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Press Cuttings
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which company provides his Department with daily press cuttings on (i) environment issues, (ii) transport issues and (iii) local and regional Government issues; and if he will make a statement. [76040]
Mr. Meale: Press cuttings covering a broad range of the Department's responsibilities are supplied on a daily basis by Energy Data Services Ltd.
National Air Traffic Services
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he plans to sell a majority share of National Air Traffic Services in a public-private partnership; and if he will make a statement. [76067]
Dr. Reid:
The Government are currently examining the responses received to the consultation paper on the proposal for a public-private partnership for National Air Traffic Services. A statement on the way forward will be made in due course.
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Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have to visit Hereford in the next six months to examine the road network. [75682]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
My noble Friend the Minister for Roads and Road Safety proposes to visit Hereford later this month.
Mrs. Butler:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the framework within which appeals can be lodged against decisions made during any mapping exercise prior to legislation on the right of access to open countryside. [76026]
Mr. Meacher:
The Government are giving consideration to the procedures for appeals in relation to mapping. No decisions have yet been taken on these.
Mr. Quinn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for airport studies in support of the development of the Government's airport policy. [76589]
Dr. Reid:
The White Paper "A New Deal for Transport" (Cm 3950) announced the Government's intention to prepare a UK airports policy looking some 30 years ahead. The White Paper also announced a series of studies of the role of regional airports in the South West, the Midlands, and the North of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These studies are all now under way.
To complement these studies, the Government have decided to set in hand a study of airport issues in the South East of England and the East of England. This study will consider future policies for these airports within the framework of the Government's sustainable development principles. It will take full account of the potential for airports in the other parts of the country to attract a greater proportion of the demand from their local area than they do at present, in accordance with the policy set out in the White Paper (paragraph 3.196).
The study will examine a wide range of options, and, in accordance with the new approach to appraisal set out in the White Paper, will appraise their economic, environmental and social implications. The study will consider both terminal and runway capacity. Projects for which planning applications have already been made, or are expected to be made shortly, will not be within the scope of the study. The Secretary of State must reserve his position on such cases, and cannot prejudge their outcome; the study will therefore examine a range of scenarios based on those projects either going ahead or not going ahead.
In accordance with our integrated transport policy, the study will consider not only airport capacity, but also the implications of possible developments for the planning of airspace capacity and air traffic control and for surface access to the airports concerned. The study will take account of work which the Department has recently
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commissioned from OPRAF to examine the scope for improving long distance rail links to the major South East airports and the rail connections between those airports.
This work will be carried out in an open way. In particular, the Government recognise the substantial economic, environmental and social implications of runway capacity issues, and their interaction with land-use planning. The Government will therefore discuss with interested parties, including the regional planning conferences and regional development agencies, the process for taking forward the study, including the criteria which should be applied in the assessment of options.
The Government expect that the studies will take around two years. There will then be public consultation on options arising from this work. The Government envisage that the results of the airport studies will be incorporated in a White Paper on UK airports policy, which will also reflect the Government's decisions in response to the Inspector's report on the Heathrow Terminal 5 Inquiry.
Mrs. Gordon:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for the voting and counting arrangements for the Greater London Authority elections on 4 May 2000. [76729]
Mr. Raynsford:
I am pleased to announce that today we have sent an advertisement to the Office of the Official Journal for publication in "Tenders Electronic Daily" inviting expressions of interest from companies which could provide electronic voting equipment. This would enable votes in the first Greater London Authority elections to be electronically recorded and counted.
The new Authority will be modern, streamlined and efficient and we should work towards a voting system to match. This is particularly appropriate as the ballots for electing the Mayor and two types of Assembly Member require a more complex count than for most elections in this country. It is right, therefore to explore whether modern technology could improve the speed and efficiency of the process.
However, our top priority is to run a successful election on 4 May 2000, so we will be looking at systems which have proved extremely reliable in national or regional elections elsewhere. We will not therefore be committed to the use of electronic voting systems unless we are confident that the equipment offered will be easy for people to use, be value for money and make a real contribution to the success of the elections.
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to conduct research into local councils' and authorities' use of section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972. [76771]
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Ms Armstrong:
Section 137 is used by an increasing number of parish and town councils to provide a wide range of activities. The majority of section 137 spending by local councils is on grants to other bodies and funding for services such as youth activities, schools and playgroups. The findings of a study on local councils use of section 137 was published in November last year.
Furthermore, my Department has today published a report on local authorities use of section 137. The report found that while section 137 provides essential flexibility, authorities perceived that there are barriers to its use, such as the current financial limit on expenditure.
We are currently considering the best approach which will allow local authorities to carry out a new duty to promote the economic, social and environmental well being of their communities. Section 137 will be reviewed in the light of this new duty and we will take account of the findings of this report and the views of local authorities in doing so.
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department made of the average duration of unemployment for a person unemployed and claiming benefit in each of the last four years. [75668]
Ms Hewitt
[holding answer 9 March 1999]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
| Weeks | |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 33 |
| 1996 | 33 |
| 1997 | 27 |
| 1998 | 22 |
These figures relate to computerised claims only i.e. they exclude a small proportion of claimants whose benefit claims are processed clerically.
Parliamentary Questions
Ms Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his current estimate of the cost of answering (a) a written parliamentary question and (b) an oral parliamentary question. [76588]
Dawn Primarolo:
As at April 1998, the average costs of answering a written parliamentary question and an oral parliamentary question were £115 and £267 respectively.
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