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Teesside Development Corporation
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 10 November 1998, Official Report, columns 114-15, for what reasons the names of the companies which submitted bids for Teesside Development Corporation equipment are commercially confidential. [59864]
Mr. Meale: The firms that submitted the bids would have presumed that they were tendering on a commercially confidential basis, in accordance with normal practice. It would be improper for me to release their names without their approval.
Radioactive Gases (Cap La Hague)
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what evaluation he has made of the spread of radioactive gases over the South Coast from the French nuclear power station at Cap La Hague. [60107]
Mr. Meale: No specific evaluation of the kind referred to has been made. The Government are not aware of any unauthorised release of radioactive gases from a French nuclear installation which might have affected the South Coast of England. The UK would be notified of any such incident by the French authorities, under the terms of a bilateral agreement. In addition, any elevation in the background levels of radioactivity in the UK would be detected by the RIMNET network of continuously operating gamma dose rate monitors, many of which are located along the South Coast and in the Channel Islands.
Routine aerial releases of radioactivity from the reprocessing plant at Cap La Hague and other sites in France are subject to stringent controls by the French competent authority, to ensure that the levels of radioactivity to which the public are exposed are below safety levels set by the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Under Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty, the European Commission must be satisfied that no contamination of another Member State will result, before any routine releases of radioactivity can
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be authorised. Environmental monitoring programmes carried out in southern England and the Channel Islands have detected no elevated levels of radioactivity.
Mr. Ottaway:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to reduce the level of local government debt. [59856]
Ms Armstrong:
Local authorities' new borrowing is regulated by the issue of credit approvals, in accordance with the policy established by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Under this Act, authorities also have a statutory duty to make provision to meet their existing debts. It is for them to decide whether it would be prudent to repay any loan before they are contractually required to do so. Incentives to reduce the level of debt include the greater freedom for debt-free authorities to spend their capital receipts.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the problems which have arisen in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies for which his Department is responsible from millennium compliance; if he will make a statement on progress to date in tackling such problems; and what are the priority areas for remedial work. [60081]
Mr. Meale:
The Department and its agencies report fully on problems arising from millennium compliance in the quarterly review process organised by my right hon. Friend the President of the Council. As part of the initial planning process, possible problems were identified, corrective action put in hand and in many cases work is complete. All remedial work has been prioritised with business critical areas being tackled first. Information on specific problems, priorities and progress will be found in the copies of departments' plans which have been published in the Library of the House.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what assessment he has made of the extent to which the computer systems in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies to which his Department is responsible will be modified and tested in relation to the millennium computer problem by January 1999; and if he will make a statement; [60082]
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Mr. Meale:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Council to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Maria Eagle) on 21 October 1998, Official Report, column 1109, in which she announced the results of the latest quarterly review of Government departments' and agencies' progress in tackling the bug. This also covered key organisations within the wider public sector including CAA, London Transport, the Environment Agency and Local Authorities. The information the hon. Member requests will be found in the copies of Departments' plans which have been published in the Library of the House. The results of the next quarterly review will be announced shortly to the House and the updates to quarterly plans will be placed in the Library of the House and on the Internet.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the contingency plans drawn up by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies in relation to problems arising from millennium compliance including the embedded chip problem after 31 December 1999. [60083]
Mr. Meale:
I am mindful of the advice given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Council to Cabinet Colleagues and members of MISC4 in October in response to the PAC recommendations. DETR, its agencies and associated public bodies have been asked to review their existing contingency plans to take account of possible problems arising from millennium compliance. It is my intention that they will have completed risk assessments and have initial Year 2000 business continuity plans in place by the end of January 1999.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what guidance he has issued to the Civil Aviation Authority concerning the responsibilities of UK airlines safely to transport exceptionally tall people; [59603]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
I have not received any representations about the responsibilities of UK airlines in respect of the safe transport of exceptionally tall people.
The detailed safety regulation of aircraft and their operations is the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The CAA has set minimum requirements relating to the spacing of passenger seats for UK registered aircraft and carries out regular checks to ensure compliance.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will take steps to prevent airlines from charging a premium to passengers requesting the allocation of emergency exit row seats. [59604]
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Ms Glenda Jackson:
The practice of charging a premium for allocating specific seats to passengers, particularly on charter flights, is essentially a commercial issue for the airlines and provided the seat spacing does not fall below that stipulated by the Civil Aviation Authority, the Government would not wish to intervene.
Mr. Edward Davey:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on Railtrack's responsibilities with regard to the pigeon proofing of bridges. [59866]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
While Railtrack is responsible for the safety and general condition of their railway bridges, the main responsibility for minimising the nuisance and mess caused by pigeons rests with the local authorities. Railtrack has in the past entered into agreements to provide anti-pigeon netting, providing the local authority is willing to bear the cost of the project. For operational reasons (urgent safety works may require Railtrack to remove the netting) any installation is subject to a legal agreement.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will publish for consultation the national mandatory licensing scheme for buildings in multiple occupation. [60269]
Mr. Raynsford:
We hope to publish a consultation document on our proposals for a national mandatory licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation early next year.
(2) what is his latest estimate of the total cost of tackling the millennium computer problem including the embedded chip problem in (a) his Department, (b) its
agencies and (c) other public bodies for which his Department is responsible, separately identifying expenditure to date and future expenditure; and if he will make a statement. [60080]
(2) what representations he has received relating to the responsibilities of UK airlines in respect of the safe transport of exceptionally tall people. [59602]
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