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Written Answers to Questions

Friday 3 March 2000

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

Concessionary Fares

Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what concessionary fare schemes for public transport are available to blind people. [111974]

Mr. Hill: The most recent comprehensive information available to the Department comes from a survey of the position in 1995-96. Of the 331 local authorities which responded to that survey, 299 provided a concessionary travel scheme for blind people. The areas covered by these schemes included Greater London and all the six metropolitan areas. At least 32 of the schemes provided free travel; the remainder offered a range of different concessions.

Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the payment of Disability Living Allowance to blind people and the disabled on entitlement to local authority concessionary fare schemes. [111975]

Mr. Hill: A survey of the position in 1995-96 indicated some differences between local authorities as to eligibility for concessionary travel for people in receipt of Disability Living Allowance. Last year the Department of Social Security and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions issued a guidance note to local authorities suggesting that concessionary travel should not be refused to people on the grounds that they were in receipt of the mobility element of the Disability Living Allowance.

Animals (Mange)

Mr. McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which public bodies have specific powers covering the control of animals with mange. [112014]

Mr. Mullin: This is not a matter for my Department.

Thameslink

Mr. Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 21 February 2000, Official Report, column 706W, when he expects to be able to publish the shadow Strategic Rail Authority's proposals for additional capacity on the Bedford to London section of the Thameslink route which will not be dependent on the Thameslink 2000 project. [112425]

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Mr. Hill: Thameslink's initial proposals for additional capacity were set out in "Thameslink--A New Partnership for the Millennium" which they published in March 1999. Discussion of these and other proposals to enhance capacity on the Bedford to London section is continuing with the Franchising Director, who will make an announcement in due course, I have asked the Franchising Director to keep my hon. Friend directly informed of progress.

Objective 1, Merseyside

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress in negotiations between his Department and the European Commission on the Objective 1 Special Programme Document for Merseyside. [112942]

Ms Armstrong: We are making good progress in our negotiations with the European Commission on the Objective 1 Single Programme Document for Merseyside. The European Commission is keen to ensure that confirmation of the acceptability of the Single Programme Document is provided by 31 March.

Funding Schemes

Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the funding schemes administered by his Department, indicating the total funds of each scheme and the administration costs of each scheme as a percentage of the total funds. [112494]

Mr. Hill [holding answer 2 March 2000]: Details of the schemes administered by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and information about the level of funding is given each year in the Departmental Annual Report. The 1999 Annual Report was presented to Parliament on 25 March 1999 (Cm 4204). The Department does not record its administration costs at the level of individual schemes.

Rail Franchise (North England)

Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he last met the Chairman of the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority to discuss the redrawing of the Rail Franchise for the North of England; and if he will make a statement. [112784]

Mr. Hill: The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has not met the Chairman of the shadow Strategic Rail Authority to discuss redrawing the rail franchise for the North of England, but the Franchising Director will consider this together with other relevant matters when replacing the franchise in that area.

Air Rage

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many incidents classified as air rage have been reported in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [113027]

Mr. Mullin: Data are not available for that period. Reports of disruptive incidents on UK airlines have been collected since April 1999. An analysis of the data for the

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seven months to October 1999 recorded 796 incidents, 39 of which were considered serious. The analysis is available in the House of Commons Library.

Homelessness

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will publish the amounts allocated to homelessness over the past 10 years and the amounts allocated to rough sleeping over the past 10 years. [112810]

Mr. Mullin: Since 1990 my Department has allocated the following amounts to tackle single homelessness and rough sleeping.












The Rough Sleepers Unit was established in my Department in April 1999. This Unit has an integrated budget combining the separate single homelessness and rough sleeping programme budgets as well as budgets previously administered by other Departments.

Government implemented a special homelessness initiative in the early 1990s to tackle homelessness pressures in London and the South-East which was allocated partly to local authorities and partly to housing associations (through the Housing Corporation). The local authority allocations were £112 million in 1990-91 and £126.7 million in 1991-92.

Local housing authorities have statutory obligations to assist homeless persons under part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (and formerly under part III of the Housing Act 1985). This includes unintentionally homeless households with dependant children, and those who are vulnerable, totalling almost one million households between 1991-99. Funding for local authorities' activities under these provisions is provided as part of the annual local government finance settlement and is unhypothecated.

Water Industry

Mr. Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what arrangements he has made for protecting vulnerable customers under the Water Industry Act 1999. [113477]

Mr. Meacher: The Water Industry (Charges) (Vulnerable Groups) Regulations 1999 were made under the Water Industry Act 1999 and laid on 22 December 1999. The regulations offer protection to customers who might face hardship affording their bills because they use large amounts of water for essential purposes and pay on a measured basis. Customers will qualify for assistance if they are in receipt of income related benefits or tax credits (Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Working Families Tax Credit, Disabled Person's Tax

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Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit) and either (a) they have three dependent children under the age of 16; or (b) they have a medical condition requiring significant extra water use (these are defined as kidney failure requiring home dialysis, abdominal stomas, desquamation, weeping skin disease and incontinence).

Customers in these circumstances will be entitled to pay the average charge for the company that supplies them, rather than their actual measured charge. This represents a significant new step to tackle water poverty.

The wording of the 1999 Regulations could have been interpreted as excluding low income customers whose children have qualifying medical conditions. That was not the intention. Therefore the Government have today laid the Water Industry (Charges) (Vulnerable Groups) (Amendment) Regulations 2000 which ensure that low income customers can receive assistance if their children are suffering from a qualifying medical condition. This confirms the Government's commitment to helping families who might face hardship as a result of high essential water use.


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