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Oftel
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what preparations are being made by Oftel in respect of his responsibilities under the Competition Act 1998; what increase in staff is required; and what action is being taken to co-ordinate policy with the Director General of Fair Trading. [77686]
Mr. Wills [holding answer 22 March 1999]: Oftel is a member of the Concurrency Working Party, which is chaired by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and is working to ensure that a consistent approach is being taken by all regulators. A guideline "Concurrent Application to Regulated Industries", which deals with how regulators work with the Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) and with each other, has been produced by the Concurrency Working Party and issued by the DGFT. Oftel has also published draft guidelines on how the Competition Act will be applied in the telecommunications sector, and the final version is to be published in May. A compliance forum for the industry is to take place at the end of April 1999. In February, the DTI issued a consultation document, "Concurrency: consultation on the possible need and scope for regulations".
Oftel has put in place a structured training programme to ensure that staff are prepared for the coming into force of the Act, and is also participating in the training programme organised by the OFT. The issue of whether additional staff are required is reviewed regularly. Oftel has not yet bid for more staff.
Cassini Space Probe
Mr. Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations have been made by the British Government to the European Space Agency about the environmental risks of the Cassini space probe; and when such representations were made. [77935]
Mr. Battle: The British Government have been in close contact with the European Space Agency in both the preparation and elaboration of the Cassini-Huygens mission and have discussed all aspects of the mission with ESA on a number of occasions.
Mr. Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the British Government have obtained a copy of the European Space Agency's evaluation of the Cassini space probe. [77936]
Mr. Battle:
The Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moon Titan is a collaborative programme between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). Within this collaboration, NASA was responsible for developing
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the Cassini spacecraft. NASA commissioned two independent safety assessments and has produced a document summarising the findings which is available on the internet.
ESA was responsible for developing the Huygens space probe. Senior ESA Directors attended major NASA programme reviews during the development of Cassini and reported to member states on major milestones. These reports were given orally during the course of the Agency's normal programme board meetings.
Mr. Fitzpatrick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations have been made by the British Government to the Government of the United States about the environment risks of NASA's Cassini space probe; and when such representations were made. [77933]
Mr. Battle:
The BNSC has examined the two independent environmental impact statements commissioned by NASA prior to the launch of the Cassini-Huygens mission. Both of these endorsed the use of plutonium on the mission. In addition, under US law, NSA has a duty to minimise the risks associated with its work, as well as a responsibility to conform to the United Nations Principles on the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space (1992), an initiative in which the UK took a leading role.
Mr. Eric Clarke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if Scottish miners will be compensated for exposure to coal dust from 1947 onwards in any handling agreement concluded in respect of Scottish cases; [78758]
(3) if he will ensure that exposure to coal dust in the period before 1954 is not discounted for the purposes of compensation in any handling agreement concluded in respect of claims for compensation by Scottish miners for bronchitis and emphysema. [78757]
Mr. Battle
[holding answer 26 March 1999]: Officials held constructive and positive talks with Scottish solicitors on 30 March, and are due to meet in April, to discuss handling arrangements for the 5,000 or so claims from Scottish miners. Although we offered the handling arrangements that were agreed on 26 March for England and Wales, we recognise that there are differences in Scottish law and we discussed with the Solicitors how
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those differences might best be dealt with in any Scottish handling arrangements. We hope to finalise the arrangements for handling Scottish claims shortly.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which members of his Department had discussions with GJW, and on how many occasions and what dates concerning the wish by Cape plc to amend the Access to Justice Bill [Lords] to ban foreign workers of British companies obtaining legal aid; and whether the statement by officials that they would not be keen to see any developments which discouraged multinationals from locating their headquarters in the United Kingdom was made with the knowledge of Ministers. [78747]
Mr. Wills:
One of my officials recalls receiving a telephone call in early March from a Mr. Weeks, who did not identify himself as being from GJW, about inward investment. During this conversation the point was made that HMG supports inward investment into the UK. Cape plc were not mentioned during the conversation and it was not reported to Ministers.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria he uses in relation to a multinational's conduct and working practices abroad to assess the desirability of the company locating its headquarters in the United Kingdom. [78743]
Mr. Wills:
Multinationals who choose to locate their headquarters in the UK do so because the UK provides the right business environment in which they can flourish. Key features of top performing companies are the effectiveness and quality of their management and the commitment which that inspires in their workforce. Whilst the Government seek, through international bodies such as the UN, to improve working practices abroad they do not seek to vet the practices of individual companies that wish to establish headquarters in the UK. The Government are committed to creating a corporate culture in the UK where fairness is second nature. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998, the Working Time Regulations and the Employment Relations Bill will ensure that workers have minimum standards of protection.
Mr. Ruane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the oil spills from BHP platforms in Liverpool Bay on (a) 2 March and (b) 6 March; and if he will make a statement. [77955]
Mr. Battle
[holding answer 22 March 1999]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 17 March 1999, Official Report, columns 701-02.
The field remains shut in and the investigation continues. In the course of this investigation, on 15 March, BHP Petroleum also reported an oil spill from their Douglas installation that had occurred on 2 March. This is being investigated in conjunction with the spill of 6 March.
Mr. Stunell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received concerning BNFL Ltd. investment in Pangea Resources Inc. [77096]
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Mr. Battle
[holding answer 16 March 1999]: My Department has received no representation concerning BNFL Ltd. investment in Pangea Resources Inc. However, I have received representations from the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Allan) on behalf of a constituent who expressed concern over the impact of the Pangea project on Aboriginal communities and lands.
Mr. Ennis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate how many pensioners in the Barnsley East and Mexborough constituency are eligible for free eye checks. [73374]
Mr. Denham:
We are unable to make meaningful estimates for such a small area. Nationally, we estimate that about 21 million people are eligible for free National Health Service sight tests and, from 1 April 1999, some 6 to 7 million more people aged 60 and over will become eligible. The number of people aged 60 or over in 1997 in the North and Yorkshire Regional area was 1,321,000.
Mr. Syms:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will forecast what the average weekly earnings of nurses will be in 1999-2000 using April 1998 prices. [74023]
Mr. Denham:
Based on the Department's August 1997 Earnings Survey, uprated to take account of pay settlements up to and including 1 April 1999, the estimate of average gross earnings for all nursing and midwifery staff in 1999-2000 is £361 per week (equivalent to £18,800 per annum) and for qualified nurses alone £400 per week (equivalent to £20,800 per annum). It is not possible to express this estimate in April 1998 prices until inflation data are available for the 1999-2000 period.
(2) by what date he expects that a handling agreement will be concluded in respect of bronchitis and emphysema care involving Scottish miners; [78759]
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