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Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Mr. Paterson:
To ask the secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the Budget measures on carbon dioxide emissions. [9359]
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 199
Mr. Meacher:
The combined effect of increasing the road fuel duty escalator from 5 to 6 per cent. reducing VAT on domestic fuels to 5 per cent. and the reduction in the gas levy will be to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 0.2 million tonnes of carbon in 2000 and by 2.3 million tonnes in 2010.
Dr. Tony Wright:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the effect on traffic accidents and casualties of the adoption of central European time. [9385]
Dr. Strang:
The Transport Research Laboratory has estimated that there could be net savings in road casualties in Great Britain were central European time to be adopted. Further work is in progress to refine these estimates and I expect to receive a report shortly.
Mr. Paterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much at current prices has been awarded from the single regeneration budget; what was the total level of investment at current prices supported by the single regeneration budget; and how many jobs the single regeneration budget has created or safeguarded, in each United Kingdom region, in each year since the single regeneration budget was established. [11305]
Angela Eagle:
The single regeneration budget was formed in 1994 by bringing together 20 regeneration programmes in England. Details of the expenditure and the outputs achieved under each programme are set out in the departmental reports issued each year--Department of the Environment annual report 1997, Cmd 3607. Since 1995-96, new regeneration schemes have been funded through the SRB challenge fund. The table gives the regional breakdown of expenditure and jobs created for 1995-96, the first year of the challenge fund, and provisional figures for 1996-97, its second year.
| Region | SRB challenge fund 1997-98 prices | Total scheme expenditure 1997-98 prices | Jobs created/ preserved |
|---|---|---|---|
| £000 | £000 | Number | |
| Eastern | 2,614 | 16,455 | 498 |
| East Midlands | 8,259 | 57,341 | 2,863 |
| London | 37,847 | 105,517 | 7,165 |
| Merseyside | 11,501 | 76,661 | 1,978 |
| North East | 18,296 | 56,377 | 2,729 |
| North West | 18,087 | 116,993 | 8,627 |
| South East | 5,541 | 16,937 | 1,624 |
| South West | 4,077 | 17,380 | 1,425 |
| West Midlands | 16,937 | 86,183 | 5,318 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 19,446 | 123,946 | 7,009 |
| England | 142,605 | 673,790 | 39,236 |
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 200
| Region | SRB challenge fund 1997-98 prices | Total scheme expenditure 1997-98 prices | Jobs created/ preserved |
|---|---|---|---|
| £000 | £000 | Number | |
| Eastern | 5,712 | 27,744 | 600 |
| East Midlands | 16,524 | 93,942 | 6,500 |
| London | 69,972 | 242,760 | 16,800 |
| Merseyside | 21,828 | 105,060 | 1,400 |
| North East | 30,294 | 117,402 | 5,600 |
| North West | 38,046 | 265,812 | 13,800 |
| South East | 12,138 | 86,088 | 2,000 |
| South West | 7,956 | 35,802 | 1,900 |
| West Midlands | 39,168 | 206,040 | 16,200 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 41,412 | 189,924 | 13,000 |
| England | 283,050 | 1,370,574 | 77,800 |
River Water Quality
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of river water was of good or fair quality in each year since 1987. [11159]
Angela Eagle: There has been a net upgrading in chemical quality of 25.8 per cent. of the total monitored length of rivers and canals in England and Wales between 1990 and 1996. The proportion of rivers and canals classified as good or fair quality under the Environment Agency's general quality assessment for the years in which surveys were carried out since 1987 is as follows:
| Good | Fair | |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 47.0 | 37.5 |
| 1992 | 52.6 | 34.4 |
| 1995 | 59.5 | 31.5 |
| 1996 | 58.6 | 31.5 |
Compulsory Competitive Tendering
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimates he has made of the savings at current prices achieved in each year since the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering for local government services as a result of such tendering. [11303]
Mr. Raynsford: Research commissioned by the Department has looked at both the financial and service quality impact of CCT on blue-collar services covered by the Local Government Act 1988. This has shown average annual savings on contract prices of blue-collar services of 6 per cent. for the first round of tendering under the Act, and 9 per cent. for the second round. It also shows that the savings have been accompanied by only minor improvements in service standards, and that more attention needs to be given to the development of local performance indicators.
Other research, commissioned outside the Department, suggests a wide variation on estimates of savings depending upon the way in which social costs and benefits are treated.
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 201
Mr. Tyler:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the critical uses of methyl bromide which his Department has evaluated. [11106]
Angela Eagle:
The phaseout date for methyl bromide, and the criteria for the critical use exemption after phaseout, will be considered at the ninth meeting of the parties to the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, in September. Any evaluation of the critical uses of methyl bromide will depend on the criteria that are set, and the availability of suitable alternatives after phaseout.
Mr. Tyler:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list, by company, the alternatives to methyl bromide which his Department has evaluated. [11107]
Angela Eagle:
In 1996, the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food commissioned ADAS to review the use of methyl bromide in horticulture, and to consider what alternatives are available. Its report identifies a range of alternatives which are either being developed, or already being used in the UK, but does not identify the individual companies involved. In April 1997, the United Nations environment programme's technical and economic assessment panel and methyl bromide technical options committee produced a report on alternatives to methyl bromide worldwide. Copies of this report, and the ADAS report, will be placed in the Library shortly.
Mr. Gerald Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much funding at current prices has been attracted from the private and voluntary sectors under the pilot capital challenge funding scheme for local authorities in each year since it was introduced. [11160]
Angela Eagle:
Support for local authorities' capital expenditure is available through the capital challenge pilot scheme in three financial years: 1997-98; 1998-99; and 1999-00. Estimates for support for successful projects from the private and voluntary sectors are available only for the three-year period as a whole, and are as follows:
Voluntary Sector: £20 million
Other Private Sector: £678 million.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Mr. Coleman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what performance targets he has set the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre executive agency for 1997-98. [11698]
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 202
Mr. Raynsford:
The agency's principal targets for 1997-98 are to achieve total revenue of £7.12 million and to achieve a minimum contribution to the Exchequer of £555,000.
The agency's other main targets are:
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the network enhancement schemes and control projects to be undertaken during the financial year 1997-98 indicating the likely cost, start and completion dates. [10131]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to write to my hon. Friend.
To achieve at least six out of the following seven targets:
(a) to increase the proportion fo events with more than 200 delegates to 30 per cent.
(b) to increase the proportion of target room hire revenue achieved six months in advance to 55 per cent.
(c) an overall score for quality of service in client questionnaires of at least 77 per cent.
(d) 98 per cent. of clients completing the client questionnaire to report that they would use the centre again;
(e) the number of complaints to be received to be less than four per hundred events;
(f) an average response time in dealing with complaints of less than eight working days;
(g) an overall score for quality of service provided by the catering staff of at least 80 per cent.
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 203
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 203
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