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Austria (Bilateral Meetings)
Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many bilateral meetings were held between his Department and its Austrian counterpart in each of the last five years; and what was discussed at each meeting since May 1997. [109903]
Mr. Caborn: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those previously planned meetings and their subject, between his Department and its Austrian counterpart which have been cancelled since the formation of the new Austrian Government. [109905]
Mr. Caborn: The 'Britain Now' campaign, which was to involve a series of commercial and cultural events and was due to be held in Austria in May 2000, has been postponed. It may be rescheduled when the political climate is right and when commercial interests in the events themselves are more secure.
Departmental Functions (Food)
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if all food served at his Department's official functions meets the standards of production required of domestic producers. [109774]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 11 February 2000]: Only caterers who meet the statutory requirements of food safety legislation are used as suppliers to the Department. They are audited for compliance before being used for the first time, and then at least annually.
EU Structural Funds
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if money from a private company, acting in the capacity of a port authority, is eligible as matched funding for European Objective 2 funding. [110138]
Mr. Caborn:
It is perfectly acceptable for projects supported by the structural funds to be part-funded by the private sector. The Government encourage programme partnerships to provide for flexibility in their programmes between private and public funding. The amounts of public and private funding required for programmes are set out in the financial tables in each Single Programming Document which must be agreed with the European Commission.
16 Feb 2000 : Column: 559W
Mr. Chidgey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will use his powers under the Prices Act 1974 to regulate the charging of cash machine customers; and if he will make a statement. [109484]
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 11 February 2000]: I believe that any charges for cash machines should be clearly displayed before the transaction proceeds. I am aware that the banking industry is currently considering this in the context of the revision to the Banking Code and I hope that a voluntary agreement ensuring transparency will be achieved. Nevertheless, if this is not, I will use my powers in section 4 of the Prices Act 1974 to require the industry to display charges clearly.
Mr. Chidgey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what powers he has to regulate the charging of cash machine customers. [109483]
Dr. Howells
[holding answer 11 February 2000]: Under section 4 of the Prices Act 1974 the Secretary of State may by order require that charges for services such as the use of cash machines are indicated.
From 1 March the Director General of Fair Trading will have the power to examine such matters under the Competition Act 1998.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice he has received from the Trade Attache of the British Embassy in Chile concerning the trade effects of the arrest of General Pinochet. [110114]
Mr. Caborn
[holding answer 14 February 2000]: The Commercial Section within our Embassy in Santiago provides regular advice on trade-related opportunities and developments. British companies remain active in Chile, although trade over the past year has been affected by the impact of the Asia crisis on the sub-region, including Chile, rather than by the detention of Senator Pinochet.
Ms Oona King:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the unrecovered loans issued by the Export Credits Guarantee Department over the last 15 years which are attributed to defence-related contracts, broken down by (a) country, (b) financial amount and (c) equipment. [108740]
Mr. Caborn:
From information readily available, the value claims paid by ECGD in respect of defence-related contracts under guarantees issued in the last 15 years and which remain outstanding for recovery is as follows:
| Country | Value of claims outstanding |
|---|---|
| Algeria | 98 |
| Egypt | 46 |
| Indonesia | 131 |
| Jordan | 253 |
| Kenya | 16 |
The equipment supplied under these contracts includes aircraft, artillery, naval vessels, vehicles, communications and ancillary equipment.
16 Feb 2000 : Column: 560W
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the losses attributable to defence-related business with the ECGD broken down by (a) country, (b) goods and (c) financial amounts concerned for each year from 1997 to 1999. [108766]
Mr. Caborn [holding answer 7 February 2000]: No business for which ECGD has issued cover in the period 1997 to 1999 has given rise to losses.
| Market | Amount written off |
|---|---|
| Burkina Faso | 0.6 |
| Egypt | 0.7 |
| Tanzania | 0.1 |
Details of the goods are not readily available.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Traffic Accidents
Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents in Northern Ireland since 1988. [110318]
Mr. Ingram: The following table shows the number of fatalities and serious injuries in road traffic accidents in northern Ireland since 1988:
| Year | Fatalities | Serious injuries |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 178 | 1,969 |
| 1989 | 181 | 2,014 |
| 1990 | 185 | 1,993 |
| 1991 | 185 | 1,648 |
| 1992 | 150 | 1,841 |
| 1993 | 143 | 1,725 |
| 1994 | 157 | 1,648 |
| 1995 | 144 | 1,532 |
| 1996 | 142 | 1,599 |
| 1997 | 144 | 1,548 |
| 1998 | 160 | 1,538 |
| 1999 | 141 | (1)-- |
(1) Not yet available
Armed Robbery
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many armed robberies there have been in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement. [110052]
Mr. Ingram
[holding answer 14 February 2000]: There have been 729 armed robberies in Northern Ireland during the period from 10 April 1998 to 10 February 2000.
16 Feb 2000 : Column: 561W
Mr. Paterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the number of people who have been held at gunpoint in armed robberies in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement. [110316]
Mr. Ingram:
The number of persons held at gunpoint during the 729 armed robberies recorded since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in relation to the Memorandum of Understanding published in October 1999, he has attended a joint ministerial committee to discuss matters relating to the implementation of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; and if he will make a statement. [109226]
Dr. Reid: The implementation of this Act in Scotland has been the subject of regular contact between the Home Office and the relevant bodies in Scotland. UK Government Ministers are in frequent contact with Scottish Ministers on a wide range of matters. This issue has not been the subject of a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee.
Bilateral Concordats
Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, in relation to the Memorandum of Understanding published in October 1999, he will list the bilateral concordats between the Scottish Executive and UK Government Departments; and if he will make a statement. [109227]
Dr. Reid: The following bilateral concordats between UK Government Departments and the Scottish Executive have been published:
1. Cabinet Office
2. Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
3. Department for Education and Employment
4. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (main concordat)
(a) Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (subject specific concordat on Fisheries)
(b) Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (subject specific concordat on State Veterinary Services and Animal Disease Compensation)
5. Office for National Statistics/General Register Office for Scotland
6. Department of Trade and Industry
7. HM Treasury and Department of Trade and Industry (subject to specific concordat on public procurement and related international obligations)
8. Health and Safety Executive
9. Department of Culture, Media and Sport
10. Ministry of Defence
11. Lord Chancellor's Department
12. European Structural Funds
13. HM Treasury
14. Department of Health
15. Home Office
16. Department of Social Security.
16 Feb 2000 : Column: 562W
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