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Countryside Council for Wales
Mr. Ron Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those organisations which received (a) copies of his action plan for the Countryside Council for Wales released on 4 May, (b) copies of the accompanying press release and (c) both plan and press release. [31677]
Mr. David Hunt: Both the Council of Welsh Districts and the Assembly of Welsh Counties were sent copies of the action plan and consulted formally on the implications therein for their members. In addition, the Welsh Office sent copies of the plan, on request, to a range of individuals and organisations such as the Farmers Union of Wales, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales and the Country Landowners Association. Copies of the press notice were sent routinely to the media.
Cadw
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the grants made by Cadw for (a) the maintenance, (b) the upkeep and (c) the restoration of toll houses in Wales in each year since 1990. [31113]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: Since 1990, Cadw's only grant in this category was for the restoration of the toll house at Telford's Conwy suspension bridge. A grant of £34,000 was offered in 1993.
Young People Leaving Care
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of States for Wales 1) what percentage of young people who left care in Wales in each of the past five years for which figures are available went into (a) furnished private accommodation, (b) furnished local authority accommodation, (c) unfurnished accommodation and (d) temporary accommodation; and what percentage is currently homeless; [31619]
(2) what percentage of young people who left care in Wales in each of the last 10 years (a) left school with no formal qualifications, (b) gained A- levels or equivalents or (c) gained vocational qualifications; [31611]
(3) what percentage of young people leaving care in Wales receive a leaving care grant; and what is the average value of the grant, for each of the past five years for which figures are available; [31615] (4) what percentage of young people who left care in Wales in each of the past five years for which figures are
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available are (a) claiming benefits, (b) on YTS schemes, (c) employed, (d) unemployed and (e) in full-time education [31617]Mr. Gwilym Jones: This information is not available centrally.
NHS Waiting Lists
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 2 May, Official Report , column 139 40 , if he will now give comparable figures for national health service waiting lists at 30 March. [32381]
Mr. David Hunt: The information relating to waiting lists at 31 March 1995 is shown in the following table:
|Number waiting |Number waiting
|more than 6 months |more than 18 months
Health Authority |for out-patient |for in-patient or
|day
area<1> |appointment |case treatment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clwyd |701 |74
Dyfed |1,294 |109
Gwent |3,021 |2
Gwynedd |585 |22
Mid Glamorgan |3,536 |203
Powys |206 |-
South Glamorgan |3,799 |156
West Glamorgan |3,382 |100
Wales |16,524 |666
<1> Including patients of GP Fundholders.
Source:
Welsh Office Core Performance Indicators.
Price Inflation (NHS)
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has of input price inflation in the health service in Wales for each of the last five years. [32379]
Mr. David Hunt: Health authorities receive a cash increase each year and are set targets for the generation of efficiency saving through their contracts with service providers. Taken together, these are sufficient to offset pay and price inflation and enable growth in patient services.
Overall cash increases and efficiency targets for the last five years are as follows:
|Overall per cent.|Efficiency target
|cash increase |per cent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991-92 |9.8 |1.1
1992-93 |7.0 |1.1
1993-94 |2.2 |2.0
1994-95 |2.8 |2.7
1995-96 |5.6 |3.0
TRANSPORT
Rail Privatisation (Consultants)
14. Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the total paid to consultants, outside individuals or organisations for services relating to rail privatisation. [30131]
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Mr. Watts: Total payments made for consultancy services by the Department, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising, and the Office of the Rail Regulator between 1991 92 and the end of May 1995 were £51.2 million.
Integrated Public Transport System
15. Mr. Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he intends to take to ensure that the United Kingdom develops an integrated public transport system; and if he will make a statement. [30132]
Mr. Norris: The quality and quantity of public transport services in the United Kingdom has improved significantly under this Government, as a direct result of greater private sector involvement, increased competition and deregulation. We have a range of proposals to ensure that this improvement continues.
Motor Bicycle Riders (Safety)
16. Mr. Booth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representation he has received in respect of the effectiveness of current safety provision for motor bicycle riders. [30133]
Mr. Norris: My Department regularly receives correspondence and representations on various motorcycling issues, including road safety.
ScotRail
18. Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the proposed privatisation of ScotRail. [30135]
Mr. Watts: The franchising director has invited and received pre- qualifying applications from potential bidders for the ScotRail franchise and he will issue invitations to tender in due course.
Thornaby Bypass
19. Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he has given Stockton borough council about the future of the Thornaby bypass. [30136]
Mr. Norris: My right hon. Friend's decision to withdraw support reflected the lack of progress with the scheme. It is open to the local authority concerned to submit a fresh bid for funding when the scheme is ready to proceed.
Road Accidents
20. Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the number of road deaths and serious injuries in 1994. [30137]
Mr. Norris: Nineteen ninety-four data were published in May. Deaths and serious injuries were respectively 35 per cent. and 38 per cent. below the baseline average for 1981 85, thus meeting the Government's target reduction of one-third by the year 2000 some six years early.
Ferry Safety
21. Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is promoting to improve ferry safety; and if he will make a statement. [30138]
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Dr. Mawhinney: In my statement to the House on 5 April, I announced the results of UK research which suggested that the fitting of transverse bulkheads could improve ferry survivability in the event of water invading the vehicle deck. We made this research available to the International Maritime Organisation's panel of experts which was set up following the "Estonia" disaster last September.
As I made clear in my statement, the Government support the thrust of the panel's recommendations and we will press for agreement to their implementation at the International Maritime Organisation's diplomatic conference in November. If satisfactory agreement cannot be reached we shall seek to introduce the necessary standards by other means as quickly as possible.
Motorway Building (Costs)
22. Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the cost per mile of building motorways (a) in a rural environment and (b) in an urban environment in the last five years. [30139]
Mr. Watts: The average costs of three-lane dual carriageway motorways built in the last five years in a rural environment were £9 million per mile and in an urban environment were £14 million per mile, excluding VAT at 1994 prices.
Rail Privatisation
23. Sir Fergus Montgomery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guarantees will be available to rail users on the privatised railway which were not available on the nationalised railway. [30140]
Mr. Watts: Rail users on the privatised railway will be able to enjoy, for the first time, contractually guaranteed levels of service, guaranteed ticket retailing facilities and the regulation of key daily fares and season ticket prices. The combination of these guarantees with the flexibility for franchisees to innovate will ensure a better service for passengers.
Heavy Goods Vehicle Licences
24. Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider changing the law so that parish councils can request notification of all heavy good vehicle operators' licence applications made in their locality. [30141]
Mr. Norris: There is no need to change the law.
Parish councils are already able to find out about applications for operator licences by subscribing to a licensing authority's fortnightly publication "Applications and Decisions". This is published by each traffic area office and gives details of all applications for operator licences made in that area.
Road Casualties
25. Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what new proposals he has to reduce road casualties. [30142]
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Mr. Norris: The road safety report for 1995 describes measures which have been taken or are being planned to reduce road accident casualties. Copies are in the Library.
Pollution
26. Mr. Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment is made of the reduction in airborne pollution when constructing a rail link. [30143]
Mr. Norris: Under standing orders relating to private and hybrid Bills and Transport and Works Act procedures, promoters of new rail links must prepare an environmental statement. This must include an assessment of any likely significant direct or indirect effects on air quality arising from the scheme.
Rail Freight
27. Mr. Roy Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve the efficiency of rail freight; and what discussions he has had on the subject with the operators. [30144]
Mr. Watts: The key to improving the efficiency of rail freight is liberalisation and privatisation. We have already opened up the rail network to competition. The process of privatising British Rail's freight businesses has begun. My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with the British Railways Board and others about the performance of the freight businesses and progress towards privatisation.
A1
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what date he now expects the A1 to be dualled from Morpeth to the Scottish border. [30134]
Mr. Watts: There are three schemes in the road programme which, when complete, would provide continuous dual carriageway from Newcastle to the north of Alnwick. Future progress on schemes between Alnwick and the Scottish border will depend upon the overall availability of resources and the national priorities.
Rail Freight Companies
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what sum he has allocated for grants to rail freight companies to encourage the transfer of freight from road to rail, over the period from 1994 to 1997; and what has been the expenditure to date. [31927]
Mr. Watts: The grant provision for the period 1994 95 to 1996 97 is £43.1 million. Expenditure to date is £2.8 million.
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the grants made to rail freight companies, providing services to or from Hampshire, to encourage the transfer of freight from road to rail. [31928]
Mr. Watts: No such grants have been made to rail freight companies. However two freight facilities grants have been awarded which affect Hampshire.
A £3.7 million grant to ARC Southern for rail facilities at Whatley Quarry in Somerset has allowed some 10,000
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lorry journeys a year to be removed from roads in the Fareham region of Hampshire since 1988.In 1993 a grant of £403,000 was awarded to the Esso Petroleum Company towards the cost of refurbishing a bulk bitumen storage facility in Plymouth. This has enabled the traffic to continue to be carried by rail from Fawley near Southampton, saving an estimated 2, 000 annual lorry trips between Southampton and Plymouth.
Disability Discrimination Bill
Mr. Sykes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the economic impact of the Disability Discrimination Bill on the provision of rural transport services; [31681]
(2) if he will list the representations which have been made to him by the transport industry on the Disability Discrimination Bill; [31682]
(3) what assessment he has made of the impact of the Disability Discrimination Bill on the international competitiveness of the United Kingdom transport industry. [31672]
Mr. Norris: It is not our intention to impose any requirements that will jeopardise either manufacturing or operating industries in the UK.
We recognise that different solutions will be needed, for example, for different types of vehicle, or for the same type of vehicle operating under different conditions as may be the case for some rural services. Similarly, we envisage that different time scales will have to be applied. The flexibility to achieve this in regulations has been built in to the new clause which were moved in Committee in the House of Lords on 27 June.
Officials have already begun detailed discussions at industry level through the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the Confederation of Passenger Transport. In addition, they are visiting a number of individual manufacturers to discuss in detail how we can make accessibility requirements work effectively. Those discussions will be continuing as we work up the detail of the regulations. Full compliance cost assessments will be produced before any regulations are made.
Trans-European Network
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was his policy at the recent meeting of the European Council of Ministers of Transport in respect of the European Parliament's proposal, amendment 59, to the Commission's proposal COM (94) 0106 to delete the proposed Birmingham northern relief road from the proposed trans-European transport network. [31746]
Mr. Watts: The UK opposed the deletion of the proposed Birmingham northern relief road from the proposed trans-European road network. This road forms part of the Ireland-UK-Benelux priority project.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was his policy at the recent meeting of the European Council of Ministers of Transport, in respect of the European Parliament's proposal, amendment 166, to the
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Commission's proposal COM (94) 0106 to ensure that at least 40 per cent. of EU expenditure on priority projects within the proposed trans-European transport network is spent on railways and at most 25 per cent. is spent on roads. [31747]Mr. Watts: The UK opposed the amendment imposing a target of 40 per cent. for Community spending on rail projects and limiting the level of spending on roads to 25 per cent. of the available budget. We need flexibility to ensure Community resources are targeted at the projects which best meet the agreed criteria for TENs funding. Since eight of the 14 priority projects are rail projects, and a further two cover both road and rail, the major part of the TENs budget is, however, likely to be devoted to rail projects.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was his policy at the recent meeting of the European Council of Ministers of Transport, in respect of the European Parliament's proposal, amendment 12, to the Commission's proposal COM (94) 0106 for a strategic environmental impact assessment of the proposed trans-European transport network. [31745]
Mr. Watts: The UK and other member states rejected this specific amendment proposed by the Parliament but agreed to a new indent in article 5 on environmental implications of the network and a new recital. These changes will help to ensure that the environment is taken fully into account in the development and implementation of the network.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was his policy at the recent meeting of the European Council of Ministers of Transport, in respect of the European Parliament's proposal, amendment 8, to the Commission's proposal COM (94) 0106 for an assessment of the effects of the proposed trans-European transport network on the regions and on jobs. [31744]
Mr. Watts: The UK and other member states agreed with the Commission that this proposed European Parliament amendment was unnecessary. The aim of the network is to contribute to strengthening economic and social cohesion. Each project will have to demonstrate it is potentially economically viable taking account of socio-economic costs and benefits.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the recent discussions of the European Council of Ministers of Transport in respect of the proposed trans-European transport network. [31748]
Mr. Watts: As reported in an answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 27 June, Official Report, column 545 46, at its meeting held on 19-20 June the Council of Ministers discussed the Commission proposal for Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network in the light of the European Parliament's opinion received at the end of May. In addition to the amendments suggested by the European Parliament, a number of proposed amendments put forward by member states were discussed. I was pleased that the Council was able to
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reach a common position on the proposal. This will now return to the European Parliament for further consideration.Corporate Logo
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each of the executive agencies within his Department the cost of the design and production of the corporate logo. [31837]
Mr. Norris: The information is not available in the form requested.
EC Directives
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the draft EC directives currently being discussed by either the European Parliament or Commission relating to transport. [31826]
Mr. Norris: The following Commission legislative proposals are currently being discussed by either the European Parliament or the Council of Ministers:
proposal for a decision on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network;
proposal for a directive on the reporting of movements of vessels carrying dangerous or polluting goods;
proposal for a directive on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods and passengers by sea;
proposal for a regulation on the implementation of the International Safety Management code for roll-on/roll-off ferries; proposal for a regulation on the free provision of services in transport by inland waterway;
proposal for a directive on the liberalisation of airport ground-handling facilities;
proposal for a directive on the licensing of railway undertakings;
proposal for a directive on the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity and the charging of infrastructure fees; proposal for a directive on the interoperability of the high-speed rail network;
proposal for a directive on the transport of dangerous goods by rail;
proposal for a directive on dangerous-goods safety advisers; proposal for a directive on the weight and dimensions of certain motor vehicles;
proposals for directives on the standards of and fitment of seatbelts in buses and coaches;
proposal for a multichapter directive on whole type approval for motorcycles;
proposals for directives on frontal and side-impact standards for cars;
proposal for a directive on emissions from light commercial vehicles and small diesel engines;
proposal for a directive on the harmonisation of rules for the use of self- propelled machinery on public highways;
proposal for a directive on recording equipment in road transport;
proposal for a directive on the hiring of road-haulage vehicles without drivers; and
proposal for a directive on passenger-carrying cableways.
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Long-distance Coaches
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints he has received about inadequate toilet facilities on long- distance coaches; and if he will make a statement. [31607]
Mr. Norris: There is no record of complaints on this matter. The provision of toilet facilities on coaches is a matter for the operators.
Mr. Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regulations there are regarding toilet facilities and the replenishing of same on long-distance coaches travelling between the United Kingdom and other European countries; and if he will make a statement. [31598]
Mr. Norris: There are no regulations regarding this matter and I am not aware of plans to introduce any such regulations in the European Union.
Mr. Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision for long-distance coaches to have their toilet facilities replenished; and if he will make a statement. [31599]
Mr. Norris: I have made no such assessment.
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