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Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) how many of the schemes to protect sites of special scientific interest from the impact of (a) abstraction and (b) sewage effluent allowed for in Ofwat's final determination of water prices are due for completion in (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03, (c) 2003-04, (d) 2004-05 and (e) 2005-06; [114152]

(2) how many schemes have been allowed for in Ofwat's final determination on water and sewerage charges to protect sites of special scientific interest from (a) abstraction and (b) sewage effluent. [114151]

Mr. Mullin: Price limits set by the Director General of Water Services include provision for the financing of 53 schemes to protect SSSIs in England and Wales from over-abstraction and 104 schemes aimed wholly or partially at protecting SSSIs from the effects of sewage effluent. The phasing of these schemes in relation to others being carried out as part of the total programme of environmental investment is still under discussion. The Environment Agency will publish the final programme, with completion dates for individual schemes, shortly. I will ensure that the hon. Gentleman receives a copy of the final programme.

Renewable Energy

Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if it is his policy to regard energy from waste schemes as renewable energy; and if he will make a statement. [114149]

Mr. Mullin: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Competitiveness on 15 March 2000, Official Report, columns 198-99W.

16 Mar 2000 : Column: 322W

London Underground

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list those stations and length of line which are currently the responsibility of London Underground Limited which under his PPP proposals would become the responsibility of (a) London Underground's proposed supervisory subsidiary companies and (b) the PPP contracting companies and their sub-contractors; and if he will make a statement. [114192]

Mr. Hill: London Underground Limited will retain responsibility for the operation of services and for safety at all those stations and on all those lines for which it is currently responsible. Under the PPP proposals an infrastructure company will enter into a long term service contract with London Underground for the provision of infrastructure services--primarily, maintenance and renewal--for each of three groupings of lines:

(i) "sub-surface", comprising the Circle, District, East London, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan lines;

(ii) "BCV", comprising the Bakerloo, Central, Victoria and Waterloo and City lines; and

(iii) "JNP", comprising the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

In each case, the contractor will be responsible for the maintenance, and where appropriate enhancement and renewal, of the infrastructure that London Underground uses to deliver its passenger services, including rolling stock, track, signalling, stations and other civil structures such as tunnels and bridges.

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the latest date by which decisions will be taken about the two deep-level tube PPP contracts; and what residual powers the Mayor of London will have on this matter once the contracts have been allocated. [114193]

Mr. Hill: Bids for the two deep tube infrastructure contracts are due to be returned at the end of this month. No timetable has been set for the completion of contract negotiations. The Mayor will be responsible from July for a range of transport services in London excluding the London Underground, and will take over full responsibility for the Underground after the PPP is established.

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place in the Library the evidence which underlay his conclusion in respect of the value for money provided by (a) the PPP for the London Underground and (b) the letting of separate contracts for the same work by London Underground; and if he will make a statement. [114194]

Mr. Hill: The Government are confident that the PPP for London Underground will deliver better value for money than a wholly public sector option. We shall approve the contracts only if the private sector bids demonstrate best value when compared with a rigorously constructed public sector comparator benchmark.

The comparator will be published once the PPP negotiations are complete. To publish the results any earlier would expose the taxpayer's negotiating position, and so jeopardise our chances of getting best value.

16 Mar 2000 : Column: 323W

To let a series of separate contracts could be expected to create serious scale diseconomies when compared with the PPP approach.

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was his Department's role in the authorisation of London Underground Ltd.'s expenditure, between 20 March 1998 and 13 November 1999, on consultancy work in respect of the PPP and restructuring of London Underground; what estimate he has made of the final cost of the consultancy for this purpose; and if he will list (a) the consultants concerned, and the amount paid to each, and (b) summarise the work each of them has been asked to do. [114197]

Mr. Hill: London Transport's expenditure on external consultants for the public-private partnership for the London Underground is regularly monitored by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. London Transport will not know the overall requirements or costs for external advice until the PPP transactions have been completed, but the Government are working with LT to ensure that we receive the best advice while minimising the overall costs of implementing the PPP.

The main consultants employed by London Transport, and the areas on which they provide professional advice, are:

PriceWaterhouseCoopers (financial)

Freshfields (legal)

Ove Arup and Partners (engineering)

Arthur Andersen (operations entity design)

PA Consulting (infrastructure entities design and financial modelling)

Hornagold and Hills (project management)

Insignia Richard Ellis (property)

Marsh (insurance)

Bacon & Woodrow (pensions).

For reasons of commercial confidentiality, it is not possible to give a figure for the value of individual contracts, though we will continue to publish updated aggregate figures periodically in line with the commitment given by the then Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Ms Jackson) on 13 January last year.

Vehicle Operating Licences

Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what provision there is (a) for prescribing in which newspapers public notices of applications for vehicle operating licences must be posted, and (b) of stipulating whether these should be (i) local and (ii) regional newspapers. [114319]

Mr. Hill: The Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 requires a goods vehicle operator to arrange for notice of his application for an operator's license to be

published in one or more local newspapers circulating in the locality.

If a Traffic Commissioner believes that the application has not been correctly advertised in this way he may refuse the application.

16 Mar 2000 : Column: 324W

Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will amend the regulations and processes involved in granting vehicle operating licences for premises to bring them within the process for determining planning applications. [114320]

Mr. Hill: We have no immediate plans to amend legislation. Local authority planning powers are entirely separate from those of Traffic Commissioners. The two systems are designed to complement each other.

Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the process of posting public notices of applications for vehicle operating licences in a newspaper circulating in the place where the premises to be licensed are situated. [114318]

Mr. Hill: The practice of advertising applications for goods vehicle operator licences in local newspapers has been considered in past reviews of the operators licensing systems, but no changes were made. In 1996, a pilot project was carried out whereby staff at two Traffic Area Offices placed the advertisements in newspapers, rather than the operator. There was found to be no significant increase in the number of representations received during the trial period. We keep the process under review but have no immediate plans to change it.

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