| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Waste Management
Barbara Follett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will respond to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affair's Committee's Fifth report of Session 2000-01, HC 36, on Delivering Sustainable Waste Management. [160820]
10 May 2001 : Column: 260W
Mr. Meacher: It is normal practice to respond to a Select Committee report within two months of its publication. However, because of the forthcoming dissolution of this Parliament, the Government will be unable to respond within the normal time scale. It will now be for the incoming Administration to determine the terms of the response to the Committee's report.
10 May 2001 : Column: 261W
Social Inclusion
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the funding programmes for social inclusion for which his Department is responsible that can be accessed by (a) national sports bodies and (b) local clubs and communities. [161009]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions manages a number of relevant funding streams, which I outline below. However, it should be noted that in all cases individual applications for funding will be judged on their own merits, and there are no DETR programmes which will guarantee support to particular organisations or projects.
The neighbourhood renewal community chests programme (£50 million over three years) will provide small grants to formal and informal local community groups in the 88 most deprived areas of England to support community self-help and mutual support activity. Introductory information has recently been published in the consultation document on funding community groups produced by the active community unit in the Home Office.
The community empowerment fund (£36 million over three years) will support community and voluntary sector involvement in local strategic partnerships (LSPs) in the 88 most deprived areas of England. Introductory information has been published by DETR as an annex to the LSP guidance.
National sports bodies would not be eligible for funding through either of these programmes.
The new deal for communities programme (£1.97 billion over 10 years) makes funding available to support regeneration in some of the poorest neighbourhoods in the country. Projects to invest in local community centres and sporting facilities have featured in many of the partnerships' plans for turning around their neighbourhoods, and partnerships should also engage with all the relevant local organisations, including community groups and sports clubs.
The single regeneration budget (SRB) programme (£5.6 billion covering six rounds) could help the area or local branch of a national sports body with the costs of, for instance, setting up a local training facility that would benefit members of the local community. Local clubs and communities could also be eligible for funding through the SRB programme.
The European regional development fund (ERDF)--which is concerned primarily with economic regeneration--could also provide limited funding for local clubs and communities in relevant areas for capacity building projects, provided sports facilities could demonstrate a wider benefit (for instance, boosting local tourism) and therefore be considered good value. Details of local and regional programmes can be obtained from the Government offices for the regions.
Central Railway
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects
10 May 2001 : Column: 262W
to receive the report of the Strategic Rail Authority into the proposed Central Railway project; and if he will publish that report. [160818]
Mr. Hill: I am confident that the Strategic Rail Authority will complete the review that it has commissioned into Central Railway's proposals in as timely a manner as possible. It will then be for the SRA to decide whether it wishes to publish a report.
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the meetings held in the last 12 months between Ministers and the promoters of the Central Railway Project. [160817]
Mr. Hill: There have been no meetings between Ministers of my Department and Central Railway in the past 12 months. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade has had a number of private meetings with representatives of Central Railway in his capacity as the Member for Sheffield, Central.
A12
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many (a) injuries and (b) deaths there were in each of the last 12 months for which statistics are available on the A12 between junctions with the M25 and A14; and what the key accident areas were on that stretch of road. [160717]
Mr. Hill: The table shows the number of deaths and injuries per month on the A12 between its junctions with the M25 and the A14 in 1999, the last 12 months for which national statistics are available. It has not been possible categorically to identify key areas of accident clustering.
| Deaths | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 28 |
| February | 0 | 11 |
| March | 3 | 38 |
| April | 1 | 21 |
| May | 0 | 36 |
| June | 0 | 27 |
| July | 0 | 24 |
| August | 1 | 28 |
| September | 0 | 36 |
| October | 1 | 35 |
| November | 1 | 33 |
| December | 1 | 36 |
Wandsworth
Mr. Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what percentage of Wandsworth's expenditure was met by (a) Government grant, (b) business rates and (c) council tax in the financial years 1979 to 2001. [160876]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The information requested for Wandsworth is as follows. Information prior to 1993-94 is not currently available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
(5) Outturn
(6) Budget
Notes:
1. Council tax is gross of Council Tax Benefit Grant and Council Tax Transitional Relief Grant.
2. Percentages do not add up to 100 per cent. due to use of reserves etc.
3. Comparison between years may be affected by changing responsibilities, in particular creation of GLA in 2000-01.
10 May 2001 : Column: 263W
10 May 2001 : Column: 263W
Heavy Goods Vehicles
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to allow access to and from motorways for heavy goods vehicles to access local sites. [160814]
Mr. Hill: No. In the interests of safety and the free flow of traffic, it is essential to make severe restrictions on the number of motorway accesses. All accesses allowed to motorways must be by strategically located fully designed grade-separated junctions--normally from other trunk roads, major local roads, motorway service areas, or maintenance compounds. Exceptionally, accesses can be provided for other major transport interchanges such as airports.
Hybrid Fuel-cell Vehicles
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what (a) support and (b) incentives the Government have provided for an early introduction of hybrid fuel-cell vehicles. [160914]
Mr. Hill: The £30 million "Powershift" programme, which is sponsored by my Department, is currently supporting several projects to demonstrate hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles. The Government have also set up the £9 million new vehicles technology fund to support the introduction of technologies such as fuel-cell and hybrid vehicles offering significant environmental benefits. Additionally, new purchasers of fuel-efficient cars, including hybrids, since 1 March qualified for lower rates of vehicle excise duty. Owners of electric vehicles--including fuel-cell vehicles--have since 1 April qualified for zero VED.
The Government plan to publish a consultation document in the summer, on "Powering Future Vehicles", discussing and inviting comment on further steps that Government should take to promote the development and introduction of hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles in this country.
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has made to LPG companies regarding their pricing system with particular reference to the variations in price from area to area. [160908]
10 May 2001 : Column: 264W
Mr. Hill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs at column 307W.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |