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Manchester Air Disaster
96. Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the inquiry report into the Manchester air disaster in 1985.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : A copy of the report was submitted to the Secretary of State on 15 December. Copies have also been sent to the persons whose reputation might be adversely affected by the report, in accordance with the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations 1983.
A period of 28 days is being allowed for affected persons to request a review board. Provided no review is requested, the report should be published in March.
Bus Lanes
97. Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any proposals to issue guidelines on the introduction of bus lanes in urban areas.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We published a traffic advisory leaflet in March 1988 giving technical guidelines on the use of with-flow bus lanes. I shall send a copy to my hon. Friend. Further guidance is in course of preparation covering other kinds of bus priority measures.
Braking Lights
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if his Department is aware of any evidence linking the dazzle of rear braking lights fitted on the rear windows of motor vehicles and serious injuries and deaths on British roads ;
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(2) if his Department has any information on the fitting as standard by manufacturers of rear braking lights in the rear windows of motor vehicles ;(3) if he has any plans to introduce legislation to prohibit the installation of rear braking lights in the rear windows of motor vehicles.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : We are not aware of any serious injuries or deaths on British roads due to dazzle from brake lights fitted in the rear windows of cars.
Volvo fit a centre brake light in the rear window of their cars as standard.
We have issued for consultation revised vehicle lighting regulations which will prohibit the fitting of brake lights in the rear windows of new cars in future unless they are half as bright as normal brake lights. Such a lamp should provide the benefit which the centre brake light can bring without the dangers of unwanted dazzle to which the hon. Member refers.
Crash Helmets
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to encourage the wearing of hard hats by cyclists ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The Department strongly encourages the voluntary use of pedal cycle helmets and will continue to do so. Over half of all pedal cycle casualties involve head injuries. It is sensible for cyclists to wear a good quality helmet made to the British Standard BS6863. Such helmets are now available nationwide.
Concorde (West Cornwall)
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints he has received concerning Concorde's sonic boom from persons living in west Cornwall for each of the years 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The booms are normally heard during the winter. The figures for the whole of Cornwall for each winter season (November-April) are as follows :
|Number
----------------------
1984-85 |29
1985-86 |12
1986-87 |14
1987-88 |14
Ministerial Advisers
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the ministerial advisers appointed in his Department for each year since 1979, the salary each person received, whether paid directly or to another employer, and the duties undertaken, whether solely in his Department or in conjunction with other Departments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The following special advisers have been employed in the Department since 1979 :
I. Heggie--Special Adviser to the Minister of Transport on transport issues from 1 November 1979 to 31 January 1981. Paid directly.
Sir John Hoskyns--Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Transport on transport issues from 12 July 1982 to 21 June 1986. Paid directly.
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Mrs. K. C. Ramsay--Special (political) Adviser to the Secretary of State for Transport from 1 September 1983 to 21 May 1986. Paid directly.Miss E. Buchanan--Special (political) Adviser to the Secretary of State for Transport from 1 September 1987 to date. Paid directly. It is not the practice to reveal the salaries of individual advisers as they are individually negotiated in relation to previous outside earnings and are therefore confidential. The salary spine covers rates from points 1 to 28, £13,975 to £40,520.
Channel Tunnel (London Terminal)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what degree of private sector involvement he anticipates will be involved in the construction of (a) the second London terminal for the Channel tunnel and (b) the fast rail link between the tunnel and terminal through Kent.
Mr. Portillo : This remains to be seen. But I would like to see a significant degree of such involvement in both projects.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy with regard to British Rail having sole determination of the location of the second London terminal for the Channel tunnel ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : Government subsidy to British Rail in connection with its Channel tunnel services is prohibited by section 42 of the Channel Tunnel Act 1987. British Rail cannot be expected to choose a location for its second London terminal which it does not consider to be in its best commercial interests based on passenger needs. British Rail's proposal will of course need my approval and that of Parliament.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what representations have been made to his Department against the possible location of the second London terminal for the Channel tunnel at King's Cross ;
(2) what representations he has received in favour of (a) Stratford and (b) King's Cross for the location of the second London terminal for the Channel tunnel.
Mr. Portillo : In addition to representations from the hon. Member, I have received a number of representations from local authorities and other interested bodies in favour of Stratford, and again King's Cross, as the site for a second London terminal. Equally, I have received a number of representations from hon. Members and others in the north of England who favour King's Cross as against Stratford on the ground that it will make possible better links to the north. I have explained to all those who have made representations that the choice is British Rail's responsibility.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the consultants were appointed to consider the feasibility of Stratford as a location for the second London terminal for the Channel tunnel ; and when they are due to present their report.
Mr. Portillo : I am aware that British Rail has carried out such an assessment, but I do not yet have details.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has regarding the
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estimated cost of construction of a second London terminal for the Channel tunnel at (a) Stratford and (b) King's Cross.Mr. Portillo : I understand that it is British Rail's view that a terminal at King's Cross would cost more than one at Stratford, but would be more commercially viable because of its more central location.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the second London terminal for the Channel tunnel to be operational ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : It is too early to say.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contribution has been made by his Department to the selection process for the site of the second London terminal for the Channel tunnel ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : None, but the investment will need Government approval and Parliament will consider the necessary Bill.
Channel Tunnel (Kent Link)
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive British Rail's decision in respect of the Channel tunnel preferred link through Kent.
Mr. Portillo : I understand that British Rail hopes to announce its preferred route corridor in the next few weeks.
Carlisle-Settle Railway Line
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement on the future of the Carlisle to Settle railway line.
Mr. Portillo : I am not yet in a position to do so.
Underground Stations (Radio)
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of London Underground stations use radio underground.
Mr. Portillo : Train radio is in operation throughout the underground network. London Underground Limited is implementing a programme for the introduction of police and staff radio at 42 deep-level stations representing a third of sub-surface stations. Police radio is now in use at 26 of these stations and staff radio at eight. London Underground Limited intends that police radio will be in use at all 42 stations by the end of February and staff radio by the end of April, and is preparing proposals to extend both facilities to all sub-surface stations.
London Underground (Staff Training)
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many days safety training per year staff on London Underground receive.
Mr. Portillo : This is a matter for which London Underground Limited is responsible but I understand that all station and train staff will now receive one and a half days training in fire and emergency procedures a year.
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Rail Link (Manchester International Airport)
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on current progress on the rail link to Manchester International airport.
Mr. Portillo : I am awaiting a joint submission from the Greater Manchester PTE and British Rail on the financing of this link.
Rail Services (Gloucester-London)
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss the need to improve the frequency of direct trains between Gloucester and London when he next meets the chairman of British Rail.
Mr. Portillo : This is a matter for the British Railways Board.
Air Services (Manchester-Singapore)
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress he has made in negotiations to increase the number of air services between Manchester and Singapore ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Discussions were held in London this week between United Kingdom and Singapore civil aviation officials on arrangements for the provision of air services between the United Kingdom and Singapore. The discussions made useful progress and they are expected to continue in Singapore within the next two months.
Fennell Report (Implementation)
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much extra funding has been provided so far to implement the findings of the Fennell report.
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Mr. Portillo : The external financing limit for London Regional Transport for the current financial year has been increased to allow for £28 million of additional safety-related expenditure following the fire at King's Cross. The Government's public expenditure plans for 1989-90 to 1991-92 make provision in full for the proposals put forward by LRT for spending on Underground safety totalling £266 million.
London Underground (Fires)
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many call-outs the London fire brigade received in each of the last five years for fires on the London Underground.
Mr. Portillo : London Underground Ltd. do not have information available in the form requested for the period specified. I understand that the numbers of fire and smoke incidents recorded by London Underground for the past five years are as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1984 |520
1985 |335
1986 |505
1987 |844
1988 |1,248
P
Changes in reporting arrangements within London Underground during the period mean that one year is not strictly comparable with another. These changes include the ones made after the King's Cross fire, as I indicated in the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 10 January.
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