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Escalators

Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the causes are of the delay in repairs to the escalators at stations on the Victoria and Northern lines. [139250]

Mr. Hill: This is an operational matter for London Underground, who report that, in addition to their ongoing programme of planned maintenance and replacement of escalators, there are currently 11 escalators under repair following breakdowns on the Northern and Victoria lines. For most of the escalators which have suffered breakdowns, the causes have been problems with either top-shafts or steps. In a number of cases the relevant parts have to be specially ordered before repairs can be carried out and this does cause some delays. London Underground have prioritised the programme of repairs

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to tackle first those stations where customer numbers are greatest. A number of escalators have already been returned to service.

Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the cause was of the escalator failure at King's Cross Station; and when these escalator defects will be repaired. [139249]

Mr. Hill: This is an operational matter for London Underground, who inform me that following routine tests some steps were found to be defective on three escalators on the Piccadilly Line. As a safety measure London Underground closed these escalators on 18 September 2000 for repairs. All three escalators are now back in service. Another escalator at Kings Cross was taken out of service during week commencing 13 November 2000 as part of London Underground's routine programme of planned refurbishment. This is due to be returned to service in approximately 18-20 weeks' time.

Vehicle Number Plates

Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what factors underlay his decision not to permit the Saltire to be included on vehicle number plates, following the introduction of the proposed new regulation on number plates. [139157]

Mr. Hill: The proposed new number plate regulations include provision for the optional display of the Euro-symbol, allowing motorists with such plates to dispense with the need for a separate national identification sticker when using their vehicles in other European member states. The EC regulation permitting this stipulates that the distinguishing sign shall be that of the member state, which under international treaties is "GB" for vehicles registered in Great Britain and Northern Ireland when visiting other countries party to the conventions. Under the terms of the EC regulation allowing the display of the Euro-symbol, the national identifier used must relate to the United Kingdom as a whole, in accordance with the international agreements, and include the EU circle of stars on a blue background only.

Petrol Vapour Recovery

Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will bring in Stage 2 controls on petrol storage and distribution which cover the control of petrol vapour recovery; and if he will make a statement. [139511]

Mr. Hill: As a party to the 1991 VOC Protocol to the UN/ECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, the UK is committed to applying techniques to reduce VOC emissions from motor vehicle refuelling emissions by October 2002. The Government are considering how best to meet this commitment.

Local Transport Settlement

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will announce the Local Transport Settlement for 2001-02. [139595]

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Mr. Hill: We expect to announce the Local Transport Settlement for 2001-02 in December.

Road Repair Budget

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much of the budget for repairing local roads in England announced on 13 November is (a) direct grant to local authorities and (b) supplementary credit approval. [139594]

Mr. Hill: The funding for 2001-02 will be provided as supplementary credit approvals. It is intended that the funding for 2002-03 will be provided through the Single Capital Pot as basic credit approvals.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the impact will be on the amount local authorities will spend on the maintenance of local roads in 2001-02 as a result of his statement of 13 November. [139593]

Mr. Hill: The statement said that we will provide £535 million to fund capital maintenance works on local highways in 2001-02, an increase of 103 per cent. compared to 2000-01. The £1,905 million that will be provided next year through the Highways Maintenance Standard Spending Assessment for Revenue Support Grant is an increase of 2.5 per cent. compared to 2000-01. Taken together these figures represent an overall increase of 15 per cent. in the amount available to local authorities for highway maintenance in 2001-02 compared to the previous year.

"Supporting People"

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to ensure adequate resourcing for the implementation of the Supporting People programme; and if he will make a statement. [139430]

Mr. Mullin: The Government have allocated £138 million over the next three years (2001-02 to 2003-04) to ensure the effective implementation of the Supporting People programme. In the first year, 2001-02, the largest share will go to local authorities but we are also funding initiatives to help provider organisations adjust to the change. No decisions have yet been made about the distribution of funding in later years.

Minister for London

Ms Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the responsibilities of the Minister for London. [139475]

Mr. Hill: My role as the Minister for London is to act as a first point of contact in Government for all issues relating specifically to London and as the focal point for contact between Government and the Mayor. I am also the sponsoring Minister for London Underground until its transfer to Transport for London following commencement of the Public-Private Partnership. In addition to my London role, I am responsible for a wide range of other policies within the Department.

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Pigeons

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the estimated pigeon population was of (a) London and (b) the rest of England in each of the last 10 years. [139659]

Mr. Mullin: My Department does not hold such detailed information on feral pigeon populations but I can provide a summary of the best information available.

Feral pigeons are one of the most abundant urban bird species and are also becoming increasingly common in the English countryside. Major concentrations are present in the conurbations of the south-east, west midlands and north of England. The bird's English range expanded by some 69 per cent. between the late 1960s and early 1990s, apparently due to the colonisation of rural areas in the 1970s.

Due to its secure conservation status and the difficulty of accurately surveying the high densities found in urban areas, the feral pigeon population has never been satisfactorily censused and many ornithologists ignore their presence on population monitoring plots. The BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey, commenced in 1994, will be the first scheme to provide adequate monitoring of the species. It may also enable us to derive a realistic population estimate, although this will be complicated by the difficulty of separating feral and semi-domesticated birds, and the fact that many thousands of birds, especially young homing pigeons, are added to the population every year.

The Breeding Bird Survey results for 1999 suggest that the English feral pigeon population has been stable in recent years, with a 3 per cent. increase on monitoring plots in the period 1994-99.

The London Bird Report for 1992 recorded "more than 2000" feral pigeons in Trafalgar Square alone. The latest issue of the London Bird Report covering 1997 states that although the overall population appears to be stable there has been a slow expansion to more rural and suburban habitats in recent decades, while at several well established sites there has been a recent increase in breeding numbers.

Radon

Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many homes are affected by radioactive radon gas; and if he will list the 20 worst affected areas. [139606]

Mr. Mullin [holding answer 21 November 2000]: Following advice from the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) in 1990, a level of 200 becquerels per cubic metre of air (Bq mh 3 ) in homes was adopted as an "Action Level". This is the radon concentration at which it is recommended that remedial action be taken to reduce levels in the home.

The number of homes found to be at or above the Action Level and the total number of homes estimated to be at or above the Action Level in the United Kingdom is set out in the table.

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Number of homes found to be at or above the Action LevelTotal number of homes estimated to be at or above the Action Level
England40,000100,000
Wales82010,000
Scotland2802,000
Northern Ireland9704,000

Measurements of radon in homes have been undertaken by NRPB for several years throughout the United Kingdom. The information on areas affected by radon has been collated on the basis of 5 km and 10 km grid squares and not on the basis of administrative areas. However, measurement results and probability maps by grid square have been published in a series of NRPB reports providing information on the distribution of radon levels in homes in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The reports are listed, and I am arranging for them to be placed in the Libraries of the House.






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