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Police (Clear-up Rates)
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the clear-up rate for recorded offences in each police district in the last year for which figures are available.
Sir John Wheeler : The last year for which figures are available is 1992. The clear-up rates are shown by police division.
Division |Divisional |Clear-up
|headquarters
|rates
|Per cent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A Musgrave stre29.7Belfast
B Grosvenor roa30.6elfast
D Antrim road, 34.9ast
E Strandtown, B29.3st
G Newtownards 35.6
H Armagh 37.4
J Mahon road, P42.1down
K Dungannon 39.5
L Enniskillen 38.7
N Strand road, 42.3onderry
O Coleraine 36.1
P Ballymena 40.0
TRANSPORT
Driving Licences
Mr. Nigel Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conclusions the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre and Department of Transport have drawn so far regarding the benefits of introducing photocard licences.
Mr. Key : Credit-card-style driving licences which included a photograph and the driver's signature would help the enforcement authorities to identify drivers with more certainty. Drivers would be more likely to carry the new licences because of their convenient size and better durability. These changes would be of great benefit to the enforcement authorities and would help protect the motoring public against fraudulent use of stolen driving licences.
Transport Research Laboratory
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list research projects undertaken by the Transport Research Laboratory into (a) pedestrian safety, (b) public transport and (c) disabled drivers and pedestrians in the last five years ; (2) what research projects have been undertaken by the Transport Research Laboratory on behalf of foreign Governments in the last five years ; and if he will list the value of these projects and the Governments involved.
Mr. Key : As the information requested by the hon. Member relates to operational matters of the Transport Research Laboratory I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from J. Wootton to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 4 May 1994 :
PQ 2144/93/94, PQ 2141/93/94
The Minister for Roads and Traffic has asked me to reply to your two Questions on research projects undertaken in the last five years by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).
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I enclose two lists of projects. One is a list of projects on (a) pedestrian safety, (b) public transport and (c) disabled drivers and pedestrians. The other is a list of projects carried out for foreign governments over the last five years giving the nature of the research, the total value of each project and the government for which the research was undertaken.Road Traffic Growth
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of the Secretary of State for the Environment of 25 April, Official Report, column 36, if he will place in the Library details and applications of the econometric model employed by his Department for forecasting road traffic growth.
Mr. Key : The econometric model to which my right hon. Friend referred and on which the estimated carbon saving is based was described in detail in an article published in "Transport Policy 1993", volume. 1, No. 1. I am placing a copy of the article in the Library.
Motorway Use
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimates he has of the total amount of annual use that is made, in journey miles, of the United Kingdom motorway system ; and if he will provide separate figures for (a) cars and vans and (b) larger freight vehicles and coaches.
Mr. Key : The provisional estimate of traffic on the motorway system in the United Kingdom in 1993 is 38.6 billion vehicle miles of which cars, taxis and light vans account for 32.7 billion vehicle-miles and goods vehicles 5.3 billion vehicle-miles. Figures for cars and light vans excluding taxis are not available. Provisional figures are not available for coaches.
Mr. Sykes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what was the cost of road traffic accidents over the last five years on the A64 between Hopgrove roundabout and the Castle Howard dual carriageway and between Malton and Seamer ;
(2) what was the cost of road traffic accidents on the A64 over each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Key : As the information requested relates to operational matters of the Highways Agency, I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. John Sykes, dated 11 May : I have been asked to reply to your questions numbered 14 and 15 on the Order Paper for Tuesday 10 May because the information requested relates to operational matters for which the Highways Agency is responsible.
The cost of road traffic accidents on the A64 trunk road between Leeds and Scarborough in each of the last 5 years was :
Year |£ million ------------------------------ 1989 |9.49 1990 |11.45 1991 |7.46 1992 |7.68 1993 |6.72
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The cost of road traffic accidents over the last five years on the single carriageway of the A64 trunk road between Hopgrove Roundabout and the Castle Howard dual carriageway was £5.69m and between Malton and Seamer was £12.67 million.School Transport
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the terms of reference of the working party on investigating problems of safety in school transport ; and when he expects to publish the findings of the working party.
Mr. Key : My Department is currently considering the full technical and cost implications of fitting seat belts to all seats in new minibuses and coaches. We hope to publish the conclusions shortly.
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Simpson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if spent nuclear fuel rods from (a) Germany and (b) other European countries will be transported through the channel tunnel.
Mr. Freeman : This is a decision for Eurotunnel. I understand that it will not be allowing spent nuclear fuel rods or any nuclear waste to be transported throught the tunnel.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) for what reasons his Department proposes to construct a split-level interchange on the A27 at Comps Farm ; and what account he has taken in making this proposal of his decision not to proceed with the A26 Beddingham to Itford farm diversion scheme ;
(2) what steps he is taking to incorporate the suggestions made by Lewes district council into his proposals for the A27 Lewes to Polegate improvement scheme ; what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of his present proposals for the stretch of road at the foot of Mount Caburn ; and if he will make a statement ; (3) if he will make it his policy in respect of the A27 Lewes to Polegate improvement scheme that he will undertake an assessment of the environmental damage lighting will cause before any decision is taken as to which stretches of the proposed new dual carriageway will be lit ; and if he will make a statement ;
(4) what percentage of land (a) used during construction of the proposed A27 Lewes to Polegate improvement scheme and (b) used as part of the new road or its immediate curtilage, falls within the Sussex downs area of outstanding natural beauty ;
(5) what representations he has received from doctors in Lewes about the health implications of the proposed A27 Lewes to Polegate scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
(6) what assessment he has made of the likely change in polluting gases from vehicle exhausts which will result from the construction of the proposed A27 Lewes to Polegate scheme ; and if he will make a statement ;
(7) what was the average daily flow of vehicles along (a) the A27 Lewes to Beddingham, (b) the A27 Beddingham to Polegate and (c) the A26 Beddingham to Newhaven for (i) 1983 and (ii) 1993 ; and what are the projected flows for (A) 2003 and (B) 2013 ;
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(8) what steps he intends to take to improve road safety along the present A27 Lewes to Polegate road in advance of the construction of the proposed A27 Lewes-Polegate improvement scheme ;(9) what assessment he made of the potential growth in passenger and freight traffic of the Lewes to Polegate rail line before announcing his plans to construct a new dual carriageway from Lewes to Polegate ;
(10) if he will indicate the location, frequency and severity of accidents along the A27 Lewes to Polegate road for each of the last 10 years ; and if he will make a statement ;
(11) how many hectares of countryside he estimates will be needed to enable the proposed A27 Lewes to Polegate improvement scheme to be built ; how many of these hectares will be returned to countryside following the construction of this scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key [holding answer 9 May 1994] : These questions relate to operational matters of the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to the hon. Member. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 11 May 1994 :
A27 Lewes to Polegate improvement
The Minister for Roads and Traffic, Mr. Key, has asked me to write to you in reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about various aspects of the A27 Lewes to Polegate Improvement.
The total estimated land take for the Preferred route is 233 hectares, subject to detailed survey and design. It is proposed that some 60 hectares should be returned to agriculture after regrading. Of the remainder, about 60 hectares are required for the new carriageway construction (including verges and central reserves) and 113 hectares for cutting and embankment side slopes, landscaping and planting.
The accident data for the last 10 years is not readily available but data for accidents over the period between 1990 and 1994 is given below.
Number of accidents
|Slight |Serious|Fatal
----------------------------------------
1990 |21 |12 |3
1991 |21 |6 |2
1992 |33 |7 |-
1993 |24 |7 |1
1994<1> |9 |2 |1
<1> To March.
The accidents are spread along the length of the route from Lewes to Polegate with particular concentration in Firle Straight and between Ripe and Alciston. The 7 fatal accidents involved the deaths of 8 people.
The A27 Lewes-Polgate Improvement scheme is necessary to solve existing problems of safety and congestion along this section of the trunk road, and meets the demands of predicted future traffic flows. No detailed assessment of potential growth in passenger and freight traffic of the Lewes-Polegate rail line has been made but it is considered that the effect of any such growth would be small in terms of the overall traffic flow on the A27 and would not affect the need for the proposed improvement.
A number of small improvement schemes have recently been completed on the A27 between Polegate and Lewes as part of the Highways Agency's rolling programme of minor works. During 1994-95 the Agency will improve signing and carriageway markings between Salmeston and Alfriston roundabout as part of a maintenance scheme which will improve skidding resistance to the road surface and we have commissioned extra signing at Charleston Farmhouse where visibility is poor to warn drivers of possible queues ahead. We are also investigating whether safety
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improvements which might help reduce accidents at Alfriston roundabout and the Wilmington crossroads are feasible and justified. The recorded flows and the forecast flows of vehicles (Annual Average Daily Traffic) for the sections of road requested are summarised below--
|A27 |A27 |A26
|(a) |(b) |(c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1993 |<1>14,500 |<1>11,200 |6,150
1993 |22,200 |15,300 |9,600
1998<2> |31,200-34,200|22,200-24,300|12,100-13,300
2003<2> |39,500-48,300|28,100-34,300|15,300-18,700
<1> There is no automatic traffic counter data for 1983 on the A27.
Flows are based on 1985 figures adjusted for growth from 1983 to
1985.
<2> Forecast flows represent a range based on the low and high
expectations of economic growth. Forecast flows for 2003 are not
currently available but flows for 1998 are given.
These sections of road, as currently constructed, are not designed to accommodate the forecast levels of traffic growth.
The pollution from vehicle exhausts will reduce in future years as a result of more stringent exhaust emission controls, irrespective of the scheme proposals. The scheme will however improve the free flow of traffic along the A27 and this is expected to contribute to a further improvement in air quality. Detailed air quality comparisons will be published as part of the Environmental Statement for the scheme.
A letter has just been received from the doctors at the St. Andrew's Surgery in Lewes. The doctors seek further information on and express concern about the possible health implications from vehicle pollution.
Of the areas of land so far identified for temporary construction works which will be returned to agriculture and for permanent use, about 50 would be within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in both cases.
The case for lighting parts of the route between the junctions at Lewes, Beddingham and Polegate has yet to be assessed. The environmental effects of any proposed lighting will be given in the Environmental Statement for the scheme.
Lewes District Council have highlighted particular areas of concern where they believe the Preferred Route has an adverse effect on the landscape, on conservation interests or on people. Possible means of reducing these effects will be considered and detailed environmental assessments carried out before the draft Orders are published. The proposed split-level junction at Comps farm is to provide access to and from the new route for traffic wishing to access the port of Newhaven. The siting of the junction makes use of the natural landform north of Comps Farm to contain as far as possible the visual intrusion of the slip roads and roundabouts, and is considered to be the best location for the junction either with or without improvement of the A26.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Magistrates Courts Committees
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) if he will list all the magistrates courts committees which have appointed a head of service and those magistrates courts committees whose head of service are (a) purely a chief executive to the committee and (b) both chief executive to the committee and a justices' clerk to a sole petty sessions area ;
(2) if he will list those magistrates courts committees that have named their head of service (a) chief justices' clerk, (b) justices' chief executive, (c) chief executive and (d) another name ; and if he will list those other names and the number of magistrates courts committees adopting each one.
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Mr. John M. Taylor : Under the present statutory arrangements, every magistrates courts committee has a clerk who serves in an administrative capacity and is not a head of service. Sometimes the post is full time, sometimes part time with the postholder serving also as a justices' clerk for one or more petty sessional divisions or, in a few cases, as a local authority official. The Lord Chancellor's approval is not currently required for the appointment of clerks to committees and committees are free to give their own titles to the posts without consulting the Department.
All official correspondence from the Department is addressed to clerks to the magistrates courts committees. However, a number of committees have combined the role of clerk to the committee with that of a chief executive by appointing that individual as a joint justices clerk for all the petty sessional divisions in the committee's area.
Immigration Tribunals (Adjudicators' Expenses)
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement about the purpose of the new expenses forms for part-time adjudicators for the immigration tribunals.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The expense forms relate to the payment of fees for judicial employment. The use of forms to claim and monitor expenses is standard departmental practice and is not new. The latest versions of these forms were introduced as part of a revised system for the payment of fees. This commenced on 5 April 1994 following a general review of accounting procedures. The earlier system had been set up when the workload of the Immigration Appellate Authorities--IAA--was smaller than now, and when part -time adjudicators were deployed less frequently. The revised system was set up to facilitate monitoring of expenses by the IAA's administration following a reversal of these trends.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many representations he has had concerning the new expenses forms for part-time adjudicators for the immigration tribunals.
Mr. John M. Taylor : I have not received any representations concerning the new forms for payment of fees to part-time adjudicators.
Inner London Youth Court Panel
Mr. Cox : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the ethnic breakdown of the (a) male and (b) female members of the inner London youth court panel.
Mr. John M. Taylor : Information on the particular ethnic origin of magistrates serving on the inner London youth court panel is not currently available. In general terms there are 236 members of the inner London youth court panel of whom 88 are males and 148 females. Of these, 10 males and nine females are from the ethnic minority community.
Race Awareness Seminars
Lady Olga Maitland : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what future plans he has for the judicial race awareness seminars.
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Mr. John M. Taylor : I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to her on 26 January 1994 at column 239 and to the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) on 30 March 1994 at column 748. This programme of seminars is arranged by the Judicial Studies Board. I understand that the board plans to hold 35 seminars for the judiciary over the next two years at locations throughout England and Wales.
Crown Court
Mr. Byers : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many sitting days in the Crown court were lost as a result of listed trials being disposed of without a jury being sworn in in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Bosnia
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he regards the external borders of Bosnia- Herzegovina as unchangeable in any Bosnian settlement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We remain of the view that the only way to a lasting peace is through a settlement acceptable to the parties. The terms of that settlement, including territorial and constitutional arrangements, must be for the parties themselves to decide. Within a settlement, the external borders of Bosnia-Herzegovina would remain unchanged unless the parties agreed otherwise.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the extent of Serb forces in the Brcko area.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Posavina corridor, and Brcko which lies within it, is an area held by Bosnian Serb forces. The United Nations has recently deployed military observers to the area to monitor the situation. The United Nations has not made data available on the detailed deployment of Bosnian Serb forces in the area.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library the text of remarks made by the Minister of State, the right hon. and learned Member for Grantham, (Mr. Hogg), in Sarajevo about the retention of territory by the Serbs in any Bosnian settlement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My discussions with members of the Bosnian Government on Sarajevo on 3 May were confidential. No official statement was subsequently issued by either side. In comments to the press, I reiterated our support for the European Union action plan.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was his initial estimate of how many civilians were wounded in the recent fighting in Gorazde and on what information it is based ; how many wounded have been evacuated from Gorazde since the latest ceasefire ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg : Based on information provided by the local Bosnian authorities the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report that the number of people wounded on the Bosnian Muslim side in the recent fighting in Gorazde was 715 dead and 1,970 wounded. No distinction is made between civilian and military casualties. A total of 290 casualties have been medically evacuated.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is UN and Nato policy about the defence of Brcko in Bosnia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Security Council agreed a presidential statement on 4 May calling on all parties to agree to a resumption of negotiations and demanding that they refrain from any offensive military action, or any action likely to lead to renewed fighting. The statement noted with concern indications of increased tension in the Posavina corridor area where Brcko is situated, welcomed the steps taken by UNPROFOR to deploy military observers there, and warned the parties of the serious consequences of any offensive military action in the area. The Security Council is keeping the situation under review.
NATO stands ready to support the United Nations and UNPROFOR in the performance of its mandate.
Conventional Arms Register
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the United Kingdom deposited its 1993 submission to the United Nations register of conventional arms ; and if he will place a copy of the submission in the Library.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Mr. Thompson) on 9 May 1994, Official Report, column 5.
Macedonia
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the mandate of United Nations personnel in Macedonia in the event of offensive activity against Macedonia.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The mandate for UNPROFOR in the former Yugoslavia republic of Macedonia under United Nations Security Council resolution 795 is to monitor and report any developments in the border areas which could undermine confidence and stability in FYROM and threaten its territory.
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what amendments he will be seeking to the nuclear non- proliferation treaty when it comes up for renegotiation next year.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are seeking the unconditional and indefinite extension of the non-proliferation treaty, in unamended form, at the 1995 extension and review conference.
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Lockerbie
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the decision of the Arab League Council meeting of Foreign Ministers in Cairo in so far as it related to the Lockerbie case ; and what response he is making.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Member to the written reply I gave to him on 12 April, Official Report, column 21.
The Arab League, and our partners in the United Nations Security Council, are aware of our position on the proposal in the Arab League Council resolution for a Scottish trial of the two accused of the Lockerbie bombing to be held at the seat of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Our view remains that the Libyan Government should comply with the mandatory Security Council resolutions and, in particular, hand over the two accused for a trial in Scotland or the United States without further delay.
Iraq
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the question of the current sanctions against Iraq was last discussed by the Council of Ministers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Council of Ministers most recently discussed sanctions against Iraq at the EU-Gulf Co-operation Council on 8 May.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what Her Majesty's Government's policy will be on the renewal of sanctions against Iraq at the Security Council of the United Nations on 17 May ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The Security Council meeting on 17 May will be to review whether Iraq has met the conditions for the removal of United Nations sanctions. The meeting will not decide whether or not to renew sanctions. The sanctions regime against Iraq will continue to remain in place, without need for renewal, unless and until the Security Council passes a resolution specifically deciding on their lifting.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the Red Cross or the Red Crescent concerning medical supplies to Iraq ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies issued an appeal for funds for assistance to Iraq on 25 March, which included provision for medical supplies. The British Red Cross is clarifying one or two issues concerning the appeal, following which a decision on a possible contribution from us will be taken.
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects United Nations sanctions have had on the economic situation in Iraq ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We keep all aspects of the situation in Iraq under review. It is open to the Government of Iraq
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to ensure the removal of economic sanctions by complying fully with all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation concerning the effects the UN sanctions on Iraq have on the education and culture of Iraq.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I have received no representations from UNESCO concerning the effects of UN sanctions on Iraq.
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