To ask the Attorney-General if he will meet the Charity Commissioners to discuss the expenditure of the Foundation for Business Responsibilities on political campaigns; and if he will make a statement.

The trustees of the Foundation for Business Responsibilities have been invited by the Charity Commissioners to supply them with information as to the activities of the charity, its expenditure and receipts. I have asked the Charity Commissioners to send me a copy of the findings resulting from their inquiries.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will review the advice on the release of defendants on bail following the decision in Regina v. Amos, at Newport on 8 November.

The criteria for the grant of bail is contained in the Bail Act 1976 and its application to individual cases is a matter for judicial determination by the relevant court having heard representations from both prosecution and defence. In the case to which the hon. Member refers the Crown prosecution service made representations that bail should be withheld.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement of the achievements of his Department since October 1990.

The Government introduced legislation to cut all headline community charges for 1991–92 by £140, and made various improvements in the community charge reduction scheme. It used its powers to protect community charge payers from excessive charges by capping 14 authorities and twice extended those powers through primary legislation. Legislation was also enacted to exempt caravan owners from payment of the standard community charge. In April the Government issued a consultation paper "A New Tax for Local Government", proposing the introduction of a council tax to replace the community charge. The Government introduced the Local Government Finance Bill which provides for the new tax to be introduced from 1 April 1993. It is working closely with the local authority associations and others to ensure that the arrangements for the new tax operate efficiently. Contracts for the allocation of all dwellings in England to bands of value are presently being let, and work will begin next month.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the units of production will be defined to which the exemption limits for (a) degreasing solvent and (b) paint solvent will be applied.

My hon. Friend is perhaps referring to industrial coating and printing processes which have been prescribed for pollution control under part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.Exemption limits, expressed in terms of specified levels of annual usage of certain substances by processes concerned, are set out in section 6.5 of schedule I to the Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and Substances) Regulations 1991. These are to be interpreted in the light of rules set out in schedule 2 to the regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what the community charge would be in the current year in each local government area if local authorities were required to raise 20 per cent. of their costs from community charge payers.

After taking into account community charge benefit, the community charge reduction scheme, and the income support element relating to community charges, the average community charge actually paid in England for 1991–92 is estimated to be £172. The income from this charge represents 15 per cent. of English local authorities' budgeted gross revenue expenditure.If the proportion of income from community charges were to rise to 20 per cent., the average community charge for 1991–92 actually paid in England would increase to £229.Average charges for individual areas are not available on this basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the total administrative costs of the (a) community charge and (b) proposed council tax.

Local authorities in England have budgeted to spend £489 million on community charge collection in 1991–92. I would expect the council tax to cost no more than half that amount to collect.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out in tabular form the expenditure of Hertfordshire county council in 1978–79 and for the latest available year in (a) cash terms and (b) constant price terms.

The available information is as follows:

Hertfordshire County Council
	Expenditure1
	Outturn 1980–81 £ million	Budget estimate 1991–92 £ million
Cash terms	266·8	558·1
Constant price terms (1991–92 prices)	524·2	558·1
1 In 1980–81 expenditure is total expenditure, while in 1991–92 expenditure is net revenue expenditure. These derive from two different systems of local government finance and are therefore not directly comparable. Comparable information is not available for earlier years on an individual authority basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many individuals failed to pay all or some of their community charge in the Chelmsford local authority area in 1990–91; and what percentage this represents of the total number of charge payers in the Chelmsford local authority area;

The number of individuals in Chelmsford who failed to make any payment of community charge in 1990–91 was 3,500—3 per cent.of all individuals liable in Chelmsford. Information on individuals making partial payments is not available.The authority reported the same figure—3,500—for the number of individuals who had failed to make any payment between 1 April 1990 and 30 September 1990. It should be noted that the number not making any payment can increase as well as decrease during the year, as it will include those who have recently become liable by moving into the area or becoming 18.The figure for the corresponding period in 1991 is 7,188 —6 per cent. of chargepayers.The authority had received 97 per cent. of its budgeted community charge income for 1990–91 by 30 March 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the EC has initiated proceedings against the United Kingdom Government concerning the rate of designation of special protection areas under the EC directive on the conservation of wild birds; and if he will make a statement.

Government officials have held meetings with representatives of the European Commission following the issue of a reasoned opinion concerning the rate of designation of special protection areas under the EC birds directive. The United Kingdom provided the commission with details of the protection afforded to SPAs and potential SPAs. The Government have identified a firm forward programme of sit designation, of which the recent designation of Rutland Water and the extension of Skokholm SPA to include the islands of Skomer and Middleholm is a part.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to designate the Humber estuary a special protection area under the EC directive on the conservation of wild birds.

The former Nature Conservancy Council's proposal for the designation of the Humber estuary as a special protection area for birds is under consideration within government.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to protect the water environment from pollution by dangerous substances; and if he will make a statement.

Controls on discharges of dangerous substances to the water environment are exercised by the National Rivers Authority under the Water Act 1989 and by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Discharges must enable receiving waters to meet relevant environmental quality standards—EQSs. EQSs have already been set for 10 red list substances: proposals for EQSs for the remaining red list substances are set out in a consultation paper to be issued shortly, and copies of which I have placed in the Library today.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Government will announce the chairman or chairwoman of the proposed new local government commission.

I am delighted to announce that Mr. John Banham, currently the director general of the CBI, is to be the chairman of the new local government commission when, subject to Parliament, it is set up next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many dwellings each local authority has sold under the right-to-buy legislation, or voluntarily, since 1979; and what percentage of the total local authority stock they represent.

I have placed in the Library two tables giving available information on local authority sales up to June 1991. Table 1 shows year by year information for each local authority during the years 1979–80 to 1986–87. Table 2 shows year by year information for each local authority since 1886–87 together with cumulative figures since April 1979 and the proportion of their stock sold since April 1979.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans he has to extend to areas outside London the emergency measures for people sleeping rough in snow and extreme cold;(2) what extra measures he intends to take this winter to provide help for homeless people sleeping rough in Leicester in snow or extreme cold.

[holding answer 26 November 1991]: In 1991–92, the Government are providing just under £6 million in grants to voluntary organisations outside central London for 122 practical projects to prevent and relieve homelessness. Among those being funded is the Leicester night shelter project which last winter provided additional facilities and medical care during the worst of the cold weather. I understand that it plans to provide the same services this winter.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a copy of the auction catalogue for the sale of property held by British Waterways on 21 November, together with a list of prices realised for any property sold.

[holding answer 26 November 1991]: My Department does not have a copy of this catalogue. Nor will we receive details of the prices received until the board's annual accounts are submitted.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will bring forward proposals for a scheme to give owner-occupiers the option of converting from mortgage to rent to avoid home repossessions;(2) if he will make it his policy to introduce a scheme for owner-occupiers who fall behind on mortgage payments to enable them to transfer their mortgages to shared ownership with local authorities.

[holding answer 26 November 1991]: Local authorities may already acquire property from a defaulting borrower where they are themselves the lender and, if they choose, leave the former owner in place as a tenant. Authorities may also acquire property with a view to disposal including disposal of a shared ownership lease. Authorities may further provide resources to housing associations to enable them to purchase property so that the previous owner remains on shared ownership terms or as a tenant. Details of these arrangements and procedures are currently set out in schedule 3 to the Housing Revenue Account Subsidy Determination 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

[holding answer 26 November 1991]: It is estimated that at present, around 2,000 calls a month are made to directory inquiries from DoE offices throughout the country.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has had with the Council of Mortgage Lenders over the number of repossessed houses.

[holding answer 26 November 1991]: My hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning has been in frequent consultation with the Council of Mortgage Lenders. As a result of those continuing discussions, the CML has published statements of practice on the treatment of arrears, new arrangements have been announced on the payment of mortgage interest for borrowers eligible for income support and lenders, insurance companies and housing associations are arranging for empty property to be made available for families in need.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for himself, and for each of the Ministers at his Department, details of (i) the number of visits made during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (ii) the number of visits made to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (iii) the number of nights spent over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.

The information requested is as follows:

	(i)	(ii)	(iii)
Chancellor	2	2	2
Chief Secretary	0	0	0
Financial Secretary	1	1	0
Minister of State	0	0	0
Economic Secretary	0	0	0

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) of 5 November, Official Report, column 33, whether the zero-rating of magazines, in addition to books, is safeguarded until at least December 1996.

Yes.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans further to encourage investment in North sea oil and gas projects.

Some future North sea projects may involve the landing of gas outside the United Kingdom, or its initial treatment or storage outside the United Kingdom or the United Kingdom continental shelf. At present, the petroleum revenue tax—PRT—and "ring fence" corporation tax—CT—rules do not cater for these situations. To ensure that these tax rules do not distort the economics of such investments, we propose bringing forward legislation in the next Finance Bill to take account of new developments of this kind. In particular PRT relief, and CT relief within the "ring fence", will be given for the cost of transporting oil or gas to the nearest reasonable place of delivery outside the United Kingdom; and relief for initial treatment and storage costs will similarly be extended to costs incurred outside the United Kingdom or the United Kingdom continental shelf. Relevant expenditure already incurred will qualify for this new relief.A double charge to both PRT and gas levy could arise if gas were sold, under a new contract, from a reservoir which was previously exploited under a contract which pre-dated PRT and so was subject to gas levy instead. Although production under the new contract would be within the scope of PRT, gas levy would under the present law still be payable. To remove this unintended double charge, the proposed legislation will cancel gas levy when a PRT exempt gas contract which already contains a single fixed termination date comes to an end at that date, and gas from the reservoir begins to be sold under a new contract which is not exempt from PRT.These changes should encourage companies to proceed with worthwhile and substantial North sea investments.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 18 November, Official Report, column 26, when he intends to commission an opinion poll to investigate public attitudes towards public services; and if he will indicate (a) how much he envisages the survey will cost, (b) how many members of the public are expected to be involved in the survey, (c) when he expects the questionnaire to be finalised, (d) when he expects the sampling and questioning to begin, (e) when he expects the survey to be completed and (f) when he expects the results to be published.

[holding answer 26 November 1991]: I intend to commission an opinion survey before long. The details have not yet been finalised.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff have been engaged at the Registrar General of Shipping's office in Cardiff to operate the sea fishing register.

In the year to date 12 staff have been engaged in the operation of the British fishing vessel register.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much expenditure has been incurred in centralising the register of fishing vessels at the Registrar General of Shipping's office in Cardiff.

The expenditure incurred in centralising the register of fishing vessels at the Registrar General of Shipping's office in Cardiff was £325,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the annual running costs of operating the sea fishing register at the Cardiff office of the Registrar General of Shipping.

The annual running costs of operating the British fishing vessel register at the Cardiff office of the Registrar General of Shipping in the year 1990–91 was £315,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the existing capacity on channel tunnel rail routes; and what estimates he has made of total domestic passenger traffic by the year 2005.

I refer my hon. Friend to British Rail's route comparison report, a copy of which is in the Library. Section 6.2.4 of the report presents details of capacity on existing lines between the channel tunnel and London. The report also describes BR's approach to forecasting domestic passenger demand and the conclusions it draws.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if it is still his intention that the whole easterly channel tunnel rail link route will be brought up to the same stage of detail and development as the southerly route by July 1992.

No deadline has been set for developing the easterly route to the stage at which it can be published for public consultation and safeguarding. However, I confirm that British Rail still expects the work to take about nine months once the framework and the mapping base for it have been established.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in full the details of the Ove Arup and Rail Europe channel tunnel high-speed rail route proposals.

Details of the Ove Arup and Rail Europe proposals are included in the reports published by British Rail on the comparative appraisal of the route options; copies have been placed in the Library. British Rail does not intend publishing other material since this is based on commercially confidential information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department has issued on the number of types of parking control that may apply in London boroughs.

A wide range of parking control systems is available to local authorities under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The main systems and methods of payment are set out in a discussion document "Paying for Parking" issued by the Department last year and circulated to all local authorities in England.Guidance is also available in "Roads and Traffic in Urban Areas"—1987—and "Highways and Traffic Management in London"—1985—both of which are available from HMSO.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many separate types of parking control he has authorised in the London boroughs of (a) Camden and (b) Wandsworth; and what information he has on the types of parking control in operation in each of those boroughs.

London boroughs have direct responsibility for the parking schemes they introduce. There is no systematic collection of data by the Department on controls operating in the boroughs. In the last three years, special approvals of parking equipment have been given in connection with schemes in Camden and Wandsworth as follows:

• 22 October 1990
• Special approval for electronic parking meters in London borough of Camden.
• 22 November 1991
• Special approval for Hampstead parking vouchers (London borough of Camden)
• 2 March 1990
• Special approval for electronic parking meter in London borough of Wandsworth.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what requests his Department has received from the London borough of Camden for approval of parking control schemes since January 1990; and what response his Department has made.

Generally, the Department's approval of parking control schemes is only required in respect of special approval for parking equipment, including vouchers, and any related special authorisation of non-prescribed traffic signs.The only special approvals for parking equipment issued to Camden in the last three years have been those referred to today in my previous answer to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all motorway service areas located within primarily residential areas, those located within a radius of half a mile from residential areas and those within a radius of one mile.

This information is not readily available in the form requested. I will write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the faults that have occurred with the system since the introduction of the east coast main line electrification, the reason for each fault and the safety implications.

Public services on the whole of the newly electrified east coast main line commenced on 8 July 1991. Since then, BR has formally reported one failure of the electrification equipment. This occurred at Portobello on 29 August, when a return conductor on the overhead line equipment—OLE—expanded in the heat, causing a short circuit. There was no danger to the public or to railway staff.There was another failure on 18 November, between Stevenage and Hitchin. I understand from the Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate that a part of the OLE broke, and the wire carrying the traction current was struck by a diesel train. Half a mile of the OLE was pulled down. The current was automatically cut off and again, there was no danger.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the timetables for each of the trust ports seeking privatisation; whether he expects the timetables to be adhered to; what obstacles to privatisation remain; and if he will set them out in a deposited paper in the Library.

The proposed timetables for each of those trust port authorities at present seeking privatisation under the Ports Act 1991 are as follows:

(i) Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority:

• 28 November 1991—closing date for final bids.

(ii) Medway Ports Authority:

• 20 December 1991—closing date for indicative bids.
• 3 January 1992—shortlisting of final bidders.
• 14 February 1992—closing date for final bids.

(iii) Clyde Ports Authority:

• 13 December 1991—closing date for representations on transfer scheme under section 9(6) of the Act.
• 10 January 1992—closing date for indicative bids.
• 17 January 1992—shortlisting of final bidders.
• 14 February 1992—closing date for final bids.

(iv) Port of London Authority (for Port of Tilbury):

• 6 January 1992—closing date for indicative bids.
• 13 January 1992—shortlisting of final bidders.
• 17 February 1992—closing date for final bids.

Except where the timing is shown as being dependent on section 9(6) of the Act, the above dates represent in each case the best estimate by the port authority concerned of the main stages in their privatisation process and may be subject to change due to unforeseen events.When each sale is finalised will depend on how quickly each port authority is able to make its recommendation to the Secretary of State as to the successful bidder and how quickly the Secretary of State is able to reach a decision on that recommendation.It will be necessary for an order approved by a resolution of the House providing for a levy on disposals of land under section 17(8) of the Act to become effective before an individual privatisation, other than that of the port of Tilbury, can be completed. A draft of this order will be laid before the House very shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans there are to update the eastern dual carriageway to full motorway standards between the M27 and Eastern docks, Southampton; and what is the timescale.

[holding answer 25 November 1991]: The approach roads from the M27 and M271 to the Eastern docks are roads for which Hampshire county council is the highway authority. I understand that the county council is planning some improvements but that these do not involve any upgrading to motorway standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the most recent information he has on the destination of people who leave Action for Community Employment and the job training programme; how many leavers (a) got jobs (b) became unemployed or (c) went on to further training; and if he will make a statement.

The most recent survey of the destinations of participants leaving the Action for Community Employment—ACE—programme was carried out for the year 1990. The survey was based upon a sample of 1,000 ACE leavers and revealed that: 31·4 per cent. of participants found work; 63·7 per cent. of participants became unemployed; and 4·9 per cent. of participants took up further training or entered further education.The most recent information available on the destination of participants leaving the job training programme is for the period 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991 and is as follows:

Destinations	Number of People
Found Work	1,542
Unemployed	1,432
Further Education	54
Further Training	140
Not Known	574

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many unemployed people have been referred to restart courses since January 1991; how many of them were unemployed for over two years; how many attended and completed the course; what were the outcomes of the participants; and how many had benefit penalties imposed for not attending or failing to complete their attendance at the restart course; and if he will make a statement.

Restart courses were discontinued in Northern Ireland in March 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) men and (b) women in 1990–91 and since April 1991 have joined job clubs; how many have left; how many leavers got jobs; and how many entered another positive outcome.

In 1990–91 a total of 3,674 people joined job clubs; 3,033 have left, 1,640 got jobs and there were 848 other positive outcomes. In the period April to October 1991 a total of 2,346 people joined job clubs; 1,914 have left, 1,034 got jobs and there were 563 other positive outcomes. Separate figures for men and women are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions in the financial year 1990–91 grant applications to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive were refused on the ground that the contractor proposed to carry out the work was not on the Executive's approved list of contractors; in how many cases the applicant was informed that an alternative contractor could qualify; and what was the average delay in processing claims using the new contractor.

This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but the chairman has advised me that information about such cases is not collected and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since the introduction of the warranted builders scheme in August 1987 the number of refusals arising from proposed use of a non-warranted builder have been few. During the past year approximately 12 cases received exceptional approval for the use of non-warranted builders.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many applications for grant aid to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, which are still under consideration, were submitted to each office of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive prior to (a) 1 January 1991, (b) 1 October 1990, (c) 1 July 1991, (d) 1 April 1990 and (e) 1 January 1990, respectively;(2) how many grant applications were referred for an occupational therapist's report by each office of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, in each month since 1988.

These questions are for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but the chairman has advised me that the information sought is not recorded in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average time lapse between the referral of a grant application, by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, to an occupational therapist, and the receipt by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive of recommendations of the occupational therapist.

This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but the chairman has advised me that the average response time varies by region as follows:

• Belfast—11 months (although east and south Belfast average only 2 months)
• North East—2–3 months
• West—11 months (Derry substantially longer than Omagh and Enniskillen)
• South—4–5 months
• South East—3 months

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average time lapse between receipt of an application for grant aid by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the initial house inspection by a grants officer.

This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but the chairman has advised me that the average time lapse between receipt of an application and initial inspection is currently nine weeks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for (a) intermediate grant, (b) conversion grant, (c) repair grant and (d) improvement grant, respectively, were (i) received and (ii) approved by each office of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, in each month since 1988.

This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive but the chairman has advised me that in relation to the numbers of applications received this information is not available in the form requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.Details of the numbers of applications approved have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to protect the water environment from pollution by dangerous substances; and if he will make a statement.

Controls on discharge of dangerous substances to the water environment are exercised by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland under the Water Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. Discharges must enable receiving waters to meet relevant environmental quality standards—EQSs. Environmental quality standards for a number of red list substances are already in use in Northern Ireland: proposals for environmental quality standards for the remaining red list substances are set out in a consultation paper to be issued shortly, copies of which will be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements he has made to review the operation of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1991.

Viscount Colville of Culross, who has carried out an annual review of emergency legislation in previous years, has accepted my invitation to prepare a report on the operation of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1991. As with the former reviews, the intention is that the report should enable both Houses of Parliament to discharge effectively their responsibility to scrutinise the operation of the Act on the occasion of the annual debates on the continuance orders, and to determine whether any of the Act's temporary provisions could be allowed to lapse.As the temporary provisions of the Act will lapse on 15 June 1992 unless continued in force by order, I have asked Viscount Colville to submit his report by the beginning of April next year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the allocation to individual programmes in Northern Ireland of the public expenditure totals announced on 6 November.

In his autumn statement on 6 November, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced total public expenditure planning figures for the Northern Ireland programme. I have now decided on the allocations to individual programmes shown in the following table: copies of a more detailed statement have been placed in the Library. These allocations reflect my assessment of how best to distribute the Northern Ireland public expenditure totals in response to local needs and circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has made any estimate of the number of places Scotland will be allocated from the United Kingdom share of 24 seats on the proposed regional committee as part of the political union draft treaty terms.

The arrangements for selecting members of the proposed new committee of the regions will be for member states to decide. The distribution of United Kingdom places will be considered when the final outcome of the negotiations is known.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next meets the President of the Russian Republic, if he will discuss the proposals to authorise individual defence equipment factories located within the Republic to sell weapons and other military equipment on the open market; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans to meet President Yeltsin in the immediate future. The Russian republic has the right to export weapons. We should expect it to abide by the Soviet Union's international obligations and guidelines on conventional arms exports agreed by the permanent members of the Security Council at their meeting in London on 17–18 October. These guidelines include observance of restraint and assessment of recipient countries' needs for legitimate self-defence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the EC ministerial council meetings at which his Department has or will be represented during November and December.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have attended, or will be attending the following Council meetings:

• Foreign Affairs Councils on 4 November, 2 and 16 December;
• and European Council on 9 and 10 December.

They are also attending the following additional ministerial meetings:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he is having with the German Government on the establishment of joint embassies to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

We are not having discussions with the German Government on the establishment of joint embassies in the Baltic states. The possibility of co-locating premises with the Germans or other diplomatic missions will be examined on the basis of practical factors. Following the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the Baltic states on 6 September, we established an embasssy in each Baltic state in early October. Germany has established its own embassies. Our embassies keep in touch with their EC counterparts and other diplomatic missions on administrative matters and have been co-operating closely.There are differing circumstances in each country. In Estonia, our embassy is currently renting temporary office space from the German embassy while both look for permanent premises. In Latvia there are former British and German embassy premises to which both Countries may return. In Lithuania, the British and German embassies are co-operating with each other and other missions in the difficult search for suitable accommodation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent CSCE seminar in Oslo; and if he will place a copy of the concluding document in the Library.

The CSCE seminar of experts on democratic institutions, held in Oslo from 4 to 15 November, provided a useful opportunity to experts in this field to make contacts and to exchange views. The concluding document, a copy of which is being placed in the Library, contains suggestions made by the experts which will be considered at the Helsinki follow-up meeting. It also recognises the important role which has been played, and will continue to be played, by the Council of Europe in the provision of expertise on democratic institutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the number of British citizens in Abu Dhabi who have had their passports confiscated in connection with BCCI; and if he will list their names.

Her Majesty's embassy at Abu Dhabi has been assured by the court receiver, most recently on 25 November 1991, that passports of all but a few British mationals have now been released and can be collected by their holders. The embassy has asked the court receiver for a list of names of those whose passports are not to be released.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received from British citizens in Abu Dhabi.

We have received no representations from British citizens in Abu Dhabi.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the British ambassador in the United Arab Emirates was first informed of the situation of the British citizens in Abu Dhabi whose passports are being withheld from them by the BCCI court receivers; what information was received; and what action was then taken.

A small number of former BCCI employees approached Her Majesty's embassy in Abu Dhabi as early as September 1991. A few individuals asked in late October and November for advice on how to recover their passports. The embassy undertook to find out why the passports could not be released. On 18 November 1991 the court receiver gave instructions that passports should be released in all but a small number of cases. These relate to individuals who have major liabilities to the bank and whose situation is being studied on a case-by-case basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what protest has been made by the Foreign Office to the Abu Dhabi Government about British citizens detained in connection with BCCI; and what has been the response.

The matter of consular access was raised with the United Arab Emirates by Her Majesty's embassy in Abu Dhabi on 9 September 1991, and various times thereafter. My hon. Friend, the Minister of State, raised the question of consular access to the detainees with the United Arab Emirates deputy Prime Minister on 28 October 1991. Consular access was granted on 31 October 1991.The embassy in Abu Dhabi has been seeking ways of overcoming administrative obstacles facing those who are not in detention but have not been able to leave. Passports and air tickets have now been made available to the majority of those who wish to leave, and arrangements made for the shipping of their personal effects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions the British ambassador and his staff have visited those detained in Abu Dhabi; what representations were made by them; and what action is being taken to secure their release.

Following representations by Her Majesty's ambassador at Abu Dhabi and his staff, Her Majesty's consul was permitted to see the detainees on 31 October 1991. Their release will depend on the due process and practice of Abu Dhabi law.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what explanation has been given by the Abu Dhabi authorities as to why the passports of the British citizens detained in Abu Dhabi were taken from them.

It is common practice in many countries for employers to hold passports. In the case of BCCI employees, the authorities kept employees' passports while they investigated their financial position. Instructions have now been given for all but a small number to be released.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement about the United Kingdom's share of Japanese investment into the European Community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement about the United Kingdom's share of Japanese investment into the European Community.

According to information published by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, the United Kingdom has 39 per cent. of the stock of Japanese investment in the European Community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on the European Commission's refusal to provide funds for RECHAR grants in the United Kingdom.

The Commission's objection is an involved one about the "additionality" of the United Kingdom expenditure to match the RECHAR grants. Although under no obligation to do so, the United Kingdom has made provision for additional public expenditure. The Commission is misrepresenting the position.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will meet regularly with business men, to enable his Department to maintain a two-way channel of communication between Government and industry.

I have regular meetings with business people and will continue to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from industrialists in support of the social charter.

I have received none.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he intends to propose any new initiatives to boost investment in the film industry.

We are waiting for the report of the working party which is looking at ways of increasing private sector investment in film production.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from industrialists about the level of taxation on business.

I receive a wide range of representations from industrialists about business taxation. Industry welcomed the 2 per cent. cut in the main rate of corporation tax announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in his Budget statement. And it welcomes the fact that we have the lowest rate of corporation tax in both the EC and the G7.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the operation of public purchasing directives in the telecommunications sector.

The directives on public purchasing are part of the Community's single market programme. The supplies directive requires Government Departments, local authorities and certain other public bodies to award contracts above a certain threshold in value terms—currently £132,000 for regional and local government and £88,500 for central Government—in accordance with procedures designed to secure the non-discriminatory treatment of suppliers, including those supplying telecommunications equipment.The utilities directive will apply from 1 January 1993 similar procedures to the procurement practices of entities, including those in the private sector, operating in the telecommunications, water, energy and transport sectors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the citizens charter as it relates to telecommunications customers.

I have received a number of representations warmly welcoming the Government's policy, as set out in the citizens charter, for enabling new standards of service to be set for the benefit of telecommunications customers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next expects to meet the president of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss manufacturing industry.

I meet the president and other representatives of the CBI regularly to discuss manufacturing industry and other issues of mutual interest.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to increase Government support to manufacturing industry.

The Government support manufacturing industry by pursuing policies aimed at fostering a competitive environment, encouraging innovation, restoring incentives and, above all, defeating inflation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next expects to meet the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board to discuss its work and remit.

I meet the chairman of the Securities and Investments Board from time to time to discuss a range of issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will next meet representatives of the east midlands regional Confederation of British Industry to discuss industrial policy.

Ministers and officials of my Department keep in touch with the CBI on a wide range of business matters. I last met regional CBI representatives when I attended the CBI's national conference on 4 November 1991 and the Minister for Corporate Affairs met the vice-chairman of the east midlands regional CBI in Nottingham on Friday 22 November.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next plans to meet representatives of the Confederation of British Industry to discuss industrial policy.

Ministers and officials of my Department keep in touch with the CBI on a wide range of business matters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has recently received about manufacturing investment.

I receive a great deal of correspondence relating to manufacturing investment. The latest figures show that the fall in manufacturing investment has halted. In the third quarter of 1991, manufacturing investment was 2 per cent. higher than in the previous quarter, and over one third higher than 10 years earlier.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many United Kingdom firms have gone into liquidation during the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

The numbers of company liquidations due to insolvency in the United Kingdom in the 12 months to June 1991 were:

	number
England and Wales	19,337
Scotland	574
Northern Ireland	211

I will write to the hon. Gentleman to provide further information when the official insolvency statistics for the third quarter are published on 29 November.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the latest figures for trade between (a) Germany and the United Kingdom and (b) Japan and the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Information on United Kingdom visible trade is regularly published in "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom", which is available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on development of British trading links with eastern Europe.

British trading links with eastern Europe have developed in a number of welcome ways. At Government level we took the lead in bringing about last week's initialling of association agreements between the EC and Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland; we have also opened three new diplomatic posts in the Baltic republics and are establishing consulates-general in Kiev and St. Petersburg.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he next plans to meet Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan to discuss European competition policy; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend and I meet Sir Leon Brittan regularly, to discuss a wide range of issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his plans for the future of the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

Following the privatisation of its insurance services business, the ECGD will continue to provide credit insurance support and export finance facilities for project exporters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will propose legislation under which the public would have access to the results of auditor monitoring as carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 1989.

No. The recognised supervisory bodies are considering the publication of an annual report giving details of their monitoring of auditors. The bodies propose in any case to announce decisions to withdraw registration from a firm, whether resulting from monitoring activities or otherwise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will propose legislation under which the auditing firms criticised in his Department's inspectors' report would be required to meet a portion of the cost of the investigation.

My right hon. Friend has no plans to introduce such legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, since his Department's inspectors' criticisms of Ernst and Young in reports relating to Sound Diffusion, Milbury and Rotaprint, he has received any assurance that the firm has raised its standards.

Copies of the reports to which the hon. Member refers have been forwarded to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales as the relevant professional body. The institute has referred one of the reports to the joint disciplinary scheme as giving rise to a question of public concern. All the reports are still under consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to ask Ernst and Young to bear part of the costs of the inspectors' inquiry into Rotaprint.

No. My right hon. Friend has no powers to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry further to his answer of 19 November, Official Report, column 115, on how many occasions the firm has been criticised in reports by Department of Trade and Industry inspectors.

Five reports of Companies Act inspectors published since 1 January 1988 contain criticisms of the firms which now form Ernst and Young.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to review the licence fees for consumer credit and ancillary businesses.

No. The licence fees for consumer credit and ancillary credit business are kept under review by the Director General of Fair Trading.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to increase the upper limit for loans that fall within the scope of the Consumer Credit Act to £25,000.

It is intended that the monetary limits in the Consumer Credit Act should be reviewed next year and it would not be appropriate to prejudge the outcome of that review.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to amend the Consumer Credit Act 1974 in order to place a duty on lenders to make a credit reference search for all loans or revolving credit limits of £500 or more.

No. Lenders should be allowed to choose the method or methods of checking the creditworthiness of prospective borrowers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received regarding the Competition and Services (Utilities) Bill.

A number of representations have been received about the Competition and Services (Utilities) Bill, from organisations and individuals, and I am pleased by the interest, generally positive and constructive, which has been shown.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list all the statutes and regulations which regulate the entitlement to the use of the description estate agent; and when they came into effect.

There is no legislation regulating the use of the description estate agent. However, under the Estate Agents Act 1979 the Director General of Fair Trading can prohibit a person from doing estate agency work if that person appears unfit for such work and has engaged in certain types of misconduct.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the decline in the economy of north Staffordshire.

The economy of north Staffordshire will, like other parts of the country, benefit from the Government's success in reducing inflation and the ensuing resumption of economic growth. The latest CBI regional survey shows a sharp resurgence in business confidence in the west midlands region as a whole.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the discussions which took place in the EC Industry Council on 18 November.

The Industry Council meeting on 18 November adopted a resolution concerning electronics, information and communication technologies, and agreed to extend the steel aids code for five years. The Council considered Commission communications on biotechnology, textiles and maritime industries, and the Commission's 20th annual report on competition policy; and it discussed the financial arrangements for the European Coal and Steel Community, the position of the automobile industry, and industrial co-operation with eastern Europe.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the European Commission to approve funding for the operational programmes to cover the years 1992 and 1993.

[holding answer 21 November 1991]: A number of United Kingdom operational programmes for "Objective 2" grants from the European Community structural funds in 1992 and 1993 are due for approval by the Commission at the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the implementation of article 9 of EC regulation 4253/88 about an additional economic impact within regions of the United Kingdom eligible to receive EC structural fund grants.

[holding answer 21 November 1991]: Article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) 4253/88 requires that

"the increase in the appropriations for the Funds provided for in Article 12(2) of Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88"

should have

"a genuine additional economic impact in the regions concerned"

and result in

"at least an equivalent increase in the total volume of official or similar (Community and national) structural aid in the Member State concerned".

The increase in appropriations referred to relates to the doubling of the funds between 1987 and 1993. However United Kingdom receipts from the funds are not expected to increase in real terms over this period. In these circumstances, article 9 will not have any practical impact in the United Kingdom. The estimates available to me suggest that the United Kingdom is the only member state in this position.

to ask the Secretary of state for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his reply of 18 November, Official Report, column 37, when he expects the final price for the sale of the Export credits Guarantee Department Insurance Services Group to NCM will be settled.

[holding answer 21 November 1991]: The detailed terms of the sale are in the final stages of negotiation. As is normal practice, the sale price will be disclosed when the sale has been concluded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to reply to the letter from H. J. W. Knight, managing director of Raleigh Industries, regarding imports of mainland Chinese bicycles at GSP zero rating; and if he will make a statement on this problem.

[holding answer 26 November 1991]: I replied to Mr. Knight's letter on 7 November. The Government's position remains as set out in my letter.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

[holding answer 26 November 1991]: Accurate information is not currently available on the total number of calls made to directory inquiries by my Department. The Department uses CCTA logging equipment on our central Government telecommunications network but the data provided are not sufficient to give comprehensive information. Charging was introduced by BT for directory inquiries in April 1991 and the Department is currently in the process of advising staff of the most economic way of finding external telephone numbers.

To ask the Prime Minister what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations in annex 7 of the Presidency report of the current year's European summit.

Following the Government's initiative at the Luxembourg European Council in April, the Twelve have tabled a resolution at the UN General Assembly aimed at the early establishment of a register of conventional arms transfers under UN auspices. The resolution was approved by a large majority in the first committee of the General Assembly on 15 November. We expect that the General Assembly as a whole will soon agree the establishment of such a register.The Twelve continue to discuss the application of the common criteria identified by the European Council as guidelines for their national policies on conventional arms exports. Similar guidelines were agreed by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, at a meeting in London on 17–18 October. United Kingdom arms exports are wholly consistent with these guidelines.

To ask the Prime Minister how much will be written off the outstanding debts owed by the poorest and most indebted countries under the plan announced by him at the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit.

Debt relief of around two thirds will be granted to the poorest and most heavily indebted countries, subject to satisfactory performance under an IMF programme.

To ask the Prime Minister what progress he has made in persuading other creditor nations to offer debt relief under the plans announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

Discussions continue in the Paris Club on the implementation of the Trinidad terms proposals for providing greater debt relief to the poorest and most heavily indebted countries. Our objective remains to secure maximum participation in a multilateral agreement to provide greater debt relief. However, as made clear at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, the United Kingdom, acting in concert with as many creditors as possible, will implement Trinidad terms in the very near future if the Paris Club is unable to reach agreement.

To ask the Prime Minister when Her Majesty's Government first received notification from the EC Environment Commissioner of the dissatisfaction of the European Commission with the implementation by the United Kingdom, following transposition into United Kingdom law, of the 1985 EEC directive on environmental assessment of major projects; what responses have been made to the Commission by Her Majesty's Government to date; and if he will place copies of correspondence on the matter in the Library.

The Commission's article 169 letter of 22 March 1990 alleged infraction of directive 85/337/EEC in connection with a proposed waste disposal installation at Outlands Head quarry, Derbyshire. Following the United Kingdom's reply of 21 May 1990, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion about that case on 28 February 1991, to which the United Kingdom replied on 30 April 1991.The only other formal complaint by the Commission about our application of this directive has been Commissioner Ripa di Meana's well-publicised article 169 letter of 17 October 1991. The Commission has asked for a reply by 17 December.Correspondence between the Commission and member states about alleged infractions of European law is generally conducted in confidence.

To ask the Prime Minister what are the conventions whereby civil service departments take steps to consult the opposition about their policies towards the end of a Parliament; and when such steps are planned to be taken before the end of the current Parliament.

The convention is that, by authority of the Prime Minister, in the last six months of a Parliament of when a general election has been called, Opposition parties may arrange, with the authority of their party leaders and through the head of the civil service, contacts with senior civil servants. These arrangements are designed to allow briefing on factual questions on departmental organisational changes which Opposition parties have in mind or which may result from Opposition party policies. Any exchanges would be confidential. I will be prepared to authorise such arrangements from the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a further statement on the action he intends to take following the ruling of the European Court of Justice in relation to benefit payments to people with disabilities who move to other EC member states.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that, for European Community nationals who have been subject to United Kingdom legislation as employed or self-employed persons, mobility allowance is an invalidity benefit and may be exported when a beneficiary moves to another European Community country. The independent adjudicating authorities have interpreted the ruling as applying equally to attendance allowance, and are now giving effect to it.