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Environmental Assessments
Ms Walley: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if she will make a statement on current Government environmental assessment requirements; [11970]
- (2) what guidance from her Department in respect of environmental impact assessments applies to (a) the Fionaven and Schiehallion fields operated by BP and (b) any proposed future development at the Atlantic Frontier; and if she will make a statement; [11974]
(3) if she will list the existing independent arbitration arrangements to monitor environmental impact assessments in respect of development at the Atlantic Frontier; [11971]
(4) what plans she has to conduct further environmental impact assessments in respect of development at the Atlantic Frontier; [11972]
(5) pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Mr. Taylor), Official Report, 23 July, column 627, if she will set out the procedures currently in place to oversee environmental impact assessments in respect of future development at the Atlantic Frontier. [11969]
Mr. Battle:
I will write to my hon. Friend very shortly and place a copy of the letters in the Library of the House.
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Mr. Waterson:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will conduct a survey of the revenue, employment and economic impact accruing from the United Kingdom arms industry. [11824]
Mr. Battle:
I will write to the hon. Member very shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
Mr. Gerald Howarth:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the premiums paid by United Kingdom defence companies in each of the last 10 years in respect of ECGD cover for defence exports from the United Kingdom. [10304]
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 24 July 1997]: Premium earned in the defence sector for capital good and projects in the last 10 years is as follows:
| Year | Premium earned £ million |
|---|---|
| 1986-87 | 18.7 |
| 1987-88 | 8.9 |
| 1988-89 | 24.2 |
| 1989-90 | 13.1 |
| 1990-91 | 17.0 |
| 1991-92 | 10.7 |
| 1992-93 | 40.4 |
| 1993-94 | 37.7 |
| 1994-95 | 10.0 |
| 1995-96 | 23.7 |
Figures are not yet available for 1996-97.
Figures are not readily available for defence business on short terms of credit insured by ECGD prior to the privatisation of its Insurance Services Group in 1991.
Mr. Horam:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what response her Department made to the Bank of England's October 1996 report on the financing of technology-based small firms. [12237]
Mrs. Roche:
The Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe, Lord Simon of Highbury, welcomed the Bank of England's report as a very useful contribution to pinpointing the issues associated with the financing of technology-based small firms when speaking in the House of Lords on 19 June 1997 in the debate on the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee's report "The Innovation-Exploitation Barrier".
The Government are now discussing with the Bank of England the recommendations for action in the report.
Mr. Redwood:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action she plans to take to increase
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employment opportunities in engineering in the west midlands. [10324]
Mrs. Beckett
[holding answer 24 July 1997]: A key factor in increasing employment opportunities in the west midlands, as elsewhere, is a stable, long-term economic framework in which business can plan ahead. That is what my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has already begun to provide. I also expect the consultation process I have launched with business as part of the Competitiveness UK initiative to help identify a range of ways in which engineering and other manufacturing business can improve their competitiveness for instance in the area of innovation, exports and the supply chain. The Government office for the west midlands will be participating fully in this with local partners.
Mr. Streeter:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action the Council of Ministers will take to enable it to judge whether proposed legislation will hold back the creation and development of small and medium enterprises under article 118 of the treaty of Amsterdam; and if she will make a statement. [11401]
Mrs. Roche
[holding answer 30 July 1997]: The article will place a legal obligation on the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to ensure that directives adopted under it
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will introduce a requirement for gas installers to have public liability insurance. [5434]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths:
The Government do not believe that a requirement for public liability insurance by gas installers would be effective in safeguarding consumers. Compulsory insurance would not, of itself, ensure that installers have the necessary skills, competence and hardware to enable them to carry out their duties effectively and safely, which is the first line of defence for consumers. Gas safety legislation requires all gas installers to be registered with the Council of Registered Gas Installers and requires all gas transporters to ensure that their staff undertaking gas safety work meet appropriate standards.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if a public assessment of the impact of the multilateral agreement on investment and its impact on other Government policies will be carried out before the agreement is signed. [11863]
Mrs. Roche:
I stressed in the Adjournment debate on the MAI on 23 July that there may be a role for a broad
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assessment of the impact of the MAI on the environment. Provided that any such proposal will be effective, we will be willing to support it. More broadly, the Government will be happy to participate in discussions on the impact of the agreement.
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what oversight Parliament will have over the multilateral agreement on investment and its ratification. [11862]
Mrs. Roche:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 24 June 1997, Official Report, column 484.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on the current status of proposals for a fourth EU motor directive on motor insurance. [12512]
Mrs. Roche:
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a fourth Council directive on motor liability insurance and transmitted it to the Council and the European Parliament on 14 October 1997. The proposal is intended to assist people making claims for compensation for injury or loss arising from a road accident in another EU member state. It will be deposited in the House for Scrutiny in the normal way.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what procedures are currently in force, and what additional procedures are under review, in order that she can discharge her overall responsibility for state aids in development areas under section 7 of the Industry Act 1972. [12978]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
Under section 7 of the Industry Act, regional selective assistance is provided, on a discretionary basis, to investment projects which help to create or safeguard jobs in the designated assisted areas of Great Britain. No additional procedures are under review.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the patenting of human genes and tissues. [12840]
Mr. Battle:
Interpretation of these criteria is based on jurisprudence.
This Department is also currently undertaking a wide-ranging consultation on the EC's proposed directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions, which could harmonise and clarify national laws on the patenting of biotechnological inventions, so reducing current uncertainty in this area of law in Europe. It is an important initiative in an area where issues of research, ethics and business all need to be taken into account.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade when she expects to make a decision on the Monopolies and Mergers Commission inquiry into (a) the
27 Oct 1997 : Column: 691
proposed merger between P and O and Stena and (b) vertical integration in the travel industry. [12988]
Mr. Battle:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade gave her on 2 July, Official Report, column 181. The Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the proposed merger between P and O and Stena will be published as soon as is practicable. I cannot comment on the likely publication date of the MMC report or its contents, which remain confidential until publication. Consultation is taking place with the European Commission.
"avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises".
If the Parliament and Council ignored this obligation when adopting a directive, the European Court of Justice could, on application, hold the directive to be invalid.
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