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Column 321
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 20 May 1991
TRANSPORT
East-West Trunk Route
Mr. Ian Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the terms of reference under which Acer Consultants Ltd. has been appointed to consider the alignment of an east-west trunk route for the A5 to M11 (Stansted) section.
Mr. Chope : I have placed a copy of the consultant's brief in the Library today.
Cars (Carbon Canisters)
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to require the fitting of large carbon canisters to cars ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : The Government are keen to ensure that there is a substantial reduction in evaporative emissions from petrol engined cars. From the end of next year all new cars will have to be fitted with carbon canisters as standard equipment to achieve this reduction. We are working on further measures which will probably involve minimising evaporative emissions while cars are running or being refuelled. The fitting of larger carbon canisters to cars is one technical means of achieving this. We also hope that the European Commission will soon make long-overdue proposals to minimise evaporative emissions in the petrol distribution network.
Seat Belts
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been central Government expenditure on publicising (a) the law requiring children in the back of cars to wear seat belts where fitted and (b) changes in the law about adults wearing seat belts when rear seat passengers.
Mr. Chope : Government expenditure to date on publicising the law requiring children in the back of cars to wear seat belts, where fitted, has been £748,000. We intend to mount a campaign to publicise the proposed changes in the law about adults wearing seat belts when rear seat passengers, subject to the outcome of debate on legislation currently before Parliament. But to date no expenditure on publicity has been incurred.
Bus Companies
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of registered bus companies for each year for 1979 to 1990.
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Mr. Freeman : The approximate numbers of bus and coach companies are as follows :
December
---------------------------
1979 |5,600
1980 |5,600
1981 |5,500
1982 |5,600
1983 |6,000
1984 |5,800
March
1986 |5,800
1987 |5,900
1988 |5,900
1989 |6,000
1990 |6,200
These figures are based on the total number of PSV operators' licences issued by the traffic area offices. There is considerable uncertainty about the number of smaller operators because of the high rate at which such operators enter and leave the industry.
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he received the final report from W. S. Atkins on the evaluation of the schemes for the high-speed rail link ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : I understand that W. S. Atkins expects to deliver its final report to British Rail shortly, and that British Rail will then send copies to us.
Geomagnetism
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the value of the work done for his Department on (a) geomagnetism and (b) his assessment of the future importance of geomagnetism studies to his Department.
Mr. McLoughlin : Information on magnetic variation is used in the preparation of charts for marine and civil aviation use. The Hydrographer of the Navy is responsible for providing information about magnetic variation for marine navigation purposes and the Civil Aviation Authority undertakes in conjunction with Ordnance Survey the production of civil aviation charts. To this end the CAA requires only a forecast of the general trend of magnetic variation 18 months ahead. No work has been done on geomagnetism for the Department of Transport, as geomagnetic studies are not of importance to the Department other than to the extent outlined.
Pedestrians (Fatal Injuries)
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give an age breakdown of pedestrians fatally injured in road accidents for each year since 1980.
Mr. Chope : The information is as follows :
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Pedestrians killed in road accidents by age: Great Britain: 1980-90<1>
|1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0-4 |66 |74 |79 |71 |69 |57 |58 |57 |71 |60
5-9 |128 |149 |110 |160 |133 |126 |99 |94 |113 |97
10-14 |104 |95 |120 |129 |131 |122 |103 |94 |83 |80
|-------
All (0-14) |298 |318 |309 |360 |333 |305 |260 |245 |267 |237 |215
15-19 |128 |125 |128 |133 |107 |116 |126 |96 |89 |95
20-29 |117 |129 |156 |148 |157 |140 |182 |143 |160 |167
30-39 |101 |98 |106 |111 |113 |112 |110 |110 |108 |109
40-49 |120 |105 |126 |109 |105 |105 |112 |122 |122 |117
50-59 |169 |148 |145 |149 |152 |140 |148 |130 |125 |126
|-------
All (15-59) |635 |605 |661 |650 |634 |613 |678 |601 |604 |614 |583
60-69 |278 |246 |239 |244 |210 |239 |220 |212 |209 |200
70+ |727 |701 |648 |652 |669 |630 |682 |641 |656 |642
|-------
All (60+) |1,005 |947 |887 |896 |879 |869 |902 |853 |865 |842 |822
|-------
All ages<2> |1,941 |1,874 |1,869 |1,914 |1,868 |1,789 |1,841 |1,703 |1,753 |1,706 |1,636
<1>Figures for 1990 are provisional. A more detailed breakdown is not available.
<2>Including age not reported.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians were fatally injured in road accidents for the years : 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985 and 1990.
Mr. Chope : The information is as follows :
Pedestrians killed in road accidents: Great Britain Year |Number ---------------------- 1970 |2,925 1975 |2,344 1980 |1,941 1985 |1,789 <1>1990 |1,636 <1>Figures for 1990 are provisional.
Speed Limiters
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has considered a requirement to fit speed limiters to motor cars ; and whether his Department will make an assessment of the effects of fitting speed limiters to all cars in respect of (a) emissions of air pollutants and (b) road safety.
Mr. Chope : Our top priority has been to require coaches and HGVs to be fitted with speed limiters. There are no plans to extend this requirement to cars.
Flight Training
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to bring in regulations to allow flight training to take place other than at United Kingdom licensed airfields ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The statutory responsibility for the safety regulation of United Kingdom civil aviation rests with the Civil Aviation Authority. I understand that the CAA has no immediate plans to propose regulatory changes which allow flight training to take place other than at United Kingdom licensed airfields. The CAA has, however, recently received a request from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association that this requirement be relaxed in the case of certain smaller aerodromes operating light aircraft training types. This request is being examined.
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Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the cost of implementing the Civil Aviation Authority's regulations concerning fire cover for flight training ; if there are any plans to amend the regulations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : Currently the need to provide adequate rescue and fire fighting facilities is part of the Civil Aviation Authority's requirement for the issue of an aerodrome licence. Fire cover is related to the proposed aerodrome usage and it is, therefore, not possible to isolate the cost element associated solely with flight training.
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many incidents of fire have been reported at aerodromes licensed for the purpose of flight training ; how many fatalities have occurred in each year since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The issue by the Civil Aviation Authority of an aerodrome licence permits various activities including flight training. I understand that the authority has information only on incidents attended by the rescue and fire-fighting services and that these are not necessarily incidents where fire has been reported. The information is therefore not available in the format requested.
Train Deaths
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the composition, independence and time constraints authorised for Her Majesty's railway inspectorate's inquiry into the pattern of falls from moving trains ; and when they are due to report.
Mr. Roger Freeman : The Health and Safety Executive's investigation into falls from moving trains, which the railway inspectorate will be leading, will also involve the scientific, technological and statistical sections of the executive. The statutory functions of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive guarantees the independence of the investigation. This will be a complex and detailed investigation, but I hope very much that the report will be completed by the end of the year.
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ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Finance
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the correlation in his illustrative tables on the council tax between the percentage over standard spending assessment and the average value of homes in the district giving the increase in band D property for each 10 per cent. increase in SSA depending on whether the average value home is in band A, B, C or D ;
(2) further to his answer on 29 April, Official Report, column 13, if he will assess the increase in council tax in each band for each 1 per cent. increased spending over standard spending assessment for a council most of whose properties are in (a) band A, (b) band B, (c) band C and (d) band D ;
(3) further to his answer on 29 April, Official Report, column 13, if he will give the council tax for band B property in the illustrated figures for a standard level of service and the variations in the figures for bands A, B, and G in areas in which the majority of properties in a district are in (a) band A, (b) band B, (c) bands C and D and (d) band D ;
(4) further to his answer on 29 April, Official Report, column 13, if he will list the size of increase in council tax
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for each percentage point of increased spending above the standard spending assessment, up to 40 per cent. above SSA, for Grimsby ; and what would be the figures if the average value of households in Grimsby were in (i) band A, (ii) band B, (iii) band C or (iv) band D of the tables published to illustrate his proposals ;(5) what is the effect on the level of the proposed council tax of the average value of properties in the district ; and if he will give illustrative examples of the differences in level of tax, with all other factors held constant, where the majority of houses in a district are (a) in band A, (b) in band B, (c) in band C, (d) in band D, (e) in band E, (f) in band F and (g) in band G.
Mr. Key : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 May Official Report, column 548.
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each county (a) the total revenue support grant distributed to district councils in that county plus grants distributed to the relevant county council, (b) on a per head basis, (c) those figures for the previous year and (d) the percentage difference between the figures for each year and ranked according to the levels of grant per head.
Mr. Key [holding answer 17 May 1991] : The following information is available.
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Authority |Revenue |Revenue |Revenue |Revenue |Percentage
|support grant|support grant|support grant|support grant|difference on|Percentage
1991-92 |1991-92 |1990-91 |1990-91 |total RSG |difference on
|£ million |£ /head |£ million |£ /head |£ /head
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland |150.2 |367.2 |145.3 |353.4 |3.4 |3.9
Bedfordshire |98.6 |254.0 |92.8 |235.4 |6.4 |7.9
Lancashire |256.2 |246.3 |252.3 |240.8 |1.5 |2.3
Leicestershire |156.5 |242.8 |155.4 |238.4 |0.7 |1.8
Humberside |153.0 |235.2 |158.0 |242.1 |-3.2 |-2.9
Buckinghamshire |99.7 |215.2 |97.3 |207.2 |2.4 |3.9
Berkshire |111.2 |201.4 |115.8 |209.6 |-3.9 |-3.9
Northamptonshire |85.2 |198.9 |94.7 |224.1 |-10.1 |-11.2
Nottinghamshire |147.1 |193.7 |153.5 |201.8 |-4.2 |-4.0
Kent |217.9 |189.9 |220.1 |192.0 |-1.0 |-1.1
Isle of Wight |17.6 |180.7 |15.8 |160.5 |10.9 |12.6
Hertfordshire |130.8 |179.5 |131.4 |178.6 |-0.5 |0.5
Cornwall |61.5 |174.0 |66.4 |189.4 |-7.4 |-8.1
Durham |78.2 |173.4 |82.2 |180.3 |-4.9 |-3.8
Shropshire |51.9 |169.8 |61.7 |204.2 |-15.9 |-16.8
Northumberland |38.3 |166.8 |41.9 |182.7 |-8.4 |-8.7
Lincolnshire |72.2 |161.0 |79.0 |174.5 |-8.5 |-7.8
Essex |185.7 |160.0 |197.5 |169.1 |-6.0 |-5.4
Cambridgeshire |77.0 |159.2 |89.8 |188.1 |-14.2 |-15.4
Cumbria |58.9 |157.9 |60.2 |157.0 |-2.2 |0.5
Cheshire |110.4 |154.8 |125.9 |175.5 |-12.3 |-11.8
Hampshire |175.3 |150.3 |193.1 |164.7 |-9.2 |-8.7
East Sussex |75.3 |141.0 |72.4 |134.0 |4.0 |5.3
Somerset |48.9 |139.7 |53.3 |151.8 |-8.2 |-8.0
Suffolk |64.4 |137.4 |69.4 |147.7 |-7.2 |-7.0
Oxfordshire |54.1 |134.3 |57.6 |141.0 |-6.0 |-4.8
Avon |95.4 |133.8 |111.8 |157.1 |-14.6 |-14.8
Devon |102.1 |131.6 |123.3 |161.3 |-17.2 |-18.4
Staffordshire |100.2 |128.1 |115.7 |147.0 |-13.4 |-12.9
Wiltshire |54.1 |127.9 |64.3 |153.2 |-15.8 |-16.5
Gloucestershire |48.5 |121.6 |58.3 |146.4 |-16.8 |-16.9
North Yorkshire |64.6 |120.2 |72.3 |134.5 |-10.7 |-10.6
Derbyshire |85.0 |119.9 |100.3 |140.5 |-15.3 |-14.7
Norfolk |64.8 |113.0 |75.6 |131.7 |-14.4 |-14.2
Hereford and Worcester |56.4 |111.1 |70.7 |139.9 |-20.3 |-20.6
Surrey |77.9 |102.2 |83.3 |106.5 |-6.5 |-4.1
Warwickshire |37.0 |101.4 |48.0 |131.4 |-22.9 |-22.8
West Sussex |50.3 |93.6 |55.0 |100.6 |-8.6 |-6.9
Dorset |30.8 |61.3 |46.4 |92.3 |-33.6 |-33.6
These figures exclude specific grants paid to county councils, as specific grants for 1991-92 are not yet available. Amounts per head are shown in terms of amounts per head of relevant population for the year. Differences between columns (5) and (6) therefore reflect changes in the sum of the districts' relevant populations between 1990-91 and 1991-92. The figures are ranked according to revenue support grant per head in 1991-92.
Households
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the number of households nationally and regionally, the numbers in each type of household as defined in the family expenditure survey and the number he expects not to contribute to the council tax.
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Mr. Key : Liability for the council tax will fall to the occupier of a property. It will be up to that person to decide how the bill will be shared if there are other adults in the household. It is not possible to estimate how many will contribute in this way. The Government propose that householders on income support or equivalent levels of income will be entitled to 100 per cent. rebates under the council tax. They will make no contribution to the council tax.
The table shows the most recent estimates of the numbers of households in each region together with the percentage of one-adult--aged 18 or over--two -adult, and three or more adult households.
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Region Total number of Percentage of households
|households |with one adult |with two adults|with three or
|(000's) |more adults
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |1,300 |33 |53 |15
Yorks and Humberside |2,100 |34 |54 |12
North-West |2,600 |34 |52 |14
East Midlands |1,600 |31 |55 |13
West Midlands |2,200 |31 |54 |15
East Anglia |900 |30 |58 |12
Greater London |2,600 |40 |48 |12
Rest of South-East |4,300 |29 |58 |13
South-West |1,900 |30 |58 |13
ENGLAND |19,500 |32 |54 |13
Architectural Competitions
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table listing (a) the architectural competitions for public buildings organised by his Department since 1979, (b) the names of the winning firm of architects in each case, (c) the names of the jury panel in each case and (d) which buildings were erected.
Mr. Heseltine : I am arranging for copies of this table to be placed in the Library of the House.
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Poll Tax
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the most recent guidelines given to local authorities regarding the payment of poll tax by those serving in the Gulf.
Mr. Key : My Department wrote to local authorities on 16 May with further advice on this issue. A copy of the advice is in the Library.
Derelict Land Grant
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money has been spent through derelict land grant in each of the last four years in Teesside ; and which projects have been supported.
Mr. Yeo : The information requested is as follows :
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Derelict land grant paid in Teesside in the last four years
Grant recipient |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91
|£ |£ |£ |£
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland County Council |184,794 |410,148 |37,333 |35,401
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council |- |146,995 |368,388 |34,885
Middlesbrough Borough Council |1,298,885 |<1>-110,000 |550,739 |50,284
Langbaurgh Borough Council |50,278 |165,190 |166,363 |243,505
Non local authority applicants |1,148,698 |438,577 |192,643 |-
Total |2,682,655 |1,050,910 |1,315,466 |364,075
<1> Repayment of grant
Projects in Teesside supported by derelict land grant in the last four years
Cleveland CC
Malleable Site, Stockton
Billingham Bottoms, Stockton
Union Insulation
Bolckow Road
Cargo Fleet Works, Middlesborough
Queens Park North
Colliers Site
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Stockton-on-Tees BCBowesfield Riverside, Stockton
Teesdale West (site investigation)
Peacocks Yard
Tees Street
Station Street, Stockton
Land at 133 Yarm Road
Thorpe Thewles Garage
Station Road, Norton
Stillington Tip
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Mill Street WestElton Close/Durham Road, Stockton
Esh and Hamsteels Wagonway Site
Middlesbrough BC
Whinney Banks
Former Coburn Land
Riverside Park
Millbrooke Avenue/College Road, Brambles Farm
Land at Forty Foot Road
Central Ironmasters
St. Hildas
Balder Street
Langbaurgh BC
Warrenby Mine
Old Middlesbrough Road
Hazelgrove Chalets
Skinningrove Headlands
Jones Road, South Bank
South Skelton Mine
Kingsway Sidings
Cleveland House
Meggitts Lane
Imperial Park
Hobson Avenue
Meggitts Avenue
North Skelton Mine
Stockton Haulage, Cargo Fleet
Liverton Mines
Old Station Road, South Bank
Clay Lane Community Park
South Bank Wharf
Station Road, Redcar
Hollybush Depot
Park Street, South Skelton
Grand Hall, Brotton
Former Housing Site, Charltons
Prospect Place, Lingdale
Non local authority project
North Tees Power Station
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