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Central Railway Group
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the legal basis for his view that a debate in each House on the Central Railway Group's proposals is required to be on a motion moved by a Minister seeking the House's approval of the proposals, regardless of whether the Government support the motion. [33100]
Mr. Watts: Section 9(4) of the Transport and Works Act 1992 says that in the case of proposals which in the Secretary of State's opinion are of national significance the Secretary of State may not make an order authorising the proposals unless each House of Parliament has passed a resolution, on a motion moved by a Minister, approving them. A motion seeking such approval is the only certain way of securing a decision one way or the other in a single debate. A motion framed in other terms--for example, to take note of the proposals--would risk an inconclusive result and a need for a second debate.
Statistics
Mr. Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which statistics his Department had discontinued (a) the collection and (b) the publication of since 1989. [32868]
Mr. Norris: The information requested is shown in the list:
Statistics for which collection and publication have been discontinued since 1989
Express bus passengers;
Local authority road maintenance expenditure;
Ports' accounts;
London coach survey;
Oil rig servicing at ports.
Statistics for which publication has been discontinued since 1989
Road track costs;
Passenger miles by bus passengers;
Provisional quarterly estimates of road accidents;
Average length of haul for rail freight;
Rail receipts per passenger kilometre;
Merchant navy seafarers;
Ports' employment;
Average traffic flow at selected points on the motorway network by type of vehicle;
Road lengths by county;
Average daily traffic flow on classified roads by type of vehicle (monthly data);
Fish landings at ports;
International comparisons of road capital expenditure.
Customer Charters
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) the customer charters which are currently in use within his Department and its executive agencies and (b) the charters which have been withdrawn. [32826]
17 Jun 1996 : Column: 337
Mr. Norris: The central transport group of the Department of Transport has published a leaflet entitled "Serving the Public", which sets out the standards of service for answering correspondence, responding to telephone inquiries and handling complaints. The Highways Agency publishes its standards of service in the road users charter. Each of the Department's other executive agencies--DVLA, the Vehicle Inspectorate, and the Driving Standards, Coastguard, Marine Safety and Vehicle Certification Agencies--publishes its service standards in customer service guides, dedicated charter standard statements or codes of practice for its business customers.
Several of these charter documents have been revised and updated; none has been withdrawn.
Rail Freight Industry
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he (a) has had and (b) intends to have with the managing director of English, Welsh and Scottish Railway Ltd. concerning the sale by Railtrack of strategic land sites needed for the future development of the rail freight industry. [33076]
Mr. Watts: None. The arrangements for safeguarding strategic freight sites are governed by a legal agreement between Railtrack and those licensed rail freight operators either currently or formerly owned by British Rail, including English, Welsh and Scottish Railways Ltd.
Postage Costs
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on postage in the financial years 1995-96 and 1995-96; and how many items were posted during these periods. [32844]
Mr. Norris: My Department spent £13,262,194 in 1994-95 and £13,809,113 in 1995-96 on postage. A complete record is not kept of the number of items posted, but exceeds 61 million.
A458, Ford
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of the public lavatory alongside the A458 road at Ford in Shropshire; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of public lavatory provisions on the A458 road at Ford in Shropshire. [32206]
Mr. Norris: I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 17 June 1996:
17 Jun 1996 : Column: 338
The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent question about the future of the public lavatory alongside the A458 road at Ford in Shropshire, and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of public lavatory provisions on the A458 at Ford in Shropshire.
The funding available for trunk road routine maintenance this year has been reduced. In these circumstances the Highways Agency has examined all activities encompassed in this type of work and taken the view that it must give priority to those directly related to safety. As a result many non safety related activities including the cleaning of trunk road toilets have been reduced in frequency or stopped. This has led to closure of some trunk road toilets. Facilities where local authorities, local franchises or businesses have entered into agreements with the Agency to take over responsibility and associated costs for the day to day running are not affected.
With regard to the toilets on the A458 at Ford in Shropshire, the Highways Agency are seeking to avert closure by concluding an agreement with the owners of the "Dinkies Dinah" cafe for its day to day running. If an agreement is not concluded in the near future then the toilets are likely to be closed.
I am aware of the benefit of these facilities, but in the face of shortages, activities concerned primarily with safety must have first call on available funds.
Sea Empress Oil Spill
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the international oil pollution compensation fund and the Sea Empress insurers have paid out to victims of the spillage engaged in (a) fishing, (b) tourism, (c) clean-up operations and (d) other. [32961]
Mr. Norris: The international oil pollution compensation fund has provided the following information on the amounts paid by the joint claims handling office by 14 June:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Tourism | 54,596.75 |
| Fishing | 1,205,327.93 |
| Clean-up | 0 |
| Other | 45,188.29 |
| Total | 1,305,112.07 |
In addition, cheques amounting to £75,348.06 are awaiting collection by claimants.
Mr. Ainger:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent to date by (a) local authorities, (b) the marine pollution control unit and (c) private organisations on the Sea Empress clean-up operation. [32960]
Mr. Norris:
Precise figures on local authority expenditure are not available, but it is estimated that they have incurred costs of the order of £4 million. To date, the marine pollution control unit has spent £7,372,022. Information on spending by private organisations is not held by Government.
Mr. Ainger:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place copies of the annual reports of the Milford Haven port authority for (a) 1994-95, (b) 1993-94, (c) 1992-93, (d) 1991-92 and (e) 1990-91 in the Library. [32959]
Mr. Norris:
I understand that the Milford Haven port authority makes its annual reports publicly available on request. I have asked the authority to send copies to the hon. Member.
Mr. John Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the progress of his consideration about the future of College farm. [33288]
17 Jun 1996 : Column: 339
Mr. Norris:
Specialist advisers have been appointed to look into all the options for College farm with a view to establishing the planning position for the site. They are expected to report to us by the end of July, following which we shall determine the way forward for the farm.
Cattle Exports
Mr. Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cattle exported from Northern Ireland in 1995 and not certified for export for (a) breeding and (b) slaughter were (i) under and (ii) over six months of age. [31117]
Mr. Ancram: Cattle exported from Northern Ireland and not certified for (a) breeding and (b) slaughter are certified for further fattening.
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