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HOUSE OF COMMONS
Portcullis House
Mrs. Dean: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood), representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will make a statement on monitoring the progress of the Portcullis House project. [70000]
Mr. Kirkwood: The Commission has authorised a mid-term review of progress on Portcullis House.
The objective of the review, which is part of a continuing programme of supervision of the project, will be to satisfy the Commission that the new parliamentary building can be delivered, to the desired quality, on budget and within the agreed timetable.
The hon. Lady will be aware that in approving the principle of the new building, the House itself was well aware of the important heritage implications of what will be a major parliamentary development on an internationally important site. While the Commission recognises that Portcullis House needs to be a building of the first architectural quality, it has also been concerned throughout with the need to keep costs in control.
The review, to be conducted by Northcroft, will analyse cost movements to date and include an independent risk appraisal of outturn costs. It will also provide an opportunity to examine organisational structure and procedures used during the project.
Mr. David Heath:
To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee for what reason the House of
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Commons switchboard does not have available the fax numbers of Committees and Departments of the House. [69467]
Mr. Allan:
Action has recently been taken to ensure that the information available to the House of Commons switchboard is consistent with the contents of the internal Parliamentary Phone Directory. However, entries in that directory are determined by the wishes of Members, Departments and Committees and therefore are not necessarily comprehensive.
It has also been a long-standing policy that the switchboard will reveal telephone numbers to external callers only if expressly permitted to do so by the owner. This complements the restricted circulation of the Parliamentary Phone Directory.
If Departments and Committees wish their fax numbers to be listed and to be made available to external callers, there is no obstacle to doing so.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to assist local authorities with tourism offices. [68470]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 1 February 1999]: My Department is encouraging local authorities, as major deliverers of cultural services, to produce cultural strategies. These strategies will cover the broad range of cultural services offered by local authorities which relate to DCMS interest (including tourism) and aim to develop their economic and social impact through greater integration.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of (a) travel agents and (b) tour operators were members of the Association of British Travel Agents in (i) 1992, (ii) 1995 and (iii) 1998. [69375]
Janet Anderson:
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) suggests that in 1998 around 95 per cent. of high street travel agents and 65 per cent. of tour operators were ABTA members. Information is not available for 1992 and 1995.
Ms Jenny Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects the Radio Authority to produce guidelines for issuing licences to campus radio stations. [69728]
Janet Anderson:
The Radio Authority published its notes of guidance for low-powered AM licences, intended for use by establishments such as universities and hospitals, on 11 January 1999. Copies of the guidelines have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
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Mr. Dafis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the German Government on negotiation of contracts for processing nuclear waste in the United Kingdom. [69158]
Mr. Battle:
My right hon. Friend has had no discussions with the German Government on negotiation of contracts for processing nuclear waste in the United Kingdom. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Boswell) on 21 January 1999, Official Report, column 547.
Dr. Iddon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the production of highly enriched uranium for civil purposes is adequate to meet current demand. [69533]
Mr. Battle:
This is a commercial and operational matter for suppliers of enrichment services and their customers, subject to satisfying the necessary international and regulatory requirements.
Mr. Chidgey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates he has made of the annual increase in awards for unfair dismissal under the provisions of the Employment Relations Bill. [69593]
Mr. Ian McCartney
[holding answer 8 February 1999]: While some of the proposals contained in the Employment Relations Bill are expected to increase the number of applications to Employment Tribunals, others could reduce the number of disputes that result in an application to a Tribunal. We expect the net effect on the total number of applications to be very small. We have not made an estimate specifically of the number of unfair dismissal cases, or of how many of these may be successful at a Tribunal hearing.
Mr. Clapham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the total cost to public funds of the British Coal canteen workers equal pay claim; and when he expects the case to be resolved. [69896]
Mr. Battle:
This remains a matter for British Coal. I understand they have settled around 70 claims from UDM and a few NUM canteen workers at an average settlement cost of around £1,300 per claim. In the meantime, the Employment Tribunal has ordered that sample cases be referred to an independent expert, who has been asked to submit his report by March 1999. Subsequent progress will depend largely on the content of this report.
Dr. Tony Wright:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) the minutes of meetings, (b) the
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agendas of meetings and documents for those meetings and (c) a register of members' interests; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement; [69943]
(3) which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) the minutes of meetings, (b) the agendas of meetings and documents for those meetings and (c) a register of members' interests; and whether in each case this is under a statutory requirement; [69829]
(4) which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) admit members of the public to all board or committee meetings, (b) hold public meetings, (c) have lay or consumer representatives on their boards and (d) operate some form of appeal or complaints procedure; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement; [69980]
(5) which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have a statutory base; and which are subject to investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner. [69911]
Mr. Byers:
The executive and advisory non- departmental public bodies (NDPBs) sponsored by the Department are actively seeking ways of operating in a more open way consistent with the recommendations of "Quangos--Opening the doors". A number of executive NDPBs already issue summary reports of meetings where practicable and these are in the public domain; these include the National Consumer Council; the Gas Consumer Council; the Post Office Users Councils; the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the Research Councils. All executive NDPBs with board members have a register of their members' interests and these are available to the public, for example the Coal Authority publishes its register in its Annual Report and Accounts and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission place its register on its website. There is no statutory requirement in legislation for this sort of activity; however it represents good practice and is entirely consistent with "Quangos--Opening the doors".
In the case of advisory NDPBs, the Council for Science and Technology produces summaries of meetings and issues press notices on its website, which also contains information on meetings, events, and work in progress; it is also due to publish a register of members interest shortly. The Human Genetics Advisory Commission issues summary reports of meetings which are published on its website. It has a register of members' interests as do others, for example the LINK/Teaching Company Scheme Board, the Measurement Advisory Committee, the Spectrum Management Advisory Group, the Industrial Development Advisory Board and the seven Regional Industrial Development Boards. Other advisory NDPBs are taking steps to have registers of interest in place shortly, in line with the recommendations in "Quangos--Opening the doors". As in the case of executive NDPBs, there are no statutory requirements for this.
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The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority has held open meetings at its Dounreay and Windscale sites and also has local liaison committees which have a formal membership drawn from the local community. The Coal Authority's annual meetings are open to the public. The Research Councils regularly hold open days, seminars, exhibitions and public consultations. Other NDPBs, including the National Consumer Council, Gas Consumer Council, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, the Post Office Users National Council and the three Post Office councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are considering whether they might hold open meetings.
The National Consumer Council and the Gas Consumers Council both have a complaints procedure as part of their draft code. The Post Office Users National Council and the three national councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are in the process of establishing their own complaints procedures. There are no statutory requirements in this area.
The Standing Advisory Committee on Industrial Property holds public meetings; the Human Genetics Advisory Commission has held its first open meeting and is planning a programme of consultative meetings for this year; the Council for Science and Technology has provision for holding open public meetings within its code of practice and also for the co-opting of third parties onto the sub-group of Council members for particular topics. Several other advisory NDPBs including the Energy Advisory Panel and Measurement Advisory Committee are considering whether it would be appropriate for them to hold public meetings. There is no statutory requirement for them to do this.
(2) which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) admit members of the public to all board or committee meetings, (b) hold public meetings and (c) have lay or consumer representatives on their boards; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement; [69973]
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