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Kent Action GroupCouncil for the Protection of Rural England (Kent Branch) Kent Trust for Nature Conservation
Mid-Ken Long Tunnel Joint Committee
Weald of Kent Preservation Society
Public Transport (Financial Inducements)
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to give travellers financial inducements to use public transport in line with Her Majesty's Government's policy.
Mr. Freeman : It is not Government policy to offer travellers direct financial inducements to use public transport. The Government believe that the prices people pay for transport should reflect the costs and benefits of their use. However, local authorities have discretion to provide concessionary fares for pensioners and some other groups of people, which are funded with central Government assistance.
There are also substantial grants and subsidies available to public transport operators. In 1992-93, British Rail received £1.15 billion in PSO grant, representing an increase of 40 per cent. in real terms on 1991-92. The 1993 autumn Budget settlement will provide nearly £3 billion in support to London Transport over the next three years. This includes funds for the Jubilee line extension.
The bus industry will also benefit from fuel duty rebate. In 1993-94 this will total around £200 million. Bus operators can also reclaim all VAT paid on the pump price of fuel provided they are VAT registered. VAT on passenger transport is zero rated. The Government are also working with the bus industry and local authorities on ways to make bus travel more attractive, for example through traffic management measures to speed up journey times.
The Government have also introduced other measures which should indirectly encourage the use of public transport services. These include the commitment in the 1993 autumn Budget to increase road fuel duties in future Budgets by at least 5 per cent. in real terms which should act as an incentive to road users to minimise their transport costs through the use of more fuel efficient vehicles and, where appropriate, the use of public transport alternatives. In addition, central Government and local authorities are carrying out research on the feasibility of city congestion charging. If implemented this could signi-ficantly improve the viability and attractiveness of public transport.
London Underground
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he has had discussions with the chairman of London Underground on improving the service on the Central line.
Mr. Norris : I regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Chairman of London Underground.
Blackwall Third Crossing
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an announcement about the Blackwall third crossing.
Mr. Norris : I will make an announcement once I have considered all the views put to me.
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East London Line
Ms Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further work he expects to be undertaken in the next year on plans for the extension of the east London line.
Mr. Norris : London Underground Ltd submitted an application to the Secretary of State for an order under the Transport and Works Act 1992 to grant it powers to construct the proposed northern extension to the East London line on 30 November 1993. If powers are granted, it is envisaged that the scheme would be taken forward as a joint venture with the private sector.
Traffic Growth
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will specify the range of measures to reduce environmental impacts of transport and influence traffic growth that the Government are pursuing.
Mr. Key : In the November Budget speech, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an 8-10 per cent. increase in road fuel duties. He also announced that in future Budgets he will increase duty on all road fuels by at least 5 per cent. in real terms. This will encourage all motorists to use fuel more wisely.
Tight new EC emission standards for both cars and lorries are coming in over the next few years. Most new cars have needed catalytic converters since the beginning of 1993. These reduce harmful emissions by about 80 per cent.
The MOT emissions check introduced for cars in November 1991 is helping to reduce emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. Since 1 September 1993 there has been a metered smoke test in the annual test for heavy diesels. Since 1 February 1994 there has also been a metered smoke test for diesel cars.
Measures to reduce congestion in urban areas will also help--these involve a mix of traffic management, parking controls and better public transport. The Department is undertaking a programme of research on congestion, which includes an assessment of the possible role of road pricing.
In London, for example, the Department is introducing a network of red routes designed to improve the movement of traffic. Journeys on these routes will be smoother with less stopping and starting. This will mean less pollution. Associated traffic management and parking guidance includes proposals for moderating traffic growth and the opportunities for parking in London which have a part to play in containing pollution.
The introduction of the "package approach" encourages local authorities to develop a coherent strategy for dealing with urban traffic problems and provides more flexibility for funding between modes.
Carbon Dioxide Emmissions
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what initiatives he is taking in the transport sector which, although primarily designed to achieve other ends including reducing traffic congestion or improving road safety, will have a beneficial effect on carbon dioxide emmissions.
Mr. Key : The most important measure to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the transport sector is the commitment to raise fuel duties by at least 5 per cent. in real terms. This will save some 2.5MtC in the year 2000.
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Other measures which will have a beneficial effect on carbon dioxide emissions include the introduction of an emissions check into the MOT test which encourages people to keep their engines in tune. We have required speed limiters for new heavy lorries since August 1992 and for many of the heaviest existing lorries from August 1993. We are also discussing with our partners in the European Union how best to encourage manufacturers to produce more fuel efficient cars. The Government are supporting high investment in rail and it is working with the bus industry and local authorities on ways to make bus travel more attractive eg through traffic management measures to speed up journey times.Together with the Department of the Environment, we are together looking at how planning controls can encourage new development to be located where it can reduce the need for car travel and increase transport choice.
Civil Aviation Authority
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who are the members currently appointed to the Civil Aviation Authority.
Mr. Norris : The current members of the board of the Civil Aviation Authority are :
Executive members
The right hon. Christopher Chataway (Chairman)
Mr. Thomas Murphy, CBE
Mr. Michael Willett
Mr. Cliff Paice
Mr. Derek McLauchlan
Non-executive members
Mr. Raymond Birdseye
Mr. Leslie Priestley
Mr. Richard Sturt
Mr. Peter Grant
Captain Gilbert Gray
Ms Ann Burdus
Mr. Anthony Blackman, OBE
Air Vice-Marshal Bertrand Brownlow, CB, OBE, AFC
Mr. Frank Vibert
Mr. Roderick Lynch
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London Underground
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing, separately for men and women and as an overall total, the number of incidents of (a) violent crime and (b) sexual assault on London Underground for 1992 and 1993.
Mr. Norris [pursuant to his answer, 31 January 1994, col. 505] : There were some errors in the figures quoted for violent crimes and sexual offences on London Underground in 1992 and 1993. The correct figures are shown in the table.
Violent crimes Sexual offences Overall
Year |Robbery |<1>Assault|Male |Female |total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992 |479 |636 |11 |251 |1,377
1993 |495 |628 |7 |248 |1,378
Source: British Transport Police figures supplied to London Underground.
<1>Figure includes all assaults on passengers, staff and the police (not all
of which in the latter category being necessarily of a violent nature).
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
West Midlands Serious Crime Squad
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the cases still pending before the Court of Appeal involving members of the West Midlands serious crimes squad.
The Attorney-General : Currently, there are five cases before the Court of Appeal. They are as follows :
Martin P. Foran
Roy Meads
Anthony M. Jones
Trevor McCalla
Abdul Rasheed
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his answer of 3 February, Official Report, column 833, if he will list the cases involving members of the West Midlands serious crimes squad where convictions have been quashed on appeal.
The Attorney-General : The 23 appellants whose appeals have been allowed by the Court of Appeal are as follows :
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Defendant/Appellant |Offence |Date -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Khan Hassan |Robbery |23 February 1990 Edwards John |Robbery |2 November 1990 Wellington Constantine |Robbery |25 March 1990 Cheetham Geoffrey |Conspiracy to rob |30 July 1992 Gall Ronald T. |Assault occasioning actual bodily harm |14 January 1992 Gall Gerard |Robbery |14 January 1992 Lynch Daniel |Robbery |14 January 1992 Cooke Valentine P. |Robbery |14 January 1992 Haughton Robert |Conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm|14 May 1992 Hare Delroy |Robbery |19 May 1992 Bromell Michael T. |Unlawful wounding |22 June 1992 Binham Gary M. |Theft |28 January 1993 Horobin Leslie B. |Robbery |1 April 1993 Wilcox Kevin |Robbery |1 April 1993 Fryer Raymond |Robbery |1 April 1993 Francis Adolphus |Robbery |27 April 1993 Jeffers Elvis |Robbery |27 April 1993 Lindo Paul R. |Grievous bodily harm |12 October 1993 Hinds George A. |Theft |2 December 1993 Smith Patrick |Robbery |20 January 1994 Williams Seymour |Robbery |20 January 1994 Lewis George G. |Robbery |4 February 1994 Tanochan |Murder |27 January 1994
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Attorney-General how many documents, and how many pages, have now been submitted to the Scott inquiry by the legal secretariat to the Law Officers.
The Attorney-General : A total of 288 documents, amounting to 1,697 pages, have been submitted by the legal secretariat to the Law Officers.
Combat 18
Mr. Madden : To ask the Attorney-General if he will refer to the Director of Public Prosecutions publications issued by Combat 18 which urge the public to make nuisance telephone calls to named individuals, with a view to prosecuting those responsible for publishing and printing such publications.
The Attorney-General : I understand that the police service, which is responsible for the investigation of alleged criminal offences, is aware of the activities of Combat 18, including the publications to which the hon. Member refers. The role of the Crown Prosecution Service, when involved at the investigation stage, is to provide legal advice to the police relevant to their inquiries, and thereafter to conduct any criminal proceedings which may be appropriate.
Equipment Theft
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Attorney-General if he will publish a list of the equipment stolen from the Law Officers' Departments in the last three years for which information is available ; and what was the approximate value of each item.
The Attorney-General : No equipment has been stolen from my own office during the last three years. Equipment stolen from the Treasury Solicitor's department, the Serious Fraud Office and the Crown Prosecution Service is listed in the table.
Date |Items |Approximate
|value of items
|(£)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1991 |1 Video recorder |400
October 1991 |1 Personal computer and 5 Printers |8,300
January 1992 |4 Personal computers |7,250
February 1992 |4 PC system boxes |4,700
March 1992 |1 Personal computer |1,000
May 1992 |1 Facsimile machine |1,400
July 1992 |2 Dictaphones |100
August 1992 |3 Printers and 1 Dictaphone machine |3,009
September 1992 |1 Laptop computer |300
December 1992 |11 Personal computers and 1 Printer |17,250
January 1993 |1 Personal computer, 1 Printer and
|1 Telephone handset |2,130
February 1993 |1 Personal computer and 1 Printer |2,000
March 1993 |1 Personal computer, 2 Printers and
|1 Video recorder |3,450
April 1993 |1 Computer monitor |200
May 1993 |1 PC system box |600
June 1993 |6 Dictaphones |600
August 1993 |3 Calculators |12
December 1993 |4 Personal computers, 4 Printers and
|1 Facsimile |9,000
January 1994 |4 PC system boxes |2,400
|Total |64,101
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Public Appointments
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who are the members currently appointed to the Agriculture and Food Research Council.
Mr. Waldegrave : The current members of the Agricultural and Food Research Council are as follows :
Sir Alistair Grant (Chairman)
Professor T. L. Blundell, FRS
(Secretary and Deputy Chairman)
Dr. P. J. Bunyan
Mr. C. R. Cann
Professor E. C. D. Cocking, FRS
Professor J. R. Coggins, FRSE
Professor P. James, CBE
Sir Sam Edwards, FRS
Mr. D. F. R. George, OBE
Mr. A. B. N. Gill
Professor R. M. Hicks, OBE
Professor G. Horn, FRS
Mr. R. M. Knapman, MP
Professor J. R. Krebs, FRS
Professor C. J. Leaver, FRS
Professor R. Leech
Dr. T. Little
Professor T. A. Mansfield, FRS
Mr. K. MacKenzie
Mr. J. L. C. Provan
Mr. G. T. Pryce
Dr. D. W. F. Shannon
Professor W. V. Shaw
Dr. Wright : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the various sources used to compile the public appointments unit central list, what categories are used by the public appointments unit to sort these names and if he will list them by percentage ; and what per cent. of the names on the public appointments unit central list are self- nominated.
Mr. David Davis : The public appointments unit receives names of suitable candidates for registration on the central list in a number of ways including nominations from other Government Departments, professional and representative organisations, and recommendations from individuals including Members of Parliament from all parties, who know of the work of the unit. Self-nominations are also welcome and account for 38 per cent. of the names on the list. The categories used to sort the names are as follows :
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T
Source of nomination |Percentage of
|names on the
|central list
|(February 1994)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Self-nomination |38.3
Departmental |32.6
Professional/representative organisations |16.1
Personal recommendation |11.6
Ministerial, MPs and political groups |1.4
Executive Agency Chief Executives
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list all executive agency chief executives, their age on appointment, their current salaries, including bonuses, and the salaries of analogous civil service grades.
Mr. David Davis : A list of all agency chief executives is reproduced in the table. The national salary ranges of grades 1A to 6 are as follows :
Grade |Salary --------------------------------------------- Grade1A |£82,925 Grade2 |£64,307-75,328 Grade3 |£51,360-59,599 Grade4 |£44,390-53,740 Grade5 |£36,019-53,740 Grade6 |£27,660-46,122
Information on the age of chief executives on appointment and their current salaries is not held centrally.
Agency Chief Executives
Existing agencies--
1. Accounts Services Agency : Michael Hoddinott
2. ADAS : Dr. Julia Walsh
3. Army Base Repair Organisation : Brigadier Jim Drew 4. Building Research Establishment : Roger Courtney
5. CADW : John Carr
6. Central Office of Information : Mike Devereau
7. Central Science Laboratory : Dr. Peter Stanley
8. Central Statistical Office : Bill McLennan
9. Central Veterinary Laboratory : Dr. Tony Little
10. Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment :
Dr. Graham Pearson CB
11. Chessington Computer Centre : Bob Edwards
12. Civil Service College : Miss Marianne Neville-Rolfe 13. Companies House : David Durham
14. Compensation Agency (N. Ireland) : John Robinson
15. Defence Accounts Agency : Mike Dymond
16. Defence Analytical Services Agency : Paul Altobell 17. Defence Animal Centre : Colonel Paul Jepson
18. Defence Operational Analysis Centre :
Dr. David Leadbeater
19. Defence Postal and Courier Services Agency :
Brigadier Michael Browne
20. Defence Research Agency : John Chisholm
21. Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency : Stephen Curtis 22. Driver and Vehicle Licensing (N. Ireland) :
Brendan Magee
23. Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency : Brian Watson
24. Driving Standards Agency : Dr. John Ford
25. Duke of York's Royal Military School : Colonel Gordon Wilson 26. Employment Service : Mike Fogden
27. Fire Service College : Brian Fuller CBE
28. Forensic Science Service : Dr. Janet Thompson
29. Government Property Lawyers : Tony Osborne
30. Her Majesty's Prison Service : Derek Lewis
31. Historic Royal Palaces : David Beeton
32. Historic Scotland : Graeme Munro
33. HMSO : Dr. Paul Freeman CB
34. Hydrographic Office : Rear Admiral John Myres
35. Insolvency Service : Peter Joyce
36. Intervention Board : Guy Stapleton
37. Laboratory of the Government Chemist : Dr. Richard Worswick 38. Land Registry : John Manthorpe
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