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South West Development Agency
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if the grant given by the South West of England Development Agency to Business Links to combat the effects of foot and mouth disease in the region is for (a) grants and (b) loans to businesses; and what the deadline for its distribution is. [158588]
Mr. Meacher: The £3.5 million package of support announced by the South West Development Agency on 9 April included assistance for Business Links organisations to provide enhanced advice and guidance to businesses. Other RDAs have taken similar measures. To supplement these I announced on 11 April a further £15 million funding package for RDAs to expand existing programmes so as to provide additional short term practical help to business in the worst affected areas and in particular Devon, Cumbria and parts of the north-east and Welsh borders. This additional aid will be split between the RDAs for these areas with the south-west and north-west RDAs each receiving £5 million and the North East and West Midlands RDAs each receiving £2.5 million. This support can be used to provide a wide range of direct and indirect assistance, including grants to help sustain business by supporting marketing, reskilling and other activities, promotional campaigns, and regeneration projects.
Rent Tribunals
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to increase opportunities for a wider range of people to sit on rent tribunals. [158731]
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: All appointments to rent tribunals are now made following advertising and open competition. Advertisements encourage women and members of ethnic minorities to consider applying for appointment. Since the last general election, we have appointed 52 lay members to sit on rent tribunals in England, 10 of these are from ethnic minorities.
Driving Licences (Asylum Seekers)
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what discussions he (a) has had and (b) is planning with refugee organisations and others about acceptable evidence of identity for asylum seekers applying for a driving licence. [158462]
Mr. Hill: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been in correspondence with the Commission for Racial Equality and the Refugee Council regarding applications for photocard driving licences from asylum seekers. DVLA will shortly write again to these organisations to explain revised arrangements for those
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asylum seekers who cannot produce a passport, birth certificate or Home Office documentation to support their application for a photocard driving licence.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what evidence of identity is acceptable for asylum seekers applying for a driving licence. [158461]
Mr. Hill: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will accept a passport, birth certificate or Home Office issued travel document or naturalisation papers in support of an application for a photocard driving licence. If none of these documents is available, DVLA will consider whatever alternative evidence of identity an individual can submit.
Planning Appeals
Mr. Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many appeals were made to the Planning Inspectorate against local authority planning decisions in each of the last five years; and how many were successful. [158458]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The provision of information on planning appeals is the responsibility of the Planning Inspectorate. I have asked the Inspectorate's Chief Executive, Mr. Chris Shepley, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Chris Shepley to Mr. Denis Murphy, dated 23 April 2001:
- The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about planning appeals made and decided in each of the past five years.
- The table below gives the number of appeals made in each year from 1996/97 and, of those decided, the number allowed.
| Number of appeals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Made | Decided | Number allowed | Percentage allowed |
| 1996-97 | 13,742 | 12,026 | 4,211 | 35 |
| 1997-98 | 14,163 | 13,075 | 4,690 | 36 |
| 1998-99 | 14,380 | 12,976 | 4,563 | 35 |
| 1999-2000 | 14,285 | 12,506 | 4,508 | 36 |
| 2000-01 | 15,333 | 12,912 | 4,487 | 35 |
Mr. Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what percentage of planning appeals decided (a) by hearings, (b) by inquiries and (c) by written representations have been determined within (i) 22, (ii) 26 and (iii) 30 weeks for each year since 1996-97 in (A) England and Wales and (B) the Yorkshire and Humber Government Office region. [158275]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The provision of information on planning appeals is the responsibility of the Planning Inspectorate. I have asked the Inspectorate's Chief Executive, Mr. Chris Shepley, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Chris Shepley to Mr. Jon Trickett, dated 23 April 2001:
- The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about the handling times of planning appeals decided since 1996-97.
- The percentage of planning appeals decided within the times you specified are enclosed.
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Rail Safety
Mr. Nicholls: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what reports he has received about the impact on safety of the grades of steel used in railway tracks since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [158248]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 23 April 2001]: This is an operational matter for Railtrack. I understand from Railtrack that the choice of the grade of steel to be used in railway tracks has not changed for many years and certainly not since 1997.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to require commercial property owners to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. [157107]
Ms Beverley Hughes: Achieving greater energy efficiency in commercial buildings was the subject of an Adjournment debate on 24 January. My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment represented the Government on that day. My right hon. Friend will be writing shortly to my hon. Friend to follow up the debate and to set out his plans in this respect. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
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