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Commonwealth of Independent States
Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the ministerial visits made to each CIS country since 1992. [15734]
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 17 February 1997]: Listed are DTI ministerial visits to CIS countries since 1992:
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Airbus
Sir Cranley Onslow: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total expenditure in launch aid for the Airbus A320; and how much of this has so far been recouped. [15854]
Mr. Greg Knight [holding answer 18 February 1997]: Total launch aid of £249.3 million was granted for the Airbus A320. A total of £250.2 million has so far been received in repayment. Repayment, including a rate of return, is made by a levy on sales.
TRANSPORT
British Rail Subsidiaries
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the gross proceeds of sales of former subsidiaries of British Rail in 1996-97. [15399]
Mr. Watts: Total gross proceeds of companies, which were previously owned by British Rail and which have been sold in the current financial year pursuant to the Railways Act 1993, are £2.13 billion. This sum includes gross proceeds of £1.93 billion from the sale of Railtrack; deferred payments; dividends of some £14 million paid before the sales this year of BR infrastructure companies; and gross proceeds of the following companies which were sold since my answer to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) of 27 November 1996, Official Report, columns 273-76.
| Company | Purchaser | Gross proceeds £ million | Sale date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientifics Ltd. | Atesta Group Ltd. | 1.8 | 9 December 1996 |
| BR Research Ltd. | AEA Technology PLC | 10.752 | 19 December 1996 |
| Nationwide Fire Services | Serco Ltd. | (20)0.106 | 6 January 1997 |
| BR Business Systems | Sema Group UK Ltd. | 27.0 | 31 January 1997 |
| National Railway Supplies Ltd. | Gresty Supplies Ltd. (MBO) | 31.026 | 31 January 1997 |
| Rail Operational Research Ltd. | BR Projects Ltd. (an associate company of General Practice Investment Corp Ltd.) | 1.5 | 4 February 1997 |
(20) Excludes collection of outstanding debts.
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M6/M61 Junction Signs
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what decision he has reached concerning the inclusion of Bolton on the M6/M61 junction signs; and if he will make a statement. [15712]
Mr. Watts: I am pleased to say that the Highways Agency has prepared a design for the signs on the four gantries involved at the M6/M61 junction which will allow the addition of Bolton. This work will be completed in March.
Rail Services
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the causes of train delays and cancellations that are (a) recorded and (b) not recorded in the four-weekly track record on punctuality and reliability under the terms of the citizens charter. [15964]
Mr. Watts: Delays or cancellations caused by circumstances outside the control of the rail industry, such as vandalism, suicides or terrorist threats, are excluded from the passengers charger statistics. Services provided on certain days are also excluded: these are Sundays--except for Gatwick express and Island line--public holidays; and days when bus services are substituted, for example during engineering works, or when no effective service can be provided and season tickets are extended or refunded.
Except where exclusions apply, the services included in passengers charter punctuality and reliability results are as follows. For punctuality:
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of a timetabled journey under the passengers charter a train must complete to count as (a) a cancellation and (b) a train run; and if these criteria apply to all train operating companies.[15965]
Mr. Watts:
For passengers charter purposes, a train is counted as cancelled if it fails to complete at least 50 per cent. of its scheduled route mileage. A train would be counted as run if it had completed at least 50 per cent. of
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its scheduled route mileage. These criteria apply to all train operating companies and have not changed since 1992.
Mr. Andrew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the proposal for a new Swale bridge to the Isle of Sheppey; what provision has been made for this project in his Department's future programme; and what priority has been accorded to the project.[16025]
Mr. Watts:
Proposals for a second crossing of the Swale to the Isle of Sheppey are part of the A249 Iwade-Queenborough improvement scheme. Draft line and side roads orders under the Highways Act 1980 were published for the scheme on 23 January. Economic, environmental and engineering assessments were carried out as part of that process. The economic appraisal involved the usual cost-benefit methodology applied to all major trunk road improvement proposals. The environmental assessment, in accordance with EC regulations, considered visual impact--including consulting Royal Fine Arts Commission--the effect on the local ecology, as well as more general environmental impacts.
The results of this assessment were also published in an environmental statement on 23 January and placed on deposit locally for public inspection. The engineering assessment, comprised value management and value engineering as well as checks to ensure that the proposals comply with our national standards.
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This scheme has been given priority to progress it to draft order stage. Its future progress will depend upon the successful completion of the remaining statutory procedures.
Mr. Hall:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the private employment agencies used by his Department and its agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available, indicating (a) the names of the agencies, (b) the numbers employed by the agencies in work for his Department, (c) the total cost to his Department of using employment agencies and the median cost paid to the agency per person recruited and (d) the average length of contract for persons recruited via such agencies.[16180]
Mr. Bowis:
The extensive information requested concerning the private employment agencies used by my Department and its agencies will take some time to assemble. I shall write to the hon. Member when I have further details and place a copy of the information in the Library.
Mr. Keith Hill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) total grants, (b) core business capital grants, (c) new lines and extensions capital grants and (d) revenue support grants, excluding the docklands light railway, awarded to London Transport in each year since 1978; and what is the planned expenditure for each year between 1996-97 and 1999-2000 in (i) cash prices and (ii) 1996-97 prices.[16027]
Mr. Bowis:
The information requested is set out in the following tables.
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London commuter train companies (formerly Network SouthEast)--Mondays to Fridays only, trains arriving at London termini between 07.00 and 10.00 and trains departing from London between 16.00 and 19.00. Trains are punctual if they arrive at their destination within four minutes 59 seconds of the scheduled time.
InterCity train companies--all trains Monday to Saturday. Trains are punctual if they arrive at their destination within nine minutes 59 seconds of the scheduled time.
Other train companies (ex Regional Railways)--all trains Monday to Saturday. trains are punctual if they arrive at their destination within 4 minutes 59 seconds for short distance routes and 9 minutes 59 seconds for long distance routes.
Gatwick express--all trains Monday to Sunday. Trains are punctual if they arrive at their destination within 4 minutes 59 seconds of the scheduled time.
For reliability:
the number of trains scheduled to run in the published timetable, including any emergency timetable. A train is counted as run if it has completed at least 50 per cent. of its scheduled route mileage.
| Year | Core business capital grant | Core business revenue support grant | New lines and extensions capital grant | Total grant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 69 | 51 | -- | 120 |
| 1979 | 106 | 51 | -- | 157 |
| 1980 | 138 | 80 | -- | 218 |
| 1981 | 135 | 82 | -- | 217 |
| 1982 | 190 | 123 | -- | 313 |
| 1983 | 167 | 175 | -- | 342 |
| 1984-85(21) | 137 | 186 | -- | 323 |
| 1985-86 | 182 | 125 | -- | 307 |
| 1986-87 | 224 | 66 | -- | 290 |
| 1987-88 | 159 | 44 | -- | 203 |
| 1988-89 | 150 | 20 | -- | 170 |
| 1989-90 | 204 | 44 | -- | 248 |
| 1990-91 | 366 | 74 | 44 | 484 |
| 1991-92 | 405 | 103 | 65 | 573 |
| 1992-93 | 546 | 254 | 83 | 883 |
| 1993-94 | 506 | 66 | 120 | 692 |
| 1994-95(22) | 363 | 10 | 413 | 786 |
| 1995-96 | 443 | -- | 461 | 904 |
| 1996-97(23)(24)(25) | Breakdown of figures not yet available for these years 973 | |||
| 1997-98(24)(25)(26) | 701 | |||
| 1998-99(24)(25) (26) | 352 | |||
| 1999-2000(25)(26) | 163 | |||
(21) 15 months accounting period.
(22) In addition to grant in 1994-95 LT benefitted substantially from proceeds from the sale of the subsidiaries of London Buses Ltd.
(23) 1996-97 outturn figure subject to end-year flexibility arrangements.
(24) Apportionment of grant between LT core business and the JLE will be determined by LT in the light of emerging requirements.
(25) Includes Croydon Tramlink.
(26) £30 million grant carried forward from 1995-96 not yet allocated to a particular year.
(27) 15 months accounting period.
(28) In addition to grant in 1994-95 LT benefitted substantially from proceeds from the sale of the subsidiaries of London Buses Ltd.
(29) 1996-97 outturn figure subject to end-year flexibility arrangements.
(30) Apportionment of grant between LT core business and the JLE will be determined by LT in the light of emerging requirements.
(31) Includes Croydon Tramlink.
(32) £30 million grant carried forward from 1995-96 not yet allocated to a particular year.
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