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Disability
Mr. Burstow: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make it her policy to adopt a social model of disability in framing all future and amending previous relevant legislation and guidance; and if she will make a statement. [1680]
Mr. Ian McCartney: The Department of Trade and Industry is committed to participating fully in development of policy of comprehensive, enforceable civil rights for disabled people. Overall responsibility for disability is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment.
Water Cannon
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade which strategic export control category is used to identify marker dye used in the Tactica water cannon; and if she will list the countries in respect of which such licences have been granted in each year since 1992.[1833]
Mrs. Roche: Marker dye is not subject to export control.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the export control categories under which water cannon have been categorised. [1848]
Mrs. Roche: PL5001.e of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, as amended, or ML6 of that Order where mounted on a vehicle specially designed or modified for military use.
Indonesia
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many water cannon exported to Indonesia have received Export Credits Guarantee Department cover.[1849]
Minimum Wage
Mr. Colvin: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the proposed statutory national minimum wage, once implemented, will be index-linked to (a) the retail prices index or (b) average earnings. [847]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
The independent Low Pay Commission will recommend to Government the initial level of the National Minimum Wage, according to the
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economic circumstance of the time, and will have responsibility for reviewing the level of the Minimum Wage.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is her policy in respect of the measures proposed by the European Parliament to preserve the market position of Eastern Caribbean bananas against competition from bananas produced in central and South America. [1050]
Mrs. Roche:
The position of Eastern Caribbean banana imports into the EU market is closely related to the special provisions of the EU banana regime. This regime is currently the subject of dispute settlement proceedings in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which are not yet completed. The Parliament's views on Commission proposals for changes to the regime will be taken into account when the Council of Ministers comes to decide on the future of the regime in the light of the final outcome of the current WTO dispute.
The Government are conscious of our historic commitments to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) banana producers, including those in the Eastern Caribbean, and of our obligations as members of the WTO.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she plans that the statutory national minimum wage will include provisions for piece workers; and if she will make a statement. [1774]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
The Gracious Speech made clear our commitment to the introduction of legislation to set in place a National Minimum Wage which will provide a wage floor for employees, including those employed as pieceworkers. It will be set sensibly with the advice of the independent Low Pay Commission.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade when she expects to implement the working time directive; and if she will make a statement on its extension to transport workers. [1128]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
We shall implement the Working Time Directive without any further avoidable delay. The European Commission are expected to publish a White Paper on options for dealing with the sectors of activity excluded from the Directive shortly.
Mr. Etherington:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list all United Kingdom patents that have been (a) applied for and (b) granted since 1 July 1995 in respect of genetically engineered animals and processes for creating such animals. [1119]
Mr. Battle:
I can only give information about patent applications which have been published. Prior to publication such information is confidential. There have been a total of three patent applications filed under the 1977 Patents Act and published since 1 July 1995 relating to genetically engineered animals and processes for
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preparing them. Patent application No. GB 2295395 relates to an animal model for Alzheimer's disease, application No. GB 2291646 relates to transgenic fish and application No. GB 2288807 relates to transgenic animals expressing an insecticidal protein. None of these applications have yet been granted. One application, namely GB 2265909, which was made before 1 July 1995 and which relates to a process for producing transgenic animals, has since been granted. This information covers only applications filed at the UK Patent Office and does not include applications filed at the European Patent Office and which may have the legal effect of UK patents when granted by that Office.
Mr. David Heath:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what plans she has to intervene to prevent the closure of Crown post offices and their replacement by franchised facilities when such closures are not supported by the local community. [1560]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
I announced on 16 May a comprehensive review of options for implementing the Government's election manifesto pledge to grant the Post Office greater commercial freedom. In the context of this review, I also announced that the Post Office had, at my request, agreed to suspend its programme of converting Crown post office to agency status--except where irreversible contractual commitments already existed--until we are in a position to make informed decisions. The proposal to convert the Crown post office in Frome has therefore been suspended.
Mr. Healey:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if a decision has been made on the chairmanship of the Low Pay Commission. [1907]
Mrs. Beckett:
I am pleased to announce that Professor George Bain, currently Principal of the London Business School, has accepted the Government's invitation to chair the Low Pay Commission.
Mr. Key:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade for what reasons European Commission non-objective area Konver expenditure on the Navy, Army and Air Force Institution re-employment programme at Amesbury has been stopped; and if he will make a statement. [1093]
Mrs. Roche:
It is a requirement of the Konver II Programme that expenditure in non Objective 1, 2 and 5(b) areas, for the UK as a whole, cannot exceed 50 per cent. of the total Konver II programme allocation. To ensure that this limit would not be breached, the Konver II Programme Monitoring Committee agreed at their last meeting, that commitments to projects in these areas needed to be put on hold whilst ceilings on expenditure were being considered. Following discussions with the Government Offices and relevant Government Departments, the applicants in the South West have been
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advised that commitments in these areas can now be resumed. Subject to final approvals, a commitment of funds to this project is expected shortly.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what support her Department offers to British companies wishing to bid for reconstruction projects in the Republic of Bosnia Herzegovina; and if she will make a statement.[1452]
Mrs. Roche:
Reconstruction projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina are funded principally by the World Bank, European bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Commission. Information on these, and other multilateral aid funded projects, is held by the World Aid Section of my Department and is available to all British companies.
More generally, my Department has also promoted awareness among British companies of the opportunities--both general and specific--arising out of the international reconstruction effort in Bosnia through, among other initiatives, the mounting of conferences and seminars. My Department also provides regular updates on the latest commercial and political developments to companies which have expressed an interest in reconstruction opportunities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the current level of taxation being levied by Japan on (a) Scotch whisky and (b) scochi; and if he will make a statement on convergence of taxation. [1365]
Mrs. Roche:
As the question asks about convergence of liquor tax rates in Japan, a clear reference to the recent dispute over Japan's discriminatory taxation of foreign spirits compared with Japanese shochu, this answer assumes that the reference to "scochi" is a mistranscription of "shochu".
The current level of taxation levied by Japan on Scotch whisky of 40° of alcohol is 982,300 Yen per kilolitre (=Y/KL) and on shochu of 25° of alcohol is 155,700 =Y/KL. However, as a result of negotiations between the EU and Japan to end discriminatory taxation of foreign spirits, the taxation on Scotch whisky will fall by 44 per cent. on 1 October 1997 to 551,000 =Y/KL and fall again on 1 October 1998 to 409,000 =Y/KL. Taxation on shochu will rise on 1 October 1997 to 201,900 =Y/KL and rise again on 1 October 1998 to 248,100 =Y/KL. A further transition period is granted for one type of shochu (shochu B). This will mean that once these changes are fully implemented the tax differential on a tax rate per kilolitre per degree of alcohol basis will be reduced from around 600 per cent. to just 3 per cent. for Scotch whisky, whilst taxation rates for shochu and white spirits will be equalised. The Scotch Whisky Association estimate that this will be worth some £75 million every year.
Furthermore, the WTO ruling obtained in reaching this settlement provides a useful precedent for tackling discriminatory taxation in other countries. As a result, the EU is already undertaking WTO consultations with the South Korean Government and have proposed initiating WTO consultations with Chile.
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(2) if she will intervene to stop the proposed closure by Post Office Counters Ltd. of Frome Post Office and its replacement by franchised facilities. [1559]
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