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Gas-powered Generating Stations
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made, in mega watts and kilowatt hours, of the amount of gas-powered electricity generating capacity which has not been proceeded with as a result of the introduction of the moratorium on the approval of licences for new gas-powered generating stations. [109359]
Mrs. Liddell: 15 proposals amounting to some 6 GW of new gas-fired capacity have been refused clearance under the stricter consents policy. It is not possible to say for certain how many of these proposals would have proceeded to construction had consent been granted, nor how much electricity would have been generated by them.
If all the proposals had proceeded to development and expected to reach 80 per cent. load factor, then they would have produced some 42,000 million kilowatt hours per year once they reached full operation. This is about the maximum output these proposals could have produced.
Pakistan
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidelines have been given to officials regarding the issuing of export licences for defence equipment to Pakistan. [109731]
Dr. Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs my hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) on 20 January 2000, Official Report, column 578W.
Polish Coal
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he has taken to stop the dumping of Polish coal on the UK market; and if he will make a statement. [109020]
Mrs. Liddell:
The UK coal industry have made representations to the Government about the imports of Polish coal at prices that appear to be below the cost of production.
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 368W
Trade relations with third countries such as Poland fall within the competence of the European Communities. The Government have written to the Commission highlighting the difficulties being experienced by the UK coal industry due to Polish coal imports and urging them to address this problem.
In this regard the Government are exploring with the European Commission as a matter of urgency whether there is any possibility of resolving this issue through the EU-Poland Europe Agreement.
In addition to this, Ministers and officials have emphasised to the Polish Administration the importance that we place on having a fair and competitive market for coal in the UK.
It is the European Commission's responsibility to investigate allegations of unfair dumping or subsidy. The Government are urging the European Commission to investigate any complaints from the UK industry as rapidly as possible.
Mr. Ennis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the establishment of the Coalfields Enterprise Fund. [108730]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
I have been asked to reply.
The Coalfields Task Force Report "Making the Difference" set out a programme of actions to combat the deprivation now faced by the coalfield communities. One of the recommendations was the creation of a fund to provide loans and equity investment to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with high growth potential in the coalfields.
On 1 December 1998, at a Coalfields Conference in Peterlee, County Durham, the Deputy Prime Minister agreed to this recommendation and set aside £15 million to invest in the Coalfields Enterprise Fund.
The development of the Fund, by English Partnerships on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions is well advanced and the target is for the Fund to be operational in the spring.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the economic impact on business associated with (a) the Deregulation (Wireless Telegraphy) Order 1996 (S.I., 1996, No. 1864) and (b) the Contracting Out (Functions in Relation to the Management of Crown Lands) Order 1998 (S.I., 1998, No. 215). [108807]
Mr. Chris Smith
[holding answer 7 February 2000]: I have been asked to reply in view of my Department's responsibility for the two statutory instruments in question. As I said in reply to my hon. Friend on 27 January 2000, Official Report, columns 301-02W, the 1996 Order was estimated to have saved TV dealers £10,000 a year each. The impact on business in general of the 1998 Order has not been estimated, but will have been negligible; the benefits to Exchequer funding by grant-in-aid is however estimated to be a saving of £7 million per year.
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 369W
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Solicitor-General if the CPS will advertise all temporary acting-up posts of more than four weeks duration. [109374]
The Solicitor-General:
On 31 January 2000 the Employment Tribunal promulgated its decision on the remedy in the case of Bamieh v. Crown Prosecution Service (Case number 2202655/98). The Tribunal recommended that with effect from one month after the promulgation of its decision and for a period of 12 months, all temporary acting-up posts as Prosecution Team Leader of more than four weeks' duration (i.e. not simply covering on holidays) should be advertised by the CPS by notice or circular letter to all staff who might be qualified as candidates. The CPS is considering how this recommendation should be met.
In the meantime, absences of more than three months will be covered by temporary promotion arrangements in which expressions of interest will be sought from staff in response to details circulated by management. A panel will be convened to decide who should be appointed.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Solicitor-General if he will make a statement on the decision in the case of Bamieh v. Crown Prosecution Service (Case No. 2202655/98) in the Employment Tribunal, on 31 January. [109375]
The Solicitor-General:
The Tribunal decided that Ms Bamieh was entitled to compensation totalling £38,358.22 for the loss of opportunity for promotion, injury to feelings (including an element of aggravated damages) and interest. Arrangements are in hand for the payment to be made.
The Tribunal also recommended that with effect from one month after promulgation of this decision and for a period of 12 months, all temporary acting-up posts as Prosecution Team Leader of more than four weeks' duration (i.e. not simply covering on holidays) should be advertised by the CPS by notice or circular letter to all staff who might be qualified as candidates.
A revised CPS temporary promotion procedure came into effect on 31 January 2000. The CPS is considering how the Tribunal's recommendation can be met and whether further changes to that procedure should be made.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what will be the total cost to his Department of redundancy and associated entitlement moneys paid to servicemen from the Non-Regular Permanent Staff of the Territorial Army made redundant under the terms of the Strategic Defence Review; and if he will make a statement; [101921]
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 370W
Mr. Spellar
[holding answer 13 December 1999]: A total of 449 Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS) posts have been removed from the Territorial Army as a result of the Strategic Defence Review. Some incumbents of these posts will be found other jobs but the sizeable remainder will regrettably be made redundant. As at 1 February, 321 NRPS have been made redundant at a total cost of approximately £8.8 million. The total redundancy bill will only be known when all those affected have left because payments are calculated on an individual basis, depending on length of service and rate of pay on discharge.
Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Nimrod aircraft are (a) serviceable and (b) unserviceable; [107047]
Mr. Spellar:
The information requested is set out in the table. This represents a snapshot in time at 8 a.m. on 26 January.
(2) how many members of the Non-Regular Permanent Staff of the Territorial Army are due to be made redundant under the terms of the Strategic Defence Review; and if he will make a statement. [101922]
(2) how many Tornado aircraft are (a) serviceable and (b) unserviceable. [107048]
| Tornado | Tornado F3 | Nimrod MR2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of aircraft allocated to front-line(2) | 119 | 86 | 23 |
| Serviceable(3) | 94 | 79 | 16 |
| Undergoing servicing at 2n line | 25 | 7 | 3 |
| Undergoing servicing at 3rd/4th line | 6 | 11 | 4 |
| Undergoing upgrade | 48 | 16 | 5 |
| Aircraft on trials | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Fleet size | 174 | 114 | 28 |
(2) The allocation to front-line units is made up of all aircraft which are serviceable or are at 1
st or 2
ndd and 4
th line maintenance for the Nimrod) as this servicing work is undertaken at the station. RAF fleet size is made up by totalling all aircraft.
(3) Includes aircraft that are undergoing 1
st line servicing.
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