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Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by NHS trusts on consultancies in the latest year for which figures are available.


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Mr. Sackville : National health service trust expenditure on consultancy services alone is not available centrally. The provisional aggregate figure for NHS trust spending on external contract staffing and consultancy services was £43 million in 1992-93, the latest year for which a figure is available. This expenditure relates to services purchased from other trusts, health authorities and the private sector and includes, for example, linen supplies, transport and computing services as well as consultancy services. The difference between the above figure and previous estimates is the result of further validation of source data by the NHS Executive.

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the charitable income of Great Ormond Street hospital in the last two years.

Dr. Mawhinney : This is a matter for the Hospitals for Sick Children national health service trust. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman, Sir Brian Hill, for details.

Children in Care

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged 15 years at 31 March 1991 were looked after by local authorities under care orders by placement.

Mr. Bowis : There were 2,920 children aged 15 in the care of English local authorities at 31 March 1991 by placement. A breakdown of the forms of placement is shown in the table.


Children aged 15 under care orders in the care of local authorities     

at 31 March 1991 by placement                                           

                                                          |Number       

------------------------------------------------------------------------

All children aged 15 under care orders                    |2,920        

                                                                        

Foster placements                                         |1,363        

                                                                        

In lodgings, living independently or residential          |3            

  employment                                                            

                                                                        

In community homes provided under the Child Care Act      |775          

 1980                                                                   

                                                                        

In voluntary children's homes and hostels                 |48           

                                                                        

In accommodation for children with special educational    |117          

 needs                                                                  

                                                                        

Under charge and control of parent, guardian, relative or |452          

 friend                                                                 

                                                                        

Young offender institution or prison establishment        |18           

                                                                        

Other placements<1>                                       |144          

<1>Other placements include: youth treatment centres, mother and baby   

homes, NHS or other establishments providing medical and/or nursing     

care, placed for adoption, children absent from agreed placement, and   

unspecified placements.                                                 

Pacemaker Leads

Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many Medtronic pacing leads 4012 have been implanted into patients since 1987 ; and when the lead came on to the market in the United Kingdom ;


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(2) how many deaths of patients implanted with Medtronic pacing lead 4012 have taken place each year since 1987.

Mr. Sackville : According to the national pacemaker database, the number of patients implanted with the Medtronic 4012 lead model since 1987 is 1,037.

The number of patient deaths since 1987, on a yearly basis has been :


       |Number       

---------------------

1987   |8            

1988   |11           

1989   |18           

1990   |31           

1991   |37           

1992   |37           

1993   |33           

None of which was    

lead-related.        

These statistics include retrospective data since added to the NPD and updates information provided in the reply that I gave to the hon. Member on 21 March at columns 69-70. The NPD is subject to continual update.

The lead first became available on the United Kingdom market in late January/early February 1984.

Health Visitors and Nurses

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what work previously done by health visitors is now being done by other staff ; and which other staff are doing this work.

Mr. Sackville : Many routine immunisations are now undertaken by practice nurses, freeing health visitors to target their skills more effectively. Among others, Strelley nurse development unit in Nottingham provides a fine example where health visitors are leading teams and managing patient care.

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) student health visitors, (b) student district nurses, (c) student community psychiatric nurses and (d) school nurses in training there were in each of the last five years, by regional health authority.

Mr. Sackville : The available information is included in the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting annual report 1992-93, copies of which are available in the Library.

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of practice nurses, expressed as whole-time equivalents, employed in the NHS for each of the last five years, by regional health authority.

Mr. Sackville : Between 1989 and 1993 the number of whole-time equivalent practice nurses in England increased by 107 per cent. from 4,629 to 9,606. The detailed information is shown in the table.


Numbers of whole-time equivalent practice nurses at 1 

October                                               

RHA               |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993       

------------------------------------------------------

Northern          |282  |427  |502  |549  |548        

Yorkshire         |277  |570  |611  |648  |754        

Trent             |464  |767  |851  |929  |960        

East Anglia       |271  |443  |545  |511  |551        

North West Thames |389  |610  |681  |698  |753        

North East Thames |279  |536  |642  |701  |755        

South East Thames |360  |657  |627  |651  |740        

South West Thames |276  |488  |545  |558  |560        

Wessex            |330  |534  |677  |587  |611        

Oxford            |339  |449  |492  |535  |577        

South Western     |462  |683  |707  |760  |739        

West Midlands     |487  |751  |827  |914  |1,020      

Mersey            |166  |333  |343  |442  |391        

North Western     |248  |491  |642  |638  |647        

West Lindsey NHS Trust

Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has yet responded to the request by West Lindsey NHS Trust to reduce the size of its trust board ; what representations she has received from local nursing professional organisations in respect of the effect of such a reduction ; what consideration she has given to the possible child protection implications of the reduction in nurse management ; and how she will ensure that her Department's guidance on this issue is followed locally.

Dr. Mawhinney : Ministers are considering whether to agree to the trust's request to reduce the number of its board members. Whatever the outcome of this consideration, the trust will continue to be required to appoint a registered nurse or registered midwife as an executive director under the National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990. We expect all trusts to develop the role of nurse director in a way which will guarantee high standards of leadership and care.

Health System

Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Minister for Health's oral answer to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes) of 22 March, Official Report, column 125, and her written answer of 10 May, Official Report, column 90 , what evidence has been drawn to her attention of the existence of a two-tier health system within the NHS.

Dr. Mawhinney : A two-tier system does not operate in the national health service.

Occasionally, information about alleged differentials in service provision is brought to my attention from both within and outside the NHS. Such claims are investigated ; they have been shown to reflect different purchasing contracts not "two-tierism". Trusts are reminded of the agreement with the British Medical Association that they may not offer contracts to one purchaser which would thereby disadvantage the patients of another. They are expected to ensure that any services provided conform with this agreement.

Health Authorities (Cash Allocation)

Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total cash allocation for regional health authorities in England in 1993-94 and in 1992-93.

Mr. Sackville : The final cash limits--capital and revenue--for regional health authorities for 1992-93 and 1993-94 are shown in the table.


Column 272


Region            |1992-93   |1993-94              

---------------------------------------------------

                  |£000      |£000                 

Northern          |1,370,941 |1,473,779            

Yorkshire         |1,562,561 |1,700,945            

Trent             |1,965,026 |2,129,054            

East Anglian      |822,342   |890,919              

North West Thames |1,686,329 |1,710,749            

North East Thames |1,799,855 |1,962,615            

South East Thames |1,711,480 |1,843,394            

South West Thames |1,355,515 |1,407,170            

Wessex            |1,206,750 |1,329,116            

Oxford            |962,826   |1,020,765            

South Western     |1,403,724 |1,517,492            

West Midlands     |2,119,674 |2,310,655            

Mersey            |1,086,571 |1,157,617            

North Western     |1,772,401 |1,878,398            

                  |-------   |-------              

Total             |20,825,995|22,332,668           

NHS Trusts

Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate expenditure on NHS trusts for 1994-95.

Dr. Mawhinney : [holding answer 12 May 1994] : Expenditure by national health service purchasers for patient services provided by NHS trusts for 1994-95 is estimated at £17,058,059,000.

Source : Common Information Core Plan 94-95 All RHA aggregate.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Civil Service

Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what satistics he has on the number of former parliamentary candidates who have been recruited to the permanent home civil service.

Mr. Waldegrave : No such statistics are kept.

Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Civil Service Commission in relation to the recruitment of Mr. Paul Martin to the permanent home civil service, and in relation to the recruitment of former parliamentary candidates generally.

Mr. Waldegrave : I have had no consultations with the First Civil Service Commissioner on this subject. There is no bar to the employment in the civil service of a person who, although previously politically active, takes a decision to seek a career in the service and is willing to abide by the rules on the political activities of serving civil servants once appointed.

Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidelines he has issued in relation to the recruitment of previous parliamentary candidates into the permanent home civil service ; what proposals he has for maintenance of party political neutrality within the permanent home civil service in circumstances where previous parliamentary candidates have been recruited ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave : The principle of selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition precludes previous political activity being a consideration in civil


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service recruitment. The rules on political activities in the conduct chapter of the Civil Service Management Code, a copy of which is in the Library, apply to all staff according to the nature of their work. A recruit accepts those rules as a condition of service.

Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidelines he has issued in relation to the treatment of references from party political or ministerial sources in relation to recruitment to the permanent home civil service.

Mr. Waldegrave : No guidelines have been issued by my Department relating specifically to references from party political or ministerial sources in relation to recruitment to the permanent home civil service. Where references are sought, their purpose is to assist the selectors in assessing suitability for the grade or post concerned in relation to the qualities, experience and qualifications required.

Mr. Morgan : To ask the the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what date the application of Paul Martin for recruitment to the permanent home civil service was received by the Civil Service Commission ; and on what


Column 274

date Mr. Martin (a) took his examination, (b) was interviewed, (c) had his references taken up and (d) commenced employment in the permanent civil service.

Mr. Waldegrave : Mr. Martin submitted an application form for the administrative fast stream entry in September 1992, sat the qualifying test in October 1992, attended the civil service selection board in December 1992 and the final selection board in February 1993, and took up employment in the civil service in June 1993. References were taken up in November 1992.

TRANSPORT

Public Transport Fares

Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish an index showing the real increase in fares on (a) London buses, (b) London Underground, (c) all London transport, (d) Network SouthEast and (e) all British Rail in each year since 1984-85, taking 1984- 85 as the base and showing the increase in both actual and real terms.

Mr. Norris : The information requested is given in the table.


Column 273


Real fares indices (1984-85 = 100)                                                         

             |London Buses|London      |London      |Network     |British Rail             

                          |Underground |Transport   |SouthEast                             

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1984-85      |100.0       |100.0       |100.0       |100.0       |100.0                    

1985-86      |102.5       |101.3       |101.7       |101.2       |100.9                    

1986-87      |105.2       |103.8       |104.1       |104.9       |105.1                    

1987-88      |106.1       |106.1       |105.9       |106.1       |106.5                    

1988-89      |111.0       |110.5       |110.1       |107.1       |107.7                    

1989-90      |113.6       |113.8       |113.2       |107.7       |107.9                    

1990-91      |114.2       |115.4       |114.4       |108.2       |108.4                    

1991-92      |119.5       |121.1       |119.8       |113.1       |113.0                    

1992-93      |124.9       |126.5       |125.2       |118.1       |117.2                    

1993-94      |132.6       |133.9       |132.7       |125.1       |122.0                    


Column 273


Actual fares indices (1984-85 = 100)                                                       

             |London Buses|London      |London      |Network     |British Rail             

                          |Underground |Transport   |SouthEast                             

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1984-85      |100.0       |100.0       |100.0       |100.0       |100.0                    

1985-86      |108.6       |107.2       |107.7       |107.2       |106.9                    

1986-87      |115.0       |113.4       |113.7       |114.7       |114.9                    

1987-88      |120.6       |120.6       |120.3       |120.6       |121.1                    

1988-89      |133.7       |133.1       |132.7       |129.0       |129.8                    

1989-90      |147.5       |147.8       |147.1       |140.0       |140.1                    

1990-91      |162.6       |164.4       |163.0       |154.1       |154.4                    

1991-92      |178.2       |180.7       |178.8       |168.8       |168.7                    

1992-93      |192.2       |194.7       |192.7       |181.8       |180.4                    

1993-94      |207.6       |209.6       |207.7       |195.8       |191.0                    

Mr. Raynsford : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish an index showing the increase in child fares on (a) London buses, (b) London Underground, (c) all London transport, (d) Network SouthEast and (e) all British Rail, for each year since 1984-85 taking 1984 -85 as the base and showing the increase in both actual and real terms.

Mr. Norris : The information available for London buses, London Underground and London Transport bus and underground services combined is shown in the tables. Comparable figures for British Rail and Network SouthEast are not readily available.


Column 274

The figures shown in the tables are for child ordinary tickets only. They do not include the effect of changes in the price of child season tickets, travelcards and passes, as this information is not available.


Real fares indices for child ordinary tickets               

(1984-5=100)                                                

            |London     |London     |London                 

            |Buses      |Underground|Transport              

------------------------------------------------------------

1984-85     |100        |100        |100                    

1985-86     |116        |101        |112                    

1986-87     |112        |103        |109                    

1987-88     |113        |116        |113                    

1988-89     |129        |123        |128                    

1989-90     |142        |133        |140                    

1990-91     |136        |148        |140                    

1991-92     |153        |159        |155                    

1992-93     |165        |160        |165                    

1993-94     |166        |177        |169                    


Actual fares indices for child ordinary tickets             

(1984-85=100)                                               

            |London     |London     |London                 

            |Buses      |Underground|Transport              

------------------------------------------------------------

1984-85     |100        |100        |100                    

1985-86     |123        |107        |118                    

1986-87     |122        |112        |119                    

1987-88     |128        |132        |129                    

1988-89     |155        |149        |154                    

1989-90     |184        |172        |182                    

1990-91     |194        |210        |199                    

1991-92     |228        |237        |232                    

1992-93     |255        |247        |255                    

1993-94     |259        |277        |264                    

Consultants

Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all consultants engaged by (a) the Driving Standards Agency, (b) the Vehicle Inspectorate and (c) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency over the last two years, the services that they provided and the cost.

Mr. Key : The information is as follows :


Column 275


Consultants                                        |Service                                           |Cost                                                                                                 

                                                                                                      |<1>£ thousand                                                                                        

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(a) Driving Standards Agency                                                                                                                                                                                

Brian Cattle                                       |Educational training                              |12                                                                                                   

Michael Page                                       |Preparations for commercial style accounts        |16                                                                                                   

Comshare                                           |Software design                                   |40                                                                                                   

Public Attitude Surveys                            |Customer survey                                   |16                                                                                                   

Armstrong Laing                                    |Payroll model design                              |19                                                                                                   

BASIS Ltd.                                         |Market testing support                            |21                                                                                                   

Shreeveport                                        |Support for in-house bid team                     |<2>N/a                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                            

(b) Vehicle Inspectorate                                                                                                                                                                                    

KPMG Peat Marwick                                  |IT/IS strategy advice                             |90                                                                                                   

Anthony Hancock                                    |Inspection of compressed air systems              |37                                                                                                   

Smith and Williamson                               |Citizen's charter market research                 |40                                                                                                   

Proctor and Stevenson                              |Design/image work for VI                          |6                                                                                                    

MIRA                                               |Assessment of diesel smoke emissions              |110                                                                                                  

Ernst and Young                                    |Consultancy support for VI IT Strategy            |38                                                                                                   

Povall Worthington                                 |Supervision of the Carlisle Heavy Goods Vehicle   |1                                                                                                    

                                                   |  Test Station re-roofing                                                                                                                               

Anthony York                                       |Supervision of Exeter HGVTS re-roofing            |1                                                                                                    

Wimpey Environmental                               |Air test consultancy                              |10                                                                                                   

Peratec                                            |Total quality management consultancy              |59                                                                                                   

Hoskyns                                            |Provision of technical advice during development  |<2>N/a                                                                                               

                                                   |   of IS strategy                                                                                                                                       

Electronic Data Systems Limited (EDS)              |Development of User Requirement for IS strategy   |239                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                            

(c) Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency                                                                                                                                                                     

Shreeveport                                        |Advising for DVLA's preparation for the           |37                                                                                                   

                                                   |   privatisation of DVOIT                                                                                                                               

Topix                                              |Design and development of a resource allocation   |67                                                                                                   

                                                   |   model for VED enforcement                                                                                                                            

Penn PR                                            |Annual Report                                     |22                                                                                                   

Textmill                                           |Combine form D1/D2 and D100/D200                  |7                                                                                                    

Breifi Group                                       |Training Review                                   |5                                                                                                    

Price Waterhouse                                   |Senior staff review                               |77                                                                                                   

Ernst and Young                                    |DVOIT privatisation                               |76                                                                                                   

Coopers and Lybrand                                |Evaluation of telesales tenders                   |36                                                                                                   

Forvus Forecasting                                 |Enhancement of DVLA forecasting system            |44                                                                                                   

Stern Rozier Durrant                               |Food service consultancy                          |3                                                                                                    

Coopers and Lybrand                                |Sale of anonymised data                           |25                                                                                                   

Touche Ross                                        |Provision of consultancy support-market testing-  |178                                                                                                  

                                                   |  customer/client                                                                                                                                       

CSL                                                |Market test-in-house bid construction             |96                                                                                                   

Prime Strategy                                     |Provision of consultancy support-market testing-  |252                                                                                                  

                                                   |  customer/client                                                                                                                                       

CAPITA                                             |Market testing-in-house bid construction          |52                                                                                                   

PA Consulting                                      |VRO Review                                        |86                                                                                                   

Chinal Management                                  |Support for office work measurement               |1                                                                                                    

Rowe and Maw                                       |Consultancy commission to lead internal inquiry at|20                                                                                                   

                                                   |   the DVLA                                                                                                                                             

Research International                             |Accuracy of DVLA data base                        |58                                                                                                   

Research International                             |Customer satisfaction survey                      |14                                                                                                   

Coopers and Lybrand                                |Review into payments made to ex-LTO 10 staff      |10                                                                                                   

<1>Excluding VAT.                                                                                                                                                                                           

<2>N/a-Not available, recent appointment.                                                                                                                                                                   

Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list, by agency, all consultants or other advisers engaged to assist in market-testing work ; and if he will list the nature of their work and the cost to date.

Mr. Key : The information requested is given in the table. It includes all the items in the competing for quality programmes of the Department's agencies, including contracting out and privatisation.


                                            |Expenditure to                   

                                            |31 March 1994                    

                                            |£000s, excl. VAT                 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency:                                          

CSL (support for in-house bids)             |83                               

Touche Ross (support for client side and                                      

   strategy advice)                         |152                              

Prime (support for client side and strategy                                   

   advice)                                  |215                              

Capita (support for in-house bids)          |44                               

                                                                              

Driving Standards Agency:                                                     

Shreeveport (support for in-house bids)     |-                                

Basis (support for client side)             |20                               

                                                                              

DVOIT:                                                                        

KPMG Peat Marwick (financial advice)        |553                              

Theodore Goddard (legal advice)             |317                              

Dibb Lupton Broomhead (legal advice)        |227                              

Price Waterhouse (reporting accountants)    |91                               

CSL (customer advice)                       |37                               

Ernst & Young (customer advice)             |106                              

                                                                              

Transport Research Laboratory:                                                

KPMG Peat Marwick-study of options                                            

   for privatisation and their feasibility  |78                               

                                                                              

Highways Agency:                                                              

Touche Ross-advice on approaches to                                           

   property management                      |-                                

Railway Deaths

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in rank order by year for the last 10 years, the five most significant causes of passenger fatalities on the railways.

Mr. Freeman : The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate maintains records of railway accidents and casualties. It publishes a breakdown of these records in the "Annual Report on Railway Safety in Great Britain". Copies are available in the House of Commons Library.

The table sets out the five most common causes of passenger fatalities and the number which occurred in each year from 1983.


Column 277


Significant Causes of Passenger Fatalities on the Railways-1983 to 1993                                  

Year           |Falling out of|Falling from  |Train         |Entering/     |Other                        

               |Carriages     |Platform      |Collisions    |Alighting     |Passenger                    

                                                                           |Non-                         

                                                                           |Movement                     

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1983           |13            |4             |-             |5             |-                            

1984           |14            |3             |5             |3             |-                            

1985           |16            |6             |-             |6             |-                            

1986           |12            |6             |-             |3             |-                            

                                                                           |28                           

1987           |26            |-             |-             |5             |(Kings Cross)                

                                             |34                                                         

1988           |19            |5             |(Clapham)     |5             |-                            

1989           |19            |1             |6             |2             |-                            

1990           |19            |10            |-             |2             |-                            

1991-92        |19            |8             |2             |3             |-                            

1992-93        |9             |8             |-             |3             |1                            

               |-------       |-------       |-------       |-------       |-------                      

Total          |166           |51            |47            |37            |29                           

Note:                                                                                                    

The publication of accident information changed from calendar to financial years from 1 April 1991.      

West Coast Main Line

Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 6 May, Official Report, column 652, regarding the modernisation of the west coast main line, what was his original estimate of the time necessary for modernisation ; what is his current estimate ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Freeman : When my right hon. Friend announced the project last December the best estimate available, from the work done by our banking advisers, was seven to 10 years. That remains our most recent advice. The current project definition study will produce firmer estimates of the options for carrying out the improvements, consistent with the need to keep train services running.


Column 278

Vehicle Licensing

Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what change has been requested by Teledata Ltd. to the target level of sales of marks specified in the contract with the DVLA.

Mr. Key : There have been no representations from Teledata Ltd to change the basis of its contractual agreement with the agency for the provision of its telesales facility.

Driving Standards Agency

Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the cost of work associated with the market testing and preparation of the in-house bid for the booking service of the Driving Standards Agency.


Column 279

Mr. Key : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Driving Standards Agency under its chief executive, Dr. John Ford. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Reply from S. J. Ford to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 12 May 1994 :

The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your question about the costs of work associated with the market testing and preparation of the in-house bid for the booking service of the Driving Standards Agency.

Expenditure up to the end of March 1994 has been £30,000 of which £20,000 was for consultancy support for the DSA market testing unit and the remainder for the salary costs of that unit. Expenditure on consultancy support for the preparation of the in-house bid will be included in the figures for the current financial year.

Asthma

Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the research papers he has commissioned on the possible link between motor car pollution and asthma ; and if he will make a statement concerning the risk of asthma in respect of children at roadside level.

Mr. Key : The Department of Health's committee on the medical effects of air pollutants has appointed a sub-group to examine the evidence of links between air pollution and asthma. The sub-group is due to report around the end of this year.

While links between air pollution and the incidence of asthma are not yet proven, there is evidence that pollution from vehicles can worsen symptoms for existing asthmatics. The Government have taken stringent measures to reduce emissions from vehicles, so that levels of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulates are expected to fall significantly in future years.

Concessionary Fares

Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review his policies concerning concessionary travel for pensioners and introduce initiatives to widen the use of concessionary schemes.

Mr. Freeman : We have no plans to review our policies nor do we think new initiatives are required, as we have put in place the framework that gives local authorities discretion to provide concessionary travel if they wish. Since most pensioners use public transport services for local journeys, we believe that the decision on whether to provide concessionary travel for elderly people is a matter for individual local authorities. They are best placed to judge local needs, and to weigh the costs involved against their other priorities.

We have consistently said that the current link between eligibility for concessionary travel and pensionable age would be reviewed if the state pension age is changed. We therefore indicated in the Department of Social Security's White Paper about the phased equalisation of the state pension age, issued last year, Cm 2420, para 3.17, that the difference in treatment of men and women for concessionary fares should clearly not continue when it has been abolished for state pensions. We said that we would be consulting on the precise phasing-in of the change.


Column 280

British Rail

Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the total cost to date of erecting signs at British Rail stations informing the public about the ownership of the track and rolling stock ; and what will be the total cost of the programme on completion.

Mr. Freeman : I am not aware of any such changes in signing of stations managed by British Rail. My reply to a question by the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) on 27 April at column 223 gave information on the renewal of signs at the 13 major stations managed independently by Railtrack.

Road Improvements

Mr. Don Foster : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what features have been incorporated into the design of the Swainswick bypass to minimise the environmental impact on Solsbury hill ;

Mr. Key [holding answer 12 May 1994] : We have avoided Little Solsbury hill routeing the new road some 500 m west of the summit and we have minimised the land taken for this bypass. In addition, we intend to plant many thousands of indigenous trees and shrubs in this locality and throughout the scheme, both on-site and off, to mitigate the effects of the route on the landscape.

Mr. Don Foster : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are his latest estimates of the costs of the Swainswick and Batheaston bypasses ; how these differ from earlier estimates ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Key [holding answer 12 May 1994] : Our latest estimate was contained in the recently published "Trunk Roads in England 1994 Review" as £75.2 million. In 1990, at the time of the public inquiry, we estimated the cost at £59.1 million.

Mr. Don Foster : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has for incorporating the A46/A36 route from Southampton to the M4 into the trans-European network, for developing it as a motorway link.

Mr. Key [holding answer 12 May 1994] : None.

Mr. Don Foster : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the reasons for making the Swainswick and Batheaston bypasses dual rather than single carriageway.

Mr. Key [holding answer 12 May 1994] : A single carriageway road would not be adequate for the amount of traffic using this trunk route.

Mr. Don Foster : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what criteria would justify the reopening of a public inquiry into a road improvement scheme after a decision by him ; what procedures would need to be followed to request such a move ; and if he will make a statement ;

(2) on how many occasions within the last 10 years following a decision by the Secretary of State after a public inquiry into a road improvement scheme the inquiry has been reopened ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Key [holding answer 12 May 1994] : There have been no such instances of an inquiry being re-opened after


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my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Transport and for the Environment have announced their decision on a road improvement scheme. Indeed, there are no provisions for re- opening an inquiry in such an event. There are, however, certain circumstances, under the provisions of the Highways (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1976, whereby an inquiry can be re-opened before a final decision on a scheme is made.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reasons underlay his decision to terminate the contract for the sale of marks at the DVLA won by Teledata Ltd. in 1989.

Mr. Key : The contract awarded in 1989 to the company then trading as Teledata Ltd. was terminated because of contractual difficulties over the sales techniques that the company wanted to employ.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Addis Ababa Meeting

Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the outcome of the meeting in Addis Ababa between 25 and 29 April between General Aideed and the head of the Somali National Movement ; and what his position is on this.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I understand that General Aideed and Abdirahman Tur agreed that the Somali National Movement would consider participating in a federal system in Somalia. We welcome all constructive efforts at reconciliation in Somalia.

Rwanda

Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the outcome of the meeting in Arusha on 5 May concerning Rwanda ; if Britian was represented ; and what are the implications for the relief effort.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : We regret that the meeting in Arusha, which was attended by our high commissioner in Tanzania as an observer, failed to reach an agreement on a cease-fire. We hope that the countries of the region will continue their efforts to bring a halt to the killing, without which it will be impossible to make the relief effort fully effective.

Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is being taken to impose an arms embargo on Rwanda.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The statement of the President of the United Nations Security Council of 30 April underlined the willingness of the council in principle to consider an arms embargo against Rwanda. Options for United Nations action in Rwanda are under consideration by the United Nations secretariat in New York.

Ancestral Graves

Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the proposed visit by Ilois and their associates to the British


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Indian Ocean Territory and Chagos archipelago and what was his response to the approaches of the Comite Ilois de l'Organisation Fraternelle on proposed visits to see ancestral graves.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : An application has been made to the Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory to allow a group of Ilois and their associates to visit ancestral graves in the territory. The application has been referred to the British Indian Ocean immigration authorities for a decision.


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