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Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much National Transcommunications Ltd. was sold for on privatisation ; and how much it was valued at before sale.
Mr. Brooke : £70 million. This was towards the top end of the indicative valuation of the company. The National Audit Office report, published on 27 November 1992, concluded that the price was satisfactory.
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Arts Council
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the planned summary allocation of Arts Council spending for 1993-94 by regional arts board areas and on a per capita basis.
Mr. Brooke [holding answer 14 April 1993] : The figures requested are as shown in the table. It includes all Arts Council spending whether allocated centrally or regionally :
Regional arts board |Arts Council and RAB|Population<2> |Per capita
area |spending<1> 1993-94
|(£000) |(000) |(£)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London |<3>72,254 |6,794 |10.63
Southern |4,778 |4,548 |1.05
South Eastern |3,196 |3,945 |0.81
South West |5,377 |3,779 |1.42
Eastern |7,125 |5,708 |1.25
East Midlands |4,701 |3,342 |1.41
West Midlands |<4>15,361 |5,219 |2.94
Yorkshire and Humberside |10,256 |4,952 |2.07
North West |11,202 |6,474 |1.73
Northern |6,361 |3,075 |2.07
<1>Includes grants to national companies. Does not include touring, for which no regional breakdown is
available.
<2>Based on OPCS figures, 1990.
<3>Includes estimate of £3.332 million for support for the Royal Shakespeare Company's London activity.
<4>Includes estimate of £5.138 million for support for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford.
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what weight is given to population and to cultural deprivation in the assessment of Arts Council allocations to regional arts boards.
Mr. Brooke [holding answer 14 April 1993] : In assessing allocation to RABs, the Arts Council takes population and cultural deprivation into account along with a range of other factors, one of which is the level of direct funding by the council to organisations within the RAB area.
TRANSPORT
Traffic Congestion
Mr. Henderson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department intends to provide guidance on the interpretation of the phrase "severe traffic congestion" in section 7 of the Transport Act 1985.
Mr. Freeman : My Department intends to issue guidance to traffic commissioners on their use of traffic regulation conditions under section 7 of the Transport Act 1985 as soon as possible after a decision has been reached on the current appeal to the Secretary of State about the use of these powers in Sheffield. Interpretation of the phrase "severe traffic congestion" is a matter for the traffic commissioner in the light of prevailing traffic conditions.
London Buses
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the ages of the current fleet of full-sized buses in London ; what provision
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for investment has been made for the future for buses ; and what was the level of past investment in each of the last 10 years.Mr. Norris : The current average age of full-sized buses in the LBL fleet is 13.1 years. Bus investment expenditure is given in the table :
£ million
Year |Investment
|expenditure 1993-94
|prices
------------------------------------------------------------
1983 |52.5
<1>1984-85 |31.7
1985-86 |20.9
1986-87 |13.1
1987-88 |3.7
1988-89 |8.5
1989-90 |15.2
1990-91 |15.7
1991-92 |24.9
1992-93 |26.0
<1>1984-85 was a 15-month year.
I understand that LBL plans to invest £12 million on new buses in 1993 -94, which will be the last full year before the completion of privatisation of the LBL subsidiaries.
Transport Policy (Sustainability)
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department is (a) carrying out and (b) commissioning into the sustainability of transport policy.
Mr. MacGregor : The Department has established a group to monitor longer term and transport research. Projects are currently under way or have recently been completed in the following areas :
--demand management and forecasting ;
--network modelling ;
--transport and the environment ;
--transport safety.
Environmental Achievements
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what have been the environmental achievements of the designated Green Minister in his Department during the past year.
Mr. MacGregor : Speed limiters for new heavy goods vehicles were introduced on 1 August 1992. Certain existing vehicles over 16 tonnes will be required to have speed limiters from 1 August this year. These measures will improve fuel consumption and reduce emissions. Since 31 December 1992 most new cars have required catalytic converters to meet tighter EC emission standards. The United Kingdom Government continues to press for even tighter emissions and noise standards for vehicles and to discuss with other member states and the Commission measures to improve the fuel efficiency of new cars. In 1992-93 some £4 million was allocated for bus priority measures, which will encourage the use of buses. A further £15.5 million has been allocated for 1993-94.
At the beginning of March the Department published "The Good Roads Guide". The guide is aimed at professionals involved in the design of trunk roads. It is essentially a checklist and source book covering many of the issues that have to be tackled in designing roads to make them as environmentally satisfactory as possible.
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We are working on a number of other initiatives for 1993-94, including the publication of : an updated "Manual of Environmental Appraisal", "The Wildflower Handbook" and "The Design Guide for Environmental Barriers".Pedestrian Routes, London
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what overall strategy for London his Department has undertaken to improve and increase pedestrian routes ;
(2) what overall strategy for London his Department has undertaken to co- operate in the improvement and proliferation of pedestrian routes ;
(3) what overall strategy for London his Department has undertaken with the Metropolitan police to advise or co-operate with London boroughs on the upgrading, improvement and proliferation of pedestrian routes in the interests of safety.
Mr. Norris : Local authority circular 5/92 (copy in the House of Commons Library) states the Department's policies with respect to facilities for pedestrians in London. The main responsibility for pedestrian routes rests with the London boroughs. Borough schemes that enhance pedestrian safety may be eligible for transport supplementary grant as a local safety scheme. Additionally, the traffic director for London will fund the development and introduction of pedestrian facilities which he approves as part of the priority (red) route local plan process.
DVOIT
Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will list the names of the companies shortlisted in the tender for the privatisation of the Drivers, Vehicles and Operators Information Technology Agency.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : Companies interested in purchasing DVOIT have put forward their responses to the advertisement in the EC Official Journal, and to subsequent requests for information, in confidence, and it would not be right for me to list them.
M11 Link
Ms Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the Hackney M11 link plan.
Mr. Norris : The scheme will provide a strategic link between the A102(M) east cross route at Hackney Wick and the junction of the M11, the A12 and the A406 North Circular road at the Redbridge roundabout east of Wanstead. It will comprise about 3.75 miles of continuous, dual-carriageway trunk road.
It will relieve existing unsuitable roads of strategic traffic. Stratford, Leyton, Leytonstone and Wanstead will all benefit when the heavy through traffic is removed from residential and shopping streets.
Following the recent successful defence of a challenge to the scheme in the High Court, tenders have been reinvited. We aim to start work in Wanstead in the autumn. The whole scheme will take about four years to complete.
Heathrow Airport
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many additional aircraft movements he estimates as a result of the construction of a fifth terminal at Heathrow.
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Mr. Norris : My Department does not produce forecasts for aircraft movements. The number of aircraft movements at Heathrow and its relation to terminal capacity may well be a matter for debate at the public inquiry into a fifth terminal.
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's estimate of the number of passengers transferring to the new rail link from Paddington to Heathrow from (a) private cars, (b) tube and (c) road public transport.
Mr. Norris : I understand that the Heathrow link is expected to carry about 6 million passengers a year. The Department has not produced detailed estimates of transfer from each alternative mode.
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many additional passenger journeys to and from Heathrow airport he estimates will result from the construction of a fifth terminal at Heathrow by (a) rail and (b) road ; and what is his estimate of the numbers travelling by road by (a) public transport and (b) private cars.
Mr. Norris : The Department will be working on figures as part of its examination of the British Airports Authority's proposals for a fifth terminal.
Some estimates of this kind have been prepared by BAA and are contained in the environmental statement issued in connection with its planning application for a fifth terminal. I am putting a copy in the House Library.
Strategic Authority, London
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations his Department has had from outside bodies calling for a single strategic authority to oversee transport, land use and environment in London ; and if he will list them.
Mr. Norris : We have received a number of representations suggesting that some sort of agency is required to oversee transport, planning and related issues.
These have included the former National Economic Development Council in its "Amber Alert" report and the CBI's London region in the interim report of its transport task force.
Aircraft Movements
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many additional aircraft movements he estimates at Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Heathrow and London City on a year on year basis until 2010.
Mr. Norris : My Department does not produce forecasts for aircraft movements in the format requested. However, the RUCATSE working group on runway capacity to serve the south east will be considering assumptions about aircraft movements. Its report will be published later this year.
British Transport Police
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about the future of the British Transport police following (a) publication of the consultative document, "The Future Status of the British Transport Police" and (b) 2 February ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Freeman : Some 50 responses to the consultation document have been received, two of them since 2 February. In addition, I have met representatives of the British Transport Police Federation. Many of the comments we received emphasised the desirability of the force remaining under public sector control, and the importance of standards of law and order being maintained. The consultation period has now closed and we will publish our conclusions shortly. I have already announced that it is the Government's intention to ensure that the British Transport police will remain in the public sector as a single unified force. There is no intention to split "L" division from the rest of the force, so policing of the London Underground will continue largely as at present. We propose, through licensing, to make it compulsory for operators to use BTP for law and order purposes.
Railway Investment
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what moves he is considering to create a framework to maximise private sector investment in the railway network ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the autumn statement on 12 November 1992, Official Report, column 996, the Government's support for joint ventures between the public and the private sector for the construction of infrastructure, along with a £150 million special leasing arrangement for BR in respect of new rolling stock. My right hon. Friend has since announced in the Budget on 16 March 1993, Official Report, column 194, the Government's commitment to joint ventures for the channel tunnel rail link, crossrail and Heathrow express. These new measures are set in the overall context of the Government's proposals to privatise and liberalise the railway, which will encourage the development of an efficient and modern industry responsive to customer requirements, and thus encourage private sector investment.
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what positive representations he has received from the private sector to build new railways following publication of the Railways Bill ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The Department has received a number of representations from private sector parties interested in the financing and construction of new railways ; the details are commercially confidential.
Rail Freight
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what specific criteria he has established for companies seeking grants under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Applications for freight facilities grants under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 have to meet both environmental and financial criteria. Applicants have to demonstrate that the provision of rail facilities will result in the traffic in question being moved by rail, rather than over unsuitable roads, and that the proposed facilities could not be justified commercially without assistance.
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Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received following his proposal to sell the British Rail freight business ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The Department has received a number of expressions of interest in the Government's plans for privatising and liberalising rail freight.
Discussions with interested parties have been on a commercially confidential basis.
Railway Heritage Trust
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about the future of the Railway Heritage Trust ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : I met Mr. Leslie Stone, a director of the Railway Heritage Trust, on 11 February to discuss future funding for the trust. I expect discussions to take place between the Railway Heritage Trust and those concerned in British Rail with the formation of Railtrack to cover future funding of the trust.
Steam Railways
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure the future operation of Britain's steam railways following publication of the Railways Bill ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The Railways Bill contains powers for the Secretary of State to exempt railways individually or by class from the requirements for licensing, franchising and open access it imposes. The Government will grant appropriate exemptions to preserved railways, and will consult interested parties on the form of exemption.
Rail Fares
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about the future of the present range of reduced fares and railcards since publication of the Railways Bill ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations about these matters.
After privatisation, the offer of railcards and discounted ticketing arrangements will be a matter for operators' judgment, as it is now for BR. Through tickets will continue to be available in a range of ticket and fare types, but it will be for operators to determine their price by negotiation. In a competitive environment there will be every incentive for operators to seek to attract custom and maximise revenue by offering discounted tickets.
The Government therefore see no need to impose specific requirements on operators to offer particular types of discount facility, with the exception of the disabled persons railcard which is provided voluntarily by British Rail and does not make a profit. We have announced our intention that all passenger rail franchisees should be obliged to offer common discount facilities to disabled people on broadly similar lines to the present arrangements.
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Railway Pensions
Mr. Matthew Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received following the publication of "Railway Pensions after Privatisation"; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave on 1 April to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson), Official Report, column 362.
Motorways
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals his Department has for (a) new additional motorway service areas and (b) lighting additional sections of unlit motorways ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle [holding answer 1 April 1993] : Under a new policy announced on 6 August 1992, it is now for the private sector rather than the Government to identify where there is a need for further motorway service areas and to secure their development. There are, however, sites on the M6, M11, M20, M25 and M40 (two) where planning clearance for motorway service area use was granted to the Department before the new policy was announced. We are continuing to pursue development of these sites jointly with the private sector. Motorway lighting is provided, subject to environmental appraisal, where it can be justified on safety grounds, taking account of the savings in night-time accidents. When motorways are widened to four lanes it is general policy to install lighting. Over the period to 1996 I expect lighting to be installed on more than 90 miles of motorway.
SCOTLAND
Equal Opportunities
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when his Department and the Lord Advocate's office last conducted surveys of (a) ethnic origins and (b) the number of women among their employees ; when they next plan to do so ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Lang : My Department conducted a voluntary survey of the ethnic origins of staff in 1987 with a follow-up, reminder exercise in 1989 and thereafter all new entrants have been invited to complete questionnaires.
Following the 1987 survey, the employment of persons from ethnic minorities is also constantly monitored by the Lord Advocate's Department.
Neither Department has any plans to conduct additional surveys of ethnic origins.
In both Departments surveys of women employees are unnecessary as the sex of all employees is clearly identified in staff records.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to recruit women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people, respectively, in top grades of employment at the Scottish Office and at the Lord Advocate's Department.
Mr. Lang : Recruits to the senior grades (as to any grade in the civil service) are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, unless one of the exceptions
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permitted under the Civil Service Order in Council 1991 applies. Various steps have been taken by the civil service commissioners to aid recruitment from all sectors of the community including : extending links with higher education institutions ;equal opportunities training for those involved in selection ; using validated selection procedures.
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in his Department and in the Lord Advocate's Office are (a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people.
Mr. Lang : The number and percentage of officers in grades 1-7 and in total in my Department who were (a) women (as at 1 April 1992), (b) from ethnic minorities (as at 1 April 1992) and (c) disabled persons (as at 1 July 1992), are as follows :
Grade (and |Women |Percentage
equivalents)
----------------------------------------------------------
1 |- |-
2 |- |-
3 |3 |11.5
4 |1 |6.2
5 |17 |12.6
6 |36 |17.1
7 |68 |14.7
|--- |---
Total (head count) |2,828 |44.9
The total number of officers employed in my Department who described themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority was 27 or 0.4 per cent. Of that number one grade 7 is so described (0.2 per cent. of that grade).
At 1 July 1992 there were two registered disabled officers at grade 6 level in my Department which represented 1 per cent of staff in that grade.
The total number of registered disabled staff was 86 which represented 1.4 per cent. of the total staff. In addition there were eight officers who described themselves as disabled, which represented a further 0.1 per cent. of staff. Two of these staff were at grade 7 level.
In the Lord Advocate's Department, the number and percentage of officers in grades 1 to 7 and in total who were (a) women (as at 1.4.92), (b) from ethnic minorities (as at 1.4.92) or (c) disabled persons (as at 1.7.92) are as shown below :
Grade |Women |Percentage
----------------------------------------------------
1 |- |-
2 |- |-
3 |- |-
4 |- |-
5 |3 |10
6 |4 |10
7 |63 |49
|------- |-------
Total (head count) |768 |70
There were no officers in the Lord Advocate's Department who described themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority, nor were there any registered disabled persons in grades 1 to 7 of the Department. There were, however, seven registered disabled officers in the Department in total, which represented 0.6 per cent. of the total staff.
r. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.
Dental Care
Mr. Chisholm : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many non-exempt patients had dental check-ups in each of the last three years.
Mr. Stewart : Information is recorded on individual courses of treatment rather than patients treated. The total number of dental examinations for non-exempt patients is contained in the table.
Number of dental examinations carried
out for non-exempt patients in
Scotland
Year |Number of
|examinations
---------------------------------------
1990 |1,587,607
1991 |1,794,750
1992 |1,815,098
Data Protection Act 1984
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.
Mr. Lang : No certificates have been signed by myself or my predecessor, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Edinburgh, Pentlands (Mr. Rifkind), under section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 in the period since 1987.
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Huntington's Chorea
Mr. Eric Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how much money and resources the Lothian and Strathclyde health boards are providing for sufferers of Huntington's disease ; (2) how many cases of patients with Huntington's disease there are in Lothian and Strathclyde ; and how many are in need of constant care ;
(3) how many chronically ill Huntington's disease patients in constant care are in charitable institutions in Lothian and Strathclyde.
Mr. Stewart : At 31 December 1992 there were 30 patients in hospital with a diagnosis of Huntington's Chorea who were normally resident in Lothian and Strathclyde. The other information requested is not held centrally.
Hospital Closures
Mr. Eric Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria he has given to health boards on alternative use of vacant hospitals or institutions prior to closure.
Mr. Stewart : Current guidance requires that consideration is given to alternative health related use for vacant hospital or other NHS property before it is regarded as surplus to NHS requirements.
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