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Railway Grants
Mr. Keith Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the grants made by his Department under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 since 1992. [22565]
Mr. Watts: Since 1992, three grants have been awarded under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974. Subsequent awards have been made under section 139 of the Railways Act 1993. The full list of awards can be found in "Rail Freight Facilities Grants, England, Scotland and Wales, December 1995", available in the Library.
Mr. Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the freight facilities grants made by his Department. [22564]
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Mr. Watts: A total of 155 freight facilities grants have been awarded by the Department since 1975. Grant assisted rail projects are listed in full in "Rail Freight Facilities Grants, England, Scotland and Wales, December 1995", a copy of which has been deposited in the Library.
Search and Rescue Helicopter (Portland)
Mr. Ian Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will continue to provide a search and rescue helicopter at Portland after 31 March. [24009]
Mr. Norris: This temporary arrangement for the provision of a Coastguard search and rescue--SAR--helicopter at Portland will be extended for a further eight months, until the end of November. Longer-term decisions on the disposition of SAR helicopters will depend in part on the consultation on the interdepartmental review. We hope to publish the review's findings shortly.
Transport Council
Mr. Patrick Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the result of the Transport Council held in Brussels on 11 March. [23813]
Sir George Young: The Transport Council met in Brussels on 11 March. My noble Friend the Minister for Aviation and Shipping represented the United Kingdom.
The Council reached a common position on a directive to harmonise roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers.
The Council also reached a common position on three separate directives concerning market liberalisation, state aid rules and a vessel scrapping scheme in the inland waterways sector. The United Kingdom voted against the scrapping scheme because of our opposition in principle to Community funding for such schemes. The two other proposals were agreed without a vote.
The Council discussed the Commission proposal for a mandate to negotiate an air transport agreement between the European Community and the United States. The United Kingdom made clear its view that the Commission had not demonstrated that this would add value to the present bilateral arrangements. However a majority of member states were in favour of the principle of limited Community-level negotiations and the proposal was referred back to the Committee of Permanent Representatives--COREPER--for further work.
The Council also discussed the European Parliament's second reading opinion on the proposed Council/European Parliament decision on a transEuropean transport network. It was agreed that the presidency should work to reach agreement with the Parliament on a compromise text as soon as possible.
The Commission gave a progress report to the Council on the state of play in the negotiations between the European Community and Switzerland in respect of land and air transport agreements.
Following a general discussion, the presidency concluded that a regulation concerning the collection of aviation statistics should be reconsidered at the next
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Transport Council to allow time for further consideration of a number of outstanding issues, including the application of the regulation to Gibraltar.
Other issues raised at the Council included Commission Green Papers on the citizens network and external costs in transport and a Commission White Paper on air traffic management. There was also an intervention by the German delegation on air traffic safety and a French intervention on ferry safety.
Mr. David Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trawlers were registered in (a) 1995 and (b) 1979. [21611]
Mr. Norris:
I have asked the chief executive of the Marine Safety Agency to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. David Evans, dated 28 March 1996:
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Vehicle Inspectorate testing stations are currently in operation in the United Kingdom; and how many have (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five and (f) six lanes. [23575]
Mr. Norris:
I have asked the chief executive of the Vehicle Inspectorate to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ron Oliver to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 28 March 1996:
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 29 February to the hon. Member for Wallesey (Ms Eagle), Official Report, column 657-58, what are the penalties involved should he seek early termination of the contract with EDS; what contracts, at what costs, with what duration and penalty his Department's agencies hold with EDS; and if he will make a statement. [23716]
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Mr. Norris:
The value of contracts and the provisions for termination are classified commercial in confidence.
There are four contracts between the Department's Agencies and EDS:
Mr. Allen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications there have been in the last 10 years for judicial review of an inquest ruling; and how many have been successful. [22213]
Mr. Sackville:
I have been asked to reply
Details of applications for the judicial review of inquest verdicts are not held centrally.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has with his European counterparts with respect to fires at waste incinerators. [22277]
Mr. Clappison:
I am in regular discussion with my European counterparts on environment issues. I have not found it necessary to discuss the question of fires at waste incinerators.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what research his Department has conducted into the environmental impact, both short and long-term, of fires at waste incinerators; and if he will make a statement on the findings and conclusions; [22285]
Mr. Clappison:
My Department has not conducted any research into this subject.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has with the Secretary of State for Health with respect to the health implications of fires at waste incinerators. [22281]
Mr. Clappison:
I have had no recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health on the health implications of fires at waste incinerators.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance his Department has given to hospitals with respect to the treatment of illness resulting from fires at waste incinerators. [22275]
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Mr. Clappison:
My Department has not given any advice to hospitals on the treatment of illness resulting from fires at waste incinerators.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had from individuals and organisations concerned with the safety of waste incinerators. [22283]
Mr. Clappison:
The Health and Safety Executive's field operations division has no knowledge of any representations concerned with safety of waste incinerators. Such inquiries raised with HSE area offices are not recorded centrally. Most representations received by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution relate to emissions from the incinerators.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he has given to local authorities with respect to the safety of waste incinerators and with respect to the implications of fires at waste incinerators. [22278]
Mr. Clappison:
I have issued no guidance to local authorities on these matters.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with respect to the health implications of fires at waste incinerators. [22274]
Mr. Clappison:
The Health and Safety Executive would expect fire authorities to issue appropriate guidance to the public and employees to avoid exposure to a smoke plume in the event of a fire at a waste storage location, and for the public health authorities to consider the implications for public health.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who is responsible for investigating the safety of waste incinerators; with particular reference to fires. [22282]
Mr. Clappison:
The health and safety of employees in the event of fire at storage locations at waste incinerators would be considered by Health and Safety Executive inspectors, but this would not normally be extended to matters of public health arising from exposure to any smoke. Storage of waste at municipal waste incinerators is covered by the authorisation granted to the operator by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, which would take account of any findings relating to its authorisation. Appropriate action would then be taken.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people have been treated in each of the last five years for sickness resulting from fires at waste incinerators. [22272]
Mr. Clappison:
My Department does not keep these figures.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has taken following the recent fire at the Whitley refuse incinerator in Coventry; and if he will make a statement. [22280]
Mr. Clappison:
Coventry city local authority is investigating the allegations of adverse health effect following the fire at the Whitley incinerator together with the director of pubic health for the area. Her Majesty's
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inspectorate of pollution will provide any information to assist in determining the likely effects and will consider these findings in relation to any further action.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the long-term implications for health of fires at waste incinerators. [22276]
Mr. Clappison:
Health and safety of employees in the event of fire at storage locations at waste incinerators would be considered by Health and Safety Executive inspectors. However, this does not normally extend to public health, which is a matter for the local authority environmental health department.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about the number of trawlers registered in (a) 1995 and (b) 1979.
The register of fishing vessels is not categorised by type. The total number of fishing vessels on the register at 31 December 1995, however was 8670.
Before April 1989, registration was the responsibility of HM Customs and Excise (C&E). The C&E records were transferred to the Registry of Shipping and Seamen. I regret that extracting the information relating to fishing vessels from the earlier records for a particular year could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question on the number of Vehicle Inspectorate testing stations in operation and how many lanes they have.
Details of the number of stations are given below:
Full-time stations
5 lane: 6
4 lane: 4
3 lane: 17
2 lane: 32
1 lane: 16
There are 15 part-time stations all with one lane.
1. DVLA--duration five years
2. DSA--duration five years
3. VIEA--duration four years six months
4. VIEA--duration two years
(2) what research his Department has conducted into the health implications of fires at waste incinerators; and if he will make a statement on the conclusions of such research. [22273]
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