asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry under the proposals of the Telecommunications Bill what provision will be made for ensuring telecommunication apparatus specifically designed for disabled consumers will be provided to them at a price they can afford; and if he will make a statement.

Clause 3(2)(a) of the Telecommunications Bill places a specific duty on the Secretary of State and the Director General of Telecommunications to exercise their functions in the way they consider best calculated to promote the interests of disabled people in respect of the price, quality and variety of telecommunication apparatus.Under this duty, the Secretary of State will include conditions in the licences he grants to telecommunications operators, particulary British Telecommunications, to ensure the continued availability of apparatus designed for use by the disabled. For example, BT will be obliged by its licence to continue to supply telephones adaped for the hard of hearing. BT will also be obliged to continue to provide the directory inquiry service free of charge to the blind and other disabled people who cannot use printed directories.The Director General will have powers to enforce these obligations and powers to ensure that the disabled are not charged unreasonable prices and to seek changes to the licence to safeguard further the interests of disabled persons. The Government have also decided to amend the Bill to require the Director General to establish an advisory body for persons who are disabled and of pensionable age. This will ensure the Director General is kept fully informed of the needs of disabled persons.The Secretary of State will also use his powers under the Bill to require, from a specified date, all new operator-controlled private branch exchanges to be capable of adaptation for use by blind operators. This will ensure that existing job opportunities in telephony for blind persons are safeguarded.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the South Wales electricity board will be published.

The report is published today. The commission was asked to report on the board's costs and efficiency. The commission commend and endorse many aspects of the board's performance but note that its controllable costs have risen faster than the rate of inflation over the past decade—a record which they did not find particularly impressive. The commission identifies a number of areas where changes could achieve efficiency gains and cost reductions.The commission emphasise the importance of the board's controlling or reducing costs since electricity consumption in its area is forecast to increase only very slowly to the end of the decade. In all, the commission makes 46 detailed recommendations on a range of topics including the role of board members in determining strategy; management structures; management information systems and computerisation; the distribution system; investment; manpower and industrial relations, and tariffs. The commission also reviews the board's sales of appliances, electrical contracting and appliance repair work and recommend separate accounting for these activities.The commission also suggests collaboration between the Electricity Council and the Electricity Consumers Council on guidelines on the information area boards should give to the local Consultative Council.Finally the commission was asked to consider whether the board is pursuing a course of conduct which operates against the public interest. It concludes that it is not.The board will be publishing its preliminary response to the commission's findings within three to four months in the light of which the Secretary of State for Energy will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on ESPRIT following the EC Research Council on 28 February.

The Government have always made clear their support for the principle of ESPRIT which was rightly described by the Stuttgart summit as an exemplary project. It is indeed the kind of programme the Community should be developing. We have welcomed the close involvement of companies in the detailed preparation and planning of the programme; this is a vital ingredient if it is to be of genuine assistance to the European IT industry and enables it to compete effectively. However, it is a substantial programme with a proposed cost of some £850 million, half of which will be borne by the Community. It would have been wrong to approve a programme of this size until we were sure that it could be paid for.We have, therefore, in conjunction with our Community partners, looked for ways of financing ESPRIT which would allow it to go forward before the wider budgetary problem is solved. This does, however, require agreement on common priorities for Community R & D expenditure. Both the Commission and other member states have now endorsed ESPRIT being given sufficient priority to ensure that the necessary funds will be allocated to it over the next five years within the resources available to the Community. On this basis I am pleased to report that the Research Council yesterday gave its approval to the ESPRIT programme.The UK industry has participated enthusiastically in the pilot stage of ESPRIT. We are involved in 21 of the 38 projects and in the lead in 11. I very much hope that our industry and academics will take the opportunity offered to them and commit themselves wholeheartedly to the main part of the programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the proposed European Community directive on commercial agents.

The directive is an attempt to co-ordinate throughout the European Community certain elements of the laws governing contracts between principals and their commercial agents for the sale or purchase of goods. It would apply to agents where they are self-employed, incorporated bodies or partnerships. Its provisions would inter alia require the terms of the contract to be expressed in writing at the request of either party, and give the agent a right to information held by the principal to verify the amount of commission due, a mandatory period of notice and an "indemnity" payment by the principal when the contract comes to an end for a variety of reasons.Wide consultations have been held on the current text of the directive. The CBI and other organisations representative of industry strongly opposes its adoption. Legal opinion is highly critical of the directive. Organisations representing commercial agents strongly favour its adoption. I have carefully considered the arguments.The directive deals with matters on which principals and agents in the United Kingdom are at present free to negotiate the terms they judge best suited to their business. I see no social or economic justification for government to interfere in contractual relationships freely entered into by commercial parties through legislation to curb their freedom of contract. Nor am I persuaded that notwithstanding their self-employed status, commercial agents are necessarily the weaker party and should be afforded statutory protection analogous to that given to employees in respect of periods of notice and redundancy payments. Indeed, such protection would introduce unjustifiable distortions between commercial agents and other agents and other self-employed traders.Within the Community there is freedom for commercial agents to supply their services throughout the internal market. I am not convinced that the existence of different national laws regulating some of the details of the contracts between commercial agents and principals constitutes a real obstacle to the development of the internal market.For all these reasons, in any future discussions which may take place, the United Kingdom will maintain its general reserve on the adoption of a directive in this area.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what immediate plans he has to encourage and enhance investment in north eastern industry generally and that of Cleveland particularly.

The Government have reaffirmed in the recent White Paper their intention to maintain an effective regional policy, but one more linked to employment and better value for money. Under existing regional policy, Cleveland enjoys special development area status which provides the full range of regional incentives at the highest rates.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the shipbuilding industry.

The shipbuilding industry faces the deepest shipbuilding recession of recent times and urgently needs to improve efficiency. The Government welcome the measures proposed by the management of British Shipbuilders and accepted by the national officers of the unions for radical changes in working practices. It is deeply regrettable that not all yards have yet accepted the agreement on flexible working practices. I urge them to do so in the interests of the industry and of their own jobs.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will investigate the number of job losses which will arise from his decision to ban the manufacture and sale of scented erasers and the areas where these job losses will occur.

When considering whether a product should be banned as not safe using the emergency powers available under the Consumer Safety Act 1978 I am not required to take into account the effect of the order on suppliers. It would be difficult to justify such action as this could encourage suppliers to pay little attention to the safety of products they were putting on the market.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department sent to the Association of Toy and Fancy Goods Factors and Importers in 1982 the text of the press notice issued on 8 November 1982, Ref. 495, relating to the sale of scented erasers.

A summary of the text of press notice No. 495 of 8 November 1982 was sent to this association in November 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance his Department has given to the British American Tobacco company concerning the proposed loss of 1,100 jobs at its Liverpool factory.

It is up to the company to approach the Department if it feels it has a proposal which could fit into various industrial support schemes. I have to say, however, that these cannot be used to alter commercial decisions taken by companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received about the discriminatory effect of past and present regional industrial policies on the west midlands; and what are his proposals to correct and compensate for this bias.

A number of representations have been made to myself and colleagues—not least by my hon. Friend — about the effect of regional industrial policy on the west midlands and other non-assisted areas. The Government took account of such representations in their review of the policy. The outcome of that review and the Government's proposals for improvements are set out in the recent White Paper "Regional Industrial Development.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the turnover of the United Kingdom software industry in 1970, 1975, 1980 and the latest year for which figures are available.

Whilst precise figures are not available, our best estimates suggest that the value of traded software and associated services for 1975, 1980 and 1983 were about £250 million, just over £750 million and £1·25 billion respectively. No estimate is available for 1970, but the figure is unlikely to have exceeded £100 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied with the export performances of the British software industry.

There has been a substantial increase in the value of exports of software products from £65 million-£75 million in 1980 to around £110 million-£130 million in 1983. Whilst this is a respectable performance, there can be no doubt that the industry should be capable of achieving higher overseas sales in the future years.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements exist for the support of exporters to the middle east.

United Kingdom exporters to the Middle East are encouraged to take advantage of British Overseas Trade Board export services.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his recent visit to the United States of America.

I had useful talks with senior members of the United States Administration and Congress and with business leaders on a range of issues. My main object was to meet members of the Administration and Legislature and to encourage the United States to stand firm against protectionist pressures. I also expressed the Government's deep concern over extraterritorial assertions of United States jurisdiction and the serious difficulties, both political and commercial that these could create and our concern over proposed unitary tax systems.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department can now announce launch aid for the Rolls-Royce V2500 aero engine; and if he will make a statement.

Launch aid arrangements for Rolls-Royce's participation in the V2500 aero-engine project have not been finalised and I am therefore not yet in a position to make an announcement.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about Government aid to the Rolls-Royce V2500 engine and the means by which he intends to monitor the progress of the project.

have nothing at present to add to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Delyn (Mr. Raffan) on 3 February at c. 387–8.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the level of financial support given to the Engineering Council by his Department to date and what is the proposed level of support for the financial year 1984–85.

To date the Engineering Council has received payments of grant in aid amounting to £1,517,000. Subject to Parliament providing the necessary funds the expected level of support for the 1984–85 financial year is £975,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the visible trade balance for the last 12 months for which figures are available.

In the 12 months ending January the visible trade balance was in deficit by £673 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the recent trend of productivity in British industry.

During the three years to the end of 1983 output per person employed in manufacturing increased at an annual rate of 6¼ per cent. For all production industries taken together the increase was 7½ per cent. a year. Since 1979 the United Kingdom's relative position has improved significantly. Compared with the average for 1979, the figures for the third quarter of 1983, expressed as a percentage change, were: United Kingdom 12 per cent., United States of America 11¼ per cent., Japan 8½ per cent., West Germany 6¼ per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied with the progress that is being made by the Accounting Standards Committee towards the development of a new statement of standard accounting practice on inflation accounting.

This is a matter for the committee. I understand it discussed it this morning. I shall study with interest any statement which the chairman may make.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will initiate an inquiry into the conditions of African workers, particularly in relation to health and safety in the mining industry, employed by British firms in South Africa, and then issue a report containing guidelines for such United Kingdom companies with interests in South Africa.

No. The conditions of black employees of British companies, including those in the mining sector, are covered by the guidelines in the European Community's code of conduct for companies with interests in South Africa, and nearly all the British companies concerned already submit annual reports. Copies of these are available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to publish a White Paper on dangerous goods.

I have been reviewing the legislation on consumer safety and hope to publish conclusions before long.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to publish Her Majesty's Government's reaction to the Lovelock report.

Consultations with NACAB are in hand, and I shall report back to the House as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to publish his response to the Lovelock report on the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Consultations with NACAB are under way, and I shall report back to the House as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied with the rate at which microprocessors are being placed in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The progress is good. The Department's micros in schools schemes have provided over 6,500 microcomputers to secondary schools, and as far as we can judge every secondary school now has at least one and the average is about four or five. Our primary school scheme runs to the end of this year and so far nearly 19,000 of the 27,000 schools eligible have applied. The scheme for secondary schools has been extended to include ancillary equipment and over 3,000 schools have applied.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will report progress on his campaign to stress the importance of design of products.

Yes. Since the Prime Minister's 1982 seminar on "Product Design and Market Success" the Government have been pursuing an active campaign to improve design performance in British manufacturing industry.The "Design for Profit" series of seminars, which has recently drawn to a successful conclusion, played an important part in this. The seminars were aimed at increasing the awareness of senior industrial management of the importance of good design to a company's competitiveness in the market place. A special seminar on this theme was held on 14 February for the City financial institutions.A sample survey taken after each conference has indicated that many of those attending have been encouraged to re-think their attitudes to design. The rate of applications for assistance under our design advisory service funded consultancy scheme doubled during the campaign and this rate has been maintained since the campaign closed.I intent to continue to pursue a vigorous design policy. To this end I am in the process of a thorough review of our design activity taking into account the many suggestions for action that have been put to me in the last 12 months.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to seek a public floatation of Jaguar Cars

We are currently considering the board's 1984 corporate plan, which includes the board's proposals for the first steps towards the return of the business to ownership by the public. We shall announce our decisions as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will respond to the proposals in "A Plan for Action," published by the British Textile Confederation.

My right hon. Friend is not yet in a position to respond to the British Textile Confederation's "A Plan for Action". He is carefully considering the porposal for investment assistance, including an alternative proposal for a new scheme similar to the small engineering firms investment scheme, together with similar proposals made betweeen August and December 1983 by the clothing economic development committee, the knitting economic development committee the footwear economic development committee and the British Leather Federation. He hopes to be in a position to reply to all these organisations in the next few weeks.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the progress of the cellular radio programme.

The cellular radio telephone programme is proceeding on schedule. Licences have now been formally granted to the two cellular radio network operators. Two indentically worded licences will be granted in due course for the provision of services over the cellular networks. It is also proposed to grant a general licence to enable services registered under the existing Value Added Networks General Licence to be offered over the cellular systems. An interim specification defining the air-interface between mobiles or portables and the network base stations is now available, while an interim type approval standard is being drafted for approving subscriber equipment manufactured to that specification. It is proposed that the type approval authority will be the British Approval Board for Telecommunications.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the prospects for British exports.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his autumn statement projected a 4 per cent. increase in the volume of exports of goods and services between 1983 and 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what extent the price competitiveness of British industry has declined since 1979.

The price competitiveness of United Kingdom manufactures, as measured by relative export prices, was at a similar level in the second quarter of 1983 as on average in 1979. Figures are published in table 46 of the January 1984 issue of Economic Trends.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money was lent to United Kingdom firms by the European Investment Bank during 1983.

In 1983 the European Investment Bank made £25.4 million available for lending to firms in the United Kingdom. This is the aggregate of sums actually disbursed to firms and of global facilities made available for on-lending which are not yet fully utilized.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the net balance of trade for the chemical industry in the year 1982–83 and the estimate for 1983–84.

Comparing exports valued fob and imports value cif, there was a crude surplus of £1,874 million in trade in chemicals and related products in the financial year, 1982–83. I should prefer not to hazard a guess at the exact figure for the current financial year, but the corresponding figure for the 1983 calendar year was a surplus of £1,810 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the United Kingdom balance of trade in passenger vehicles in 1983.

Details of overseas trade in passenger motor cars and public-service passenger vehicles are published under SITC(R2) Group 781 and Sub-group 783.1 respectively in tables III (imports) and V (Exports) of the "UK Overseas Trade Statistics", copies of which are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was his response to the recommendations of the Electronic Economic Development Committee concerning the tariff on semiconductors.

In response to the recommendations from the electronics economic development committee about a reduction of the 17 per cent. Community tariff on semiconductors, I have asked my officials to begin discussions within the Community to achieve such a reduction.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and industry what representations he has received concerning the review of investor protection.

A number of letters have been recieved, four of which are in the nature of representations.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and industry what action is being taken by Her Majesty's Government to ensure that the wings for the Airbus A320 are constructed by British manufacturers.

Discussions between the department of Trade and Industry and British Aerospace about the funding of the Airbus A320 project are taking place.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what tonnage of (a) bulk steel and (b) special steels was imported into the United Kingdom from European Economic Community countries in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983, respectively.

Bulk steel has been taken to mean all non-alloy steel, and special steel to be stainless and other alloy steel.The following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the productivity per man-year of workers in the United Kingdom steel industry compared with that of each other European Economic Community country; and what is the approximate level of wages in the United Kingdom industry compared with those payable in these other countries.

The following is the available information:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take action to regulate the level of discounts sought by multiple grocery chains from their suppliers.

The Monopolies and Mergers Commission examined this issue in its May 1981 report "Discounts to Retailers" and considered that regulation was neither necessary nor desirable. I know of no grounds at present for dissenting from this view.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by what percentage unit costs in manufacturing rose in 1983 as compared to earlier years.

Available information is shown in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to introduce legislation on the securities market, based on the Gower report; and if he will make a statement.

Not this Session. As regards the next, I must ask my hon. Friend to await the Gracious Speech.I do not propose to make any statement until the period of public consultation is over and there has been time to consider the representations made.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will indicate what support his Department is giving for the application of advanced technology to assist disabled persons.

My Department is already supporting over 100 individual projects concerned with advanced technology for disabled people. This programme of support will continue. A list of projects has been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans for the further privatisation of British Steel.

Yes. I have recently discussed with the chairman of the British Steel Corporation the prospects for privatisation of a number of BSC' s activities. Details of individual proposals are confidential.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on Government proposals for the British film industry.

I intend to make a statement of the Government's intentions as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to encourage more use of educational systems houses and software companies by Government agencies.

It is part of our policy to encourage commercial software houses to play a more important role in the provision of educational software. My Department is urgently considering ways of increasing their involvement and an announcement will be made shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress there has been towards the dismantling of non-tariff barriers to trade within the European Economic Community during the last 12 months.

At the Internal Market Councils in the past 12 months a good start has been made to removing non-tariff bariers within the Community.A number of measures have been adopted which will simplify formalities in trade, including a regulation introducing simpler arrangements for the movement of goods consigned from one member state for temporary use in one or more member states; a directive on the facilitation of formalities and checks at intra-Community frontiers and two directives on tax exemptions on temporary imports of certain means of transport and permanent imports of personal property. Work has proceeded on the proposals for a single administrative document for customs purposes; agreement has been reached on a reduced and harmonised list of data which member states may require in intra-Community trade.A directive has been adopted requiring member states to prenotify new national standards and regulations, thereby reducing the potential for new non-tariff barriers in the future. Work is proceeding on a new Commission initiative to streamline standards making procedures within the Community. A number of individual directives have also been adopted in the fields of proprietary medicinal products, company law, foodstuffs and motor vehicle insurance. In addition at the November Internal Market Council agreement in principle was reached 15 standards harmonising directives on industrial products.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has further to increase the small value order limit and to simplify procedures for small firms to tender for Government contracts.

My hon. Friend announced on 24 January the standardisation of financial and general information which Government Departments require from suppliers. We are now examining the scope for standardising the technical information. The value limit on contracts for which suppliers to most Government Departments are exempt from normal approval procedures was raised to £5,000 in February last year, and we are continuing to work towards simpler procedures whenever practicable without sacrificing value for money.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of the advantages of applying advanced technology to the manufacturing processes.

My Department is undertaking a wide range of activities in support of its aim of promoting awareness and rapid adoption of key technologies. Some are general and aimed at improving management awareness of the potential benefits of AMT using media such as seminars, practical experience centres, demonstrations at companies. Others are more specific, such as assistance to individual companies towards obtaining advice on the adoption of the technology in their business and towards installing equipment such as CAD (£24 million allocated), robots and FMS (£35 million allocated).

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied with the progress being made in developing the industrial commercial and electronic investments in new assets in the interim franchise programme of the cable-television operators since the end of December 1983 to date.

Discussions of the particular points arising from their applications with the 11 applicants for pilot licences are well advanced. In most cases it should be possible to bring these discussions to an early conclusion and begin the detailed preparation of the licences. It remains our intention to issue licences as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied with the progress of the United Kingdom microelectronics industry; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom microelectronics industry has performed well in recent years. According to the Electronic Components Industry Federation, the United Kingdom market for semiconductors grew by 40 per cent. last year to reach £600 million and is predicted to reach £1 billion in 1985. Consumption of integrated circuits has doubled over the last two years, growing from 20 per cent. to nearly 30 per cent. of the European market. The United Kingdom's electronics products now use a higher proportion of integrated circuits (by value) than any other country in Europe. Although our success can conveniently be measured by comparison with the rest of Europe, the major competitive threat remains Japan and the United States. The Government intend to continue to give encouragement to the industry to enable it to meet this threat through measures such as the Alvey programme of collaborative research into advanced information technology, the microelectronics industry support programme, and the microelectronics application project.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the figure for output in manufacturing industry in the most recent quarter for which figures are available; and how this compared with the figure for the same quarter four years previously.

In the fourth quarter of 1983 the index of production for the manufacturing industries was 96 (1980 = 100), compared with 110 in the same quarter of 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish a table in the Official Report comparing the increase in manufacturing industry output in the United Kingdom and Sweden in 1983 and 1982.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to suspend the import quota of all clothing from Thailand until further notice.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Trade, to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Bruinvels) on 20 February 1984 at column 379.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the latest available figures for gross revenue to the English tourist industry from self-catering holiday accommodation.

I regret that this information is not collected by my Department or by the statutory tourist boards it sponsors. However, the total expenditure on all goods and services by British residents staying in self-catering accommodation in England is estimated to have been some £875 million in 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his plans to market the shares of British Telecom to the public.

Yes, in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his Department's most recent figures for company profits.

The latest estimates of the gross trading profits of industrial and commercial companies, estimated by the Central Statistical Office, are given in Economic Trends.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications for regional development grants, whether or not successful, have been received each month by his Department from each standard planning region since January 1983.

The number of applications for regional development grant received by the Department between 8 January 1983 and 3 February 1984 was 26,199. An analysis by region and by calendar month is not available, and its preparation would involve a disproportionate use of resources.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what would be the highest rate of tariff applicable on 1 January 1987 to goods falling within standard industrial trade classification division 51; and whether he will publish in the Official Report a list of the goods subject to this tariff together with their standard industrial trade classification number;(2) what will be the highest rate of tariff applicable on 1 January 1987 to goods falling within standard industrial trade classification division 58; and if he will publish in the

This information is not readily available in the form required.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report an estimate of the amount of the reduction proposed in the tariffs on plastics and so on in tariff chapter 39 between 1982 and 1987; and if he will indicate the extent of the reduction in the high tariff items by reference to those which were chargeable at 16.2, 15.2, 14.7 and 14.2 per cent. in 1982.

The table below shows the rates of duty that applied in 1982 and the rates that the Community agreed in the multilateral trade negotiations should apply in 1987.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, in the light of the warning given by the Ford Motor Co., in July 1982 in evidence submitted to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee in its inquiry into international monetary arrangements, on the implications for national defence of the shift in manufacturing capacity from the United Kingdom to other countries, Her Majesty's Government have made any assessment of the implications for the defence of the United Kingdom of the closure of foundry capacity at Dagenham and its consequences in terms of vehicle building capacity in time of war.

No. There is a significant under-utilisation of foundry capacity in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if the Government will ensure that the parts of Japanese cars assembled in the United Kingdom are not invoiced at less than average cost, including all overhead and development costs; and whether the European Economic Community Commission has the right to question the relevant transfer prices after they have been approved by the competent United Kingdom authorities.

Prices are essentially a matter for the commercial parties to the transaction and are not subject to approval by the United Kingdom authorities or scrutiny by the EC Commission, except as generally provided for in circumstances established under domestic legislation or the Treaty.In the case of the Nissan project, where such transactions will in some cases not be at arms-length between independent parties, parts will be transferred at prices which allow for an appropriate element of profit and overhead to both supplying and receiving companies.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the likely change in demand for steel produced in the United Kingdom as a result of setting up an assembly plant for Japanese cars.

In phase 1 of the Nissan project, I should not expect a major change in demand for steel, since the major components, including body panels, gearboxes and engines, will be imported from Japan. In phase 2, (luring which planned output rises to 100,000 units, the demand for United Kingdom steel will depend on the mix of components locally sourced and the competitiveness of United Kindom suppliers. About one tonne of steel is used in the manufacture of a typical medium-sized saloon car.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he expects a substantial proportion of any cars assembled in the United Kingdom by the Nissan Motor Co. to be exported to other countries; and whether he foresees any difficulties being placed in the way of such exports.

During phase 1 of the Nissan project, when the company will be assembling cars on the basis of imported kits, I do not expect the cars to be exported from the United Kingdom. The Government share Nissan's expectation that there would be substantial exports of cars in phase 2 of the project. I see no reason why difficulties should be put in the way of these exports; the cars will be undoubtedly European, with high levels of local content.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the completely knocked down value of Japanese cars on a cost, insurance arid freight basis without tyres, battery and so on, as a proportion of the ex-factory price of a comparable car in the United Kingdom if the whole profit on the operation is taken in the United Kingdom.

The information on which to base such an estimate is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what factors account for the larger reduction in the volume of imports of other consumer goods compared to exports as a result of the change in the base year;(2) what factors account for the reduction of 9 percentage points in the unit value of exports of miscellaneous goods as a result of the change in the base year and for the corresponding increase of 15 percentage points in the unit value of imports; and if he will account for the changes in the volume index.

The higher unit value index and lower volume index for imports of miscellaneous goods result from a larger weight being given to the rise in the price of gold. The changes within exports of miscellaneous goods and within trade in consumer goods (other than passenger motor cars) result from improvements to the indices, which are now based on a more detailed and larger sample.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give details of the Post Office sampling scheme used to measure compliance with service targets and of the investigation into the statistical validity of the scheme in 1981 by Professor Alan Stuart.

The Post Office measures the quality of service of the letter mail using a sampling scheme called the letter information system. Some 120–150,000 letters are sampled each month, the postmark and other details on the envelope being recorded just before each letter in the sample is delivered. A random sample of about 600 postcodes is chosen each day and all the letters for one delivery to each postcode collected. If there are not more than 25 letters for delivery to a postcode, they are all sampled; otherwise a systematic sub sample of not more than 25 letters is examined. The results are analysed by computer, giving each letter its correct statistical weighting in the analysis. Details of the scheme were published in a report to the Market Research Society conference 1982.Professor Stuart looked at the design of the letter information system and the way in which the results were analysed to ensure that all calculations were accurate. He also watched the way in which samples were taken to ensure that the procedures were followed accurately and the system was free from bias.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 16 February, Official Report, c. 317–18 (a) what factors were taken into account in fixing the allowance in the quality of service target of the Post Office for first-class mail for customer error at 2 per cent., and what past data this allowance was based on and (b) what factors were taken into account in fixing the allowance in the quality of service target of the Post Office for first-class mail for post office error at 3 per cent., and what past data this allowance was based on.

(a) The major factors taken into consideration in assessing the 2 per cent. allowance in the quality of service targets for first-class mail for customer error are; incorrectly addressed items, customers accidentally placing first class mail in with second-class mail and misdated meter mail.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will state the reasons given by the Post Office for current shortfalls in achieving quality of service targets.

As I stated in my reply to my hon. Friend on 16 February one of the current factors adversely affecting quality of service is industrial disputes. In addition, at this time of the year, delays to the mail often occur because of the weather conditions disrupting some of the Post Offices key transportation services. Impassable roads in Scotland and north-east England because of snow, closure of airports due to fog, cancellation of railings and, particularly, delays to mail trains have all contributed to shortfalls in meeting the targets.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give details of the current industrial action experienced by the Post Office affecting achievements of quality of service targets; how long such action has been going on; and when it is expected to be concluded.

Recently there have been a number of local, generally unofficial, disputes at a few offices, which have usually been of short duration. Detailed records of industrial action and its effect on service are not maintained. However, I do recognise how frustrating their effect on postal services can be, both in the immediate locality affected and also more widely.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official Report on a regular basis the monthly national service results of the Post Office for both first and second-class mail and cumulative figures for the financial year.

No. The Post Office supply monthly national figures to the Post Office Users' National Council and to this Department; they will continue to do so. Published figures are given in quarterly and annual form and are contained in a leaflet which is available upon request from Crown post offices. This leaflet gives the results for the regions as well as for the United Kingdom as a whole; to publish these more frequently would involve extra expense and reduce the statistical accuracy.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for England generally, and separately for the English assisted areas, the number of new foreign-owned plants established each year since 1954 and the numbers which have been closed down since 1973.

The Department's records of openings and closures cover only those manufacturing plants with more than 10 employees. Comprehensive information is not available for the period prior to 1966; nor for the period since 1982 due to delays associated with its collection. The number of foreign-owned plants recorded as opening in England between 1966–82 is 819 of which 223 were in the current assisted areas; a breakdown of the figures by year is given in the table. Recorded closures of foreign owned plants in England since 1 January 1978 were 156 of which 35 were in the assisted areas. The definition of overseas ownership adopted is that at least 51 per cent. of the equity of the United Kingdom firm is owned by an overseas company.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many plants in England which employed more than 500 persons in 1978 have since been closed; and how many of these were foreign-owned.

The latest information available to the Department concerning factory closures indicates that 243 manufacturing plants in England employing more than 500 persons in 1978 have since closed; of these 32 were foreign owned. The definition of foreign ownership adopted is that at least 51 per cent. of the equity of the UK firm is owned by an overseas company.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many officials within his Department are engaged in work connected with the

No official from the Department of Trade and Industry is wholly engaged on work connected with the proposed abolition of the Greater London council and the metropolitan county councils. Those officials whose responsibilities ordinarily cover tourism, trading standards, local authority assistance to industry, and advance factory building have given advice as necessary on these aspects of the councils' work.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official. Report a table showing how many foreign-owned plants in England have closed down since 1978, how many jobs have been lost since 1978 in the plants in question and in which industries.

The latest information available to the Department concerning factory closures indicates that 560 foreign-owned manufacturing plants in England with more than 10 employees have closed since 1978 involving 103,000 jobs. The main industries affected have been mechanical engineering (22 per cent. of the jobs involved), electrical engineering (17 per cent.) and vehicles (13 per cent). The definition of foreign ownership adopted is that at least 51 per cent. of the equity of the UK firm is owned by an overseas company.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he will take to encourage new businesses and the expansion of firms in Hertfordshire.

Small businesses in Hertfordshire, like those in the rest of the country, are already benefiting from the measures we have taken to assist them. We are committed to building on the progress made, in particular by improving and simplifying existing schemes, promoting awareness and lifting burdens.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing (a) for the world and (b) far the European Economic Community the value of net inward investment for each year since 1960 at (i) current and (ii) 1983 prices; and if he will provide corresponding figures for net outward investment and the surplus or deficit over the net inward investment.

The available information is only in current prices and is:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for each of the past five years net inward and outward investment in (a) manufacturing and (b) all industries excluding oil, but excluding retained profits, windfall profits arising out of taxation or accounting changes and so far as possible the purely monetary transactions between parent companies and their subsidiaries, and so on.