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Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to co-operate with Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in respect of his Department's duties in relation to sport in schools; and if he will list the action taken in response to HMCI's findings on sport in schools. [19485]
Mr. Banks: My Department has no official duties in relation to sport in schools but we take a keen interest in this area. We have regular contact with the Department for Education and Employment to discuss matters of mutual concern and HMCI's findings form a valuable basis for our discussions.
Mr. Gorrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proposals have been put to him for athletics facilities at the planned new Wembley Stadium; and at what costs. [19762]
Mr. Banks: These are matters for the English Sports Council. I understand the athletics facilities at the new English National Stadium will meet the criteria of the International Amateur Athletics Federation for a world class facility capable of staging major world athletic events. The English Sports Council has agreed a provisional Lottery award of £120 million to the English National Stadium Trust, towards total estimated project costs of £240 million.
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the feasibility of underground coal gasification as a source of energy. [20666]
Mr. Battle: My Department is participating in a European field trial of underground coal gasification (UCG) as part of our coal R and D programme. This is a joint project involving Spain, Belgium and the UK with substantial financial support from the European Commission's THERMIE Demonstration programme. The total cost of the project which started in 1991 is £14 million and the UK contribution is £1.7 million. The project is due to end next year once the current gasification trials have been completed. Results to date have shown the feasibility of gasifying Western European coals at depths in excess of 500 metres. The gas produced from the present trials had a calorific value of approaching a third that of natural gas. This is better than the gas produced by some clean coal gasification power generation processes and indicates UGC technology may offer a potential energy source for power generation in the future.
The economics of UGC will be evaluated in more detail on completion of the current gasification trials. Underground coal gasification may be an attractive primary energy source in the longer term. It is currently many times more expensive than current gas prices, and likely to remain so for many years even when the technical problems have been overcome. The technology could be used to access coal reserves too deep for
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conventional mining (both opencast and deep mine). In the longer term it could be used to access the vast reserves of high volatile coal located beneath the North Sea. At least 10 years of R and D work is likely to be needed before underground coal gasification can even be considered to be a commercial option.
Mr. Jim Murphy:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade which other Governments her Department is consulting in preparation of the report on British policy on enemy property during and after the Second World War. [19579]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths:
While I and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary have not consulted with any other Governments in the preparation of this report, we shall wish to give this further consideration.
Mr. Salmond:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on the Government's policy towards the proposed extension of the Working Time Directive to include the fishing industry and other currently exempt professions. [20651]
Mr. Ian McCartney:
The European Commission have issued a White Paper but have not yet made detailed proposals. Each of the sectors excluded from the scope of the Working Time Directive has its own specific characteristics and we will need to look carefully at how subsequent proposals take these into account. Any proposals for legislation must respect our particular concerns, for example, about junior doctors, the offshore oil and gas industry and sea fishing.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid has been given to Egypt in each year since 1967 to assist in the clearance of land mines laid in World War II. [20634]
Clare Short: Mine detection equipment to the value of £500,000 was provided from the overseas aid budget in 1996. A further £100,000 for such equipment has been committed in Financial year 1997-98.
In addition, the Ministry of Defence has, from the early 1980s, provided the Egyptian authorities with copies of all surviving maps of known minefields and supporting information on the types of mines laid and the techniques used by the Commonwealth forces during the war. There have been three visits to Egypt by Royal Engineer Ordnance Disposal officers (in 1981, 1984 and 1994); reconnaissance flights over the area were also conducted by the RAF in 1984. The Ministry of Defence is currently preparing a new version of the map and data package which makes use of advances in technology where possible.
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Mrs. Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what was the budget for the British Investment in South Africa (LETS) Scheme in (a) 1985-86, (b) 1986-87 and (c) 1987-88. [20478]
Clare Short:
The total budget for the British Investment in Africa Promotion Scheme to cover both Pre-Investment Feasibility Studies (PIFS) and LETS components is £2 million. Expenditure for the three years was as follows:
All expenditure has been on the (PIFS) facility.
Mrs. Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has to simplify the criteria for small firms who make applications to the British Investment in South Africa (LETS) Scheme; and if she will make a statement. [20476]
Clare Short:
The British Investment in South Africa Promotion Scheme was reviewed earlier this year and a number of improvements have recently been made to enhance its effectiveness. The Local Employee Training Scheme (LETS) has been made more accessible to smaller firms by reducing the minimum intended investment from £200,000 to £100,000. Firms employing between 10 and 500 employees are eligible to apply for LETS grants to cover 50 per cent. of training costs up to a maximum of £50,000. UK firms which have already received a Pre-Investment Feasibility Study (PIFS) grant and have subsequently invested in South Africa are also now eligible to apply for a LETS grant. A brochure giving details of the improvements made to the Scheme has been issued recently by the British Council, the Scheme managers.
Mrs. Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many grants have been awarded to British businesses for the British Investment in South Africa (LETS) Scheme since its inception. [20477]
Clare Short:
The British Investment in South Africa Promotion Scheme, known as BIS, has two components. Twenty-five grants have been awarded for Pre-Investment Feasibility Studies. Only four applications have been received for the Local Employees Training Scheme (LETS). One was rejected, one lapsed and the other two are currently under consideration.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action she (a) is taking (b) proposes to take to control the spread of AIDS in Africa; and what funding her Department provides for such measures; [20382]
Clare Short:
The Department is contributing to the international effort through annual grants to UNAIDS which is responsible for co-ordinating the UN response to
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HIV/AIDS. DFID also works through its bilateral partnerships in many African countries and is funding research which is contributing to the development of new methods of protection against infection such as mircrobicides. For future work, we attach particular importance to making renewed efforts to meet the needs of adolescents.
1995-96: £203,505
1996-97: £356,276
1997-98: £275,191 (April-December)
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