| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Air Strikes (Iraq)
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if depleted uranium shells were used in the air strikes by Britain and the USA on Iraq in December. [67453]
Mr. George Robertson: No depleted uranium based ammunition was used by US or UK forces during Operation Desert Fox.
Departmental Papers
(Access for Visually Impaired)
Mr. Michael J. Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for departmental (a) White and (b) Green Papers to be made available on floppy disk format in a form which facilitates access for the visually impaired. [67837]
28 Jan 1999 : Column: 330
Mr. Spellar:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office, yesterday, 27 January 1999, Official Report, column 296.
In my Department we currently aim to meet requests on demand for the production of departmental documents in alternative formats such as floppy disk for the benefit of those with a visual impairment whenever it is reasonable to do so.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the operating costs for 101 Battalion REME based at Queensferry for the next five years. [68153]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 17 December 1998, Official Report, column 656.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the interval of time between the decision to move 101 Battalion REME from Chorley Barracks to Queensferry and the announcement of the future structure of the Territorial Army on 17 November 1998. [68112]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 26 January 1999, Official Report, column 164.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 15 December 1998, Official Report, column 450, what definition of South Lancashire his Department uses. [68159]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
For the purpose of the question to which my hon. Friend refers, the definition used was the area of the county covered by the Lancashire South European Constituency.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide details of the cost of the transfer of computer equipment from Chorley to Queensferry 101 Battalion Headquarters. [68155]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
No such details are available at this time.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the additional travelling costs that will be incurred by detachments travelling to Queensferry instead of Chorley when the 101 Battalion is transferred. [68156]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
We anticipate that any increase in travelling costs incurred by units in Manchester and Grangemouth travelling to Queensferry, will be offset by reductions in such cost incurred by units travelling from Prestatyn and Coventry.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Cadet Force in Chorley. [68158]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
My Department is still assessing the options for the Cadet Force in Chorley. I can confirm that any Cadets, whose current accommodation is affected by the restructuring of the Territorial Army, will not be obliged to move until suitable alternative accommodation has been provided.
28 Jan 1999 : Column: 331
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the Territorial Army centres which he had planned to close or transfer as part of the Strategic Defence Review but which will now remain open; and if he will make a statement. [68072]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
Of the Territorial Army Centres that we announced on 17 November 1998 were to close or transfer as part of the Strategic Defence Review none are now to remain open.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 December 1998, Official Report, column 656, on REME (Chorley), if he will set out the basis of his estimate of 25 per cent. saving in operating the 101 Battalion REME out of Queensferry instead of Chorley. [68154]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The assessment has been made on the basis of a comparison of the estimated running and maintenance costs of the two sites.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times Exemption 2 in the Code of Practice on access to Government information was used by his Department in replying to parliamentary questions to justify withholding information in the last 12 months. [68160]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
Of 2,731 questions answered by all Ministers in this Department in the year ending 22 January 1999, some or all of the information requested was withheld under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Internal discussions and advice) on 13 occasions.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the number of accidents caused by drivers being distracted by mobile telephones in each of the last five years. [65487]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
Information on the number of accidents caused by drivers or other road users being distracted by mobile phones is not collected because of the difficulty of establishing exactly when a road traffic accident took place and whether a mobile phone was in use at the time. However, my Department is aware of a number of media reports over the last few years of road fatalities where the use of a mobile phone was alleged to be a factor.
We continue to warn of the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving. The Transport Research Laboratory report "The use of mobile phones while Driving: a review" shows that hand held mobile phones are inappropriate for use while driving and even hands-free mobile phones cause distraction from the driving task.
28 Jan 1999 : Column: 332
Mr. Rammell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which measures of local deprivation his Department and its agencies use in considering allocation of funds to local projects. [66717]
Mr. Meale:
My Department allocates funds for a range of local projects, but usually through third parties such as local authorities. In making allocations to local level we use local deprivation indices appropriate to the expenditure concerned. The main ones are:
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to paragraph 1.43 of the White Paper, "A New Deal for Transport", what additional measures he proposes for the impounding of illegally operating lorries. [67615]
Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 25 January 1999]: We remain committed to introducing a scheme for the impounding of illegally operated heavy goods vehicles. The consultation exercise carried out last year showed that there was overwhelming support for such a scheme. We believe that detaining illegally operated heavy goods vehicles would provide an effective sanction against unlicensed operators by preventing them from continuing to operate and by acting as a deterrent to discourage other hauliers from ignoring the laws on operator licensing.
Housing--the annual allocation of housing capital resources to local authorities (apart from private sector renewal and disabled facilities grants) and registered social landlords uses Needs Indices which involve an element of targeting to areas of high deprivation as measured by the Index of Local Conditions.
Regeneration--the 1998 Index of Local Deprivation is used to target regeneration funds on the most deprived areas in England.
Rural Regeneration--funding provided through the rural regeneration programmes currently operated by the Rural Development Commission is targeted on the priority Rural Development Areas. These areas were designated in 1994 using a specific set of indicators to identify the key economic and social problems facing rural communities in England.
Local Government--the allocation of revenue support grants to local authorities is governed by formulae which include a number of measures of social and economic deprivation. The details are set out in The Local Government Finance Reports for each year, as approved by the House.
European Structural Funds--the Department manages the English Objective 1,2 and 5b Structural Funds Programmes. The programme areas eligible to receive Structural Funds are determined by socio-economic factors which include measures of deprivation. However, measures of local deprivation are not used by this Department when considering the allocation of funds to specific local projects within Objective 1, 2 and 5b areas.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |