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Rail Investment

38. Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the railway industry about investment in the railway infrastructure and in train services in Worcestershire; and if he will make a statement. [112210]

Mr. Hill: A report was commissioned to consider improvements in rail routes radiating from Worcester and the shadow Strategic Rail Authority (sSRA) will be discussing this report with interested stakeholders this month. The sSRA has discussed a number of improvements in the railway infrastructure in Worcestershire with Railtrack and details of these will be included in Railtrack's Network Management Statement which is to be published at the end of the month.

Train Reliability

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he last met representatives of the Association of Train Operating Companies to discuss train reliability and punctuality. [112177]

Mr. Prescott: I met ATOC in November 1998 and agreed an action plan for short-term improvements in performance across the railway network. At the National Rail Summit in February 1999, I announced a number of longer-term initiatives based on the establishment of the shadow Strategic Rail Authority. I will be discussing progress on the industry 10-point plan, which covered train safety, reliability and punctuality, with ATOC and Railtrack at the next National Rail Summit in May.

Pymmes Park

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made in resolving the outstanding claims for compensation relating to the compulsory purchase of land at Pymmes Park as part of the A406 widening at Edmonton; what parts of the claim by the local authority have been accepted in principle by the Highways Agency; what issues remain outstanding; and if he will make a statement. [111981]

Mr. Hill: Compensation negotiations between the District Valuer, acting for the Highways Agency and the London Borough of Enfield are continuing. The Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Peter Nutt, will write to my hon. Friend with further details.

Letter from Mr. Peter Nutt to Mr. Andrew Love, dated 7 March 2000:



    I explained in my letter of 8 December to you, that negotiations between the District Valuer, acting for the Highways Agency, and the London Borough of Enfield were continuing. Exchange land has already been provided to offset the loss of open space at Pymmes Park. The remaining heads of claim include the value of land as well as reasonable compensation for the loss of amenity and other damages to Pymmes Park.

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    The District Valuer wrote to the Council on 3 February, on our instruction, setting out the Agency's position but unfortunately was unable to offer unconditional settlement on any of the nine heads of claim. I appreciate that this does not represent the progress the Council wishes to see, and I too would be pleased to see all these matters brought to speedy, equitable and amicable conclusion. May I suggest that the best way forward is for officials from Highways Agency, supported by the District Valuer, to meet Council officials at Enfield? If you would like to take up this suggestion, your secretary could discuss arrangements by contacting Andrew Gallagher, the Highways Agency's Director for London on 0171-921-4306.

Lorries

Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what appraisals his Department has undertaken of the time that lorries are delayed on congested motorways and trunk roads; if he intends to take action to reduce delays by lorries and other heavy vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [112705]

Mr. Hill: In preparation for our report, "Tackling Congestion and Pollution", published in January, we estimated the total amount of extra journey time (total vehicle hours spent travelling less those which would have been incurred at free flow speeds) resulting from congestion on English roads in 1996. By drawing on this analysis it is possible to estimate the proportion of the total amount of time lost by different kinds of vehicle on a range of road types. Although these techniques are not yet sufficiently well developed to allow a separate estimate to be produced for the trunk road network, estimates can be produced for motorways and A roads as a whole. These estimates suggest that, taken together, motorways and A roads outside urban areas accounted for some 12 per cent. of the total amount of time lost by heavy goods vehicles on English roads in 1996. This estimate includes only time lost due to general congestion and does not allow for time lost due to incidents or road works.

Our integrated transport White Paper set out a package of measures to tackle congestion and pollution, based on concerted action by local authorities, businesses, Government and the general public. We will continue to take this forward, including through the Transport Bill, and our 10-year plan to modernise Britain's transport system (to be published in the summer).

M25

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimates he has made of the cost of resurfacing the M25 in porous asphalt between junctions 8 and 9. [112542]

Mr. Hill [holding answer 2 March 2000]: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Peter Nutt, to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Mr. Peter Nutt to Mr. Crispin Blunt, dated 7 March 2000]:



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    A more detailed survey and analysis has ow been completed and has identified the need for additional works if an overlay is to be successfully applied. The existing concrete carriageway, consisting of a series of individual concrete slabs, would need additional work to stabilise it so that small movements in the joints between the slabs did not cause the overlay immediately above the joints to crack. Once cracks form in porous asphalt, the road surface disintegrates very quickly. The overlay would also have to be thicker for the same reason. The extra thickness of the overlay would also make it necessary to raise long lengths of safety fencing to maintain its effectiveness. All this would increase the time taken to complete the work and the costs of the associated traffic management.


    Based upon this more detailed work, our estimate for the cost of resurfacing the M25 between junctions 8 and 9 with porous asphalt is around £18 million, with our estimate for applying it between junctions 8 and 10 now being £34 million. I am sorry for supplying information previously which was so misleading.


    Should you require further information, please contact the Highways Agency's Area 3 Team Leader, John Rylett, in our Dorking office on 01306 878251.

Housing Stock

Mr. Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list those local authorities which have given notice that they intend to transfer (a) their entire housing stock and (b) part of their housing stock. [112992]

Mr. Mullin: The following local authorities are due to transfer all or part of their stock by the end of this month:


The following local authorities have sought approval to transfer all or part of their stock:



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    Wycombe DC


    1 Denotes a partial transfer.

Lead Water Pipes

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to replace lead water pipes; and if he will make a statement. [112815]

Mr. Mullin: The new Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) tightens the standard for lead in drinking water from its current 50g/to 25g/1 by 25 December 2003 and to 10g/1 by 25 December 2013. Where action is necessary to meet these standards, water companies will first treat water to reduce its ability to dissolve lead from pipes, or will optimise that treatment where it is already in place. Replacement of company lead pipes will be needed where water treatment fails to achieve the standards--mainly soft-water areas. This will become fully apparent only after optimised treatment has been in place for some months. Pipework within the property boundary will remain the responsibility of the property owner. Local authorities have discretionary powers to pay grants to help homeowners to replace lead piping in their properties.

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