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Driving Standards Agency-Regional Staff in Post as at 31 December 1993
Grade |North |North |West |East |East |Wales |West |South |Scotland |Metropolitan
|East |West |Midlands |Nottinghamshire<1>|Cambridgeshire<1> |East
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEO |1 |1 |1 |0 |1 |1 |0 |1 |1 |1
HEO |1 |1 |1 |1 |0 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1.5
EO |4 |2 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |2 |1 |5
AO |13.5 |6 |5 |3.5 |3 |5.4 |4 |8 |5 |18
AA |28.5 |18 |13 |10 |6.5 |11.2 |6.25 |15.5 |11 |39.5
Typist |1 |0 |0 |0.5 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1.5
Support |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |3
P.Keeper |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Telephonist |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--- |-- |-- |--
Total |51 |28 |21 |17 |11.5 |19.6 |12.25 |27.5 |19 |69.5
<1> A further 22 staff located in the headquarters office in Nottingham are partially engaged in providing finance services for the driver test booking services in Nottingham and Cambridge.
Flights (Poland)
Mr. Keen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the situation regarding the resumption of flights to and from Poland by Lot and British Airways ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : I am delighted that we have now settled the dispute in a way which is satisfactory to both sides. It has been agreed that direct services between the United Kingdom and Poland can resume from 13 March. The agreement creates enhanced opportunities for the airlines.
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It will, for instance, allow British Airways to phase in increased services over the next 12 months. This is good not only for the airlines : travellers will benefit, too, from greater choice.North Circular Road
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing all correspondence between his Department and Barnet council regarding the proposed sale by the council to his Department of land adjacent to Coppetts wood in Finchley which is now proposed to be given as exchange land for
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(a) widening the north circular road east of Falloden way and (b) widening the north circular at Regent's Park road and Great North way, showing (i) the date of each piece of correspondence, (ii) the sender and recipient and (iii) the nature of each piece of correspondence ; whether it was his Department or the council which first suggested the sale of the land to his Department ; on what date the sale was completed ; and how much was paid to the council for the land.Mr. Norris : The exchange land at Coppetts wood is the subject of compulsory purchase orders and exchange land certificates. The orders were made and the certificates were issued after consideration by an independent inspector at public inquiry.
I am placing the information requested in the Library. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 February 1994, at columns 466- 69.
The suggestion that land adjacent to Coppetts wood be acquired for use as exchange land was made first by my Department in 1985. Purchase of the land adjacent to Coppetts wood forms part of a larger transaction between the Department and Barnet council and completion has not taken place. The price to be paid is the subject of negotiations between the council and the district valuer who is acting for the Department.
Departmental Property
Mr. Enright : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what property, leased or owned for the purposes of his Department, is not currently occupied.
Mr. Norris : The position is as follows :
Her Majesty's Coastguard :
30 properties are vacant pending disposal as a result of estate rationalisation.
Driving Standards Agency :
One building is vacant and for sale.
Ports :
Two buildings are vacant and will be sold shortly.
Transport Research Laboratory :
Two buildings are vacant.
Highways Safety and Traffic Command : at 31 December 1993, 815 properties acquired for the national roads programme were vacant. Of these 204 were classified as lettable. The rest were awaiting demolition or in the process of being sold or otherwise not suitable for letting.
Heathrow Airport
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he is to have with Wandsworth borough council on the proposed increase in aircraft traffic flying into Heathrow airport ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : On 10 November 1993 we issued a consultation paper on night flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports for summer 1994 and for winter 1994-95 to summer 1998. A written response has been received from Wandsworth borough council and will be taken into account, along with all other responses received, in reaching a decision on the restrictions to apply from winter 1994-95 onwards. No discussions have been requested by Wandsworth borough council.
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Airport Runways
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the length of the runways at (a) Leeds Bradford and (b) Humberside airports.
Mr. Norris : The information requested is as follows :
Leeds Bradford airport
Runway 10/28--1,100 metres
Runway 14/32--2,250 metres
Humberside airport
Runway 03/21--2,230 metres
Runway 09/27--1,054 metres
Source : Pooley's Flight Guide 1994.
Coaches
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the checks that are made to ensure that coaches of 18 or 19 tonnes registered in other European countries are not operating on United Kingdom roads.
Mr. Key : Only coaches with three axles may operate legally on British roads at weights over 17 tonnes. The Vehicle Inspectorate has powers to weigh and prohibit coaches operating on British roads in excess of the weights permitted by British regulations. During 1993 the Vehicle Inspectorate carried out a special weighing exercise targeting international traffic. A total of 402 vehicles were stopped, of these 80 were foreign. Of the 13 foreign vehicles prohibited, 10 were registered in EC states.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions in the last year for which figures are available coaches of 18 or 19 tonnes registered in other European countries were found to be operating on United Kingdom roads ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : My Department does not collate statistics on the number of foreign coaches of 18 or 19 tonnes operating on British roads. Only coaches with three axles may legally operate over 17 tonnes on British roads. Two- axle coaches are restricted to 17 tonnes.
Heavy Goods Vehicles
Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice his Department has given to licence applicants in the restricted HGV taxation class.
Mr. Key : Since September 1993 all operators of vehicles licensed in the restricted HGV taxation class have been given advice on relicensing procedures with their licence renewal reminders. Trade associations have also been kept informed of changes in procedures.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the prohibition orders issued and the dates they were issued in respect of licence No. OB19 5660 in Pudsey ; if he will provide details of the latest licence issued ; and what are the outstanding requirements the operator must comply with ; and what further monitoring has been undertaken ;
(2) who made representations against the issue of a licence to heavy goods vehicle operator licence No. OB19 5660 in Pudsey.
Mr. Key : Decisions on, and advice given about, individual operators' licences are the responsibility of the Traffic Commissioners. I have asked the Traffic Commissioner for the North Eastern traffic area to write to the hon. Member.
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Aircraft Landing Charges
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing, for a number of typical aircraft, the landing charges expressed per passenger, on the assumption that the aircraft are 80 per cent. full at peak times at (a) Leeds Bradford and (b) Humberside airports.
Mr. Norris : The information requested is shown in the tables. All landing charges include aerodrome navigation services charges. All passenger charges include security charges. Charges are shown for both domestic and international passengers.
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The charges apply at any time of day throughout the year since there is no peak/off-peak charging structure at either airport. There are no noise rebates available at either airport. The following aircraft assumptions apply :
|Maximum take |Seats |Passengers at
|off weight |80 per cent
|(tonnes |load factor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Boeing 737-200 |53 |109 |87
Fokker 27 |19 |44 |35
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Comparison of airport charges
Total charges F27
|Landing |Pax dom |Pax intl |Total |Total intl
|flight |flight |dom |flight
|flight
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Humberside |251 |247 |399 |498 |650
Leeds Bradford |236 |219 |405 |455 |641
Total charges B737-200
Humberside |700 |613 |1,313 |1,313 |2,013
Leeds Bradford |659 |545 |1,007 |1,204 |1,666
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Charges per passenger F27
|Landing |Pax dom |Pax int |Total |total int
|dom
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Humberside |7.17 |7.05 |11.40 |14.22 |18.57
Leeds Bradford |6.75 |6.27 |11.57 |13.02 |18.32
Charges per passenger B737-200
Humberside |8.04 |7.05 |15.09 |15.09 |23.13
Leeds Bradford |7.58 |6.27 |11.57 |13.85 |19.15
Source: Civil Aviation Authority.
Late Night Trains (Midlands)
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what subsidy would be required to continue to operate late night trains between Euston and Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton as at present ;
(2) what representations he has received concerning the proposed removal of late night trains between Euston and Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton ;
(3) what study he has undertaken into the impact of the withdrawal of late night trains between Euston and Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
Mr. Freeman : I understand that BR intends to discontinue the late night 23.40 service between Euston and Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton on the grounds of low patronage. The subsidy required to continue the service cannot be accurately assessed because British Rail does not generally establish the net costs of operating individual services. At present, the InterCity service to the west midlands is not in receipt of subsidy.
I have received one representation about the removal of the train. The assessment of the impact of this change is a matter for BR.
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Motorways
Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of motorway are currently (a) open, (b) under construction and (c) planned in England either (i) as new motorway or (ii) as existing motorway being widened.
Mr. Key : There are 1,724 miles of motorway in England. At 31 January, there were 39 miles of new motorway under construction, and 27 miles of motorway widening.
The Department is currently reviewing all the schemes in preparation in the trunk road programme to determine their priority. The results of the review are expected to be announced shortly.
Bus Lanes
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to encourage London local authorities to extend and develop bus lanes in the Greater London area.
Mr. Norris : The Department has allocated £6.25 million in 1994 -95 to the London authorities for bus priority schemes in London which will include the
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provision of bus lanes where they are appropriate. This includes £2.5 million towards the design of a comprehensive London-wide bus priority network.A56
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the capability and capacity of the A56 to handle any increased traffic flows following completion of the M65-M6 link.
Mr. Key : None. This is a matter for Lancashire county council as highway authority for the A56. However, our studies have shown that the M65 -M6 link could increase traffic on the M65 east of Blackburn by some 11 per cent. We estimate, from the transpennine study, that between 9,000 and 11,000 vehicles per day will use the A56 east of Colne after the link road is opened.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what request he has received from British Nuclear Fuels plc to permit the transport of radioactive wastes from the Drigg site to Sellafield in transport containers that do not meet the International Atomic Energy Agency standards ; and if he will make a statement on the conditions under which his Department is able to grant the equivalent of Crown immunity to the movement of radioactive cargoes.
Mr. Key : The Department has received an application for a special arrangement transport operation to move this material and is assessing it.
Special arrangement transport operations are permitted under the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations when all of the applicable requirements of the regulations cannot be met. Such arrangements may be approved by a competent authority provided that the overall level of safety in transport is at least equivalent to that which would be provided if all the applicable requirements had been complied with. It is not a question of Crown immunity or any equivalent.
Grants
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of all grants paid in the last 12 months (a) under the freight facilities grant scheme and (b) in respect of the new track areas grant scheme ; how much is available for grant ; and how applications are to be made.
Mr. Freeman : Payments totalling £2 million have been made to five companies during the last 12 months. In addition, two new grants have been awarded on which no claims have yet been submitted. No payments can be made under the track access grant scheme until it is introduced next month. The provisional budget for the next three years for both grants is £43 million. Guidance for applicants will be published shortly.
A11
Mr. Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated cost of the A11 Wymondham bypass.
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Mr. Key : The tender figure for the A11 Besthope to Wymondham improvement contract is £16,506,805. The cost of the whole scheme including land etcetera VAT and ancillary works, is likely to be in the order of £26 million at today's prices.
M62 Relief Road
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will make a decision on the application by Mr. and Mrs. Whitehead for the advance purchase of 45 Glen avenue, Worsley, Salford, which is affected by the proposed M62 relief road.
Mr. Key : As soon as our consideration of the case is complete.
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to reply to the letter dated 21 January from Mr. L. A. Brock, 12 Hawthorne drive, Worsley, Salford.
Mr. Key : A reply, on behalf of my right hon. Friend, was given on 28 February.
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications he has received for the advance purchase of houses in Roe Green, Worsley, Salford, affected by the proposed M62 relief road.
Mr. Key : Fourteen applications from Roe Green, 18 applications from Worsley and 10 applications from Salford.
Motorway Tolls
Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it will be a condition of the grant of a license to operate a private motorway that vehicles driven by disabled people and exempt from vehicle excise duty shall travel toll free.
Mr. Key [holding answer 14 March 1994] : The only current legislation under which any new motorway could be subject to tolls is the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, which inter alia provides that vehicles in this category are exempt from tolls. New powers would be needed to toll existing motorways ; it would be for Parliament to consider whether any vehicles should be exempt from tolls.
Airports (Crime)
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish a table showing, for each standard region, separately for men and women and as an overall total, the number of incidents of (a) violent crime and (b) sexual assault at United Kingdom airports for 1992 and 1993.
Mr. Maclean : I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is not available centrally.
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DEFENCE
Defence Contracts
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 24 February, Official Report, column 383, if he will state the month and year that each memorandum of understanding was signed for as many years since 1979 as are available.
Mr. Aitken : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 9 February, Official Report, column 254.
River Class Minesweepers
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the River class minesweepers.
Mr. Hanley : The Royal Navy's River class vessels retain only a very limited mine countermeasures capability as a result of significant advances in mine technology. Consequently, over the last year, these vessels have been either re-roled or withdrawn from service as surplus to requirements. Under current plans, five River class vessels will remain in operational service with the Royal Navy, four as patrol craft and one as a training ship. The remaining seven vessels in the class will be sold.
Trident
Ms Rachel Squire : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the costings for the Trident facility at Devonport ; to what extent these are on target ; and how they have altered since the refitting decision was made.
Mr. Aitken : The project to develop the Trident facility at Devonport is in its early stages but progressing satisfactorily as to time and cost. The costings have not altered since the decision was made to concentrate nuclear refitting at Devonport.
RAF Strike Command, High Wycombe
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the expenditure from public funds to refurbish the homes of the Commander-in-Chief and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of RAF Strike Command, High Wycombe.
Mr. Hanley : On 1 July 1994, the present Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command takes up the full-time appointment of
Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northwest, a new NATO command replacing Allied Forces North. As is normal in these circumstances it is a United Kingdom responsibility to provide him with appropriate accommodation, and he will continue to occupy his present official residence. This change of appointment creates a need for a suitable residence for his successor, as Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command, the present deputy Commander-in- Chief RAF Strike Command, and a married quarter at RAF High Wycombe is being upgraded for this purpose. At the same time a United Kingdom- maintained residence in Oslo for the United Kingdom officer holding the post of Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces North will be given up. It is my
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Department's practice to provide service officers in senior command appointments with residences which allow them to offer official hospitality and entertainment commensurate with their status.Military Reaction Force
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Military Reaction Force was established ; what is its purpose ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : The Military Reaction Force was a small military unit which, during the period 1971 to 1973, was responsible for carrying out essential surveillance tasks in Northern Ireland in those circumstances where soldiers in uniform and with Army vehicles would be too easily recognised.
RAF Hendon
Mr. Gorst : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy that when his Department disposes of its interest in the land at east camp RAF Hendon it will be a condition of the sale that any new owner will be required to dismantle and reconstruct the listed Grahame- White hangar on adjacent land set aside for the RAF museum by his Department in accordance with the written undertaking given to the hon. Member for Hendon, North by his Department on 8 September 1989.
Mr. Hanley : An MOD-commissioned survey by an architectural consultant, Mr. Graham Savage, ARIBA, concluded that it would not be practicable to dismantle and reassemble the Grahame-White hangar without destroying many of its original features. My Department is therefore proposing, subject to the necessary listed building consent being obtained, that it is taken down carefully to ensure as much as possible of the structure, including the Belfast roof trusses, is preserved and transferred to the RAF museum.
Copia
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received concerning the loss of the fishing vessel Copia ; what help he is able to provide with the recovery of the bodies of the crew ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence wrote on 14 March in response to the hon. Member's earlier representation about the loss of the fishing vessel Copia on 14 December 1993. Responsibility for investigating fatal accidents in Scotland rests with my noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate, through his local representative, the procurator fiscal.
The investigation into the loss of the fishing vessel Copia is being conducted on the procurator fiscal's behalf by Strathclyde police and it is a matter for the procurator fiscal to decide upon what action is necessary to pursue his inquiries. The marine accident investigation branch of the Department of Transport is also investigating the incident. We are willing, in this, as in other cases, to provide assistance should we be asked to do so.
D-day
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers are participating in the steering group responsible for co- ordinating the United Kingdom's
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involvement in D-day commemorations ; how often the group plans to meet ; and in what form the group's deliberations will be published.Mr. Hanley : The ministerial steering group directing the Government's official 50th anniversary of D-day commemorative events is chaired by my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence. The deputy chairman is my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State for National Heritage. At present, the group meets every two weeks ; as its deliberations are often informal they are not published.
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