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Operator Licences
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of heavy goods and public service vehicles specified on operator licences for the west midlands area for each of the last five years.
Mr. Norris: The information requested for the west midlands traffic area is as follows:
|Heavy goods vehicles|Public service
|specified<1> |vehicles discs<2>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |46,811 |5,817
1990-91 |46,238 |6,136
1991-92 |45,082 |6,264
1992-93 |43,244 |6,877
1993-94 |43,158 |7,150
Source:
<1> Annual Reports of the Licensing Authorities.
<2> DOT PSV Operator database-complied from returns by PSV operators.
Channel Tunnel
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the arrangements for joint health and safety protection of the safety of passengers on the channel tunnel rail link, following the construction and completion of the tunnel.
Mr. Watts: Union Railways has in consultation with the Health and Safety Executive, prepared an outline railway safety case for the proposed channel tunnel rail link from St. Pancras to Cheriton. I have today placed copies in the Library. The Health and Safety Executive has confirmed that there are no aspects of the outline design which would call for an objection.
The outline safety case recognises that an updated and more detailed safety case will need to have the approval of the Health and Safety Executive before the rail link is brought into use.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings have been held with the French railways to discuss the safety of the channel tunnel rail link.
Mr. Watts: Union Railways, which has been responsible for developing the channel tunnel rail link project, is a member of European Union committees preparing standards relating to high-speed railways. SNCF is also represented on these committees. In addition, Union Railways is involved with a continuous dialogue with SNCF and other European railways on matters of common interest, including safety.
Public Transport
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to guarantee the provision of public transport to rural areas following petrol price increases.
Mr. Norris: The provision of bus services is primarily a matter for bus operators commercially and for local authorities who have powers to subsidise the running of additional services where they see a need which is not being met commercially. In addition, the rural transport development fund, which is run by the Rural Development Commission in England with funds from the Department of Transport, is available to assist with the provision of innovative rural transport services, including village community buses and post buses. Over 360 new projects have been funded and resources have been increased in the past two years to encourage further schemes. The Scottish and Welsh Offices run similar grant schemes.
Unadopted Roads
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of adopting currently unadopted roads in residential areas in England.
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Mr. Norris: We have made no estimate of the cost.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of miles of unadopted roads in Lancashire.
Mr. Norris: We have made no such estimates.
Pass-plus
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to make the pass plus scheme compulsory.
Driver Training
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of light goods vehicle drivers received formal training before completing their light goods vehicle test.
Mr. Norris: A survey conducted by the Driving Standards Agency in 1992 found that 99 per cent. of LGV test candidates had undertaken some formal training before taking the test. The vast majority had taken this training solely with professional training bodies. The remainder had combined this formal instruction with further practice with a friend or relative.
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has conducted into the prior training of light goods vehicle drivers who have been involved in accidents.
Executive Search Agencies
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what use his Department has made of executive search agencies in filling vacancies within his Department and executive agencies administered by his Department during the last year; and how much these services have cost his Department.
Mr. Norris: The Department used executive search agencies to assist in filling two vacancies within the Department and its executive agencies in 1994. The total cost was £55,300.
ICAO
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how regularly the activity of the United Kingdom's representatives' office to the International Civil Aviation Organisation is monitored or audited.
Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment
Mr. Brandreth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he proposes to publish the report of his Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment on traffic generation.
Dr. Mawhinney: I am today publishing SACTRA's report and, following the normal practice with such reports, a full Government response. I am very grateful to SACTRA for the comprehensive and detailed work it has done in this difficult area. Copies of its report and the Government response, together with a brief summary, have been placed in the Library of the House.
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SACTRA was asked to report on traffic generation because the Department recognised that, as economic growth over the last 15 years has greatly increased traffic levels, the number of congested areas has gone up and with them, the cases where a road scheme might bring costs as well as benefits. There was also a growing feeling that there should be a more general examination of whether roads do to some degree increase traffic as well as relieve congestion. SACTRA has made the case for taking greater account of changes to the origin, destination and timing of existing trips, particularly when projecting traffic flows for road schemes in places where the road network is already congested. Although the report is consistent with our long-standing view that new schemes do not generate a significant number of trips which are entirely new, the overall amount of traffic on the network may in some cases rise by more than is usually allowed for under current appraisal methods.The Department accepts this and is now looking at all national road schemes in the planning stages, to see if the changes in traffic considered by SACTRA are likely to be significant. If they are, the best means currently available for identifying possible changes in traffic patterns will be applied.
This work will be done with all speed. There is no reason to require or expect delay to road schemes or public inquiries. The important task is to ensure that, for those cases where extra traffic might adversely affect the cost-benefit justification, new traffic modelling is done so that the results can be examined.
However, some of SACTRA's work is not conclusive. There is insufficient evidence to support any simple rule governing the relationship between the amount of time saved on a journey and the use of that time on more travel.
It is clear that a great deal of research needs to be done to develop improved traffic modelling techniques for use in congested conditions. Additional research is already under way, and more will now be commissioned.
I have also been studying the recommendations that SACTRA made on strategic, economic and environmental appraisal and traffic modelling. SACTRA shows the way forward, but it recognises that further studies need to be undertaken before these recommendations could be put into practice. My Department will therefore be developing and testing new techniques in these areas.
I am determined that important, and often very difficult, decisions on road schemes are taken on the basis of the best and most up-to-date methods for forecasting their effects. SACTRA has made a valuable contribution to advancing our understanding of these issues.
Sickness Absence
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 5 December, Official Report, column 32, if he will list separately for each agency in his Department and for the Central Transport Group, all the programmes and initiatives which fall within the approaches set out in the occupational health service notice 93/3.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 16 December 1994]: A number of common initiatives exist throughout the Department of Transport. The Department is committed to the "Look After Your Heart" programme; has, or is currently, offering health screening to staff; has
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announced its intention to provide a non- smoking working environment with facilities for those who wish to smoke; is currently reviewing areas of work activity; operates staff suggestions schemes; and gives advances of salary for purchase of bicycles for home to office travel;In addition, agencies pursue local initiatives. These are:
Agency |Programme/Initiative
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coastguard Agency |Health awareness seminars
|stress awareness seminars
|workstation reviews
|Training Needs Analysis
|Coastal Staffing Review
Driving Standards Agency |Risk Assessments with steps
|taken to re-organise work
Driving and Vehicle Licensing |Fitness centre annual workplace
Agency |cervical screening
|smoking cessation classes
|on-site occupational health
|service
|Health education courses bicycle
|hire
|Working Carers Support Group
|health eating options in staff
|restaurant
|recent winners of award for
|health promotion activities
Highways Agency |Survey of workstations at HQ
Marine Safety Agency |Risk analysis surveys
Transport Research laboratory |Stress survey
Vehicle Certification Agency |Self assessment in stress
|management staff
|participation in achieving
|business goals
|ideas boards work
|improvement teams
Vehicle Inspectorate |Total Quality Initiative staff
|participation in Correction
|Action Teams and Continuous
|Improvement Teams
River Thames
Sir Michael Neubert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for increasing passenger and freight traffic on the River Thames.
Mr. Norris: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 13 December, column 544-45.
PRIME MINISTER
Special Advisers
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement regarding his Department's expenditure on special advisers for each of the last three financial years, and for the financial year 1979 80.
The Prime Minister: I refer to the reply which my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave to the hon. Member today.
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Parliamentary Private Secretaries
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 12 December, Official Report , column 447 , if he will specify where in the public record are to found the numbers of parliamentary private secretaries in November 1989, November 1984 and May 1979.
The Prime Minister: The information can be obtained from the Library of the House.
Managerial Systems
Mr. Allen: To ask the Prime Minister which Departments have MINIS-- managerial information systems--or an equivalent system; and if he will list the names of the systems and whether hon. Members can access them indicating those Departments which do not have a similar system; and what is his policy towards introducing such systems or a Government-wide system.
The Prime Minister: A number of Departments have developed management information systems similar to MINIS since the launch of the financial management initiative in 1982. The main responsibility for developing such systems rests with Departments, and up-to-date information on such systems is not available centrally. A multi departmental efficiency scrutiny is currently examining management information and planning systems and is expected to report in the spring.
Honours
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Prime Minister how many (a) peerages and (b) knighthoods have been awarded since November 1979 to (i) Conservative hon. Members, (ii) Conservative former hon. Members, (iii) Labour hon. Members and (iv) Labour former hon. Members.
The Prime Minister: Forty-nine peerages have been awarded to ex- Conservative Members and 32 to ex-Labour Members. One hundred and fifteen knighthoods have been awarded to Conservative Members--60 of whom are no longer Members of the
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House of Commons--and two to Labour Members, one of whom is no longer a Member of the House of Commons.Details of knighthoods awarded to ex-Conservative and ex-Labour Members after they have left the House can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Prime Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Byers: To ask the Prime Minister on what occasions and on what dates between 1982 and 1990 his predecessor met (a) the Prime Minister, (b) the President and (c) the Defence Secretary or Foreign Secretary of (i) Turkey, (ii) Indonesia and (iii) Botswana.
The Prime Minister: Archived material of this nature is not centrally recorded and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
Turkey
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on how his Department's use of overseas aid helps promote good government in Turkey, in particular relating to the promotion of human rights as set out in paragraph 38 iii, page 58, of his Department's report 1994 Cm. 2502.
Mr. Baldry: In Turkey, British aid funds are used on projects which contribute to a number of the key objectives set out in paragraph 38 of the Department's report, particularly enhancing productive capacity and human development, as well as good government.
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the total amount of overseas and grants made to Turkey for each year since 1979 in cash and constant 1993 94 prices.
Mr. Baldry: Prior to 1987 88, separate figures for annual amounts of aid grants made to Turkey are not available. The table gives gross public expenditure on aid to Turkey for each year since 1979, with the amount spent on grants for the years 1987 88 to 1993 94 inclusive.
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Cash prices Constant prices
|Gross public |of which grants|Gross public |of which grants
|expenditure |expenditure
Year |£ |£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |4,252,000 |n/a |10,601,000 |n/a
1980 |8,035,000 |n/a |16,763,000 |n/a
1981 |32,109,000 |n/a |60,117.000 |n/a
1982 |16,882,000 |n/a |29,373,000 |n/a
1983 |5,398,000 |n/a |8,925,000 |n/a
1984 |407,000 |n/a |643,000 |n/a
1985 |10,280,000 |n/a |15,374,000 |n/a
1986 |4,650,000 |n/a |6,734,000 |n/a
1987 |3,041,000 |n/a |4,196,000 |n/a
1987-88 |3,180,000 |1,106,000 |4,465,000 |1,553,000
1988-89 |3,828,000 |3,387,000 |5,038,000 |4,558,000
1989-90 |2,138,000 |2,138,000 |2,630,000 |2,630,000
1990-91 |3,151,000 |3,151,000 |3,589,000 |3,589,000
1991-92 |16,849,000 |16,849,000 |18,056,000 |18,056,000
1992-93 |9,324,000 |9,324,000 |9,609,000 |9,609,000
1993-94 |11,997,000 |11,997,000 |11,997,000 |11,997,000
Source:
British Aid Statistics
Notes:
1. Before 1987-88 data is only available on a calendar year basis. It is not possible to
compare expenditure produced on a calendar year basis with that produced on a financial year
basis. The calendar year data has been deflated to constant 1993 prices.
2. The 1993-94 figures are provisional until the publication of the 1993-94 edition of British
Aid Statistics.
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list (a) the current aid projects and (b) the current Government contracts with Turkey.
Mr. Baldry: Aid projects in Turkey currently supported by the aid programme are:
provision of an English Language teaching specialist, plus training and equipment, for the School of Foreign Languages in Cukurova University at a cost of £475,000 over 1992 95;
£1,030,000 for awards under the Chevening Scholarship Scheme in 1994 95;
support from the Aid and Trade Provision for British sub-contractors to provide goods and services for the construction of a metro in Ankara £22.069 million over 1993 97. On 13 December my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs announced that in future expenditure on this project will be met from funds voted by Parliament outside the scope of the Overseas Development and Cooperation Act.
support from the Aid and Trade Provision for a contract between a British company, TecQuipment International, and the Turkish Council of Higher Education for the supply of technical teaching equipment to 27 state universities in Turkey; £23.363 million over 1993 96.
Biological Diversity
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money the United Kingdom Government will be spending over the next five years on assistance to countries overseas for the implementation of the convention on biological diversity; and what it will be spent on.
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 16 December 1994]: We are providing help through both bilateral and multilateral aid channels. Between 1991 92 and 1993 94, ODA spent £34.7 million in bilateral aid on projects wholly or partly concerned with biodiversity conservation. In addition, the Department of the Environment has committed £9 million to the Darwin initiative over the next three years. This supports collaborative projects with developing countries in biodiversity conservation. On the multilateral side, we have committed a total of £130 million to the global environment facility, which, inter alia, is the financial mechanism of the convention and is designed to help developing countries and economies in transition to implement their undertakings under the convention.
Biwater Group
Mr. Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those applications for aid and trade provision finance which were sought and subsequently withdrawn by Biwater group since 1983, together with the costs of contracts, the
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amount of aid and trade provision assistance sought, the countries involved and the dates on which the applications were (a) made and (b) withdrawn.Mr. Baldry [holding answer 16 December 1994]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 15 December, Official Report, column 782 83.
Know-how Fund
Mr. Rhodri Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list each organisation in receipt of contracts from the know-how fund with respect to advice and support systems for small and medium sized enterprises in (a) the Moscow region and (b) Russia as a whole.
Mr. Baldry: A list of organisations currently in receipt of contracts from the know-how fund in the categories mentioned, together with a list of completed fund projects in Russia in the same sector, will shortly be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Sudan
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government (1) will give development as well as humanitarian aid to areas in the south of Sudan controlled by the Government of Sudan;
(2) how much (a) humanitarian and (b) development aid is annually being sent to the Sudan from Her Majesty's Government; and what are the reasons for this.
Mr. Baldry: We provided £14.7 million in emergency aid to Sudan in 1993 94 in order to meet urgent humanitarian needs. Our bilateral development aid programme to Sudan was closed in January 1991 for economic and political reasons, including the Sudan Government's record on human rights and their attitude towards terrorism. We have no plans to reopen it. Support for small projects including those managed by British NGOs under the joint funding scheme continues at about £250,000 per annum.
Aid and Trade Provision
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his oral statement of 13 December, if he will state the month and year in which it was agreed to provide ATP to the projects in (a) Turkey, (b) Botswana and (c) Indonesia; if he will identify the United Kingdom companies who benefited from the agreement and where there was a joint project, the local companies involved.
Mr. Baldry: The information requested is as follows:
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Project |Approval date |UK companies |Local companies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turkey, Ankara Metro |September 1990 |Coppee (UK) Ltd, Westinghouse |Gamma Endustri Tesisleri Imalat,
|Brake and Signal, NEI, GEC |Ve Montaj A.S. and Giris
|Alsthom, Cegelec, Crown |Insaat, Ve Mohendislik A.S.
|Agents, Brecknell Willis, |Dorm.
|Balfour Beatty, Thorn EMI
Botswana, Flight Information | April 1988 |Plesey Radar Ltd |None
Region
Indonesia, TV Studio |January 1986 |Link Electronics (1988) Ltd |None
Recruitment
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish an update of the table, staff in post and grade on entry, produced for the 1988 Treasury document on departmental requirements in the recruitment of administrative assistants and administrative officers.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: I know of no such document.
Research Councils
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the total annual amount paid by each of the research councils in research stipends.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: In 1993 94, the Agricultural and Food Research Council spend £2.2 million, the Economic and Social Research Council £6.9 million, the Medical Research Council £7.6 million, the Natural Environment Research Council £6.3 million and the Science and Engineering Research Council £53.7 million.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many research students made grant applications for the year 1993 94; how many were accepted and began their courses; and how many were refused.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: The Economic and Social Research Council received 5,050 applications. The other councils did not collect data on the number of applications, which were made directly to course supervisors, but universities reported no shortage of applicants. The numbers taking up awards were: Agricultural and Food Research Council, 108; ESRC, 895; Medical Research Council, 439; Natural Environment Research Council, 530; and Science and Engineering Research Council, 4,845.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the annual amount paid to research students by each of the research councils and the number of students in each category.
Mr. Robert. G. Hughes: The figures for 1993 94 were: Agricultural and Food Research Council, £6,200 and 318; Economic and Social Research Council, £4,720 and 1,486; Medical Research Council, £6,145 and 1,071; Natural Environment Research Council, £4,950 and 1,190; and the Science and Engineering Research Council, £4,720 and 10,636. The councils supplemented the stipends for London and second and third year students and for those involved in collaborative projects with industry.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the criteria by which each of the research councils decide which category of stipend each research student receives.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: A student receives the stipend advertised by the council for the type of studentship for which he or she has applied.
Citizens Charter Panel of Advisers
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will list all those appointed to the citizens charter panel of advisers since its inception
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showing which members have resigned and the dates of their resignations;(2) if he will publish a table showing the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the citizens charter panel of advises in each year since its inception.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: The table gives details of the appointments made to the Prime Minister's panel of advisers on the citizens charter since inception. Those members who have since left the panel did so at the end of their agreed periods of appointment, with the exception of Mr. John Spiers, who resigned as a panel member on 6 September 1994.
Member |Appointment date |End of appointment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sir James Blyth (Chairman) |28 August 1991 |6 May 1995 Dr Madsen Pirie |28 August 1991 |6 May 1995 Lady Judith Wilcox |28 August 1991 |6 May 1996 Sir Christopher Bland |28 August 1991 |6 May 1994 Dr Nancy Lane |28 August 1991 |11 May 1993 Christopher Swan |28 August 1991 |30 September 1994 Stan Webster |28 August 1991 |11 May 1991 Sir Peter Levene |13 January 1992 |11 May 1993 Angela Heylin |24 May 1993 |23 May 1995 Nick Rawlings |24 May 1993 |23 May 1995 Baroness Perry |23 June 1993 |22 June 1995 John Spiers |7 May 1994 |6 September 1994 Neil Johnson |11 October 1994 |10 October 1996 Anne Galbraith |8 November 1994 |7 November 1996
Since the panel of advisers on the citizens charter was set up, it has officially met on 48 separate occasions. However, the duties of the panel extend beyond these meetings and include other meetings with the Prime Minister, other Government Ministers and officials. The citizens charter unit, headed by Miss Genie Turton, provides secretarial and general support to the panel of advisers. Expenditure on panel members fees, travel and subsistence to date totals £257, 636.37. The panel has not published any reports. It is not a function of the panel to produce or publish its own reports.
Open Government
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how many requests for information, made under the code of practice on access to Government information, have been received by each Government Department;
(2) how many requests for information, made under the code of practice on access to Government information, have been refused by each Government Department.;
(3) how many cases of refusal, by each Government Department, to provide information under the code of practice on access to Government information have been referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration;
(4) how many requests have been made to each Government Department to review a decision to refuse information which has been sought under the code of practice on access to government information.
Mr. David Hunt: This information is not as yet held centrally. Work has begun on the report on the first year's operation of the code of practice, which was promised by
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my predecessor before the launch of the code. The report will appear in the early part of 1995, and will give details such as the number of requests made under the code of practice.My own Department, Office of Public Service and Science, has received four requests for information under the code of practice on access to Government information. Of these requests, one was refused in part. There have been no requests for internal review, nor have any of these cases been the subject of an appeal to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) hold open meetings, (b) conduct public consultation exercises, (c) conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, (d) publish a register of members' interests, (e) publish agendas for meetings and (f) publish the minutes of meetings; and whether this is in each case (i) under a statutory requirement of (ii) voluntary.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes [holding answer 16 December 1994]: The answers to each part of this question are:
(a) None.
(b) The Citizen's Charter Complaints Task Force and the Technology Foresight Steering Group.
(c) The LINK Steering Group and the Technology Foresight Steering Group.
(d) The Advisory Committee on Advertising, which is sponsored by the Central Office of Information, for which the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has Ministerial responsibility.
(e) None.
(f) None.
In each case, it is voluntary.
None have a statutory requirement for any of the above. My Department also sponsors the Standing Committee on Standards in Public Life, which will determine its own procedures. It has already conducted public consultation exercises, and has announced its intention to take evidence in public.
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