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Column 515
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 11 January 1993
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Conduct of Inquiries
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations have been made to him about those conducting legal inquiries on behalf of Her Majesty's Government giving press briefings during the inquiry.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The hon. Member has omitted to mention the inquiry in which he is interested, and therefore I regret I am unable to answer his question without further detail being provided.
Complaints Body
Mr. French : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make it his policy to establish a body equivalent to the Solicitors Complaints Bureau as a statutory body.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Government believe that the maintenance of professional standards is, in the first instance, for the professional body concerned. The Law Society has since 1986 delegated its statutory powers in respect of professional misconduct to the Solicitors Complaints Bureau. Matters of discipline and serious breaches of the society's rules of professional conduct are for the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, a statutory and independent body with a lay majority, to consider and act upon. In order to ensure that public confidence is maintained, the Government also established the Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman, under provisions in the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. The ombudsman acts as an effective independent scrutiny of the way in which the Law Society carries out its statutory duties ; he also has the same powers in respect of the General Council of the Bar and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
Legal Aid Leaflets
Mr. Cox : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the languages in which legal aid leaflets are available in courts or prisons in England and Wales.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Legal Aid Board produces leaflets in the following languages : English, Welsh, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Gujerati, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese. The board supplies leaflets in any of these languages to courts or prisons on request.
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ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Butte Mining
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Attorney-General what is his current estimate of the date of completion of the inquiries by the Serious Fraud Office into share dealings in Butte Mining.
The Attorney-General : An SFO investigation into aspects of the affairs of Butte Mining plc commenced in June 1992. The SFO target for cases generally is one year from acceptance for investigation to transfer to Crown court. It is policy not to divulge operational details relating to the progress of particular investigations.
TRANSPORT
Aircraft Noise
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the findings of the research commissioned in 1990 as to how aircraft noise affects people's sleep will be made available.
Mr. Norris : My noble Friend Lord Caithness has received a report on the field study into aircraft noise and sleep disturbance which describes the study and its results. This is published today by the Department of Transport. Copies will be placed in the House libraries.
This has been one of the most comprehensive studies of the subject carried out anywhere in the world. The research has been carried out by teams led by Professor J. A. Horne, Loughborough University of Technology ; Dr. K. I. Hume, Manchester Metropolitan University ; and Professor I. D. Diamond, University of Southampton ; under the overall direction of Dr. J. B. Ollerhead of the Civil Aviation Authority's Department of Safety, Environment and Engineering. I am grateful for the effort and expertise which they have devoted to this study.
People vary greatly in how they react to noise. This is true also of the effect of aircraft noise on people's sleep. However, one of the conclusions of this study is that, once asleep, very few people living near airports are at risk of any substantial sleep disturbance due to aircraft noise.
Road Building (Filler)
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the extent to which blast furnace slag has been approved for use in motorway embankments.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Blast furnace slag is approved in the Department's Specification for Highway Works for use as general fill, as selected granular fill and as a capping material in motorway embankments. A copy of the specification is in the Library.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regulations govern the choice by contractors of the type of fill material for use in major road building projects.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Contractors are required to satisfy the specification for each particular scheme. This specification incorporates the Department's Specification for Highway Works and lays down additional requirements as necessary including any environmental constraints.
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Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake and publish a comparative study of the costs of using (a) blast furnace slag and (b) freshly quarried stone as fill material for major road building projects.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : A study was carried out in 1991 by the Department of the Environment into the economics of using mineral and industrial waste materials as substitutes for naturally occurring aggregates. The study included a comparison of the costs of using steel blast furnace slag as a replacement for crushed rock. The report was published (ISBN 0 11 7524840) and a copy was placed in the House of Commons Library.
Traffic Calming
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on traffic calming measures in each of the last three years ; and what savings in deaths and serious injuries on roads are estimated to have resulted.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Traffic calming is one part of a range of measures used in undertaking accident remedial schemes. The information requested is not available centrally, and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to introduce the regulations enabling local authorities to introduce traffic calming measures on class A roads.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : We hope to lay traffic calming regulations before the House in the new year. These will apply to class A as well as to other roads.
Channel Tunnel (Rail Freight)
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will name the parliamentary constituencies in Greater London through which channel tunnel rail freight services will run when the tunnel opens.
Mr. Freeman : British Rail expects channel tunnel freight services to run on railway lines in the following Greater London parliamentary constituencies :
Battersea, Beckenham, Brent East, Brent North, Brent South, Chelsea, Chislehurst, Croydon Central, Croydon North East, Croydon North West, Croydon South, Dulwich, Ealing Acton, Ealing North, Ealing Southall, Enfield North, Enfield Southgate, Fulham, Hackney South and Shoreditch, Hammersmith, Hampstead and
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Highgate, Harrow East, Harrow West, Hayes and Harlington, Holborn and St. Pancras, Hornsey and Wood Green, Islington North, Islington South and Finsbury, Kensington, Lewisham Deptford, Lewisham East, Lewisham West, Newham North West, Norwood, Orpington, Peckham, Streatham, Tooting, Tottenham, Uxbridge, Vauxhall.13. Mr. Elletson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects British Rail to receive for trialling on rails in Great Britain a pre-production series channel tunnel passenger service train.
Mr. Freeman : I understand from British Rail that it hopes to begin trials in June 1993.
Rear Seat Belts
Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates he has of (a) the reduction in deaths and serious injuries resulting from the requirement for car passengers to wear rear seat belts and (b) the cost to the motor manufacturers of the requirement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : It has been estimated that full compliance with the rear seat belt wearing requirements would save at least 100 lives and 1,000 serious injuries a year, but since the requirement has applied to adults only since July 1991, there is insufficient statistical evidence to demonstrate the actual savings. In the six months July to December 1991 deaths and serious injuries to adult rear seat passengers fell by 14 per cent. and to child rear seat passengers by 12 per cent. compared with the corresponding period in 1990, but it is not known how much of this reduction can be attributed to seat belt wearing.
The wearing regulations impose no additional cost to motor manufacturers : all new cars since October 1987 have been required to be fitted with rear seat belts.
Construction Contracts
230. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of state for Transport if he will list for each of the last 10 years major construction contracts awarded by his Department worth over £250,000 at current prices, indicating in each case which construction company was awarded the contract ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I regret that the full information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the following information shows, for each of the last five years, all new road construction contracts with award (cash) prices of £250,000 or more.
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Contracts let in 1989
Scheme |Contractor |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6 |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |25,660,650
A42 Castle Donington |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |24,730,506
A650 Airedale Route Contract 2 |A. Monk Building & Civil Engineering Ltd.|536,180
M40 Waterstock to Wendlebury |Alfred McAlpine/Fairclough joint venture |64,100,726
A23 Waddon Marsh |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |1,000,000
QEII Bridge Southern Approach Roads |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |27,690,340
A19 Peterlee Junction Stage 2 |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |3,239,909
A66 Stockton Racecourse Interchange |Birse Construction Ltd. |5,466,972
A47 Easton Hornstocks Bends |Charles Gregory Civil Engineering Ltd. |874,739
A45 Barford Road Junction |Clugston Construction Ltd. |499,516
A69 Brampton bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |4,944,000
A65 Addingham bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |3,669,000
A361 North Devon Link Road Stage 2 |Devon Contractors Ltd. |365,992
A406 Hanger Lane (Twyford Tip) |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |10,304,298
M62 Climbing Lane Junctions 21 and 22 |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |562,440
A259 Glyne Gap roundabout |East Sussex County Council DLO |297,416
A167 Pity Me roundabout |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |253,754
A41 Improvement at Chester |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |17,491,969
A500 Nantwich bypass |Galliford Civil Engineering Ltd. |5,094,318
A27 Farlington bypass |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |1,206,591
M3 Bassett to Compton advance works |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |489,250
M3/A339 Basingstoke |Hampshire County Council DLO |399,107
M3 Bassett to Compton widening |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |41,662,080
A41 Bicester bypass Stage 1 |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |4,731,992
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6A |Midland Oak Contractors Ltd. |819,791
A696 Woolsington bypass |Miller Construction Ltd. |10,358,496
A1 Dualling South of Alnwick |Northumberland County Council DLO |622,018
A60 Mansfield Road improvement |Nottingham County Council DLO |363,123
A47 Eye bypass |Redland Aggregates Ltd. |5,199,976
A23 Waddon Way Junction improvement |Ringway Surfacing Ltd. |803,964
A36 Codford bypass |Rush & Tompkins Ltd. |2,084,710
A49 Shrewsbury improvement |Shropshire County Council DLO |697,632
A30 Launceston to Plusha |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |8,775,795
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 7 |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |14,188,340
A27/A22 Lewes Road |Walker Brothers Civil Engineering Ltd. |270,959
A303 Ilchester to South Petherton |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |12,773,286
M20 Maidstone to Ashford Contract 2 |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |28,667,972
A435 Alcester bypass |Wrekin Construction Co. Ltd. |8,780,768
|-------
Total 1989 |339,678,575
Contracts let in 1989
Scheme |Contractor |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6 |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |25,660,650
A42 Castle Donington |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |24,730,506
A650 Airedale Route Contract 2 |A. Monk Building & Civil Engineering Ltd.|536,180
M40 Waterstock to Wendlebury |Alfred McAlpine/Fairclough joint venture |64,100,726
A23 Waddon Marsh |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |1,000,000
QEII Bridge Southern Approach Roads |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |27,690,340
A19 Peterlee Junction Stage 2 |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |3,239,909
A66 Stockton Racecourse Interchange |Birse Construction Ltd. |5,466,972
A47 Easton Hornstocks Bends |Charles Gregory Civil Engineering Ltd. |874,739
A45 Barford Road Junction |Clugston Construction Ltd. |499,516
A69 Brampton bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |4,944,000
A65 Addingham bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |3,669,000
A361 North Devon Link Road Stage 2 |Devon Contractors Ltd. |365,992
A406 Hanger Lane (Twyford Tip) |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |10,304,298
M62 Climbing Lane Junctions 21 and 22 |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |562,440
A259 Glyne Gap roundabout |East Sussex County Council DLO |297,416
A167 Pity Me roundabout |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |253,754
A41 Improvement at Chester |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |17,491,969
A500 Nantwich bypass |Galliford Civil Engineering Ltd. |5,094,318
A27 Farlington bypass |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |1,206,591
M3 Bassett to Compton advance works |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |489,250
M3/A339 Basingstoke |Hampshire County Council DLO |399,107
M3 Bassett to Compton widening |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |41,662,080
A41 Bicester bypass Stage 1 |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |4,731,992
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6A |Midland Oak Contractors Ltd. |819,791
A696 Woolsington bypass |Miller Construction Ltd. |10,358,496
A1 Dualling South of Alnwick |Northumberland County Council DLO |622,018
A60 Mansfield Road improvement |Nottingham County Council DLO |363,123
A47 Eye bypass |Redland Aggregates Ltd. |5,199,976
A23 Waddon Way Junction improvement |Ringway Surfacing Ltd. |803,964
A36 Codford bypass |Rush & Tompkins Ltd. |2,084,710
A49 Shrewsbury improvement |Shropshire County Council DLO |697,632
A30 Launceston to Plusha |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |8,775,795
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 7 |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |14,188,340
A27/A22 Lewes Road |Walker Brothers Civil Engineering Ltd. |270,959
A303 Ilchester to South Petherton |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |12,773,286
M20 Maidstone to Ashford Contract 2 |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |28,667,972
A435 Alcester bypass |Wrekin Construction Co. Ltd. |8,780,768
|-------
Total 1989 |339,678,575
Column 523
Contracts let in 1989
Scheme |Contractor |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6 |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |25,660,650
A42 Castle Donington |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |24,730,506
A650 Airedale Route Contract 2 |A. Monk Building & Civil Engineering Ltd.|536,180
M40 Waterstock to Wendlebury |Alfred McAlpine/Fairclough joint venture |64,100,726
A23 Waddon Marsh |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |1,000,000
QEII Bridge Southern Approach Roads |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |27,690,340
A19 Peterlee Junction Stage 2 |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |3,239,909
A66 Stockton Racecourse Interchange |Birse Construction Ltd. |5,466,972
A47 Easton Hornstocks Bends |Charles Gregory Civil Engineering Ltd. |874,739
A45 Barford Road Junction |Clugston Construction Ltd. |499,516
A69 Brampton bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |4,944,000
A65 Addingham bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |3,669,000
A361 North Devon Link Road Stage 2 |Devon Contractors Ltd. |365,992
A406 Hanger Lane (Twyford Tip) |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |10,304,298
M62 Climbing Lane Junctions 21 and 22 |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |562,440
A259 Glyne Gap roundabout |East Sussex County Council DLO |297,416
A167 Pity Me roundabout |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |253,754
A41 Improvement at Chester |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |17,491,969
A500 Nantwich bypass |Galliford Civil Engineering Ltd. |5,094,318
A27 Farlington bypass |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |1,206,591
M3 Bassett to Compton advance works |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |489,250
M3/A339 Basingstoke |Hampshire County Council DLO |399,107
M3 Bassett to Compton widening |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |41,662,080
A41 Bicester bypass Stage 1 |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |4,731,992
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6A |Midland Oak Contractors Ltd. |819,791
A696 Woolsington bypass |Miller Construction Ltd. |10,358,496
A1 Dualling South of Alnwick |Northumberland County Council DLO |622,018
A60 Mansfield Road improvement |Nottingham County Council DLO |363,123
A47 Eye bypass |Redland Aggregates Ltd. |5,199,976
A23 Waddon Way Junction improvement |Ringway Surfacing Ltd. |803,964
A36 Codford bypass |Rush & Tompkins Ltd. |2,084,710
A49 Shrewsbury improvement |Shropshire County Council DLO |697,632
A30 Launceston to Plusha |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |8,775,795
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 7 |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |14,188,340
A27/A22 Lewes Road |Walker Brothers Civil Engineering Ltd. |270,959
A303 Ilchester to South Petherton |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |12,773,286
M20 Maidstone to Ashford Contract 2 |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |28,667,972
A435 Alcester bypass |Wrekin Construction Co. Ltd. |8,780,768
|-------
Total 1989 |339,678,575
Column 523
Contracts let in 1989
Scheme |Contractor |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6 |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |25,660,650
A42 Castle Donington |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |24,730,506
A650 Airedale Route Contract 2 |A. Monk Building & Civil Engineering Ltd.|536,180
M40 Waterstock to Wendlebury |Alfred McAlpine/Fairclough joint venture |64,100,726
A23 Waddon Marsh |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |1,000,000
QEII Bridge Southern Approach Roads |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |27,690,340
A19 Peterlee Junction Stage 2 |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |3,239,909
A66 Stockton Racecourse Interchange |Birse Construction Ltd. |5,466,972
A47 Easton Hornstocks Bends |Charles Gregory Civil Engineering Ltd. |874,739
A45 Barford Road Junction |Clugston Construction Ltd. |499,516
A69 Brampton bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |4,944,000
A65 Addingham bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |3,669,000
A361 North Devon Link Road Stage 2 |Devon Contractors Ltd. |365,992
A406 Hanger Lane (Twyford Tip) |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |10,304,298
M62 Climbing Lane Junctions 21 and 22 |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |562,440
A259 Glyne Gap roundabout |East Sussex County Council DLO |297,416
A167 Pity Me roundabout |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |253,754
A41 Improvement at Chester |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |17,491,969
A500 Nantwich bypass |Galliford Civil Engineering Ltd. |5,094,318
A27 Farlington bypass |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |1,206,591
M3 Bassett to Compton advance works |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |489,250
M3/A339 Basingstoke |Hampshire County Council DLO |399,107
M3 Bassett to Compton widening |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |41,662,080
A41 Bicester bypass Stage 1 |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |4,731,992
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6A |Midland Oak Contractors Ltd. |819,791
A696 Woolsington bypass |Miller Construction Ltd. |10,358,496
A1 Dualling South of Alnwick |Northumberland County Council DLO |622,018
A60 Mansfield Road improvement |Nottingham County Council DLO |363,123
A47 Eye bypass |Redland Aggregates Ltd. |5,199,976
A23 Waddon Way Junction improvement |Ringway Surfacing Ltd. |803,964
A36 Codford bypass |Rush & Tompkins Ltd. |2,084,710
A49 Shrewsbury improvement |Shropshire County Council DLO |697,632
A30 Launceston to Plusha |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |8,775,795
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 7 |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |14,188,340
A27/A22 Lewes Road |Walker Brothers Civil Engineering Ltd. |270,959
A303 Ilchester to South Petherton |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |12,773,286
M20 Maidstone to Ashford Contract 2 |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |28,667,972
A435 Alcester bypass |Wrekin Construction Co. Ltd. |8,780,768
|-------
Total 1989 |339,678,575
Contracts let in 1989
Scheme |Contractor |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6 |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |25,660,650
A42 Castle Donington |A. F. Budge (Contractors) Ltd. |24,730,506
A650 Airedale Route Contract 2 |A. Monk Building & Civil Engineering Ltd.|536,180
M40 Waterstock to Wendlebury |Alfred McAlpine/Fairclough joint venture |64,100,726
A23 Waddon Marsh |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |1,000,000
QEII Bridge Southern Approach Roads |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |27,690,340
A19 Peterlee Junction Stage 2 |Balfour Beatty Ltd. |3,239,909
A66 Stockton Racecourse Interchange |Birse Construction Ltd. |5,466,972
A47 Easton Hornstocks Bends |Charles Gregory Civil Engineering Ltd. |874,739
A45 Barford Road Junction |Clugston Construction Ltd. |499,516
A69 Brampton bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |4,944,000
A65 Addingham bypass |Cumbrian Industrials Ltd. |3,669,000
A361 North Devon Link Road Stage 2 |Devon Contractors Ltd. |365,992
A406 Hanger Lane (Twyford Tip) |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |10,304,298
M62 Climbing Lane Junctions 21 and 22 |Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |562,440
A259 Glyne Gap roundabout |East Sussex County Council DLO |297,416
A167 Pity Me roundabout |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |253,754
A41 Improvement at Chester |Fairclough Civil Engineering Ltd. |17,491,969
A500 Nantwich bypass |Galliford Civil Engineering Ltd. |5,094,318
A27 Farlington bypass |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |1,206,591
M3 Bassett to Compton advance works |Geoffrey Osborne Ltd. |489,250
M3/A339 Basingstoke |Hampshire County Council DLO |399,107
M3 Bassett to Compton widening |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |41,662,080
A41 Bicester bypass Stage 1 |John Mowlem Construction Ltd. |4,731,992
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 6A |Midland Oak Contractors Ltd. |819,791
A696 Woolsington bypass |Miller Construction Ltd. |10,358,496
A1 Dualling South of Alnwick |Northumberland County Council DLO |622,018
A60 Mansfield Road improvement |Nottingham County Council DLO |363,123
A47 Eye bypass |Redland Aggregates Ltd. |5,199,976
A23 Waddon Way Junction improvement |Ringway Surfacing Ltd. |803,964
A36 Codford bypass |Rush & Tompkins Ltd. |2,084,710
A49 Shrewsbury improvement |Shropshire County Council DLO |697,632
A30 Launceston to Plusha |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |8,775,795
A604 (M1-A1 Link) Contract 7 |Tarmac Construction Ltd. |14,188,340
A27/A22 Lewes Road |Walker Brothers Civil Engineering Ltd. |270,959
A303 Ilchester to South Petherton |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |12,773,286
M20 Maidstone to Ashford Contract 2 |Wimpey Construction Ltd. |28,667,972
A435 Alcester bypass |Wrekin Construction Co. Ltd. |8,780,768
|-------
Total 1989 |339,678,575
Rail Privatisation
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 14 December, Official Report, column 32, if he will make it his policy to make the draft guidance to be given to the franchising authority available to hon. Members before the Second Reading debate on the British Rail privatisation legislation.
Mr. Freeman : We intend to make the draft guidance to be issued to the franchising authority available to hon. Members at the commencement of the Committee stage of the Bill.
Expenditure (London Boroughs)
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give his Department's expenditure, by London borough, for each of the past five years, on (a) major trunk roads, (b) local main roads via transport supplementary grant, (c) bus improvements, (d) rail improvements and (e) cycle facilities.
Mr. Norris : This information is not held in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Red Routes
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the expenditure, by borough, of funds from his Department on roads adjacent to red routes in London.
Mr. Norris : The latest estimates of expenditure on approved works on roads adjacent to the pilot red route are :
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|£
----------------------------------
(a) Haringey |717,000
(b) Islington |690,000
(c) Hackney |229,000
(d) Tower Hamlets |954,000
Private Car Ownership
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are his Department's projections on the increase in private car ownership in (a) Greater London, (b) England and Wales and (c) Scotland over (i) the next five years, (ii) 10 years and (iii) 15 years.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The number of private cars alone is not forecast. The Department's forecasts of the number of cars normally kept in (a) Greater London and (b) England and Wales and (c) Scotland are :
Millions
|(a) |<1>(b) |(c)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1991 |2.4 |18.7 |1.5
1997 |2.7 to 2.8 |21.1 to 22.0|1.7 to 1.8
2002 |2.9 to 3.1 |22.9 to 24.6|1.9 to 2.0
2007 |3.0 to 3.4 |24.5 to 26.9|2.0 to 2.2
<1>(b) includes (a).
The range in the forecasts is associated with the expected range in GDP growth and fuel prices.
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Cycles
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has held with (a) Westminster city council and (b) the City of London regarding their policies on cycling and parking of cycles ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : My Department discusses cycling issues with the London boroughs collectively through the London Cycling Forum, chaired by the London Planning Advisory Committee. We have given advice in a series of local transport notes on provision for cyclists, including cycle parking.
Parking
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's estimate of the number of (a) on-street, (b) public off-street and (c) private off-street parking facilities in inner London ; what the figures were for 1988 ; and what he expects to be the provision in 1994.
Mr. Norris : My Department has not made any estimates of parking provision in inner London. However, a survey conducted for the London Planning Advisory Committee in 1990 found (a) 81,000 on-street parking places, and (b) 42,000 places in off-street public car parks. These estimates cover all boroughs in inner and central London except Islington and the London Docklands Development Corporation who did not respond to the survey, and Hackney who did not provide information about on-street parking. Information on (c) private off-street parking facilities is not available.
Departmental Property
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) the total number of residential properties owned by his Department, (b) the number of such properties which are empty, and (c) , (b) as a percentage of (a) .
Mr. Norris : Yes. On 30 September 1992, when the last return was compiled :
(a) the total number of residential properties was 3,283 : apart from 15 used by coastguard services they were held as a result of road schemes ;
(b) 666 were empty ; and
(c) the empty properties were 20.4 per cent. of the total. However, of these, 597 (18.3 per cent.) either have been in the Department's ownership for three months or less ; are awaiting demolition ; are in the process of being sold or are vacant for other good reasons, for example, because they are uninhabitable or are specialised and particularly difficult to let. Only 69 properties (2.1 per cent.) remain unlet without good reason.
British Rail Rolling Stock
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish details of all locomotives and rolling stock that British Rail (a) has moth-balled, (b) intends to declare surplus to requirements or to dispose of for scrap and (c) has disposed of, or sold for scrap, during the past year.
Mr. Freeman : British Rail has provided the following information :
(a) InterCity has 40 coaches in store, with plans to store another 35 ; 40 surplus sleeper coaches are also in
Column 528
store, and a purchaser is being sought for these ; 74 damaged or defective locomotives are in store awaiting a decision.(b) About 300 locomotives have been withdrawn and are awaiting sale by competitive tender.
(c) Sixty-seven locomotives were sold during 1992, of which 12 went to preservation societies or other private users. In the past two years InterCity has disposed of 235 life-expired coaches for scrap ; a further 100 coaches have been sold to the private sector or transferred to other parts of BR.
Some life-expired electric and diesel multiple units are becoming surplus as new rolling stock is introduced on Network SouthEast regional railways. Detailed figures are not readily available. BR is always interested to hear from those who wish to be included in tender lists for surplus rolling stock. Stock which contains asbestos may require the attention of a special contractor.
Driving Tests
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons differing provisions apply in respect of the consequences of failure to pass a test within two years to (a) holders of provisional motorcyclist licences and (b) car drivers holding provisional licences ; and what plans he has to bring the two provisional licences into line with each other.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : A provisional motorcycle licence is valid for a maximum period of two years and may not be renewed within a year of expiring. Provisional car driving licences remain valid until the holder reaches the age of 70. The reason for these differing provisions is that the holder of a provisional motorcycle licence is entitled to ride unaccompanied and, without this limitation on the period of validity of such a licence, there would be no incentive to attain the standard required to obtain a full licence.
A2 (Dualling)
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of the design consultancy project for the dualling of the A2 between Lydden and Dover ; and when, how, and for how long the public consultation process is to operate.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The design consultants are continuing to investigate route options for the A2 Lydden to Dover scheme. Public consultation is planned for late spring 1993. It will include the distribution of information leaflets with questionnaires, a press notice, advertisement in the local press and a public exhibition. A six-week period is proposed for receipt of comments from the public.
Road Schemes
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those road schemes added to the Government's roads programme since the publication of the White Paper, "Trunk Roads : England into the 1990s."
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The 32 schemes which have been added to the national roads programme since the 1990 White Paper are as follows : National roads programme entries
A303--Ilminster bypass
Column 529
A41--Christleton bypassA428--Turvey bypass
A39--Kilkhampton bypass
A49--Woofferton bypass
A65--West of Gargrave bypass
A3--Thursley--Milford
A65--Chelker Bends
A1079--Bishop Burton bypass
A39--Stratton diversion
A31--Sturt Lane--Red Post
A59--Skipton bypass--Low Lodge Skeffington Bends
A64--Malton--Seamer
A41--Aylesbury : prop. junction improvement
A2--Honeywood junction
A650--Airedale Route : section 4
A259--Guestling Thorn/Icklesham bypass
A205/A2212--Burnt Ash hill
A1--Willow Burn--Denwick
A1--Hitchcroft--Cawledge
A1--Wetherby bypass
A1--Bramham--Wetherby
A1--Stamford--Newark
A1--Newark--A1(M) south of Doncaster
A49--Marshbrook improvement
Manchester outer ring road re-signing
M25--Slip road--Clacket lane motorway service area
M5--Junction 29-30
M23--Widening junctions 9-10
M27--Widening junctions 4-12
M25--Second stage widening
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