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Commission of Irish Lights

Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the reduction in the United Kingdom's contribution to the Commission of Irish Lights following the court's decision on electronic aids. [2558]

Mr. Bowis: No savings to the general lighthouse fund are expected. The Irish Government are proposing the necessary legislative changes to enable the Commissioners of Irish Lights to continue with the provision of marine radio navigation aids.

Unexploded Bombs

Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what liaison he has had with the Ministry of

6 Nov 1996 : Column: 536

Defence over the monitoring of explosives and noxious substances from the second world war in the territorial waters of the United Kingdom. [2598]

Mr. Bowis: My Department liaises with the Ministry of Defence as the need arises. Monitoring is undertaken specifically in relation to the remains of SS Richard Montgomery, where periodic surveys on our behalf are overseen by the Royal Navy's chief salvage officer.

Channel Tunnel Rail Link

Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the implications of the recent judgment in the High Court in the case brought by Maurice and Audrey Balchin for planning blight compensation policy in connection with the channel tunnel rail link; and if he will make a statement. [2290]

Mr. Watts: The judgment has no implications for the channel tunnel rail link. Union Railways Ltd. operates a discretionary purchase scheme and considers all applications in full.

Road Accidents

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) pedestrians and (b) passengers have been (i) injured and (ii) killed in accidents involving vehicles in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [2054]

Mr. Bowis: The number of casualties in road accidents is shown in the table.

	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Pedestrians
Injured	52,496	50,240	46,857	47,529	45,991
Killed	1,496	1,347	1,241	1,124	1,038
Passengers
Injured	84,521	85,820	85,422	87,632	86,368
Killed	937	864	766	746	757

Bull Bars

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to introduce legislation to ban bull bars on vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [2057]

Mr. Bowis: Earlier this year, the European Commission proposed an amendment to the External Projections Directive, 74/483/EEC, which would control the fitting of aggressive bull bars. My Department was involved in the preparation of this draft amendment which, it is hoped, will be incorporated into the directive early next year.

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the numbers of (a) pedestrians and (b) passengers who have been (i) injured and (ii) killed as a direct result of a vehicle being fitted with bull bars in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [2052]

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Mr. Bowis: The Department commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory to carry out a study of data from accidents involving bull bars and to make an objective assessment of the real risks which they pose to vulnerable road users. TRL has now completed the work and expects to publish its conclusions shortly.

Deregulation

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what regulations his Department proposes to repeal by the end of 1996; if he proposes to conduct a compliance cost assessment on each regulation repealed; and what is the estimated cost of undertaking a compliance cost assessment to determine the advantages or disadvantages of such a repeal. [2469]

Mr. Bowis: Subject to satisfactory completion of the consultation process, my Department is currently proposing to repeal or amend the following regulations by the end of 1996:

Number of regulations	Type of regulations
2	Motor Vehicle (Type Approval or Authorisation) Regulations
4	Vehicle Inspectorate Safety Codes of Practice
1	Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations
17	Merchant Shipping (Passenger Ship Construction) Regulations
7	Merchant Shipping (Cargo Ship) Regulations
13	Merchant Shipping (Fire Protection & Appliances) Regulations
5	Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances)
9	Merchant Shipping (Control of Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances)
15	Merchant Shipping (Loadline) Regulations
11	Other miscellaneous regulations

Since the effect in each case will be to reduce rather than increase compliance costs, a CCA is not required. Departments do, however, seek to estimate approximate savings wherever possible. The cost of undertaking a CCA varies from case to case, but is generally modest. Because part of the cost falls to the business consulted, a full CCA would be inappropriate for measures designed to reduce business burdens.

Air Traffic Control

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the expected date of completion of the National Air Traffic Services review of the two-centre strategy. [2687]

Mr. Bowis: The CAA advises that recommendations stemming from the review will be considered by its board in December with a view to decisions being made very early in the new year.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Parliamentary Questions

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Lord President of the Council what guidelines his Department issues to

6 Nov 1996 : Column: 538

Government Departments and agencies in respect of procedures to be followed after a parliamentary answer is found to be incorrect. [44]

Mr. Newton: No formal guidance is issued by my Department. Government Departments do, however, follow precedents for correcting mistakes made in answering parliamentary questions, including the use of "pursuant" answers. It is for individual Departments to determine how they handle a particular parliamentary question. The advice of the Table Office would be sought on the use of a "pursuant" question.

TREASURY

Government Expenditure and Revenues

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what analysis of Government expenditure and revenues has been undertaken in respect of the other regions and countries of the UK equivalent to that undertaken in respect of Scotland. [1535]

Mr. Waldegrave [holding answer 31 October 1996]: "Government Expenditure and Revenue--Wales 1993-94" was published by the Welsh Office in January 1996. There are no equivalent figures published for Northern Ireland. The Government Office for London will publish a consultation paper this month on a methodology for estimating the balance between public income and expenditure in London. A breakdown of expenditure for regions and counties in the UK, was published in section 7 of the "Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 1996-97", Cm 3201.

Transport Fuel Duty

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received during the past 12 months on the level of fuel duty rebate on fuel used for public transport; and if he will make a statement. [1749]

Mr. Oppenheim: I have received a number of representations on this topic from the Confederation of Passenger Transport and various bus companies. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further in the run up to the Budget.

Financial Derivatives

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidelines are issued to Government Departments and agencies about the use of financial derivatives. [1682]

Mrs. Angela Knight: No general guidance is issued to Departments on the use of financial derivatives, except in the area of foreign exchange--in relation to which paragraphs 28.7.5 and 28.7.6 of the "Government Accounting" manual tell Departments that, before starting to use currency forwards, futures and options, they should obtain sufficient expertise and that they must avoid speculation. More generally, accounting officers are required to ensure that public funds are properly and well managed, avoid waste and extravagance and ensure that resources are used efficiently and effectively. Departments are not permitted to invest Exchequer money outside the public sector.

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Betting Revenue

Mr. Pendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each financial year since 1992-93, and to the latest available date in 1996, the revenue accruing to the Treasury from off-course betting on (a) horse racing and (b) greyhound racing. [2236]

Mr. Oppenheim: A breakdown of receipts between horse racing, greyhound racing and any other betting subject to general betting duty is not available. Total receipts from off-course betting duty are as follows:

	£ million
1992-93	474
1993-94	495
1994-95	509
1995-96	489
April-September 1996	244

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