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Park-and-Ride Schemes
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many park-and-ride schemes have been introduced by local authorities since May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [116074]
Mr. Hill: The Department does not collect such information.
Affordable Housing (London)
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of houses built in London in each of the past four years has been classified as affordable; and what research his Department has undertaken to determine if this proportion meets local demand for such housing. [116084]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The information on affordable houses built is not held centrally. However, the London Research Centre is currently undertaking a research project to assess the extent of housing need in London.
Regional Assemblies
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the creation of directly elected regional assemblies in England. [116072]
Ms Beverley Hughes: We are committed to moving to directly elected regional government in England, where there is demand for it expressed in a referendum.
Housing Development (Transport Links)
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to develop transport links in areas of new housing development in greenfield sites. [116236]
Ms Beverley Hughes: Planning Policy Guidance note 3, "Housing", (PPG3) (see paragraphs 47 and 48) provides that local planning authorities should seek to exploit opportunities to locate larger housing developments around major nodes along good quality public transport corridors (both existing and those with firm proposals for improvement in local transport plans). In addition, authorities should seek to ensure that all housing developments are accessible by a range of non-car modes. Draft PPG13, "Transport", also proposes that major development proposals should be supported by a transport assessment.
Speed Limits
Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many villages with populations of under 3,000 have a speed limit of 30 mph. [116015]
Mr. Hill: This information is not held centrally.
Radioactive Waste
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what are the procedures that must be followed regarding the dumping of radioactive waste in the UK. [115916]
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Mr. Meacher:
The disposal of radioactive waste is closely regulated under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 by the Environment Agency in England and Wales, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in Scotland and the Environment Heritage Service in Northern Ireland. Any person wishing to dispose of radioactive waste must make an application to the relevant agency.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he plans to publish the green paper on radioactive waste management; and what will be its terms of reference. [115532]
Mr. Meacher:
My Department aims to publish the consultation paper on the management of radioactive waste in late spring. The contents are still under consideration.
Mr. Quinn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many objections he received when he consulted on the location of boundaries for the regional development agencies. [116331]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
We received 198 responses to our consultation paper, "Regional Development Agencies--Issues for Discussion", which was published in 1997. Of these responses, there were two objections to the boundaries proposed for the RDAs.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on what date the contract was signed for the growing of a GM crop at Friskney, Lincolnshire. [116448]
Mr. Meacher:
My Department was notified by Monsanto of a proposed location of a field for a farm scale evaluation of GM beet near Friskney in Lincolnshire, on 16 March 2000. The contractual arrangements are a matter for Monsanto and the farmer involved.
Mr. Keetch:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what GM crop trials there have been in Herefordshire; and if he will make a statement. [116343]
Mr. Meacher:
The Government's farm scale evaluations programme, which I announced on 17 March, is designed to allow independent researchers to see what effect growing and managing GM crops might have on farmland wildlife, compared with non-GM crops. The programme this year will involve up to 80 GM field sites. To date, none of the proposed sites notified to my Department is in Herefordshire.
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list (a) the name of the leaders, (b) the political party of the leader and (c) the annual allowance payable to the leader of each local authority in England. [116460]
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Ms Beverley Hughes:
This information is not collected by my Department.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what he plans to implement the justification requirements of Euratom Directive 96/29. [115531]
Mr. Meacher:
The Health and Safety Commission is in the lead for preparing proposals on behalf of Government for implementing the justification requirements of Euratom Directive 96-29. I await its revised proposals.
Mr. Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he is taking to reduce brain injuries among child cyclists. [115739]
Mr. Hill:
The road safety strategy, "Tomorrows Roads--Safer for Everyone", promotes the wearing of cycle helmets. They can provide significant protection against the severity of head injuries. This reinforces the advice contained in the "Highway Code", the "Highway Code for Young Road Users" and the Driving Standards Agency's "Road Code". We also promote their use in our "Cycle Smart" publicity material. Together with the Department of Health, we are supporting the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust project, the aim of which is to promote cycle helmet wearing among children and young people. We are monitoring the wearing rate in Great Britain (currently about 18 per cent.) and will continue to consider the option of compulsory wearing from time to time.
Mr. Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many child cyclists have been (a) injured and (b) killed on the roads in each of the past 10 years. [115773]
Mr. Hill:
The information requested is shown in the following table for the most recent 10 years for which data are available.
| Year | Killed | Injured |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 73 | 9,254 |
| 1990 | 59 | 8,661 |
| 1991 | 50 | 8,132 |
| 1992 | 48 | 7,677 |
| 1993 | 37 | 7,349 |
| 1994 | 42 | 8,033 |
| 1995 | 48 | 8,085 |
| 1996 | 54 | 8,163 |
| 1997 | 33 | 7,866 |
| 1998 | 32 | 6,898 |
(9) Children aged 0-15
Breakdown and Recovery Vehicles
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many breakdown and recovery vehicles exempt from the MOT
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test (a) are currently operating on (i) motorways and (ii) other roads and (b) were involved in vehicle accidents in the last year for which figures are available. [116133]
Mr. Hill:
Such vehicles are exempt from the MOT test if they are constructed such that they tow vehicles that they are recovering rather than carry them. Although it is not possible to say precisely how many of these there are, a good approximation is the number of vehicles whose body type is recorded as a breakdown truck. Further to these, there will also be a number of other vehicles in the recovery vehicles tax class that are exempt from the MOT test because they are less than one year old. The estimated numbers of those licensed and exempt from the MOT test at the end of 1998 are as follows:
Breakdown trucks: 10,224
Other recovery vehicles first registered in 1998: 110
Total: 10,334
These figures come from the record of licensed vehicles in Great Britain held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. No details are held about the roads upon which these vehicles operate.
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