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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 13 July 2001
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Southern Sudan
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to visit southern Sudan; and if she will make a statement. [2284]
Clare Short: I continue to keep under review the possibility of a visit to north and south Sudan. Our priority for Sudan is to encourage a just peace. We continue to provide relief to alleviate the suffering caused by the war.
Digital Divide
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what polices she is pursuing to tackle the problem of the digital divide in developing countries; and if she will make a statement. [1808]
Clare Short: Our recent White Paper outlines the threat the digital divide provides to the prospects of poor countries. Our policy is to maximise the benefits to the poor by integrating the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) into our existing development activities aimed at achieving the international development targets. For example effective use of ICT can help improve governance and accountability, improve access to services such as education and health, and boost economic growth.
Belize
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 41W, on Belize, if KPMG passed to her Department copies of the three letters from Carlisle Holdings during its study to review the regulation of offshore financial services in Belize and the effect of tax exemptions on pro-poor programmes. [3372]
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 42W, on Belize, on what date her Department was informed that KPMG were the external auditors of the Belize bank. [3373]
Clare Short: On 25 August 2000.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what dates KPMG received letters from the Public Investment Company, Sonisa, during its study to review the regulation of offshore financial services in Belize and the effect of tax exemptions on pro-poor programmes; if she will place copies of these letters in the Library; and if she will make a statement. [3374]
Clare Short: My Department is not aware of any such correspondence.
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Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment has been made of the amount of tax not paid since 1990 by the two public investment companies with regard to the study commissioned by her Department to review the regulation of offshore financial services in Belize and the effect of tax exemptions on pro-poor programmes; if she will place a copy of these calculations in the Library; and if she will make a statement. [3375]
Clare Short: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 July 2001, Official Report, column 531W, concerning the confidentiality of the KPMG report.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if her Department asked (a) KPMG and (b) the Belize Government to calculate the amount of tax not paid since 1990 by the two public investment companies during its study commissioned by her Department to review the regulation of offshore financial services in Belize and the effect of tax exemptions on pro-poor programmes; and if she will make a statement. [3378]
Clare Short: KPMG was asked to estimate the scale of the possible loss of tax revenue as a result of PICs (Public Investment Companies). I refer the hon. Member to my answer to question uin3375.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much debt owed by Belize has been written off by the British Government under the Commonwealth Debt Initiative in each year since 1997; how much debt owed by Belize is planned to be written off by the Government over the next decade; and if she will make a statement. [3377]
Clare Short: £1.146 million in debt relief was granted to Belize in 1998 covering repayments due on past UK aid loans from April to October 1998. Bilateral aid amounting to £1.771 million for poverty-focused projects was agreed in 1999—equivalent to the repayments due between December 1998 and March 2000. This was provided so that the newly elected Government did not lose out on the value of the debt relief but was given time to decide whether it wished to qualify for the benefits of the Commonwealth Debt Initiative. The remaining outstanding debt on past UK aid loans to Belize amounts to £10.470 million, covering a repayment period which lasts until 2008.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on what dates KPMG visited Belize while conducting the study commissioned by her Department to review the regulation of offshore financial services in Belize and the effect of tax exemptions on pro-poor programmes. [3379]
Clare Short: 18 July to 1 August 2000.
TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND
THE REGIONS
Millennium Dome
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the basis was for commencing a hard strip of the Dome. [3101]
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Ms Keeble [holding answer 9 July 2001]: The hard strip was suspended while market testing of future Dome use options was begun. Independent professional advice has since been received that completing the hard strip offers maximum flexibility for any future use and does not prejudice the chances of the Dome being used for any particular use. Carrying out the hard strip enhances the prospects of finding a long term sustainable use, and therefore the work is proceeding.
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much public money has been spent from 1 January to 30 June on the care and maintenance of the Millennium Dome; and what his estimate is of the total figure for 2001. [2347]
Ms Keeble: Between 1 January and 30 June 2001 expenditure by the New Millennium Experience Company in relation to care and maintenance of the Millennium Dome was:
- January—£600,000
- February—£646,000
- March—627,000
- April—£609,000
- May—£632,000
- June—£224,000.
London Transport
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish the actual figures for the amounts the private sector is investing in London Transport under existing contracts. [2729]
Mr. Jamieson: The following table shows estimates of the value of investment in London Transport through the existing London Underground Private Finance Initiative contracts.
| Contract name/Investment coverage | Investment value(1) |
|---|---|
| British Transport Police | |
| New HQ and BTP police station at Tottenham Court Road and a new BTP station at West Ham | 10 |
| Connect | |
| New stations and trains radio systems and communications infrastructure | 350 |
| Northern Line Trains | |
| Provision of new Northern Line train fleet | 400 |
| Power | |
| Network of substations and power distribution cables | 100 |
| Prestige | |
| Ticketing service infrastructure | 150 |
| Total investment value (£ billion) | 1.01 |
(1) The investment value is not the actual amount the private sector is investing in London Transport. Instead it is London Transport's estimate of what investment in PFI projects would have cost had they done the investment themselves.
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Cycling
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will set out the key components of cycling strategies; and what plans he has to monitor their implementation; [3199]
- (2) if he will make a statement regarding local authorities which have failed to produce a cycling strategy. [3198]
Mr. Spellar: Our guidance to local authorities on full local transport plans (LTPs), published in March 2000, set out both the minimum requirements of a cycling strategy and the characteristics expected in a good LTP as follows:
- Minimum requirements
- A discrete strategy for encouraging cycling, which establishes a clear target that contributes to the national targets for increasing cycle use
- Evidence that cyclists have been given a high priority
- Evidence that encouraging cycling is part of all transport policies, including road safety strategies
- Evidence of interaction with local planning authority to ensure that land use and development planning allows and encourages people to cycle
- Evidence that there has been a review of the road network, to establish where improvements to assist cyclists are needed
- Assessment of the quality of existing cycle networks, to identify where improvements are necessary
- Programme of measures to improve safety of cyclists and reduce conflicts with other traffic, including pedestrians
- Characteristic of a Good LTP
- Adopts a formal order in which planners consider the needs of different user types, placing cyclists near the top
- Partnerships for action with health, education, commercial and voluntary bodies
- Plans for improvement of physical provision to be based on methodical application of cycle review guidelines (published by IHT)
- Cycle audit all road and traffic schemes
- Aims to improve interchanges, and increase opportunities for combined cycle and public transport journeys
- Encourages cycling through Travelwise, Green Commuter Plans, Local Agenda 21 and School Transport Plans
- Minimises conflict between pedestrians and cyclists.
Progress on the outcomes and targets established in LTPs, including those in the cycling strategies, will be monitored through a system of annual progress reports (APRs). Guidance to authorities on the production of APRs was published in March 2001. Copies were placed in the Library of the House. Authorities are required to submit their first APR by 31 August 2001.
In notifying authorities of their capital allocations for 2001–02 in December 2000, our decision letters provided detailed feedback on the degree to which the LTPs had fulfilled the criteria for each element of the plan, including those set out for cycling strategies. We also identified, where appropriate, any specific areas in which authorities needed to improve their LTP. Our guidance on APRs makes clear that the annual reports should summarise actions taken to address these identified areas and to provide evidence of improvement.
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