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Consultants
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the cost of employing consultants in connection with privatisation programmes in which his Department has been engaged since 1980. [33458]
Sir Paul Beresford: The information requested is not held centrally by my Department and is obtainable only at disproportionate cost.
Carbon Emissions
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the performance of the Energy Saving Trust in meeting the reductions in emissions set out in the United Kingdom climate change strategy. [33998]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: The Government are confident of meeting their commitments under the climate change convention. The trust estimates that the programme of activities already established and financed will save at least 0.3 million tonnes of carbon in 2000. Further schemes will make additional contributions, but they are not yet established.
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Construction Industry Board
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the membership of the Construction Industry Board; on what criteria members were appointed; and what is their salary. [34063]
Mr. Clappison: The board's membership is provided by the Construction Industry Council, the Construction Industry Employers Council, the Constructors Liaison Group, and the Government, each of whom may appoint four members; and the Construction Clients Forum which is entitled to appoint six members. The Secretary of State for the Environment is president of the board and Sir Michael Latham is chairman.
Appointment of members is at the discretion of the nominating organisations, but they are expected to be senior representatives of their organisations.
The Confederation of British Industry is a representative body and members are not paid salaries.
Algae Blooms
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many rivers, canals and lakes have been deemed a safety hazard to public health as a result of algae blooms in each of the last five years. [34627]
Mr. Clappison: This information is not held centrally.
Departmental Redundancies
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many redundancies occurred in his Department over the last 12 months; how many were voluntary; and what was the total sum spent on redundancy payments. [34592]
Sir Paul Beresford [holding answer 14 July 1995]: In the last 12 months, there were no redundancies in the core of my Department, nor in the Health and Safety Executive. In the Property Services Agency, there were 895 redundancies, of which 466 were voluntary. The total sum spent on these redundancies was £38,697,000.
Town Centre Managers
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the support he intends to give to town centre managers. [33370]
Mr. Robert B. Jones: Town centre management is a local activity, best carried out by local partnerships. I have, however, strongly supported town centre improvement and management through planning policy guidance note 6; through a good practice guide--"Vital and Viable Town Centres: Meeting the Challenge"; and through help for the Association of Town Centre Management in a number of its projects.
Department of Employment Staff
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff employed in the former Department of Employment as a result of that Department's abolition (a) will be made redundant (b) will take early retirement (c) will be employed on a temporary contract instead of a permanent contract and
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(d) will be employed on a part-time basis instead of a full-time basis; and if he will make a statement. [34658]Sir Paul Beresford: The Health and Safety Executive and the health and safety policy and liaison section of the Employment Department transferred to the Department of the Environment on 5 July 1995. This has not had any impact on the number of employees employed or their conditions of service.
Defective Housing
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will classify the privately owned Calder Homes houses at Angus close, Killingworth, North Tyneside as properties which are defective under section 528(1) in part XVI of the Housing Act 1985. [34807]
Mr. Clappison: My Department has no evidence that this would be justified.
Ozone
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has received from the Norwegian Meteorological Office as to the estimate produced by the photochemical model for Europe with regard to the likely effects upon levels of ozone in the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom policy for reducing oxides of nitrogen. [35086]
Mr. Clappison: As part of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme's work programme within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's Convention on Transboundary Air Pollution--UNECE-LRTAP--a photochemical model has been developed and is used as an aid policy dvelopment. Preliminary results show that ozone in the UK is indeed a transboundary problem and that the UK receives significant amounts of ozone from other European countries. As the UK reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides, levels of ozone may rise and then decline as further reductions in nitrogen oxide emissions are made. Because of the complesities associated with the formation of ground level ozone in Europe, the EMEP results will be developed and considered more fully within the UNECE with the aim of developing a European-wide strategy for ozone reduction.
Local Government Commission
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the costs of running the Local Government Commission; what was the amount spent each year by the commission on research and consultancy; and if he will list the areas covered and the companies engaged for each year since 1990. [35095]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Local Government Commission was established on 1 July 1992. Its expenditure to date is as follows:
£ million
|Expenditure on
Year |Total expenditure|research and
|consultancy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992-93 |2.056 |0.532
1993-94 |5.146 |1.281
1994-95 |7.817 |1.004
The present budget for 1995 96 is £2,508 million; budget allocations, including those of consultancies are still being considered. The commission has engaged MORI, Ernst and Young, NOP Research Group Ltd., the Audit Commission, Succession Planning Associates, the London Research Centre and, for the current year only, Coopers and Lybrand on consultancies covering opinion research, staffing issues and financial appraisal together with other related matters.
TRANSPORT
Derailments
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of derailments involving (a) passenger trains and (b) freight trains occurring in each year since 1990 to date. [34901]
Mr. Watts: The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate maintains records of accidents and incidents, details of which are contained in the annual report on railway safety. Copies are placed in the House of Commons Library.
The table shows the number of derailments for passenger and freight trains.
Figures for 1994 95 are expected to be published this December.
Derailments 1990 to 1993-94
|1990 |1991 |1991-92|1992-93|1993-94|Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Passenger trains |26 |3 |23 |30 |29 |111
Freight trains |157 |43 |121 |175 |84 |580
Total |183 |46 |144 |205 |113 |691
The figures for 1991 cover the period 1 January 1991 to 31 March 1991
only.
Rail Privatisation
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the nationality of those foreign companies, organisations or individuals which have completed pre-qualification for tendering for a private rail franchise. [34910]
Transport Policy (Safety)
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to include transport safety in the list of main questions in his consultation document "Transport: The Way Ahead"; and what factors underlay its initial exclusion. [34895]
Sir George Young: The broad theme of "Transport: The Way Ahead" is the balance in transport policy between promotion of economic growth, protection of the environment and support for personal choice. Transport safety can affect this balance: some of the issues are touched upon in the paper--see paragraphs 1.25, 2.25, 5.22 and 5.33. I would welcome any contributions which explored these issues further.
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Road Congestion (Greater London)
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's estimate of the annual cost to business of road congestion within Greater London. [34898]
Mr. Norris: No single figure can be quoted because there is no generally accepted norm against which any measure of congestion can be compared.
Parliamentary Questions
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many parliamentary questions his Department has refused to answer for reasons of commercial confidentiality in each year since 1990 to date. [34902]
Mr. Norris: This is a matter of public record.
Cyclists (Accidents)
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of road traffic accidents involving cyclists indicating the number of fatalities, and the number of serious injuries in (a) Greater London and (b) the United Kingdom for each year since 1990 to date. [34906]
Mr. Norris: The information available is shown in the following table.
Accidents involving pedal cyclists: Greater London 1990-94
Accidents
Severity |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |1994
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Fatal |19 |18 |20 |19 |16
Serious |650 |652 |567 |515 |511
Slight |3,940 |3,699 |3,740 |3,731 |3,931
All severities |4,609 |4,369 |4,327 |4,265 |4,458
?
Pedal cycle fatalities and serious casualties: Greater London
1990-94
Casualties
Severity |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |1994
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fatal |19 |17 |18 |18 |15
Serious |627 |629 |545 |493 |488
KSI<1> |646 |646 |563 |511 |503
<1> Killed or seriously injured.
Accidents involving pedal cyclists: Great Britain 1990-94
Accidents
Severity |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |1994
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Fatal |267 |247 |212 |194 |184
Serious |4,486 |4,076 |3,905 |3,743 |3,966
Slight |21,971 |20,719 |20,845 |20,363 |20,915
All severities |26,724 |25,042 |24,962 |24,300 |25,065
?
Pedal cycle fatalities and serious casualties:
Great Britain 1990-94
Casualties
Severity |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993 |1994
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fatal |256 |242 |204 |186 |172
Serious |4,344 |3,946 |3,787 |3,610 |3,828
KSI<1> |4,600 |4,188 |3,991 |3,796 |4,000
<1> Killed or seriously injured.
Schoolchildren (Defective Transport)
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by region the number of public service vehicles and minibuses carrying schoolchildren which have been found to be defective after random inspection in the last two years for which figures are available. [34795]
Mr. Norris: This data could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Redundancies
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many redundancies occurred in his Department over the last 12 months; how many were voluntary; and what was the total sum spent on redundancy payments. [34622]
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 July 1995]: During the period 1 April 1994 to 31 March 1995, there were 467 redundancies in the Department of Transport, all of which were voluntary. The early departure costs met by the Department amounted to £4,806,427.
Computer Equipment Supplies
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the top 10 suppliers of computer equipment to his Department and its agencies in the last five years, indicating the total value of the contracts received. [34563]
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 July 1995]: The top 10 suppliers of computer systems and equipment--hardware, pre-installed software and network products--in the financial years 1993 94 and 1994 95 obtained for the Department and its agencies were as follows:
Value of orders placed 1993-94 Company |£000 ----------------------------------- 1. Dell |1,845 2. ICL |1,000 3. Talkdata |300 4. P and P |125 5. Technology PLC |120 6. ACT |95 7. Holdene |80 8. TBC |78 9. APS |65 10. Equanet |50
Value of orders placed 1994-95 Company |£000 ---------------------------------- 1. Dell |3,630 2. ICL |2,100 3. Talkdata |463 4. APS |142 5. A K Marketing |99 6. Equanet |93 7. Phoenix |63 8. EDS |46 9. Rapid Recall |45 10. Advantage |43
Figures for earlier years, and further desegregation of types of computer spend, can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Red Route Roads
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide figures on the number of road traffic accidents occurring on roads classified as red routes and the number of accidents that occurred on the same routes prior to their achieving red route status. [34900]
Mr. Norris: The traffic director for London will be monitoring the performance of the red route network, including road safety, as the measures are introduced progressively over the next few years. He will be publishing summary extracts from the data in his annual reports as it becomes available.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many days were lost in sickness in the last 12 months by employees in his Department (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of the number of days worked; and what was the cost of this absence. [34621]
Mr. Norris [holding answer 14 July 1995]: Provisional data on the number of days lost in 1994 as a result of sickness is set out in the table. Information about the cost of the absences could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
|Percentage of
|Days lost |working days
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Central Transport Group, Transport
Road Research, Laboratory,
Highways Agency, Marine Safety
Agency, Coastguard Agency. |45,772 |3.07
Driving Standards Agency |23,757 |6.2
Driver and Vehicle Licensing
Agency |46,189 |5.42
Vehicle Certification Agency |363 |2.12
Vehicle Inspectorate |12,123 |3.64
White Hart Roundabout, Northolt
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 12 July, Official Report , column 574 , what is the completion dates for the phased traffic lights at the White Hart roundabout, Northolt, at the time when money was made available to the London borough of Ealing for their construction; and if he will make a statement. [34850]
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Mr. Norris: Funding for this scheme was through the local transport capital settlement for minor works. Such funding does not identify particular schemes, and leaves it to the local authority to determine its work programmes and priorities.
Small Businesses
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the results of (a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; and if he will publish the performance indictors by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring. [34692]
Mr. Watts: The Government recognise the crucial role played by small firms in the UK economy. The Government continue to help smaller companies by keeping inflation and interest rates low and by reducing legislative and administrative and taxation burdens. They also provide direct assistance where appropriate.
The second competitiveness White Paper announced in May 1995 outlines a programme of measures to assist the growth and competitiveness of the small firms sector.
The Department's aim of a more efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transport system, using the market to offer the widest possible choice of transport users, will assist businesses of all sizes.
My Department is, like others, systematically reviewing the regulations for which it is responsible to ensure that the unnecessary or over-burdensome regulation is cut back. When considering new regulations, we take particular account of the burden and cost those regulations impose on small business. We have recently completed a consultation on proposals to relax the regulation of signing for tourist destinations.
Belgrave Road, London SW1
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will remove Belgrave road, London, SW1 from the priority--red--route network. [34415]
Mr. Norris: No. I would contemplate this only if strategic traffic in the area could be accommodated satisfactorily by improvements to Vauxhall Bridge road. I understand that the City of Westminster has decided not to proceed with the proposal to widen Vauxhall Bridge road.
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of changes to the levels of air pollution caused by heavy lorry and other traffic on Belgrave road, London SW1 if Belgrave road is designated as a red route. [34414]
Mr. Norris: This is a matter for the traffic director, who is under a statutory duty to monitor the effect of the operation of red route measures. He is modelling emissions across the whole network based on traffic data to be collated before and after the implementation of measures.
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact on
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listed buildings in proximity to Belgrave road, London SW1, by the designation of Belgrave road as a red route. [34416]Mr. Norris: None. There is no reason to believe that the red route initiative will have any impact on listed buildings.
Midland Main Line Service
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the percentage change in passenger services represented by the minimum requirements for the future franchised-out midland main line service. [34521]
Mr. Watts: The introduction of a passenger service requirement will not, in itself, represent any change to the level of services actually operated. Following franchising, I expect services on the midland main line to continue to improve in accordance with passenger demand. This assessment was supported by Midland main line's management team in its statement of 16 May.
Mrs. Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research he has undertaken into the environmental impact of potential reduction in the midland main line passenger service. [34520]
Mr. Watts: None. No service reductions are planned.
Catalytic Converters
Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of (a) total motor vehicles and (b) petrol-driven vehicles in the United Kingdom are fitted with catalytic converters. [34343]
Mr. Norris: At the end of June 1995, there were 4.85 million petrol- engined passenger cars equipped with three-way catalytic converters. This was equivalent to 21.85 per cent. of the total passenger car fleet which numbered 22.2 million at the end of 1994. A limited number of petrol- engined vans are also now equipped with three-way catalytic converters.
Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the earliest date that he expects all petrol-driven vehicles in the United Kingdom to be fitted with catalytic converters; and what plans he has to introduce further regulatory changes. [34344]
Mr. Norris: All new petrol-engined passenger cars since 1993 and all new petrol-engined light vans since October 1994 have had to be fitted with three-way catalytic converters. The penetration of such vehicles into the parc as a whole depends on the rate of replacement, which cannot be predicted with certainty. It is nevertheless expected that the great majority of petrol-engined vehicles on the road will be equipped with catalysts by the early years of the next century. Subject to statutory consultation and parliamentary approval, tighter controls on emissions from all vehicles in-service are to be introduced on 25 September 1995 to be followed, from 1 January 1996, by a further tightening for cars with advanced emissions control systems, such as three-way catalytic converters. Stricter emissions limits for new passenger cars will be introduced on 1 January 1997 and EC discussions on even stricter limits for the year 2000 have already begun.
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Bicycle Lanes, Rotherham
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to increase the provision of bicycle lanes in Rotherham. [34405]
Mr. Norris: The extent to which additional provision needs to be made for cycling on the highway, including the number of cycle lanes, is a matter for individual local highway authorities to determine. We are encouraging all authorities to improve conditions for cycling, and we offer them a wide range of advice and guidance.
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what factors led him to advise bidders for the CTRL in the competition overview document that the required alternative bids which include a station at Stratford should assume that authorisation for the station is obtained by him and not as a result of procedures under the Transport and Works Act 1992. [34276]
Mr. Watts: The aim in the competition overview document was to obtain from each tenderer a range of required alternative bids involving a Stratford station. In order to simplify comparison with the reference bid, which was not to include a Stratford station, tenderers were asked to assume, among several other things, that it was for the holder of the competition, the Secretary of State, and not for them, to see that authorisation for a station was forthcoming. No guidance was given on the method of authorisation. In fact, decisions about whether there should be a station at Stratford, and, in that event, how it should be authorised, remain to be taken.
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what factors led to the choice of 2030 as the date up to which the Government would not provide any subsidy or financial assistance to any further new railway for international passenger services between London and the channel tunnel as set out in the draft development agreement for bidders for the CTRL. [34274]
Mr. Watts: In formulating this provision in the draft development agreement, we aimed to provide comfort for the private sector promoter for the likely period during which he would be repaying primary financing and refinancing.
London Underground (Crime)
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will call for a report from the managing director of London Underground about changes in the level of crime on the London Underground in the last year and its relationship to reductions in staffing at stations and on trains; what new measures are going to be taken to reduce crime; and if he will make a statement. [34307]
Mr. Norris: I have no plans to ask for such a report. The security of passengers and staff is a top priority for London Underground Ltd. and I am satisfied that LUL takes full account of any potential impacts on passenger security when making decisions on staffing levels. The small increase in overall underground crime last year was largely due to an increase in pickpocketing offences; the incidence of violent crime fell. I understand that London Underground and the British Transport police have
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several initiatives planned for this year with the aim of reducing further crime on the underground.Ministerial Visits
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of official ministerial visits undertaken by (a) London underground, (b) car, (c) rail and (d) air over the last 12 months, indicating the number of miles travelled and the total cost to his Department. [34897]
Sir George Young: Records are not kept of the modes of transport used on each official visit nor of the miles covered. Ministers may use a variety of modes when making an official visit or conducting ministerial business; travel by rail is generally preferred for official visits out of London. The cost of official ministerial visits undertaken by air and rail from 20 July 1994 to date was £80, 897. In the same period, the cost of the Government car service for all ministerial business was £226,442 Separate records are not kept of costs of travel on London underground.
Buses, London
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide figures on bus usage within Greater London for each year since 1990 to date. [34914]
Mr. Norris: The available data is provided in the table.
Millions Year |Passenger journeys --------------------------------------------------------- 1990-91 |1,178 1991-92 |1,149 1992-93 |1,129 1993-94 |1,117
Data for 1994 95 will be available in October.
Rail Privatisation (Legal Advice)
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current cost to his Department per day of legal advice relating to rail privatisation. [34899]
Mr. Watts: The average cost of legal advice is approximately £23, 000 per working day, including VAT.
Rails Signals (Danger)
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of incidents of rail signals passed at danger for each year since 1990 to date. [34907]
Mr. Watts: The table shows the number of signals passed at danger since 1990. Figures for 1994 95 are expected to be published this December. By far the majority of trains passing signals at danger stop within the protected zone of the signal overlap.
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Signals passed at
danger (SPADS)
1990-1993-94
Year |Number
----------------------
1990 |895
1991 |206
1991-92 |944
1992-93 |871
1993-94 |905
Total |3,821
The figures for 1991 cover the period 1 January 1991 to 31 March 1991 only.
Airport Noise
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the airlines that have received fines for breaching noise restriction regulations at (a) London Heathrow, (b) London Gatwick, (c) London Stansted, (d) Birmingham, (e) Manchester, (f) Liverpool, (g) Edinburgh and (h) Glasgow airports, indicating the number of fines imposed and the total amount of the fines per airline in the last 12 months; [34913]
(2) if he will list the number of fines imposed for breaches of noise restriction regulations at (a) London Heathrow, (b) London Gatwick, (c) London Stansted, (d) Birmingham, (e) Manchester, (f) Edinburgh and (g) Glasgow airports, for each year since 1990 to date. [34912]
Mr. Norris: The Secretary of State may set requirements for limiting noise at airports designated for the purposes of section 78 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982. The only airports so designated are Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
The noise limits are 110 PNdB (97dBA) by day (0701-2300) and 102 PNdB (92dBA) by night (2301-0700).
From 1 April 1993 at Heathrow and Stansted and from 1 May 1993 at Gatwick the airport companies have imposed financial penalties for breaches of the night noise limits and are progressively introducing financial penalties for the breaches of the daytime noise limits. Information on breaches of the noise limits and on the fines collected is provided by each of those airport companies to their respective airport consultative committees. A summary would be impractical because the information is provided on a different basis by each airport.
At other airports noise mitigation measures are the responsibility of the airport operator.
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