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"High Hedges"
Mr. Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will publish his findings on the responses to the consultation document, "High Hedges"; and if he will make a statement. [129817]
Mr. Mullin: There is nothing I can add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 20 April 2000, Official Report, column 613W.
Council Housing
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he
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has to increase the resources available to tackle the investment backlog in council housing; and if he will make a statement. [129822]
Mr. Mullin: The level of allocations for housing investment by local authorities for the next three years will be decided in the current spending review, the results of which are due to be announced later this month.
Rail Freight
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions at what weight on the highway piggybank trailer systems that have been proposed by the winner of the recent rail freight competition will run. [129995]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 10 July 2000]: The cement road tanker to be conveyed on the intermodal wagons will have a maximum weight of 40 tonnes to which the traction unit would be added when on the highway.
Leasehold and Commonhold
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he intends to publish a draft bill on leasehold and commonhold. [130168]
Mr. Mullin: As was announced in the Gracious Speech given on 17 November 1999, Official Report, columns 4-7, we intend to publish a draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill for consultation during this session. The leasehold reform aspects of the draft Bill are the responsibility of my Department, and those on commonhold are the responsibility of my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor. We now expect to publish the draft Bill for consultation during the summer.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many residential leaseholders there are in England and Wales. [130169]
Mr. Mullin: Estimates 1 from the Department's Survey of English Housing show that in 1998-99, there were 1,920,000 residential leaseholders in England. The Department has no information on the number of residential leaseholders in Wales.
- 1 Like all estimates from sample surveys, these figures are subject to sampling variability.
Appointments (Women)
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many
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and what percentage of the (a) paid and (b) unpaid appointments which he has made to non-departmental public bodies since 1 May 1997 were women. [129842]
Ms Beverley Hughes [holding answer 11 July 2000]: The Secretary of State has made the following appointments to non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Department since 1 May 1997.
| Women | |
|---|---|
| (a) Paid | 163 (25.2 per cent.) |
| (b) Unpaid | 204 (27.3 per cent.) |
This Government are committed to increasing representation of women in public life. In support of this, the Department has drawn up an action plan for increasing the number of women and ethnic minorities holding public appointments. The latest plans, together with the Governments overall plan, were published on 24 May 2000 in "Quangos, Opening Up Public Appointments 2000-2003", a copy of which is deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
London Underground
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the bidders on the short list for the PPP for the London Underground; and if he will make a statement. [130189]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 11 July 2000]: On 5 July, London Underground announced that the shortlisted bidders for the two deep tube PPP contracts would be as follows:
- JNP (Jubilee, Northern and Piccaddilly lines): Tube Lines Group and Tuberail.
- BCV (Bakerloo, Central, Victoria and Waterloo and City lines): LINC and Metronet.
Mr. Hill [holding answer 11 July 2000]: This is an operational matter for London Underground. I understand they are only planning one major closure during this period. This will be the Victoria Line between Victoria and Brixton between 5 and 26 August. This is for trackworks.
In addition, London Underground plan to carry out normal maintenance and improvement works involving some weekend closures, as shown in the table.
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Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on what dates the final contracts will be signed for each part of the London Underground network; and what are the significant dates in the PPP process in the run-up to those dates. [130190]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 11 July 2000]: The Government have consistently made it clear that it will not give specific dates for completion as these would undermine the public sector's position in negotiations. The next steps towards the public private partnership are as follows:
- bids are due for the sub-surface lines contract by 15 September; and
- shortlisted bidders for the two deep tube contracts are required to submit final offers in the autumn.
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