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RAF Northolt
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 6 March 1996, Official Report, column 211, if he will make a statement on the assessment he has made on possible improvements to RAF Northolt. [21365]
Mr. Norris: I hope to make an announcement shortly.
Maintenance Mechanics
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the training and qualification requirements for mechanics undertaking maintenance work (a) on railway rolling stock and (b) aircraft. [21773]
Mr. Watts: The Railway (Safety Critical Work) Regulations 1994 underpin general health and safety duties and require employers to ensure that employees are fit and competent to carry out maintenance work. The detailed training and qualification requirements necessary for undertaking maintenance work on railway rolling stock are a matter for the railway operator to decide. Details of the training, qualifications and licensing requirements for aircraft maintenance engineers are given in civil aviation publication No. 468, "British Civil Airworthiness Requirements, Section L--Aircraft Engineers". I will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.
Railtrack (Assets)
Ms Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 13 March, Official Report, column 609, if the figure of £3,250 million was the total estimated by W. S. Atkins as required for maintenance of Railtrack's assets over 10 years. [22463]
Mr. Watts: As I said in my answer of 13 March, Official Report, columns 609-10, the figure of £3,250 million is W. S. Atkins' central estimate of Railtrack's required expenditure under its asset maintenance plan for maintenance and renewals work on its track and route structures only in the 10 years from 1 April 1994. This estimate does not include day to day maintenance carried out under contract by the infrastructure maintenance companies on these assets or maintenance work on any other category of Railtrack asset.
Overcrowded Trains
Mr. French: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the safety implications of overcrowded trains. [22444]
26 Mar 1996 : Column: 544
Mr. Watts: Following the Clapham and Cannon Street accident inquiries, the Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate commissioned a study into the effects of rapid train deceleration on both standing and seated passengers. It concluded that there was no need to prohibit passengers from standing in trains, but recommended that vehicle interiors should be designed to minimise the likelihood of injury from flying luggage, hard surfaces and sharp corners. All rolling stock is designed to run safely when fully loaded.
London Underground Northern Line
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which Northern line stations are being or will be improved or rebuilt as part of the modernisation of the Northern line. [22431]
Mr. Norris: London Underground Ltd. has plans to modernise or refurbish all the stations on the Northern line; most of this work would be undertaken as part of the Northern line modernisation project.
High-Speed Train (Fire)
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what factors underlay the decision of the Health and Safety Executive not to publish a detailed account of the accident on a high-speed train at Maidenhead on 8 September 1995; [22146]
- (2) if he will order a full report into the fire on a high-speed train at Maidenhead on 8 September 1995.[22145]
Mr. Watts: The Health and Safety Executive acknowledged the seriousness of the accident and the level of public interest by announcing on 11 September 1995 that it would make public the findings of its investigation into the fire on a high-speed train at Maidenhead on 8 September 1995. The findings, with recommendations, were published by the HSE on 16 January 1996. A fully detailed report supporting those findings and recommendations was not prepared for publication because in the HSE's view it would have delayed publication of the findings and recommendations, it was not considered necessary, given the public nature of the associated inquest, and it would have diverted the inspectors concerned from work more directly related to accident prevention.
Equal Opportunities
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what amounts of money have been paid out by (a) his Department and (b) executive agencies, non-departmental public bodes and other organisations for which he is accountable to parliament, to how many staff or former staff in respect of (i) alleged equal opportunities breaches which do not proceed to tribunals or courts and (ii) equal opportunities breaches which proceeded to tribunals or courts in (1) the current year and (2) the two previous years. [22509]
26 Mar 1996 : Column: 545
Mr. Norris: The only such payment was by the Driving Standards Agency, which made an ex gratia payment of £11,000 to a former member of staff earlier this year.
Rail Privatisation
Ms Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of Railtrack he now proposes to sell in the forthcoming flotation. [22539]
Mr. Watts: No decision on the precise figure has been taken. We expect to offer at least 51 per cent. of the equity of Railtrack.
Office of Passenger Rail Franchising
Mr. Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the leasing costs (a) paid and (b) expected to be paid for properties occupied by Opraf.[22657]
Mr. Watts: In 1995-96 Opraf has paid £447,000 to Property Holdings to cover the lease costs of property it occupied. In 1996-97 Opraf has budgeted £530,000 to cover leasing costs.
Heavy Goods Vehicle Licences
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the main medical conditions which lead to the loss of a heavy goods vehicle driving licence.[22753]
Mr. Norris: The main types of medical condition which must or may lead to refusal or revocation of a group 2 driving licence are:
neurological disorders, including epilepsy
neurosurgical disorders
cardiovascular disorders
diabetes mellitus
psychiatric disorders or severe mental handicap
alcohol misuse or dependency
illicit drug misuse or dependency
visual disorders. Other miscellaneous conditions may also in certain cases lead to refusal or revocation of a licence.
Mr. Norris: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Applications refused(15) | Entitlement revoked | |
|---|---|---|
| 1991(16) | 824 | 360 |
| 1992 | 1,856 | 2,164 |
| 1993 | 1,062 | 1,400 |
| 1994 | 946 | 1,363 |
| 1995 | 691 | 1,435 |
(15) The figures do not differentiate between refusal to grant heavy goods entitlement on a first application and refusal to renew existing entitlements.
(16) Figures available for five months only.
26 Mar 1996 : Column: 546
Transport Research Laboratory
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to complete the sale of the Transport Research Laboratory; and what is the expected price.[22770]
Mr. Norris: I expect to announce completion of the sale and the price paid shortly.
Rail Network Computer System
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the objectives and purpose of the A-Plan computer system to co-ordinate access to the rail network by passenger train operating companies and rail freight companies purchased by Railtrack; which companies provided this system; what it cost; and when it will come into operation. [22993]
Mr. Watts: The development of this system is entirely a matter for Railtrack.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent in total in answering parliamentary questions in each parliamentary Session since 1989-90. [22892]
Mr. Norris: This Department does not calculate the data requested, which could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Roads (Expenditure)
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the actual or planned annual expenditure in 1995 prices on (a) road maintenance and repair, (b) new roads and (c) other roads expenditure, for each year from 1979-80 to 1998-99. [22772]
Mr. Watts: The following table gives the expenditure on trunk roads in England from 1979-80 to 1994-95, provision for 1995-96 and plans for 1996-97 to 1998-99. The columns represent new construction, maintenance, both capital and current, and other expenditure, including research and development from 1989-90 and design, build, finance and operate shadow tolls from 1996-97. All figures are at 1993-94 prices; figures at the later price base requested are not yet available.
| New construction | Maintenance | Other | Total roads | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-80 | 829 | 264 | -- | 1,093 |
| 1980-81 | 838 | 246 | -- | 1,084 |
| 1981-82 | 844 | 340 | -- | 1,184 |
| 1982-83 | 925 | 368 | -- | 1,293 |
| 1983-84 | 863 | 326 | -- | 1,189 |
| 1984-85 | 907 | 373 | -- | 1,280 |
| 1985-86 | 866 | 369 | -- | 1,235 |
| 1986-87 | 810 | 459 | -- | 1,269 |
| 1987-88 | 853 | 490 | -- | 1,343 |
| 1988-89 | 885 | 382 | -- | 1,267 |
| 1989-90 | 1,087 | 531 | 13 | 1,631 |
| 1990-91 | 1,439 | 592 | 13 | 2,044 |
| 1991-92 | 1,363 | 616 | 14 | 1,993 |
| 1992-93 | 1,333 | 675 | 13 | 2,021 |
| 1993-94 | 1,336 | 708 | 12 | 2,056 |
| 1994-95 | 1,288 | 704 | 12 | 2,004 |
| 1995-96 | 1,110 | 570 | 12 | 1,692 |
| 1996-97 | 902 | 501 | 50 | 1,453 |
| 1997-98 | 637 | 617 | 100 | 1,354 |
| 1998-99 | 618 | 581 | 121 | 1,320 |
26 Mar 1996 : Column: 547
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