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Mr. Richard Jameson
Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made as to whether (a) the murder of Mr. Richard Jameson was carried out by a terrorist organisation and (b) that murder indicates that the ceasefire has been broken. [106102]
Mr. Ingram:
The Secretary of State keeps his judgment about the ceasefires under continual review, taking account of all the information he receives from his
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security advisers. It is the Government's view that the main ceasefires on balance are holding. If there is evidence that an organisation is not maintaining its ceasefire he will not hesitate to act.
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the cost to date of the International Independent Commission on Decommissioning. [106081]
Mr. Ingram:
Updated costs are currently available only to 30 September 1999. The total expenditure shared by the British and Irish Governments from September 1997 to that date was IR£2,528,047. The British Government's share of that was STG£1,005,029.
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the dates of the meetings held between the International Independent Commission on Decommissioning and the representatives of each political party and terrorist organisation since the creation of the Commission. [106080]
Mr. Ingram:
That is a matter for the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning.
Solicitors (Age Discrimination)
Mr. White: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is taking to prevent age discrimination in the training of solicitors. [105598]
Mr. Lock: The solicitor's profession is independent and self-regulating. It is for the Law Society, in the first place, to set and to apply any requirements in respect of the training of solicitors.
Meanwhile, the Government are committed to tackling age discrimination across the board. On 14 June 1999, the then Minister of State for Employment and Disability Rights launched the Code of Practice for Age Diversity in Employment, with supporting guidance for employers. It is aimed at all employers, including solicitors' firms. Although it is non-statutory, the Code sets the standard for non-ageist approaches to recruitment, training and development, promotion, redundancy and retirement.
Departmental Smoking Policy
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action he is taking to reduce smoking in his Department. [105797]
Jane Kennedy: My Department has a well established "Smoking Policy" designed to provide smoke-free working conditions for those staff who want them, while offering limited, designated, smoking facilities for smokers and help for those who wish to stop smoking.
Recent Health Awareness events held in various areas of the Department were designed to encourage staff to consider the effect of their life styles on their health, including exercise, diet, smoking and drinking habits. Further such events are currently being considered.
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M60
Mr. Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will list, for each of contracts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 for the M60 motorway between Denton and Middleton (a) the original price, (b) the cost of the completed contracts and (c) the estimated final cost of the remaining contracts; [104425]
(2) when he expects the M60 between Denton and Middleton to be completed; and if it will be opened in phases or in its entirety. [104426]
Mr. Hill: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Peter Nutt, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Nutt to Mr. Andrew Bennett, dated 20 January 2000:
The Transport Minister, Keith Hill, has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the costs and programme for the M60 Manchester Outer Ring Road.
The scheme is split into four main contracts. The tender prices for each contract were: Contract 1, £101.9M; Contract 2, £48.9M; Contract 3, £50.1M and Contract 4, £18.2M.
Contracts 1 and 3 are still under construction so it will be some while before we know the final cost and although work on Contract 2 is complete, the final account has not been settled. In the circumstances, I am afraid I cannot let you have an estimate of the final outturn cost for these contracts. To do so would prejudice our position with the contractors in the event of disputes over claims or the settlement of accounts.
The final cost of Contract 4 was £30M.
The contract was let under the Institute of Civil Engineers 5th Edition form of contract which allows the contractor to be paid for the actual, rather than the estimated, work done and the risks that occur.
It is not always possible to identify in advance all the necessary work nor the precise nature of the ground and the contract allows for extensions of time for certain risks. In this case, the contract was extended by 37 weeks to allow for unforeseen ground conditions, including contaminated ground. Work was also severely delayed by exceptionally bad weather.
It is this additional work which caused costs to rise.
The disadvantage of this form of contract was the uncertainty of cost and time and the Agency addressed these issues in a review which led to an announcement in 1997 of new procurement initiatives. We are now using other forms of contract which share risk more equitably and encourage a partnering approach to get away from the adversarial way which has marked some of our contracts in the past.
We expect the remaining contracts to be completed and opened in their entirety by Summer this year. There are no plans for phased openings.
Cycle Routes
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the mileage in the Greater London area that has been constructed for use as cycle routes. [104792]
Mr. Hill:
The total length of the London Cycle Network routes implemented at 1 April 1999 is some 755 miles.
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Mr. Green:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) when the first meeting of the Sustainable Development Commission will take place; and how often the Commission will meet; [104786]
(3) if he will list the membership of the Sustainable Development Commission; [104788]
(4) what is the proposed budget of the Sustainable Development Commission; and how much of it will come from public funds. [104789]
Mr. Meacher:
The Sustainable Development Commission, which will replace the existing UK Round Table and British Government Panel on Sustainable Development, is expected to begin work in the spring. It will be for the Commission to decide the frequency and timing of its meetings along with its other working arrangements. The DETR will provide funds for administrative support for the Commission which will have about 15 members, and a Secretariat that permits an increase on current staffing for the two existing advisory bodies, which currently have six permanent staff. A proposed budget of £492,000 has been allocated for the Commission for 2000-01. It will be open to the Commission to encourage others to contribute support, for example, by providing staff on secondment. The process of appointing members is under way in accordance with the guidance laid down by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Mr. Wyatt:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will introduce pilot no-car days in the UK. [104837]
Mr. Hill:
No. Our view is that it is for local authorities to decide whether they want to introduce no-car days, taking into account local circumstances.
Mr. Efford:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many complaints have been received by the Public Carriage Office regarding London taxi drivers who have refused to carry blind passengers with guide dogs in the last year; [105203]
Mr. Hill:
The Public Carriage Office has no recorded complaints of London licensed taxi drivers refusing to carry guide dogs in the last year.
Neither the Public Carriage Office nor the Department monitors the number or proportion of taxi journeys in London involving passengers with guide dogs.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidelines his Department has issued for the gritting of roads in icy conditions. [105056]
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Mr. Hill
[holding answer 17 January 2000]: The Highways Agency aims to provide a winter maintenance service of de-icing and snow clearing which, as far as possible, allows the safe movement of traffic on motorways and all purpose trunk roads in England, and keeps delays and accidents caused by adverse weather to a minimum. Their maintenance agents undertake the operational management of this service following the guidelines in the Highways Agency Trunk Road Maintenance Manual: Volume 2, Routine and Winter Maintenance Code.
(2) how many permanent staff the Sustainable Development Commission will employ; [104787]
(2) if he will estimate how many passengers with guide dogs are carried by London taxi drivers per year. [105204]
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