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CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Third Archbishopric

31. Mr. Fabricant: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what calculation has been made of the impact on the budget of the Commission of the establishment of a third archbishopric. [149417]

Mr. Stuart Bell: No such calculation has been made.

Employment Relations

32. Mr. Quinn: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners if he will make a statement on employment relations within the Church of England. [149418]

Mr. Stuart Bell: The great majority of clergy in the Church of England are office holders rather than employees. Clergy with the freehold enjoy greater job security than many employees. As to the Church of England's administrative staff, the national organisations of the Church together employ about 600 staff on lines broadly comparable with the Civil Service, with which they have a pay and employment conditions analogue. Others throughout the Church of England are employed by Diocesan Boards of Finance, Boards of Education, parishes and so on.

Clergy Recruitment

33. Mr. Loughton: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps they are taking to increase recruitment to the clergy and shorten periods between incumbents in parishes. [149419]

Mr. Stuart Bell: My hon. Friend will recall from my answer in December that the Archbishops Council, within whose responsibility matters such as clergy vocations fall, confirms that although the total number of stipendiary clergy in the Church of England is projected to decline on present trends the number of candidates coming forward for ordination training has risen over the last five years.

The length of time between incumbencies will depend in part upon the policy of individual dioceses. Some will wish to allow time for parishes to reflect on local pastoral needs before a new incumbent arrives.

Church Pensioners/Church Attendance

34. Mr. Flynn: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what his calculation is, based on current trends, on the probable numbers of (a) church pensioners and (b) people attending Anglican churches in 2030. [149420]

Mr. Stuart Bell: No authoritative forecast exists to 2030, whether for church pensioners or people attending Anglican churches. As to the latter, I understand from the Statistics Unit of the Archbishop's Council that the way church attendance is counted is being changed from a Sunday-only basis to an average weekly attendance, in order to take fuller account of actual patterns of attendance.

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Conditions of Service (Clergy)

35. Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement on clergy conditions of service. [149421]

Mr. Stuart Bell: My hon. Friend will know from the answer given to him in January, conditions vary slightly from diocese to diocese, but the national average stipend for clergy of incumbent status as at July 2000 was £16,480. In addition, clergy receive free accommodation or a housing allowance, membership of a non- contributory pension scheme and should receive full reimbursement of all working expenses.

House of Commons

(Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Bill

36. Mr. Swayne: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment he has made of the impact of the provisions of the House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Bill on pensions and stipends. [149422]

Mr. Stuart Bell: No assessment has been made. We would expect that any priest or deacon elected as an MP and wishing to continue his or her ministry as a priest

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would have to become a non-stipendiary minister. Stipend would cease and the years as an MP would not count as pensionable service under the clergy pension scheme. Comparatively few people will be in this position and the impact of this Bill upon stipends and pensions costs for the Church of England as a whole is likely to be negligible.

Redundant Churches

37. Mr. Bercow: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, how many redundant churches were disposed of in the last year; and what covenants relating to subsequent use were agreed. [149423]

Mr. Stuart Bell: During 2000 the future of 25 churches was settled by appropriation to alternative uses--nine for residential use, four for community purposes, four for use by other Christian congregations, four for use for offices or for retail purposes, two for educational purposes, one for use by another faith body and one as a monument. The Commissioners usually impose covenants on the new owner of a redundant church restricting its use to that approved and prohibiting unauthorised architectural changes, the disturbance of any human remains or memorials, and demolition.

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TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the special advisers working for him will relinquish their posts when the next General Election is called. [149308]

Mr. Byers: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 13 February 2001, Official Report, column 130W.

Export Credits

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many credits have been supplied by

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the Export Credits Guarantee Department for (a) renewable energy projects, (b) demand site energy efficiency projects and (c) civil nuclear projects, including nuclear fuel cycle projects, in each of the last 10 years; what the (i) value and (ii) use of each credit was; when each was supplied; and when the work was completed. [149614]

Mr. Caborn: ECGD does not hold its information on cases on a basis which would enable it to answer this question readily in the detail requested. Due to these limitations a complete answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, from information available on ECGD's systems we have been able to identify a list of guarantees that meet the criteria of the question.

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10 April 2002

Financial year	No.	Case	Market	Value £ million	Guarantee date	Project completion date
1990-91	1	Hydro Electric Power project (Ewaso Ngiro)	Kenya	21	21 December 1990	30 September 2000
1991-92	3	Design and Construct 600 MW Hydro-electric power Plant 'Pergau'	Malaysia	328	31 July 1991	30 April 2001
		As above	Malaysia	119	15 April 1991	30 April 2001
		As above	Malaysia	153	15 March 1992	30 April 2001
1993-94	1	Muela Hydropower Project (phase 1A)	Lesotho	1	17 February 1994	31 March 2000
1994-95	2	Hydro Electric Plant and Sub Stations	Thailand	17	13 September 1994	31 March 2002
		Muela Hydropower project (phase 1A)	Lesotho	7	14 April 1994	31 March 2000
1995-96	4	Design and Equipment for Guangdong Ling Ao Nuclear Power Station	China	576	20 December 1995	30 August 2003
		Goods and Services for Qinshan Phase II Nuclear Power Station	China	37	11 January 1996	30 April 2001
		Muela Hydropower	Lesotho	4	15 December 1995	31 March 2000
		Muela Hydropower	Lesotho	1	15 December 1995	31 March 2000
1996-97	2	Muela Hydropower Project Contract LHDA 129A	Lesotho	3	24 January 1997	30 April 1999
		Qinshan Phase 11 Nuclear Power Plant	China	17	15 May 1996	15 February 2002
1999-2000	1	Weir Westgarth/Flash Thermal Plant at Ghubrah	Oman	10	2 November 1999	--

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Steel Industry

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the arrangements established to transfer the steel industry to private ownership contained provisions that excluded the new owners from liability to implement the decontamination of contaminated areas of steel plant sites. [149660]

Mr. Byers: No such provisions were introduced. Private owners have full liability in respect of decontamination of contaminated areas.

The Government will vigorously enforce their powers in this area.

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will refer the decision of Corus plc not to allow an employee buy-out of Llanwern Steel Works to the (a) Office of Fair Trading and (b) Competition Commissioner. [150205]

Mr. Byers: Under UK competition law, in the first instance it is the responsibility of the Director General of Fair Trading to investigate any possible breaches of

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competition law and only then can cases be referred to the Competition Commission.

I have no formal powers to refer competition issues to the Office of Fair Trading, but I have drawn this case to the attention of the Director General of Fair Trading.

Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will refer the decision of Corus plc not to allow an employee buy-out of the Llanwern Steel Works to the European Union Competition Commissioner. [150206]

Mr. Byers: I have no formal powers to refer competition issues to the European Union Competition Commissioner, but I have drawn the matter to his attention.

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