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Dorchester-Weymouth Relief Road
11. Mr. Ian Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce his decision on the Dorchester to Weymouth relief road. [586]
Mr. Watts: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to make an announcement on the Dorchester to Weymouth road by the end of November 1996.
Mr. Bruce: I thank my hon. Friend for bringing forward by two months the possible date with which we had been threatened, as it were, by the Department in Newcastle. May I say with the utmost respect, however, that the time that it takes for the Department in Newcastle to study paperwork and for inspectors to produce reports is not good enough? My constituents want to know whether they can make a decision and my county council wants to know whether to put the money aside. Can the Minister make the result available sooner?
Mr. Watts: That is unlikely. My hon. Friend should acknowledge that the inspector's report was received only last month in my Department. The target for a decision by the end of November is ambitious, but we shall try to meet it because we recognise the urgency of the matter for my hon. Friend and many of his constituents.
Mr. McAvoy: When the Minister makes a decision on the Dorchester relief road, will he take into account the fact that there is an existing road plan on the books? That is entirely different from new motorways and new roads. He should aim for the completion of the existing road scheme in Dorchester, and those in Denton and Newbury, and he should ensure that dogma against the building of new roads does not interfere with the construction of roads that would give relief to those areas.
Mr. Watts: I am pleased to hear the hon. Gentleman criticise dogma against new road building. I thought that that tended to be a characteristic of his party.
Highways Agency Properties
12. Mr. Sumberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received in connection with the management of properties owned by the Highways Agency in the Bury, South constituency; and if he will make a statement. [587]
Mr. Watts: I have received many representations from my hon. Friend on behalf of his constituents.
Mr. Sumberg: Although my constituents were delighted when my hon. Friend announced the cancellation of the M62 relief road, they are less than delighted by the situation that they now face. The management of the houses by my hon. Friend's agents is appalling. Many houses are still boarded up; there is a question mark over the safety of the gas boilers in some of the houses; worse, my constituents cannot sell their homes at anything like market value. It is totally unsatisfactory to keep on denying them compensation for the loss, in many cases, of their life savings. We must be able to deal with the matter in a better way. Will my hon. Friend re-examine it?
Mr. Watts: I think that my hon. Friend is aware of the reasons why it is not possible to use discretionary purchase in respect of a scheme that has been abandoned. However, I accept that conditions for many of his constituents have been unsatisfactory. That is why, earlier
in the year, I took steps to speed the rate at which we can dispose of the properties, which are now entirely surplus to requirements. Having introduced sales by auction, we have sold a total of 70 properties--65 by auction and five by private treaty--and a further 42 sales have been agreed and are in the pipeline.
Mr. Lewis: Behind those figures lies the disgrace of the way in which the agency is dealing with the problem. The Minister knows the problems that the hon. Member for Bury, South (Mr. Sumberg) and I have brought to the House on several occasions--some of my constituents are also affected. The devaluing of whole areas of property, caused by the handling of the issue, is disgraceful. It is time that the Minister took a direct hand and took the matter away from the agency. He should start worrying about people for a change.
Mr. Watts: The hon. Gentleman should recognise that the poor condition of a property is usually the result of vandalism or, in some instances, of ill treatment by the temporary tenants. I have already explained that I have taken a direct hand in switching from sale by private treaty only to auction sales, which have proved successful. The best way to bring comfort to the remaining owner-occupiers in the area is to dispose of our holdings as rapidly as possible so that we no longer exert a blighting influence on the neighbourhood.
Buses
13. Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many buses more than 12 years old are currently in use; and what was the comparative figure in 1985-86. [588]
Mr. Bowis: In 1994-95, there were 26,000 public service vehicles in the bus taxation class having nine or more seats and more than 12 years old. The comparable figure in 1985-86 was 12,000.
Mr. Pope: Does that not show that the number of old buses in use has doubled since deregulation 10 years ago? We have seen passenger safety compromised and people getting a worse service because of dogma. Is there not a case for the Government to accept the need, as we have suggested, for a new public-private partnership and a new regulatory framework to provide a better, safer service for passengers?
Mr. Bowis: The answer is no. The figures need to be looked at in context. The total number of public service vehicles has gone up from 67,000 to 75,000 over that period. In the past five years, new registrations have gone up from 3,000 to more than 5,000, with reports of significant orders being placed. Age is not the determining factor for safety or for pollution. Quality of maintenance is the key. If the hon. Gentleman is reflecting his party's policy, I hope that he has had the cost to the taxpayer that it would bring in cleared by his hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith), the former shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
The hon. Gentleman is also posing a threat to the wish of Londoners to have the Routemaster in service--a bus which goes back 30 years. If the Labour party's policy is to ban it because it is more than 12 years old, the people of London will want to know. We shall resist that just as much as we shall resist Mr. Kinnock should he put forward European legislation on the matter.
Motorway Repairs
14. Mr. Rooker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures his Department takes to ensure value for money on motorway repair work carried out under annual schedule of rates contracts. [589]
Mr. Watts: The Highways Agency secures good value for money on motorway maintenance contracts through its choice of contract form, competitive tendering procedures and supervision by the agency's managing agents.
Mr. Rooker: What is the total value of the work--mainly routine maintenance contracts--that is not specifically tendered for each job? Would it not be a good idea to change the list of contractors for the jobs completely every few years? That would provide transparency, assuring the public of value for money on such work, much of which is not specifically tendered for.
Mr. Watts: I shall write to the hon. Gentleman with an accurate figure on the precise value of the total work undertaken under schedule of rates contracts. Generally, we find that such contracts provide the best value for money when the volume of work cannot be anticipated at the start, such as contracts for routine maintenance, with work ordered and paid for on a needs basis. The lists of contractors are amended and reviewed from time to time.
A2
15. Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve the A2 road to Dover. [590]
Mr. Watts: The road programme includes schemes to improve the A2 between Lydden and Dover, the A2 and M2 between Cobham and junction 4 of the M2, and the A2 and A282 at Dartford. On 22 May this year, I announced two new schemes for widening the A2 between Bean and Cobham, near Gravesend.
Mr. Shaw: Does my hon. Friend accept that, under the present Government, there have been considerable improvements in the roads to Dover? We welcome the improvements to the A20 and the Sandwich to Dover road and the fact that the A2 between Lydden and Dover is gradually being duelled. However, can my hon. Friend give us some intimation of how he will press the Highways Agency to develop long-term plans to improve the A2 between Lydden and Dover? The improvements so far have been of enormous benefit to Dover's ferry industry and we should like further such developments to be made.
Mr. Watts: I thank my hon. Friend for his acknowledgement of the value of road improvements to Dover in recent years. The Lydden to Dover improvement scheme will be undertaken when substantive progress has been made on other main programme schemes that are more advanced.
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