Mr Timothy Eggar: It is no good the hon. Gentleman shaking his head. The leading independent deep sea biologist said that, and that it was equivalent to the number of worms that would die on the ground during construction of a quarter of a mile of motorway. In his career in the House, the hon. Gentleman has taken up many lost causes, but taking up the cause of the Atlantic deep sea worm seems beyond even him.
Mr Timothy Eggar: I can confirm that Shell has informed me that the additional amount—in excess of the cost of deep sea dumping—will not fall on the taxpayer but be absorbed by the company. That is as it should be. Future methods of disposal will now be studied. Shell came to us with the best environmental practical option. I expect it, in any proposal that it makes to us in future, to reach the same high...
Mr Timothy Eggar: I have already made it clear that Shell has agreed to commission a completely independent audit of the Brent Spar situation and I am sure that it will ensure that the results of that independent investigation are made public. I am also intending, subject to the necessary commercial confidentialities—[HON. MEMBERS: "Ah."] That is the way it has to be. I also intend to publish the studies...
Mr Timothy Eggar: That is absolutely typical of the hon. Gentleman. First, he misrepresents the position of Shell (Germany) and, secondly, he clearly prefers the opinion of Shell (Germany) to that of Shell (UK).
Mr Timothy Eggar: My hon. Friend is right: there are very difficult technical issues concerning the way in which a platform storage buoy, which is designed to be vertical, can be moved to a horizontal position and then towed inshore to shallow water for disposal. That is a major environmental issue on its own. As to where any work would be carried out if onshore disposal proved acceptable, that is clearly a...
Mr Timothy Eggar: Both my Department and the Scottish Office are working with the textiles industry to offer practical support and advice from which such rural communities can benefit.
Mr Timothy Eggar: I am aware of the importance of textiles to the hon. Gentleman's constituency, and I understand his concern about the recent job losses at Pringle of Scotland. We are currently taking a number of steps. As the hon. Gentleman knows, RETEX II should start disbursing money in September—£25 million over three years for the United Kingdom as a whole. We want to ensure that that money is spent...
Mr Timothy Eggar: I must confess that I was not aware of the position. I shall make it my duty to become aware of it, and undertake to discuss this important matter with my hon. Friend.
Mr Timothy Eggar: The mechanisms for regulating the privatised utilities have evolved over time, in response to the practical experience of the various directors general. Independent regulation has delivered real benefits to consumers and to wider market development.
Mr Timothy Eggar: I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman was in the House earlier when we discussed this issue. He should ask his right hon. Friend the Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair), who led for the Opposition against electricity privatisation, why he did not raise or identify the whole issue of share options at that time. The hon. Gentleman should ask his right hon. Friend why he failed to pick that up....
Mr Timothy Eggar: I very much agree with my hon. Friend. British Gas is competing and winning around the world, and a number of our water utilities are doing exactly the same. Our electricity utilities, particularly the generating companies, are investing effectively, and that will bring dividends to the United Kingdom and provide significant employment in supplying companies in the UK and to individuals who...
Mr Timothy Eggar: I am surprised at the hon. Gentleman. I thought that he had accepted the case for independent regulators. It does nothing for the independence of regulation and the effective operation of the industry for regulators to be under partisan political attack on a personal basis. That does the hon. Gentleman no credit at all.
Mr Timothy Eggar: I completely agree with my hon. Friend, and there is a further point. There is a great deal of transparency in the way in which the regulatory system works. The issues are put on the table for everybody to consider but they were never available for consideration in that way when those industries were nationalised and decisions were taken bilaterally in ministerial offices. The last thing that...
Mr Timothy Eggar: Generally, the privatised utilities have demonstrated higher productivity increases than those of manufacturing industry as a whole. The productivity performance of the electricity industry and of BT is particularly impressive. In terms of annual averages between privatisation and 1993–94, the regional electricity companies' productivity was up 6 per cent., BT's up 7 per cent., PowerGen's...
Mr Timothy Eggar: As usual, my hon. Friend makes his point powerfully and effectively. BT's prices for domestic consumers have fallen in real terms by 35 per cent. since privatisation. Gas prices for domestic consumers are down in real terms by 21 per cent. Electricity prices have fallen by 8.5 per cent. over two years. Gas prices for industry are down by almost 40 per cent. in real terms, and in recent weeks...
Mr Timothy Eggar: The hon. Gentleman lives in another era. He forgets the time when there was a waiting list for telephones and there was only one kind to be had—a big black one. During that period there was nothing like the number of telephones in houses compared with nowadays and the standard of efficiency was unbelievable compared with the present high standard. I suggest that the hon. Gentleman should...
Mr Timothy Eggar: I completely agree with my hon. Friend. Anyone who has seen, as I have, British Gas operating in Argentina or Kazakhstan will recognise the major contribution that British Gas is making to economic growth in those countries and in bringing profits back to the United Kingdom. We must recognise that the sale of services by utilities in the energy and telecommunications sectors is a worldwide...
Mr Timothy Eggar: Even by the hon. Gentleman's standards, that was a particularly churlish question. The benefits of privatisation have flowed through directly to consumers in lower prices in virtually all the privatised industries, and in higher standards of performance and service to consumers. The hon. Gentleman and the newspapers seem to have ignored the fact that the statement made by the centre that he...
Mr Timothy Eggar: The remarkable thing about the speech of the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill), like that of his hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton (Mr. Robertson), was that he said not a word about the Labour party's policy on nuclear power. Indeed, he was about as forthcoming and knowledgeable on Labour party policy on nuclear power as he was about the geography of the United Kingdom when he...
Mr Timothy Eggar: The hon. Gentleman has stated the Liberal Democrat party's position, and a document released today clearly says that it is in favour of phasing out nuclear power. When it says "phasing out" nuclear power, does it mean phasing out nuclear stations at the end of their natural lives—as approved by the nuclear inspectorate—or closing them before that?
