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Written Answers to Questions
Monday 20 March 2000
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Press Releases
Mr. Brady: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for the period 2 May 1997 to 29 February 2000, what was (a) the number of occasions on which couriers were used to distribute news releases from his Department and (b) the total cost of using couriers to distribute news releases. [113977]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 10 March 2000]: As far as I am aware couriers have not been used, by MAFF, to distribute news releases.
Mr. Brady: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the (a) national, (b) regional and (c) local newspapers and media bodies to which his Department sent news releases during the period 2 May 1997 to 29 February 2000. [113989]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 10 March 2000]: News releases are made available to all press and media bodies through the Central Office of Information (COI) managed News Distribution Service and the internet, and until recently via the Royal Mail postal service.
I will write to the hon. Member with a list of all those we believe have received news releases.
Farmers' Ages
Mr. Paice: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the most recent figures are regarding the average age of farmers and the trend in average age. [113878]
Ms Quin [holding answer 10 March 2000]: The estimated average age of holders on main holdings in the UK for the years 1990 to 1997 are contained in the table.
| Year | Estimated average age | Percentage of holders aged 65 and over |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 53 | 23 |
| 1993 | 53 | 23 |
| 1995 | 54 | 25 |
| 1997 | 53 | 22 |
Notes:
1. The EC Farm Structure Survey is held across all member states of the European Union four times every decade, to assess the agricultural situation across the Community and to monitor trends in the structure of holdings.
2. The holder of the holding is that (natural or legal) person in whose name the holding is operated. The holder can own the holding outright or rent it, or be a hereditary long-term leaseholder, or a usufructuary or a trustee. A natural person may be either a single individual or a group of individuals, for example married couples, siblings, joint beneficiaries under a will or intestacy.
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Fisheries
Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of the proposed reduction in grant-in-aid to the Environment Agency in support of its fisheries work. [114436]
Mr. Morley: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne) on 27 October 1999, Official Report, column 922W.
Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received in relation to the proposed cut in grant-in-aid to the Environment Agency in support of its fisheries work. [114435]
Mr. Morley: I have received representations from a number of individuals and organisations, including some 120 letters from Members of Parliament and over 60 letters from the general public.
Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the number of job losses resulting from the proposed cut in grant-in-aid to the Environment Agency in support of its fisheries work. [114434]
Mr. Morley: The planned reduction in grant-in-aid to the Environment Agency to fund its work on salmon and freshwater fisheries in England will come into effect in 2001-02. It will be for the Environment Agency to determine its spending priorities for that year in the light of the fall in grant-in-aid. Until it has done this it is not possible to assess the impact of the reduction.
GM Crops
Mr. David Heath: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what maximum percentage of the diet of (a) animals reared for meats, (b) animals kept for dairy produce and (c) poultry may originate from a GM crop or a mixture of GM crops. [113769]
Ms Quin [holding answer 13 March 2000]: There are no specific rules on the proportion of animal diets which are permitted to originate from GM crops.
Irish Sea
Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what progress has been made on the development of a regional fisheries forum for the Irish Sea area; [114706]
- (2) what estimate he has made of the cost of establishing a regional fisheries forum for the Irish Sea area. [114707]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 15 March 2000]: Although ideas for the establishment of a Forum for Fisheries in the Irish Sea are not currently being pursued, substantial progress has been made in the context of the Irish Sea Cod Recovery Programme in the involvement of
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fishermen in fisheries management decisions which affect them. At UK prompting, the European Commission and Council agreed on 17 December last that each stage of the Programme should be developed through a regional consultation group bringing together fishermen, scientists and administrators from the Member States concerned in the Irish Sea cod fishery. This group will also review progress towards meeting the stock recovery objectives of the Programme.
This marks an important step forward in strengthening the regional dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Mr. Bill O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he plans to extend bus lanes on congested motorways and trunk roads; what plans he has to introduce priority lanes on motorways and trunk roads for lorries; and if he will make a statement. [112706]
Mr. Hill:
The Government are committed to making the best possible use of existing trunk road systems in tackling problems of traffic congestion. This may, at certain specific locations, involve the provision of designated lanes but I do not envisage their widespread use in the immediate future on the motorway and trunk road network outside urban areas. Where such lanes are appropriate, consideration needs to be given on a case by case basis as to what vehicles, including buses and heavy goods vehicles, may use them and at what times.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) when the public were last consulted about proposals to remedy blockages on the A3 near Hindhead; when he plans next to consult the public on this issue; if he will estimate the cost of the current study of the A3 near Hindhead; and if he has consulted the National Trust about the A3 near Hindhead; [114368]
Mr. Hill:
The public were consulted on options for a road solution at Hindhead, including the proposed tunnel scheme, in 1992. As part of the study now under way the public are being involved on an on-going basis through a comprehensive programme of consultation and communication. This includes setting up local focus groups, a wider reference group, telephone interviews with longer distance travellers and a formal public consultation exercise. The commission for the study was awarded on the basis of a tender price of £188,066. Mr. Peter Griffiths, Director of the National Trust for the South Region, is a member of the study's steering group.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place
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in the Library a copy of the invitation documents sent to consortiums selected to bid for the two deep-level tube PPP contracts, together with the draft contract for the proposed PPP; and if he will list the members of each consortium which was selected. [114195]
Mr. Hill:
The invitation to tender and PPP draft contract contain commercially confidential material whose release could undermine the public sector's negotiating position and prevent best value from being achieved. London Transport has made an overview of the invitation to tender publicly available and I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.
London Underground announced the consortia selected to bid for the two deep-level tube contracts on 7 October 1999. The bidding consortia and their members are as follows:
The Tube Lines Group has been invited to bid for only one of the two contracts.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he is expecting PPP bids for the sub-surface London tube lines by 31 March. [114985]
Mr. Hill:
No. London Transport will be inviting bids shortly.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what London tube lines and stations will be closed during the proposed PPP; and if he will make a statement. [114984]
Mr. Hill:
Under the PPP, the private sector will take over responsibility for delivering a massive programme of work on the Tube network, totalling around £8 billion of investment and around £5 billion of maintenance over the next 15 years. This will reduce passenger journey times and make services more reliable, as well as improving the quality of the travelling environment.
As now, it will be necessary from time to time to close some parts of the network for limited periods to undertake essential work. Bidders' proposals in this area will be closely examined when London Underground evaluates the PPP bids.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what is his policy on continuing with proposals for the London Underground PPP if none of the bids undertakes best value against the appropriate public sector comparator; [114986]
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Mr. Hill:
To test that the London Underground PPP represents value for money, London Underground, with their professional advisers, are developing a rigorous public sector comparator. A paper explaining the principles underlying the comparator will be published shortly. The cash values produced by the comparator will also be released, but only once negotiations with bidders are complete. To publish them any earlier would risk jeopardising the taxpayer's negotiating position.
To ensure that the public sector comparator proves a rigorous and fair test, it is to be audited by London Underground's independent, external auditors. In addition, the comparator will be open to detailed scrutiny by the National Audit Office in the usual way.
We will not contemplate deals being done if they do not offer best value to the taxpayer.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what representations about the political risks associated with the proposed contracts for the London Underground PPP he has received from potential bidders; and if he will make a statement; [114932]
Mr. Hill:
My right hon. Friend has received no representations about political risk associated with the PPP contract. My officials have, however, received a small number of representations about political and other risk associated with the bidding competition.
Under the terms of the Invitation To Tender for the deep Tube infrastructure service contracts, London Underground may make payments to bidders for bid costs:
We are confident that PPP will represent best value and go ahead, and therefore expect there to be no cost to public funds in the first case. If costs are incurred in the second case, arising from the successful completion of the PPP programme, it may be necessary to reimburse the eligible costs from public funds up to a limit of £1 million per shortlisted bidder.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much has been spent on professional and consultancy fees in respect of the London Underground PPP; and if he will estimate how much will be spent in total by the time of completion of the PPP. [114933]
Mr. Hill:
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Thomas) on 21 December 1999, Official Report,
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column 525W. London Transport will not know the overall requirements or costs for external advice until the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) transaction has 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.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what estimate he has made of how much public funding will be required to support the London Underground PPP; and if he will make a statement; [114980]
Mr. Hill:
Under the PPP, we expect to see around £8 billion invested in the Underground over the first 15 years with around a further £5 billion spent on maintenance. It would not be sensible at this stage, before London Underground have received bids, to estimate how this will be funded. However, we have made clear that if it should prove value for money, then Transport for London will receive the appropriate level of central government grant to allow for London Underground's need to make any payments to the PPP contractors.
The PPP is about obtaining best value in the way that farebox revenue and any public subsidy is spent. The evidence indicates that the PPP will be better value than the wholly public sector alternatives, even if central government grant continues to be paid.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received from potential bidders for the PPP contracts on the London Underground concerning shortfalls against costs of the PPP. [114982]
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what cap he will set on increases in fares on the London Underground under the proposed PPP. [114983]
Mr. Hill:
Fares on the London Underground will be a matter for the Mayor. The economic analysis London Underground and their advisers have undertaken for the PPP assumes that fares will do no more than keep pace with inflation once the PPP is in place.
REGIONS
(2) when the public will next be involved in the problem of the proposals to remedy blockages on A3 near Hindhead problem. [114425]
LINC:
Bombardier Prorail, John Mowlem and Company, Fluor Daniel, Alcatel Telecom and Anglian Water
Metronet:
Adtranz (Daimler-Chrysler Rail Systems), W. S. Atkins, Balfour Beatty (BICC), Seeboard plc and Thames Water
Tube Lines Group:
Bechtel/Halcrow, Amey, Hyder Investments and Jarvis
TubeRail:
Brown and Root, Alstom Transportation Projects, Amec and Carillion
(2) what public sector comparators he will employ to assess whether potential bidders for the London Underground PPP are offering best value for money; and if he will make a statement. [114931]
(2) what commitment the Government have entered into to underwrite the bidders' costs of bidding for the contracts for the London Underground PPP; how much he estimates this will cost public funds; and if he will make a statement. [114934]
(i) should the PPP competition be terminated on grounds other than the fact that the bids do not present value for money; or
(ii) where costs are incurred by an unsuccessful shortlisted bidder after London Underground has required offers with committed finances to be submitted.
(2) what is his latest estimate for the total funding requirement for the London Underground for the period of the proposed PPP; and how this will be met. [114981]
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