§ Mr. HagueTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Telecommunications Council on 19 November.
§ Mr. LeighThe Council continued its discussion, begun at the last Council meeting in June, of the European Commission's proposal for a Council decision on an action plan for the introduction of advanced television services in Europe. The action plan proposes a subsidy of up to 850 mecu to help accelerate the development of the market for widescreen and high-definition television services. Agreement was reached on the text of the action plan, subject to a reservation by one member state and consideration of amendments proposed by the European Parliament. However, member states were unable to reach agreement on funding. The United Kingdom opposed the sume of 850 mecu as unacceptably high and questioned the justification for any subsidy. Several other member states could not give agreement to funding while the Community's overall financial perspectives remain to be settled. A number of member states have sought a further meeting of the Telecommunications Council on this issue before the end of the year, but the possibility of further progress on this question will be clearer after the Heads of Government summit in Edinburgh.
The Council also discussed the Commission's review of the situation in the Community telecommunications sector, which considers further liberalisation of the European telecommunications market. It agreed a resolution calling upon the Commission, to report to the next Telecommunications Council, currently scheduled for 10 May 1993, on the results of its consultations on the review document.
Presidency proposals on the process and time scale for taking forward the work on the Commission's Green Paper on postal services, once the present consultation period has ended, were also adopted. The Commission agreed to prepare for the next Council, a summary of the results of the consultation period, the main conclusions which the Commission draw from the consultations and a detailed and signposted timetable for subsequently moving forward to draft directives. The Council also agreed on the urgent need to seek reform of arrangements at both European and global level under which postal administrations account with each other for imbalances in mail flows between them.
The Council adopted resolutions on frequencies and numbering, setting out a framework for future Community action in both these fields. It also reviewed progress on the ONP voice telephony directive and discussed trans-European networks and a Commission communication on the European telecommunications equipment industry.
Number of establishments subject to Enforcement authority Number of inspections of food premises2 Issue of improvement and emergency prohibition notices Written warnings Closures (voluntary and compulsory) Aberdeen City 944 41 191 — Angus 1,676 4 189 2 Annandale and Eskdale 664 1 12 1 Argyll and Bute 968 — 371 — Badenoch and Strathspey 212 — 83 — Banff and Buchan3 2,055 — 181 —