---

Correspondence

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to letters from the hon. Member for Woking dated 30 April and 4 and 6 July, ref. V1006539, re Mrs. Verney, formerly Egorova. [4918]

Angela Eagle: I wrote to the hon. Member on 19 July. I am sorry for the delay in replying.

Social Action Initiatives

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to ensure that Christian and church-based social action initiatives are treated equitably in the allocation of Government funding. [5098]

Angela Eagle: I can assure the hon. Member that all applications for Government funding are treated in a fair and objective manner. The Government fully recognise the important role that all faith groups can make to addressing social needs. Codes of Good Practice under the Compact between Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector stress the potential of faith

19 Jul 2001 : Column: 358W

organisations to contribute to social inclusion and that this is distinct from the promotion of religion. The consultation document recently issued by my Department in partnership with the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions puts forward proposals aimed at achieving a more integrated and accessible approach to Government funding of all community groups. More generally, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister also recently announced a review of the ways the Government interface with faith communities.

Prisons (Rehabilitation)

Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to improve the record of prisons as institutions of effective rehabilitation. [633]

Beverley Hughes [pursuant to the reply, 2 July 2001, c. 53W]: This said the Prison Service would be investing an additional £30 million in 2002–03 from the Spending Review 2000. This should have read £50 million.

TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND

THE REGIONS

Autogas

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidance the Government have issued on the safety of converting vehicles to use autogas. [4523]

Mr. Jamieson: The guidance on the safety of converting vehicles to use autogas is contained within UK legislation. The Motor Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 1998 (Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 2884) provides the technical standards for the use of compressed natural gas and Regulation 94 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (Statutory Instrument 1986 No. 1078) provides the technical standards for the use of liquefied petroleum gas.

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidelines have been issued to licensing authorities about the use of private hire vehicles which use autogas. [4522]

Ms Keeble: The licensing of private hire vehicles is a matter for local licensing authorities (district/borough councils, unitary authorities or Transport for London). They will decide which vehicles, including the types of fuel used, are suitable for licensing according to local conditions and circumstances. We support local policies which encourage the licensing of vehicles which use cleaner fuels.

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps the Government are taking to encourage the use of autogas in motor vehicles. [4521]

Mr. Jamieson: The Government are encouraging the market for autogas (liquefied petroleum gas or LPG) in a number of ways. For example, as part of the response to the Green Fuels Challenge the Chancellor announced in Budget 2001 a cut in duty of 6p/kilogramme on LPG to

19 Jul 2001 : Column: 359W

maintain the current differential with conventional fuels, and a commitment not to increase the duty in real terms until at least 2004.

The Powershift programme, which is funded by the DTLR, has a budget of £30 million over the next three years—with £9.91 million for this financial year which will provide grants towards the purchase of around 10,000 clean fuel vehicles, many of which will use LPG. The Powershift programme has been successful in stimulating the development of a LPG infrastructure: there are now over 790 LPG refuelling stations in the UK.

The new vehicle excise duty and company car taxation regimes also provide concessions for vehicles using LPG.

Transport Funding

Mr. Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what share of national income is projected to be taken up by public investment in transport in 2011–12 and what change this represents, in real terms, from the level in 1991–92. [5110]

Mr. Jamieson: A projection of UK public capital investment in transport in 2011–12 as a share of national income is not available.

UK public capital investment as a share of GDP is projected to be 0.62 per cent. by 2010–11. The equivalent figure for 1991–92 was 0.85 per cent.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much total UK transport capital expenditure is projected to rise in real terms by 2011 as a share of GDP. [5109]

Mr. Jamieson: UK capital investment in transport by the public and private sectors as a share of GDP is projected to rise from 0.91 per cent. in 2001–02 to 0.98 per cent. in 2010–11.

"The Future of Aviation"

Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he intends to make public the responses to the consultation document, "The Future of Aviation". [5425]

Mr. Spellar: We are preparing a summary of the responses, and when it has been completed intend to make it available on the Department's website, and to deposit paper copies of the summary in the House Libraries and the Vote Office. We expect that this will be during the summer recess.

All responses to the consultation document, other than those from respondents who have requested confidentiality, can be viewed, by appointment, in the Department's Library at Ashdown House, Victoria street, London.

Waste-burning Incinerators

Dr. Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the planning authorities that have refused applications to build waste-burning incinerators in urban areas in the last three years. [4520]

19 Jul 2001 : Column: 360W

Ms Keeble: This information is not held centrally. Local planning authorities decide planning applications in the first instance. Only in those instances where the applicant appeals against the refusal of planning permission will the matter come before my right hon. Friend.

English Regions

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received on the inclusion of those parts of Cleveland south of the River Tees in (a) a Yorkshire (b) a northern and (c) a north-eastern region. [5082]

Dr. Whitehead: We have no record of any formal representations for the inclusion of Cleveland, south of the River Tees, in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, the old northern region or the north-east region.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what criteria are applied in defining the Government's standard regions for England. [5101]

Dr. Whitehead: The 'standard English regions' emerged from local government reorganisation in 1974 and resulted in the creation of eight regions which were used by a large number of Government Departments (though not all) for planning purposes, and became the standard regions for statistical purposes. These boundaries often continue to be termed standard regions.

In 1994, the creation of the Government Offices (GOs) resulted in a new delineation of regions within England, (now generally referred to as GO boundaries). These reflected the boundaries of the then Regional Boards and the regional organisations of the (then) Departments of Transport and Environment. The GO regions are also of a more equally distributed population size than the standard regions.

The existing GO boundaries have now become increasingly well-established, reflecting the Government's commitment, in the "Modernising Government" White Paper, that, where possible, all Government bodies should align with GO boundaries.

As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 80W, the Government intend to publish a White Paper on regional governance in England. This will set out the Government's thinking on a range of issues, including regional boundaries.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what considerations he has given to the creation of a Wessex (a) region and (b) regional assembly. [5080]

Dr. Whitehead: As my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced on 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 80W, the Government intend to publish a White Paper on regional governance in England. This will set out the Government's thinking on taking forward plans for elected regional assemblies, including the issue of regional boundaries.

19 Jul 2001 : Column: 361W

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received about including Cumberland and Westmorland in regions based on (a) Newcastle and (b) Manchester. [5081]

Dr. Whitehead: We have no record of any formal representations for the inclusion of Cumbria in the north-west and north-east regions.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received on the inclusion of north Lincolnshire and north-east Lincolnshire in (a) a Yorkshire region and (b) an east midlands region. [5083]

Dr. Whitehead: We have no record of any formal representations for the inclusion of north and north-east Lincolnshire in the Yorkshire and Humber and east midlands regions.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the Government purposes for which, at 31 May 1997, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were included with (a) Dorset and Wiltshire, (b) Sussex and Surrey and (c) Berkshire, with or without other counties in each case. [5099]

Dr. Whitehead: As at 31 May 1997, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were part of the South West and Wessex Regional Health Authority, which also included the counties of Dorset and Wiltshire. This changed in April 1999, when Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were aligned with the South East Regional Health Authority. On 31 May 1997, the Environment Agency's south and west region, based largely on the GO south-west region, included a small part of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. That remains the case. For all other Government purposes, as far as we can ascertain, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were, on 31 May 1997, included in the GO south-east region with the counties of Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what requests he has received that Cornwall should not be included in a region which includes Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. [5078]

Dr. Whitehead: On 11 July I met the hon. Members for St. Ives (Andrew George), North Cornwall (Mr. Tyler), and Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor), to discuss their views on an elected Cornish assembly. I have also had a number of other representations on this matter.

---