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ACRE
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the changes which he is proposing to make, in responses to the Phillips report on BSE, into the operation of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, with special reference to the recommendations that (a) the secretariat is totally independent of his Department and should consist of administrators and not scientists, (b) the committee addresses risk assessment and not risk management, (c) the committee does not give policy advice and (d) the secretariat does not provide draft advice for the Committee. [142571]
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Mr. Meacher: The Phillips Inquiry report raises a wide range of issues, of which nearly a quarter concern the management, operation and role of scientific advisory committees, such as the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE).
The Phillips report does not recommend that the secretariats of Advisory Committees should be composed of administrators and not scientists. In fact the report flags the importance of Government Departments retaining 'in house' scientific expertise to enable then to understand and review the advice given by their committees.
The Government are considering the implications of this extensive, and complex report, including issues raised at (b)-(d) and will publish a response in due course. If any changes are proposed in the operation of ACRE, they will be announced subsequently.
Road Casualties (London)
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many fatal accidents occurred on metropolitan London roads in (a) 1970, (b) 1980, (c) 1990 and (d) 2000. [142532]
Mr. Hill: The number of fatal road accidents on "Greater London" roads in (a) 1970, (b) 1980, (c) 1990 and (d) 2000 were:
- 1980: 542
- 1990: 394.
A3 (Hindhead)
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received from the Director General of the National Trust in the past three years on the A3 at Hindhead. [142994]
Mr. Hill: None, although the National Trust is represented on the Steering Group of the current road based study of the A3 at Hindhead.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects to consider the consultants' report on the A3 tunnel at Hindhead; and if he will set out a timetable for action. [142993]
Mr. Hill: We anticipate that the Consultant's Report on the A3 Hindhead study will be presented to the South East England Regional Assembly plenary meeting on 14 February 2001. It will then be for the Assembly to make recommendations to Ministers, and decisions on the way forward will be taken in the light of these recommendations.
Air Conditioning
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the amount of energy and electricity consumption in the service sector that is attributable to the use of air conditioning in offices. [142823]
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Mr. Meacher: The Building Research Establishment estimates that about 11 PJ of energy consumption is attributable annually to the use of air conditioning in offices within the service sector. The estimated total annual energy consumption in the services sector attributable to air conditioning is about 48 PJ.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the number of new office buildings built in each year between 1990 and 1999 which had air conditioning. [142824]
Mr. Meacher: The Department has not estimated the specific figures centrally. However, the Building Research Establishment estimates the office space built each year between 1990 and 1999 with some air conditioning as follows:
| Year | M(15) new build offices with some air conditioning |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.0 |
| 1991 | 1.3 |
| 1992 | 0.9 |
| 1993 | 0.5 |
| 1994 | 0.6 |
| 1995 | 0.9 |
| 1996 | 1.1 |
| 1997 | 2.3 |
| 1998 | 2.8 |
| 1999 | 1.4 |
The approximate amount of office space built with some air conditioning as a proportion of all new office space built in each of the above years is 50 per cent.
Supermarkets
Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what powers local authorities have to require supermarkets to source a proportion of their products from local suppliers in considering the granting of planning permission; and if he will make a statement. [143083]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The sourcing of products by supermarkets is not normally a material planning consideration. There may, however, be circumstances where it could be demonstrated that the impact of a new supermarket would result in a significant reduction in local purchasing, which in turn would result in material harm to the local economy. For example, in a market town where local food shops currently source their stock locally, a significant reduction in local purchasing as a result of a new supermarket opening and local food stores reducing their purchasing or going out of business could have an adverse effect on the local economy. In such circumstances this might be a material consideration and, if so, would be taken into account in making the decision.
Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects to issue guidelines to local authorities on the implementation of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. [143378]
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Ms Beverley Hughes: The Action Plan for Neighbourhood Renewal, which will be published shortly, will set out the way in which funding from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund should support local Neighbourhood Renewal Strategies. A Special Grant Report, early in 2001, will set out the basis for the distribution of grant and the conditions attached to the funding.
Council Tax
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions whom he plans to consult on his proposals to end the 50 per cent. Council Tax discount for second home owners; when the consultation will be completed; and on what date he estimates that local authorities will first be able to charge the full tax. [143260]
Ms Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 12 December 2000, Official Report, column 76W. The usual period for Government consultations is 12 weeks.
Community Service Fund
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what system will be used to allocate funding from the Community Service Fund; and if he will estimate the size of the allocation for communities in the South-East Cornwall constituency. [143286]
Mr. Mullin: It will be for the Countryside Agency to decide how best to allocate the Community Service Fund, which will not come into operation until 2001-02. No decisions have yet been taken on allocation methods or amounts.
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Rural Transport
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what schemes have been funded through the Rural Transport Partnership scheme; and how much funding each scheme received. [143257]
Mr. Hill: The Rural Transport Partnership (RTP) scheme was launched in the autumn of 1998 to address social exclusion by bringing about long-term transport improvements in rural areas. Grants of up to 75 per cent. of the eligible partnership and project costs are available up to a current maximum of £250,000.
A partnership is formed between relevant bodies in a particular area (e.g. local authorities, voluntary sector, health and employment bodies) to take a strategic view of the transport needs and provision of that area. Typically partnerships begin with the appointment of a partnership officer, who then conducts a transport needs analysis to produce an action plan of proposed projects for funding to address the needs identified. Once the partnership officer is appointed, a period of typically six months is needed to prepare the action plan for agreement with the Agency. Action plan projects require specific Agency approval and are listed in the table.
In addition each RTP can also draw down a delegated fund of £10,000 per year in each of the partnership years, for small scale, stand alone transport projects.
Although there are 71 RTPs set up to date, the table only covers 34, because the remaining 37 have been set up recently and are still developing their action plans.
There are also two national RTPs not covered in the table. They are the Community Transport Association's RTP, which has received £39,313 and the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (Acorp) RTP. Acorp has received £27,810 to date. Both of these are national development projects to support community transport and rail activity. Rather than initiating their own schemes, these partnerships support projects promoted by others.
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Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions whom he plans to consult on plans to relax restrictions on rural community transport; and when the consultation will be completed. [143258]
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Mr. Hill: We plan to consult representatives of all the bodies that have a role in the provision and regulation of community transport in rural areas, including Traffic Commissioners, the Community Transport Association, the Confederation of Passenger Transport and the
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Countryside Agency. In addition we will place a copy of the consultation paper on the Department's website so that any other body and members of the public may contribute their views.
We expect the consultation to be completed next summer, to give adequate time for views to be submitted.
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