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Armed Forces Personnel Debate
Mr. John M. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will write to the hon. Member for Solihull on the matters raised in the debate on Armed Forces Personnel, 1 July 1999, Official Report, columns 464-534. [90262]
Mr. Doug Henderson: Yes, I will write very shortly, and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Aircraft Sorties (Iraq)
Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sorties have been undertaken by British aircraft over Iraq since 1 January. [90142]
Mr. George Robertson: RAF aircraft undertook some 1,600 operational sorties in the period 1 January to 30 June 1999 in pursuit of their mission to prevent Saddam's air forces from persecuting the Kurds and Shia Muslims of northern and southern Iraq. The figure includes sorties by aircraft such as VC10 tankers which, although directly involved in this mission, did not enter Iraqi airspace.
Centre for Defence Medicine
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the NHS trusts that expressed interest in becoming the host for the Centre for Defence Medicine. [90627]
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Mr. Doug Henderson:
Eighteen Hospital Trusts expressed an interest in becoming the host for the Centre for Defence Medicine by responding to a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire. The full list is as follows:
Frimley Park Hospital NHS Trust
Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital Trust
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
North Bristol NHS Trust
North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust
Northern General Hospital NHS Trust (Sheffield)
Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals
Peterborough Hospitals NHS Trust
Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Salisbury Healthcare NHS Trust
St. Richard's Hospital, The Royal West Sussex Trust
Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust
The Lothian University Hospitals Trust (Edinburgh)
The Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust
The Royal Hospitals Trust
The University College London Hospitals Trust
University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust
University Hospital NHS Trust (Nottingham).
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Waste
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what actions are taken by his Department to restrict price fluctuations of waste (a) glass, (b) paper and (c) household metal waste. [90349]
Dr. Howells: These wastes constitute potential secondary raw materials and internationally-traded commodities which compete with virgin supplies. Their prices are best set by the operation of the market rather than by Government. However, we are committed to increasing recycling rates and consider the development of new and stable markets for recycled materials as being key to achieving this objective. A range of options for action which might assist in this process have been identified for the DTI by the Recycling Advisory Unit at AEA Technology plc, in a report entitled "Development of Markets for Recycled Materials", and these will be considered in tandem with the recently-published recommendations of DETR's Market Development Group.
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list for each of the past 10 years the total of energy produced by waste incineration; how many incinerators were operating in each of those years; and what is his Department's estimate of the fuel efficiency of incinerators compared to coal, gas and nuclear generation. [90352]
Mr. Battle:
Eleven energy from waste projects contracted under the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation arrangements in England and Wales generated almost 981 GW hours of electricity in 1998 and in so doing derived value from about 2 million tonnes of waste and
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made around 100,000 tonnes of ferrous metals available for recycling. These facilities operated with an average load factor in excess of 80 per cent.
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day between May 1997 and 14 April 1999; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that named day. [91070]
Mr. Byers:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 15 April 1999, Official Report, column 307.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the adequacy of arrangements to detect and prevent credit card fraud by users of pay-as-you-go mobile telephones. [90447]
Mr. Wills:
I am aware of some cases where credit cards have been used fraudulently to buy additional minutes for pre-paid mobile phones. I understand that the mobile phone operators have taken measures to prevent such use of credit cards and continue to implement tighter controls. While I am not aware of any representations being made to the DTI on this issue, I shall keep it under review.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 28 June 1999, Official Report, column 33, concerning public textphones, what factors underlie the difference between the figures provided and those in the answer of 17 November 1997, Official Report, column 52; what assessment he has made of British Telecom's plans to increase provision by 2000; what were the results of the Oftel consultation; and what plans there are for the further consultation exercise. [90451]
Mr. Wills:
The difference between the figures given in 1997 and in my answer of 28 June lies in variations in the needs of establishments which public textphone users frequent, and numbers fluctuate marginally over time. BT's plans in 1997 to increase numbers of public textphones by 2000 have been superseded by Oftel's subsequent consultation on improving telecommunications services for people with disabilities. BT is discussing future needs with disability groups.
Following the consultation, Oftel has recommended that the Secretary of State introduce new regulatory requirements including requirements for public textphones. The Government are planning to consult later this year on measures to improve access to telecommunications for the disabled.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the level of inward investment into the South West Government Office region for the last five years for which figures are available. [90962]
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Mr. Wills:
The following figures are based on information provided by companies at the time of the announcement of the decision to invest in the UK. They are based on the companies' best estimate, at that time, of the number of jobs to be created/safeguarded by the investment in its first three years.
| Region/year | Number of projects | Total number new jobs | Total number safeguarded jobs | Total number associated jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South West | ||||
| 1993-94 | 12 | 1,065 | 1,112 | 2,117 |
| 1994-95 | 21 | 1,366 | 707 | 2,093 |
| 1995-96 | 17 | 1,718 | 2,582 | 4,300 |
| 1996-97 | 30 | 2,304 | 8,928 | 11,232 |
| 1997-98 | 40 | 3,205 | 1,735 | 4,940 |
Edmonton Incinerator
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what inquiries have been held by his Department into the future expansion of the Edmonton incinerator. [90354]
Mr. Battle: My Department is currently considering an application under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to extend the Edmonton energy from waste power station. As part of that consideration we are obliged to take into action the views of statutory consultees such as the relevant local planning authority and the Environment Agency, as well as other representations and comments made.
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) representations and (b) information on public consultations he has received on the future of the Edmonton incinerator. [90355]
Mr. Battle: My Department has received over 40 representations on the application under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to extend the Edmonton energy from waste power station. The applicant, local planning authority and the Environment Agency have all carried out public consultations on the application.
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