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Driving Tests
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library the codes of practice on standards of road testing for licensing drivers of motor vehicles, including heavy lorries, in each member state of the European Community. [32015]
Mr. Norris: All member states comply with, or are taking steps to comply with, Council directive 91/439/EEC on driving licences which is available in the Library. Annexe II of the directive sets out, among other things, the contents of the practical driving test for motor vehicles, including heavy lorries, and provisions on the manner of assessing candidates by examiners and on the training and supervision of examiners.
10 Jun 1996 : Column: 30
Speed Cameras
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to have large signs showing maximum permitted speeds alongside all speed camera signs; and if he will make a statement. [32047]
Mr. Norris: Existing legislation requires all speed limits to be signed. I do not propose additional requirements to add speed limit repeater signs alongside enforcement camera signs. On urban roads where there is a 30 mph limit, repeater signs may be used only where there is no street lighting to indicae the presence of the speed limit. Inconsistent use of repeater signs would lead to enforcement difficulties arising through drivers claiming uncertainty about which limit is in force. The west London enforcement camera trial clearly showed that drivers--who slow down when approaching known camera sites--know the limits in force.
Traffic Area Network
Lady Olga Maitland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his plans are for reorganising the traffic area network. [32552]
Mr. Norris: In order to streamline the work and reduce the costs of the traffic areas, the work of the current eight offices will be reorganised into six offices, each with its own traffic commissioner. The offices in Cardiff and Manchester will be closed in 1997. It will be our objective to resolve the problems of staff surpluses by voluntary redundancy means wherever possible through offers of voluntary redundancy and by identifying alternative job opportunities in DOT agencies and other Government Departments for staff in these two offices who wish to remain in the civil service.
We shall be consulting shortly on proposals for boundary changes to the traffic areas so as to achieve a more even distribution of work.
London Transport Fares
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy on fares charged by London Transport. [30627]
Mr. Norris: The general level and structure of London Transport fares are the statutory responsibility of LT. However, as our document "A Transport Strategy for London" indicates, we believe that, in future, LT fares are likely to rise more in line with inflation than with earnings, implying average fare increases lower than in recent years.
Bull Bars
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many letters and submissions he has received supporting the Bull Bars (Prohibition) Bill; and how many have opposed it. [32092]
Mr. Norris: The Department has received 197 letters and submissions supporting the Bull Bars (Prohibition) Bill and 10 opposing it.
10 Jun 1996 : Column: 31
Thames Piers
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what submissions he has received from the Port of London Authority to comply with the recommendation of the River Thames working group to review the location and availability of piers on the Thames. [31475]
Mr. Norris: The Port of London Authority is working with the Cross River Partnership to examine in detail the location of, and potential demand for, existing and possible new piers in central London. This study forms part of the cross-river integrated public transport study which is expected to report next year.
In addition, the PLA has recently completed a review of the availability of space at the existing piers under its control, in response to a number of proposals to start new passenger services, and last week invited bids for the use of the available space.
10 Jun 1996 : Column: 32
Proposals are anticipated in due course for new piers and the upgrading of existing piers. The Government welcome such initiatives which, if implemented, would increase the total pier capacity in central London and facilitate increase use of the Thames for passenger transport.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his latest estimate of the evacuation time of all passengers and crew that can be required of all ferries using British ports licensed to carry more than 1,000 passengers. [32094]
Mr. Norris:
The precise time taken to evacuate any such ship would depend upon individual circumstances. Under the safety of life at sea convention, all survival craft needs for the abandonment of the ship must be able to be launched fully loaded within 30 minutes from the time the abandon ship signal is given.
10 Jun 1996 : Column: 31
10 Jun 1996 : Column: 33
Private Investigators
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what use her Department has made of private detective agencies or investigators during 1995-96 and 1994-95; which agencies have been employed; for what purposes; and at what cost to her Department. [30573]
Mr. Sproat: My Department has made no use of private detective agencies or investigators during 1995-96 or 1994-95.
Of my two agencies, the Historic Royal Palaces agency used the services of private detectives on one occasion during 1995-96 and the Royal Parks agency used a private investigator for one inquiry during 1995-96.
As both these inquiries were of a confidential personnel-related nature, it would be wrong to provide more specific information.
Dr. John Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many organisations have been awarded funds from the national lottery five good causes; what is the total amount in pounds; and how much of that money in percentage terms from each of the five good causes has not yet been paid out to these organisations. [28143]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
Information about lottery awards is collected on the basis of awards and projects rather than on the basis of recipient organisations. At 2 May 1996, 5,498 awards for 6,588 projects totalling £1,484,691,164.76 had been made by the 11 lottery distributing bodies throughout the United Kingdom.
It is a general principle in the distribution of lottery funds that cash will be paid out only to an award recipient on receipt of an invoice relating to the lottery-funded project, consistent with the prudent management of public funds. Until that time, the funds allocated and committed to the future costs of projects remain invested in the national lottery distribution fund, where all the investment returns earned accrue to the good causes.
It is therefore important to distinguish between the commitment of funds to awards and the draw-down of cash from the NLDF. The figures for awards include a significant proportion of projects which have not yet drawn down from the NLDF, either because the award is very recent, or because the project has not yet met all the particular conditions placed on the award. They also include the total value of awards to over 4,000 capital projects whose expenditure is spread out over many years to come.
| Lottery receipts | Amount awarded (including future commitments | Amount drawn down | Percentage of amount awarded awaiting draw down from NLDF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ million | £ million | £ million | ||
| Arts | 363 | 403 | 35 | 90 |
| Sports | 363 | 254 | 29 | 92 |
| Heritage | 363 | 173 | 36 | 90 |
| Millennium | 363 | 494 | 5 | 99 |
| Charities | 363 | 159 | 19 | 95 |
National Vocational Qualifications
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what sums of public money (a) have been spent and (b) are allocated to the national coaching foundation scheme for Scottish and national vocational qualifications for coaching. [30327]
Mr. Sproat: The Sports Council will provide £1,500,500 grant aid to the National Coaching Foundation in 1996-97 for a work programme which will include assistance to the national governing bodies of sport to help them develop their coach education programmes. A total of £183,000 is to be allocated to work on the Scottish/national vocational qualifications--S/NVO. This will involve assisting the governing bodies of sport to convert their existing coach award schemes in line with S/NVQ standards. For the last three years, the corresponding figures for Sports Council grant to the NCF have been:
| 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total grant | 1,494,000 | 1,420,000 | 1,550,500 |
| S/NVQ element | 164,000 | 153,661 | 176,136 |
I understand that funds are also made available by the Further Education Funding Council.
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