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Dial-a-Ride (West London)
Mr. Gareth R. Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what level of funding West London Dial-a-Ride has received from his Department in each of the last five years. [100192]
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Mr. Hill:
The Government provide grant funding to London Transport for London Dial-a-Ride services, but the distribution of the grant between the six regional Dial-a-Ride companies is a matter for London Transport. Government funding for Dial-a-Ride services in London over the last five years is as follows:
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 11.3 |
| 1995-96 | 10.4 |
| 1996-97 | 10.1 |
| 1997-98 | 10.6 |
| 1998-99 | 11.5 |
Uniform Business Rate
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list in respect of each local authority area in England and Wales the projected yield of the Uniform Business Rate in (a) 2000-01 and (b) 1999-2000. [100741]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The information requested on Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
For England, the information requested on the projected yield of the Uniform Business Rate is not yet available. However, I have today placed in the Library of the House a table which shows the projected contribution to the Business Rate Pool for each local authority in England for 1999-2000.
Regional Government
Mr. Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proposals he has for introducing democratically elected regional chambers in England. [100520]
Ms Beverley Hughes: We have said that, in time, we will introduce legislation to allow people, region by region, to decide whether they want directly elected regional government. We remain committed to this. Finding the right solution may take time, just as the arrangements for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London have taken time.
Regional Development Agencies
Mr. Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what involvement Regional Development Agencies will have in monitoring social exclusion in the regions. [100518]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
The Government have developed a set of 9 core "State of the Region" indicators which the RDAs used to inform the development of their strategies. These include an indicator entitled "Percentage of the population with above average living conditions" which is based on the standardised mortality ratio. In their strategies, RDAs have also developed, or have given a commitment to develop, further indicators which address the specific features of their region. These will include indicators covering some key social issues.
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Mr. Moore:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many signals passed at danger were recorded for each train operating company since 1990. [100662]
Mr. Hill:
The information is not available. Incidents of signals passed at danger (SPADs) have been reportable under statute only since April 1996. At present, SPAD incidents are reported by the seven regional Railtrack zones and are not broken down into train operating companies. The Health and Safety Executive's 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99 annual reports on railway safety contain details of SPADs listed by Railtrack zone. Copies are available in the House Libraries.
Mr. John M. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his policy on the construction of the rail link between the Land Rover plant in Solihull and the west coast main line; and if he will make a statement. [100521]
Mr. Hill:
The Rover Group Ltd. applied on 18 November to the Secretary of State for an Order under the Transport and Works Act 1992 to authorise this rail link. The period by which objections or other representations should be lodged ends on 14 January 2000. The Secretary of State will then consider whether a public inquiry should be held into the proposal.
The application will be considered on its merits in the light of relevant policies. These include, on the one hand, our policy of encouraging the movement of freight by rail rather than road where appropriate and, on the other, the restrictive planning policies that apply to development in the Green Belt. These issues and any others raised by interested parties will be carefully considered by the Secretary of State in deciding whether or not to make the Order.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which countries are eligible for the increase in funds in Trans-European Networks, following the Cologne Summit; what is the amount of the increase in funds; if the UK share has been allocated; and if he will make a statement. [100995]
Mr. Hill:
Regulation (EC) No 1655/99 of 19 July 1999, which amended the 1995 trans-European network (TEN) financing Regulation (2236/95), established a financial framework of euro 4,600 million (about £2,890 million at current exchange rates) for TENs in the fields of transport, telecommunications and energy for the period 2000-2006. The financial framework for the period 1995-1999 was 2,345 million ECU. Any member state, or body within a member state, is entitled to bid for TEN funds to support a project of common interest. The decision to grant aid to a project rests with the Commission, with assistance from a Committee of representatives of member states for each TEN sector. There is no provision for sharing out the budget between the member states.
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Mr. Moore:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress of renegotiation of the Trans-European Networks. [100884]
Mr. Hill:
The transport trans-European network (TEN) guidelines (Decision No. 1692/96/EC) required the Commission, before 1 July 1999, to submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council indicating whether the guidelines should be adapted. The production of that report has been delayed and its publication is not now anticipated before Easter 2000. The Commission has indicated that, should the report suggest that the guidelines do need to be adapted, it expects to come forward with formal proposals before the end of 2000.
Mr. Moore:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will name the schemes which the Government will propose for Trans-European Network funding; and if he will make a statement. [100887]
Mr. Hill:
Bids for funds from the 2000 transport trans-European network (TEN) budget must be with the Commission by 10 January 2000. Our officials have received a number of proposals and are currently considering which of these should be submitted to the Commission. Ministers will make a decision on the bids later this year. At this stage, it is possible to confirm only that we will submit bids for support for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and for the West Coast Main Line modernisation, as we indicated in our 1998 White Paper on the Future of Transport (Cm 3950).
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the recommendation of the EU to ban lindane; and if he will publish the scientific evidence which he has received on lindane. [101067]
Mr. Mullin:
The recommendation to suspend the use of lindane as an agricultural pesticide was contained in a report that the Austrian authorities, as rapporteur, submitted to the European Commission as part of the EU review of pesticides. The Commission has yet to reach a decision on the future European status of lindane.
A "review report", which includes the rapporteur's monograph, together with reports of the peer review meetings and a summary cover report, will be made available after a final decision has been taken.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the effect of Daylight Saving on the numbers of road (a) injuries and (b) deaths of children in each year since 1990. [100116]
Mr. Hill:
The Department commissioned research into the likely benefits of changing British Summertime to increase the safety benefits of daylight hours. The report by TRL published in 1998 looked essentially at potential casualty reductions if the clocks were set one hour
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forward in Winter (October to March) and two hours forward in Summer (March to October). This would in effect mean that throughout the year it would be lighter in the evenings and darker in the mornings.
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