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Advance Corporation Tax
7. Mr. Townend: What assessment he has made of the estimates made by local authorities of the costs to them in 1998-99 from the changes to advance corporation tax. [14847]
The Minister for London and Construction (Mr. Nick Raynsford): The Local Government Association, with the assistance of the United Kingdom steering committee on local authority pensions and my Department, is conducting a survey of local government pension scheme administering authorities to assess the impact of Budget tax changes on their pension funds, both for the current financial year and at 1 April 1999. The results will be available shortly.
Mr. Townend: Would the Minister be interested to learn that I have a letter from the director of finance of East Riding council, which says that in 1998-99 the additional contribution required will be £2.55 million? If that contribution is delayed until the following year, a further £75,000 will be needed every year. How does the Minister expect my council to find the cash? Are the Government going to increase the revenue support grant by £2.55 million, or will they expect the poor council tax payer to shoulder the burden of the first Labour Budget and another Labour tax increase?
Mr. Raynsford: When the figures are analysed in detail, the hon. Gentleman will find that he has referred to the gross costs--no account has been taken of any off-setting savings. A net figure will be necessary before an informed conclusion can be reached. The contribution of local government employers was fixed in 1995 for the four-year period to 1999. There are no powers to change contributions during that period. The impact of the changes, to which I referred earlier, and offsetting savings will be taken fully into account by the Government when we have received the full response to the survey from the Local Government Association. As my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Housing said, we have already made it clear that we will take full account of that when assessing financial contributions for 1999-2000 and years beyond.
Opencast Mining
8. Mr. Barnes: What representations he has recently received concerning opencast mining planning policy in England; and if he will make a statement. [14848]
Mr. Raynsford: My Department has received a large number of representations in response to the consultation paper on opencast mining planning policy, which we issued on 30 July. In the light of responses to that
consultation, the Government will decide what changes to policy guidance could and should be implemented in interim planning guidance.
Mr. Barnes: Is the Minister aware that we have had more than enough opencast mining in north-east Derbyshire, and that we are currently fighting off three proposals--at Avenue Cokeworks, the Breck and junction 29? Would it not help us tremendously if the planning guidance notes contained a presumption against opencast mining--as was promised in the preamble to the 10 points that Labour issued at the general election? Will we be living up to our commitment?
Mr. Raynsford: I can assure my hon. Friend that the Government acted very swiftly to give effect to our manifesto commitments and issued a consultation paper on possible changes to mineral planning guidance. We have had 380 responses to that consultation, and consultation in Wales is still not complete. We are therefore analysing carefully the responses before deciding what changes may be appropriate in interim planning guidance. We shall take appropriate action. I assure him that, since the Government have come to power, no further opencast mining applications have been approved.
London Underground
31. Mr. Clifton-Brown: What proposals he has for the future of London Underground. [14873]
32. Mr. Simon Hughes:
What is his policy on (a) privatising London Transport and (b) London Transport fares. [14874]
The Minister for Transport in London (Ms Glenda Jackson):
Today is the 10th anniversary of the King's Cross disaster. I am sure that all hon. Members will wish to remember the victims of that terrible night, and, with gratitude, the heroism of the emergency services, who worked with such courage in their attempts to reduce the terrible toll.
We are developing our manifesto proposals to improve the London Underground through a public-private partnership. We have ruled out wholesale privatisation. London Transport fares are the statutory responsibility of London Transport, which has to strike a balance between keeping public transport affordable and raising revenue for investment.
Mr. Clifton-Brown:
I preface my question by whole-heartedly endorsing everything that the Minister has said about the 10-year anniversary of the King's Cross disaster, and pay a sincere tribute to the members of the emergency services who fought so bravely that night to contain the fire and reduce the loss of life.
As the Government have introduced an integrated transport system, it is essential that we encourage people to leave their motor cars at home and use the London Underground system. If the Government are intent on that action, will the Minister encourage the London Underground executive to keep fares at or below inflation over the next few years?
Ms Jackson:
I am delighted to hear that the hon. Gentleman has already recognised the major improvements
Mr. Hughes:
Do the Minister and her colleagues accept that the strongest reason imaginable for retaining majority public-sector control of London Underground is the King's Cross tragedy and the need for parliamentary accountability by Ministers for the safety of the capital city's public transport system? Will she confirm that the Government have ruled out not only total privatisation but majority privatisation? If not, why not?
Ms Jackson:
The hon. Gentleman is aware that the Government have made a commitment not to go down the road of wholesale privatisation. We are examining the proposals of the financial advisers Price Waterhouse on the best way to proceed to ensure the future of London Underground but, whatever decision is taken, I can assure the hon. Gentleman, the House and London that safety and the improvement of safety will be a priority.
Ms Perham:
Is my hon. Friend aware that the state of the underground was an important issue in my constituency and throughout London during the general election? Is she also aware how much the Government's determination to secure the future of London Underground is welcome in my constituency, which relies on eight Central line stations?
Ms Jackson:
My hon. Friend expresses a sentiment that is shared across London on the importance of our underground system in the creation of a properly integrated public transport system for this great capital city. Both I and my right hon. and hon. Friends welcome the support that we are receiving from Londoners in our attempt to ensure that the underground is fit for them and for the 21st century.
Sir Norman Fowler:
I begin by associating myself entirely with the Minister's words about King's Cross, which was a terrible night that we all remember.
On future policy, does she recognise that Railtrack plans to spend £10 billion on investment, including safety investment, over the next years, and that the rail operating companies plan to spend £2 billion on new trains and rolling stock? Does that not show the success of rail privatisation and the way forward for London Underground?
Ms Jackson:
So they should, given that £1.8 billion of public money is going into the railway system.
33. Mrs. Ann Winterton:
If he will make a statement on investment in the trunk road network. [14875]
The Minister of Transport (Dr. Gavin Strang):
Capital expenditure on the trunk road network is planned to be some £1.4 billion in the current financial year,
Mrs. Winterton:
As an efficient economy needs an efficient transport infrastructure, does the Minister realise that, if the Government proceed with the moratorium on future road building, business will pay the increasing cost of continuing congestion?
Dr. Strang:
I can only assume that that is a deliberate misrepresentation of the Government's position. The hon. Lady is surely aware of the road schemes that we have announced and I am sure that she appreciates that we are carrying out a thorough review of the trunk road programme, as we promised during the general election.
Mr. Home Robertson:
I know that my right hon. Friend, of all people, will understand the importance of road links between England and the rest of the United Kingdom. Is he aware that the long single-carriageway section of the A1 through Northumberland is a serious handicap to both the local and the national economy, including the whole of the east of England and Scotland? Will he bear that in mind during the review?
Dr. Strang:
My hon. Friend is right to point out that, even against a background of the cuts that have been made in the roads programme over the years, and the growing recognition that we cannot continue to build more and more roads to meet the projected growth in traffic, real investment is needed in the existing network, including the A1.
Mr. Chope:
The Minister refers to cuts in the roads programme. Does he remember that, this time last year, his party condemned the Conservative Government for not having kept more schemes in the road programme? Does he agree that it would be folly for this country to cut roads investment when our competitors throughout Europe are spending more?
Dr. Strang:
No, I cannot accept that. We all know that, under the Conservatives, the road schemes were decided on not by objective appraisal, but by Treasury diktat. That is why we are looking thoroughly into which roads to build. We make no apology for that. We promised it in the manifesto. We are considering accessibility, safety, economic development and environmental impact.
Mr. Pike:
Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the existing road network is neglected and worsening, with roads not repaired? The Government have inherited a major problem, and a lot of money will be needed to bring our roads up to standard.
Dr. Strang:
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. There can be no doubt that the maintenance of our roads has been neglected, particularly the basic network. It is vital that we continue capital investment to ensure the adequate maintenance of our roads.
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