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Train Stations
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the results of the risk assessment study conducted by Her Majesty's railway inspectorate relating to the large stepping distances between the platform and train at certain stations with some vehicles will be published.
Mr. Watts: This work is expected to be completed by mid-1995. The results of the research will then be assessed to indicate what further action should be taken.
Vehicle Registration Office
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the process by which casual staff are recruited in the vehicle registration office network.
Mr. Norris: Once a need has been identified, casual staff are recruited through the local job centre which supplies suitable candidates for interview by vehicle registration office managerial staff.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by vehicle registration office, the number of VED offences submitted for prosecution for each week from 1 October 1994 to 31 December 1994, and for the corresponding period in 1993.
Mr. Norris: Records are kept only on a monthly basis. The following tables show the figures for the last quarter of 1993 and 1994. They include a number of cases returned unheard by the courts and unsuccessful prosecutions which together represent less than 7 per cent. of the overall total.
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1993 1994
Vehicle Registration |October |November |December |October |November |December
Office
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manchester |512 |525 |442 |498 |701 |413
Sheffield |363 |254 |161 |251 |187 |86
Liverpool |275 |233 |299 |275 |211 |114
Bangor |395 |243 |176 |191 |418 |252
Chester |259 |250 |254 |278 |147 |153
Huddersfield |156 |85 |132 |82 |87 |25
Leeds |484 |683 |383 |392 |509 |346
Preston |421 |686 |519 |309 |405 |282
Hull |151 |212 |114 |172 |170 |128
Aberdeen |45 |42 |29 |33 |50 |48
Inverness |40 |46 |41 |12 |45 |16
Dundee |62 |131 |133 |143 |117 |187
Middlesbrough |385 |302 |263 |372 |349 |267
Newcastle |491 |553 |393 |499 |546 |377
Carlisle |97 |77 |73 |89 |138 |76
Edinburgh |317 |322 |226 |245 |179 |434
Glasgow |654 |537 |560 |301 |281 |238
Luton |413 |332 |401 |457 |624 |493
Ipswich |240 |327 |241 |268 |252 |201
Chelmsford |1,041 |1,040 |910 |1,164 |982 |836
Norwich |240 |267 |209 |256 |367 |246
Haverfordwest |49 |73 |43 |72 |57 |73
Cardiff |641 |954 |597 |634 |934 |631
Swansea |148 |279 |277 |383 |349 |373
Taunton |124 |131 |81 |82 |117 |72
Truro |98 |131 |98 |67 |66 |72
Gloucester |223 |250 |169 |254 |185 |260
Exter |446 |301 |289 |306 |483 |364
Bristol |474 |379 |514 |299 |465 |391
Worcester |208 |166 |180 |202 |157 |91
Swindon |333 |404 |395 |243 |244 |189
Reading |184 |301 |219 |247 |238 |147
Portsmouth |476 |589 |530 |541 |495 |393
Oxford |220 |161 |163 |153 |139 |150
Brighton |467 |415 |289 |399 |508 |447
Maidstone |285 |471 |359 |371 |538 |365
Guildford |286 |241 |249 |370 |191 |281
Bournemouth |165 |192 |138 |196 |146 |130
Stoke |441 |416 |405 |343 |585 |369
Leicester |373 |434 |226 |439 |442 |115
Lincoln |477 |229 |281 |532 |394 |357
Nottingham |500 |356 |318 |670 |487 |501
Peterborough |302 |341 |239 |259 |343 |207
Northampton |297 |303 |346 |271 |317 |304
Birmingham |716 |864 |1,622 |1,299 |1,159 |1,080
Coventry |278 |266 |314 |275 |214 |165
Dudley |95 |- |- |- |- |-
Shrewsbury |140 |159 |168 |224 |96 |72
London Enforcement Office (LEO) |3,631 |3,587 |2,786 |3,797 |3,870 |2,943
Disabled Staff
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the initiatives his Department is to undertake for disabled staff.
Mr. Norris: The Department of Transport has a programme of initiatives for staff with disabilities. For 1995 the programme will include:
--the continued provision of a budget for the purchasing of aids and equipment for staff;
--publicity to ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities under the OPSS "Programme for Action to Achieve Equality of Opportunity in the Civil Service for Disabled People"; --the maintenance of a register detailing the access arrangements and facilities available for staff in buildings used by the department;
--the use of the Department's Disability Information Package in 1995 training events;
--the facility to offer written information in braille or on audio cassette.
Transport Research Laboratory
Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to move or to alter the library of the Transport Research Laboratory.
Mr. Norris: My right hon. Friend will be considering the future of the library at the Transport Research Laboratory with his financial and other advisers in preparing the transfer of the laboratory to the private sector.
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Railway Stations (Disabled Access)
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many railway stations in the United Kingdom are inaccessible to wheelchair users.
Mr. Watts: The facilities available for disabled passengers vary from place to place. The leaflet "British Rail and Disabled Travellers" is designed to help disabled passengers plan their rail journeys and gives contact details for British Rail managers who will provide passengers with information about their nearest suitably designed and equipped station. A copy of this leaflet is available in the House Library.
London Direct"
Sir Michael Neubert: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many copies of "London Direct" published by London Transport with the Evening Standard of 23 January, have been purchased by his Department.
Mr. Norris: None, apart from those included with copies of the Evening Standard purchased by the Department's library and press office.
Coventry Airport
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 24 January, Official Report , column 98 , what considerations underlie the decision to allow the resumption of flights containing calves from Coventry airport before the completion of the inquiry into breaches of the Air Navigation Order of
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flights containing calves from that airport in November and December 1994; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Norris: In view of concern about the safety of flights carrying calves from Coventry airport as a result of the Air Algerie crash on 21 December 1994, the Department has taken additional steps to monitor the safety of any aircraft wishing to perform similar flights. Before considering any application, the Department has requested the Civil Aviation Authority to carry out an inspection of the aircraft in order that a check can be made to ensure that the aircraft can operate safely into Coventry airport and that the aircraft will be operated in accordance with international safety standards.
Two applications for the carriage of calves have been received since the crash of the Air Algerie aircraft. Neither of these applications involved airlines which are the subject of the current inquiry being conducted by the Department into possible breaches in November and December of article 88 of the Air Navigation Order 1989. Before the Department considered these applications, the CAA was asked to inspect the aircraft to be used for the flights. In the first case, involving a Nigerian Boeing 707 aircraft owned by ADC Airlines, my Department decided
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not to grant any further applications by ADC Airlines until it had discussed the CAA's findings with the Nigerian authorities. In the second case, involving AN26 aircraft operated by a Russian airline Atlant Soyuz, a permit was granted only after some modifications had been made to the aircraft and the Department had been satisfied that the airline had met all the Department's normal requirements for cargo charter flights.Regional Operations
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff his Department employs on a regional basis in each standard English region; what is the cost of running these regional operations; what was the total budget for each region in the latest available year; and what are the main purposes for which the budget is used.
Mr. Norris: The numerical and financial information requested is contained in the following table.
The regional programme budget is used for statutory advertising associated with orders under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (£430k); provision of venues for public inquiries into orders under TCPA 1990 (£20k); and consultancies and studies (£1,300k).
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Financial year
1994-95
|Running costs |Programme budget
Regional Government |Staff numbers<1> |budget (£k) |(£k)
Offices (Transport
programmes)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government Office for the Eastern Region |10 |302.5 |405.0
Government Office for the East Midlands |9 |243.9 |197.0
Government Office for Merseyside |3 |77.1 |55.0
Government Office for London |58 |2,460.0 |550.0
Government Office for the North East |21 |518.8 |56.0
Government Office for the North West |7 |243.1 |135.0
Government Office for the South East |13 |472.5 |82.5
Government Office for the South West |9 |288.1 |13.0
Government Office for the West Midlands |9 |299.4 |105.0
Government Office for Yorkshire & Humberside |8 |274.1 |45.0
Programme Budget held centrally in reserve |- |- |106.5
Totals |147 |5,179.5 |1,750.0
<1> According to personnel records.
Travel Pass
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects an agreement to be reached between the London boroughs on details for a new travel pass for London's pensioners and disabled people; what details of it he can disclose; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 17 January, Official Report , column 416 .
Dartford M25 Crossing
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when and by what means his Department ascertained the expected additional traffic movements of cars and lorries using the Dartford M25 crossing following the opening of the international station planned for Ebbsfleet in Kent.
(2) what is the estimated number of additional car and lorry movements which are expected to use the Dartford M25 crossing in each of the first five years following the opening of the international station planned for Ebbsfleet, Kent.
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Mr. Watts [holding answer 2 February 1995]: Expected additional traffic flows on the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing on the M25 resulting from the opening of an intermediate station at Ebbsfleet were set out on Ove Arup and Partners' final report on Ebbsfleet traffic impacts, which was published in January 1994 at the same time as Union Railways' report to the Government on the channel tunnel rail link. I regret that the report does not provide the information in the form requested but the following figures show the number of traffic movements, additional to expected levels of traffic, generated by a station at Ebbsfleet:
|AM peak |PM peak
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2001:
To Crossing |77 (+1.4 per cent.) |154 (+3.3 per cent.)
From Crossing |135 (+3.7 per cent.)|173 (+3.8 per cent.)
2011:
To Crossing |103 (+1.6 per cent.)|205 (+3.8 per cent.)
From Crossing |180 (+4.1 per cent.)|231 (+4.3 per cent.)
The expectation is that these movements will be almost entirely from non- lorry traffic.
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Channel Tunnel Security
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who are the inspectors in his Department whom he referred to in his oral statement of 30 January on channel tunnel security, Official Report, columns 685 90; what are their terms or reference; under what powers they are appointed; and what are their statutory powers and responsibilities.
Mr. Watts [holding answer 3 February 1995]: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has, under the terms of the Channel Tunnel (Security) Order 1994, authorised officials from the transport security division of this Department to inspect the security arrangements in place to ensure that the required standards are, and continue to be, met. The responsibilities and powers of the inspectors are set out in article 28 of the order.
InterCity
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many InterCity trains currently run daily each way Monday to Friday between (a) Paddington and Cardiff and (b) Paddington and Swansea; and how many will be guaranteed under the passenger service requirement for Great Western.
Mr. Watts [holding answer 3 February 1995]: The frequencies are set out in the table:
|Current
|timetable |Draft PSR
---------------------------------------------------------------
Paddington-Cardiff weekday
services
Westbound |20 |at least 17
Eastbound |20 |at least 17
Paddington-Swansea weekday
services
Westbound |17 |at least 14
Eastbound |18 |at least 14
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many InterCity trains will run (a) to Carmarthen and (b) to Fishguard daily under the passenger service requirements for Great Western; and how many currently run to those stations.
Mr. Watts [holding answer 3 February 1995]: The future level of InterCity services to Carmarthen and Fishguard will be determined by the Great Western franchisee.
The current number of InterCity trains to Carmarthen and Fishguard daily are set out in the tables:
Current timetable |Number
----------------------------------------------------------
Paddington-Carmarthen
Weekdays:
Westbound |1
Eastbound |1
Saturdays:
Westbound |1
Eastbound |1
Sundays:
Westbound |0
Eastbound |1
In addition on summer Saturdays Carmarthen will be served
by westbound and eastbound trains to Pembroke Dock.
The Franchising Director will include regular services between Swansea and Carmarthen in the PSR for Regional Railways South Wales and West. These trains will provide good connections at Swansea with InterCity services to London.
Current timetable |Number
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paddington-Fishguard:
Winter Sunday-Monday (October to late May):
Westbound |Note 1
Eastbound |1
Summer weekdays:
Westbound |1<1>
Eastbound |1<2>
Summer Sundays:
Westbound |1
Eastbound |2
Note 1: Through service operated on 12 days in the Christmas/New Year period.
<1>Between mid July and early September
<2>2 between mid July and early September
Accompanied Baggage
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what accompanied baggage restrictions will be placed on passengers travelling from Paddington to Fishguard following privatisation.
Mr. Watts [holding answer 3 February 1995]: Regulations relating to the carriage of passengers' baggage on trains are set out in the conditions of carriage. These conditions are currently being revised to maintain and improve passengers' rights on rail services provided by private sector operators.
Trans-European Network
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the Fishguard to Paddington railway line forms part of the Trans-European route network.
Mr. Watts [holding answer 3 February 1995]: Yes.
Bicycles
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bicycles may be carried on behalf of passengers on trains running between Paddington and Fishguard.
Mr. Watts [holding answer 3 February 1995]: British Rail currently allows the carriage of three bicycles per Great Western high speed trains serving Fishguard and one bicycle per train on other trains serving Fishguard.
BR Networker
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the principal subcontractors adversely affected by the cancellation of British Rail Networker order for 1995.
Mr. Watts [holding answer 3 February 1995]: There has been no cancellation.
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Inland Waterways
Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what tonnage of freight was carried on the inland waterways of the United Kingdom (a) in 1984 and (b) in 1994.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 3 February 1995]: Non-seagoing freight carried on inland waterways in the United Kingdom was 7 million tonnes in 1984 and 6.4 million tonnes in 1993, the latest year for which figures are available.
A40(M)
Mr. Shersby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what noise abatement measures have been taken to protect the residents of Ickenham from noise pollution at the point where the A40 (M) Western avenue passes between the junction of Long lane, Hillingdon, and Uxbridge circus; and what further measures are planned.
Mr. Norris: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency and I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Michael Shersby, dated 6 February 1995:
The Minister for Transport in London, Steven Norris, has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Transport what noise abatement measures have been taken to protect the residents of Ickenham from noise pollution at the point where the A40(M) Western Avenue passes between the junction of Long Lane, Hillingdon, and Uxbridge Circus; and what further measures are planned.
There were a number of measures taken to reduce the level of traffic noise from the improved A40 trunk road near Hillingdon Circus. These were included in the design and were:-
i) putting the new trunk road in deep cutting;
ii) erecting a noise barrier between residential properties and the trunk road carriageway north of the new road;
iii) providing noise insulation where properties qualify under the Noise Insulation Regulations; and
iv) surfacing the new road in tarmac rather than concrete. Planting to soften the environmental effect of the new trunk road on its surroundings will be carried out this spring.
Residents who consider that their property has depreciated in value as a result of increased traffic noise from the use of the new road, may be able to claim compensation under Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973. The claim period starts in May this year when notices will appear in the local press.
TREASURY
European Monetary Institute
Mr. Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total capital and revenue cost of establishing and running the European Monetary Institute at the latest date for which figures are available; and how much of that cost has been incurred by Her Majesty's Government.
Mr. Nelson: Article 16 of the protocol on the statute of the European Monetary Institute--EMI--annexed to the Maastricht treaty, provides for member states' central banks to make contributions towards the capital resources of the EMI. The resources will be used to generate an income necessary to cover the expenditure of the EMI. The share of the EMI's resources paid by each central
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bank is calculated according to each member state's population and GDP.--as set out in article 29 of the protocol on the statute of the European system of central banks.In accordance with article 16 of the EMI protocol, the Council of the EMI has determined that the total capital requirement needed to generate income sufficient to cover the EMI's budgeted expenditure is 615.6 million ecu. The Bank of England's share is 15.35 per cent. The Bank has accordingly contributed 94.5 million ecu--£72.7 million at the end-December 1994 exchange rate. Prior to the capital requirement being established by the council of the EMI the Bank contributed 3.0 million ecu--£2.4 million at the end-December exchange rate--towards the EMI's set-up and running costs during 1994.
The Bank of England made its contribution to the EMI out of its own resources. The central banks of Germany, France and Italy have made larger contributions than the Bank of England.
The budget for the EMI will be published in its annual report in April 1995.
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultations the Government have undertaken with the European Monetary Institute as provided for in article 109f(6) of the treaty on European Union.
Mr. Nelson: In accordance with article 109f(6) of the EC treaty the Government have notified the European Monetary Institute of a number of amendments to the Building Societies Act 1986, which are to be made by an order under the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994.
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the European Commission and the European Monetary Institute to report to the European Council as required by article 109j(1) of the treaty on European Union; and what discussions Her Majesty's Government have had with the Commission and the EMI on the preparation of the report in respect of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Nelson: No date has been set for the reports from the Commission and EMI required by article 109j(1) of the treaty. But for the Council to make the decisions set out in article 109j(3) by 31 December 1996, reports will need to be prepared earlier that year. Her Majesty's Government have had no discussions with the Commission or the EMI about the reports they will prepare.
Own Resources
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and which EEC members have ratified the own resources decision according to their respective constitutional timetables; and what information he has about the likely ratification dates of the remainder.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: I refer the hon. Member to the replies which I gave to the hon. Member for Stafford (Mr. Cash) on Thursday 19 January, Official Report, column 606 . Since then, I understand that Greece adopted the own resources decision on 29 December 1994 and the Republic of Ireland on 20 January 1995, in accordance with their constitutional requirements.
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Monetary Union
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number and grade of staff in his Department who are currently working on single currency issues.
Mr. Nelson: The number of officials involved in European monetary issues varies from day to day. No officials work exclusively on these issues.
Private Finance Panel
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the members and main interests of the private finance panel; what expenses or other remuneration are offered to its members; and what is the frequency of meetings.
Sir George Young: The members and main interests of the private finance panel are:
Mr. Malcolm R. Bates
Deputy Managing Director, GEC; Non-executive Director, Enterprise Oil.
Sir Christopher Bland
Chairman, NFC plc, Life Sciences International plc and Hammersmith Hospitals trust
Mr. Howard J. Davies
Director General, CBI; Director, GKN plc; Member, NatWest International Advisory Board; Director, BOTB and Business In The Community.
Mr. Allan Gormly CBE
Chairman, Royal Insurance Holdings plc; Joint Deputy Chairman, Trafalgar House plc; Director, National GridCo. plc, BPB Industries plc, Brixton Estate plc, Eurorail Ltd.
Mr. Hugh R. Jenkins
Chief Executive, Prudential Portfolio Managers; Director, Prudential Corporation; Member, DoE Property Advisory Group. Mr. Pen Kent
Executive Director, Bank of England.
Ms Sheila V. Masters
Partner, KPMG Peat Marwick; Non-executive Director, Bank of England; Non- executive Member, Inland Revenue Management Board and NHS Policy Board.
Sir Alastair Morton
Co-chairman, Eurotunnel; Chairman, Kent TEC, National Youth Orchestra, and East Kent Initiative; Non-executive Director, National Power and Lucas Industries.
Sir Brian Pearse
Chairman, The Housing Corporation, Lucas Industries, British Invisibles and Young Enterprise; Director, Smith and Nephew plc, Financial Reporting Council, BOTB, London First Centre.
Mr. Neville Simms
Group Chief Executive, Tarmac plc; Non-executive Director, Courtaulds plc.
Mr. Bob Dobbie
Head of Industrial Competitiveness Division, Department of Trade and Industry.
Mr. Colin Reeves
Director of Finance, NHS Executive.
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