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Fishes Royal Wreck
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the nature of the responsibility that the receiver of wrecks has for Fishes Royal. [19879]
Mr. Norris: I have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from C. J. Harris to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 12 March 1996:
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question about the Receiver of Wreck.
The Receiver of Wreck is responsible for the disposal of "Fishes Royal" which become stranded in or on the shores of the United Kingdom. Since 1993 this has been a responsibility of the Coastguard Agency.
Coastguard
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the Coastguard's national constituency plan. [19880]
Mr. Norris: I have asked the chief executive of the Coastguard Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from C. J. Harris to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 12 March 1996:
A copy of this document is already in the House of Commons' Library.
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question about the Coastguard Agency's Marine Pollution Control Unit's National Contingency Plan.
Rail Privatisation
Ms Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what amount of compensation for previous investments Railtrack will be required to pay to local authorities and passenger transport authorities before privatisation; and if this amount will be included in the writing off of Railtrack's debts before privatisation. [19861]
Mr. Watts: The British Railways Board executed deeds of assumption in March 1994 to compensate passenger transport executives for the loss of pre-April 1994 lower costs that BR had charged in return for PTE capital grants. Deeds relating to infrastructure were transferred to Railtrack by way of the Railtrack transfer scheme in March 1994. Further deeds were executed by Railtrack in July 1995. In 1995-96, Railtrack made payments of £69.9 million to the PTEs, net of tax withholdings, under the deeds of assumption. Railtrack is currently scheduled to pay a further £5.2 million, net of tax withholdings, on 1 April 1996. Final details of the capital structure which Railtrack will take into the private sector have yet to be concluded.
Railway Contracts
Ms Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 13 February, Official Report, column 485, what is the total number and value of contracts let by Railtrack to Hall and Tawse. [19895]
Mr. Watts: I understand that Railtrack plc have awarded two planned maintenance and two call-off maintenance contracts to Hall and Tawse, having a value of circa £5 million.
12 Mar 1996 : Column: 571
St. Pancras Station
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the last valuation was made of St. Pancras station; and what value was attached to the asset. [20304]
Mr. Watts: The last valuation of St. Pancras station was carried out for the British Rail Property Board in March 1995. Based on the capitalisation of station income, the existing use value of the station was estimated to be £3.7 million.
Leicester Link Road Inquiry
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what considerations led him to restrict the remit of the Department of Transport inspector for the Leicester A46/47 link road public inquiry to the A46/47 link road only. [20041]
Mr. Watts: The remit of the inspector appointed to conduct the inquiries into Leicester county council's proposed A46/47 link road was that he should consider objections to, and representations about, the proposed orders. No restriction was made, apart from that made in every case, that the inspector should resist broadening his considerations into matters which are not directly involved with the proposed orders.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration was given to problems of induced traffic on new road schemes and their surrounding areas in the recent public inquiry into the Leicester A46/47 link road. [20042]
Mr. Watts: The issue of induced traffic was covered at the inquiries into Leicestershire county council's proposed A46/A47 link road. The Secretary of State is currently considering the inspector's report on those inquiries including the question of induced traffic.
Car Parking
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action is being taken to relieve car parking problems in urban areas; and if he will make a statement. [20075]
Mr. Norris: Detailed decisions about local parking policies and practice are matters for local authorities. The Government set the framework by issuing advice and guidance. Urban areas need adequate parking provision to cater for trips for which there is no realistic alternative form of transport. It is the Government's policy to encourage people to travel by other means--cycling, walking and public transport--where that option is open to them.
Union Railways
Mr. Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on recent developments relating to the work of Union Railways. [20324]
Mr. Watts: Union Railways is continuing its work in developing plans for the channel tunnel rail link. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 29 February, ownership of Union Railways will be transferred to London and Continental Railways as a result of the CTRL competition.
12 Mar 1996 : Column: 572
Wisconsin Central
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is the value of the contract awarded to Wisconsin Central to (a) operate the royal train, (b) carry the Royal Mail and (c) run other aspects of the railway; [20496]
- (2) what period is covered by the contract awarded to Wisconsin Central to operate the royal train. [20497]
Mr. Watts: This information is commercially confidential.
Braer Incident
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many claims, and for what amount, there were for compensation in respect of the Braer incident in the Shetlands; what percentage of such claims has been accepted by the insurers and, of those, what percentage has been settled; what is the percentage of the amount claimed that has been paid; and if he will make a statement. [20242]
Mr. Norris: Information on the total amount claimed is not held by the Department and is not readily available from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. Records produced by the fund indicate that 1,950 claims have been made, some 1,700 or about 85 per cent. of these claims have been agreed and some 1,500 or about 75 per cent. have been paid. To date, £46.9 million has been paid.
Sea Empress Incident
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to demand full compensation payments for all those who directly or indirectly have suffered financial loss as a result of the Sea Empress disaster; and if he will make a statement. [20248]
Mr. Norris: Officials of my Department have already made representations to the executive committee of the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund for full payment of eligible claims for compensation, insofar as these payments are compatible with the international instruments which established the IOPC fund.
Humber Sea Terminal Project
Mr. Michael Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding his Department's objections to European regional development fund funding for the Humber sea terminal project being proposed at Immingham. [20398]
Mr. Norris: A decision on whether my Department could support the provision of ERDF grant for this project will be made shortly. The decision will be based on the view the Department takes about whether such grant would cause substantial distortion of competition with other ports in Great Britain. The Government's successful ports policy over the past 15 years has been based on the avoidance of such distortion, and creating conditions in which ports can compete on an equal footing.
12 Mar 1996 : Column: 573
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) hold public meetings, (b) conduct public consultation exercises, (c) conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, (d) publish a register of members' interest, (e) publish agendas for meetings and (f) publish the minutes of meetings (i) under a statutory requirement and (ii) voluntarily. [20107]
Mr. Norris: The following are the answers for the Department of Transport's only advisory, NDPB, the Disabled Person's Transport Advisory Committee.
(a) DPTAC does not hold public meetings.
(b) Yes, but the Committee has not held a public consultation exercise since 1990.
(c) Yes, it does conduct exercises with outside commercial interests.
(d), (e) and (f) No, it does not publish a register of interests, agendas of meetings or minutes of meetings.
Mr. Norris: The following are the answers for the Department of Transport's only advisory NDPB, the Disabled Person's Transport Advisory Committee.
(a) DPTAC does not publish advice to the Government.
(b) and (c) It publishes an annual report which is laid before Parliament under a statutory requirement.
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