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Mr. Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will quantify annual accidents (a) on the A550 Ledsham bridge section prior to the improvements made in the 1980s and (b) for the same route since the improvements were completed.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : There were nine accidents in four years prior to the improvements completed in early 1989. There have been three accidents in four years since then.
Mr. Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the terms of reference for improving the A550 will include an examination of the justification of the principle of the entire scheme.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Each stage of the improvement stands alone as a separate scheme, the need and justification for which is likely to be tested at public inquiry.
Mr. Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date the original proposals for the A550 improvement were received ; and whether they formed a co-ordinated scheme with proposals for the Dee barrage.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The 1987 White Paper "Policy for Roads" introduced a scheme to improve the A550 between Woodbank and Ledsham. In 1989, the complementary scheme for the improvement between Ledsham and the M53 was added. Account was taken of all planned road schemes in the area.
Mr. Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date the principle of the current scheme for major improvements to the A550 was last evaluated ; and if he will make a statement detailing the alternative schemes with which it was compared at that time.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The justification for a scheme is continually assessed as design progresses. Alternative schemes assessed were an on-line improvement and an off-line route to the east of Two Mills.
Mr. Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the possible rail alternatives to the current proposals for improvements to the A550 were last evaluated.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Recent and planned improvements to the rail network in the area are being taken into account in the scheme assessment. They are unlikely to have a major impact on the need for the improvements to the A550.
Mr. Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the criteria used to reach the decision for the proposed Ledsham to Deeside Park and M53 to Ledsham phases of the A550 improvements.
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Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The A550 is a key element in the trunk road network for journeys between the Merseyside conurbation and north Wales. The present narrow single carriageway has a poor vertical alignment in places and is substandard for the amount of traffic using it. Poor visibility at junctions and accesses makes conditions hazardous for all road users and accidents are above the national average. Traffic is subject to congestion and queuing at peak hours and summer weekends. The degree and frequency of the congestion will increase with forecast higher flows.
Mr. Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will quantify traffic annually using (a) the A550 prior to the M53/A55 link around Chester into north Wales and (b) the same route since completion of the M53/A55 link.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The following is the information : (a) Prior to completion of M53/A55 link--
Hooton--12,450 vehicles per day
Deeside Park--46,500 vehicles per day
(b) Since completion of M53/A55 link--
Hooton--12,450 vehicles per day
Deeside Park--45,500 vehicles per day
Mr. Miller : To ask th1i Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Traffic flow forecasts for 2011 are :
|Vehicles per day
---------------------------------------------------
Hooton
Low growth |30,500
High growth |37,500
Deeside Park
Low growth |71,700
High growth |87,500
The Department used its standard methodologies to produce growth factors for private vehicles which reflect local circumstances. For commercial vehicles growth was assumed to be in line with national road traffic forecasts.
The growth factors were then applied to current traffic flows to produce forecasts for the year 2011 which were assigned to the road network containing the Department's proposals.
Bypass Definition
Mr. Miller : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what definition of a highway bypass is used by his Department.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : There is no statutory definition of a bypass. Trunk road bypass schemes remove through traffic from towns and villages on all-purpose trunk roads. Other schemes in the national road programme may have a similar effect.
Lorry Drivers
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for dealing with abuse of the requirements on lorry drivers' hours and rest periods, and the use of tachographs ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Breaches of the rules for drivers' hours, rest periods and the proper fitting and use of tachographs have serious implications for road safety. We take a grave view of those who seek to circumvent these rules and in the interests of safety the vehicle inspectorate is to increase the enforcement resources it devotes to this work by nearly 70 per cent. from June this year. This will be organised through special task forces to target specific areas of concern. We aim to achieve this result within the present resources of the vehicle inspectorate both through a number of efficiency gains and by switching some effort from weight enforcement.
Motorways
Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish a Green Paper on motorway charging.
Mr. MacGregor : Together with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales, I intend to publish tomorrow a Green Paper on the basis of charging for motorways in Great Britain entitled "Paying for Better Motorways : Issues for Discussion". Copies will be available in the Vote Office from 11 am in the usual way.
The Green Paper will be very much a consultation document to stimulate informed and vigorous debate. The Government have taken no decision to introduce direct charging.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
House Committees
Mr. McMaster : To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission if he will make a statement outlining the relationship between the Commission and the domestic House Committees, indicating how their reports are considered ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Beith : Under the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978, the Commission is responsible for the appointment of staff of the House and for laying before the House the Estimates for House of Commons : Administration and House of Commons : Works Services. The work of the Commission in carrying out its responsibilities is described in its annual reports presented to the House, most recently on 16 July 1992 (HC 155).
The Finance and Services Committee has responsibility for detailed consideration of financial matters, including questions of priority for expenditure. It prepares draft estimates with the assistance of the board of management for submission to the Commission. The main role of the domestic committees, apart from their consumer role in advising on the delivery of services by House Departments, is to make policy recommendations to the Speaker and the Commission as appropriate. The recommendations are then considered as necessary by the Finance and Services Committee in advance of final decisions being taken by the Commission.
The Commission operates a long-standing policy of requiring the introduction of a major new service to be approved by the House before provision is made for it in the estimates. The occasion for such a debate would normally be the consideration of a report from the relevant domestic committee.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Regional Preferential Assistance
Mr. Wigley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish figures showing Government expenditure on regional preferential assistance to industry for each standard United Kingdom region (a) at current prices and (b) at 1989-90 prices for the years 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Mr. Sainsbury : Details of regional preferential assistance at current prices for 1991-92 and 1992-93 can be found in my answer to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 18 May, Official Report , columns 121-22 .
A regional breakdown of regional preferential assistance at 1989-90 prices, covering the period 1991-92 and 1992-93, is as follows :
£ million
Region |1991-92 |1992-93
----------------------------------------------------
Northern<1> |55.3 |40.5
Yorkshire and Humberside |15.8 |11.5
East Midlands |2.3 |1.0
South West |7.2 |6.9
West Midlands |7.5 |9.1
North West<2> |42.9 |30.9
England |131.0 |99.8
Wales |133.5 |<3>118.2
Scotland |111.8 |<3>86.7
Great Britain |376.3 |<3>304.8
Northern Ireland |121.8 |<3>91.0
United Kingdom |498.1 |<3>395.8
All figures are gross and include payments to
Nationalised Industries.
<1> Includes expenditure in Cumbria.
<2> Excludes expenditure in Cumbria.
<3> Provisional.
The items included in the expenditure are regional development grants, regional selective assistance and regional enterprise grants ; expenditure on land and factories by the English Industrial Estates Corporation, the Scottish and Welsh development agencies, the Development Board for Rural Wales and the Highlands and Islands development board.
Northern Ireland has a different range of financial incentives available and the items included are Industrial Development Board grants and loans, expenditure on land and factories, share capital standard capital grants and local enterprise development unit grants and loans.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the numbers and value of offers of (a) regional selective assistance and (b) regional enterprise grants within each standard United Kingdom region in 1991-92 and 1992-93 ; what is the forecast outturn for 1993-94 ; and if he will list (i) the number of applications, (ii) the associated project costs and (iii) the amount of grant paid.
Mr. Sainsbury : The regional selective assistance (RSA) and regional enterprise grants (REG) schemes are applicable only in Great Britain.
For 1991-92 all the information requested about RSA and REG can be found in the annual report of the Industrial Development Act 1982 at appendices 7 and 5
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respectively. Copies are available in the Library of the House. Apart from the amount of grant paid, information for 1992-93 is presently being prepared and will be published in the annual report in September 1993.The amount of grant paid in each standard region in 1992-93 was :
£ million
1992-93
|RSA |REG
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |28.1 |1.5
North West |18.2 |1.3
Yorkshire and Humberside |8.4 |1.8
South West |5.1 |0.8
East Midlands |0.6 |0.3
|------- |-------
England |71.1 |5.8
Scotland |59.2 |2.8
Wales |<1>58.8 |<1>1.1
|------- |-------
Great Britain |<1>189.1 |<1>9.7
<1> Provisional.
The latest forecast outturns for RSA and REG for 1993-94 are contained in the 1993-94 Supply estimates.
Sellafield
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the current timing of the decision in respect of the commissioning of the thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield.
Mr. Eggar : Before commissioning its thermal oxide reprocessing plant, British Nuclear Fuels plc will need such consents and authorisations as may be required by law. The company's application for revised discharge authorisations for the Sellafield site is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Nuclear Safety
Mr. Ainger : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the revised timetable for the long-term safety review of nuclear reactors by the nuclear installations inspectorate.
Mr. Eggar : The Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate has so far published reports of its findings on six power stations. It intends to publish a report on the generic issues arising out of the long-term safety reviews (LTSRs) of Magnox stations later this year. Important modifications to plant at all the Magnox stations have been or are being implemented. The NII has requested the licensees to give priority to these generic safety concerns so that action is taken without waiting for completion of individual station's LTSRs. Brief reports on the remaining five stations should then be available before the end of 1994.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) when he received the 1991-92 report of his advisory committee on the safety of nuclear installations ; and what action he plans to take in response to its recommendations ;
(2) when he received a copy of the third report of the advisory committee on the safety of nuclear installations study group on human factors.
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Mr. Eggar : I received copies of the biennial report of the Health and Safety Commission's Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (ACSNI), and of a report from its study group on human factors, on Monday 17 May, the day of their publication. The biennial report contains no recommendations as such, but I have noted the areas of work which ACSNI has undertaken in 1991-1992 and have also been informed about the committee's forward programme for 1993.
Mr. Bowden : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to seek an international convention to harmonise the safety standards of nuclear reactors.
Mr. Eggar : The Government welcome the discussions taking place at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna on a proposed international nuclear safety convention, and hopes these can be concluded as soon as possible. The convention should be based on general principles of nuclear safety and should be aimed at improving the safety of civil nuclear power reactors world wide.
Mr. Bowden : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to increase the resources of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the implementation of programmes for improving safety in the nuclear industries of the countries of central and eastern Europe.
Mr. Eggar : Major funding for projects to improve nuclear safety in the countries of central and eastern Europe is being provided through bilateral assistance programmes co-ordinated by G24, and through the multilateral fund, established as an initiative of the G7 July 1992 Munich summit. The Government are playing a full part in these programmes and recently made a contribution of £8.25 million to the fund. The Government consider that the resources currently available to the International Atomic Energy Agency are broadly consistent with the distinctive contribution the agency is able to make in the area, both through its own specific programmes and the quality of its technical advice to others.
Plutonium
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many shipments of safeguarded plutonium from the United Kingdom to Japan have taken place to date.
Mr. Eggar : For the period from May 1979, shipments of plutonium from the United Kingdom to Japan were made in financial years 1979-80, 1980 -81 and 1981-82. The shipments were made under safeguards for use in civil nuclear power research and development. The specific details are a matter for the operator concerned and its customers.
Abu Dhabi
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what matters in regard to the prospects for a carbon tax were raised by the Minister for Energy during his recent visit to Abu Dhabi.
Mr. Eggar : During my recent visit to the Gulf, considerable concern was expressed in Abu Dhabi and
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elsewhere about the European Commission's proposals for a carbon/energy tax. I explained that the United Kingdom was not convinced that a Community-wide tax along the lines proposed by the Commission was either a necessary or appropriate response to the problem of global warming. I also took the opportunity to explain the outcome of the joint session of the Energy and Environment Councils on 23 April outlined in my reply to my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Norfolk, North-West (Mr. Bellingham), Official Report, columns 109-10, on 5 May 1993.Coal Industry
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the President of the Board of Trade to what extent British Coal may take into account commercial concerns over potential competitors in assessing disposal and future sale of pits ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : Offering to the private sector pits which British Coal does not wish to keep in production is a matter for British Coal. As the White Paper explains, the Government believe that it is right that where a private sector operator is prepared to take on a pit for the long term that operator should have the opportunity to succeed or fail in the market. In considering bids, British Coal will, of course, have to have due regard to its statutory duties.
Newly licensed mines will have to find new outlets for their production and will not have access to British Coal's contracts with the electricity supply industry.
Croatia
Mr. Elletson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what advice his Department gives to British businesses considering investment in the Republic of Croatia.
Mr. Needham : Because of Croatia's serious economic and political difficulties, my Department urges a cautious approach on British companies considering investing there.
Manufactured Goods
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the increase in import penetration of manufactured goods each year since 1972, distinguishing between imports from (a) the EEC and (b) the rest of the world.
Mr. Needham : Information on import penetration from 1970 to 1979 was published in the June 1980 edition of "Economic Trends". Subsequent data up to the year ended June 1989 were published in "Business Monitor MQ12"; annual summaries are published in table 12.2 of the "Annual Abstract of Statistics". These publications are available in the Library of the House. The figures do not separate the EC from the rest of the world.
Tariffs
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing the average incidence of tariffs on imports and exports of manufactures in (a) 1972 and (b) 1992 in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) the original EEC Six, and indicating the
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average loss of tariff preference between the United Kingdom and (x) Denmark, (y) the Irish Republic and (z) Commonwealth countries since 1972.Mr. Needham : No. The provision of this detailed information would incur disproportionate costs in terms of resources and time.
Coal Review
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to visit representatives of (a) employers and (b) employees of those coal mines in Wales which were included in the British Coal review to discuss the future of their pits.
Mr. Eggar : Neither my right hon. Friend nor I have any plans to do so at present.
Gas Interconnector
Mr. Stephen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made by the group of companies studying the feasibility of building a gas interconnector between the United Kingdom and the continent.
Mr. Eggar : I understand that the group will shortly be inviting potential users to participate in an interconnector linking the United Kingdom and Belgian gas grids. I welcome this initiative by the industry. It is an important step towards realising the gas trade opportunities this link will provide. It will be for the Government to negotiate with the Belgian Government the necessary treaty for a pipeline crossing our continental shelf boundary, and I am writing to the chairman of the group to assure him of our readiness to do so.
Companies House
Mrs. Angela Knight : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what targets he has set Companies House executive agency for 1993-94.
Mr. Heseltine : I have set Companies House executive agency the following targets for 1993-94:
to make all statutory documents available for public inspection within five working days of receipt;
to satisfy all requests for searches within two hours;
to achieve a compliance rate of 86 per cent. by end June 1993, increasing to 90 per cent. by end June 1994 for companies filing accounts and annual returns; and
to reduce real unit costs by an average of 2 per cent. a year. Companies House is also required to achieve a 6 per cent. average annual rate of return based on its operating surplus expressed as a percentage of average net assets employed at current values. In addition, I have set the chief executive of the agency the target of replying within 10 working days to letters from MPs delegated to him for reply.
Telecommunications Council
Mrs. Angela Knight : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Telecommunications Council held on 10 May.
Mr. Leigh : The main item of business was the proposal for a Council decision on an action plan for the introduction of advanced television services in Europe.
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Some progress was made towards achieving an agreement, but several key points on the content of the action plan, including the overall amount of any Community expenditure have yet to be agreed. Negotiations will continue at a further Council meeting, scheduled for 16 June.A common position was agreed in principle on the directive applying open network provision to voice telephony. Council conclusions on the Commission's communication on the European telecommunications equipment industry were adopted without discussion. These invite the Commission to strengthen Community action already under way in four areas : establishment of an internal market, support for research and development, development of the terminal equipment market, and improving competitive conditions in the world market. There was also a short debate on a recent Commission communication on the review of the telecommunications services market, which proposed full liberalisation of telecom services by 1998. On the postal Green Paper the Commission gave a brief oral report on the results of the consultation period. There will be more substantive discussions on both these points at the Telecommunications Council on 16 June.
UKAEA
Mr. Dunn : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement on the chairmanship of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.
Mr. Heseltine : The current chairman's appointment expires on 30 June 1993. I have appointed Sir Anthony Cleaver to succeed him, initially for three years, from 1 July 1993.
Advertisements (Germany)
Mr. Wareing : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many advertisements his Department has placed in German newspapers and periodicals ; into which ones they were placed ; what the cost has been ; what was the purpose of the advertisements ; what the response has been ; and if he will place copies of these advertisements in the Library.
Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 24 May 1993] : During the 1992- 93 financial year a total of 74 advertisements costing some £160,000 were placed in Handelsblatt , Wirtschaftswoche and TopBusiness , together with chamber of commerce magazines in Freiburg, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Reutlingen. The advertising campaign was aimed at stimulating the interest of German companies in the advantages the United Kingdom offers as a profitable investment location. So far, some 40 companies have responded. Copies of the advertisement have been placed in the Library.
Gas Prices
Mr. Peter Atkinson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the standing charges per quarter and the unit charge in pence/kWh for gas prices for each year since 1991-92 ; what is each figure as a percentage increase or decrease on the previous year's figure ; what were the changes in the retail prices index over the same period ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Eggar [holding answer 24 May 1993] : The information requested is as follows :
Retail Prices Index (
all items)
13 January 1987 = 100
|RPI
-----------------------
April 1991 |133.1
April 1992 |138.8
April 1993 |140.6
Retail Prices Index (
all items)
13 January 1987 = 100
|RPI
-----------------------
April 1991 |133.1
April 1992 |138.8
April 1993 |140.6
Retail Prices Index (
all items)
13 January 1987 = 100
|RPI
-----------------------
April 1991 |133.1
April 1992 |138.8
April 1993 |140.6
Over the two-year period 1990-92 in real terms standing charges have decreased by 8.2 per cent. and unit cost by 4.1 per cent.
EDUCATION
Discretionary Grants
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many representations he has received on the subject of discretionary grants over the past 18 months ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend has received a considerable number of representations on this subject from members of the public, interested groups and hon. Members.
Testing
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has had from, and what meetings he has had with, parent- teacher associations on the subject of testing in schools ; and what consideration he is giving to their views.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has received a number of letters from parent-teacher associations in recent months. He last met the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTA) on 26 April. He has also met a delegation from Parents' Initiative, and gave a speech at the annual conference of the Campaign for Real Education on 17 April.
All these occasions allowed my right hon. Friend to speak to parents, and to seek their views on the subject of testing. We recognise that parents have an essential role to play in the education process : we want actively to engage them in it.
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