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Mr. Freeman : Discussions between BAA plc and British Rail about the funding of the Heathrow express project are continuing. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I met Sir John Egan and Sir Bob Reid on 10 December to review progress. I am hopeful that agreement on terms for funding the railway will be reached soon.
Heathrow Underground Link
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has made an official visit on the Piccadilly line to Heathrow since April 1992.
Mr. Norris : No. However, I am kept fully informed of service performance on all underground lines, and I am pleased to say that the Piccadilly line has been one of the Underground's most consistently reliable lines since April 1992.
West Coast Main Line
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effect his plans to commercialise British Rail will have on the future development of rail services on the west coast main line ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Freeman : We believe that our proposals for privatising British Rail, with the operation of passenger services by private sector franchisees, will lead to an improvement of services on the west coast main line, since private sector operators should be more efficient and more responsive to passengers' wishes.
Nuclear Fuel (Transport)
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what approaches he has had from the International Maritime Organisation in regard to stricter regulations for the carriage of irradiated nuclear fuel.
Mr. Norris : None. The IMO provides the machinery through which member states can develop international regulations and codes relating to maritime matters including those for the safety of life at sea and the prevention of marine pollution. These regulations are then implemented nationally by parties to the convention.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his role in relation to transport of nuclear fuel by BNFL transport division and the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation of Japan.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The Department of Transport has to be satisfied that containers carrying such material comply with International Atomic Energy Agency standards, and that they are transported in ships complying with the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods and Marine Pollutants) Regulations 1990 and international coventions and codes for safety and pollution prevention.
Railway Crossings
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to examine (a) the criteria and (b) the specific railway crossings where incidents show the effectiveness of the hazard warning lights to be reduced by fog ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : A review of the safety of automatic open level crossings was carried out in 1986 by Professor P. F. Stott. His report recommended a number of improvements including revisions to the advance warning signs to reduce sign clutter, and to the backing boards of the "STOP" traffic signs to increase their conspicuity. British Rail has adopted these recommendations and is implementing them.
Advice on driving in fog is contained in the highway code. Drivers should be driving at a speed which enables them to stop within the limits of their vision.
Transport Organisations
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list each organisation with transportation responsibilities in London ; and which of them have formal liaison arrangements with his Department.
Mr. Norris : The main organisations with transport responsibilities in the transport field in London are :
British Rail
British Waterways Board
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City of London PoliceCivil Aviation Authority
Corporation of London
London Boroughs and their respective associations
London Boroughs Transport Committee
London Docklands Development Corporation
London Planning Advisory Committee
London Regional Passengers Committee
London Transport
Metropolitan Police
Parking Committee for London
Port of London Authority
Traffic Commissioner for the South East and London
Traffic Director for London
The Department has formal liaison arrangements with all of these. It also maintains close contact with consumer groups, private sector transport operators (either directly or through their representative bodies), and with the other organisations concerned with transport in London including the south east regional planning conference, the London tourist board and the motoring organisations.
Cars
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what range of forecasts have been made by his Department on the number of cars normally kept in Greater London in (a) 1995, (b) 2000 and (c) 2025.
Mr. Norris : The Department's current forecasts of the number of cars normally kept in Greater London are as follows :
(a in 1995, 2.57 to 2.66 million cars.
(b in 2000, 2.78 to 2.99 million cars.
(c National forecasts are produced for years up to 2025, but the local projections produced are more short-term and only cover years to 2011. The forecast for 2011 is 3.20 to 3.61 million cars. These are based on an estimate of 2.38 million cars in 1991.
Road Works, London
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list each organisation which has a statutory right to carry out works on London roads.
Mr. Norris : No list of all such organisations is held centrally, but it would be very extensive. The main organisations with rights to carry out work on highways are the highway authorities and the utilities, such as gas, water, electricity and cable TV.
Civil Servants (Bicycles)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the current conditions on which civil servants in his Department are granted salary advances to enable the purchase of bicycles for home-to-office travel ; if he will make a statement on the current conditions in each agency of his Department ; what plans he has to change the conditions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Until recently the authority for Departments to make advances for these purposes was subject to justifying them on value for money or operational grounds.
Three agencies of my Department--the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Transport Research
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Laboratory and the Vehicle Certification Agency--have been prepared to consider requests. No applications have been made to date. Advances have not been available to staff in the remaining agencies or elsewhere in the Department.As a result of recent changes in the scope of the delegation my Department will be looking again at the case for making such advances.
Abandoned Vehicles
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will allow local authorities to have direct access to computer records at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency offices in connection with the removal of abandoned vehicles.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Direct access to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's computer records raised important questions of data protection and security of personal information, as well as cost. There are no plans at present to offer this service to local authorities.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the average time taken at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency office in Swansea to process VQ4 requests from local authorities for details of abandoned vehicles ; and what is the current number of outstanding VQ4 requests.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : The average time taken by DVLA to process postal VQ4 inquiries is eight working days. Enquiries received on magnetic tape are replied to within four days. There is currently no backlog.
Hoskins Data Services
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what level of co-operation exists between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency offices and Hoskins Data Services.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Hoskyns Group plc provides an agency service for a number of local authorities for enquiries to DVLA on magnetic tape. DVLA co-operates closely with Hoskyns on this service.
Pedestrian Deaths
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of pedestrians who were killed in road crashes were above the age of 60 years in the most recent available year.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Data for the most recent available year (1991) show that there were 1,496 pedestrian fatalities in road crashes of which 736, or 49.2 per cent., were over the age of 60.
Transport Services, London
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent the £270 million public spending on transport, detailed in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's autumn statement will be spent on transport services in London.
Mr. Norris : In his autumn statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Department of
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Transport would be spending £6.4 billion next year. Of this, £1 billion will go to London Transport. As many projects relate both to inside and outside London, it is not possible to identify exactly how much of the remaining £5.4 billion will be spent on transport services in London.Moss Roads
Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce an investigation into the means of correcting the deteriorating condition of moss roads in Lancashire and in other areas.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 15 January 1993] : This is a matter for the local highway authority.
Bridge Closures, London
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he was consulted on the closures of Waterloo, Hammersmith and Battersea bridges ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 15 January 1993] : These bridges are all on roads which have been designated under paragraph 5, schedule 5 of the Local Government Act 1985. London boroughs are required to give notice of proposals to exercise, on designated roads, certain powers under the Highways Act 1980 or the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The circumstances requiring notification are described in the 1985 Act. On 1 September 1992, the traffic director for London became responsible for dealing with designated road notifications. My Department received notifications relating to the closure of Battersea bridge. I understand that the traffic director for London was consulted about the proposal to close Waterloo bridge. The work on Hammersmith bridge does not require notification.
MV Braer
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the dispersants currently stockpiled in Shetland which are available to the marine pollution control unit, but have not yet been used to disperse oil from MV Braer.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The dispersants currently stockpiled by and available to the marine pollution control unit in Shetland are :
370 tonnes Dasic LTSW
135 tonnes Finasol
26 tonnes Dispolene 34S
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the dispersants that have been used to date to disperse oil from the MV Braer, the quantity of each dispersant which has been used, and the date on which it was used.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The dispersants used to disperse oil from the MV Braer were :
6 January
75 tonnes Dasic LTSW
10 tonnes BP Enersperse 1037
15 tonnes Dispolene 34S
7 January
1 tonne Dasic LTSW
9 January
20 tonnes Dasic LTSW
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Salvage Tugs
Mr. Waterson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider measures to encourage the building and/or provision of high- powered ocean-going salvage tugs to be on station around the coasts of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The EC Commission is undertaking a comprehensive study of the availability of salvage facilities (tugs) in the North sea. We have made our contribution to that work.
Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the targets set by his Department for roadside tests of vehicles for 1992-93 and 1993-94 ; and if he will list the number and category of vehicles tested.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 14 January 1993] : Targets for roadworthiness checks at the roadside during 1992-93 are as follows :
|Number
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Service Vehicles |23,900
Goods Vehicles exceeding 3,500 kg design gross weight |130,000
Cars and Goods Vehicles not exceeding 3,500 kg design
in gross weight |72,000
|----
Total |225,900
No targets have yet been set for 1993-94, but the inspectorate is planning on the basis that enforcement levels will be similar to 1992-93 for the first two categories.
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The 1992-93 target for cars and light goods vehicles was exceptionally high because of the additional work monitoring and change in testing regime for vehicles between 3,000 and 3,500 kg. So the inspectorate is planning only 55,972 checks in 1993-94. Further information on 1992-93 can be found in the inspectorate's business plan.Cargo Transfers
Mr. Waterson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the current arrangements for the storage and maintenance of specialist equipment needed for the ship-to-ship transfer of cargo from vessels in distress ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The Department of Transport's ship-to-ship transfer equipment is currently stored by contractors at Milford Haven and is subject to regular maintenance, exercise and review. I am satisfied with these arrangements.
Vehicle Inspectorate
Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many inspectors and examiners were on the payroll of the Vehicle Inspectorate Agency in each of the past five years.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The staff numbers and grades directly involved in vehicle inspection and enforcement are as follows :
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|March 1989 |March 1990 |March 1991 |March 1992 |October 1992
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tester |391 |370 |306 |271 |263
Assistant Vehicle Examiner |0 |0 |62 |86 |91
Professional and Technical Officer<1> |480 |474 |477 |465 |449
Senior Traffic Examiner<2> |- |- |- |38 |31
Traffic Examiner<2> |- |- |- |175 |172
<1> A limited amount of Inspection work is done by more senior management staff.
<2> Traffic Examiner grades were not part of the Vehicle Inspectorate until April 1991.
Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much capital has been invested in the Vehicle Inspectorate Agency in each of the past five years.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The following capital expenditure has been invested in the Vehicle Inspectorate in fixed assets in each of the past five years.
£000's cash
|Capital Spend
------------------------------------------
1988-89 |2,443
1989-90 |2,258
1990-91 |3,476
1992-93<1> |3,276
<1> Forecast.
Roadside Tests
Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles and what types have been prohibited after a roadside test in each of the last two years.
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Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The numbers of vehicles prohibited by the vehicle inspectorate following roadworthiness checks at the roadside during 1990-91 and 1991-92 are as follows :
|1990-91|1991-92
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Public Service Vehicles |1,955 |1,744
Goods Vehicles exceeding 3,500 kg design |7,363 |7,628
gross weight
Goods Vehicles not exceeding 3,500 kg |1,141 |4,680
design gross weight
|-------|-------
Total |10,459 |14,052
Departmental Employees
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many employees of his Department are based in offices in Wales ; which agencies or other parts of his Department they work for ; and what plans he has for their continuing employment in Wales.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 14 January 1993] : There are 4,268 employees of my Department
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based in offices in Wales. Of these, 163 belong to the central Department and work in the Marine Directorate, the general register and records office of shipping and seamen, the south Wales traffic area office, internal audit and personnel management. A total of 3, 312 work for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, 102 for the Driving Standards Agency, 224 for the Vehicle Inspectorate Executive Agency and 467 for the DVOIT Agency. The level of employment in these activities depends on demand for the services concerned, and on the consequences of any privatisation, market testing or contracting out of services currently provided directly by the Department and its agencies.Oil Pollution
Mr. Waterson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what emergency response plans exist in respect of possible oil pollution around the south coast of England.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The Department of Transport maintains the Government's national contingency plan through the marine pollution control unit. This plan is complemented by the appropriate local authority contingency plans and port plans.
Salvage Personnel
Mr. Waterson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the numbers of fully trained and experienced salvage personnel in the United Kingdom to deal with future pollution incidents caused by maritime casualties.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 January 1993] : The Department of Transport maintains, under contract, response teams with specific responsibility for deploying equipment for dealing with chemical and oil tanker incidents. In addition, liaison is maintained with leading salvors and their capability. I am satisfied with these arrangements.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Fisheries Inspectors
Mr. Robathan : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fisheries inspectors are employed by his Department.
Mr. Curry : The current total number of land-based British sea fisheries officers employed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is 79, of which 68 are based in the coastal district offices and 11 in the London headquarters. A further 14 officers carry out fisheries protection duties under contract through aerial and surface surveillance operations.
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