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Sellafield

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received in the past year from (a) citizens and (b) representatives of other EU member states concerning operations of the Sellafield nuclear plant. [121819]

Mrs. Liddell: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has received representations from (a) three citizens and (b) four representatives, ie those holding an elected or Ministerial post, of other EU member states concerning operations at Sellafield in the past year.

Employment Tribunals

Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answers of 13 April 2000, Official Report, columns 273-76W and 8 May 2000, Official Report, column 282W, concerning

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employment tribunal claims, if he will provide the requested data (a) for Scotland and (b) separately for each employment tribunal region in England and Wales. [123124]

Mr. Alan Johnson: Some of the information is not available in the format requested. As the available information is contained in a number of detailed tables, I have asked the Chief Executive of the Employment Tribunals Service to write to my hon. Friend and place a copy in the Library of the House.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND

THE REGIONS

Road Accidents (A40)

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many accidents there have been on the A40 over the last three years (a) in total and (b) between Witney and Oxford. [121817]

Mr. Hill: The following numbers of inquiry road accidents occurred on the total length of the A40 in the last three years for which national records are available: 1,303 in 1996, 1,374 in 1997 and 1,290 in 1998. On the single carriageway section of the A40, between the Wolvercote roundabout in Oxford and the eastern end of the Witney bypass at Hill Farm, there were 27 in 1996, 45 in 1997 and 27 in 1998.

Wolverhampton/Shrewsbury/Chester Railway

Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to support a bid to give the Wolverhampton/Shrewsbury/Chester railway line a priority Trans-European Network status. [122739]

Mr. Hill: The Commission, in discussion with member states, is currently reviewing the need for revisions to the TEN guidelines which were adopted in 1996. We agree with the emerging conclusions that no major alterations should be made to the guideline maps at this stage other than those necessary to ensure consistency with the transport network maps that have been developed for the countries seeking accession to the EU. There is also a consensus that no changes to the list of 14 Priority TEN projects adopted by the European Council at Essen in December 1994 should be made at this time. There will be another review of the guidelines in 2005 and that might be the appropriate moment to look afresh at the guideline maps and the list of priority projects.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the Transport Bill, future proposals for TEN status of railway lines in Great Britain will become the responsibility of the Strategic Rail Authority.

Euro

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which (a) local authorities and (b) other organisations for which his Department has budgetary responsibility (i) have set up and (ii) are setting up projects to prepare for the UK adopting the euro; what these projects are costing each

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organisation; what the total cost to the Department is; and from which budget sums already spent have come. [122811]

Ms Beverley Hughes: An update on changeover planning in the public sector was given in the second Outline National Changeover Plan published on 9 March.

Airports Policy

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he plans to publish the Government's policy on airports; and if he will make a statement. [123156]

Mr. Mullin: We intend to produce an Air Transport White Paper which will provide a framework for the future of aviation and airports in the UK.

The White Paper will not be produced until after we have taken a decision on the planning application for Terminal 5 at Heathrow. The planning inquiry concluded in March 1999 and the Inspector indicated that he expects to submit his report to the Secretary of State within two years. The Secretary of State will then need to consider the report and the Inspector's recommendations carefully before making decisions.

The White Paper will also be preceded by a wide-ranging consultation document on aviation and airports; and by public consultations on the findings of the studies the Department is undertaking on air services and airports in all parts of the UK.

London Transport Policy

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London about Government transport policy in London. [123155]

Mr. Hill: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport and I met the Mayor on 16 May. We had a wide-ranging discussion of issues of mutual interest including transport. I look forward to following this up with a further meeting with the Mayor later this week.

Local Authorities (Executive Structure)

Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the local authorities in England and Wales which have instituted changes to their executive structure since May 1997; and what new arrangements they have put in place. [123146]

Ms Beverley Hughes: We do not hold centrally any comprehensive listing of those councils which are changing their constitutions within the restrictions of current legislative framework. Until the Local Government Bill [Lords], currently before the House, is enacted, councils cannot adopt executive arrangements within the terms of the Bill.

Ministerial Visit (Washington D.C.)

Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the (a) itinerary for, (b) purpose of and (c) cost of his recent visit to Washington D.C. [123135]

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Mr. Prescott: I visited Washington on 25-27 April in order to give a speech on climate change at the Pew Centre. I also met vice-president Al Gore, Environment Secretary Frank Loy, Transport Secretary Rodney Slater, several Senators, Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk and Australian Environment Minister Robert Hill. On 27 April I travelled from Washington to New York for a meeting of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development where I also met Jan Szysko the Polish Chair of the Climate Change Convention and Dr. Hassan Adamu the Nigerian Environment Minister and current chair of the G77 group of developing countries. I returned to the UK overnight on 27-28 April. All travel was in accordance with the Ministerial Code and my costs for the trip were approximately £6,000.

Groundwater Regulations

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the disparity between groundwater regulation charges in England and Scotland. [123018]

Mr. Mullin: In England and Wales, where the Environment Agency is responsible for authorisations under the Groundwater Regulation 1998 a single charge, equivalent to the initial £85 application charge payable at the inception of the scheme, will cover the first four-year period of groundwater authorisation. In Scotland, where the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency is the competent authority, charges under the Groundwater Regulations are a matter for the devolved Administration.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Millennium Dome

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many discounted tickets have been issued to visitors to the Millennium dome each week since 1 January. [121949]

Janet Anderson [holding answer 12 May 2000]: Of the total number of tickets issued to date (10 May 2000), Group discount tickets account for 36 per cent. of the total. Further discounted tickets, relating to children, senior citizens and students account for 9.3 per cent. of the total tickets sold to date. The Millennium dome, like any other major visitor attraction, has an extensive ticket pricing structure incorporating a variety of attractive discounts for groups and individuals.

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of overseas visitors to the dome during the year from (a) EU countries, (b) the USA and (c) the rest of the world. [121951]

Janet Anderson [holding answer 12 May 2000]: On the basis of a recent exit poll conducted at the dome, approximately 10 per cent. of visitors were from overseas. On the basis of information collected from call centres and web sales, these visitors have come from the following countries: European Union--73 per cent., Europe (non EU)--3 per cent., North America--19 per cent. and rest of the world--5 per cent. Of the EU countries, NMEC estimates that the top sellers are Benelux, France, Scandinavia, Germany and Ireland.

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There are certain to be additional overseas visitors who buy tickets direct from the dome upon arrival. NMEC does not at present ask these visitors their country of origin.

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