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Rural Bus Services
20. Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what actions he has taken to encourage enhanced levels of bus services in rural areas. [63585]
Dr. Reid: We have made an additional £32.5 million a year available to English local authorities for new rural bus services. We have also announced support totalling £11.4 million for 46 projects in this year's rural bus challenge competition; there will be similar challenges in future years.
Council Taxes (Shire Areas)
21. Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions by how much he estimates council taxes in shire areas will increase over the next three years. [63586]
Ms Armstrong: Decisions on the level of council tax are a matter for each authority.
M1
23. Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of traffic congestion on the London to Northampton section of the M1. [63588]
Ms Glenda Jackson: Traffic flows on the M1 are continually monitored. Published stress levels show that north of Luton (Junction 10), the M1 generally operates satisfactorily. To the south of Luton the road experiences peak period congestion for at least half the days of the year.
Brown-field Sites
24. Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to ensure his targets for brown-field sites will be met. [63589]
Mr. Raynsford: Our policy document, "Planning for the Communities of the Future", initiated a wide-ranging programme to help local planning authorities and developers bring forward more previously-developed sites for housing. This programme includes a full revision of the current national Planning Policy Guidance Note on housing (PPG3) to put far more emphasis on the use recycled land. A consultation draft of PPG3 will be issued shortly.
35. Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to encourage the building of homes on recycled urban land. [63600]
Mr. Raynsford:
Our policy document, "Planning for the Communities of the Future", initiated a wide-ranging programme to help local planning authorities and developers bring forward more previously-developed sites for housing. This programme includes a full revision of the current national Planning Policy Guidance Note on housing (PPG3) to put far more emphasis on the recycling of land. A consultation draft of PPG3 will be issued in the New Year.
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 165
25. Mr. Peter Bradley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the benefits of introducing road user charging. [63590]
Dr. Reid:
Reducing congestion through road charging should improve travel times and reliability, reducing business costs and driver frustration; and reduce pollution, noise and nuisance.
Local authorities will spend the revenues on improving local transport. Authorities will have to provide a detailed assessment of costs and benefits when submitting a charging scheme for approval.
26. Mr. Win Griffiths:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to improve the reliability and quality of rail passenger services. [63591]
Dr. Reid:
On 26 November we agreed an action plan with all franchisees and Railtrack to improve performance. Measures include 800 new train drivers, 500 new vehicles, and a new national passenger survey. There will be a wider-ranging National Railway Summit next February to look at longer term improvements.
29. Mr. Dennis Turner:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking which will enhance the reliability and quality of passenger rail services. [63594]
Dr. Reid:
The Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Transport in London and I met representatives of all franchisees and Railtrack on 26 November and agreed an action plan to tackle performance problems. Measures include 800 new train drivers, 500 new vehicles, a joint "hit squad" to identify and tackle the worst 50 blackspots, a national "trouble shooter" team to tackle punctuality problems, and a new national passenger survey to find out what passengers think about their rail services. A wider-ranging National Railway Summit will be held next February to build on the measures and action identified.
34. Jacqui Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress is being made in improving passenger rail services. [63599]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Although a number of train operators have taken steps to improve performance levels, overall performance has continued to fall. When the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Transport and I met with passenger rail franchisees and Railtrack on 26 November we made it clear that current performance levels are unacceptable and that we expect to see progressive year on year improvements from the rail industry. An action plan to tackle short term performance problems was agreed at the meeting. There will also be a wide-ranging National Railway Summit next February to look at medium to longer term improvements.
27. Mrs. Laing:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions by what criteria he intends to measure the performance of his integrated transport strategy; and if he will make a statement. [63592]
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 166
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Our New Deal for Transport will have succeeded when we have a modern, integrated transport system that offers everyone more choice and a better quality of life. A range of indicators at national, regional and local level will be used to measure performance, as set out in the White Paper. In addition, we are setting up the Commission for Integrated Transport to monitor progress and advise on the development of new targets.
28. Sir David Madel:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to visit County Hall, Bedford, to discuss the 1999-2000 rate support grant settlement; and if he will make a statement. [63593]
Ms Armstrong:
I currently have no plans to visit County Hall to discuss the provisional local government finance settlement 1999-2000. However, we have been consulting local authorities on our proposals and councils were able to request a meeting as part of that process. DETR Ministers will have met 72 authorities during the consultation period which ends today. Bedfordshire County Council did not request a meeting to discuss their representation.
30. Mr. Goggins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress he has made in increasing the powers of council tenants to manage their own neighbourhoods. [63595]
Ms Armstrong:
I intend shortly to consult on my proposals for a system of Tenant Compacts for all council tenants. The introduction of the Compacts is intended to provide increased scope for tenants to become involved, to the extent that they wish, in the management of their homes. They will be an important complement to the existing powers under the statutory Right to Manage. The role of tenants in housing and neighbourhood management is also being looked at through the work of the Government's Social Exclusion Unit.
31. Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on Government policy in respect of neighbourhood housing allocation. [63596]
Mr. Raynsford:
The Housing Act 1996 requires local housing authorities to allocate housing on the basis of housing need. Specifically, households falling within certain prescribed priority categories must be given 'reasonable preference' in an authority's allocation scheme. These categories include families with dependent children, households with medical or welfare needs for settled housing and certain homeless people. Our policy is to encourage local authorities to have allocation policies which meet housing need in their areas, create sustainable communities and ensure efficient use of stock.
12 Jan 1999 : Column: 167
32. Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the delay in paying compensation to the BEST bus pensioners. [63597]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Discussions continue with the NBC pension trustees on achieving an out-of-court settlement of their claim for return of the BEST pensions surplus. We are giving high priority to achieving a just settlement without any unnecessary delay.
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