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Planning Applications
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which local authority headed his table which measured the speed with which planning applications were considered. [67875]
Mr. Raynsford: In the 12 months to September 1998, Worthing Borough Council headed the Planning Performance Checklist, determining 99.9 per cent. of planning applications within 8 weeks.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the average length of time taken by local authorities to process planning applications in 1997-98. [67877]
Mr. Raynsford: In 1997-98, district planning authorities in England decided 62 per cent. of all applications for planning permission and other related consents within 8 weeks and 84 per cent. within 13 weeks. Information is not available on the average length of time taken to determine a planning application.
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidelines are issued to local authorities in respect of the processing of planning applications. [67878]
Mr. Raynsford: The Government's policies on different aspects of planning are contained in Planning Policy Guidance notes (PPGs) and Circulars. PPG1 on "General Policy and Principles" gives general advice on a number of issues bearing on the consideration of planning permission. Environment Circular 9/95, "General Development Order Consolidation 1995", covers permitted development and more detailed procedural matters, including consultations before the grant of planning permission. It also contains advice on best practice in handling planning applications.
Health and Safety Executive (Workplace Deaths)
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many incidents of death in the workplace were investigated by the Health and Safety Executive in each year since 1996. [67416]
Mr. Meale: The number of fatalities investigated by the Health and Safety Executive is set out in the table.
| Year | Number of fatalities investigated |
|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 397 |
| 1997-98 | 402 |
| 1 April-30 September 1998(5) | 213 |
(5) Provisional
Dock Work
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the health and safety implications of increased casualisation of dock work. [67417]
Mr. Meale:
It is not possible to assess how recent changes in the patterns of employment in the docks industry have affected health and safety. Such changes have included increasing mechanisation, bulk handling and containerisation at the same time as a substantial reduction in the numbers working in the docks. The
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Health and Safety Executive regularly meets docks industry representatives to review trends and consider any issues which might affect health and safety.
Dr. Tony Wright:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the Birmingham northern relief road on the air quality levels as set out in the National Air Quality Strategy; and how he expects any breaches of the levels to be remedied. [67577]
Mr. Meale:
The original air quality assessment for the Birmingham northern relief road was published within the environmental statement for the scheme in 1993. Additional evidence was submitted to the public inquiry in 1994.
The United Kingdom National Air Quality Strategy, published in March 1997, post-dated both the original assessment and the public inquiry. However, the existence of the air quality objectives within the strategy was acknowledged in the decision letter for the scheme as a post-inquiry development which had to be taken into account, alongside the Inspector's report, in reaching a decision on whether or not to proceed. A judgment was made, based on an interpretation of the previous assessment work, on whether or not the objectives might be exceeded. It was concluded that all of the objectives, with the possible exception of that for PM 1 , would be met with the road in place.
Under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995, local authorities must review and assess air quality within their areas. If a local authority decides that any of the air quality objectives are not likely to be met by 2005, it must designate an Air Quality Management Area covering the area of the predicted exceedance and produce an action plan for the achievement of the objectives. The Highways Agency would need to be closely involved in the development and implementation of any action plan which required measures to be taken in relation to a trunk road or motorway.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will name the road schemes by each local authority which make up the existing commitments in the Local Transport Settlement 1999-2000; and if he will indicate for each (a) the money awarded in the 1999-2000 local transport settlement and (b) the total costs. [67021]
Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 26 January 1999]: The table shows allocations made to grant supported major road schemes as part of the 1999-2000 local transport capital settlement. These schemes were accepted for funding between the 1986-87 and 1997-98 settlements. The Government are committed to providing sufficient funding for their completion, provided they continue to make reasonable progress, although we do not commit to fund the full costs of a major local road scheme. The table does not include committed expenditure on non-road schemes or resources which cannot be identified to a single road scheme, such as resources to meet applications during 1999-00 for grant under the Industrial Development Act 1982.
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Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many local authorities have formally asked his Department for the routes of road schemes withdrawn in the National Roads Programme to be protected as advised in paragraph 96 of the draft guidance on Local Transport Plans. [67023]
Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 26 January 1999]: To date no local authorities have formally indicated whether they intend to seek route protection for any of the schemes on routes to be detrunked which were withdrawn from the National Roads Programme as a result of the Roads Review. But, two authorities have proposed that route protection should be retained beyond the end of July pending the outcome of further studies.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the number of major new road schemes for which each local authority bid for funding under the TPP system for 1999-2000. [67022]
Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 26 January 1999]: We received eighty bids for new major local road schemes from English local highway authorities requesting
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capital funding in 1999-2000. The following authorities bid for one major scheme each: Lincolnshire, Northumberland, Stockton-on-Tees, Halton, Salford, West Yorkshire PTA, Buckinghamshire, Kent, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, West Sussex, Windsor and Maidenhead, Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Birmingham, Sandwell, Warwickshire, Barnsley, Kirklees, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bexley, Enfield, Greenwich and St. Helens. Authorities bidding for two or more schemes are shown in the table:
(6) the bid from the West Midlands Joint authorities was submitted on behalf of Birmingham, Centro, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton authorities.
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