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M25

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to widen the M25 if terminal 5 at Heathrow is built. [7724]

Mr. Norris: Plans for the national trunk road programme were announced in "Managing the Trunk Road Programme", published on 28 November. The programme includes two schemes which will widen the

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M25 between junction 12, the M3, and junction 16, the M40, to five or six lanes in each direction. These schemes are required regardless of whether terminal 5 is built. No further widening of the M25 is planned between these junctions. The programme also includes the construction of the access road from the M25 to terminal 5--"M25 Terminal 5 Spur"--which is, of course, conditional on terminal 5 being built.

Flight Duty Limitations

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of proposals by the joint aviation authorities to change flight duty limitations. [7641]

Mr. Norris: The Civil Aviation Authority has advised that the joint aviation authorities' proposals would provide a level of protection against fatigue equivalent to that provided by its guidance in "CAP371--The Avoidance of Fatigue in Air Crews".

Policy Planning Guidance Notes

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the PPGs or equivalents issued by his Department in the last three years. [7676]

Mr. Norris: The Department of Transport jointly with the Department of the Environment published PPG 13: Transport, in March 1994. The Department does not issue any other guidance equivalent to the PPG series, although we do publish a wide range of advice on traffic and transport matters.

Railtrack (Investment)

Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) the proportions of the planned £10 billion investment by Railtrack that he expects to be made when it is in (i) public and (ii) private ownership and (b) the sources of finance; and what part will be taken by the public finance initiative. [7551]

Mr. Watts: The precise phasing of planned investment is a matter for Railtrack. The Government have announced their intention to privatise the company in May 1996. Future investment in the railway should, as far as is practicable, be a matter for the private sector, with the private sector taking the investment decision, providing the finance and accepting the risks and rewards. The majority of the planned investment programme described in Railtrack's recently published network management statement relates to the maintenance and renewal of the existing infrastructure and will be funded by the access charges paid by train operating companies. Railtrack has also identified some opportunities for developing the network, and it is envisaged that any investment in these enhancements would in the main be remunerated through additional access charges agreed with train operators. Railtrack may also be eligible to apply for contributions to the costs of specific projects from public sector bodies, including the European Union and local authorities.

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Transport Research Budget

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of his Department's 1994-95 transport research budget was devoted to transport by (a) rail and (b) road. [7559]

Mr. Watts: My Department commissions research in support of the Secretary of State's policy, statutory, operational, regulatory and procurement responsibilities. It is primarily for the rail industry to commission research particular to its needs. In 1994-95, British Rail's budget for research amounted to £18.4 million. Of my Department's total expenditure on research in 1994-95 of £38.7 million--reported in the 1995 forward look of Government-funded science, engineering and technology--under half of 1 per cent. is devoted specifically to rail transport issues. Some 88 per cent. is attributable to road transport.

Cones Hotline

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the value of the cones hotline; [7639]

(2) what plans he has to create a departmental hotline to give motorists details of roadworks and routes; how many staff will be employed: and at what total cost. [7640]

Mr. Watts: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 6 November at column 759. Staffing of the Highways Agency information line is an operational matter for the agency. I understand that staffing levels are kept under review according to the volume of calls received. The service is currently manned from 8 am to 8 pm on working days and 9 am to 5 pm at weekends. Three members of staff are on duty from 9 am to 5 pm during weekdays, and one member is on duty early morning, evening and at weekends. The total cost of staffing the service is expected to be about £70,000 per annum.

Road Protests (Monitoring)

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total expenditure to date for services supplied to his Department by Bray's Detective Agency in monitoring road protests. [7560]

Mr. Watts: I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 9 January 1996:

As you know, John Watts has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the total expenditure to date for services supplied by Brays Detective Agency in monitoring road protests. Brays Detective Agency were employed by solicitors, on behalf of the Department. The total cost to date for services supplied by them in monitoring road protests is £950,588.

Stena Line Ferries

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was his Department's involvement in respect of the

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recent changes in the frequency and crewing of Stena Line ferries sailing from Harwich. [7704]

Mr. Norris: None. These are commercial matters.

Fishing Vessels (Ownership)

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British-registered fishing vessels are (a) British-owned, (b) Spanish-owned, (c) Dutch-owned, (d) owned by other countries; and if he will list the foreign-owned vessels by port or register. [7393]

Mr. Norris: I have asked the chief executive of the Marine Safety Agency to write to the hon. Member. Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 9 January 1996:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about British and foreign-owned fishing vessels registered in British ports.
I regret the information you have requested is not available.

Shipping (Domestic Crews)

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the subsidies and tax incentives offered to the shipping industry to employ domestic crews on ships in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) each of the other EU countries. [7627]

Mr. Norris: (a) We are pursuing a package of positive measures to improve the attractiveness of the Red Ensign and the competitiveness of British shipping. These include:

Foreign earnings deduction (FED) for seafarers: 100 per cent. allowance on earnings made abroad;
Crew relief costs scheme: grants to alleviate the cost of flying British crews to and from distant ports;
Government assistance for training scheme: grants for the training of British officer trainees to first certificate of competency;
Development of certificated seafarers scheme: grants for British junior officers training for their second certificate of competence. (b) Most member states have schemes. Measures include grants, subsidies, credit facilities, income tax and social security concessions, and special corporation tax regimes. The economic effects of these measures vary from country to country.

Advertising

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the expenditure of his (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies on newspaper advertising by title for each year since 1990-91; and what estimate he has made for 1995-96 based on expenditure to date and existing plans. [6560]

Sir George Young: For the period in question, information is available on expenditure by the Department and its agencies on press advertising in respect of advertising of road works, road safety publicity campaigns, vehicle excise duty enforcement campaigns and on other information campaigns as follows:

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	DOT	Highways Agency	DVLA
	£	£	£
1990-91	(8)358,497	n/a	85,045
1991-92	(8)721,379	n/a	123,704
1992-93	1,435,015	n/a	137,485
1993-94	2,592,593	n/a	38,964
1994-95	(9)111,589	(9)2,564,067	24,591

(8) Information on advertising placed locally by DOT regional road units was not collected centrally before 1992-93.

(9) From 1994-95 statutory advertising on road works became the responsibility of the Highways Agency.

Figures exclude VAT.

Expenditure to date in the current financial year is as follows:

	DOT £	Highways Agency £	DVLA £
1995-96	503,081	1,211,871	24,142

Projections for 1995-96 are in line with overall expenditure for next year as published in the PES statement.

The further information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

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