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Aviation Industry
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what commitments have been given to UK airlines since 11 September about (a) insurance cover for terrorist risk, (b) compensation for compulsory grounding, (c) the reallocation of unused slots, (d) compensation for extra security, (e) the payment of passenger ticket taxation and (f) state assistance to offset financial losses; and what representations have been received in respect of each of the above. [8016]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 15 October 2001]: The aviation industry has made a number of representations to the Government about the financial difficulties that it faces as a result of the downturn in passenger demand following the terrorist attacks on 11 September. The Government have taken action to provide temporary third party insurance cover for war and terrorism risk, but no commitments have been given in respect of any other requests. The European Commission has now produced guidelines on what financial assistance they might allow member states to provide to airlines, and these will be discussed at the Transport Council meeting on 16 October.
London Underground
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish punctuality and reliability figures for each of the London Underground lines for each of the past five years. [7450]
Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Keith Hill) to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 27 April 2001, Official Report, columns 423–25W. Full year figures for 2000–01 showing percentage of kilometres operated are now available and are shown in the table.
| Lines | 2000–01 |
|---|---|
| Bakerloo | 82.6 |
| Central | 96.6 |
| Waterloo and City | 96.8 |
| Circle and Hammersmith | 81.8 |
| District | 92.9 |
| Jubilee | 89.2 |
| East London | 94.1 |
| Metropolitan | 95.0 |
| Northern | 96.5 |
| Piccadilly | 86.6 |
| Victoria | 95.8 |
| Total | 91.6 |
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what has been the total cost to Her Majesty's Government of the delay in the public-private partnership for London Underground; [7788]
- (2) what has been the total cost to Her Majesty's Government of (a) consultants' fees and (b) legal expenses arising from the proposed PPP for London Underground. [7789]
16 Oct 2001 : Column: 1170W
Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Canning Town (Jim Fitzpatrick) on 10 May 2001, Official Report, column 256W. The Government will continue to provide six-monthly updates to Parliament on the cost of the consultancy work for the PPP and the restructuring of London Underground. The next report will also provide an assessment of the expected final outturn.
Any additional direct costs resulting from extensions to the timetable are largely in the form of additional consultancy costs. But the sooner the Tube modernisation plans can be put in place the sooner Londoners will benefit.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish the assessments of the costs of the proposed private-public partnership for London Underground, including reports from Deloittes and Parsons Brinckerhoff; and if he will make a statement. [6770]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 15 October 2001]: The Government's plans for a publicly run, privately built Tube will deliver around £13 billion of investment to improve the underground's infrastructure over the next 15 years. The Secretary of State has stated that these plans will go ahead only if they demonstrate value for money.
To assess whether this is the case, London Transport and its advisers are carrying out a thorough evaluation of the cost and value for money of bids. My Department is also commissioning Ernst and Young to carry out an independent review of London Transport's evaluation to ensure that it is completed on a fair and robust basis. Ernst and Young's review will be published, but not before London Transport has completed its negotiations with bidders.
The reports to which my hon. Friend refers from Deloittes and Touche and Parsons Brinckerhoff were produced for Transport for London.
Railtrack
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will give a breakdown of the money granted to Railtrack from public funds since the Hatfield disaster. [7940]
Mr. Jamieson: Between 17 October 2000 and 1 October 2001, no public money was paid direct to Railtrack, but its profitability during that period was contingent on public money. For example, in 2000–01, some 85 per cent. of Railtrack's £2,476 million income was paid to it in access charges by train operating companies, which were paid £847 million in Support for Passenger Services (SPRS) by the Franchising Director and the Strategic Rail Authority.
On 1 October 2001, Railtrack was paid £337 million of network grant, in accordance with the terms of the company's 2 April agreement with the Government; and the company, or its successor body, will be paid
16 Oct 2001 : Column: 1171W
£162 million of network grant in 2001–02 in respect of the (October 2000) final conclusions of the Rail Regulator's periodic review of access charges.
PCV Drivers
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the number of PCV (passenger carrying vehicle) driving examiners; and what steps the Government are taking to reduce the impact on the recruitment by public and private operators of new PCV drivers. [6553]
Mr. Jamieson: The Driving Standards Agency has 327 driving examiners nationwide who are qualified to conduct PCV practical driving tests. In addition there are 68 examiners employed by bus and coach companies authorised to conduct PCV practical tests of drivers in those companies and a further 114 fire service and police examiners authorised to conduct practical PCV tests for drivers in their authorities.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is running a scheme for a faster service for applications for provisional bus driving licences in response to a request from the Confederation of Passenger Transport. The scheme was initially trialled by several companies nominated by the Confederation before being extended to all bus companies on 1 May 2001. DVLA will turn around applications made under the scheme within 48 hours of receipt and provide a faxed letter of entitlement to drive on the same day the application is processed.
NATS
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what income the Government have received from the sale of National Air Traffic Services. [7844]
Mr. Jamieson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 15 October 2001, Official Report, column 886W.
Training Directive
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of the EU training directive on the road haulage industry; [7461]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the impact of the EU training directive on the bus and coach industry. [7459]
Mr. Jamieson: The likely impact of the draft European Commission Directive proposing compulsory training for professional lorry and bus drivers was considered in our April 2001 Consultation Paper. This contained an initial Regulatory Impact Assessment that will be developed in the light of responses to the Consultation Paper. Copies of the Consultation Paper are available in House Libraries.
Public Expenditure Review
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will publish his Department's public expenditure review. [7465]
16 Oct 2001 : Column: 1172W
Dr. Whitehead: My Department publishes its public expenditure plans annually in its departmental annual report. A copy of the current report 'DETR Annual Report 2001, Cm 5105', is available in the Library of the House.
Rail Safety
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps have been taken to improve rail safety since the publication of the second part of Lord Cullen's report. [7466]
Mr. Jamieson: We have asked the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) to ensure that the 74 recommendations in Lord Cullen's report are acted upon and to report progress within six months.
Transport 10-Year Plan
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what reassessment will be made of public expenditure in the transport 10-year-plan to deal with the effects of terrorism. [7457]
Mr. Jamieson: We will consider, as part of the next spending review, the potential effects on departmental expenditure, including the transport 10-year-plan.
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