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Guinness plc: Inspectors' Report
Lord Spens asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the inspectors, appointed in December 1986, to investigate the affairs of Guinness plc have completed their report and, if not, what are the reasons for the delay; and when do the inspectors expect to be in a position to complete their report.
The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Fraser of Carmyllie): The inspectors appointed to investigate and report on the affairs of
Guinness plc have not yet completed their enquiries which were suspended during the Guinness criminal trials. Following the conclusion of the last of those trials the inspectors are working towards completion of their final report.
Lord Spens asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, in the light of the recent judgment in the European Court of Human Rights in Saunders v. the United Kingdom, they still intend to publish the report of the inspectors into the affairs of Guinness plc and, if so, what is the date when publication is expected.
Lord Fraser of Carmyllie: Publication of the report of the inspectors appointed to investigate the affairs of Guinness plc and its take-over of Distillers plc will be considered by the President of the Board of Trade when the report is submitted.
Guinness plc: European Court Judgment
Lord Spens asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, in the light of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Saunders v. the United Kingdom, they intend to make any changes to the Companies Acts in relation to Department of Trade and Industry investigations to make sure that no further breaches of the Convention on Human Rights occur in connection with evidence obtained through these investigations.
Lord Fraser of Carmyllie: The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Saunders v. the United Kingdom is concerned with the admissibility of evidence obtained by the compulsory powers contained in Section 434 of the Companies Act 1985, rather than the scope of the powers themselves. The court's finding is being studied to see what implications there are for company regulation in the United Kingdom.
Immigration Appeals Tribunal
Lord McCluskey asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will explain (i) why all cases heard by the Immigration Appeals Tribunal are heard in London, (ii) when such tribunal will start hearing cases in Scotland and (iii) whether or not in the intervening period Her Majesty's Government intend to reimburse the legal representatives of appellants in respect of their travelling expenses to and from London to attend tribunal hearings in order to represent appellants then residing in Scotland.
The Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern): The question concerns a matter which has been assigned to the Court Service under the terms of its framework document. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to respond.
Letter to Lord McCluskey from the Chief Executive of the Court Service, Mr. Michael Huebner, dated 28th January 1997.
The Lord Chancellor has asked me to reply to your Question about the Immigration Appeal Tribunal.
The Immigration Appeal Tribunal has historically been based in London since the overwhelming majority of appeals to the tribunal emanate from the South East of England. However, while fewer than 1 per cent. of appellants live in Scotland, the tribunal will start hearing cases there on 20th February.
There is no provision in immigration appeal proceedings for the payment of legal representatives' expenses out of public funds. Appellants in Scotland who are unable to afford their own legal representatives can seek the assistance of the Immigration Advisory Service, which is provided free of charge.
Ballistic Missile Defence Systems
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether press reports are correct that they
have been persuaded of the possible effectiveness and "value for money" to the United Kingdom
of participating in a programme of US automatically-controlled and automatically-triggered laser weapons that might in the next century be installed in Boeing 747s, as envisaged by the US Department of Defense and by retired MoD officials now in the employ of US firms; and, if so, what money costs are envisaged, payable by whom, and whether the political implications of these proposals have been examined other than by the Ministry of Defence.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe): Her Majesty's Government has not reached a decision on the possible effectiveness or value for money to the United Kingdom of any of the ballistic missile defence systems studied as part of the work which has helped to inform our wider ballistic missile defence policy considerations. A further, more detailed evaluation of all these systems would be needed if Defence Ministers were to decide that there was a national requirement for a ballistic missile defence capability.
Water and Sewerage Services: Competition
Baroness Seccombe asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What action they propose to take to increase competition for water and sewerage services.
The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Earl Ferrers): In answer to a Question from the honourable Member for Taunton on 1st April 1996, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment set out a number of proposals for
extending competition in water and sewerage services in England and Wales. These would:
- Introduce common carriage arrangements to allow companies to use an existing supplier's pipe network to provide individual customers with a choice of water supply.
- Introduce similar provisions for sewerage services.
- Extend the scope of inset arrangements (under which a new water or waste water undertaker can be appointed in respect of an area within an existing undertaker's area of appointment) to allow appointments to be for limited periods and in respect of co-located premises.
- Remove restrictions on cross border supply to enable water undertakers to supply water for non-domestic purposes to customers in another undertaker's area.
- Remove the water undertaker's monopoly on making connections to the water main.
My right honourable friend also announced the issue of a consultation paper in which he and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Wales sought views on these proposals.
In developing this legislation we shall seek to provide a basis for competition both in waste water and clean water services, and to ensure that water quality continues to be safeguarded and that the charging regime continues to be fair and non-discriminatory. We also intend to go further than our original proposals by following up suggestions made during consultation for extending the scope of common carriage and inset appointments to smaller users. We will look again to see whether a lower limit, perhaps in the 100 to 200 megalitre range, would be practicable and appropriate.
Meanwhile we would urge users to take full advantage of those provisions for competition which already exist, in particular those which allow large users to seek water supplies from other sources and which allow flexibility in the provision of sewerage services.
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