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HGVs (Channel Crossings)
Mrs. Gorman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the average daily number of Heavy Goods Vehicles arriving in Kent from (a) continental ports and (b) the Channel Tunnel. [68304]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The average daily number of powered goods vehicles, i.e. excluding unaccompanied trailers, arriving in Kent is 1,800 from continental ports and 800 through the Channel Tunnel.
Trunk Roads (Herefordshire)
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has held with Herefordshire Council on improvements to trunk roads in Hereford. [68232]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The Highways Agency and the Government Office for the West Midlands are discussing with Herefordshire Council measures to ease traffic congestion in Hereford. These measures include both those on the A49 trunk road and those on the local road network being promoted by the local authority through the Hereford package. A meeting was held on 21 December to establish priorities and set a realistic timetable for improvements to the A49 and complementary measures on the local road network.
Belmont Roundabout
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the
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Highways Agency will present for public consideration schemes to improve the junction of the A49 and A465 at the Belmont Roundabout. [68233]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Paul Keetch, dated 3 February 1999:
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will (i) account for the difference between outturn departmental spending in Table A1 of the Comprehensive Spending Review and outturn departmental spending in Table 1.2 of the 1998-99 Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis for his Department excluding local government and regional policy for (a) 1993-94, (b) 1994-95, (c) 1995-96 and (d) 1996-97 and (ii) provide forecast figures for departmental spending for his Department excluding local government and regional policy for (1) 1997-98, (2) 1998-99, (3) 1999-2000, (4) 2000-01 and (5) 2001-02 on a comparable basis to Table 1.2 of the 1998-99 Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis. [68381]
Dr. Reid:
Information in the 1998-99 Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis was provided on the basis of the existing financial control framework. The comprehensive spending review introduced new departmental expenditure limits which (i) included elements previously outside the control total and (ii) excluded elements previously within the control total. For this Department the new elements included within its departmental expenditure limit were provision for the Capital Receipts Initiative and bus fuel duty rebate. The elements excluded from this Department's departmental expenditure limit were provision for Housing Revenue Account Subsidy and National Air Traffic Services Ltd.
The Department's detailed spending plans for 1998-99 and, estimated outturn for 1997-98, are published in the Departmental Annual Report 1998 (Cm 3906). The Department's detailed spending plans for 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02 will be included in the Departmental Annual Report 1999 due to be published in late March.
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Mr. Maude:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what responsibilities which his Department had prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review are to be (a) discontinued by his Department, (b) transferred to another department, (c) transferred to an executive agency and (d) added to his Department over the period 1998-99 to 2001-02. [68405]
Dr. Reid:
The only significant planned changes in the Department's responsibilities are in respect of the Rent Officer Service Agency, to be established in October 1999, and, subject to legislation, the transfer of certain responsibilities for railways to the Strategic Rail Authority.
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what additional legislation, not currently before Parliament, was assumed in the production of his Department's spending allocation for 1999-2000 to 2001-02 in the Comprehensive Spending Review. [68421]
Dr. Reid:
There is a long-standing convention that legislative proposals for each year are not announced before the Queen's Speech at the start of the relevant Session.
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals his Department has to further regulate houses in multiple occupation. [68842]
Mr. Raynsford:
We expect to issue a consultation paper on proposals for licensing of houses in multiple occupation in the early part of this year.
Mr. Crausby:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what plans he has made to ensure that an up-to-date register of all genetically modified food test sites is available to the relevant local authority; [68615]
(3) what action his Department has taken in response to objections from residents near to genetically modified food test sites; [68617]
(4) if he will introduce measures to give residents within 800 metres of a genetically modified food test site the right to object to authorisation of the site. [68618]
Mr. Meacher:
My Department maintains a statutory register of prescribed information concerning applications for consent to release genetically modified organisms. The full register is maintained at the Department's London Office in Victoria Street. Registers are also maintained at Regional Offices of the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive's Office in Edinburgh.
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Copies of items on the register are provided by post on request. Information on release sites and their locations is also available on the Department's Internet Website.
All applicants for consent to release genetically modified organisms must place an advertisement giving the prescribed information in a newspaper circulating the area of the proposed release site. Any one, including nearby residents and local authorities, may raise an objection by writing to the Secretary of State. All objections received are considered before a decision is made on whether or not to grant consent; where appropriate, the views of the statutory Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment are sought.
There are no plans to give local authorities or nearby residents statutory consultation status.
Mr. Crausby:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will report on his consideration of a moratorium on commercial licences for genetically modified crops. [68619]
Mr. Meacher:
A number of organisations have called for a moratorium on the commercial growing of genetically modified crops. There are at present no genetically modified crops which have received all the necessary approvals to be grown commercially in Britain. The announcement I made on 21 October 1998 to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities set out a programme of managed development of herbicide tolerant genetically modified crops with additional safeguards to ensure full protection of the environment. The situation will be kept under review.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 17 December 1998, Official Report, column 629, when he expects the paper on the possible wider implications of genetically modified crops to be made publicly available. [68776]
Mr. Meacher
[holding answer 2 February 1999]: I expect this discussion paper which was prepared by the Secretariat to the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) to be made available via ACRE's page on my Department's website as soon as possible.
The Transport Minister, Glenda Jackson has asked me to reply to your recent question about when the Highways Agency will present for public consideration schemes to improve the junction of the A49 and A465 at the Belmont Roundabout.
Representatives of the Agency have already held preliminary discussions with officers of Herefordshire Council about ways to take forward a package of measures to ease traffic congestion on the A49 trunk road in Hereford, and will continue to work with them to identify solutions to complement their local road network.
The Council is bringing forward changes to their traffic management arrangements within Hereford and these will impact on the A49. The Agency will take these into account before bringing forward measures to improve the A49 trunk road through Hereford, including improvements to the A49/A465 junction.
We currently expect to consult all interested parties, including members of the public, early next year. We will improve on this timetable if possible. I will keep you informed of progress.
(2) what plans he has to provide statutory consultee status to local authorities before genetically modified food test sites are authorised; [68616]
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