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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Prohibited Weapons (Exports)
Mr. Cohen: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many weapons prohibited under the terms of the Firearms (Amendment) Bill have been exported since the publication of the Bill. [11217]
Mr. Nelson: The information requested is not available from the United Kingdom overseas trade statistics because the system of classification under which trade is recorded does not separately identify the relevant categories of weapons. Export licencing procedures cannot provide the information since the Department does not hold details of deliveries against licences.
Gallaher Ltd.
Mr. Pendry: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what Government assistance will be made available to alleviate the effects of the loss of jobs resulting from the relocation of the Gallaher Ltd. factory from Hyde, Tameside. [11161]
Mr. John M. Taylor: The Government office for the north-west will first assess with local partners the type and level of needs to be met arising from Gallaher's recent announcement, and will then consider the appropriate resources to meet those needs.
Mr. Pendry: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when (a) he and (b) officials from his Department last met representatives of Gallaher Ltd., what was discussed; and if he will make a statement. [11163]
Mr. Taylor: I have not met with representatives of Gallaher Ltd. nor have officials from my Department.
Postal Services Directive
Dr. Howells: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress was made on the draft directive on postal services at the European Council of Ministers meeting on 18 December; and if he will make a statement. [10996]
Mr. Page: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Robinson), Official Report, column 238.
16 Jan 1997 : Column: 326
Co-operatives
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make an assessment of the (a) number, (b) distribution and (c) benefits of (i) food co-operatives, (ii) co-operatively owned wind farms and (iii) community land trusts in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [10535]
Mr. Page: To my knowledge there is one wind co- operative in the UK, Baywind Energy Co-operative, which has recently raised £620,000 to buy one of the five wind turbines of the Harlock Hill wind farm near Ulverston, in Cumbria. The aim of the co-operative is gradually to buy further wind turbines as money becomes available. About 650 people subscribed to its first share offer, spending an average of over £1,000. The majority of the subscribers come from the surrounding district.
Developing co-operatively owned wind farms encourages a community to accept responsibility for providing its energy requirements in an environmentally acceptable way.
It is for the market to decide which forms of ownership are the most successful.
My right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has responsibility for food co-operatives but it is not clear what the hon. Member means by community land trusts.
Mr. Burden:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if a school is permitted as a component part of a local authority to purchase serial shells, aerial maroons, shell-in-mortar, maroon-in-mortar and combinations for the purposes of a firework display. [11043]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
In the view of my Department, the reference to local authorities in the regulations refers to the elected members of a council and officers of the council acting in their official capacity. It does not extend to establishments such as schools under the control of local authorities.
Mr. Burden:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the competence of armed forces establishments to safely operate aerial shells, aerial maroons, shells-in-mortar, maroons-in-mortar and combinations; and if such establishments will be authorised under the Firework Safety Regulations 1996 to acquire such fireworks. [11042]
Mr. Taylor:
No assessment of the ability of the armed forces establishments to operate such fireworks safely has been undertaken. However, in the view of my Department such establishments would come within the exemption in regulation 4 (a) because of the exceptionally high level of skill and expertise in handling similar devices possessed by those who will be responsible for operating displays at such establishments, and have the formal management structures which enable displays to be operated safely and professionally.
Mr. Burden:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what mechanisms he intends to introduce to ensure that regulation 4 (b) of the Firework Safety Regulations 1996 applies only to those who have the skills and
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experience to assess compliance safely to operate aerial shells, aerial maroons, shells-in-mortar, maroons-in-mortar and combinations. [11044]
Mr. Taylor:
The exemption for any person whose trade or business, or part of whose trade or business, is the supply of fireworks has been included in the regulations to allow those in the distribution chain--such as manufacturers and importers--to supply other persons in the supply chain who may not themselves be in the business of operating firework displays. All those in the business of supplying fireworks are subject to separate legislation covering the safety and storage of fireworks. No other mechanisms are therefore necessary.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many homes will be able to receive Channel 5 through the extra frequency Channel 35; what assessment he has made of the length of time for which the service will be available under the present arrangement; and if he will make a statement. [10431]
Mr. Ian Taylor
[holding answer 13 January 1997]: Channel 5 Broadcasting estimates that access to channel 35 could mean that an extra 1.8 million homes an estimated 4 million people will be able to receive the service.
Channel 5 Broadcasting will have access to the frequency for a period of five years. Towards the end of this period, the Government will review the position on the development of more spectrum efficient digital services and will make a judgment whether, and if so for what period of time, Channel 5 may continue to use the channel.
Channel 5 is responsible for notifying viewers affected that these arrangements exist, and for investigating means of migrating services to other methods of delivery.
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the reliability of the data set incorporated into the computerised records of the radioactive and toxic wastes contained in (a) the shaft and (b) the intermediate level waste silo at the Nuclear Power Development Establishment at Dounreay; and what recent meetings he has held with (i) the director of Dounreay and (ii) the chairman of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority over waste management at the plant. [10799]
Mr. Page
[holding answer 13 January 1997]: As this is a management matter for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority I have made no assessment of these records.
I have held no meetings with the UKAEA to discuss waste management at the plant.
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health in how many cases in each of the last 10 years
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organophosphate poisoning has been listed on death certificates as (a) the main cause of death and (b) a contributory cause of death. [10531]
Mr. Horam:
Between 1986 and 1995 there was one death in England and Wales certified as due to accidental poisoning by organophosphates, in 1986. There were, however, the following deaths certified as due to non-accidental poisoning by organophosphates which were either due to suicide or where there was an open verdict, (undetermined):
| Year | Suicide | Undetermined |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 2 | 0 |
| 1987 | 1 | 0 |
| 1988 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | 0 | 1 |
| 1990 | 1 | 2 |
| 1991 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995 | 0 | 0 |
It would involve disproportionate cost to obtain figures for the number of deaths where poisoning by organophosphates was mentioned on the death certificate but was not the underlying cause of death for the period 1986 to 1992. However, this information is available for the period 1993-95 and is nil for each of the three years.
London Ambulance Service
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paramedics were employed by the London ambulance service during each of the last five years; and how many are currently employed. [10763]
Mr. Horam: The number of paramedics currently employed by the London ambulance service is 775. The historical figures are:
| Date | Paramedic numbers |
|---|---|
| December 1991 | 228 |
| December 1992 | 303 |
| December 1993 | 351 |
| December 1994 | 474 |
| December 1995 | 641 |
Mr. Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the trend in response rates by the London ambulance service in the London borough of Barnet during the last three years. [10775]
Mr. Horam: The number of emergency calls answered by the London ambulance service in the London borough of Barnet within 14 minutes, rose from 66 per cent. in June 1995 to 89 per cent. in December 1996. Demand rose from 1,495 in June 1995 to over 2,000 in December 1996. Information on earlier years is not available.
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