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Driving Licences

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many EU member states have invoked grandfather rights when implementing the second EC directive on driving licences 91/439/EEC; and if he will make a statement on his reasons for not doing so. [23699]

Mr. Norris: According to our current information, no member states have perpetuated or are proposing to perpetuate, "grandfather rights" in respect of eyesight requirements for lorry and bus drivers, but we are seeking detailed updated information from the relevant national authorities. The reason for proposing to discontinue grandfather rights is the need to ensure the highest sensible standards of road safety in the United Kingdom.

M1-A1

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to award the design, build, finance and operate scheme for the M1-A1 link; and if he will make a statement. [23607]

Mr. Watts: The design, build, finance and operate--DBFO--contract for the M1-A1 Yorkshire link project was awarded to Yorkshire Link Ltd. on 26 March 1996.

This is the largest and most complex DBFO the Department has awarded to date. This new motorway will take away from congested routes through Leeds and will improve access to industrial areas in the south-east of the city. Moreover, there is expected to be major reduction in road traffic accidents--more than 150 accidents a year should be prevented over the next 30 years.

The Department is making excellent progress with DBFO, with contracts now awarded for each of the first four DBFO projects first announced back in August 1994. This success shows the DBFO offers advantages to the construction industry, the road user and the taxpayer.

Deregulation

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the oral answer of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to the hon. Member for Colchester, North (Mr. Jenkin) on 26 February, Official Report, column 576, if he will list those statutory instruments and Acts of Parliament which have been gold plated in the past five years; and what steps he is taking to amend or repeal each piece of gold plating on existing legislation. [23632]

Mr. Watts: The Government's policy is not to add unnecessary burdens when implementing EC directives. Departments take every opportunity to review existing legislation in the light of this. Officials are currently working on revised guidance to enable Ministers to see where implementing legislation goes beyond the underlying EC directive.

Appeals Mechanisms

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many appeals mechanisms, as laid out in section 6 of

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the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, he expects to establish by the end of 1996; how many staff each appeals system will employ; and what their estimated annual running costs will be. [23620]

Mr. Watts: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

SCOTLAND

Public Bodies

Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list each executive non-departmental public body which will become operational in Scotland on 1 April; and if he will make a statement. [23795]

Mr. Kynoch: The information is as follows:
Scottish Children's Reporter Administration
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Scottish Water and Sewerage Customers Council.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency replaced the seven existing river purification boards, each of which is an executive NDPB. As from today, 1 April, the number of executive NDPBs operational in Scotland is 40, as compared with 60 in 1979.

Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each of the non-departmental bodies for which he is responsible (a) the number of board members, (b) the number of allowances being paid, (c) the total cost of these allowances, (d) the cost per board member and (e) the numbers of administrative and executive staff earning in excess of £42,000. [23974]

Mr. Kynoch: The information requested in (a) to (d) is available in, or can be derived from, the Scottish Office section for the annual Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies". The information at (e) is not held centrally.

Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those of his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which (a) the Government are required to consult prior to legislative proposals and (b) the Government are required to publish their response to advice supplied by them. [21863]

Mr. Kynoch [holding answer 21 March 1996]: The information requested is:

(a) Scottish Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council


Building Standards Advisory Committee


Police Advisory Board for Scotland


General Teaching Council for Scotland.


(b) General Teaching Council for Scotland.

Appeals Mechanisms

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many appeals mechanisms, as laid out in section 6 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, he expects to establish by the end of 1996; how many staff each appeals system will employ; and what their estimated annual running costs will be. [23622]

Mr. Kynoch: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

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DEFENCE

Ministry of Defence Police

Mr. Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about defence agency status for the Ministry of Defence police. [24413]

Mr. Soames: The Ministry of Defence police is to be established as an agency of the Ministry of Defence on 1 April 1996.

The MDP is a fully constituted police force acting under the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987. The headquarters and police and guard service training schools are at Wethersfield in the county of Essex. Detachments are employed throughout the United Kingdom, based primarily at Ministry of Defence establishments.

The MDP provides a civil policing service where required throughout the Ministry of Defence. It also provides a security service, including armed guarding at important defence installations. Its activities cover the protection of life, prevention of crime, detection of offenders, and the maintenance of order on, or in connection with, defence property and personnel. In its policing role it operates entirely independently of political or departmental influence in the maintenance and operation of the law.

As the first chief executive, the chief constable, Mr. W. E. E. Boreham OBE, will be offered new opportunities to build on the current organisation's professional expertise and high performance standards. Through the greater delegations and authority afforded by agency status, the chief constable will actively seek to improve the efficiency and value for money of his police force.

The chief constable has been set the following key targets for the first year of operation:

(1) By 1 April 1997 to have identified and implemented agreed performance measures of force activity.


(2) To improve significantly upon the baseline achieved in the first customer satisfaction survey.


(3) By 1 October 1996 to make proposals for funding arrangements for national, additional, or cross top-level budget boundary commitments.


(4) By 1 July 1996 to complete the evaluation of the effectiveness of the new force structure introduced from 1 April 1995.


(5) To achieve efficiency savings prescribed within the departmental management and efficiency plans.


(6) To develop efficiency measurement systems in order to provide a coherent efficiency plan incorporating a detailed competing for quality programme and be innovative in the identification of opportunities afforded by co-operation with industry.
Milestones:
(a) To set up agreed mechanisms for medium to long-term manpower planning.
(b) To implement the information systems strategy to time, quality and specification.

The owner of the Ministry of Defence Police agency will be the second permanent under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Defence.

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The chief constable will produce an annual report which, for financial year 1997-98, will contain accruals-based accounts. These will be presented to Parliament. I have also arranged for copies of the agency's framework document to be placed in the Library of the House.

Trident

Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money to date has been committed by his Department to the purchase of Trident D5 missiles from the United States of America. [23609]

Mr. Arbuthnot: My Department has, to date, committed £853 million, at outturn prices, toward the purchase of Trident D5 missiles from the United States of America.

Dr. Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the in-service dates of the Trident submarines. [23610]

Mr. Arbuthnot: HMS Vanguard entered service in December 1994 and HMS Victorious in December 1995. Vigilant will enter service in 1998 and Vengeance around the turn of the century.

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