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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 15 April 1999
ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS
Fuel Duty Increases
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the actual impact of increased fuel duties since 1996 on the generation of pollutants against the estimates made. [78321]
Ms Glenda Jackson: The fuel duty escalator is a long-term strategy whose impact on transport emissions can be expected to build up over time.
The escalator is also part of a package of measures to reduce emissions, particularly of CO 2 , through the promotion of fuel efficiency and reduced congestion. Taken on its own, increasing fuel duty by six per cent. per annum in real terms between 1996 and 2002 is currently estimated to reduce 2010 road traffic CO 2 emissions by between 2 million and 5 million tonnes of carbon as set out in the Climate Change Consultation Paper.
However, it is too early to provide an accurate assessment to date of the actual environmental impact of fuel duty increases since 1996, to compare with this estimate.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what revisions have been made to his Department's forecasts of road traffic and numbers of vehicles as set out in Table 4.8 of Transport Statistics Great Britain 1998 Edition as a result of changes to road fuel duty and vehicle excise duty set out in the Budget. [79346]
Ms Glenda Jackson
[holding answer 30 March 1999]: The Department's 1997 National Road Traffic Forecasts already take into account the expected impact of 6 per cent. per annum real increases in fuel duty to 2002 on car use and commercial traffic.
The changes to Vehicle Excise Duty announced in the Budget are designed to influence the fuel efficiency of vehicles purchased, rather than the total number of vehicles on the road or how much they are used.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will give details of the occasions since 1 May 1997 when his Department has made available to the European Scrutiny Committee unofficial text of draft European legislation. [80501]
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Mr. Meale
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: The Department receives a large volume of both official and unofficial working texts during the course of negotiations on EU legislation. In order to facilitate the work of the European Scrutiny Committee and to keep it informed of the progress of negotiations, the Department regularly submits Explanatory Memoranda to the Committee. It would involve disproportionate cost to provide a definitive list of the unofficial documents made available to the Committee since 1 May.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions since 1 May 1997 his Department has made available to the European Scrutiny Committee council working documents. [80543]
Mr. Meale
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: The Department receives a large volume of both official and unofficial working texts during the course of negotiations on EU legislation. In order to facilitate the work of the European Scrutiny Committee and to keep it informed of the progress of negotiations, the Department regularly submits Explanatory Memoranda to the Committee. It would involve disproportionate cost to provide a definitive list of the working documents made available to the Committee since 1 May.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what advice will the Government provide to the motoring public on the purchase of lead replacement petrol. [80465]
Ms Glenda Jackson:
In December 1998, the Government announced the start of an information campaign to reassure those motorists concerned about the implications of the general withdrawal of leaded petrol by 1 January 2000, in line with EU Directive 98/70/EC, and to inform them of alternatives, such as lead replacement petrol, that will be available. Some 3.5 million information leaflets have been distributed to petrol retailers and MOT garages to date.
The oil companies are developing their plans for informing and advertising to their customers the availability of lead replacement petrol products well in advance of January 1 and we are consulting with them on the appropriate information to provide to motorists. The Government are aware that there are still many concerned motorists who are unaware of the information that is already available and, therefore, a renewed publicity campaign to raise awareness further is being planned for this summer.
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the public appointments for which his Department is responsible and which carry a fee or salary, indicating for each type of appointment the fee or salary band which applies. [80744]
Mr. Meale:
"Public Bodies 1998", copies of which are available in the Library of the House, provides information on the levels of remuneration paid, if any, to those serving on the boards of public bodies for which my Department is responsible.
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Mr. Brady:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many parliamentary questions have been tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day since May 1997; and what percentage of them received a substantive reply on that day. [80741]
Mr. Meale:
Since May 1997, 3,539 questions have to date been tabled for answer on a named day. 81 per cent. have received a substantive answer on that day.
Mr. Laurence Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress he has made on the introduction of city noise maps; what estimate he has made of the costs of such maps; who will be responsible for meeting such costs; and if he will make a statement. [80668]
Mr. Meale:
My Department has been working with Birmingham City Council, which is mapping the City of Birmingham, to evaluate the usefulness and effectiveness of noise mapping as a tool in action. We expect the report of this work, which will assist in estimating the costs of such maps, to be published this summer. The work carried out in Birmingham will help to inform the European Commission's future proposals on ways in which to tackle noise.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which models of new car currently on sale in the United Kingdom have under 1100cc engines. [78997]
Ms Hewitt:
I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Budget statement that, from June 1 this year, all new and existing cars of 1100cc or less will be eligible for a £55 reduction in vehicle excise duty. Manufacturers currently producing cars of 1100cc or less include Citroen, Daewoo, Daihatsu, Fiat, Hyundai, Seat, Suzuki, Vauxhall and Volkswagen. Popular cars within this range include the Citroen Saxo, Vauxhall Corsa, Nissan Micra and Volkswagen Polo.
Mr. Alan Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the monitoring arrangements for each of the currently agreed field test sites for genetically modified crops, specifying (a) which sites were subject to pre- planting environmental audits, (b) what sub-surface soil changes are being monitored, (c) what criteria for above-ground environmental impact form part of the field test monitoring and (d) which Government office conducts the monitoring. [78049]
Mr. Meacher:
The monitoring arrangements for releases of genetically modified organisms are decided on a case by case basis for each consent application. This year, some sites will be used for the farm-scale
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evaluations which will compare the effects of the management of genetically modified crops on farmland wildlife with the effects of managing conventional crops.
The Government have awarded three contracts to study the effects of the management of GM crops on wildlife to a consortium led by the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Institute of Terrestrial Ecology. The consortium also includes the Institute of Arable Crop Research and the Scottish Crop Research Institute. Each contract is worth £1.1m; funding is provided wholly by my Department, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and the Scottish Office.
The evaluations, which will take four years, will ensure that the managed development of the introduction of genetically modified crops announced at the House of Lords European Communities Sub-Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food last October, will take place safely. The evaluation programme will help address the concerns which have been raised by English Nature and the Royal Society of the Protection of Birds. We need to get reliable evidence to help us decide whether the management of generically modified herbicide tolerant crops could have the potential to accelerate the decline in farmland wildlife which has taken place over the last 50 years.
In order to make comparisons between the GM and non-GM crops, the sites identified for the research in 2000 will be subject to pre-planting sampling and analysis. The research will look at the effects of the management of GM and non-GM crops on the soil; for example earthworm population monitoring provides a good indicator of the structure and fertility of the soil. Above ground environmental impact will be studied, again by carrying out surveys of plant populations and invertebrates.
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