PMQT Written Answers – 3 June 1991
Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 3rd June 1991.
PRIME MINISTER:
Nuclear Test Veterans
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the representations he has received since 29 November 1990 relating to the payment of compensation to victims of the British nuclear tests at Christmas Island; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : I have received a number of representations and have nothing to add to the statements that I have previously made.
Fishing Policies
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Prime Minister if he will take steps better to co-ordinate the policies and spending programmes of the various Departments of state concerned with the fishing industry in England and Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has lead responsibility for United Kingdom fisheries policy in consultation with other Fisheries Ministers.
General Pinochet
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Prime Minister what procedures Her Majesty’s Government have in place in respect of protocol, security, or other considerations, for the reception or treatment of senior Ministers or heads of armed forces of another country arriving in this country on a private visit; how these procedures were applied in the case of General Pinochet’s visit of 18 and 19 May; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : We have no set procedures for private visits to the United Kingdom, although protocol, security and other aspects are considered where necessary. In the case of General Pinochet, apart from arrival and departure, arrangements for his visit were the responsibility of his hosts.
Gas and Oil Policies
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Prime Minister if he will take steps better to co-ordinate the policies and spending programmes of the various Departments of state concerned with the gas and oil industry in England and Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : The Department of Energy, which is the lead department for United Kingdom oil and gas, consults on and co-ordinates its policies with other Government Departments as appropriate.
British Service Men (Correspondence)
Mr. John Evans : To ask the Prime Minister when the hon. Member for St. Helens, North can expect to receive a reply to his letters of 1 February, 13 March, and 3 April, on the subject of the death of British service men in the Gulf other than by enemy fire.
The Prime Minister : I shall reply to the hon. Gentleman’s letter of 1 February as soon as possible. I have no record of having received the hon. Gentleman’s letters of 13 March and 3 April.
Journalists (Overseas Visits)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister how many accounts have not yet been settled by newspapers which sent journalists on official transport provided for Prime Ministerial visits abroad.
The Prime Minister : As of 3 June 1991, 14 accounts had not been settled.
National Union of Mineworkers’ Funds
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what information Her Majesty’s Government have made available about NUM funds to Mr. Brian Larkins, sequestrator of Price Waterhouse.
The Prime Minister : The sequestrators were appointed by the court to carry out the order of the court for the sequestration of the funds of the National Union of Mineworkers. The sequestrators requested and obtained from the Government, as well as others, information relevant to the discharge of their duties to the court.
Downing Street
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister what changes he has made in the staffing and working arrangements in Downing Street since he became Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister : I have nothing further to add to the reply that I gave the hon. Member on 28 March 1991 at column 500.
Business Aviation Policy
Mr. Wilkinson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will arrange for the Secretary of State for Defence to consult the Secretary of State for Transport about the implications for the Government’s business aviation policy of the Secretary of State for Defence’s decision to make the Royal Aeronautical Establishment airfields at Bedford and Farnborough available for disposal.
The Prime Minister : I understand that consultations have taken place between the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Transport on this matter.
Banking Transactions
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what representations, either formal or informal, have been made by the Irish Government over the alleged surveillance by British electronic listening posts of private Dublin banking transactions.
The Prime Minister : The Government are not aware of any such representations.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will outline the rules which restrict the use of surveillance on private banking transactions in Britain and in the rest of Europe.
The Prime Minister : The interception of communications during the course of their transmission by post or by means of a public telecommunication system is subject to the provisions of the Interception of Communications Act 1985.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give the number of energy audits carried out in the Cabinet Office in the past five years and for each audit a statement of its main conclusions.
The Prime Minister : Six energy audits have been carried out in the Cabinet Office in the last five years. The main conclusions for each audit are as follows :
10-12 Downing Street
Installation of :
water dams of WC cisterns; high efficiency low energy lamps; low energy garden lighting; and krypton tubes.
Reduction of electricity supply capacity.
24 Whitehall
Draught sealing of windows.
Installation of heat meter.
Improvement in light switching practice.
Investigation of ventilation and heating control.
36 Whitehall
Adjust heating controller.
Installation of heat meter.
Reduction of domestic hot water wastage.
Investigation of ventilation system.
53 Parliament Street
Change to a metered water supply.
Reduction of electricity supply capacity.
Adjust settings of thermostatic radiator valves.
Installation of compact fluorescent tubes.
Murray House
Change electricity tariff to quarterly billed non-domestic.
More efficient use of supplementary heaters.
Replacement of hot water heater.
Installation of krypton tubes.
Hepburn House
Change to a metered water supply.
Improvement in energy management within boiler room.
Improvements to domestic hot water system.
Installation of thermostatic radiator valves.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give for each available year from 1978 the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by the Cabinet Office, expressing the figures in (a) cash terms, (b) 1990-91 money terms and (c) units of consumption for electricity in kilowatt hours, gas in therms, liquid fuel in litres and solid fuel in tonnes ; and if he will give the square footage of accommodation to which these figures relate.
The Prime Minister : The figures requested are available only in cash and 1990-91 money terms and only for the following years :
|Electricity (£) |Gas (£) |Liquid fuel (£) |Total of accommodation in sq. ft <1>
——————————————————————————————————
1987-88 |268,523 |74,797 |56,511 |616,899
|<2>(330,693) |<2>(92,114) |<2>(69,594)
1988-89 |294,485 |53,904 |39,906 |586,843
|<2>(337,582) |<2>(61,782) |<2>(44,738)
1989-90 |295,126 |56,575 |42,000 |545,861
|<2>(317,998) |<2>(60,959) |<2>(45,255)
1990-91 |300,542 |58,033 |48,988 |547,481
<1> As at 30 September of start year.
<2> 1990-91 money terms.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give the number of dedicated energy managers in the Cabinet Office and the number of person-years devoted to energy management in the latest year.
The Prime Minister : The Cabinet Office has one part-time energy manager.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give for each available year from 1978 the amount invested in improving the energy efficiency of the Cabinet Office in (a) cash terms and (b) 1990-91 money terms.
The Prime Minister : The only information available relates to 1990-91 when approximately £78,000 was spent on measures aimed at improving energy efficiency in the Cabinet Office. This excludes expenditure on planned maintenance and the use of energy-efficient lighting in refurbishment programmes which is not separately identifiable from other costs.
Council of Europe
Mr. Burns : To ask the Prime Minister whether he has made any changes to the composition of the United Kingdom delegation to the 43rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
The Prime Minister : At the request of the Leader of the Opposition the representatives and substitutes for the Labour party on the delegation to the 43rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will now be:
The hon. Members for: |Representatives
——————————————————————
Wentworth |Mr. Hardy
Wallsend |Mr. Garrett
Tooting |Mr. Cox
Liverpool Riverside |Mr. Parry
Wansbeck |Mr. Thompson
Lord Kirkhill
The hon. Members for: |Substitutes
Warley, East |Mr. Faulds
Newham, North West |Mr. Banks
Cunningham, South |Mr. Lambie
Falkirk, East |Mr. Ewing
Manchester, Central |Mr. Litherland
Don Valley |Mr. Redmond
Newport, East |Mr. Hughes
In addition, I have appointed my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Mr. Soames) from the Government Benches as a substitute delegate in succession to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Central (Mr. Lord), taking effect from 28 June 1991.
Mr. Mohinder Paul Singh Bedi
Mr. Madden : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the invitations to official functions at No. 10 Downing Street to which Mr. Mohinder Paul Singh Bedi has been invited since 1979; and if he will make a statement.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 22 May 1991] : Mr. Bedi attended a general reception at No. 10 Downing Street on 1 December 1986.