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Residential Properties
Mr. Meale: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the residential properties which are within his gift. [15709]
The Prime Minister: Chevening, Dorneywood and the three flats in Admiralty house.
Manpower Information Service
Mrs. Bridget Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he had made of the national on-line manpower information service report from the university of Durham; and if he will make a statement. [16307]
Mrs. Angela Knight: I have been asked to reply.
NOMIS--national on-line manpower information system--is the Office for National Statistics on-line labour market statistics database run under contract by the university of Durham. It enables users to access electronically via a modem link, a wide range of official labour market statistics.
NOMIS does not produce reports, but the information that it makes available is widely used for research purposes and under crown copyright is quoted as the source of information.
There are currently 800 subscribers to NOMIS, including local authorities, academics, research bodies, central Government and the commercial sector.
Ms Short:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a final decision will be taken by the Overseas Development Administration over
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Britain's contribution to the building of the Belize southern highway project; and what criteria will govern the appraisal of this project. [16194]
Dr. Liam Fox:
We expect to take a decision by June 1997. Project appraisal will be undertaken in accordance with established procedures, which require rigorous examination of economic, environmental, social and technical aspects.
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the British Government have recently held with (a) the Secretary-General of the United Nations, (b) the United States Government, (c) the Canadian Government and (d) regional Governments regarding the holding of a regional political conference in the great lakes region. [16324]
Dr. Liam Fox:
The UK is in close contact with EU partners, the UN, and with regional states, regarding a regional political conference on the Great Lakes. We fully supported recent statements by the European Union and UN Security Council endorsing such a conference. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development raised the issue during bilateral meetings this year with the Presidents of Uganda and Kenya.
Mr. Lloyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps Her Majesty's Government have taken to facilitate the holding of a regional political conference in the great lakes region. [16323]
Dr. Fox:
We believe that regional states must take a leading role in efforts to hold an international conference on the great lakes, and have regularly encouraged them to do so. We fully support the appointment of the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General and the Organisation for African Unity, Mohamed Sahnoun, who will co-ordinate international and regional efforts towards such a conference, which should be held under UN and OAU auspices. He is planning to visit London soon. The UK will continue to play an active role in the preparations for the conference.
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the conclusions of the United Nations inspector-general contained in his report on the international genocide trials in Rwanda. [16322]
Dr. Liam Fox:
I welcome the recent report by the UN office of internal oversight services into the international tribunal, which has identified areas of serious concern in the management of the tribunal. I commend Secretary-General Annan's announcement that he intends to reform the management of the tribunal.
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Mr. Lloyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) representations he has received and (b) discussions he has participated in regarding the management of the international genocide trials in Rwanda. [16321]
Dr. Fox:
We have received no representations regarding the international criminal tribunal. We fully support UN Secretary-General Annan's intention to address vigorously the reported problems in the management of the tribunal.
Mr. Fabricant:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what targets he has set for The Buying Agency. [16683]
Mr. Freeman:
I have set the agency the following targets for 1997:
Mr. Salmond:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what were the (a) total costs and (b) costs to each Department of (i) ministerial travel expenses (ii) foreign visits and (iii) accommodation costs in respect of (1) foreign visits and (2) other travel associated with ministerial duties in each year since 1992. [16256]
Mr. Freeman:
The information required is not held centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost.
Financial
to generate a return on capital employed of 8 per cent.
to increase sales of the core business by 20 per cent.
to increase customers of the fuel and energy business by 5 per cent.
Productivity
to reduce the cost per £ of savings from the core business to 4.4p.
to reduce the cost per £ of core business sales to 2.6p.
Customer satisfaction
to resolve 95 per cent. of customer complaints in one month.
to deliver 94 per cent. of direct orders by the due date.
Internal quality
to improve the quality of the agency's workplace by achieving the health at work award.
Environmental
to set up an environmental management system as described in ISO 14001 standard.
Privatised Utilities (Information)
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what guidance he has issued to the privatised utility regulators concerning the disclosure of information by the companies which they regulate. [15345]
Mr. John M. Taylor:
The right of domestic and smaller commercial consumers of electricity and gas to change supplier can be exercised with a minimum of bureaucracy only if certain specified information about customers can be passed between licensed suppliers. In October, at the request of The Office of Electricity
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Regulation, my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister for Energy made the Electricity Act 1989 (Disclosure of Information) (Licence Holders) Order 1996 to facilitate this. The Office of Gas Supply has had access to technical advice given by my Department to British Gas about the requirements of section 42 of the Gas Act 1986, as amended. The provisions in the new order and the Gas Act are subject to the normal requirements of the Data Protection Act 1984, which is administered by the Data Protection Registrar.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date his Department was first notified of Shell UK's proposals to dispose of the Brent Spar at sea. [15648]
Mr. Page:
Consideration of Shell UK's proposals to dispose of the Brent Spar was spread over a period running form August 1991 to December 1994.
Ms Walley:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations the Government have received from trade associations about the proposed changes to the trade fair support scheme. [15719]
Mr. Nelson:
As at 14 February 1997 officials and Ministers in my Department had received letters from 40 trade associations on this topic.
Ms Walley:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade for what reasons the Government are withdrawing financial support for the trade fair support scheme. [15718]
Mr. Nelson:
The Government will continue to support a substantial number of trade fairs.
The Government will be supporting core events under trade fair support scheme rules until March 1999. Support will be increasingly available for other fairs through the sector challenge. This will allow industry to propose more flexible and longer-term projects for exploiting the export opportunities that overseas trade fairs offer.
Ms Walley:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the level of financial support by the Government to the trade fair support scheme in the last three financial years. [15717]
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 17.1 |
| 1995-96 | 19.9 |
| 1996-97 | (14)18.9 |
(14) Estimate.
Ms Walley: To ask the President of the board of Trade if he will meet the British Ceramic Plant and Machinery Manufacturers Association to discuss the changes to the trade fair support scheme. [15720]
Mr. Nelson:
My Department has met a number of trade associations to discuss the changes and is willing to meet the British Ceramic Plant and Machinery Manufacturers Association.
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