| Previous Section | Home Page |
Research and Development
Dr. Strang: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the projected expenditure by his Department on research and development in (a) 1994 95 and (b) 1995 96.
Mr. Waldegrave: My Department's total research and development expenditure for 1994 95 and 1995 96 is estimated to be £136 million and £140 million respectively.
Nitrates
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the cost of implementing nitrate-vulnerable zones in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Jack: Farmers in nitrate-vulnerable zones will be affected in different ways, depending on such factors as the type of enterprise, stocking density and existing storage capacity for organic manure--for example, arable farmers who are already following good agricultural practice should incur no significant cost as a result of the rules which will apply in vulnerable zones. Some intensive livestock units may, however, incur costs through having to transport manure off farm, and provide additional storage during the closed period for the application of organic manure. Costs are being examined and a compliance cost assessment will be issued when the detailed draft action programme of measures is published in 1995.
Column 522
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the level of nitrate pollution in the River Stour in Essex and Suffolk; and what information he has about the state of the River Rhine in Germany.
Mr. Jack: Figures for nitrate pollution in the River Stour taken at Langham--the abstraction point used for drinking water purposes--for the 1992 calendar year are set out:
1992 |Nitrate mg/1 --------------------------------------- 06 January |30.88 08 January |33.05 20 January |49.17 28 January |41.64 03 February |48.73 05 February |47.40 17 February |38.36 25 February |36.77 02 March |33.36 04 March |34.38 16 March |32.69 24 March |31.81 30 March |77.08 01 April |88.60 14 April |27.60 28 April |33.05 05 May |27.55 12 May |25.03 18 May |18.03 27 May |17.01 01 June |15.24 03 June |15.24 15 June |17.19 23 June |14.00 29 June |5.89 08 July |12.36 13 July |11.03 21 July |17.81 27 July |13.51 05 August |13.29 10 August |13.07 18 August |16.57 24 August |9.88 09 September |14.09 14 September |14.57 22 September |19.71 28 September |44.30 07 October |45.19 12 October |42.00 20 October |32.29 27 October |55.38 04 November |47.84 09 November |40.71 17 November |57.15 23 November |54.93 02 December |62.02 07 December |58.03 15 December |61.58
With the Stour exceeding the nitrate parameter of 50 mg/litre eight times out of the 48 samples taken at the abstraction point, the river is considered a polluted water under the terms of the EC nitrate directive and the Nayland nitrate vulnerable zone has been proposed on this basis. We have no detailed information of the nitrate
Column 523
pollution in the River Rhine. However, Germany is expected to designate its entire territory as a nitrate vulnerable zone.Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Dr. Strang: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list (a) the distribution by
Column 524
month of the dates of birth of each animal in the BSE cohort study and (b) the date of birth of each animal that has been confirmed with BSE in each six-monthly period from the start of the cohort study.Mr. Waldegrave: The following is a table, by month and year of birth, of the number of animals in the cohort study:
Column 523
|January |February |March |April |May |June |July |August |September|October |November |December
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |3 |2 |4 |3 |9
1988 |6 |4 |4 |2 |3 |9 |24 |86 |106 |102 |56 |66
1989 |24 |18 |17 |11 |8 |8 |13 |16 |13 |11 |2 |-
The following tables are of the animals in the cohort study confirmed to have BSE, sorted into six-monthly periods by date of clinical onset and giving details of
Column 524
month and year of birth. It is not known how many of the confirmed cases are offspring and how many are controls as the study is being carried out blind:Column 523
1987-88
Period |September|October |November |December |January |February |March |April |May |June |July |August
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July-December 1991 |1 |- |1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
January-June 1992 |- |- |- |1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
July-December 1992 |- |1 |- |3 |- |1 |- |- |1 |- |- |-
January-June 1993 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
July-December 1993 |- |- |- |1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |3
January-June 1994 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |3
July-December 1994 |- |1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-
|-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |--------
Total |1 |2 |1 |5 |0 |1 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |6
1988-89
Period |September|October |November |December |January |February |March |April |Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July-December 91 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |2
January-June 92 |- |1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |2
July-December 92 |1 |- |- |1 |- |- |- |- |8
January-June 93 |2 |1 |- |1 |- |- |- |- |4
July-December 93 |1 |1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |6
January-June 94 |- |2 |2 |- |- |- |- |1 |8
July-December 94 |1 |- |- |1 |- |- |- |- |3
|-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |-------- |--------
Total |5 |5 |2 |3 |0 |0 |0 |1 |<1>33
Total for September 1987-April 1989.
Horticultural Survey
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the cost to date of the study of the horticultural sector initiated in October 1993.
Mr. Jack [holding answer 7 December 1994]: In addition to my own time, and that of my small team of industry advisors, given without charge, I was assisted on an ad hoc basis by a grade 7 official from our horticulture division. The costs, including staff time and travel costs, amounted to about £12,000. As part of the project, we also contributed £10,000 to the Fresh Produce Consortium/Strathclyde university study on the future of the wholesale markets.
TRANSPORT
Vehicle Licensing
Mr. Alison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for introducing continuous licensing for
Column 524
commercial vehicles and heavy goods vehicles to mitigate problems of illegal operation.Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: I have been asked to reply.
The Government have no plans to introduce continuous licensing for goods vehicles in excess of 3.5 tonnes. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has, however, announced his intention to introduce a number of other measures for goods vehicles--including clarifying their definition and weight, and reducing the number of concessionary classes--which will help to reduce evasion.
M11 Link Road
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total cost to his Department and the Highways Agency (a) to occupy the premises in Claremont road, Leytonstone and (b) for the security and associated costs of the M11 link road project as a whole; if he will break this expenditure down into its main components; and if he will indicate the extent of the continuing cost.
Column 525
Mr. Norris: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 12 December 1994:
I have been asked to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question about the costs of occupying Claremont Road and security costs for the A12 Hackney Wick to M11 Link Road as a whole, since these are operational matters for the Highways Agency.
We estimate the cost to the Agency of last weeks operation at Claremont Road at about £1 million.
The protestors' action also meant that we were unable to salvage valuable materials from the properties, which had to be rapidly demolished and the resultant rubble carted away to the tip at a cost of £100,000.
The total for other security and associated costs for the whole Link Road project since construction began in September 1993 is about £3 million for security staff costs, together with £185,000 paid in fees to Brays Detective Agency and legal costs of about £180,000. Levels of security are geared to the perceived likelihood of protest action involving trespass on to sites. If current levels are maintained, expenditure on security staff would be about £500,000 per month. The situation is, however, monitored all the time and if the activity of protestors diminishes, as it now should, this expenditure could, in turn, be reduced. Similarly expenditure on Brays Detective Agency, currently about £25,000 per month, will be reviewed but there remains continuing involvement for them with injunction proceedings at least until the end of January 1995.
Legal costs in this connection will run at about £4,000 per month, but this figure could be higher dependent upon the number and length of Court hearings, which are unpredictable at present.
Eastern European Fishing Vessels
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current estimate of the number of former eastern bloc fishing vessels in United Kingdom waters within the harbour limits of Lerwick; in each case how many are klondykers; what assessment he has made of the implications for safety of life at sea arising from such vessels; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris: This is an operational matter for the Marine Safety Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from R. Bradley to Ms Joan Walley, dated 12 December 1994:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Question about the number of former eastern bloc fishing vessels within the harbour limits of Lerwick.
The number of fishing vessels within the harbour limits fluctuates daily in response to changes in weather conditions and the location of the fish shoals. At midday on Tuesday 6 December there were 59 former eastern bloc fishing vessels in Lerwick harbour, all of which are considered to be klondykers. Each of these klondykers has been inspected by surveyors from the Marine Safety Agency (MSA) since the second inspection campaign began in July 1994.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which vessels from the former eastern bloc have been subjected to port state control within the last 18 months; which vessels were klondykers; and if he will give the date and details of the inspections.
Mr. Norris: This is an operational matter for the Marine Safety Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Column 526
Letter from R Bradley to Ms Joan Walley, dated 12 December 1994: The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Question about the port state control inspections carried out on vessels from the former eastern bloc.During the past 18 months, ships from the following former eastern bloc countries have been inspected:
|Number of |Number of |Total number
|inspections of|inspections of|of port state
Country |klondykers |other ships |inspections
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Azerbaijan |- |1 |1
Bulgaria |14 |15 |29
Croatia |- |4 |4
Czechia |- |5 |5
Estonia |4 |9 |13
Georgia |- |5 |5
Latvia |19 |23 |42
Lithuania |11 |18 |29
Poland |1 |48 |49
Romania |- |11 |11
Russia |132 |227 |359
Ukraine |9 |40 |49
The Marine Safety Agency publishes monthly a report of ships which have been detained in United Kingdom ports. Full details of former eastern bloc ships inspected and detained since June 1994, when publication began, can be found in these reports.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will request his shipping Minister to include in his visit to Shetland a visit to Lerwick harbour to assess the implications for safe shipping, search and rescue and marine pollution from former eastern bloc-owned klondykers.
Mr. Norris: My noble Friend the Minister for Aviation and Shipping visited the Shetland islands on 4 November 1994. His visit included an informative and useful discussion with the chief executive and chairman of the Lerwick harbour trust, as well as providing an opportunity to see at first hand the problems posed by the klondykers.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what joint discussions he has held with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Scottish Office to resolve any problems arising from the klondyker fleet.
Mr. Norris: My noble Friend the Minister for Aviation and Shipping met my hon. Friend the Minster with responsibility for agriculture and the environment at the Scottish Office on 31 October to agree a joint approach to tackling the problems arising from the klondyker fleet. The Scottish Office will be consulting on proposals to limit the numbers of fish transshipment licences and to introduce an advance notice requirement for licence applications. In addition, my officials have had several meetings with their counterparts in the Scottish Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Our Departments are working together to produce a further consultation paper on additional measures which could be taken to ensure adequate standards of safety and insurance on these ships.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to establish whether vessels from the former eastern bloc anchored within United Kingdom waters are fully insured.
Mr. Norris: Only oil tankers are required to carry proof of adequate liability insurance. The Marine Safety Agency's inspections of foreign fish factory ships have therefore not included a check of insurance documents.
Column 527
There is, however, clear evidence that few, if any, of these ships carry adequate insurance.Energy Expenditure
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
Mr. Norris: The figures are as follows:
(a) Department of Transport Total
1992-93 |1993-94 |1994-95
£ |£ |£
-----------------------------------------------------------
4,455,870 |4,379,338|4,377,023
(b) Executive agencies total
3,937,470 |3,950,681|3,748,965
The figures for 1992 93 and 1993 94 include agencies created at the start of 1994 95.
Donaldson Report
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when and how he proposes to implement each of the recommendations of the Donaldson report.
Mr. Norris: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives (Mr. Harris) on 29 November Official Report , columns 657 59 .
Vehicle Inspectorate
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the roadside enforcement activities of the vehicle inspectorate between April and September 1994; how many people were employed; and how many prohibition notices were issued to (a) heavy and light goods vehicles, (b) buses and (c) coaches.
Mr. Norris: This is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from R. Oliver to Ms Joan Walley, dated 12 December 1994: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about roadside enforcement activities at the Vehicle Inspectorate. The Vehicle Inspectorate employed, on average, 237 Vehicle Examiners and 164 Traffic Examiners on its roadside enforcement activities between April and September 1994.
I attach a table (Annex A) which shows the number of prohibition notices issued for the same period.
If you have any further questions about these data please contact me.
Number of prohibition notices issued by VI from April to
September 1994
|HGV |PSV |LGV |Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roadworthiness Enforcement |11,996 |1,706 |1,552 |15,254
Traffic Enforcement |2,658 |47 |227 |2,932
|--------|--------|--------|--------
Total |14,654 |1,753 |1,779 |18,186
Notes:
i. Roadworthiness Enforcement includes all prohibitions, although some
of the inspections may not have taken place at the roadside.
ii. Traffic Enforcement includes all over weight prohibitions issued,
including those issued at port checks, and foreign vehicle prohibitions
for drivers' hours offences.
iii. We have used the Inspectorate's standard definitions-Heavy Goods
Vehicles, Public Service Vehicles and Light Goods Vehicles. We are not
able to break down these groups further-for instance between buses and
coaches.
Great Central Railway
Mr. Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much is owed by the Highways Agency to the Great Central Railway in respect of work carried out at (a) Thurcaston on the A6 and (b) on the same road between Loughborough and Quorn; and when these payments will be made.
Mr. Watts: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Mike Hall, dated 12 December 1994:
I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about monies owed by the Highways Agency to the Great Central Railway in respect of work carried out on the A6 at Thurcaston and between Loughborough and Quorn.
The only outstanding payment is a further advance of £13,500, plus interest, in respect of compensation for the works at Thurcaston. The payment is being processed and will complete the 90 per cent. advance payment of compensation required by the Land Compensation Act. The balance, with interest, will be paid as soon as final settlement is reached.
Motorway Cleaning
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how motorway cleaning is funded; and what is its annual cost; (2) how often the M1 in Northamptonshire is cleaned.
Mr. Watts: These are operational matters for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. James Pausey, dated 12 December 1994:
The Minister for Railways and Roads has asked me to answer your questions to the Secretary of State about motorway cleaning. The Highways Agency is responsible for ensuring trunk motorways are kept clean in accordance with a statutory Code of Practice issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. We spend some £5 millions annually from our maintenance budget on litter clearance, sweeping, grass cutting and other associated cleansing activities. In addition, regular safety patrols are undertaken to check, amongst other things, for hazardous debris.
In Northamptonshire, the County Council is our Agent Authority for this maintenance work. Daily safety inspections are carried out on the M1. Any debris causing a safety hazard to road users is removed as quickly as possible--usually immediately. The presence of litter on the verges and side slopes is noted and cleared as soon as possible. The hard shoulder is swept mechanically every 8 10 weeks. Because of the dangers inherent in gaining access to the central reserve, and the disruption to traffic, cleaning there is undertaken in conjunction with routine or emergency maintenance operations to meet the standards of the Environmental Protection Act.
Road Accidents
Mr. French: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accidents occurred where bus
Column 529
lanes and pedestrian crossings meet in the last year for which figures are available.Mr. Norris: The required information is not available.
Radioisotopes
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many transportation licences his Department has issued for the import of radioisotopes from the Russian Federation in each year since 1992.
Mr. Norris: None. The Department issues package design approvals for the safe transport of radioactive material. Import licences are issued by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Channel Tunnel Freight Trains
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he is having and with whom about the channel tunnel freight trains and the possible effects this service will have on the local environment; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Watts: I have met some hon. Members for constituencies traversed by channel tunnel freight trains. I am visiting the West London line on 15 December. A demonstration of new electric locomotives and new rolling stock will be arranged in the new year.
Noise Pollution
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement concerning potential similar cases arising from building the A46-47 link road and the eastern district distribution road in Leicester following the recent Court of Appeal decision to allow Colonel David Owen full compensation for the noise blight which has devalued his home; and what assessment he has made of the effects of potential claims for blight and the rise in costs on the continued viability of the A46-A47 link road and the EDDR.
Mr. Watts: The right to compensation where an interest in land is depreciated by noise from the use of a new or improved highway is set out in part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973. In addition section 246 of the Highways Act 1980 provides highway authorities with a discretionary power to acquire by agreement land to mitigate the adverse effects of constructing or improving a highway.
The A46-A47 link road and the EDDR are roads for which Leicestershire county council is the highway authority. I am advised that the county council does not exercise its discretionary powers in respect of the purchase of properties. Information about the cost of these local road schemes can be obtained from the county council.
Highways Agency
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what public service standard he has set the Highways Agency in terms of response times of reaction to telephoned or written queries from local authorities and members of the general public.
Column 530
Mr. Watts: Standards for dealing with correspondence are set out in the Highways Agency's business plan. The agency is required to reply to all correspondence within 15 working days of receipt.
Age Concern
Mr. Bowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from Age Concern as part of its 1994 annual campaign on transport and mobility; what other representations he has received; and what action his Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the campaigns.
Mr. Norris: The Department has worked closely with Age Concern at national and regional level throughout the year. Ministers and officials have taken part in Age Concern conferences. These have provided an opportunity to hear at first hand the concerns of older people and to work with them in developing appropriate solutions. We will continue to give priority to meeting the needs of older people as public transport users, pedestrians and motorists.
European Year of Older People
Mr. Bowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contribution his Department has made in 1994 to follow up the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations in 1993.
Mr. Norris: The Department has, through conducting research and issuing guidelines and advice to local authorities, manufacturers, operators and individuals, continued to develop and promote solutions to the problems faced by older people as public transport users, pedestrians and motorists.
Tyres
Mr. Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that part-worn tyres imported into the United Kingdom for resale meet the standards required by British law.
Mr. Norris: Further to the answer I gave on 18 November, Official Report , column 119 , the measure which applies to both domestic and imported tyres was laid in Parliament on 8 December 1994.
Rolling Stock Leasing Companies
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that the rolling stock leasing companies which remain in the public sector have sufficient passenger train stock to meet the demands of Regional Railways Central in the summer peak of 1995; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Watts: The three rolling-stock leasing companies own almost the whole British Rail passenger fleet. I am not aware of any prospective shortfall of trains to be leased to the central train operating unit in summer 1995.
Railtrack
Mr. McLeish: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when Railtrack will publish its 10 year plan for the railway industry; and who will undertake this role after Railtrack has been privatised.
Column 531
Mr. Watts: Railtrack will publish its first 10 year investment plan next year. It will continue to be required under the terms of its network operator's licence to do so annually after privatisation.
Rail Investment
Mr. McLeish: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the forecast level of investment for (a) Railtrack, (b) BR and (c) European passenger services for 1995 96; and if he will indicate under each heading how much of this expenditure is committed to projects already authorised and how much is available for investment in projects not yet authorised.
Mr. Watts: Overall investment in the railway industry in 1995 96 is expected to be of the order of £1 billion, of which around a quarter will be financed by the private sector. A detailed breakdown will not be available until the individual budgets have been settled.
Rail Finance
Mr. McLeish: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what grant will be payable to the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising in respect of support for passenger services in 1995 96;
(2) what the external financing limits will be for (a) BR and (b) Railtrack in 1995 96.
Mr. Watts: The 1995 96 external finance limits for BR and Railtrack, and support to passenger services, will be set out in the "Transport Report 1995".
Road Safety
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the cost of the present publicity programme "Kill your Speed, Not a Child".
Mr. Norris: Some £2.65 million.
Public Transport (Definition)
Mr. Pendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the definition of public transport used by his Department.
Mr. Watts: Any form of domestic passenger service by road, rail, air or water which is available for use by the public at large in return for the payment of a fare.
Air Traffic Control
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Scottish air traffic control centre has been overloaded by excessive flights over the past five years.
Mr. Norris: Before 1993 if air traffic controllers considered that their workload on their sector had become too high they could submit a report which was investigated by both the unit management and the safety data analysis unit at Gatwick. The figures in Scotland for the period 1989 to 1992 were:
1 sector incident in 1989
4 sector incident in 1990
2 sector incident in 1991
1 sector incident in 1992
In 1993, a new recording system was introduced which cannot be directly compared with the previous system.
| Next Section
| Home Page |