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RUC

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings he has had with (a) present and (b) former members of the RUC since the publication of the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill. [140085]

Mr. Ingram: Since publication of the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill, Ministers have met with police associations which represent former and serving police officers. Also, officials and I have had numerous meetings, telephone conversations and exchanges of correspondence with members of the police family during this period.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 5 June 2000, Official Report, column 125W, on Special Advisers, if he will list the destination and the total cost, including travel, accommodation and subsistence allowance, on each of the occasions when departmental or non-departmental Special Advisers travelled abroad in an official capacity. [135254]

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Mr. Byers: During the period 31 March 1999 to 31 March 2000, Special Advisers in this Department travelled overseas once on official business to Brussels at a cost of £403. The cost of this visit was accounted for in expenditure on Ministers' travel overseas published by the Prime Minister on 28 July 2000, Official Report, column 969W, which for 1999-2000 was £4.6 million compared to £7.9 million for the last year of the previous Administration.

EU Grants

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has reached agreement with the European Commission over the payment of grants, discounts or subsidies for (a) the coal industry, (b) Rover, (c) Nissan, (d) the Universal Bank, (e) Regional Venture Capital funds and (f) the Climate Charge levy. [135655]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 30 October 2000]: The position on each case is as follows:

(a) yes;

(b) no notification is before the Commission;

(c) discussions are continuing;

(d) no notification is before the Commission;

(e) discussions are continuing;

(f) this is a matter for Treasury Departments.

Post Offices

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 1 November 2000, Official Report, column 462W, what action he is taking to prevent the closure of directly managed post offices and their transfer to agency status until new consultation procedures are in place. [138771]

Mr. Alan Johnson: In the light of the White Paper "Post Office Reform: A World Class Service for the 21st Century" and a subsequent recommendation by the Performance and Innovation Unit, discussions are taking place between the Post Office and the Post Office Users' National Council on a revised code of practice and consultation procedures relating to the closure or relocation of post offices. The Government's moratorium on conversions of directly managed post offices to agency status was lifted in December 1998 following agreement of a Post Office strategy whereby at least 15 per cent. of the total business transacted by the counters' network is done at remaining Crown offices.

Mr. Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what progress has been made in the establishment of the fund to improve the quality of post offices in deprived urban areas by installing security measures and modernising premises; [139105]

(2) what the mechanism is for allocating funds being made available to install security measures and to modernise post offices in deprived urban areas. [139106]

Mr. Alan Johnson [holding answer 21 November 2000]: Ring-fenced funding has been allocated from 2001-02 to help sustain and improve post offices in deprived urban areas. Discussions on the criteria and mechanisms for allocating funding are taking place between my Department, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Post Office.

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Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Post Office proposal for a formula for calculating a social network payment for sub-post offices is commercially confidential. [140261]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 24 November 2000]: Proposals on the future of the Post Office Counters network have been submitted to me by the Post Office "In Strictest Confidence". The Post Office plan is commercially confidential.

Military Exports (Israel)

Mr. Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what spare parts and other components have been exported by British companies in the last three months, for use in helicopters by the Israeli military; and what export licences for such equipment are pending. [138987]

Dr. Howells: Licences to export arms and other goods whose export is controlled for strategic reasons are issued by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and the Export Control Organisation (ECO) of the Department of Trade and Industry is the licensing authority. The ECO of the DTI does not compile records of licensed exports. Some licences are only used in part, while others may not be used at all. The extent to which the exports permitted by a licence are made is dependent on various factors; for example the customer's requirements may be less than originally expected or the expected contract may simply not materialise. Statistics on UK exports of military equipment are compiled by HM Customs and Excise. This information is set out in Part III of the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls.

As of 16 November 2000, 44 applications for a Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) and 19 applications for an Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) covering the export to Government or commercial consignees or end-users in Israel are awaiting a decision. It should also be noted that OIEL applications cover multiple shipments of specified goods to specified destinations or specified consignees, not specified end-users. These figures have been obtained by searching the ECO's computer databases using the entries relating to military aircraft spares.

In addition, Israel is a permitted destination on certain Open General Export Licences covering the export of goods on the Military List; copies of all Open General Export Licences are placed in the Library of the House.

Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many applications for permanent licences to export CS gas to Israel have been made each year since 1997; [139232]

(2) how many applications for permanent licences to export CS gas to Israel have been refused in each year since 1997. [139233]

Dr. Howells: The entry in the legislation under which the export of goods is controlled is known as their rating. The export of CS gas is controlled under the following entries in Part III of Schedule I of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 as amended (commonly known as the Military List): CS and other irritants under entry ML7; cartridges (as ammunition) containing CS irritants under entries ML3 or PL5021 and canisters containing CS irritants under ML4 or PL5030. However, certain other

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devices may also contain tear gas, for example, portable anti-riot devices for administering an incapacitating substance under PL5001; grenades under ML4 or PL5030; ammunition (including artillery and mortar) under ML3 or PL5021; gas projectors or generators under ML2 or PL5018; gas projecting equipment for controlled ground vehicles, combatant vessels or aircraft, that are specially designed or modified for military use under entries ML6, ML9, or ML10 respectively; and portable devices designed for self-protection by the administration of an incapacitating substance under entry 1A905 of the

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Dual-Use and Related Goods (Export Control) Regulation 1996, as amended. It should be noted that many other goods are also controlled under each of the entries referred to above.

The Export Control Organisation's computer databases have been interrogated. Between 2 May 1997 and 10 November 2000, 272 applications for a Standard Individual Export Licence (SIEL) and 45 applications for an Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) have been received covering the export to consignees or end-users in Israel of goods with the relevant ratings.

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Rating	2 May to 31 December 1997	1 January to 31 December 1998	1 January to 31 December 1999	1 January to 10 November 2000
	Number of SIEL applications received
ML2	1	2	0	2
ML3	8	12	9	12
ML4	7	8	14	13
ML6	6	15	3	7
ML7	1	4	1	0
ML9	7	2	8	11
ML10	16	36	21	46
	Number of OIEL applications received
ML2	0	0	0	0
ML3	0	0	0	0
ML4	0	2	1	3
ML6	0	3	1	5
ML7	0	0	0	0
ML9	0	3	2	6
ML10	0	7	3	15

Note:

There were no SIEL or OIEL applications received covering the export of goods with the ratings PL5001, PL5018, PL5021, PL5030 or 1A905

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It would entail disproportionate cost to establish which, if any of the applications received covered the export of CS gas. However, details of export licensing decisions between 2 May 1997 and 31 December 1999 have been set out in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls, published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; copies are in the Library of the House. The reports list by country of destination the numbers of export licences issued and refused in each equipment category and give details of the military equipment for which licences have been granted.

Between 2 May 1997 and 10 November 2000, one application for a SIEL was refused covering the export to consignees or end-users in Israel of goods with the relevant ratings. The paper records have been examined and this application covered the export of CS gas. In the same period no applications for an OIEL were refused covering goods with the relevant ratings.

This information should be considered in light of the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Mr. Berry) on 27 July 1999, Official Report, columns 307-08W.

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