The following Questions were originally tabled for Thursday 29th May.
| *1 |
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what proposals she has to encourage inward investment. |
| 655 |
| *2 |
Mr John M. Taylor (Solihull): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if she will make a statement on the guiding principles which the Government will follow in superintending monopolies and mergers policy. |
| 656 |
| *3 |
Dr Alan W. Williams (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what measures Her Majesty's Government intends to take to improve the (a) competitiveness and (b) trading position of British companies within the European Union. |
| 657 |
| *4 |
Mr Dennis Skinner (Bolsover): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what measures she has for creating jobs in ex-coalfield areas with excessively high unemployment; and if she will make a statement. |
| 658 |
| *5 |
Mr Michael Fallon (Sevenoaks): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what plans she has to introduce new rights of statutory recognition for trade unions. |
| 659 |
| *6 |
Mr Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if she will make a statement on her Department's review of firework safety regulations. |
| 660 |
| *7 |
Mr Bernard Jenkin (North Essex): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what representations she has received from businesses concerning the future of business rates. |
| 661 |
| *8 |
Mr David Hinchliffe (Wakefield): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what proposals she has to meet representatives of companies affected by the coal closure programme. |
| 662 |
| *9 |
Mr Marsha Singh (Bradford West): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if she will make a statement on the Government's policy towards small businesses. |
| 663 |
| *10 |
Mr Peter L. Pike (Burnley): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what discussions her Department has held with the United Kingdom aerospace industry on the impact of the merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. |
| 664 |
| *11 |
Mr David Winnick (Walsall North): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if she will make it her policy that prior to companies making political donations a ballot of shareholders must be held. |
| 665 |
| *12 |
Dr Ashok Kumar (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what proposals she has to increase total manufacturing investment in the United Kingdom. |
| 666 |
| *13 |
Dr Norman A. Godman (Greenock and Inverclyde): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if she will make a statement on her proposals to create a Low Pay Commission. |
| 667 |
| *14 |
Mr Michael Fabricant (Lichfield): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what plans she has to encourage inward investment into the United Kingdom. |
| 668 |
| *15 |
Mr Mike Gapes (Ilford South): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if she will make a statement on the future of the Post Office. |
| 669 |
| *16 |
Mr Andrew F. Bennett (Denton and Reddish): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what assessment she has made about the impact of low wages on the competitiveness of British industry. |
| 670 |
| *17 |
Mr Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if she will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government policy on reform of the United Kingdom's framework of competition law. |
| 671 |
| *18 |
Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what steps she plans to take to assist small businesses in the West Country. |
| 672 |
| *19 |
Mr John Wilkinson (Ruislip Northwood): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what discussions her Department has had with representatives of (a) British Aerospace and (b) other aircraft manufacturing companies relating to the possibility of financial aid from Her Majesty's Government towards the Airbus 3XX project. |
| 673 |
| *20 |
Mr Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what plans her Department has to introduce a national minimum wage. |
| 674 |
| *21 |
Mr Hugh Bayley (City of York): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what steps she is taking to promote industrial investment in Yorkshire. |
| 676 |
| *22 |
Mr Martyn Jones (Clwyd South): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what progress has been made with regard to the possible incorporation of a social clause within future trading agreements; and if she will make a statement. |
| 677 |
| *23 |
Mr Ben Chapman (Wirral South): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what measures the Government intends taking to improve the competitive position of British companies within the European Union. |
| 678 |
| *24 |
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what plans she has to review regional aid policies. |
| 679 |
| *25 |
Mr Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what plans she has to assist small businesses. |
| 680 |
| *26 |
Mr David Hanson (Delyn): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what discussions she proposes to undertake with the Federation of Small Businesses regarding her proposals on statutory interest on late payments. |
| 681 |
| *27 |
Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, when her Department proposes to publish the results of the Consultation on Strategic Export Controls of October 1996; and if she will make a statement. |
| 682 |
| *28 |
Mr John Gunnell (Morley and Rothwell): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what assessment she has made of the advantages of membership of the European Union for the attraction of inward investment. |
| 683 |
| *29 |
Mr Gordon Prentice (Pendle): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what steps she is taking to (a) support and (b) encourage the development of the aerospace industry in the North West. |
| 684 |
| *30 |
Mr Dale Campbell-Savours (Workington): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what proposals she has for further review of the assisted areas map. |
| 687 |
| *31 |
Mr Keith Vaz (Leicester East): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if she will make a statement on the progress of the liquidation of BCCI. |
| 688 |
| *32 |
Mr Richard Page (South West Hertfordshire): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, how many organisations representing small firms indicated to her Department whether they are (a) for or (b) against a statutory right of interest in the recent consultation exercise. |
| 689 |
| *33 |
Mr David Amess (Southend West): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what recent representations she has received on the likely effects of the minimum wage and social chapter on Britain's trading prospects. |
| 690 |
| *34 |
Mr Archy Kirkwood (Roxburgh and Berwickshire): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what plans she has to review the system of regional development assistance. |
| 691 |
| *35 |
Helen Jackson (Sheffield, Hillsborough): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what proposals she has to strengthen the role of consumers in the regulation of public utilities. |
| 693 |
| *36 |
Mr Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside): To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what is her policy on launch aid for companies engaged in the aerospace industry. |
| 694 |
