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Radioactive Waste
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when Her Majesty's Government expect to ratify Directive Euratom 96/29 passed by the Council of Ministers in 1996; and what measures he plans to prevent the recycling of nuclear waste into consumer goods. [24817]
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to relax the limits on uncontrolled disposal or release of radioactively contaminated materials; and if he will make a statement. [25493]
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 19 January 1998, Official Report, column 376.
Byways (Vehicle Regulation)
Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) of 10 June 1997, Official Report, column 403, when he expects to announce proposals to improve regulation of vehicles on byways. [25070]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 23 January 1998]: We hope to make an announcement next month.
Official Cars
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many official cars are available for use by Ministers in his Department; and how many new cars have been acquired for the use of Ministers in his Department since 1 May. [25161]
Angela Eagle
[holding answer 23 January 1998]: Following the merger of the former Departments of the Environment and Transport the total number of cars available to Ministers has been decreased by one to nine. One new car has been acquired since 1 May.
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 16
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects the provisions of the Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997 to come into force; and if he will make a statement. [24985]
Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 23 January 1998]: Guidance to local authorities on implementing the provisions of the Road Traffic Reduction Act was issued in draft on 15 January for public consultation. Comments are sought by 20 April 1998. We envisage that the Act will be brought into force later this year, and be followed by final guidance.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on funding of the Great Leighs bypass. [25292]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Essex County Council bid for support for this scheme in their Transport Policies and Programme (TPP) submission for 1998-99. Because of financial constraints no new major schemes were accepted in the 1998-99 local transport capital settlement, which was announced on 17 December 1997.
The guidance for the TPP round of 1999-2000 is due to be published in the Spring. My Department is currently considering the headings under which bids will be invited. It is not possible at this stage to say how much weight will be given to major road schemes such as Great Leighs Bypass.
Mr. Collins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will bring forward proposals to reduce overcarrying of passengers on the rail network in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [25077]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Central door locking has appreciably reduced the risk of accidents caused by passengers boarding and alighting from trains when it would be unsafe to do so. It may have increased the risk of overcarrying, but the Health and Safety Executive does not consider overcarrying a safety issue. Measures to prevent overcarrying are for train operators to consider.
Mr. Collins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regulations regarding maximum permitted decibel levels and the environmental impact of private parachuting flights; and if he will make a statement. [25098]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Aircraft used for parachuting are subject to the same noise certification requirements as comparable aircraft used for other purposes. Depending on local airspace constraints and the location of drop zones, the need for the aircraft to climb over a limited area can be a source of nuisance to those below. Aerodromes and aircraft operators should plan their routes, procedures and activities so as to minimise noise nuisance; subject always to the overriding requirements of safety.
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 17
Sir Norman Fowler:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what analysis his Department has made of the answers to the questions set out in the Government's Consultation Paper, "New Leadership for London"; if he will publish this analysis; and if he will make a statement. [25528]
Mr. Raynsford:
An analysis of the responses we received to the Green Paper "New Leadership for London" will be set out in the White Paper which we intend to publish in March. A list of names of all the individuals and organisations who responded to the Green Paper was placed in the House of Commons Library on 21 November 1997. On the same day, copies of their letters were made available for inspection by the public, in the library of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3EB.
Mr. Charles Kennedy:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has to adopt an integrated rural policy in England; and if he will make a statement. [24695]
Mr. Meacher:
The Government are committed to developing an integrated approach to tackling the problems of rural areas.
The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) of Countryside and Rural Policy which is currently being undertaken jointly by DETR and MAFF is considering the aims and delivery of countryside and rural policy for the medium and long term. We expect to make an announcement about how we intend to take forward rural policy in due course, taking account of the work of the CSR.
Mr. Alasdair Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 18
the frequency of those Marine Safety Agency inspections of passenger ferries at which the MSA inspectors witness emergency drills. [25279]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
I have asked the Chief Executive of the Marine Safety Agency, Mr. Bradley, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. Alisdair Morgan, dated 26 January 1998:
Mr. Stringer:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the impact on the revenue costs of the National Air Traffic Control over (a) 10 and (b) 20 years of the PFI project for the Air Traffic Control centre at Prestwick. [25464]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Negotiations are still continuing between National Air Traffic Services Ltd., and Sky Solutions, the preferred bidder for the New Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre at Prestwick. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to make a statement on estimated costs at this time.
Sir Alastair Goodlad:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is the proportion of the United Kingdom aid programme devoted to emergency relief operations and disasters preparedness and prevention programmes. [24233]
Clare Short:
The proportions of our aid programme devoted to emergency relief operations and disaster preparedness and prevention programme are set out in the table.
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 17
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has asked me to reply to your Question about the frequency of emergency drills on passenger ferries.
Emergency drills are witnessed by inspectors of the Marine Safety Agency at least once a year on all passenger ferries inspected in the UK, and on UK registered ferries operating overseas. The frequency may be increased as required by the inspector in the exercise of his professional judgement.
| 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total emergency(1) aid all countries | 142,831 | 179,544 | 208,165 | 141,560 | 119,934 |
| of which | |||||
| Disaster preparedness all countries | 1,119 | 1,939 | 2,782 | 2,891 | 4,303 |
| Total DFID programme all countries | 1,145,113 | 1,177,598 | 1,144,066 | 1,124,226 | 1,078,795 |
| Total GPEX all countries | 1,353,889 | 1,308,743 | 1,379,665 | 1,421,567 | 1,283,224 |
| Emergency aid as a percentage of DIFD programme | 12.47 | 15.25 | 18.20 | 12.59 | 11.12 |
| Disaster preparedness as percentage of DFID programme | 0.10 | 0.16 | 0.24 | 0.26 | 0.40 |
| Emergency aid as a percentage of GPEX | 10.55 | 13.72 | 15.09 | 9.96 | 9.35 |
| Disaster preparedness as percentage of GPEX | 0.08 | 0.15 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.34 |
Key:
(1) Emergency aid includes disaster relief, emergency food aid, short term refugee relief and disaster preparedness.
1. DFID programme include all bilateral spending, financial aid, TC, ATP, programme aid, emergency aid and DFID debt relief.
2. GPEX = Gross Public Expenditure on Development Assistance (includes spending on CDC investments, other (non-DFID) debt relief and small amounts of drug related assistance funded by the Home and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices).
26 Jan 1998 : Column: 19
Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what money the Government plan to give (a) bilaterally and (b) multilaterally to (i) Burkina Faso, (ii) Niger, (iii) Mali and (iv) Chad for long-term disaster preparedness and food security in 1997-98 and 1998-99. [24348]
Clare Short: We plan to channel DFID assistance to Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad through multilateral agencies, mainly the EU, and through non-governmental organisations.
We are in close touch with the European Commission on EU plans.
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