Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Jay of Paddington): An amendment has been made to the Civil Service Order in Council to allow for the appointment of a limited number of Special Advisers to Ministers in the Scottish Parliament and Assembly Secretaries in the National Assembly for Wales. The amendment takes account of the new ministerial arrangements that will apply in Scotland and Wales following devolution, and sets out the terms and conditions under which they can be employed including an upper limit on the numbers that can be appointed. A copy of the amended order has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Jay of Paddington: The British-Irish Council (BIC) will be established immediately on entry into force of the Good Friday Agreement reached at Belfast on 10 April 1998. Membership of the BIC will comprise representatives of the British and Irish Governments, of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. Its secretariat will be provided by the British and Irish Governments in co-ordination with officials of each of the other members. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has asked the Minister for the Cabinet Office to take responsibility within the British Government for matters relating to the BIC, including the necessary preparatory work.
Lord Jopling asked the Leader of the House:
Baroness Jay of Paddington: There has only been one example, over the last 20 years, when a Motion moved by a back-bencher on a Wednesday has been divided on:
The Earl of Clancarty asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has instructed officials to seek information from six library authorities that have been considering service cuts to establish the details of, and rationale behind, their proposals. So far, the Government's actions do not amount to the formal use of Section 10 of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, but we shall not hesitate to use our reserve powers if we believe that statutory requirements are threatened.
Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: We have not yet taken a view about whether to sign the 1970 UNESCO Convention. We are currently undertaking an interdepartmental consultation about whether the UK should become a signatory to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention. This is taking rather longer than had been expected due to the need to consider legal issues in some detail. Our aim will be to complete these consultations within the next three months.
Lord Brabazon of Tara asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Airmiles, clubcards and other loyalty schemes are not currently taken account of in collecting prices for the Retail Prices Index (RPI). This subject is an area of research in the current work programme to investigate methodological issues relating to the RPI. Further details of this programme are given in an article in the February 1999 edition of Economic Trends, copies of which are available in the House of Lords Library.
Lord Peston asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Financial Services and Markets Bill provides for a prohibition on unauthorised persons making financial promotions without the approval of an authorised person. The Bill also provides for exemptions from that prohibition to be set out in secondary legislation.
The Treasury has today issued a consultation document on the financial promotion regime under the Bill. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House. The deadline for comments is 30 April. Following consideration of responses, the Treasury will publish for further consultation draft secondary
legislation setting out proposed exemptions from the prohibition on unauthorised persons making financial promotions.
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The European Investment Bank signed loans for projects in the United Kingdom and other member states in 1998 as set out in the following table.
Number of loans | Amount (C= million) | |
Austria | 11 | 358 |
Belgium | 9 | 858 |
Denmark | 11 | 745 |
Finland | 10 | 551 |
France | 26 | 2,837 |
Germany | 55 | 5,168 |
Greece | 9 | 736 |
Ireland | 5 | 263 |
Italy | 46 | 4,387 |
Luxembourg | 3 | 109 |
Netherlands | 4 | 426 |
Portugal | 22 | 1,505 |
Spain | 36 | 3,152 |
Sweden | 14 | 664 |
United Kingdom | 27 | 3,074 |
Total | 288 | 24,833 |
The European Investment Fund does not make loans. It provides loan guarantees and equity investments.
In 1997 (latest published figures), the EIF signed guarantees on loans as set out in the following table.
Number of guarantees | Amount (C= million) | |
Austria | 1 | 29.42 |
Belgium | 1 | 8.12 |
Denmark | 1 | 2.48 |
Finland | 2 | 29.58 |
France | 3 | 151.34 |
Germany | 2 | 99.58 |
Greece | 2 | 69.95 |
Ireland | 2 | 41.27 |
Italy | 4 | 169.61 |
Luxembourg | 1 | 4.5 |
Netherlands | 1 | 25.0 |
Portugal | 2 | 18.83 |
Spain | 1 | 29.25 |
Sweden | 0 | 0 |
United Kingdom | 2 | 64.17 |
Total | 25 | 743.1 |
In 1997, the EIF signed equity investments in venture capital funds as set out in the following table.
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Hayman): The joint Human Genetics Advisory Commission (HGAC) and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) report on cloning was agreed by all members of both bodies. We do not consider that there were any conflicts of interest arising from the involvement of any member of either body. Applications to inspect the register of interests should be made to the HGAC secretariat and the offices of the HFEA.
Number of investments Amount (C= million)
Belgium 1 2.08
France 3 7.97
Germany 1 2.92
Sweden 1 2.95
United Kingdom 5 15.98
Total 11 31.9
Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Hayman on 8 March (WA 12-13), whether they will now say what assessment has been made of the risk of conflicts of interest arising from the involvement of persons connected with the pharmaceutical industry in framing recommendations made to the Government concerning human cloning; and how many statutory declarations of interest were made.[HL1490]
Next Section
Back to Table of Contents
Lords Hansard Home Page