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Housing Green Paper
23. Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he now expects to publish the Housing Green Paper; and if he will make a statement. [94235]
Mr. Raynsford: We intend to publish a Housing Policy Green Paper in due course. The Green Paper will build on our achievements in housing to ensure that everyone is offered the opportunity of a decent home and so promote social cohesion, well-being and self-dependence.
Thameslink Services
27. Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the frequency and quality of Thameslink services to central London from Mill Hill Broadway and Hendon. [94239]
Mr. Hill: The frequency of service Thameslink are providing from Mill Hill Broadway and Hendon to Central London is greater than required by their Passenger Service Requirement. The Franchising Director is aware that services during peak periods are overcrowded beyond allowable thresholds and he has required Thameslink accordingly to produce a Feasibility Study detailing ways in which capacity can be increased to reduce this overcrowding. In addition to the Feasibility Study, Thameslink are currently negotiating with other train operators to lease additional trains.
London Underground
28. Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress he has made on the public private partnership for the London Underground. [94240]
Mr. Hill: Excellent progress has been made on the PPP. London Underground has been restructured, in shadow form, into one operating company and three infrastructure companies. Four consortia have been invited to tender for each of the two deep tube infrastructure companies. Discussions with Railtrack concerning the integration of the subsurface railway and the national rail network are continuing to make progress.
The Greater London Authority Bill, which contains the new powers governing the public private partnership, is in its final stages in the House of Lords.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the principal capital sums which need to be expended on the London Underground in respect of
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(a) each line, (b) multi-line improvements and (c) other aspects, indicating the principal purposes of each and the (i) sums and (ii) proportion of each item or the total amount arising from the shortfall in past maintenance. [94792]
Mr. Hill:
Information is not available in the form requested. London Underground have made the following line-by-line estimates of how much it will cost to implement the performance regime being developed for the first 15 years of the proposed Public Private Partnership. They estimate that £1.2 billion of the total projected expenditure of £7.36 billion can be attributed to past funding constraints on the Underground network.
| £ million (1999-2000 prices) | |
|---|---|
| Line | Indicative projection of 15 year investment expenditure |
| Bakerloo | 390 |
| Central, Waterloo and City | 780 |
| Victoria | 900 |
| Northern(1) | 950 |
| Jubilee(2) | 280 |
| Piccadilly | 1,190 |
| Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith and City | 1,700 |
| District | 970 |
| East London(3) | 200 |
| Total | 7,360 |
(1) Northern Line train investment costs are contracted for under a separate PFI scheme and are excluded from these figures.
(2) Excludes operating and maintenance costs for the Jubilee Line Extension project.
(3) Excludes costs from potential project for extending East London Line.
Waste Minimisation Act
29. Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will undertake a review of the Waste Minimisation Act 1998. [94241]
Mr. Hutton: As the Waste Minimisation Act came into force only in November 1998, it is too early to undertake a review of it. During the passage of this Act, the Government promised to provide guidance to Local Authorities on the powers it conferred on councils and on the issue of consultation. My Department will be issuing such guidance shortly.
Urban Task Force
30. Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made in the north west with regard to implementing the recommendations contained in the report of the Urban Task Force, "The Urban Renaissance". [94242]
Ms Armstrong:
The Government is considering the recommendations of the Urban Task Force's report in its preparation of the new Urban and Rural White Papers which are due to be published next summer. The Government has launched a pilot urban regeneration company, Liverpool Vision, and has invited Manchester City Council to submit a proposal for a second pilot in East Manchester.
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31. Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to review the impact of aquatic pollution on the Norfolk Broads. [94243]
Mr. Mullin:
The Environment Agency, as the environmental regulator, is responsible for keeping this matter under review. On their advice, parts of the Broads have been designated Sensitive Areas (eutrophic) under the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. This is subject to 4 yearly review due to report next in 2001. Designation requires phosphorus removal from sewage treatment works into the affected waters to combat eutrophication. The Agency is keeping this and other pollution sources under review through monitoring and research. Proposals for further action will be included in the Broadland Rivers Local Environmental Action Plan, which is in the final stages of preparation following public consultation.
32. Mr. Rendel:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research his Department has commissioned into alternative fuels. [94244]
Mr. Hill:
The most recent research, commissioned jointly by my Department, DTI and MAFF, compared the emissions performance of a wide range of alternatively fuelled vehicles. The results were published by HMSO early last year as "Alternative Road Transport Fuels--UK field trials, Volumes 1 and 2".
33. Mr. Jim Murphy:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has had with Ministers of other EU countries about climate change and the impact upon rare animal species. [94245]
Mr. Meacher:
I regularly speak to my EU partners about the potential impacts of climate change and how to mitigate it. The EU fifth framework research programme includes a key action on global change, climate and biodiversity, and my Department and English Nature have commissioned research to address this issue.
34. Mr. Bill O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will report on progress in the establishment of the Regional Chamber in Yorkshire and Humberside. [94246]
Ms Armstrong:
The Regional Chamber for Yorkshire and Humberside was designated, under the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998, on 27 July 1999.
Mr. Borrow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received on the provision of rural public transport. [94238]
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Mr. Hill:
We have received representations on the provision of public transport from a range of individuals living in rural areas, as well as from a number of interested organisations.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the reduction in expenditure by his Department on housing benefit subsidy in respect of rent rebates paid to local authorities in each of the years
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1989-90 to 1998-99 as a result of large scale voluntary transfers of tenants to registered social landlords; and what are his estimates for 1999-2000 and for each of the years from 2000-01 to 2029-30. [94346]
Mr. Mullin:
The only estimates which have been made are the projections made for three years ahead at the time of each transfer. These are set out in the following table. Our records do not extend back to cover transfers made before 1991-92. No figures are available for 1999-2000 and future years because we do not yet know what transfers may occur.
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| Year of transfer | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1992-93 | -- | 14.5 | 18.5 | 19.7 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1993-94 | -- | -- | 14.4 | 13.3 | 9.2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1994-95 | -- | -- | -- | 16.5 | 14.0 | 13.5 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1995-96 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 26.7 | 26.6 | 26.3 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1996-97 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.3 | -- | -- |
| 1997-98 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 28.6 | 28.4 | 28.6 | -- |
| 1998-99 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 30.2 | 28.9 | 26.8 |
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