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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 12 March 1991
THE ARTS
Child Care
Dr. Marek : To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the number of workplaces for civil servants in the Office of Arts and Libraries ; what proportion of the total number have an on-site nursery facility ; how many and what proportion of workplaces provide a holiday play scheme ; how many and what proportion of workplaces provide after-school child care facilities ; what charges are made for use of any facility ; what the net cost has been for the provision of these facilities ; and what estimate he can make of any future expenditure.
Mr. Renton : Staff of the Office of Arts and Libraries are employed at Horse Guards road, SW1 and in St. Christopher house annex, Sumner street, SE1. Neither has an on-site nursery or after-school child care facilities. A survey carried out in 1989 by the Cabinet Office, which provides personnel and welfare services to my office, found that there was a low level of interest in such facilities. The Westminster holiday play scheme operates in the Government offices, Great George street, however, and is available to the staff of my Department.
TRANSPORT
Child Care
Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the number of workplaces for civil servants in his Department ; what proportion of the total number have an on-site nursery facility ; how many and what proportion of workplaces provide a holiday play scheme ; how many and what proportion of workplaces provide after-school child care facilities ; what charges are made for use of any facility ; what the net cost has been for the provision of these facilities ; and what estimate he can make of any future expenditure.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Department of Transport has 797 workplaces for civil servants, of which 43 house more than 50 staff each. An on-site nursery is provided at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre in Swansea. Holiday playschemes will be available to DTp staff in Birmingham, Coventry, Exeter, Bristol, Manchester, Nottingham, Swansea and central London in or near the workplace. After-school child care facilities are not provided. Typical charges for holiday play schemes are under £5 per child per day. The nursery charges parents £44.50 per child per week. Net costs for the provisions of these facilities, most of which are run in conjunction with other employers, are modest but precise figures are not readily available. Departmental policy is to continue to expand provision in co-operation with other Government Departments and private employers where this offers value for money.
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Channel Tunnel
Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Her Majesty's Government was consulted by the European Commission over the grant of a £200 million loan to Eurotunnel ; and if he will take steps to establish the conditions under which this loan was approved by the Commission.
Mr. Freeman : The European Commission has kept the Government informed of Eurotunnel's application for a loan and the conditions under which the loan would be made. Council approval is required before the loan is granted.
London Underground
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the new safety instructions issued to London Underground staff ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : None. These are revisions to existing safety instructions which London Underground has discussed with the Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate and the London fire and civil defence authority, whose comments have been incorporated in the draft revisions.
Driving Tests
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to introduce a course by bicycle as part of the standard driving test, to ensure that drivers are aware of cyclists through experience ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : None, but a test candidate's awareness of the consideration required towards cyclists and other road users forms a critical part of the driving examiner's road safety assessment on test.
London Red Routes
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library the map used in Committee on the Road Traffic Bill that showed likely red routes in Greater London.
Mr. Chope : I have arranged for copies of the map that was referred to in Committee to be placed in the Library. The map does not, however, show proposals for priority routes in central London. We shall be giving further consideration to these and other proposals before we undertake formal consultation on the priority route network. An explanatory note has been added to the map.
Lower Lea Bridge
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state what features to facilitate bus services he expects to incorporate in the rebuilt roads on either side of the new Lower Lea bridge.
Mr. Freeman : The rebuilding of roads on either side of the Lower Lea road crossing is being carried out by the London Docklands development corporation and the borough councils concerned. It will be for them to decide what features to help buses should be provided.
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In planning improvements on the nearby A13 trunk road at the Ironbridge and Canning Town we shall be consulting London Transport and the boroughs on the additional facilities that might be provided to assist buses and bus users without jeopardising safety.Auxiliary Coastguard Service
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to discuss the outcome of the review of the auxiliary coastguard service with the hon. Members for South Hams and for St. Ives (Mr. Harris) before reaching any decisions.
Mr. McLoughlin : I will be ready to meet my hon. Friends to discuss the outcome of the review of Her Majesty's coastguard sector organisation and auxiliary coastguard service before reaching any decisions.
Newbury Bypass
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the progress of the Newbury bypass.
Mr. Chope : Following the decision anounced in July 1990 to adopt a western bypass of the A34 at Newbury, the Department has consulted on minor modifications to the route and side road alterations and will announce the outcome shortly. This will be followed by the publication of further draft orders including a compulsory purchase order for the land needed for the scheme. The draft orders will be open to objection and representations in the usual way and if necessary a further public inquiry will be held. Subject to the satisfactory completion of these procedures the scheme is on target for tender invitation and the start of construction in 1993.
Rail Electrification
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of authorisation for the provision of electrification and the provision of rolling stock from the Leeds to Bradford and Aire Valley railway system.
Mr. McLoughlin : We are reserving resources to enable a start to be made on the provision of the infrastructure, and are at present considering proposals for the acquisition of the rolling stock.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
EC Software Directive
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will make it his policy to seek amendment to the EC draft software directive to ensure that computer interfaces do not become subject to copyright ;
(2) if he will make it his policy to seek amendment to the EC draft software directive to ensure that an interface is defined objectively and not by the computer or software manufacturer.
Mr. Leigh : The directive would oblige member states to extend copyright protection to the expression of a computer program but not to ideas and principles
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underlying the program. This corresponds with existing copyright law in the United Kingdom. Interface specifications will not therefore acquire copyright protection as a result of the directive. The directive already employs the term "interface" in an objective sense and does not therefore give the creator of a computer program the right to define what part of the program constitutes an interface for the purposes of the directive.Film Industry, France
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the European Commission about the provision of state aids to the French state-owned film and TV production company, Socie te Franc aise de Production.
Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend has had no such discussions. Approval by the Commission for the recapitalisation of the Socie te Franc aise de Production did not involve consultation with member states.
Cross-Media Promotion
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has received the report of Mr. John Sadler into standards of cross-media promotion.
Mr. Lilley : I have today published the Sadler report into standards of cross-media promotion as Cm. 1436. I am very grateful for the careful research and analysis which Mr. Sadler has carried out in response to my predecessor's request and I welcome the publication of the report.
Before I take a final decision on my course of action I should be very interested to hear views from anybody who wishes to comment, particularly those who would be affected by his recommendations. Comments should reach my Department by 19 April, after which I will announce my plans.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Leeds, North-West (Dr. Hampson) of 5 March, Official Report, columns 88-89, what steps he proposes to ensure that the selected tenderers on his short list to take over the insurance services group of the ECGD have adequate capital resources ;
(2) pursuant to his answer of 5 March, what consultations he has had with the parent companies of trade indemnity to make its status on the short list for the trade sale of the insurance services group of the ECGD conditional on additional capital resources being provided.
Mr. Sainsbury : Shortlisted bidders have been requested to meet the DTI (insurance division) to discuss their plans for the business and capital requirements for the new company. The business will need sufficient capital to satisfy the regulatory requirements of the DTI and prudential requirements. For reasons of commercial
confidentiality, it would not be appropriate to disclose details of discussions with any of the companies invited to tender.
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Whisky
Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations Her Majesty's Government has made to the authorities in Taiwan in respect of the discriminatory effect of their tax regime on imports of Scotch whisky.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 11 March 1991] : The authorities in Taiwan are well aware of the United Kingdom's dissatisfaction. Her Majesty's Government have no formal dealings with the Taiwan authorities, but the British Overseas Trade Board's area advisory group for Taiwan, the Anglo Taiwan trade committee, takes every opportunity to draw our concerns on this matter to their attention, both in Taipei and London and will continue to do so. The Government have also raised the matter with the European Commission.
Post Office Staff
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has on the extent to which the measures applicable to postal and catering executive grades, as set out in P1 U0012, have been followed in the Royal Mail's reorganisation of Quadrant.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 8 March 1991] : The appointment and, where necessary, both the relocation and termination of employment of Post Office employees are operational matters for the Post Office.
Northern Region
Mr. Trotter : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will list for the constituencies of Tynemouth, Langbaurgh, Darlington and Stockton, South those companies granted regional selective assistance since June 1983, together with the amounts involved.
Mr. Leigh : The information requested is available only at disproportionate cost. However, details of grant recipients were published quarterly in "British Business" up to September 1989 and thereafter in the Department of Employment "Gazette". The publication dates for the relevant issues of the journals are set out in the table.
Dates when RSA offers were published in
The Department of Employment Gazette
|Date
----------------------------------------------------
1989-90 Continued
Q2 |- |January 1990
Q3 |- |April 1990
Q4 |- |July 1990
1990-91
Q1 |- |October 1990
Q2 |- |January 1991
Note:
Publications contain details of all offers of £ 75,
000 or more after a
first payment has been made. Offers below that
level are
confidential.
Dates when RSA offers were published in
The Department of Employment Gazette
Date
1989-90 Continued
Q2 -- January 1990
Q3 -- April 1990
Q4 -- July 1990
1990-91
Q1 -- October 1990
Q2 -- January 1991
Note :
Publications contain details of all offers of £75,000 or more after a first payment had been made. Offers below that level are confidential.
EC Grants
Mr. Robert Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will outline the basis of the additionality conditions as applied by the United Kingdom Government in the context of the terms of EC grants and payments as set out in Community legislation ; and if he will list those Community countries that follow the same procedures as the United Kingdom.
Mr. Leigh holding answer 11 March 1991] : The Government take into account expected levels of Community receipts when setting their expenditure programmes, which are thus higher than they would otherwise be. The detail of public expenditure planning systems varies from member state to member state within the Community.
ENERGY
International Atomic Energy Agency
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if Her Majesty's Government will increase the United Kingdom grant to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : No. The International Atomic Energy Agency's budget is agreed annually by the board of governors and is confirmed at the general conference. The
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United Kingdom's contributions are calculated on the basis of the United Nations formula for establishing the scale of contributions to international organisations.Value for Money
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what measures of performance are employed by his Department to ensure value for money.
Mr. Wakeham : The Department of Energy ensures value for money by setting a variety of demanding financial and performance targets and monitoring the results. "The Government's Expenditure Plans Within the Energy Sector 1991-92 to 1993-94"--Cm. 1505--gives examples of the performance measures against which departmental programmes are evaluated. It also provides details of efficiency savings against administration costs. Targets relating to departmental purchasing are recorded in the "CUP Annual Targets and Savings Return".
Mining Licences
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he intends to review the current arrangements for governing the distribution of licences to mine coal (a) in deep mines and (b) in licensed mines.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : British Coal is reviewing its licensing procedures in the light of increases in the limits applicable to licensed opencast and deep mine operations introduced by the Coal Industry Act 1990.
Plutonium
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newport, West of 4 March, Official Report, column 17, how much of the plutonium arising from foreign spent fuel to which he refers was reprocessed prior to 1973 ; and what safeguards applied to civil nuclear materials at Sellafield prior to United Kingdom accession to the European Atomic Energy Community on 1 January 1973.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Approximately half a tonne of the plutonium referred to by the hon. Member was reprocessed before 1973. Prior to this date, civil nuclear material at Sellafield was subject to the United Kingdom's own system of accountancy and control.
Electricity Generation
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the cost per unit of electricity generated at current fuel input prices (a) at National Power's coal-fired stations, (b) at National Power's oil-fired stations, (c) by National Power's gas turbine generators, (d) at Nuclear Electric's advanced gas cooled reactor stations and (e) at Nuclear Electric's Magnox reactor stations.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : This is a matter for the companies concerned.
Radioactive Wastes
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newport, West of 4 March, Official Report, column 17, whether the conditioned wastes to which he makes reference include both low and intermediate-level radioactive wastes arising from reprocessing foreign spent fuel.
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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The conditioned waste referred to in my reply to the hon. Member comprises high, intermediate and low-level waste. As I indicated, it is planned to return all high-level waste as soon as practicable after vitrification. In respect of some of the less radioactive wastes, however, there may be other options worthy of study--for example, whether it would be sensible to substitute an equivalent quantity, in radiological terms, of higher-level wastes.
Licensed Coalmines
Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy (1) whether he intends to revise upwards the maximum number of employees allowed to work below ground at licensed coalmines ;
(2) what are the maximum permitted numbers of employees to work below ground in a licensed coalmine (a) in any single shift, (b) in any 24-hour period and (c) in any production week.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : The Coal Industry Act 1990 raised the limit on the number of men that could be employed to work underground in a licensed deep mine from 30 to 150. The Government have no plans to raise this limit further.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Israel
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government are proposing to the United Nations Security Council regarding violations by the Israeli Government of (a) the Geneva conventions and (b) United Nations Security Council resolutions, regarding their treatment of Palestinian people.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : United Nations Security Council resolution 681 of 20 December 1990 provides a basis for continuing activity by the council on the protection of the Palestinian population of the occupied territories. As required under the resolution, the secretary general will shortly be reporting to the council on the matter.
NATO
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of NATO towards applications to join it from former Warsaw pact countries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : None of the former Warsaw pact countries have applied to join NATO. There is, however, general agreement within the alliance that membership for former Warsaw pact countries is not a practical option. Nonetheless, the declaration of the NATO summit held in London in July 1990 invited the Soviet Union and all the other countries of the Warsaw pact to establish regular diplomatic liaison with NATO. All the countries concerned have taken up this invitation.
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Mecca Tunnel Disaster
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have been held with the Saudi Arabian Government regarding compensation to the families of British citizens known to have died in the tunnel disaster at Mecca on 2 July 1990.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if any progress has been made with the Saudi Arabian Government in tracing British citizens missing since the tunnel disasters of 2 July 1990.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The Saudi Arabian authorities are still unable to trace the three missing British pilgrims. They informed the consulate- general in Jedda on 10 March 1991 that they had been able to produce better quality photographs of victims of the tragedy which may assist identification. The British embassy in Riyadh and consulate-general in Jedda have provided all available information to the Saudi authorities and continue to press them to pursue their efforts to identify the missing victims.
Commission for the Restitution of Monetary Gold
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings of the tripartite commission for the restitution of monetary gold have been held since 29 May 1985 ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : There have been four formal meetings of the tripartite commission for the restitution of monetary gold since the beginning of 1985. The proceedings of the commission are confidential.
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much gold, by value and weight, is under the control of the tripartite commission for the restitution of monetary gold : and where it is stored.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The tripartite commission holds a little over 7 tonnes of gold, in the Federal Reserve bank in New York and in the Bank of England. The total value is approximately US $85 million.
Kurds
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings have been held with
representatives of Kurdish political parties from (a) Iran, (b) Iraq, (c) Syria and (d) Turkey ; what support has been offered to them ; and what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards demands for Kurdish self- determination.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We believe that the Kurdish people should enjoy proper representation and respect for human rights in all of the countries in which they live. But as a signatory to the treaty of Lausanne of 1923, which established the present boundaries in the area, we cannot seek support for the establishment of a separate Kurdish state within these boundaries.
Iraq
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions since March 1988 Her Majesty's Government's diplomatic
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representatives in Iraq met the Government to discuss (a) human rights violations, (b) the rights of Kurdish people, (c) the arms trade and (d) trade between the United Kingdom and Iraq.Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Until they were withdrawn on 12 January, members of the British embassy in Baghdad were in regular contact with the Iraqi authorities and took many opportunities to raise our concerns with them about human rights violations in Iraq, including in relation to the Kurds. They also discussed trade between the United Kingdom and Iraq and our concern about Iraq's alleged attempts to acquire arms illegally in the United Kingdom.
Albanian Gold
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if any recent discussions have taken place with the Government of Albania regarding the various claims in respect of the award of the International Court of Justice in 1949 following the incident in the Corfu channel and the Albanian gold held in the Bank of England.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : British and Albanian officials met in November and December of last year to discuss outstanding bilateral issues.
Kuwait
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions have been held with the Emir of Kuwait concerning representative democracy ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 26 February, at column 463 .
NATIONAL FINANCE
Payroll Giving
Dr. Marek : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an indication of the growth of the number of people taking advantage of the payroll giving to charity scheme since its inception, the corresponding amount of revenue forgone by the Treasury and the previous comparable estimates given by him.
Mr. Maude : Estimates are as follows :