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Countryside Agency
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, (1) pursuant to his answer of 21 November 2000, Official Report, column 115W, how much money was allocated to the Countryside Agency specifically for transport schemes, in the current financial year; and how much of this money has been spent to date; [140631]
- (2) what the underspend was in the allocation of funding for rural transport schemes to the Countryside Agency last year; and what this money will be spent on. [140722]
Mr. Mullin: The Countryside Agency was allocated £5.8 million for transport schemes in the current financial year, and to date £1.336 million has been spent.
The underspend last year was £2.221 million. As the funding of rural transport schemes is ring-fenced, underspends are carried forward to be spent in subsequent years.
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the total cost of staff sickness within the Countryside Agency during the last year. [140721]
Mr. Mullin: The total cost of staff sickness during the last year was £170,000.
National Air Traffic Services
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if foreign bidders for NATS will be asked to guarantee reciprocal access to their home markets for air traffic. [140695]
Mr. Mullin: No. That would be impossible to procure. It is intended that the Strategic Partnership Agreement and other documentation will contain provisions which will, in appropriate circumstances, commit the Strategic Partner and members of its consortium to using NATS as the vehicle for expansion, either abroad or in the UK.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the cost so far of the proposed privatisation of NATS to (a) the CAA, (b) NATS and (c) the Government. [140696]
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Mr. Mullin: The costs incurred by the Government so far in connection with the PPP, including those associated with splitting NATS from the CAA, are approximately £12.3 million. The Government have also paid approximately £10.6 million to NATS and £1.6 million to the CAA in respect of the costs that those two organisations have incurred in connection with the PPP. All of these figures include VAT.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what talks he has held with NATS about the continuation of safe air traffic control if the Economic Regulation Group proposals for cuts are implemented. [140693]
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what response the Government have made to the CAA about the cuts in costs and investment recommended by the Economic Regulation Group and their effect on safety. [140692]
Mr. Mullin: My right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Transport has regular meetings with the Chairman of National Air Traffic Services at which charge control and other issues are discussed. The most recent of these was on 13 November.
The Government have received advice from the Civil Aviation Authority as to the charge control conditions for NATS. We are considering the advice alongside the views of NATS and the projections of bidders as the sale process continues, and will announce our decisions on the charge cap shortly. My officials have had a meeting with the CAA's Director of Safety Regulation, who confirmed that he was satisfied that safety would not be jeopardised by the charge cap proposed by the Economic Regulation Group.
The Government are very conscious of the need to ensure that the charge cap does not risk compromising either safety or the investment programme. An undertaking was given to the House by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning on 15 November 2000, Official Report, column 998, that on no account will we set the cap at a level that will create operational difficulty for NATS, or that will raise the slightest question of a risk to safety.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what will be the cost to the CAA Pension Scheme as a result of the separation of NATS from the CAA; what compensation will be paid; and by whom. [140697]
Mr. Mullin: These are matters for discussion with the Trustees of the Civil Aviation Authority Pension Scheme (CAAPS), which have yet to be concluded.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will specify the controls that are in place in the National Air Traffic Services Strategic Partnership Agreement and the licence for the private finance arrangements to ensure safety is the paramount consideration of any partnership agreement. [140688]
Mr. Mullin: Neither the Strategic Partnership Agreement nor the operating licence is a primary safety tool. The Strategic Partnership Agreement governs the relationship between the Strategic Partner and the Government. It requires the Strategic Partner to appoint a safety director to the board of NATS and provides for the
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formation and maintenance of a safety committee. The operating licence is an economic instrument which establishes the rules under which NATS will operate as a regulated monopoly. In setting the initial charge control under condition 21 of the licence, the Government will ensure that the charge cap does not risk compromising either safety or the investment programme.
The safety regime, with its associated licensing and approvals requirements, is established under the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and the Air Navigation (No. 2) Order 1995. Furthermore, clauses 1 and 2 of the Transport Bill secure that safety is the CAA's and the Government's first consideration in exercising their functions under the Bill.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will place in the Library the terms of the National Air Traffic Services Strategic Partnership Agreement before the choice of a strategic partner is finalised. [140687]
Mr. Mullin: The Strategic Partnership Agreement will be a joint venture agreement between the Government and their Strategic Partner. As such the document will contain a large amount of commercially sensitive information and data which will govern the running of the company. Therefore, publication of the full document could undermine NATS' commercial position with its competitors as the company looks to expand in the future.
Rail Safety
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what technical expertise he has sought concerning gauge corner cracking on rail tracks; and if he will make a statement. [140733]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 28 November 2000]: Railtrack announced on 8 November the details of a technical task force to lead the investigation into the causes of gauge corner cracking. The team is being led by Professor Rod Smith, the Chair of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College, and is being assisted by Ove Arup and Transportation Technology Centre Inc. (TCCI), experts in programme management and track technology.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many trains have passed signals at danger in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [140736]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 28 November 2000]: Figures for the number of trains which have passed signals at danger in each of the last 12 months are shown in the following table:
Notes:
1. The figures quoted are for SPADs occurring only on infrastructure controlled by Railtrack.
2. Full details of these incidents appear in the monthly SPAD reports published by HSE. Copies of these reports have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.
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Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the extent of gauge corner cracking on rail tracks in overseas rail systems comparable to that in the United Kingdom. [140734]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 28 November 2000]: The task force of technical experts announced by Railtrack on 8 November to investigate the causes of gauge corner cracking will be able to make comparisons with other countries' rail systems having similar problems.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many incidents of gauge corner cracking have been discovered on the railway network since the Hatfield rail crash; and in which contract area the most incidents have been discovered. [140732]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 28 November 2000]: Gauge corner cracking has been discovered at over 3,000 sites.
The contract areas involved are a matter for Railtrack.
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many train drivers have been disciplined in the last 12 months for breaches of safety procedure; and if he will make a statement. [140735]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 28 November 2000]: The Information requested is not available, as there is no requirement for train operating companies to report instances of driver disciplinary action to the Health and Safety Executive.
Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what reports he has received about subsidence of the loop railway lines around Hatfield since 17 October; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for such subsidence. [140581]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 28 November 2000]: I am advised that the Health and Safety Executive's Railway Inspectorate is not aware of any incidences of subsidence in the loop railway lines around Hatfield since 17 October 2000.
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