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Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the latest position in respect of the two new aircraft carriers planned for the Royal Navy; what is his assessment of the costs of the programme; if the programme is up to date; and if he will make a statement. [122975]
Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friends the Members for Ilford, North (Ms Perham) and for Plymouth, Sutton (Mrs. Gilroy) on 17 April 2000, Official Report, columns 678-80.
Gulf Veterans
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the Gulf Veterans Medical Assessment Programme; and if he will make a statement. [122928]
Mr. Spellar: The Gulf Veterans Medical Assessment Programme (GVMAP) was established in 1993 to provide as full a diagnosis as possible to UK veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict who are concerned about their health. The GVMAP continues to see new patients and to date 2,991 veterans have been seen. GVMAP offer patients an appointment within four to six weeks of referral.
A management audit of the GVMAP was undertaken by King's Fund Health Quality Service in late 1998. This was concerned with all aspects of patient care and the service provided. The auditors were impressed with the organisation of the GVMAP and the enthusiasm and commitment of the staff to the provision of a high quality service. However, the auditors made a number of specific recommendations for improving the service. In January the Gulf Veterans Illnesses Unit published a report detailing the progress made by GVMAP in implementing the auditors' recommendations. The Royal College of Pathologists are in the process of reporting on the clinical procedures used at the GVMAP.
A paper describing the clinical findings from the first 1,000 patients examined at the GVMAP was published in the British Medical Journal in January 1999. A follow-up paper on the next 1,000 patients will be submitted for publication shortly.
22 May 2000 : Column: 322W
In its continuing support of research into Gulf veterans illnesses, the GVMAP is providing anonymised medical data relating to UK Gulf veterans, for a study by King's College, London on war syndromes in British and American veterans of wars from 1900.
Joint NBC Regiment
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is (a) the cost of and (b) the handover date for the new buildings at HQ Joint NBC Regiment at Winterbourne Gunner. [123117]
Mr. Spellar: The new buildings at Winterbourne Gunner are to house the Defence NBC Centre. The approximate cost of these is £7 million and the handover date will be 12 June.
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultations he held with (a) the county councils and (b) the district councils concerned before deciding to locate the Joint NBC Regiment at RAF Honington. [123115]
Mr. Spellar: The appropriate local authorities for the areas concerned were informed at the end of March 1999 that a study was under way to determine the best long term location for the Joint NBC Regiment. We did not receive any representations from the local authorities following these letters. Had we done so, we would of course have given them due consideration. The appropriate local authorities are also being informed following my recent announcement.
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what new buildings will be constructed at RAF Honington, at what cost and over what time scale, to accommodate the Joint NBC Regiment; and if will make a statement. [123118]
Mr. Spellar: It is likely that a new office block, training complex and hangar works will be required. Additional single living accommodation will also need to be built. The estimated maximum cost of these works is £9 million.
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the Joint NBC Regiment based at RAF Honington train at (a) DERA-CBD Porton Down, (b) Salisbury Plain Training Area and (c) elsewhere; and if he will make a statement. [123121]
Mr. Spellar: The Joint NBC Regiment trains at Porton Down, Salisbury Plain and elsewhere, for example, on Stanford Training Area, close to RAF Honington.
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if (a) secure voice communications and (b) secure information technology networks are in place between RAF Honington and Defence NBC Centre at Winterbourne Gunner. [123120]
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to release the Farringdon House Territorial Army Centre in North Cheam for use as accommodation for asylum seekers. [122840]
22 May 2000 : Column: 323W
Mr. Spellar: There are no plans for Farringdon Territorial Army Centre (TAC) in North Cheam to be used as accommodation for asylum seekers.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Electricity Industry
Mr. Ian Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many job losses have been announced in the past 12 months in the electricity generating and distributing industry; and what is his estimate of the impact on jobs in (a) the industry and (b) the Electricity Association that will arise as adjustments are made following changes brought about by the Utilities Bill and the new electricity trading arrangements. [122488]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 16 May 2000]: No central figures are available on the number of job losses announced in the electricity industry over the past 12 months, nor is it possible to attribute any changes in the levels of employment which may occur in the future to either the Utilities Bill or the new electricity trading arrangements.
Oil and Gas
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the oil fabrication yards in the UK which have access to (a) Objective 1 European funding, (b) Objective 2 European funding, (c) Objective 3 European Funding, (d) special programme funding and (e) assisted area status. [122834]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 19 May 2000]: All of the main UK oil fabrication yards are in areas where European Structural Funds are available in the programming period beginning this year. The Objectives these areas qualify under are listed:
- Harland and Wolff, Belfast is in the Northern Ireland special PEACE programme area.
- Lewis Offshore, Stornoway and Barmac at Nigg and Ardersier are in the Highlands and Islands special transitional Objective 1 area.
- Consafe Burntisland, Fife is in a transitional Objective 2 area.
- UIE, Clydebank and Greenock, Kvaerner Methil, Fife, Aker McNulty, South Shields, AMEC, Wallsend, Heerema, Hartlepool, Kvaerner, Teesside, Odebrecht, Teesside and SLP, Lowestoft are all in Objective 2 areas.
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the employment levels in each of the UK's oil fabrication yards broken down by individual site in May (a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000. [122833]
22 May 2000 : Column: 324W
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 19 May 2000]: The employment level at each of the UK's fabrication yards is set out in the table.
| Fabrication yard | May 1998 | May 1999 | May 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aker McNulty Ltd.--Tyne & Wear | 4,589 | 503 | 316 |
| Amec Process & Engineering Ltd.--Tyne & Wear | 818 | 1,478 | 87 |
| Barmac--Nigg & Ardersier | 3,379 | 4,255 | 2,954 |
| Consafe--Fife | 802 | 236 | 104 |
| Hereema--Hartlepool | 253 | 364 | 102 |
| Kvaerner Oil & Gas--Fife | 278 | 485 | 805 |
| Kvaerner Oil & Gas--Teeside(3) | 800 | 1,700 | 0 |
| Lewis Offshore--Stornoway(4) | 314 | 136 | 14 |
| Odebrecht-SLP Engineering--Teeside | 267 | 168 | 148 |
| SLP 2000--Lowestoft | 537 | 244 | 216 |
| UiE Clydebank--Glasgow | 3,150 | 1,100 | 50 |
(3) Now closed
(4) In receivership
Entrepreneurs
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research his Department has undertaken into discrepancies between the numbers of (a) white entrepreneurs and (b) ethnic minority entrepreneurs obtaining business loans and other forms of financial assistance. [123085]
Ms Hewitt: The experiences of ethnic minority businesses in the UK in raising finance are extremely varied and the nature of the problems they face are very complex. This is why the DTI, together with the Bank of England and the British Bankers Association is supporting an extensive new study into the finance needs of ethnic minority businesses.
The study, which began in January, will survey 1,000 business owners from five ethnic groups in London, Birmingham, Leicester and Strathclyde over a two year period. It will address issues of perceived and actual discrimination.
This high quality research over an extended time scale will provide the banks and the DTI with a solid foundation upon which to help all ethnic minority business to succeed.
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