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Nuclear Industry
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which canals were used by the PNTL transport ships used in transporting MOX fuel to Japan. [140598]
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on impediments faced by the PNTL vessels travelling through (a) the Panama Canal and (b) the Suez Canal. [140599]
Mr. Byers: PNTL ships enjoy the same rights to freedom of navigation as any other commercial vessel.
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the divisions of responsibility were between the UKAEA constables on board PNTL ships and the masters of those ships in respect of the return to Japan of nuclear materials from Sellafield. [140600]
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Mr. Byers: The masters of PNTL ships undertaking shipments of nuclear materials between Europe and Japan retain full responsibility for the safe operation of the ships at all times, including when the ships are transporting MOX. The role of the UKAEA Constabulary (UKAEAC) is to protect the cargo against theft or sabotage.
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what arrangements he plans to make for future shipments of MOX fuel between Europe and Japan; [140597]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the compliance of the shipments of MOX fuel from Sellafield to Japan with US requirements concerning safety and physical protection; and if the vessels concerned were classed as engaged in commercial cargo operations. [140601]
Mr. Byers: The United States Government have confirmed, after careful scrutiny by all the relevant agencies, that the arrangements that were put in place for the shipment of MOX from Europe to Japan fully satisfy the physical protection provisions of Annexe 5 of the 1988 US-Japan Nuclear Co-operation Agreement.
PNTL vessels involved in MOX shipments are civilian vessels engaged in commercial cargo operations.
Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) total costs to date and (b) projected future costs to public funds are of decommissioning nuclear power stations; and if he will make a statement. [140474]
Mr. Byers: The total costs to date of reactor decommissioning by BNFL have been approximately £0.4 billion. The projected future spend by BNFL on decommissioning their nuclear power stations (based on undiscounted March 2000 money values) is £8 billion.
The cost of liabilities relating to British Energy's stations will be met by the company, with decommissioning liabilities being covered by a segregated fund operated by trustees.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial liability will be passed on by BNFL to a successor authority; and how this liability will be funded. [140387]
Mr. Byers: No decisions have been taken yet on the future handling of BNFL's liabilities in the context of a PPP.
Balance of Trade
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the deficit or surplus in the balance of trade in the latest month for which figures are available. [140118]
Mr. Caborn [holding answer 28 November 2000]: In the three months to October, the deficit on trade in goods and services was £5.1 billion. The cumulative deficit on trade in goods in 2000 equates to 1.1 per cent. of GDP, which compares favourably with a deficit equivalent to over 4.5 per cent. of GDP in the late 1980s. The value of
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exports of goods and services grew by 6 per cent. in the latest three-month period compared with the same period last year.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Operation Nectarine
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Solicitor-General what was the cost to the Crown Prosecution Service of the attempted prosecutions in relation to Operation Nectarine; and if he will make a statement. [140071]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service prosecuted eight defendants, one of whom pleaded guilty, following a police investigation into the alleged importation of cannabis.
This joint investigation between Kent police, the National Crime Squad and the Metropolitan police CIB3 was known as Operation Nectarine.
The total cost to the CPS of the trial and the pre-trial case preparation amounted to £481,891. This comprised £82,000 resource costs directly attributable to the CPS and a further £399,891 in Counsel's fees.
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Solicitor-General when the internal inquiry of the DPP arising from the collapse of prosecutions consequent upon the CIB-Kent police Operation Nectarine will be completed; and if it will be published. [140073]
The Solicitor-General: The report is unlikely to be completed before the new year. As the inquiry is internal, there is no intention to publish it, although interested parties will be advised of the conclusions.
Dr. Robin Pearson
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Solicitor-General for what reason the Crown Prosecution Service has not taken action against a person whose name has been supplied to him on the basis of the file on his case referred to it by the Security Service. [140146]
The Solicitor-General: I understand that the individual to whom the hon. Member is referring is Dr. Robin Pearson, about whose case I made an announcement in this House on 20 December 1999, Official Report, columns 313-14W. On that date I informed the House that the CPS had decided not to refer the papers in the case to the police for investigation. The reason for this was that sufficient was known about the case to make it clear that any prosecution would fail. Having reached that view, it would have been quite wrong for the CPS to ask the police to undertake a criminal investigation.
In the case of Dr. Pearson, the intelligence information about his case would not have been admissible as evidence; there was little prospect of obtaining admissible evidence; and in any event any prosecution would probably have been stayed on the ground of abuse of process.
The Law Officers were consulted about this case, and we agreed with the conclusions reached by the CPS. The decision was made only after careful and detailed consideration.
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Prosecution of Storekeepers
(Imperial Measurements)
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Solicitor-General what guidance he has issued to the Crown Prosecution Service on the prosecution of storekeepers for selling food in imperial weights and measures. [140135]
The Solicitor-General: No specific guidance has been issued to the Crown Prosecution Service on this topic. The Crown Prosecution Service reviews and, when appropriate, prosecutes criminal cases, applying the two stage test in the Code of Crown Prosecutors which is issued under section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. The first is an evidential test. If the case meets the test, Crown Prosecutors must apply the second test, which is whether a prosecution is needed in the public interest.
Criminal Proceedings (Disclosure of Information)
Mr. Terry Lewis: To ask the Solicitor-General when the Attorney-General's guidelines on the disclosure of information in criminal proceedings will be published. [141098]
The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General is publishing his Guidelines on the Disclosure of Information in Criminal Proceedings today. A copy of the Guidelines, together with a foreword and an accompanying commentary, is being placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament. These documents can also be found on the website for the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers at www.lslo.gov.uk.
ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS
Fuel Costs
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the cost of producing (a) low sulphur fuels and (b) non-low sulphur fuels; and if he will make a statement. [140251]
Dr. Howells: I have been asked to reply
The cost of reducing the sulphur content of fuels will depend on many factors such as refinery configuration and sulphur content of feedstock (in general crude oil) which will differ for each location. Estimates made during the development of the fuel quality directive 98/70/EC, suggested that, for the UK as a whole to achieve the Ultra Low Sulphur Petrol sulphur specification, the combination of capital and running costs, taken over a 15 year period starting from 2005, would amount to less than 1p per litre for gasoline. For Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel, over the same time period, costs in the region of 2p per litre were identified. Earlier introduction of the specification may result in additional costs for individual manufacturers or importers.
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 5 June 2000, Official Report, column 66W, on special advisers, if he will list the destination and the total
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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. [135246]
Ms Beverley Hughes: During the period 31 March 1999 to 31 March 2000, special advisers in this Department travelled on official business to the United States, Madrid, Johannesburg, Warsaw, Bonn, Delhi and Brazil/United States at an average cost of £3,300 per visit. These destinations included some visits by my right hon. Friend in his role as Deputy Prime Minister. The costs of these visits were 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.
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