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Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the cost of the Landscape Advisory Committee in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. Key : Over the last 10 years, expenditure incurred by Landscape Advisory Committee members on travel, subsistence and accommodation in connection with Committee meetings and site visits has been as follows :
Year |Cost (£) --------------------------- 1984-85 |17,532 1985-86 |21,520 1986-87 |19,475 1987-88 |19,810 1988-89 |18,555 1989-90 |28,974 1990-91 |52,062 1991-92 |47,155 1992-93 |53,898 1993-94 |48,593
In addition, the Committee was supported throughout this period by a secretariat consisting of two full-time staff whose costs including salaries and accommodation amounted to around £60,000 in 1993-94. Substantial costs were also incurred by officials and consultants attending meetings and site visits and preparing briefing material. These costs are not held centrally.
Rail Privatisation
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the three rolling stock companies will tell passenger railway service operators how much they will be charged for using their rolling stock in the current financial year.
Mr. Freeman : The timing of this is a matter for the British Rail board. I understand from British Rail that the rolling stock companies intend to issue indicative prices within the next two or three weeks.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the terms of the shadow franchise agreements for the six railway shadow franchises which came into operation on 1 April will be finalised ; and whether the terms of the agreements including the minimum service specification and the performance standards will be made public.
Mr. Freeman : It is the franchising director's intention to finalise the details of the shadow franchise agreements for the first six franchises within the next few months. These will be made public except in so far as that might damage the commercial interest of the businesses concerned.
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Cyclists (Protective Headgear)
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the possibility of requiring all cyclists to wear protective headgear on public roads.
Mr. Key : The benefits of cycle helmets are well established, particularly for children and young adults who are most at risk of injury when cycling. Research shows that good standard cycle helmets reduce the chance of head injury by 85 per cent. and brain injury by 88 per cent. We actively promote helmet wearing but are not minded to regulate to make it a criminal offence to ride a bicycle without a helmet.
Road Bridge Repairs
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates he has made of (a) his Department's annual spending on and (b) the annual grant to local authorities for repairs to road bridges for each year since 1985 and in each of the years of the current public expenditure White Paper.
Year |Department of |Local
|transport |authority
|capital |expenditure
|expenditure on|accepted for
|trunk road |transport
|structures |supplementary
|grant (TSG)
|£ million |£ million
------------------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |7 |-
1986-87 |37 |-
1987-88 |51 |-
1988-89 |31 |-
1989-90 |66 |-
1990-91 |87 |-
1991-92 |120 |91
1992-93 |116 |111
1993-94 |129 |137
1994-95 |150 |137
1995-96 |155 |-
1996-97 |155 |-
Notes:
1. Department of Transport Expenditure on Trunk Road
Structures:
a. figures up to and including 1992-93 are actual outturn
expenditure;
b. the figure for 1993-94 is estimated outturn expenditure;
c. figures for 1994-95 onwards are planned expenditure by
the Highways Agency.
2. Local Authority expenditure accepted for TSG:
a. grant is paid at a rate of 50 of accepted expenditure;
b. resources for local authority bridge maintenance were
transferred from Revenue Support Grant (RSG-paid by DOE) to
TSG in 1991-92. The Department of Transport has no details
of allocations to local authorities for this purpose in
earlier years;
c. levels of support for bridges for 1995-96 onwards have
not yet been determined.
Bus Companies
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to require local authorities to divest their interests in bus companies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : It is our policy that all the remaining local authority-owned bus companies should be transferred to the private sector. We have been encouraging their voluntary sale. I am pleased that 28, including most
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recently Greater Manchester Buses, have already been sold. Measures to require the sale of local authority bus companies will be introduced when a suitable legislative opportunity occurs.Airspace
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many unauthorised penetrations of controlled or regulated airspace were reported in each year since 1988 ; and what proportion of the number in each year were by military aircraft.
Mr. Norris : As this is a matter within the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority, I am asking the chairman of the CAA to write to the hon. Member.
School Minibuses (Accidents)
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children have been killed or injured in accidents involving school minibuses in each region in each of the last five years.
Mr. Key : The information requested is shown in the table.
Minibus<1> casualties: Number of school pupils<2> killed or injured:
Great Britain 1988-92
Departmental regions |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |10 |9 |10 |9 |16
Yorkshire/Humberside |18 |10 |25 |22 |20
East Midlands |9 |16 |37 |36 |34
Eastern |49 |38 |41 |47 |41
South-East |34 |35 |50 |26 |38
Greater London |10 |9 |18 |0 |32
South West |24 |31 |28 |7 |29
West Midlands |24 |26 |12 |21 |10
North West |56 |28 |54 |21 |13
England |234 |202 |275 |189 |233
Wales |24 |33 |14 |40 |45
Scotland |51 |36 |48 |23 |42
|--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Total |309 |271 |337 |252 |320
<1> Includes motor caravans.
<2> Aged 0-15.
London Heliport Study Group
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current membership of the London heliport study group ; and when it is expected to report.
Mr. Norris : The membership of the London heliport study working group comprises representatives of the Department of Transport, Department of the Environment, Department of Trade and Industry, Civil Aviation Authority, British Helicopter Advisory Board, London Planning Advisory Committee, and Westland London heliport. The group expects to report by summer 1994.
River Thames Working Group
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the objectives of the River Thames working group ; and when the group will report to him.
Mr. Norris : The River Thames working group, which I chair, is reviewing current transport uses of the River Thames and possible constraints on those uses. It will
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establish the potential for the development of the river for transport, particularly freight, alongside other river interests, and identify and encourage private sector-led initiatives. My Department has recently engaged Wootton Jeffreys Consultants Ltd. to assist it in analysing the information that the group has received following a wide-ranging consultation exercise which I launched last year. The working group is aiming to complete its report in July.Channel Tunnel
Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many heavy goods vehicles have suffered shattered windscreens during trial runs through the channel tunnel ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Commissioning of the tunnel system is a matter for Eurotunnel. I understand that no vehicle windscreens have been shattered.
Motorcycles (Leg Protectors)
Mr. Hoon : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department is planning into leg protectors for motor cycles.
Mr. Key : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 March to a question tabled by the late hon. Member for Bradford, South, Official Report, column 107.
Marine Safety Agency
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the cost of setting up the new Marine Safety Agency.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 18 April 1994] : The additional cost for setting up the Marine Safety Agency was approximately £253,000.
Coastguard Service
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the cost of setting up the new Coastguard Agency and replacing the National Coastguard Service.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 18 April 1994] : The cost of setting up the Coastguard Agency, comprising Her Majesty's Coastguard and the marine pollution control unit was £231,000.
Air Traffic Control
Mr. Day : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether the recently published joint National Air Traffic Service and International Air Transport Association recommendation leaflet concerning runway occupancy times and the need for pilots of landing aircraft to ensure expeditious clearance of the runway has been approved by the safety regulation group of the regulatory authority ; and whether the associated air traffic procedures have been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority's air traffic control standards department ;
(2) what are the reasons for establishing a runway hourly movement monitor to compare actual movement rates achieved with the declared runway capacity and for the requirement of air traffic controllers at Manchester to submit to an internal management investigation if they fail to achieve the declared hourly movement rate.
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Mr. Norris [holding answer 18 April 1994] : As these two questions concern matters that are within the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority, I am asking the chairman of the CAA to write to the hon. Member.
Railtrack
Mr. Patrick Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to meet the chairman of Railtrack to discuss the tendering timetable for retail developments ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 18 April 1994] : My right hon. Friend and I regularly meet the chairman of Railtrack to discuss a range of issues, including opportunities for retail developments on Railtrack property. We expect Railtrack to report during the summer on the prospects for retail and development opportunities at certain major stations.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Animal Welfare
Dr. Strang : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if all sheep exported from the United Kingdom to Spain for slaughter and for further fattening (a) have been and (b) will be slaughtered in abattoirs which are guaranteed by the Spanish Government as complying with directive 74/577/EEC requiring the stunning of animals before slaughter.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The answer given to the hon. Member for Glanford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 16 February, Official Report, column 847, set out the arrangements for ensuring that animals for immediate slaughter in Spain would be sent only to
slaughterhouses that the Spanish authorities had confirmed as meeting Community welfare rules. These arrangements do not apply to animals for further fattening. The Government have, however, agreed further safeguards with the Spanish authorities under which they will carry out checks to ensure that consignments for slaughter or further fattening are correctly described.
Norwegian Fisheries Regime
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if she will outline the conservation and control regime for fisheries allowed to Norway under the entry agreement with the EEC in (a) northern waters and (b) the rest of Norwegian fishing grounds ; and in which ways this departs from the common fisheries policy as applied in British waters ;
(2) what proposals she has for extending the Norwegian management and control regime for fisheries permitted under the entry agreement with the EU to British waters ; and what plans she has to urge that such a regime be extended to other national waters.
Mr. Jack : In waters north of 62 deg. north, for a transitional period of three years from accession, Norway is authorised to maintain :
(a) national control measures which involve, for example, making rendezvous with inspectors at sea, and
(b) the ban on discarding fish at sea and the system for opening and closing fisheries in biologically sensitive zones, neither of which policies is applied by the CFP.
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Norway is also authorised to maintain the existing technical conservation measures--national mesh size rules, forexample--applicable north of 62 deg. north for one year.
South of 62 deg. north, for a transitional period of one year from accession, Norway is authorised to maintain national control measures, the discard ban and the existing technical conservation measures applying in these waters.
Before the end of these transitional periods the Council will decide on future arrangements with the objective of incorporating Norwegian practices into the CFP where appropriate. The discussions in the Council will provide an opportunity to consider the applicability of these measures outside existing Norwegian waters.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when she last met members of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations to discuss the Norwegian accession.
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Mr. Jack : I briefed representatives of the NFFO and of other fishermen's organisations fully on the outcome of the Norwegian accession negotiations on 22 March.
Reserve Stocks
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current size in terms of (a) weight and (b) volume of the European Communities' reserve stocks of (a) cereals, (b) beef, (c) grain, (d) butter, (e) milk and (f) wine ; and how these have varied since 1979.
Mr. Jack : Tables showing current levels of all produce held in intervention within the European Community are deposited in the Library of the House at monthly intervals, most recently on 8 April. The information currently held in the House Library goes back to January 1985 ; figures for earlier years were not prepared on the same basis, but the table gives intervention stocks as at 31 December for the years 1979-84.
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European Community Foodstuffs held in Public Intervention Storage ('000 tonnes)
Commodity |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Butter |271 |128 |9 |100 |692 |841
Skimmed Milk Powder |227 |230 |286 |567 |990 |617
Wheat |1,821 |4,914 |2,978 |6,300 |6,857 |8,782
Barley |69 |1,086 |740 |1,625 |1,102 |1,845
Rye |549 |513 |321 |293 |249 |426
Durum |143 |157 |307 |771 |714 |858
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total Cereals |2,582 |6,670 |4,346 |8,989 |8,922 |11,911
Beef |275 |302 |181 |203 |372 |610
Wine Alcohol (million litres) |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |2
Note:
n/a = not applicable (no Public Intervention Storage arrangements).
Animals (Transport)
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action she has taken to raise awareness of issues of welfare in the transportation of live animals with the Governments of other member states.
Mr. Soames : The Government take every opportunity in the Council of Agriculture Ministers and elsewhere to press for our high standards of animal welfare during transport to be applied throughout the European Community.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what animal identification methods will be acceptable under the EU directive 92/65/EEC on the import and export of animals.
Mr. Soames : The current arrangements for identifying animals for import and export are not altered by directive 92/65 except in the case of cats and dogs imported into the United Kingdom. From 1 July 1994 traded cats and dogs imported under the directive will have to be identified with an implanted microchip.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether Ministers of her Department have supported in meetings of the Council of Ministers a maximum journey time of eight hours for livestock.
Mr. Soames : In Community negotiations the United Kingdom is taking full account of the case for journey limits and how they could be enforced.
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European Directives
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what actions (a) the European Commission and (b) other member states can take against member states that do not enforce implementation of European directives.
Mr. Jack : Where the European Commission considers that a member state has failed to fulfil a Community obligation it may, in accordance with article 169 of the treaty of Rome, deliver a reasoned opinion, after giving the member state the opportunity to submit its observations. If the member state does not comply with the opinion, the Commission may bring the matter before the European Court of Justice. Similarly, if a member state considers that another member state has failed to fulfil a Community obligation it may, under article 170 of the treaty of Rome, bring the matter before the European Court of Justice. Before it does so, however, it must give the Commission an opportunity to consider the dispute.
Fisheries Council
Mr. Harris : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the outcome of the Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 12 April.
Mr. Jack : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) on 13 April 1994, Official Report, columns 183-84.
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Premium Payments
Mr. Tyler : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the budget, in real and nominal terms, for England in (i) 1991, (ii) 1992, (iii) 1993
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and (iv) her estimate for 1994 for (a) the sheep annual premium, (b) the suckler cow premium and (c) the beef special premium.Mr. Jack : The table shows expenditure by financial year under the sheep annual premium, the suckler cow premium and the beef special premium schemes in nominal terms and at constant 1991-92 prices.
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£ million
Scheme |1991-92 |1992-93 |1993-94 |1994-95
|forecast |estimate
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheep annual premium |Nominal |117 |139 |208 |183
|At 1991-92 prices|117 |135 |198 |n/a
Suckler cow premium |Nominal |34 |34 |31 |56
|At 1991-92 prices|34 |33 |29 |n/a
Beef special premium |Nominal |26 |20 |49 |69
|At 1991-92 prices|26 |20 |47 |n/a
Fruit and Vegetables
Sir Teddy Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the total amounts of fruit and vegetables destroyed by the European Community in 1991-92 ; what was the purpose of such destruction ; and when comparable figures will be produced for 1992-93.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 18 April 1994] : The information, produced by the Commission, on the destruction of fruit and vegetables withdrawn from the market in 1991-92 is as follows :
Product |Quantity destroyed
|(tonnes)
---------------------------------------------------------
Cauliflowers |40,503
Apricots |93,653
Tomatoes |49,370
Aubergines |543
Nectarines |36,362
Peaches |336,992
Lemons |13,445
Pears |634
Grapes |291
Apples |26,134
Satsumas |<1>-
Mandarins |2,723
Clementines |1,654
Oranges |154,943
<1>- No withdrawals.
The EC fruit and vegetable regime provides growers with compensation for withdrawing produce from the market when prices fall below a certain level. This produce may be disposed of by several means with destruction being a last resort once all other alternative uses have been exhausted. The Government consider that the system sustains overproduction and are therefore pressing the Commission for a radical reform of the arrangements.
We expect the Commission to produce comparable figures for 1992-93 shortly.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Departmental Accommodation
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the estimated total cost of the refurbishment of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office accommodatoin at 11 Belgrave road, London SW1.
Mr. Goodlad : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not responsible for 11 Belgrave road, London SW1.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the estimated total cost of the refurbishment to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building, Marlborough house.
Mr. Goodlad : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not responsible for Marlborough house.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the estimated total cost of the refurbishment to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building, Depot, Chadwick street, London SW1.
Mr. Goodlad : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not responsible for Depot, Chadwick street, London SW1.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the estimated total cost of the refurbishment of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building, Thames house, Millbank, London SW1.
Mr. Goodlad : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not responsible for Thames house, Millbank, London SW1.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the estimated total cost of the refurbishment to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building, 1 to 19 Victoria street, London SW1.
Mr. Goodlad : The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not responsible for 1 to 19 Victoria street, London SW1.
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Sudan
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what administrative framework the IGADD nations have set up to ensure the implementation of the recent agreement in Nairobi between the participants in the Sudanese civil war.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer to his written question on 13 April at column 206.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration he has given to appointing a full- time Nairobi-based diplomat to monitor both political and aid issues particularly in southern Sudan ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Staffing requirements at all overseas posts are kept under regular review. We are currently satisfied with the coverage of southern Sudan which we receive from our missions in Khartoum and Nairobi.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in Sudan to introduce zones of tranquility in line with the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development agreement in Nairobi.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : A sub-committee has been set up to implement the agreements reached at the recent IGADD talks. It is still too early to establish what progress this sub-committee can make.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is being done by Britain and the European Union to give practical support to the IGADD talks on Sudan in Nairobi ; and what action is now planned by (a) the international community and (b) the United Kingdom to assist the special rapporteur to be effective following the extension of his appointment.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Discussions are taking place with EU partners and the United Kingdom will be making a bilateral contribution. Britain co- sponsored the resolution for the extension of the United Nations special rapporteur's mandate, and we will consider any request for assistance which he might make.
European Union
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral answer of 30 March, Official Report, column 922, and his written answer of 12 April, Official Report, column 20, if he will now seek by letter to obtain a written confirmation of the assurances he received during the contacts between his office and that of Mr. Delors and place copies of the correspondence in the Library.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : No, the undertakings in the social field to which my hon. Friend the Minister of State referred in his answer of 30 March were oral assurances.
Rwanda
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals have recently been living in Rwanda ; and what has been done to ensure their safety.
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Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Seventy-eight nationals were registered with our honorary consul in Rwanda.
From early morning on Sunday 10 April, through the BBC World Service and our honorary consul in Kigali, British nationals were advised to leave the country. By the evening of Wednesday 13 April all those who wished to leave had done so. We liaised closely with the Belgian and French authorities who co-ordinated the evacuation of British nationals from Rwanda. Most travelled by air to Belgium, France and Kenya. British missions in those countries met the evacuees and, when necessary, helped with onward travel.
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