency services.

Riot Control Equipment

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what export licences have been granted for the export of (a) water cannons and (b) electro-shock batons to Indonesia in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [2482]

Mr. Nelson [holding answer 6 November 1996]: Since 1991, when computerised records became readily available in respect of Indonesia, four individual export licences have been issued for water cannons. In addition to the export licence that was referred to in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) on 9 December 1996, Official Report, column 30, a licence for three water cannons was issued in 1994, and two further export licences, including three water cannons on each licence, were issued in 1995. In the same period, no individual export licences were issued in respect of electro-shock batons for Indonesia. To respond in respect of the earlier five years could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what trans-shipment licences the Government have granted for electro-shock batons since 1990; if he will list (a) the originating and (b) the recipient countries; and if he will make a statement. [2483]

Mr. Nelson [holding answer 6 November 1996]: I apologise for not yet replying to the hon. Member. I will give a substantive answer in the new year.

Delphi Packard

Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the Government office for the west midlands plans to reply to the letter sent by the hon. Member for Coventry, North-East regarding an inquiry into grants made to Delphi Packard on 8 November.[8453]

Mr. Greg Knight [holding answer 10 December 1996]: I wrote to the hon. Member on Monday 16 December.

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 704

HEALTH

Consultancies

Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the consultancies awarded by (a) his Department, (b) the national health service executive and (c) the executive's regional offices in the last year. [8864]

Mr. Horam: The information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Food Poisoning

Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost to the national health service in 1995 of providing hospital treatment to patients suffering from food poisoning resulting from (a) salmonella, (b) campylobacter, (c) listeria, (d) E. coli 0157 and (e) other causes; and if he will make a statement. [9140]

Mr. Horam: The information requested is not available centrally.

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many E. coli 0157 outbreaks there were in each year since 1990. [9437]

Mr. Horam: The information is as follows:

E. Coli 0157 outbreaks in England and Wales

Year	Number of outbreaks
1990	2
1991	5
1992	5
1993	8
1994	5
1995(32)	11
1996(32)	10

Source:

Public health laboratory service.

(32) Provisional.

Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died from food poisoning in each year since 1990; and, in each case, what was the source of the infection. [9711]

Mr. Horam: Information on the number of people who have died from food poisoning is provided in the following table:

Deaths from food poisoning for England and Wales

Year	Number of outbreaks
1990	94
1991	82
1992	118
1993	109
1994	154
1995	203

Notes:

1. The data for 1990-92 represent registrations during the year.

2. The data for 1993 onwards represent occurrences during the year.

3. The introduction of a national case definition for food poisoning in 1992 may also have had the effect of increasing the range of infectious intestinal disease reported as food poisoning.

Information on the source of the infection for each case is not available.

Source:

Office for National Statistics--analysis of causes of death on death certificates.

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 705

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