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Sustainable Development
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the key principles of sustainable development.
Mr. Atkins: I refer the hon. Member to "The UK's Strategy for Sustainable Development", Cm 2426, chapter 3.
Local Authorities (Companies)
Lady Olga Maitland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received on his proposals for local authority participation in companies and for amending the capital finance regulations; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry: My right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales have received some 180 representations on our proposed order under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, including requests to exercise our powers under that Act to exempt specific local authority companies from our proposals and about 40 representations on our proposed amendments to the capital finance regulations. Having regard to these representations, we have concluded that it would be right to allow certain exemptions and to make certain technical modifications, including making special transitional provisions, to our originally proposed order, and to make some amendments to the regulations.
I have arranged for copies of a revised draft order and regulations, including those modifications, together with explanatory guides and a statement of our current intentions on exemptions, to be placed in the Library of the House. Department of the Environment and Welsh Office officials are continuing to discuss the detail of the draft order and regulations with the local authority associations, and we shall be considering further the applications received from individual authorities for exemptions. It is our intention to make the order and regulations by 1 April 1995.
TRANSPORT
QE2 (Safety)
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 20 February, Official Report , column 3 , which agency was responsible for refusing the Queen Elizabeth 2 permission to sail from New York in December 1994 until further works had been undertaken on the vessel.
Mr. Norris: The requirements of both the Marine Safety Agency and the United States coast guard resulted in a delay to the departure of the Queen Elizabeth 2 from New York.
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 20 February, Official Report , column 3 , what discussions were held between the Marine Safety Agency and US authorities regarding the fitness of the Queen Elizabeth 2 to sail from New York in December 1994; what advice was received from the US authorities; and what action was taken as a result.
Mr. Norris: The Marine Safety Agency maintained a professional dialogue with the United States coast guard when they boarded the ship in New York. Both agencies
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advised the owners that further work was necessary before departure and action was taken to comply with these requirements.Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 20 February, Official Report , column 3 , what was the precise nature of the work which the Marine Safety Agency required to be undertaken to the Queen Elizabeth 2 before the vessel was allowed to leave New York in December 1994.
Mr. Norris: As I explained in my previous answer on 20 February 1994, Official Report , column 3 , the work which had been delayed due to heavy weather during the crossing had to be completed. This included materials being removed from the restricted access areas of the ship.
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 20 February, Official Report , column 3 , what breaches of the safety of life at sea convention were identified on the QE2 (a) during the vessel's voyage to New York in December 1994 and (b) whilst in New York in December 1994.
Mr. Norris: The ship had work outstanding on sailing from Southampton, some of which was SOLAS related. For this reason, a certificate was issued for a reduced number of passengers, subject to special provisions and procedures being in place during the voyage.
Humber Bridge
Mr. Michael Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding the outstanding debt on the Humber bridge; and what proposals he envisages to repay the debt.
Mr. Watts: The debt currently stands at £435 million. Primary legislation will be needed to write off or suspend debt which cannot be serviced from toll revenue.
Mr. Michael Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for privatising the Humber bridge.
Mr. Watts: There are no present proposals to privatise the Humber bridge.
Leicester Western Bypass
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the daily number of vehicles which will use the Leicester western bypass when it is opened; what are the expected flow rates in each direction; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Watts: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member. Letter form Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Keith Vaz, dated 1 March 1995: I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about forecast daily traffic flows on the A46 Leicester Western Bypass, which is currently under construction.
In line with current practice, we have calculated traffic flows based on high and low economic growth and other factors. For each
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section of the bypass the forecast annual average daily traffic flow in each direction, at opening, ranges between:-17,500--19,000 vehicles: M1 Junction 21A to A50
19,000--20,500 vehicles: A50 to B5327
13,000--14,000 vehicles: B5327 to A6
11,000--12,000 vehicles: A6 to A46
Channel Tunnel
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the level of investment by British Rail in each year since 1979 on (a) the rail network excluding the channel tunnel and (b) the channel tunnel.
Mr. Watts: British Rail has not invested in the channel tunnel. Investment in infrastructure and rolling stock to run international services through the tunnel is shown in the table, together with investment on the existing railway.
|EPS and
|Existing |channel tunnel
|railway |freight |Total
|£ million cash|£ million cash|£ million cash
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |367 |- |367
1980 |431 |- |431
1981 |409 |- |409
1982 |378 |- |378
1983 |439 |- |439
1984-85<1> |596 |- |596
1985-86 |550 |- |550
1986-87 |543 |- |543
1987-88 |693 |- |693
1988-89 |723 |5 |728
1989-90 |865 |27 |892
1990-91 |869 |178 |1,047
1991-92 |969 |350 |1,319
1992-93 |955 |521 |1,476
1993-94 |650 |515 |1,165
<1> Fifteen month year due to change from calendar year accounting to
financial year accounting.
Road Maintenance (Delays)
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessments he has made of the delays to motorists arising from (a) structural maintenance of roads and (b) bridge strengthening and replacement.
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 Ms Joan Walley, dated 1 March 1995: You asked the Secretary of State for Transport what assessments he has made of the delays to motorists arising from structural maintenance of roads and bridge strengthening and replacement. As this is an operational matter for the Highways Agency,I have been asked to reply.
The Highways Agency is committed to keeping the duration of schemes and the amount of delay they cause to a minimum, and is developing arrangements for monitoring performance.
Our most recent assessment is that the cost of these delays to road users on motorways is in the order of £600m per year. We do not have equivalent figures for other types of road.
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Roadside Wages (Wildlife)
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to encourage wildlife habitats on roadside verges.
Mr. Watts: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write the hon. Member. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Elliot Morley, dated 1 March 1995:
The Minister for Railways and Roads, Mr. John Watts, has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the measures taken to encourage wildlife habitats on roadside verges. Since 1962 a substantial estate has been established alongside the trunk road network a large part of which is woodland or scrub. This significant area of woodland is now proving valuable for nature conservation. It links existing patterns of vegetation and often complements severed woodlands and forests adjoining the road. The species used are predominantly native and the land suffers little human disturbance. This has allowed natural colonisation by some of our rarest wildflowers which is now complemented by the selective sowing and planting of areas with wildflowers.
The practice of planting roadside verges with wildflowers has formed part of the landscape treatment of roads since the mid-1980s and our motorways are increasingly becoming nature reserves in their own right. For example, 384 species of wild flora have been identified along the M1 between London and Leeds. They include rare species as well as 54 species of grass.
Effective maintenance will ensure that the landscape and other environmental mitigation objectives are achieved and maintained throughout the life of the scheme. Maintenance is timed to avoid nesting and breeding seasons and glades and rides are created in solid woodland blocks. Where opportunities permit, balancing ponds and watercourses can be managed to create a mosaic of wildlife habitat. Trees, shrubs and wildflowers which fail to establish are removed and replaced and dominant species such as gorse which can stifle the growth of other species is controlled by cutting. The spread of weeds such as docks and ragwort (which is poisonous to livestock) is prevented by cutting or in some circumstances through the selective use of herbicides. To bring trees to maturity in a well-formed, stable and healthy manner periodic thinning will take place, removing those trees which were either planted as nurse crops or are preventing the natural growth of other trees within a planted area. In many cases the wood derived from this process is recycled to provide mulch for new planting.
Specific measures taken to encourage wildlife onto roadside verges include work on the A27 Brighton Bypass. On this scheme the use of plant species which attract the Chalkhill Blue is helping to preserve this rare species of butterfly. This work has won an award from Butterfly Conservation, and other measures to preserve butterflies are being planned throughout the country.
These examples of work are aimed at the protection of individual species, but much of the work that is implemented is directed at preserving areas of habitat which support a wide range of species. Examples include M1-A1 link road relocation of a wetland site; A31 Ferndown Bypass restoration of heathland SSS1; A361 North Devon Link Road restoration of moorland and re- creation of ponds; and M3 Winchester restoration of chalk Downland. Innovative techniques have been used in all these cases and long term monitoring is underway to help inform future work of a similar nature.
We also take measures to deter wildlife from straying onto roads. These include protective measures such as bird and bat boxes, toad and frog tunnels, special fencing for badgers and deer and the construction of otter holts. We also divert and maintain watercourses during construction to prevent stagnation. Rescue plans for dormice have also been implemented, new ponds created for great crested newts and butterfly habitats have been recreated.
Advice on the best measures to be taken to encourage wildlife habitats on roadside verges is obtained from English Nature and other conservation bodies and has been incorporated in Volume 10 of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges which is available from the House of Commons Library.
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Radioactive Materials
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he now intends to introduce regulations arising from the radioactive materials (Road Transport) Act 1991.
Mr. Norris: Regulations should be laid before the House in May.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what efficiency savings he has made in respect of the radioactive material transportation division.
Mr. Norris: A higher executive officer post has been given up, with estimated savings of £4,500 in the current financial year and £26,000 in 1995 96.
Joint Aviation Requirements
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions during the last four years the joint aviation requirements--JAR-OPS 1--now being promulgated by the CAA as alternatives to, or as an elaboration for, an air navigation order have been subject to the normal parliamentary process in the United Kingdom.
Redundancies
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff have left British Rail since January 1993 under redundancy or early retirement arrangements; and what has been the total cost of payments made to staff leaving the industry.
Mr. Watts: For the period from 1 January 1993 to 31 January 1995, 19,183 employees left British Rail under voluntary redundancy or special severance terms, at a cost of some £377 million.
Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on the departmental preparation and supervision costs in trunk roads in England 1994 review, in respect of the proposed Birmingham northern relief road;
(2) how much his Department has spent to date on the administration of the public inquiry into the proposed Birmingham northern relief road; and how much he expects to spend by the time the inquiry is completed;
(3) how much his Department expects to spend on the compulsory purchase of land and property to make way for the proposed Birmingham northern relief road.
Mr. Watts: These are operational matters for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Ms Joan Walley, dated 1 March 1995: You asked the Secretary of State for information on the Department's costs in respect of the Birmingham Northern Relief Road (BNRR).
The Highways Agency expects to spend in the order of £25 million acquiring land compulsorily for the construction of BNRR. This land would remain in the ownership of the Department, who would lease it to Midland Expressway Ltd for the duration of their Concession. The road itself will revert to the Department when the concession expires.
The preparation and supervision costs for this scheme referred to in the Trunk Roads in England 1994 Review relate to costs incurred
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by the Department in selecting the private sector promoter and negotiating the Concession Agreement. In addition, there are costs associated with carrying out certain statutory functions during the planning stage and the fees of consultants engaged to assist with the Department's supervision of the project. To date these costs amount to about £5.0 million.You also asked how much the Department had spent to date on the administration of the public inquiry and the likely outturn costs. To date we have spent around £700,000 which includes fees, venue costs, the cost of servicing the inquiry and staff costs. We expect spend to continue at about £20,000 per week until the inquiry ends some time in the summer.
WALES
Non-departmental Public Bodies (Delegated Pay)
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which will (a) follow the pay arrangements of the sponsoring Department and (b) pursue an independent and separate route under the delegated pay option (i) from April 1995 and (ii) from April 1996.
Mr. Redwood: NDPBs in Wales operate a variety of pay systems. Where these are currently linked to national civil service pay settlements, it will be for the management in each NDPB concerned to develop and bring forward proposals for new pay arrangements to operate following the delegation of civil service pay to departments and agencies and in the absence of national pay settlements from April 1996.
Civil Servants (Fast Stream)
Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of those accepted for fast-stream entry for which his Department is responsible (a) in 1991, (b) 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994 were women.
Mr. Redwood: The information for 1991 and 1992 is published in the Civil Service Commissioners' reports, copies of which are in the Library of the House.
For 1993 and 1994 the information is as follows:
|Total number of |Number who
|fast-stream entrants|were women
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1993 |2 |1
1994 |6 |1
Modern Apprenticeship Scheme
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which sectors the modern apprenticeship scheme will cover in 1995 96; and what funding he will make available for the scheme.
Mr. Redwood: I intend making over £6 million available to fund modern apprenticeships in 1995 96. My Department is currently in discussions with the training and enterprise councils to determine those sectors to which modern apprenticeships will be extended to meet the needs of the local economy, though a strong emphasis on manufacturing engineering will continue.
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Compulsory Competitive Tendering
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the value in today's prices of work contracted out by compulsory competitive tendering from local authorities; and how much has been won in value and in percentage terms by (a) the private sector and (b) in-house bids indicating when they were permitted to bid and giving the number of bids involved.
Mr. Redwood: This information is not held centrally.
NCM
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he intends to take to facilitate the smooth transition of NCM from Crown offices in Cathays park, Cardiff, to new offices in Cardiff bay.
Mr. Redwood: My Department is not directly responsible for the arrangements to move NCM out of Cathays park. However, my officials are in contact with the company and we will do anything we reasonably can to assist them within the constraints imposed by our own operational and budgetary requirements.
Market Testing
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the value in today's prices of work contracted out from his Department through market testing; how much has been won by the private sector and how much has been won by the public sector if permitted to bid; and what is the total number of contracts in each category.
Mr. Redwood: Details of the value of the three contracts awarded as a result of market testing during 1992 93 and 1993 94 are as follows:
|Public/Private |Total contract
Service |sector |value
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Building maintenance |Private sector |Fee based call-off
management |contract. Actual cost
|for first year, 1993-
|94, was £24,191,
|excluding VAT
Staff training |Private sector |Total not available.
|Part call-off
|contract. Fee for 3
|year non-call of
|element £286,750,
|excluding VAT.
Catering services |Public sector when |Costs dependent on
|contract let |turnover. Actual
|cost for first year,
|1992-93, was
|£76,000, excluding
|VAT.
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the cost of today's prices of the compulsory competitive tendering and market- testing programme.
Mr. Redwood: The costs for each of the years 1992 93 and 1993 94 for market testing is £360,000 if costs are annualised over the accepted investment appraisal period for central Government of 10 years, compared with the expected annual savings of £1.65 million.
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Motorways
Mr. Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many miles of motorway are currently (a) open in Wales, (b) under construction in Wales and (c) planned in Wales, either (i) as new motorway or (ii) as existing motorway being widened.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Seventy-eight miles of motorway are open. A further 4.4 miles and 14 miles of new motorway are under construction and planned respectively. Twelve miles of existing motorway are to be widened.
Gas Works Sites
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what information he has on remedial decontamination work undertaken at former gas works sites in Wales;
(2) how many abandoned former gas works sites there are in Wales.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: The survey of contaminated land sites in Wales published by the Welsh Office in 1988 identified 76 former or existing gas works sites in Wales. A number of these have been or are being decontaminated under the Welsh Development Agency's land reclamation programme. British Gas also has its own programme of works to survey and treat gasworks sites in its ownership which might give rise to off-site contamination.
Dioxins Report
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to (a) publicise the existence and (b) make available to those organisations and communities in Wales known to be concerned with dioxin pollution, copies of the Government report on the United Kingdoms-- comments on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's external review draft reassessment of dioxins, issued in January.
Mr. Gwilym Jones: On 25 January my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State at the Department of the Environment announced the publication of the United Kingdom's response to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's draft report on dioxins. Since publication the Department of the Environment have distributed copies to a wide range of interests. Other interested organisations in Wales can obtain copies on request either from the Welsh Office or from the Department of the Environment.
Bowel Cancer
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what plans he has to introduce a screening system to identify bowel cancer before it spreads beyond the bowel wall.
Mr. Richards: None. The Government's screening policy seeks to ensure that a national screening programme is introduced only if research has shown it to be effective and affordable. The benefits provided by screening must also outweigh any disadvantages. These criteria are not met in respect of screening the whole population for bowel cancer.
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Prostate Cancer
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to introduce an early diagnosis service for prostate cancer assessment following the trial evaluation programme of a selective screening system recently conducted in Gwent.
Mr. Richards: Although the trial evaluation in Gwent has now ended, I understand that publication of the findings is not expected until the end of the year. The Welsh Office has not been informed of the results, but will consider them when they are made available.
Public Appointments
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all the appointments he has made to non-departmental public bodies and NHS trusts since 1 March 1994.
Mr. Redwood: All current appointments made by me, including those made since 1 March 1994, are listed in "Appointments made by the Secretary of State for Wales". This document is updated quarterly and is available in the Library of the House.
SCOTLAND
Road Accidents
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the accident and fatal accident figures for each year since 1990, and any months of 1995 currently available for each stretch of A77, A74 and A96 and for the whole of each road, on a directly comparable basis.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is given in the tables:
Route: A77
Section: Stranraer to Ayr
Length km.: 83.18
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |0 |20 |45 |65 |0.43
1991 |3 |19 |33 |55 |0.37
1992 |6 |24 |47 |77 |0.51
1993 |3 |18 |39 |60 |0.40
1994 |0 |26 |48 |74 |0.49
Route: A77
Section: Ayr to Glasgow City Boundary
Length km.: 46.70
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |8 |27 |75 |110 |0.29
1991 |8 |29 |75 |112 |0.29
1992 |5 |31 |72 |108 |0.28
1993 |3 |18 |64 |85 |0.22
1994 |3 |22 |57 |82 |0.21
Route: A77
Section: Stranraer to Glasgow City Boundary (Whole Trunk Road)
Length km.: 129.88
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |8 |47 |120 |175 |0.46
1991 |11 |48 |108 |167 |0.43
1992 |11 |55 |119 |185 |0.48
1993 |6 |36 |103 |145 |0.38
1994 |3 |48 |105 |156 |0.41
Route: A77
Section: Within Glasgow City Boundary
Length kms.: 6.00
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |0 |16 |83 |99 |1.76
1991 |1 |28 |65 |94 |1.67
1992 |0 |21 |57 |78 |1.38
1993 |0 |14 |50 |64 |1.13
1994 |0 |20 |42 |62 |1.10
Route: A74/A74(M)
Section: National Boundary to Millbank<1>
Length km.: 92.16
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |8 |31 |67 |106 |0.14
1991 |4 |31 |76 |111 |0.15
1992 |8 |26 |55 |89 |0.12
1993 |7 |24 |50 |81 |0.11
1994 |1 |21 |37 |59 |0.08
<1> The construction work related to the upgrading of the A74 to motorway has been under way
during the period covered making separation of individual dual and motorway sections impractical.
Route: M74
Section: Millbank to Maryville
Length km.: 35.83
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |1 |10 |22 |33 |0.08
1991 |4 |9 |23 |36 |0.09
1992 |0 |11 |26 |37 |0.09
1993 |1 |8 |20 |29 |0.07
1994 |1 |9 |43 |53 |0.13
Route: A74/M74
Section: National Boundary to Maryville (Whole Trunk Road)
Length km.: 127.99
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |9 |41 |89 |139 |0.12
1991 |8 |40 |99 |147 |0.13
1992 |8 |37 |81 |126 |0.11
1993 |8 |32 |70 |110 |0.09
1994 |2 |30 |80 |112 |0.10
Route: A96
Section: Aberdeen to Fochabers
Length km.: 85.63
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |7 |20 |80 |107 |0.40
1991 |3 |26 |58 |87 |0.33
1992 |3 |28 |71 |102 |0.39
1993 |2 |19 |65 |86 |0.33
1994 |5 |16 |52 |73 |0.28
Route: A96
Section: Aberdeen to Fochabers
Length km.: 85.63
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |7 |20 |80 |107 |0.40
1991 |3 |26 |58 |87 |0.33
1992 |3 |28 |71 |102 |0.39
1993 |2 |19 |65 |86 |0.33
1994 |5 |16 |52 |73 |0.28
Route: A96
Section: Fochabers to Inverness
Length km.: 73.01
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |3 |15 |54 |72 |0.24
1991 |3 |22 |52 |77 |0.26
1992 |6 |13 |56 |75 |0.25
1993 |4 |13 |47 |64 |0.21
1994 |2 |12 |42 |56 |0.19
Route: A96 Section: Aberdeen to Inverness (Whole Trunk Road)
Length km: 158.63
Personal injury
accidents
|Section
Year |Fatal |Serious |Slight |Total |accident rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |10 |35 |134 |179 |0.32
1991 |6 |48 |110 |164 |0.29
1992 |9 |41 |127 |177 |0.31
1993 |6 |32 |112 |150 |0.27
1994 |7 |28 |94 |129 |0.23
Note:
<1> The accident rates shown in all the tables are expressed in numbers of personal injury
accidents per million vehicle kilometres travelled. The traffic flows are estimated from sample
counts taken at specific sites and updated annually using national growth factors.
Vocational Qualifications
Mrs. Golding: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to (a) promote and (b) fund the Scottish vocational qualification in child care and education.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: A national television and press advertising campaign to promote SVQs and other vocational qualifications will be conducted in Scotland during March and April this year. A second phase of the campaign is planned for later in the year.
Some £1.2 million has been given to the Scottish Vocational Education Council by the Scottish Office in
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the current financial year for the Scottish vocational qualification development programme, which includes the child care and education sector.Paisley Gilmour Street Railway Station
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet the appropriate officials of the relevant authorities to discuss making Paisley Gilmour Street railway station accessible to disabled people, including wheelchair users; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Paisley Gilmour Street railway station is owned by Railtrack and operated by the Strathclyde passenger transport executive. I have no plans, at present, to meet officials of either body. However, I understand that Railtrack has a scheme under consideration to refurbish the station, which will include the provision of lifts to the platforms and for the building of a subway to Sneddon street.
Gemini Housing Association
Mr. Michael J. Martin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if Gemini is registered with Scottish Homes as a bona fide housing association;
(2) what assessment he has made of the consistency with the code of conduct of Gemini distributing a newsletter to current Scottish Homes' tenants prior to formal registration of interest;
(3) if Gemini's financial packages for each ballot area will be appraised on a mutually exclusive basis, in direct competition with each of the alternative landlords;
(4) what is the full postal address of the Scottish Homes' office in the east end of Glasgow;
(5) how much and in what manner Scottish Homes is resourcing the Gemini bid;
(6) if Gemini is submitting stand-alone viable financial packages for each ballot area.
(7) what assessment he has made of the viability of Gemini as an organisation capable of attracting private funding if it is unsuccessful in a substantial proportion of its bids for balloted housing stock from Scottish Homes;
(8) what is the full postal address of Gemini housing Association.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is a matter for Scottish Homes. I have asked its chairman, Sir James Mellon, to write to the hon. Member.
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