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Mr. Waldegrave : I am pleased to be able to report that, as a result of the initiative announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister at the launch of Opportunity 2000 last year, the percentage of appointments to public bodies held by women has risen from 23 per cent. in 1991 to 26 per cent. at 1 September 1992. Detailed statistics about the number of such appointments held by members of the ethnic minorities are still being collected. Full details will be published in due course in the 1992 edition of "Public Bodies". All departments have now drawn up their departmental plans for further progress in this area and I am arranging for a summary of these to be placed in the Library of the House. The objectives and goals set are comprehensive and demanding, and while they vary from department to department to reflect the different circumstances existing in each department, they represent a clear and unequivocal commitment to increasing still further the representation of women and members of the ethnic minorities, on merit, on public bodies over the year to 1996 and beyond.
TRANSPORT
Bypasses
Mr. Lester : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation his Department undertakes in relation to the environmental effects of proposed bypasses.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The Department carries out very extensive consultation at the earliest possible state of scheme preparation. Consultations are undertaken with the Department of the Environment, the relevant local authorities, and the environmental organisations with statutory responsibilities, including English Nature, the Countryside Commission, English Heritage, and the National Rivers Authority. Other Government Departments--eg Agriculture, Defence--organisations such as British Rail and British Waterways, and the National Trust may also be consulted where appropriate. Following this consultation, the Department consults the public and other organisations that have an interest.
British Rail (Freight)
Mr. Nicholls : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the terms of reference for consultants to investigate and report on structural options for the transfer of British Rail's freight businesses to the private sector.
Mr. Freeman : While the full terms of reference contain commercially sensitive material, the consultants' remit is to advice the Government and the British Railways Board on structural options for the transfer to the private sector of British Rail's freight and rail express systems services. The consultants have been asked to assess the requirements for a viable and competitive
post-privatisation rail freight industry with low barriers to
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entry, identifying the structural options for transfer to the private sector and assessing each of the options against the following criteria :(i) the extent to which they provide a viable future in the private sector for existing traffics and opportunities for growth ; (
(ii) the opportunities provided for competition and successful entry, and the impact on competition in related markets (eg competition between ports) ;
(iii) privatisation receipts and restructuring costs ;
(iv) impact on the pace of privatisation ;
(v) the incentives provided for current management and staff to bring about improvements in performance, and the opportunities provided for them to take a stake in their businesses ;
(vi) the attractiveness to potential purchasers and/or investors ; (
(vii) impact on the commercial performance of the rest of the railway.
The Government will issue a full statement of the preferred options for the privatisation of the freight businesses in due course.
Bus Priority Schemes
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus priority schemes are currently in operation.
Mr. Freeman : Information is not available on the number of bus priority schemes adopted by local authorities, many of which have been in operation for some years. As a result of a fresh initiative to promote bus use last year, 26 new schemes were approved for funding in 1992-93.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what priority he will give to financing bus priority measures within the government grants allocated to local authorities ; and if he will set out the criteria used to appraise applications for bus priority measures for grant aid.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend will be taking decisions shortly on the allocation of grants and credit approvals for local transport capital expenditure in 1993-94. Individual bus priority schemes are judged on their merits having regard to the evaluation carried out by local authorities in accordance with the Department's publication "Keeping Buses Moving", the contribution of the schemes to authorities' transport strategies, and the availability of resources.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the bids received from local authorities for bus priority measures for 1993-94.
Mr. Freeman : We have received bids for 119 bus priority measures from 69 local authorities. We are evaluating these bids at present and will announce allocations shortly.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of all research into bus priority measures currently carried out or commissioned by his Department.
Mr. Freeman : Assessments are currently being carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory on behalf of my Department into the benefits of bus priority measures in Aberdeen, Brighton, Manchester, Sheffield and south-west London.
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Rape Seed Oil
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many gallons of rape seed oil have been imported from Italy to run public transport buses ; how many buses are currently run on rape seed oil ; where the buses operate ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : For a trial period of three months, Reading Buses will run three of its fleet of 200 vehicles on rape methyl ester (RME), which is manufactured from rape seed oil and methanol. For this purpose 5,000 gallons of RME have been made available at no cost by an Italian producer who had obtained EC funding to make fuel available for limited trials. The vehicles will operate in Reading. I was pleased to inaugurate the trial at the beginning of this month. The Department of Transport, in conjunction with our Transport Research Laboratory, will be monitoring the pollutant emissions performance.
Bus Deregulation
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the extent to which bus deregulation prevents cheap return fares or travel cards being used for evening or weekend services as a result of tenders awarded to different operators ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : No detailed assessment has been made of the effect of deregulation on return tickets and travel cards. Ticketing arrangements are a matter for operators and for local authorities. Successful multi-operator ticketing arrangements are in place in the metropolitan areas and in several counties.
A590
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to upgrade the A590 between Lindale and Barrow-in-Furness to a dual carriageway ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 12 November 1992] : A bypass of Lindale is included in the A590 Ulverston to Dalton dual carriageway proposal on which a public consultation has been completed.
While the A590 Dalton bypass scheme now under construction is to wide single carriageway standard, the provision of a climbing lane will satisfy projected traffic needs. There are no plans to dual this section.
Morecambe Bay Barrage
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent consideration he has given to establishing a feasibility study into the construction of a barrage across Morecambe bay as a means of improving the road links between Furness and the M6 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 12 November 1992] : None. However, Department of Energy Ministers announced a preliminary study in January 1992 to examine the technical, economic and environmental feasibility of a combined energy barrage and road crossing across the River Duddon near Askham in Furness.
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Consultations
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the terms of reference for the national annual consultative meetings held jointly with the local authority associations ; and if he will make a statement as to progress made on the issues raised at the 1992 meeting.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 13 November 1992] : There are no specific terms of reference, but the meeting is held each year following the series of regional annual consultative committee meetings. The national annual consultative meeting is seen as a valuable forum for discussion between the Government and the local authority associations (LAAs) on road and traffic matters of mutual interest. The LAAs are free to raise any relevant issues at the meeting.
The following points remain to be dealt with following the meeting in July :
1. Bridge assessment and strengthening
The local authority associations (LAAs) requested a meeting at official level. Some matters have been resolved by correspondence. If necessary a meeting to deal with any remaining points will be arranged after the announcement of the TSG settlement in December. 2. Legislation to curb pavement parking
I wrote to the LAAs, as promised, on 12 August setting out the current position.
3. Balance of funding between trunk roads and motorways, local roads and public transport
4. Increase in local capital allocation not directly tied to specific schemes ("headroom")
5. Capitalisation of highway maintenance
I wrote to the LAAs on 25 September setting out the current position on these three topics. The balance of spending between trunk roads and motorways, local roads and public transport is constantly under review. Allocations of "headroom" for 1993-94 will be announced as part of the Transport Supplementary Grant settlement in December. The views of the LAAs will be taken into account. Further work on the capitalisation of highway maintenance is being undertaken in conjunction with the LAAs by a sub- committee of the Standing Committee on Highway Maintenance.
6. Schemes supported by developers
The matter is still under consideration.
7. EC Green paper on Transport and the Environment
Officials had a useful discussion with the LAAs in the light of this green paper.
8. Voluntary property acquisition
The issue is still under consideration. The LAAs have proposed an official level meeting. It will be arranged after the announcement of the TSG settlement in December.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff are currently employed at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Swansea ; what are their areas of responsibility ; and how many staff are employed in each section.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 13 November 1992] : The total number of staff employed at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Swansea on 31 October 1992 was 3,107. This is divided according to grade and organisation as follows.
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Grade |Organisation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Administrative and executive |2,817 |Driver licensing |919
Support, secretarial and technical |290 |Vehicle licensing |1,471
|Administration and common services|717
|------- |-------
Total |3,107 |3,107
The responsibilities of the agency are described in its annual report, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the trial schemes that are currently being undertaken by the DVLA.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 13 November 1992] : I shall write to the hon. Member.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the addresses of all local offices of the DVLA, the number of people employed in each and their work responsibilities.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 13 November 1992] : The information requested is set out in the table. These offices provide a local service for the registration and licensing of new vehicles and related work--shown as "transactions" in the table--and are responsible for the enforcement of the payment of vehicle excise duty.
Office and address Number of staff
|Transactions|Enforcement
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Aberdeen |5.0 |3.5
3rd Floor Atholl House,
84/88 Guild Street,
Aberdeen AB9 1XH
Bangor |4.0 |7.5
Penrhos Road,
Penrhosgarnedd,
Bangor LL57 2JF
Birmingham |15.0 |31.0
St. Martins House,
10 The Bullring
Birmingham B5 5DP
Bournemouth |10.0 |15.5
Tregonwell Court,
118 Commercial Road
Bournemouth BH2 5LN
Brighton |11.0 |25.5
PO Box 357,
Circus House,
New England Road,
Brighton BN1 1DH
Bristol |9.0 |28.0
Northleigh House,
Lime Kiln Close,
Stoke Gifford
Bristol BS12 6SR
Cardiff |7.0 |21.0
14 Cathedral Road,
Cardiff CF1 9RB
Carlisle |4.0 |6.0
Ground Floor,
3 Merchants Drive,
Parkhouse,
Carlisle CA3 0JW
Chelmsford |15.0 |27.5
2nd Floor,
Parkway House,
49 Baddow Road,
Chelmsford CM2 0XJ
Chester |9.0 |8.0
Norroy House,
Nuns Road,
Chester CH1 2ND
Coventry |8.0 |14.5
Greyfriars House,
Greyfriars Lane,
Coventry CV1 2HB
Dudley |11.0 |11.0
Churchill Precinct,
Dudley DY2 7BN
Dundee |5.0 |3.0
4th Floor,
Overgate House,
121 Marketgait,
Dundee DD1 1JL
Edinburgh |0.0 |13.0
Saughton House,
Broomhouse Drive,
Edinburgh EH11 3XE
Exeter |9.5 |18.0
16 Dix's Field,
Exeter EX1 1TP
Glasgow |18.5 |24.0
107 Bothwell Street,
Glasgow G2 7EE
Gloucester |8.5 |11.5
Elmbridge Court,
Cheltenham Road,
Gloucester GL3 1JY
Guildford |12.5 |14.5
32 High Street,
Guildford GU1 3ED
Haverfordwest |4.0 |2.0
Winch Lane,
Haverfordwest SA61 1RD
Huddersfield |8.0 |7.5
Kirklees House,
Market Street,
Huddersfield HD1 2HR
Hull |7.0 |6.5
Kingston House,
Myton Street,
Hull HU1 2PE
Inverness |4.5 |2.5
Caledonia House,
63 Academy Street,
Inverness IV1 1RP
Ipswich |9.0 |9.5
Podium Level,
St. Clare House,
Greyfriars,
Ipswich IP1 1UT
Leeds |16.0 |22.5
24a Union Street,
Leeds LS2 7JR
Leicester |8.5 |13.5
2nd Floor,
Rutland Centre,
56 Halford Street,
Leicester LE1 1TT
Lincoln |9.5 |12.0
Mill House,
Brayford Side North,
1 Lincoln LN1 1YW |9.5 |12.0
Liverpool |12.0 |22.5
Corn Exchange Building,
Fenwick Street,
Liverpool L2 7TT
London |20.0 |0.0
1 Zoar Street,
London SE1 0SY
Ground Floor, |14.5 |0.0
Quest House,
11 Cross Road,
Croydon CR9 6EW
23 Balfour Road, |9.5 |0.0
Ilford IG1 4HH
Government Building, |17.5 |0.0
18 Great Marlborough Street, |0.0 |112.0
12/18 Station Road, |9.0 |132.5
Luton |18.5 |34.5
2 Dunstable Road,
Luton LU1 1EB
Maidstone |14.0 |26.0
Coronet House,
11 Queen Anne Road,
Maidstone ME14 1XB
Manchester |21.0 |25.0
Trafford House,
Chester Road,
Manchester M32 0SL
Middlesbrough |8.0 |9.5
9th Floor,
Corporation House,
73/75 Albert Road,
Middlesbrough TS1 2BP
Newcastle |9.0 |13.0
Eagle Star House,
Regent Farm Road,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE3 3QF
Northampton |9.0 |13.0
Wootton Hall Park,
Northampton NN4 9BG
Norwich |9.5 |11.0
Rouen House,
Rouen Road,
Norwich NR1 1UP
Nottingham |13.0 |16.5
Lambert House,
Talbot Street,
Nottingham NG1 5NJ
Oxford |8.5 |10.0
Ground Floor,
3 Cambridge Terrace,
Oxford OX1 1RW
Peterborough |10.0 |10.0
88 Lincoln Road,
Peterborough PE1 2ST
Portsmouth |10.0 |17.5
1/4 Queen Street,
Portsmouth PO1 3JD
Preston |14.0 |16.5
Buckingham House,
Glovers Court,
Preston PR1 4DQ
Reading |13.0 |16.0
Minister House,
52/53 Minster Street,
Reading RG1 2JS
Sheffield |12.0 |15.0
St. Peter's House,
Hartshead,
Sheffield S1 1JX
Shrewsbury |5.0 |3.5
1st Floor,
Princess House,
The Square,
Shrewsbury SY1 2NB
Stoke |9.5 |6.5
London House,
4th Floor,
Hide Street,
Stoke ST4 1EL
Swansea |5.0 |7.5
DVLC,
Longview Road,
Swansea SA99 1DE
Swindon |7.0 |8.5
2 The Meads,
Business Centre,
Ashworth Road,
Bridgemead,
Swindon SN5 7YR
Taunton |6.0 |8.5
Brendon House,
High Street,
Taunton TA1 3DT
Truro |5.0 |8.5
Pydar House,
Pydar Street,
Truro TR1 2TG
Worcester |7.0 |9.0
Haswell House,
St. Nicholas Street,
Worcester WR1 1NX
Column 19
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the contribution of the DVLA to road safety, law enforcement and tax collection ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 13 November 1992] : DVLA makes a strong contribution to road safety. It helps keep off the roads vehicles and people who should not be on them and restricts the circumstances in which some people can drive. The validity of insurance and MOT certificates is checked before vehicle licences are issued. The agency gives invaluable assistance to vehicle manufacturers who wish to recall vehicles because of safety defects. The DVLA driver and vehicle databases are accessed extensively by the police and other law enforcement agencies in the investigation of all categories of crime in which a motor vehicle may be involved. Details of disqualified drivers are passed to the police and endorsements and disqualifications handed down by courts are entered on the driver record.
DVLA collected some £3 billion in vehicle excise duties in 1991-92.
Roads (Investment)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what research he has commissioned into (a) the economic and (b) the employment impact of new road building ;
(2) what assessment he has made of the implications of (a) road construction and (b) road maintenance for job creation ; (3) what assessment he has made of the implications of road building for regional policy ;
(4) what assessment he has made of the implications of the road programme on employment relocation, job destruction and job creation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 13 November 1992] : The programme of road construction is aimed at meeting the needs of industry and other road users through the provision of a modern strategic road network. This reflects the Government's commitment to a road infrastructure which strengthens the competitive performance of the economy. This was reiterated by the statement of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the House yesterday.
The economic appraisal of road schemes measures the benefit they generate for the economy. There is a continuing process of research carried out by the Department which supports this analysis. Decisions on the programme take account of local development objectives such as, for example, inner- city regeneration and the development of docklands.
The employment implications of our expenditure on new construction and road maintenance is complex because so many industries are involved in the process. However, estimates confirmed by the CBI and other industry groups identify around 3,100 jobs created by every £100 million spent on new construction. We estimate that road maintenance is at least as labour intensive.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will reconsider the financial criteria which apply to investment in transport policy and road construction ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 13 November 1992] : The Department of Transport's booklet, "The Role of Investment Appraisal in Road and Rail Transport", describes the technical procedures, and their background, at present used by the Department for appraising proposed investments in roads and rail transport. I would also refer the hon. Member to the autumn statement by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the existing rules for calculating the rate of return on road investment.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 13 November 1992] : Trunk road schemes are appraised using standard computer programs, namely COBA 9, URECA, and QUADRO 2. They have accompanying manuals which explain the techniques used. The Department's booklet, "Getting the Best Roads for our Money : The COBA Method of Appraisal", summarises COBA, which is the most commonly used program.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the animal food manufacturers to which BSE has been traced.
Mr. Soames : BSE was caused by the use of ruminant-derived protein in cattle rations. This material was in common use prior to 18 July 1988 and no particular manufacturers were implicated.
Sheep Dip
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will investigate the effect of organophosphorus on human beings.
Mr. Soames : As part of the current review of pharmaceutical veterinary medicinal products to ensure that up-to-date standards on safety are met, and following recommendations from the independent Veterinary Products Committee to the licensing authority, the companies that manufacture organophosphorus (op) sheep dips have been asked to carry out some further work on the effects of these products. This will include blood tests on farm operators, providing details of protective clothing worn, and studies to show which areas of the bodies of operators are most exposed. In addition, the veterinary medicines directorate is continuing to fund work by the national poisons unit as a follow-up to its recent report on cases of sheep dip exposure.
Furthermore, the Health and Safety Executive is currently funding research into the possible chronic neuropsychological and neurological effects of occupational exposure to ops and is also carrying out a detailed occupational hygiene assessment of sheep dip working practices and processes.
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Administration Costs
Mr. Richards : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the United Kingdom's agricultural budget is spent on administration ; and what information he has on the corresponding figure in other EC member states.
Mr. Curry : The administration costs relating specifically to agriculture over the United Kingdom as a whole are not readily available. The costs of this Department and the Intervention Board include elements for food and fishing ; the administration costs for agriculture in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are contained within the votes of the Welsh Office, Scottish Office and Northern Ireland Office respectively.
Information on general administration costs for the Department and the Intervention Board are however set out in the Departmental Report (Cm 1903) and particularly in the cash plans tables included in that document.
I have no information on administrative expenditure in other EC member states.
Food and Environment Protection Act
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many orders under section 1(8) of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 have been introduced in each year since 1985.
Mr. Curry : The Ministry has laid the following orders before Parliament under Section 1(8) of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 :
1985 : None
1986 : 5 (all relating to the Chernobyl accident)
1987 : 1
1988 : None
1989 : 11 (10 relating to the lead in animal feed incident) 1990 : 5
1991 : 3
1992 : 3
Subsidies
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of farmers' income stems from price support, subsidy and other forms of state intervention ; what was the relative percentage in 1979 ; and if comparable figures are available for the EC as a whole.
Mr. Curry : Estimates of the cost of support depend critically on the assumptions used. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has, however, estimated the transfers from consumers and taxpayers resulting from agricultural policies in the European Community-- separate figures for the United Kingdom are not available. These indicate that, for the period 1979-81, the transfer represented 88 per cent. of gross value added by agriculture. The estimate for 1990, the latest period available, is 94 per cent. The estimate for the earlier period is not directly comparable because it excludes Spain, Portugal and the former German Democratic Republic. As the OECD makes clear, these estimates do not take into account the impact on world prices, and on other variables, if farm support were to be removed. They are likely, therefore, to overstate the true extent of support to the agricultural sector.
Column 22
Production Regions
Mr. Roger Evans : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will identify the specifically agricultural factors which support the division of the United Kingdom into the announced separate production regions, pursuant to his exercise of his powers and duties under article 3 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1765/92 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : United Kingdom Agriculture Ministers announced proposals for the division of the United Kingdom into regions in accordance with this regulation on 29 September 1992. The decision followed a careful examination of the available data on yields throughout the United Kingdom, the basis of which is set out in the regionalisation plan submitted to the European Commission on 16 September 1992. Copies of the plan have been placed in the Library of the House. During the coming year we shall be carrying out further work on yield patterns to see whether alternative regionalisation arrangements might be warranted for future years.
Common Agricultural Policy
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has had from the EC about the estimated levels of CAP expenditure in the current year and the next three years.
Mr. Curry : The budget for the common agricultural policy for 1992 is 37,289 mecu (£26,390 million ). The draft CAP budget for 1993 is 38,985 mecu (£31,798 million ). These figures include the budget for European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund guarantee and guidance measures and 1,000 mecu (£708 million , £816 million ) for the monetary reserve. There will be no call on the monetary reserve in 1992.
It is not normal practice to forecast anticipated expenditure for subsequent years, which depend on decisions yet to be taken. Converted at £1=1.1413 ecu.
Converted at £1=1.226 ecu.
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