---

House Building (Tewkesbury)

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will review Gloucestershire County Council's Structure Plan's allocation of house building numbers to Tewkesbury, following the floods in that area; and if he will make a statement. [140023]

Ms Beverley Hughes: No. Both the Gloucestershire Structure Plan, adopted by Gloucestershire County Council in November 1999, and the draft Tewkesbury Local Plan, deposited by Tewkesbury Borough Council in November 1998, contain policies restricting development in areas at direct risk of flooding or where it would increase the risk of flooding.

A417

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what account he took of the plans to build extra houses, industrial and retail units at Brockworth, Gloucestershire, when assessing improvements to the A417 at Nettleton Bottom and Crickley Hill; and if he will make a statement. [140283]

Ms Beverley Hughes: The Government Office for the South West is considering with the Highways Agency how the traffic problems associated with the A417 trunk road between Nettleton Bottom and the Brockworth Bypass might best be addressed.

Ashchurch Station

Mr. Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he has had with train operating companies about services to and from Ashchurch Station; and if he will make a statement. [140177]

Mr. Hill: Neither Ministers nor the shadow Strategic Rail Authority have been party to any discussions with train operators about services to and from Ashchurch Station.

Marine Accidents Investigation Branch

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much the

24 Nov 2000 : Column: 333W

Marine Accidents Investigation Branch investigations into the sinking of the (a) Derbyshire, (b) Marchioness and (c) Gaul, cost. [139818]

Mr. Hill: The Derbyshire sank in 1980 well before the Marine Accidents Investigation Branch (MAIB) had been established and the Branch played a very limited role in the investigations into the ship's loss. The cost of the MAIB's involvement cannot be separately identified but was not significant. Overall, the cost to the Department of the Derbyshire investigations up to and including the re-opened Formal Investigation are estimated as totalling between £9 and £10 million, including legal fees.

The MAIB undertook an investigation into the loss of the Marchioness and has, more recently, assisted the Attorney-General in the Formal Investigation which is currently being held. The costs of individual MAIB Investigations are not separately recorded. Overall, the cost to the Department of the Marchioness investigations, including the current Formal Investigation, is estimated at some £6 million, including legal fees.

The Gaul sank in 1974 and a Formal Investigation was subsequently held. Following the location of the wreck of the vessel by a TV film crew the MAIB undertook an underwater survey of the vessel. The survey cost some £600,000 and the MAIB subsequently produced a report of their survey including model tests undertaken on their behalf. The Formal Investigation into the loss of the Gaul was re-opened and the MAIB are currently assisting the Attorney-General in his preparatory work which will include a re-survey of the wreck. It is too early to estimate the likely costs which will fall to the Department and will include the subsequent hearings before a Wreck Commissioner and legal fees.

Heathrow

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the viability of creating specific ring-fenced slots at Heathrow for essential regional air services. [140092]

Mr. Mullin: The Civil Aviation Authority has recently produced a paper for the Department on the economics of ring-fencing slots. No detailed study has been done of the practicalities involved. However, the Government are not generally attracted to ring-fencing slots for particular air services as this would introduce an element of undesirable rigidity into the slot allocation system. The current arrangement, where slots are not route-specific, allows changes in the routes operated by airlines in response to market developments. Without this flexibility there would be restrictions in the scope to develop new business and limitations on the development of competition on some routes.

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the operation and management of slot allocation at Heathrow Airport. [140168]

Mr. Mullin: Slot allocation at airports like Heathrow, where demand for slots significantly exceeds supply, is governed by European Regulation EC95/93. An independent co-ordinator makes the allocations using a set of priority criteria that reflects the European Regulation, international guidelines and any local rules. The

24 Nov 2000 : Column: 334W

co-ordinator is charged with making allocations in a neutral, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. I am satisfied that the Heathrow co-ordinator, Airport Co-ordination Ltd., operates in this way.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Portcullis House

Mr. Baker: To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee if he will assess the benefits of providing a retail outlet selling basic provisions in the atrium of Portcullis House. [140270]

Sir Sydney Chapman: The original proposals for Portcullis House included a small shop off the courtyard selling a limited range of goods. Following soundings made by my Committee, it was subsequently decided that the needs of hon. Members and others working in the House could be served better by letting one of the shop units on Bridge Street for use as a small supermarket. Negotiations are now in their final stages and I am pleased to advise the hon. Member that it is expected that the minimart will open early in the new year. The terms of the lease require the tenant to keep the shop open late in the evening, broadly in line with the sittings of the House.

DEFENCE

Tornado

Mr. Anthony D. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress on the Tornado GR4 Mid Life Update. [140561]

Dr. Moonie: The integration of TIALD on to the Tornado GR4, as anticipated, achieved a Military Aircraft Release in July and is being used in training by our front-line crews.

As experience has increased in using the new software, a number of reliability problems have been encountered with integration of the software supporting the TIALD pod with the Tornado GR4's computer. These problems are being urgently addressed by the contractor, who is working on a new release of software expected early next year. We are, therefore, delaying plans to deploy the GR4 operationally. The contractor, supported by MOD, has embarked upon an urgent investigation into the cause of the current problems and will report progress shortly. In the meantime, Tornado GR1, Jaguar and Harrier GR7 aircraft will continue to provide the operational capability.

RAF Brize Norton

Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of RAF Brize Norton. [137725]

Mr. Spellar: RAF Brize Norton is home to the RAF's VC10 and TriStar Air-to-Air Refuelling/Air Transport aircraft, which are due to be replaced from 2007 under the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme. We are currently investigating the potential for achieving a solution under the Private Finance Initiative which

24 Nov 2000 : Column: 335W

would involve a commercial consortium working in close partnership with the RAF to provide an Air-to-Air Refuelling service.

Once an Invitation to Negotiate has been issued, we will evaluate the proposals for meeting the FSTA requirement. Final decisions on the programme are not anticipated before 2002.

In seeking Private Finance Initiative bids for FSTA we do not plan to place commercial constraints on the competing consortia by specifying the UK location of the operating base. However, any proposal to move Air-to-Air Refuelling operations from RAF Brize Norton would need to provide us with best value for money and protect our operational capability. At the same time, and without prejudicing the FSTA programme, we are looking at some further commercialisation of RAF Brize Norton to utilise irreducible spare capacity.

In addition, I announced on 7 June 2000, Official Report, column 389, that RAF Brize Norton would be the future home of the C17 fleet, which will provide a strategic air transport capability. RAF Brize Norton is also the location for a number of key operational units.

Type 675 Jammer

Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the electronic countermeasures system Type 675 is being removed from Royal Navy service. [138425]

Mr. Spellar: There are a number of factors which have resulted in the decision to remove Type 675 from Royal Navy service. Essentially the maritime emphasis has shifted away from large-scale open ocean naval operations towards the littoral. In addition the air threat in the littoral is more varied and complex and, at a time when Anti Ship Missile technology continues to grow and proliferate, the provision of an effective maritime Anti Air Warfare capability is essential to provide air superiority. To meet challenges of the new operating environment the Royal Navy has had to review all its countermeasure systems. The decision to withdraw the Type 675 jammer from service was taken as part of this review.

---