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Special Educational Needs
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of children with special educational needs that have been statemented for every local education authority in Wales for each year since 1990.
Sir Wyn Roberts : The numbers of children for whom statements of special educational needs were made for the first time during each calendar year since 1990 are given in the following table :
$
|1990|1991|1992
------------------------------------
Clwyd |318 |251 |251
Dyfed |225 |272 |397
Gwent |402 |480 |497
Gwynedd |130 |205 |178
Mid Glamorgan |490 |545 |583
Powys |120 |134 |55
South Glamorgan |184 |215 |274
West Glamorgan |358 |354 |415
Cattle Identification Documents
Mr. Hanson : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the cost of administering the cattle identification document scheme in Wales for the year 1993-94.
Mr. Redwood : The costs of staffing the permanent posts created to administer the beef special premium scheme will amount to about £353, 000 in the 1993-94 financial year. Staff have also been redeployed from other work for varying periods, and some casual staff employed, to help with the one-off tasks of establishing the scheme.
Teachers
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many students qualified to be teachers left the University of Wales and the teacher training colleges of Wales at the end of each academic year since 1985 ; how many were qualified in each of the main subjects ; and how many were qualified to teach their subject through the medium of Welsh.
Sir Wyn Roberts [holding answer 23 July 1993] : I will write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.
TRANSPORT
Railtrack
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people he expects Railtrack to employ ; and in what occupations.
Mr. Freeman : Railtrack will be responsible for railway infrastructure, and for deciding how many employees it will need, and in what capacities, to fulfil that responsibility in the most efficient manner.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures Railtrack will be able to use in order to carry out its role of safety validation for train operators.
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Mr. Freeman : Railtrack's safety validation role will be governed by the Health and Safety Commission's Railways (Safety Case) Regulations published in draft for consultation purposes in July 1993.
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the resources in terms of staffing and money he expects Railtrack to need to carry out its role of safety validation for train operators.
Mr. Freeman : This is a matter for Railtrack. Railtrack will need to demonstrate in its safety case to the satisfaction of the Health and Safety Executive that sufficient staff and resources are available.
Railways Funding
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies have been made of the Swedish model of public funding of the railways and of charging costs to operators.
Mr. Freeman : I visited Sweden last year and discussed the Swedish Government's policy for funding, restructuring and liberalising access to their national railway system, with Ministers, representatives of the Swedish state railway, and private sector rail operators. We have continued to monitor the development of Swedish railway policy.
Goods Vehicle Operators Licences
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what checks are carried out by his staff to ensure that negative answers to question 22, relating to criminal convictions, on form GV79 "Application for a Goods Vehicle Operators Licence" are truthful.
Mr. Key : Full records of criminal convictions are not available to the licensing authorities or traffic area offices. However, all applications for goods vehicle operator licences are published in advance of the grant of a licence and circulated to the police, who have a statutory right to make a formal objection to a licence being granted. In some cases, checks may also be made of any records held by the Vehicle Inspectorate on the applicant.
Vehicle Testing Stations
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Vehicle Inspectorate has to carry out an inspection of all VI testing stations to determine whether they meet all the relevant safety standards required by similar workplaces in the private sector.
Mr. Key : The Vehicle Inspectorate already carries out a comprehensive range of regular inspections of its properties, and associated equipment, with the intention of ensuring compliance with all relevant safety standards. Some inspections are carried out to conform with "best practice" where this exceeds legal requirements.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many sick leave days were taken by (a) male and (b) female staff employed in the Vehicle Inspectorate in 1992.
Mr. Key : As at June 1992 the Vehicle Inspectorate employed 1,389 male and 607 female staff on a part and full time basis. 10,651 and 8,144 days were lost through
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sick absence by male and female staff respectively during the year. The sick absence figures include weekends where they occurred during a period of sickness.Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about noise mitigation measures on the proposed channel tunnel rail link in relation to trains travelling (a) at 185 mph and (b) at other speeds ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The possible noise impact of high speed trains features in a number of representations received on the proposed channel tunnel rail link. Mitigation measures such as screens and banks will be provided so that as far as practically possible the noise design aims set by Union Railways are not exceeded for homes and other sensitive receptors. The noise predictions used in planning mitigation measures take account of the assumed speeds for each part of the route. Any homes not benefiting sufficiently from mitigation measures may qualify for noise insulation.
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give his reasons for limiting international stations on the proposed high speed rail link from London to Folkestone to one additional station between King's Cross-St. Pancras and Ashford ; and what is his policy on the provision of other stations to serve regional and national purposes.
Mr. Freeman : No maximum number of international stations has been set. The limitation is financial viability bearing in mind that public subsidy for international stations is forbidden. The provision of both international and domestic stations is addressed in Union Railways' recent report and the Government are considering this and the bids received from the promoter groups for the potential stations.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the full consultation period on all the Union Railways options was expected to expire ; and when the Union Railways report on proposals for a high speed channel tunnel link was submitted to him.
Mr. Freeman : Comments from local authorities, action groups and other bodies affected by the route and station options have been sought by 12 November. Comments from the public should be sent by then or very soon afterwards. Union Railways' report was submitted to the Government on 29 October.
A1-M1 Link Road
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an announcement about the A1-M1 link road.
Mr. Key : The public inquiry into this scheme was held in January- February this year.
A decision on the way forward will be made as soon as practicable after the joint Secretaries of State for Transport and the Environment have given full and careful consideration to the inspector's recommendations.
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Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy regarding building roads through sites of special scientific interest ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The Government have a long-standing policy of keeping roads away from protected areas such as sites of special scientific interest wherever possible. In cases where it is impossible to avoid such sites the greatest care is taken to design the road sensitively and, where practicable, to preserve or recreate habitats, to relocate plant and animal species and to screen the road by the extensive use of planting and landscaping.
Jubilee Line Extension
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps towards the construction of North Greenwich station are included in contract JLE 110.
Mr. Norris : JLE contract 110 has not yet been awarded, and final decisions have not yet been taken on what should be included in it.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the private sector contributions to the Jubilee line extension, to be paid over the next 20 years, will be £300 million at current values or uprated to keep up with inflation.
Mr. Norris : Olympia and York Canary Wharf Limited has undertaken to pay London Underground Limited £300 million cash over a 24-year period starting one year after the first day of operation of the Jubilee line extension. The funding agreement under which these payments are to be made implements the understanding reached in 1989 between my Department and Olympia and York Canary Wharf Limited.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he plans to fund the construction of North Greenwich station ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : London Underground Limited is reponsible for the construction of the Jubilee Line Extension funded by grants from Government and private sector contributions, notably the £400 million pledged by Olympia and York Canary Wharf Limited. British Gas has also promised a contribution in connection with the decision to locate a station at North Greenwich.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts for the Jubilee line extension are concerned with the construction of North Greenwich station.
Mr. Norris : The civil engineering work on the station will be carried out under contract 110 ; the electrical and mechanical work will be carried out under various E and M contracts.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are required to be taken to ensure the construction of a Jubilee line station at North Greenwich, above ground and providing a full service to the public from the first day of operation of the Jubilee line extension in terms of (a) negotiations between London Underground
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and third parties, (b) decontamination of contaminated land, (c) clearing of derelict land, (d) construction of new roads and other access routes to the station and (e) any other work or negotiations concerning the proposed site of the station and surrounding area.Mr. Norris : London Underground Limited is preparing to let a contract for the construction of the station at North Greenwich. However, if that contract is to make full provision so that the station can open, there must first be a satisfactory conclusion to the negotiations between British Gas and London Regional Transport about the financial contribution which BG undertook to make in 1990 when it was agreed to take the line through their property in North Greenwich. The allocation of financial responsibility for specific matters such as land decontamination, derelict land clearance, road access, car parking, and bus facilities is for agreement between BG and LRT.
Rail Franchising, Isle of Wight
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how safety validation for railways will work on the vertically integrated franchise system planned for the Isle of Wight.
Mr. Freeman : The Health and Safety Executive will be responsible for examining and validating the safety case of an operator of a vertically integrated franchise on the Isle of Wight.
Bromford Viaduct
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the holding down bolts of the central crash barrier of the Bromford viaduct of the M6 midland links motorway were last tested ; what were the results ; and on what date they are due to be tested again.
Mr. Key : The last tests on the holding down bolts were some limited pull-out tests in 1985. The results were generally below the level in the current specification but this was not applicable when the barrier was originally erected. The performance to date of the central reservation barriers on Bromford viaduct has been satisfactory.
We have no proposals for further tests on the holding down bolts, but the barrier, including the holding down arrangements will be replaced as part of two major maintenance contracts. These are presently programmed for 1994 -95 and 1995-96 and will involve resurfacing, concrete repairs and other works on the viaduct.
Estuarial Crossings
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which estuarial crossings ha Mr. Key : Central Government grants were given towards the first Mersey crossing which opened in 1934 (£2.5 million) the first Dartford-Thurrock tunnel which opened in 1963 (£2.6 million) and the Tyne tunnel which opened in 1967 (£3 million). Since then central Government finance for estuarial crossings has been in the form of loans. In 1992 the debts outstanding were £359 million on the Humber bridge, £112 million on the Mersey
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tunnels, £13 million on the Tyne tunnels and £4 million on the Severn bridge. The most recent estuarial crossing, atDartford-Thurrock and Severn, were or are being built with private finance. The Government have accepted that loans to the Humber bridge cannot be serviced and repaid from toll revenue alone and, to date, grants totalling £72 million have been paid.
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which estuarial crossings are the responsibility of (a) central Government, (b) local authorities and (c) private owners ; and which of these are (i) subject to tolls and (ii) not subject to tolls.
Mr. Key : Apart from the bridge carrying the M2 over the Medway and the Avonmouth bridge carrying the M5, both of which are the responsibility of the Department of Transport, tolls are charged at all estuarial crossings in England. Central Government are responsible for the Dartford- Thurrock crossings and the Severn bridge, though operational responsibility rests with private
concessionaries. Local authorities are responsible for the Tyne and Mersey tunnels and the Tamar and Humber bridges. No estuarial crossings are privately owned.
Eastern Relief Road, Lowestoft
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement detailing crossing points for pedestrians over the eastern relief road being built in Lowestoft.
Mr. Key : Crossing facilities for the road were discussed locally as the scheme was being developed by Suffolk county council and details of the proposed provision were included in consultation and briefing meetings.
There will be a signal controlled crossing to the west of the relief road's intersection with London Road North. This will replace the existing crossing on the opposite side of London Road North, across Old Nelson street.
There will also be uncontrolled crossing points using the splitter islands at the roundabout junction of the relief road with St. Peters street and Jubilee way.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about how pedestrians are to cross the new eastern relief road being built in Lowestoft, from the northern ends of Tennyson road and Arnold street northwards, and return.
Mr. Key : The existing uncontrolled pedestrian crossing at the northern end of Tennyson road is not affected by the new road. Arnold street is truncated at its boundary with the relief road and a footway will be provided on the western side of the relief road. This will join with the uncontrolled crossing point at the splitter islands at the St. Peters street/Jubilee way roundabout, some 50 metres north of Arnold street.
Bus Fuels
Dr. Liam Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds he has allocated for trials of clean fuels on local bus services.
Mr. Freeman : I have today allocated funds totalling £100,000 in 1993-94 to local authorities for four such trials. The projects to be supported are as follows :
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o Local authority/bus |Fuel |£000s |Number of buses operator --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hampshire/Southampton Citybus |CNG |42.5 |6 Avon/Badgerline |LPG |16 |2 Warwickshire/Midland Red South |LPG |16 |2 Berkshire/Reading Buses |CNG |25.5 |4 Notes: CNG-compressed natural gas LPB-liquefied petroleum gas
A27, Worthing
Mr. Higgins : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to give a full reply to letters from Worthing borough council of 13 July, 23 September, 1 October, 14 October, 19 October and 22 October on the compulsory purchase orders issued by his Department in connection with the development of the A27 in the Worthing area ; why replies have been delayed ; on what specific legislation his Department has relied in the procedure it has adopted to deal with mistakes in the compoulsory purchase orders ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The Department has no record of receiving a letter from Worthing borough council dated 13 July until a copy was enclosed with the Council's letter of 1 October. A reply was sent on 7 October. A reply to the letter of 23 September was sent on 24 September. Replies to the letters of 14, 19 and 22 October were sent on 3 November. Where discrepancies in land ownership details in the draft compulsory purchase order have been drawn to the Department's attention, they have followed the procedure laid down in schedule 1 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 to give notice of proposed amendments to those concerned.
Radioactive Materials
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 1 November, Official Report, column 8, if he will list the four bodies from which his Department has received letters on the transport of radioactive materials.
Mr. Norris : The four bodies are :
University of Reading ;
City of Nottingham ;
Tonbridge and Malling borough council ;
Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
Flights to Warsaw
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) why Lot Airlines has been forbidden to land at Heathrow with effect from 1 November ;
(2) what intergovernmental agreements govern flights between London and Warsaw ;
(3) when and in what circumstances agreement was made between Her Majesty's Government and the Polish Government and Lot Airlines on the winter flights schedule ; and what is his policy on the number of British Airways flights between London and Warsaw ;
(4) on what occasions over the last 10 years a dispute has occurred between British Airways and the national carriers of other countries about the increase in the number of flights from London to the other country's principal
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airports where (a) Her Majesty's Government have been involved and (b) the sanction of removing the permit for the other national carriers to land at Heathrow has been imposed ;(5) when and on what basis Ministers were involved in negotiations with their Polish counterparts, and representatives of Lot Airlines, during October ;
(6) what is the policy underlying Her Majesty's Government's support for British Airways to increase the frequency of their winter flights between London and Warsaw ; and what impact he expects the increase to have on translantic flights made by United Kingdom and Polish air carriers ;
(7) what representations the Government have received from Lot Airlines or the Polish Government on the number of winter flights to Warsaw by British Airways originating in (a) London and (b) north America, and on the summer schedules.
Mr. Norris : As talks are currently taking place to resolve the difficulty over the operation of air services between the United Kingdom and Poland, I shall write to the hon. Member.
Ragwort
Sir Cranley Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he takes to prevent the spread of ragwort on land owned by his Department.
Mr. Key [holding answer 29 October 1993] : A departmental working group is examining all aspects of grassland management, including the control of injurious weeds such as ragwort. I expect to announce decisions, based on the conclusions of this group, in the new year.
M62
Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of vehicles on the M62 motorway at junction 17 have an origin or destination within the Greater Manchester area.
Mr. Key : In 1992 the annual average daily traffic flow on the section of M62 between junctions 15 and 17 was 123,400 vehicles, of which 77 per cent. had either an origin or destination within the Greater Manchester area. This figure includes traffic travelling within the Greater Manchester conurbation, including Bolton, Bury, Stockport, Oldham and Rochdale, and traffic between the Greater Manchester area and the wider road network giving access to areas outside the conurbation.
Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of vehicles on the M62 motorway at junction 17 are travelling between Merseyside and Yorkshire.
Mr. Key : Seven per cent. of vehicles travel between Merseyside and Yorkshire--including Humberside. This is just one of a series of long- distance strategic trips which are made using the M62. Others include trips between Cheshire, south-west, Wales and Shropshire to Yorkshire.
Air Carriers
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criterion is used by his Department to define a United Kingdom air carrier ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Norris : The criteria for the grant of operating licences to air carriers are laid down in EC Council regulation 2407/92 on the licensing of air carriers. The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority may grant an operating licence only to carriers whose principal place of business and registered office is in the United Kingdom. The regulation further requires that holders of operating licences should at all times be majority owned and effectively controlled by EC member states or their nationals.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
GPA-General Electric (Merger)
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will refer to the European Commission the transfer of assets from GPA to General Electric of the United States of America for consideration under the merger control regime.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The purchase of certain assets of GPA by General Electric did not fall within EC merger control jurisdiction. Following the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading, based on the information available to him, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade announced that he had decided not to refer this merger to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission on 20 October.
EC Law
Mr. Steen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will complete the scrutiny report on the operation of EC law in the United Kingdom ; who is engaged in the review ; when it will be published ; and what action he is proposing to take to eliminate over-zealous interpretation by Whitehall officials of EC directives.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The scrutiny report on the implementation and enforcement of EC law in the United Kingdom, which was undertaken by an inter-departmental team of officials, was published on 20 July of this year. The period for consultation elapsed on 30 September. The Government are preparing an action programme in the light of consultation. We shall be publishing our response by the end of the year. This will include guidance on the negotiation and implementation of EC law in the United Kingdom, aimed at eliminating over-zealous interpretation.
Deregulation Task Forces
Mr. Steen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many task forces into deregulation have now been established ; what has been the cost of servicing the task forces ; how many reports have been published ; and if they will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Eight task forces have been established, supported by a small secretariat of civil servants and secondees from the private sector. It is not possible to calculate the costs of that support in the time available. The task forces have not yet reported.
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Enforcement Agencies
Mr. Steen : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will publish his paper on "Working with Business : A Code for Enforcement Agencies" ; how many copies will be published ; to whom it will be distributed ; and what policing arrangements there will be to see that the code for enforcement agencies is enforced.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : "Working with Business : A Code for Enforcement Agencies" was published on 20 July ; 70,000 copies have been published to date and copies distributed through enforcement agencies, local offices of the Department of Trade and Industry, British chambers of commerce, the Confederation of Business Industry, and the British Retail Consortium. More than 70 enforcement agencies are aiming to publish their own codes of practice by 1 January 1994 stating how they are putting into practice the principles set down in the code. Departmental deregulation Ministers are responsible for ensuring that this is done.
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