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Industrial Accidents (Humberside)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many (a) fatal industrial accidents and (b) industrial accidents involving a stay in hospital of over 24 hours have occurred in the Humberside Region since 1 January 1999. [134239]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 2 November 2000]: (a) Fatal Accident. The number of fatal accidents which occurred in Humberside from 1 January 1999 to 16 October 2000 and which have been reported to HSE as required by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 is 16.

(b) Injuries involving a hospital stay. HSE only records details of major injuries as defined in RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regs 1995). This includes requiring

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admission to hospital for more than 24 hours along with serious injuries such as a fracture, amputation, loss of sight etc.

There were 1,217 major injuries logged which came into this category.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many (a) deaths and (b) injuries involving a stay in hospital occurred in premises on Humberside which were under a prohibition notice in the last five years. [134240]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 2 November 2000]: There were three deaths which have occurred in premises on or after the date a Prohibition Notice was served.

HSE only records details of major injuries as defined in RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regs 1995). This includes requiring

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admission to hospital for more than 24 hours along with serious injuries such as a fracture, amputation, loss of sight etc. There were 78 major injuries logged which came into this category.

Health and Safety Executive

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many Band 2 and Band 3 HSE inspectors there are in the Hull office. [134241]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 2 November 2000]: There are currently two Band 2 and three Band 3 HSE inspectors based in the Hull office. In addition a specialist Band 3 trainee is currently based in Hull for a six month period. The B2 inspectors manage teams of inspectors in the Leeds and Sheffield offices respectively. Currently two of the B3 inspectors are engaged on operational duties working for managers located in the Leeds and Sheffield offices.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many requests for HSE inspectors to make educational and promotional visits to the Humber Region in the past two years were made to the Leeds and Sheffield offices of the HSE; and how many such requests were successful. [134244]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 2 November 2000]: Records are not kept of request for educational and promotional visits. Our records show that in the last two years inspectors made a total of 115 educational contacts in Humberside.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 11 July 2000, Official Report, column 502W, on the Health and Safety Executive, what meetings were held with (a) local employers, (b) local trade unions and (c) local authorities before the meeting with the Chairman of the HSC and the Regional Director of the HSE. [134245]

Mr. Meacher [holding answer 2 November 2000]: The Chair of HSC and the Regional Director of HSE's Yorkshire and North East Region met with Hull trade unionists on 15 May this year. Prior to this, no meetings had been held with local employers, local trade unions and local authorities.

A419/A417 (Nettleton Bottom)

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 31 October 2000, Official Report, column 387W, on the A419/A417 at Nettleton Bottom, (a) how many (i) fatalities and (ii) serious accidents there were in the last three years on the road and (b) what is the estimated cost of the Highway Agency's safety improvement scheme for the road. [137209]

Mr. Hill: There have been one fatal and two serious accidents on the A417 at Nettleton Bottom in the last three years.

The estimated cost of the Nettleton Bottom Improvement (Phase II) Safety Scheme is £214,180.

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NHS Trusts and Social Landlord Partnerships

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the performance of NHS trusts and resigistered social landlords partnerships; if he will list the locations where such partnership schemes have been initiated; and what plans he has to further extend the partnership scheme. [137230]

Mr. Mullin [holding answer 7 November 2000]: We are keen to encourage partnerships between NHS trusts and registered social landlords for the development of affordable accommodation for health service employees. I understand that the Department of Health is currently collecting information of the partnerships which have been formed but I am unable to list their locations at this stage. It will not be possible to carry out any assessments of their performance until information on the partnerships has been collected.

I expect partnerships to be encouraged further through the Starter Home Initiative the details of which will be announced in the new Session of Parliament. This initiative will provide assistance to key workers in high cost areas to purchase their own home. I expect employees of NHS trusts to be among those who will benefit from this scheme.

Resettlement Costs (Flooding)

Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will assess the benefits of introducing a scheme to provide financial assistance to enable householders to resettle should it prove economically unviable to provide long-term defences against flooding. [137509]

Mr. Mullin: The Government's first priority is to see what improvements can be made to flood defences, so that resettlement can be avoided. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has recently announced that existing funding for flood defence work will be increased by a total of £51 million over this and the next three years. This additional funding will allow more river-based defence schemes to be progressed.

Departmental Employees (New Deal)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many staff are employed by his Department under the New Deal for Young People. [137960]

Ms Beverley Hughes: The number of New Deal staff employed by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and its Agencies is 51. Of these 14 are in the category of young people (18 to 24 year olds).

Registered Social Landlords

Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to gather information centrally on the previous employers of the most senior staff of registered social landlords that have taken over former local authority housing stock and the names and relevant financial interests of the chairs of the boards of these organisations. [137707]

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Mr. Mullin: Registered Social Landlords are not-for- profit companies independent of the public sector. Therefore I do not believe it would be appropriate for the Department to gather and hold centrally the information suggested by my hon. Friend.

Affordable Homes

Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will take steps to ensure that homes for which planning permission is given on the basis of affordability remain affordable on re-sale or reallocation. [137708]

Mr. Mullin: We already provide guidance to local planning authorities on this issue. Planning obligations and conditions may be used to ensure that affordable housing provided through planning policy is secured, either initially or in perpetuity, for occupation by people in need of such housing. Detailed guidance is set out in Planning Policy Guidance note 3: "Housing" and Circular 6/98, "Planning and Affordable Housing". All affordable housing provided by Registered Social Landlords using Social Housing Grant must continue to be let at affordable rents as a condition of receiving the grant.

Directly Elected Mayor

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to increase turnouts in local referenda on directly elected mayors; and what plans he has to provide public funds for this purpose. [138007]

Ms Beverley Hughes: Chapter 13 of the guidance on new council constitutions, placed in the Library of the House on the 26 October 2000, indicates measures for local authorities to maximise turnout at local referendums and states that we are considering the introduction of certain innovations in electoral practice in the proposed regulations on referendums. As stated in the Local Government Bill explanatory notes, published on 26 November 1999, savings arising are expected to offset, or more than offset, any additional costs that may fall to local authorities as a result of adopting new decision-making arrangements including the costs associated with the holding of referendums.

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