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St. John's Wood Station
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will call for a report from London Underground on how long St John's Wood underground station has been without two functioning escalators; what the cost is of the replacement of the two escalators; what additional cost has been
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incurred as a result of delays in the installation of the second escalator; how many dates have been announced for the completion of the work; for what reason London Underground supplied him with inaccurate information about the completion date for installation of the second escalator; and what action has been taken in respect of the London Underground employees responsible for this situation. [123456]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 23 May 2000]: These are operational matters for London Underground, who have informed me that the escalator replacement project at St. John's Wood station started on 11 September 1998 and involves complete replacement of both machines. During the works, there has been one 'up' escalator and a staircase.
The total cost of the replacement of the two escalators is £4,688 million, including the relevant publicity, policing and standby engineers etc. for the cricket matches. There have been extra costs of £150,000 due to the overrun of the project.
Completion of the second escalator was originally announced for 18 May but has been put back to 21 June 2000. I understand the delay in completion of the project has been due to water entering the mechanism causing a build up of sediment on the steelwork; this meant that repairs had to be made to corroded steelwork and new drainage installed. London Underground's escalator replacement contractors were unable to work on the escalators while this work was taking place (19 January to 17 February 2000).
Dioxin
Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent research the Government have commissioned on dioxin levels in the environment. [123489]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 23 May 2000]: The UK Government have sponsored substantial research programmes to assess and monitor the levels of dioxins in the environment. Dioxin levels in air have been monitored as part of the DETR Hazardous Air Pollutants Programme since 1991. Work is under way to measure levels in sewage sludge and a new UK soil survey is due to begin shortly. The Food Standards Agency, and formerly MAFF, regularly monitor dioxin levels in a wide range of foodstuffs which are also useful indicators of environmental concentrations. Results from all monitoring programmes are available on the internet.
Incinerators
Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent guidance the Government have given on the disposal of ash produced in incinerators. [123487]
Mr. Mullin [holding answer 23 May 2000]: Guidance on technical issues such as this is the responsibility of the Environment Agency.
The disposal of ash from incineration processes is controlled under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. Guidance on the regulations is contained in DETR circular C11/94 and Waste Management Papers 4 and 4a. Some incinerator ash will
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be classified as special waste. In these cases guidance is contained in the Environment Agency Guidance Note, "Special Wastes: A Technical Guidance Note on their definition and classification" (The Stationery Office, ISBN 0-11-310158-9).
Secondments
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many staff from his Department were seconded to private sector companies in (a) May 1997 to April 1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999 and (c) May 1999 to April 2000; and if he will list in each case the companies to which staff were sent, the names and ranks of the staff involved and the duration of the secondment. [123426]
Ms Beverley Hughes: Secondments and attachments are part of the Interchange Initiative which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. All sectors of the economy are involved: Voluntary, Education, Health, Public and Private. Interchange is a key component of the reform agenda. The Modernising Government White Paper committed us to increasing interchange, in particular by bringing in more people on secondment and sending more of our people out.
From May 1997 to April 1998
The following numbers of staff were seconded to private sector companies:
One Grade 5 officer to Tarmac Ltd. for a period of one year five months
One Grade 3 officer to SBC Warburg for two years
One Grade 6 (on temporary promotion) to Capita RAS for one year seven months
From May 1998 to April 1999
No new secondees--continuation of the above secondments only
From May 1999 to April 2000
No new secondees to private sector organisations.
Rent Act Order 1999
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has (a) to appeal to the House of Lords in relation to the judgment of the Court of Appeal on the Rent Act Order 1999 and (b) to introduce primary legislation relating to the matters in the Order. [122856]
Mr. Mullin: We are awaiting the outcome of our petition to another place for leave to appeal the Court of Appeal's decision to quash the Rent Acts (Maximum Fair Rent) Order. If leave is granted we will seek an expedited hearing; if it is refused we will urgently consider all the options open to us.
Waste Strategy
Mr. Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to review the policies in the United Kingdom Management Plan for Exports and Imports of Waste. [124080]
Mr. Meacher: Existing policies on exports and imports of waste are set out in the United Kingdom Management Plan for Exports and Imports of Waste, which came into
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effect on 1 June 1996. These reflect the long-standing UK commitment to self-sufficiency in waste disposal and the well-established proximity principle, namely that waste should be disposed of in, or as close as possible to, the country of origin.
Since the Plan has been in force, there have been a number of changes at national and international level which have altered the arrangements for transfrontier shipments of waste. My Department will be issuing tomorrow for public consultation a revised draft of the United Kingdom Management Plan for Exports and Imports of Waste, copies of which will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
The main proposals for changes to existing UK policies are:
- to permit shipments between Northern Ireland and Ireland for local disposal, provided they are in accordance with waste management plans being drawn up by the Northern Ireland District Councils;
- to permit exports and imports for trial runs provided that strict criteria are met; and
- further limited restrictions on imports of waste for disposal.
This Plan is separate from, but consistent with, the various domestic strategies in the UK, including the England and Wales Waste Strategy which will be launched tomorrow.
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Mr. Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will publish the waste strategy; and if he will make a statement. [124081]
Mr. Meacher: The Government and the National Assembly for Wales will publish "Waste Strategy 2000--a Waste Strategy for England and Wales" tomorrow, and copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House. The strategy has two aims: to reduce the amount of waste we produce; and to get more value from that which we do produce--in particular through a substantial increase in household recycling.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Public Sector Budget
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the main provisions for the capital budget for the public sector in Northern Ireland, broken down by (a) sponsoring department and (b) main public service function, included in the total of (i) £570 million allowed in 1998-99 and (ii) £575 million allowed in 1999-2000; and if he will publish information under the same headings for the (A) actual and (B) expected expenditure for the same years. [121454]
Mr. Ingram: The information requested is shown in the tables.
It should however be noted that the capital budgets quoted in the question are indicative figures compiled by Her Majesty's Treasury for the purpose of presenting the outcome of the 1998 UK Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) in the CSR White Paper, published in July 1998. These do not reflect the actual capital allocations decided upon by my predecessor in the Northern Ireland Comprehensive Spending Review, which did not conclude until the following December. The relevant capital budgets are reflected in the 1999 Northern Ireland Departmental Report (Cm 4217), published in March 1999 and are set out in the format requested.
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| Department | A(i) 1998-99 Actual expenditure | A(ii) 1999-2000 Project expenditure (21) | B(i) 1998-99 Plan | B(ii) 1999-2000 Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 24 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Economic Development | 142 | 144 | 147 | 158 |
| Education | 92 | 113 | 87 | 123 |
| Finance and Personnel | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Health and Social Services(22) | -35 | -39 | -30 | -41 |
| Environment | 195 | 189 | 203 | 146 |
| Other | 1 | 2 | -- | 6 |
| NIO | 30 | 35 | 35 | 31 |
| Total(23) | 453 | 470 | 469 | 451 |
(21) Actual expenditure figures for 1999-2000 are not yet available
(22) These capital figures include receipts from the Health Trusts Debt Remuneration
(23) Due to roundings, individual figures may not necessarily sum to the totals in the tables
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(24) Actual expenditure figures for 1999-2000 are not yet available
(25) These capital figures include receipts from the Health Trusts Debt Remuneration
(26) Due to roundings, individual figures may not necessarily sum to the totals in the tables
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