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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 22 May 1990 CIVIL SERVICE
Racial Equality
Mr. Janner : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what plans he has to promote racial equality in the civil service.
Mr. Luce : I have today introduced a programme for action to strengthen equality of opportunity in the civil service for people of ethnic minority origin. Copies have been placed in the Library.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Malawi
Mr. Tom Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will detail the total funding by his Department of the Vipyha forestry project in Malawi ; and if he will make a statement about its future.
Mrs. Chalker : British aid for the Vipyha plantation in Malawi started in the 1950s when the Commonwealth Development Corporation established pilot pine plantations. British Government loans were first made in 1964.
Figures for earlier expenditure are not available except at disproportionate cost, but since 1978 almost £3,000,000 in capital aid has been committed, and we have also provided technical and advisory support. The sum of £200,000 for fire-fighting vehicles and equipment was approved in February 1990. The future of the plantation is a matter for the Malawi Government. I understand that a number of possible ways of utilising the timber on a viable and sustainable basis are being considered.
DEFENCE
Mine Warfare Training, Ostend
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what co -operation exists between the Royal Navy and the Belgian navy over the mine warfare training centre at Ostend.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Royal Navy personnel regularly attend courses at the Belgian Navy's Ecole de Guerre des Mines (EGUERMIN) near Ostend. Through our contribution to the NATO infrastructure central fund, the
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United Kingdom will provide a share of the costs of the proposed minehunting simulator to be installed at EGUERMIN. We will continue to seek opportunities for co-operation in mine warfare training with our NATO partners wherever practical and beneficial.Military Exports
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which African countries the United Kingdom has exported arms and military equipment since 1979 ; and what has been the total value of these exports in present-day prices.
Mr. Alan Clark : It has been the practice of successive Administrations not to publish such detailed information for reasons of commercial confidentiality and national security. However, statistics of United Kingdom defence sales from 1948 to 1989 by broad geographic terms are set out in volume 2 of SDE 90.
HMS Warspite
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current condition of HMS Warspite and the progress of work on the nuclear reactors of British nuclear-powered submarines.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : HMS Warspite is currently undergoing refit. The programme of inspections of our nuclear-powered submarines is continuing.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his Department has given any consideration to extending payments made to farmers inside environmentally sensitive areas to include farmers operating within national parks generally.
Mr. Maclean : Payments under the environmentally sensitive areas scheme can be made only to farmers within the boundaries of the designated ESAs. I have no plans at present to extend these boundaries, but I will be reviewing the scheme during 1991. A number of the ESAs are in national parks.
Cheese
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much Irish, French, Belgian, Dutch, German, Swiss and Greek cheese respectively, was imported into the United Kingdom in each year since 1983 ; what proportion this was of the cheese market in each year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The information requested is shown in the table :
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Country of Export |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Republic of Ireland |43 |48 |52 |61 |48 |62 |44
France |10 |11 |13 |14 |17 |24 |30
Belgium/Luxembourg<1> |7 |13 |15 |15 |14 |16 |14
Netherlands |23 |21 |23 |25 |21 |25 |23
Federal Republic of Germany |16 |23 |28 |26 |27 |36 |33
Switzerland |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |2
Greece |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>-
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |100 |117 |132 |142 |128 |164 |146
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Above total as proportion of total United Kingdom domestic uses per cent. |29 |32 |35 |37 |32 |37 |34
<1> not separately identified
<2> less than 500 tonnes
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Bereavement Damages
Mr. Cunliffe : To ask the Attorney-General how many of the 265 replies he has received to his consultation paper on bereavement damages were in favour of (a) increasing the limit to (i) £5,000 and (ii) £10,000 or (b) leaving the limit unchanged.
The Attorney-General : All the responses to the consultation are still being evaluated and the Lord Chancellor hopes to make an announcement before the summer recess.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Training
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland where were the number of apprentices in Northern Ireland in (a) engineering, (b) plumbing, (c) joinery and (d) bricklaying, in the years 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1989-90.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 21 May 1990] : The number of apprentices registered for training in the specified occupational trades were as follows :
|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90
------------------------------------------------
(a) Engineering |232 |306 |396
(b) Plumbing |42 |104 |130
(c) Joinery |638 |777 |933
(d) Bricklaying |333 |461 |575
Mr. Mallon : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many young people attended each Government training centre in Northern Ireland in 1987-88, and in 1988-89 ; and what percentage of those from each centre, on completion of their training, went to (a) jobs and (b) self- employment.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 21 May 1990] : The table below shows the number of young people trained at the various training centres in Northern Ireland in 1987-88 and 1988-89 and the percentages of such young people who entered employment. There are no figures available for the percentages entering self-employment ; as the young people trained at the centres would have completed initial training only in the skills required for apprentice-ships etc., it is unlikely that many would have entered self -employment.
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Number of young Percentage entering
people trained employment
Year |1987-88|1988-89|1987-88|1988-89
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Centre
Ballymena |223 |294 |85 |83
Boucher road |110 |135 |54 |64
Craigavon |232 |272 |86 |91
Dundonald |278 |300 |82 |93
Enniskillen |83 |102 |78 |82
Felden |173 |228 |79 |78
Lisburn |89 |108 |76 |93
Maydown |135 |148 |57 |80
Newry |183 |240 |93 |94
Omagh |105 |153 |74 |96
Springtown |89 |86 |78 |91
Grant Aid
Rev. William McCrea : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how much grant aid M. Kernan (Compost) Limited of 270 Battleford road, Benburb, Dungannon, received during 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 ;
(2) how much grant aid McAnallen Group of Companies of 259 Battleford road, Benburb, Dungannon, received during 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 ;
(3) how much grant aid Donnelly Bros. of 201 Killylea road, Caledon, received during 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989.
Mr. Needham [holding answer 17 May 1990] : Grant aid received by these companies in each financial year since April 1985 was as follows :