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Car Clocking
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for legislation to make illegal the practice of car clocking; and if he will make a statement. [3855]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 already makes it an offence to sell a car, in the course of a business, with a false odometer reading. Some prosecutions are also taken under the Theft Act 1968. However, I am concerned that there can be difficulties in gathering the necessary evidence of a car's true mileage, and in tracing previous owners, and the Government is looking at ways of tackling these problems. The Director General of Fair Trading is expected to report shortly on the outcome of his recent consultation exercise on
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problems concerning used cars, including clocking. I and Ministerial colleagues will consider his findings and recommendations extremely carefully.
Mr. Moss:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received from trading standards chairmen calling for action against the practice of car clocking. [3836]
Ms Jackson:
The Institute of Trading Standards Administration and the Local Authorities Co-ordinating Body for Food and Trading Standards responded in 1995 to the consultation paper on new arrangements for vehicle registration. They supported the proposal that the provision of mileage information to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency when a vehicle changes hands should be made mandatory.
The question of making the provision of mileages a mandatory requirement of the registration system is currently under review.
Mr. Luff:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will visit Wyre Piddle, Worcestershire, to discuss the case for the proposed bypass. [3999]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
I hope to visit the West Midlands Region at some point in the future and shall bear in mind the possibility of a visit to Wyre Piddle when planning a programme. I should stress, however, that resources are tight and it appears unlikely that there will be funding available in this year's Local Transport Settlement for any new major scheme starts.
Mr. Chidgey:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) of 2 June, Official Report, columns 55-56, concerning evasion of road tax, if he will negotiate an agency agreement with those authorities who employ their own staff for parking enforcement to monitor unlicensed vehicles in the same way as traffic wardens do. [4065]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) already operates a scheme with London boroughs where local authority parking attendants report unlicensed vehicles to the Agency. Parking attendants detect such vehicles in the course of their day to day duties. Negotiations with a further six London boroughs are in hand and there are plans to extend the scheme to other local authorities outside London who are implementing their own parking enforcement regimes under the decriminalised parking powers now available across the country.
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14. Mr. Pickthall:
To ask the Prime Minister what are his plans for reducing the number of quangos. [2587]
The Prime Minister:
The Government believes that the previous Administration created too many unelected, undemocratic quangos. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has announced a review of quangos with the aim of reducing overall numbers.
Indonesia (Defence Exports)
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ensure that British companies do not undermine current US restrictions on the supply of specific military, security and police transfers to Indonesia; and if he will make a statement. [3586]
Mr. Tony Lloyd: We announced on 22 May, Official Report, column 135, an urgent review of the detailed criteria used in considering licence applications for the export of conventional arms worldwide. Current US policy in this field will be taken into account. All countries will be judged against the new criteria.
Visas
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 2 June, Official Report, column 82, on waiting times for visa applications, when he expects the Under Secretary of State to write to the hon. Member for Leicester, East. [4014]
Mr. Tony Lloyd: The information the hon. Member requested is as follows. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will therefore not be writing to the hon. Member.
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Entry clearance posts in the Indian sub-continent receive a heavy volume of applications to join families in the United Kingdom. People applying for an indefinite stay (known as "settlement") are divided into separate queues for interview. This allows posts to deal more quickly with those who may have a claim to compassionate treatment. The queue groupings are:
Q1: Spouses and children under 18 of British citizens; elderly relatives (maximum waiting time--3 months)
Q2: Spouses and children of non-British citizens (maximum waiting time--3 months)
Q3: Fiance(e)s and other first time applicants (maximum waiting time--6 months)
Q4: Re-applicants (maximum waiting time--9 months)
Military, Police and Security Equipment Exports
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment was made of the human rights record of the country for which the trans-shipment of electro-shock batons was licensed in 1993. [3943]
Mr. Tony Lloyd: A search of departmental records has so far not revealed any details of assessments made prior to the granting of this license. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Leeds Central will write to the hon. Member once officials have completed their enquiries. Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what formal procedures there are to monitor the use of military, police or security equipment supplied subject to assurances that the purchasers would not use such hardware for internal repression. [3944]
Mr. Lloyd: No such formal procedures have previously existed. But we are considering how best to take forward our commitment to prevent British companies from manufacturing, selling or procuring equipment primarily designed for torture and strengthen the monitoring of end-use of defence exports.
Iraq
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government are taking to obtain the balance of compensation owed by Iraq to former British hostages held in Kuwait, following the Iraqi invasion in 1990; and if he will make a statement. [4171]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Payment of outstanding compensation depends on the flow of money into the Compensation Fund under UN Security Council
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resolution (SCR) 986 (oil for food). The UK co-sponsored the renewal of this resolution on 4 June (SCR 1111) permitting Iraq to export up to US$2 billion of oil for a further six months.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the Minister without Portfolio has in the formulation of policy relating to the European Union. [4206]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The Minister without Portfolio is a Member of the sub-committee on European issues of the Cabinet Ministerial Committee on Defence and Overseas Policy (E) DOP.
Mr. Gunnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports the United Kingdom observers to the Algerian elections have made to his Department concerning the conduct of the elections. [3766]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
As members of the UN-coordinated election observer team, the two observers from the UK participated in the formulation of the United Nations report on the Algerian legislative elections. The overall conclusion of the UN report was positive although a number of concerns were noted, including on the question of special/mobile polling stations and on the number of ballot boxes.
Mr. Gunnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom observers to the Algerian elections were allowed the freedom usually accorded to international observers at domestic elections; and if they were allowed access to the count. [3767]
Mr. Lloyd:
The two British observers who participated in the UN-co-ordinated election observer team in Algeria were able to exercise their role within the confines of the extensive and necessary high level of security provided by the Government of Algeria: and they were allowed access to the count.
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