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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 18 July 1989
DEFENCE
Armilla Patrol
Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he proposes to make any changes in the Armilla patrol in the light of the continuing ceasefire in the Gulf.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The Armilla patrol will remain in the Gulf area for as long as there is a task to perform. Although there has been little progress towards a permanent peace settlement, there has been a considerable reduction in tension in the area over a period of some months. So long as this continues, we would in future expect normally to deploy only two frigates or destroyers to the region, although a third ship will continue to be suitably equipped and trained so that it can be deployed if there is any increase in threat. This will produce a welcome improvement in the availability of ships for other tasks.
ENERGY
Uranium
Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy at what facilities the uranium imported from Namibia since 1979 for commercial purposes is currently located.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I understand that uranium imported from Namibia since 1979 for use in the British civil nuclear programme is currently located either at BNFL's processing facilities, or at the generating boards' power stations. All this uranium is subject to Euratom safeguards.
Mr. Clay : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what estimates are available to him of the volume of radioactive tailings created and volume of radon gas released for the mining of each tonne of uranium used in the United Kingdom civil nuclear programme.
Mr. Michael Spicer : I have no such information. I am advised by the British civil uranium procurement directorate that all the countries from which we import uranium for civil use in the United Kingdom meet the internationally agreed guidelines established by the International Commission on Radiological Protection.
Magnox Reactors
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will provide published data in the Official Report , giving (a) the total in kilogrammes of that amount of plutonium in all wastes on the Sellafield site resulting from the reprocessing of all Central Electricity Generating Board and South of Scotland electricity board Magnox spent fuel from 1979, (b) whether that figure is an actual or
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estimated one and (c) how much of the figure in (a) is included in the table giving the allocation of plutonium produced in Central Electricity Generating Board and South of Scotland electricity board Magnox reactors on 31 March 1987, Official Report , 24 July 1987, columns 517-18 .Mr. Michael Spicer : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 20 June 1989 at columns 92-93 . None of this plutonium is included in the table which refers to plutonium in irradiated fuel and separated plutonium.
WALES
Anthrax
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the tenant of Singrett farm, Llay, to discuss with him the impact of the outbreak of anthrax upon his farm operations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : As officials of my Department and the state veterinary service are in constant touch with events at the farm, such a meeting would serve no useful purpose.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money (a) has been made available and (b) has been given to the local authority to date to deal with the problem of anthrax in Clwyd ; whether cash limits are imposed on money made available to the local authority for this purpose ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Walker : Government support to local authorities is provided principally through rate support grants, which are unhypothecated and are intended to support local authorities in providing services in general. The Anthrax Order 1938 places a clear duty on local authorities to dispose of potentially infected slurry at their expense. Prudent authorities will make provision for such contingencies within their budgets and should therefore be in a position to meet the costs of the anthrax outbreak to which the hon. Gentleman refers.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Sunday Trading
128. Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to local authorities in connection with the enforcement of the law relating to Sunday trading.
Mr. Renton : My right hon. Friend has not issued guidance to local authorities on this matter as there is no reason to suppose that they are not aware of their responsibilities under section 71 of the Shops Act 1950.
As my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General made clear in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Mr. Stanbrook) on 17 April at column 26, the fact that some cases have been referred to the European Court under article 177 of the treaty of Rome does not affect the duty of the local authorities to enforce the law. The court has yet to give its judgement on the first of these cases, but the Advocate General published his opinion on 29 June. This opinion, which is not binding on the court, indicated that the provisions of the Shops Act 1950 were not in breach of the treaty of Rome.
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Cycling Offences
Mr. Robert Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions took place in 1988 of people found cycling on footpaths.
Mr. John Patten : Information for 1988 is not yet available. In 1987 there were 540 persons prosecuted in England and Wales for cycling on a footpath.
Prisoners (Food Allowance)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present weekly food allowance per inmate in prisons in England and Wales ; and how the allowance is made up.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The weekly food allowance is determined by a range of dietary scales, which vary according to age and sex and also take into account religious and other beliefs. The weekly scales can be summarised as follows :
Food group |Weekly allowance
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Milk |2,610-3,050 | ml
Cheese |110 | g
Margarine |350-450 | g
Vegetable oils |150-250 | g
Eggs |3 | no
Meat and meat products |<1>1,420 | g
Fish |<1>185 | g
Fresh potatoes |3,150-3,920 | g
Fresh green vegetables |680 | g
Other fresh vegetables |540-830 | g
Processed vegetables |210-270 | g
Fresh fruit |<1>200 | g
Processed fruit |100 | g
Sugars and preserves |540-590 | g
Bread |1,425-2,300 | g
Flour and other cereals |840-1,155 | g
Beverages:
Tea |60 | g
Instant coffee |5 | g
<1> Weekly cash allowances are provided for purchase of fresh meat, fish
and fruit, to be spent at the discretion of the establishment; the weights
quoted are therefore average figures. There is also a weekly cash
allowance of 23p to 29p per inmate used at local discretion to extend the
variety and palatability of meals.
Bail (Foreigners)
Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to introduce the withholding of passports of foreigners who are the subject of police bail pending further inquiries ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend has no such plans at present. Only the courts can impose conditions on the grant of bail.
Bradford (Riots)
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of West Yorkshire as to the estimated cost of the police operations during the Muslim riots in Bradford over the weekend of 8-9 July ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I understand from the chief constable of West Yorkshire that the estimated additional
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cost of policing the disturbances in Bradford on 9 July is £6,870. This covers police overtime, subsistence and transport.Satellite Television
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he intends to make with regard to the ability of local authorities or bodies of a primarily political or religious nature to own a dominant holding in satellite television channels uplinked from the United Kingdom, primarily directed at the United Kingdom or intended for carriage on United Kingdom cable systems.
Mr. Renton : Paragraph 6.49 of the broadcasting White Paper (Cm. 517) proposed that local authorities and bodies whose objects are wholly or mainly of a religious or political nature should be disqualified from holding any ITC licence : this would include United Kingdom-based satellite channels licensable by the ITC.
Construction Industry
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has had any meetings with the Building Employers Confederation to discuss the possible impact upon the construction industry of proposed changes to British summer time arrangements.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : No, but responses are invited by 29 September to the Green Paper Cm. 722 published on 27 June.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the economic impact upon the construction industry of the proposed changes to British summer time arrangements.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 78 to 80 of the Green Paper "Summer Time--A Consultation Document" Cm. 722.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received any representations from the construction industry concerning proposed changes to British summer time arrangements ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Written observations were received from a number of organisations concerned with the construction industry as part of the consultation, through Departments, on summer time and we have subsequently received a further representation from the president of the Building Employers' Confederation. The views submitted have been taken into account in the Green Paper "Summer Time--A Consultation Document" Cm. 722.
Prisons (Physical Education)
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he accepts the recommendations of the Central Council of Physical Recreation in their review of physical education in Her Majesty's prison service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : In September 1988 the CCPR undertook to examine the provision of physical education in five prison service establishments. It visited prisons at
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Featherstone, Birmingham and Stafford and young offender institutions at Swinfen Hall and Hewell Grange. Its terms of reference were :"To determine the extent to which physical education programmes in the five selected establishments meet the perceived needs of their inmate population by taking into consideration :
1.1 The scale of physical education programmes currently provided for young and adult offenders in the five establishments in the agreed pilot scheme.
1.2 The problems encountered in programme delivery.
1.3 The integration of physical education programmes with other elements of each establishment's regime.
1.4 The quality of these physical education programmes compared with those in educational establishments, other institutions and in society at large.
1.5 To make recommendations."
The CCPR uses the experience gained from these five establishments as background to a very wide-ranging report with recommendations which affect not only the prison service but many other bodies and organisations with an interest in physical education and sporting and leisure activities. I am sure that the report will provide a stimulating basis for discussion between the many interests involved.
I share the CCPR's view that the physical education branch of the prison service makes an under-recognised contribution to sport and recreation in this country as well as providing a very valuable service to inmates. I welcome the specific proposals the CCPR has for improving this service and its recommendations will be taken into account as part of the ongoing commitment to improve the general standard of prison regimes.
Carlisle Report
Mr. Stanbrook : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will propose immediately an amendment to the existing law whereby persons convicted of crimes of violence who are released from imprisonment after serving a full sentence with remission are made subject to supervision as recommended in the Carlisle report.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 10 July 1989] : We are actively considering the far-reaching changes in the arrangements for parole and remission in England and Wales recommended by the Carlisle committee, The committee's proposals include supervising on their release all prisoners with sentences of more than a year. We are sympathetic to this part of the proposals which accord with Government policies, and, as part of our work on the Carlisle committee's report, we are thoroughly reviewing the way in which prisoners released on licence would be supervised. High and consistent standards of supervision would be essential but supervision cannot give an absolute guarantee that an offender will be prevented from committing further crime.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Value Added Tax
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis Customs and Excise assess liability for value added tax on the whole of an advertisement placed by a commercial company on behalf
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of a charitable organisation rather than on the value of that part of it that might be deemed to be promoting the company.Mr. Lilley Liability for VAT is based on the nature of the agreement between the person making the supply and the person receiving it. If the person receiving the supply of advertising services is not a charity then there is no entitlement to VAT relief under the existing law.
Earnings
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Isle of Wight is omitted from "Regional Trends", No. 24 1989 edition in table 2.6 (i) average gross weekly earnings, male and female and (ii) gross domestic product 1984.
Mr. Major : Regional figures for both average earnings and gross domestic product are based on estimates from sample surveys. For the Isle of Wight and for some other areas in the United Kingdom the sample size is too small for the publication of reliable estimates.
Northern Region (GDP)
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the gross domestic product per head for the northern region of the United Kingdom ; and in which EEC regions the gross domestic product per head is lower than this figure.
Mr. Major : Gross domestic product per head at factor cost in the north is provisionally estimated to have been £5,389 in 1987. International comparisons of regional GDP per head by the statistical office of the European Communities are published on page 156 of "Regional Trends 24" ; 1989 Edition. This shows the following regions to have had lower GDP per head than the north in 1986 (in descending order) :
Region |Country ----------------------------------------------------------- Wales |United Kingdom Noreste |Spain Oost-Nederland |Netherlands Region wallonne/Waals gewest |Belgium Abruzzi-Molise |Italy Madrid |Spain Northern Ireland |United Kingdom Este |Spain Sardegna |Italy Campania |Italy Sicilia |Italy Sud |Italy Noroeste |Spain Canarias |Spain Ireland |Ireland Centro |Spain Kentriki Ellada |Greece Sur |Spain Voreia Ellada |Greece Portugal |Portugal Anatolika Kai notia nisia |Greece
Capital Goods Industries
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report the return on capital employed and on trading assets of the
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capital goods industries less building materials, contracting and construction in 1959, 1968, 1973, 1978 1980 and his estimate for 1988 together with his forecast for 1989 and 1990.Mr. Major : No official statistics exist in the form required. Neither is a forecast made of these numbers. The Bank of England has published data taken from large companies' accounts which shows the historic cost rate of return for a number of different industrial classifications. The latest data can be found on pages 548-49 of the "Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin" November 1988, volume 28 No. 4. A copy is available in the Library.
Private Currencies
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he has any plans to discuss with the chairmen of the clearing banks the introduction of private currencies in the United Kingdom ;
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(2) if he will issue a consultation paper asking for comments on the introduction of private currencies in the United Kingdom.Mr. Lilley : My right hon. Friend has no such plans.
Abbey National Shares
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how many widows have been disqualified from the right to the allocation of free Abbey National shares as a consequence of the terms of section 116 of the Building Societies Act 1962 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lilley [holding answer 17 July 1989] : The building societies legislation does not lay down those to whom shares will be allocated or sold on a change to plc status. These are commercial decisions properly taken by the board of the organisation and the information sought is not currently available.
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TRANSPORT
Dock Labour Scheme
121. Mr. Summerson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many dockers have applied for redundancy following the abolition of the dock labour scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Portillo : At 14 July, 1,678 former registered dock workers had been made redundant following the abolition of the dock labour scheme. That is about 18.5 per cent. of the number on the register when the scheme ended. Almost all of these redundancies were either voluntary or in respect of companies which had gone into liquidation or otherwise ceased trading.
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Street Lighting
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give, for the last five years for which figures are available, the amount of money spent by each county highways authority and highways authority on street lighting ; and if he will state the percentage that money is of the total amount spent on roads, authority by authority.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Figures for capital spending by individual local authorities on street lighting could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Figures for current spending on street lighting by highways authorities in England (including the Department of Transport) are as follows :
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Authorities 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88
|Street lighting £'000 |Per cent. of road spend|Street lighting £'000 |Per cent. of road spend|Street lighting £'000 |Per cent. of road spend|Street lighting £'000 |Per cent. of road spend|Street lighting £'000 |Per cent. of road spend
|that is street lighting |that is street lighting |that is street lighting |that is street lighting |that is street lighting
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater London |5,098 |13 |5,124 |11 |5,581 |14 |- |- |- |-
Barking |381 |25 |413 |22 |475 |26 |691 |21 |566 |-
Barnet |503 |13 |655 |11 |523 |14 |647 |10 |701 |-
Bexley |424 |15 |420 |14 |430 |14 |622 |12 |584 |-
Brent |448 |14 |482 |16 |494 |16 |629 |15 |393 |-
Bromley |522 |11 |537 |11 |657 |13 |905 |11 |712 |-
Camden |652 |21 |890 |17 |538 |17 |705 |16 |746 |-
City of London |424 |16 |409 |13 |418 |13 |360 |11 |381 |-
Croydon |616 |17 |668 |15 |658 |12 |895 |11 |889 |-
Ealing |519 |14 |468 |12 |670 |14 |792 |13 |559 |-
Enfield |513 |21 |525 |23 |448 |19 |686 |16 |616 |-
Greenwich |795 |21 |830 |21 |729 |18 |955 |16 |1,010 |-
Hackney |512 |20 |981 |24 |827 |18 |958 |13 |705 |-
Hammersmith and
Fulham |437 |12 |716 |12 |443 |13 |599 |12 |529 |-
Haringey |347 |18 |391 |15 |404 |16 |488 |15 |517 |-
Harrow |521 |15 |510 |20 |591 |19 |474 |22 |673 |-
Havering |466 |15 |481 |15 |472 |14 |566 |12 |513 |-
Hillingdon |415 |18 |432 |17 |471 |19 |637 |11 |674 |-
Hounslow |311 |16 |338 |17 |379 |18 |493 |17 |521 |-
Islington |357 |23 |374 |24 |338 |9 |449 |9 |544 |-
Kensington |441 |21 |494 |22 |494 |18 |800 |19 |1,091 |-
Kingston-upon-Thames |316 |20 |250 |14 |301 |17 |412 |15 |393 |-
Lambeth |630 |25 |504 |17 |660 |23 |882 |22 |934 |-
Lewisham |552 |12 |604 |16 |652 |15 |803 |16 |762 |-
Merton |349 |19 |449 |20 |167 |14 |618 |22 |660 |-
Newham |559 |17 |604 |17 |603 |17 |981 |20 |1,038 |-
Redbridge |572 |17 |569 |16 |649 |16 |785 |17 |831 |-
Richmond-upon-Thames |400 |16 |412 |16 |425 |18 |543 |14 |574 |-
Southwark |562 |17 |563 |15 |591 |13 |807 |11 |726 |-
Sutton |346 |16 |359 |14 |371 |13 |444 |11 |344 |-
Tower Hamlets |392 |10 |433 |7 |466 |14 |639 |13 |474 |-
Waltham Forest |433 |14 |446 |14 |442 |15 |632 |15 |571 |-
Wandsworth |611 |15 |371 |13 |370 |12 |502 |11 |515 |-
Westminster |706 |16 |832 |18 |747 |17 |760 |12 |886 |-
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
London total |21,134 |16 |22,534 |14 |22,486 |15 |22,160 |14 |21,631 |-
Metropolitan counties
Greater Manchester |9,147 |23 |9,522 |27 |7,970 |21 |- |- |- |-
Merseyside |6,494 |24 |6,866 |24 |4,181 |23 |- |- |- |-
South Yorkshire |4,742 |16 |4,889 |17 |5,323 |18 |- |- |- |-
Tyne and Wear |5,442 |26 |5,701 |24 |5,542 |19 |- |- |- |-
West Midlands |7,998 |17 |8,304 |18 |8,143 |17 |- |- |- |-
West Yorkshire |6,499 |18 |6,770 |18 |7,136 |17 |- |- |- |-
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total metropolitan counties |40,322 |20 |42,051 |21 |38,295 |19 |- |- |- |-
Shire counties
Avon |2,765 |18 |2,759 |18 |2,770 |17 |2,944 |17 |3,125 |-
Bedfordshire |990 |12 |1,047 |10 |1,043 |10 |1,204 |12 |1,273 |-
Berkshire |1,532 |18 |1,429 |12 |1,474 |12 |1,647 |11 |1,622 |-
Buckinghamshire |1,153 |11 |1,278 |11 |1,427 |12 |1,564 |12 |1,731 |-
Cambridgeshire |1,170 |10 |1,128 |10 |1,226 |10 |1,372 |10 |1,484 |-
Cheshire |2,538 |16 |2,695 |17 |2,837 |17 |2,903 |17 |3,138 |-
Cleveland |1,618 |16 |1,935 |18 |1,950 |16 |1,996 |16 |2,399 |-
Cornwall |978 |8 |999 |8 |1,152 |8 |997 |7 |1,054 |-
Cumbria |1,015 |8 |1,108 |9 |764 |7 |1,286 |8 |1,258 |-
Derbyshire |2,512 |15 |2,749 |16 |2,706 |15 |2,761 |15 |2,822 |-
Devon |2,550 |11 |2,553 |10 |2,726 |9 |2,878 |10 |3,220 |-
Dorset |2,131 |18 |2,131 |18 |1,893 |14 |1,937 |14 |2,189 |-
Durham |2,081 |16 |2,196 |17 |2,420 |18 |2,512 |18 |2,658 |-
East Sussex |1,416 |14 |1,562 |14 |1,530 |12 |1,542 |12 |1,492 |-
Essex |3,155 |13 |3,391 |14 |3,576 |13 |3,791 |13 |4,003 |-
Gloucestershire |716 |8 |797 |8 |1,274 |11 |1,280 |9 |1,054 |-
Hampshire |2,925 |13 |3,299 |15 |3,287 |13 |2,967 |12 |3,166 |-
Hereford and Worcestershire 1,095 10 1,175 10 1,280 10 1,354 10 1,462 -
Hertfordshire |2,390 |15 |893 |17 |2,474 |15 |2,638 |14 |2,536 |-
Humberside |2,345 |13 |2,367 |12 |2,676 |14 |2,812 |13 |2,753 |-
Isle of Wight |332 |11 |334 |11 |347 |12 |355 |12 |355 |-
Kent |3,019 |12 |3,083 |11 |3,268 |11 |3,287 |10 |3,478 |-
Lancashire |5,674 |20 |5,689 |20 |5,928 |20 |6,099 |18 |6,353 |-
Leicestershire |2,061 |13 |2,074 |12 |2,200 |13 |2,185 |12 |2,312 |-
Lincolnshire |1,001 |6 |1,194 |8 |1,186 |7 |1,233 |7 |1,255 |-
Norfolk |1,227 |9 |1,344 |10 |1,311 |9 |1,342 |9 |1,563 |-
North Yorkshire |1,262 |6 |1,315 |7 |1,328 |6 |1,319 |6 |1,355 |-
Northamptonshire |1,174 |14 |1,228 |14 |1,272 |15 |1,504 |15 |1,474 |-
Northumberland |969 |11 |1,047 |11 |994 |11 |1,017 |11 |1,141 |-
Nottinghamshire |3,220 |20 |3,325 |20 |3,384 |19 |3,431 |19 |3,630 |-
Oxfordshire |1,053 |12 |1,061 |12 |1,110 |12 |1,039 |11 |1,100 |-
Shropshire |561 |6 |591 |7 |520 |6 |681 |7 |721 |-
Somerset |748 |7 |721 |6 |758 |6 |830 |6 |883 |-
Staffordshire |2,503 |16 |2,574 |16 |2,370 |14 |2,500 |13 |2,696 |-
Suffolk |1,017 |8 |1,017 |8 |1,115 |8 |1,260 |9 |1,333 |-
Surrey |2,311 |14 |2,424 |13 |2,528 |13 |2,746 |15 |2,984 |-
Warwickshire |1,115 |11 |1,078 |11 |1,152 |11 |1,334 |12 |1,412 |-
West Sussex |1,549 |13 |1,409 |11 |1,797 |13 |1,802 |13 |1,906 |-
Wiltshire |962 |10 |1,028 |10 |1,028 |9 |1,095 |8 |1,158 |-
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total Shires |68,832 |13 |70,026 |13 |74,083 |12 |77,444 |12 |81,548 |-
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total England |130,288 |1015 |134,611 |15 |134,865 |14 |145,178 |14 |150,582 |-
Department of
Transport spending
on national roads |9,749 |5 |10,815 |5 |11,135 |5 |13,273 |4 |14,076 |4
Notes: Local authority current expenditure on roads includes both structural and routine maintenance. Structural maintenance on national roads is classed as capital expenditure but for comparative purposes has been included in the figures for roads spending from which the above percentages
have been calculated.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list each authority which has submitted a bid for an allocation for improved street lighting in residential areas.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Of the 108 local highway authorities in England, 71 included bids for street lighting expenditure in their transport policies and programme submission for 1989-90. Although some of the planned work is likely to have been for the benefit of residential areas, very few authorities specified this.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further statement on the measures which are being taken to ensure that the essential infrastructure
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needed for the United Kingdom to take advantage of the commercial benefits arising from the Channel tunnel is in place when the tunnel opens in 1993.Mr. Portillo : Plans for the necessary road and rail infrastructure are well advanced. The Government have given approval in principle for expenditure of over £600 million by British Rail. There are a number of major schemes in the road programme to provide good access to the tunnel and Channel ports.
Polymer Modified Bitumens
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those county councils which specify polymer modified bitumens.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : The information requested is not collected by the Department.
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Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the inability of United Kingdom contractors to compete after 1992 with the EEC through lack of expertise in polymer modified bitumens.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Major road building contractors in the United Kingdom have experience of working with modified bitumens of various types, including polymer modified bitumens similar to those used in other EEC countries. We have no reason to believe that these contractors will be unable to compete after 1992 through lack of expertise in the roadbuilding application of these materials.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies he has carried out on polymer modified bitumens for United Kingdom roadbuilding.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Since 1973 a considerable number of studies have been carried out by the transport and road research laboratory into various types and aspects of the use of polymer modified bitumens for roadbuilding. The main results have been published in the following reports :
Laboratory Report 963 describes the use of sulphurs.
Laboratory Report 989, and Research Reports 92 and 122 describe the use of ethylene/vinyl acetate.
Laboratory Report 989 also describes the use of
styrena/butadiene/styrene.
Laboratory Report 1101 describes the use of polyethylene. Research Report 54 describes the use of a manganese modifier. Research Report 57 describes the use of estylene/vinyl acetate, styrene/butadiene/styrene, and a number of proprietary materials.
Road Schemes
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his replies to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Mossley Hill of 10 July, how much money has been allocated to Liverpool city council for road schemes in each of the last five years ; and what information he has on how that money has been spent.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : Liverpool city council became a highway authority in 1986. Transport supplementary grant paid in support of its accepted programme of highway improvements in the four years since then has been as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1986-87 |2.702
1987-88 |2.267
1988-89 |1.235
1989-90 |1.762
Expenditure details from Liverpool's 1988 transport policies and programme document are as follows :
£ thousand
Scheme |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89
|actual outturn |estimated outturn|budgeted outturn
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A59 Hunter Street improvement |3,230 |2,443 |1,634
A580 Everton Valley
improvement |738 |434 |628
Liverpool inner ring road |523 |9 |167
A561 Garston bypass |122 |0 |416
Access to Lime Street Station |27 |33 |124
A561 Park Road relief road |0 |0 |300
Minor works |156 |366 |870
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Eastleigh Railway Workshop
Mr. Bidwell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will direct the BR board to end unfair discrimination against Eastleigh railway workshop in the matter of bidding for contract work with British Rail ;
(2) if he will direct the BR board to ensure that Eastleigh works is given the opportunity of bidding for contracts in order to maintain its work force, its range of skills and capital equipment ; (3) if, in the light of prices for white metal bearings work carried out by private companies, he will direct the BR board to transfer such work and other related work to the Eastleigh railway workshop.
Mr. Portillo : These are commercial and managerial matters for the Railways Board and British Rail Maintenance Limited, and it would not be appropriate for me to intervene.
Mr. Bidwell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the savings that could be made for British Rail as the final customer if the Eastleigh works was allowed to bid on the open market for work.
Mr. Portillo : None. This is a commercial matter for the railways board.
Mr. Bidwell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from the work force at British Rail Eastleigh railway workshop concerning bidding for certain lines of railway engineering and maintenance work which it carried out before the privatisation of BREL.
Mr. Portillo : I have received no such representations.
Rail Passengers (Accidents)
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents were caused to rail passengers leaning out of carriage windows, in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Portillo : In 1988, for which provisional figures are available, there were 18 such accidents, 14 of which involved only minor injuries, two serious injuries and two fatalities.
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