House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 24 Oct 2001 (pt 2)

Railways (Wales)

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the impact of the change in administration at Railtrack on the future of rail investment in Wales. [8779]

Mr. Jamieson: The Administrator has been funded so as to permit him to continue work on Railtrack's projects. Contractors have been asked to continue normal working; and Railtrack in administration will continue to place orders and let contracts.

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which organisations will be included to represent Welsh interests in the company which is being considered as a replacement for Railtrack. [8778]

Mr. Jamieson: It is too early to be precise about representation in the proposed company limited by guarantee. The Government have indicated their desire that the membership of the proposed company should be predominantly private sector and that it should also reflect stakeholder interests as far as possible. We will consult on our proposals.

Press Notices

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the press notices issued by his Department on each day between 10 September and 10 October. [8950]

Dr. Whitehead: I have arranged for a list to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Thirty eight press releases were issued by Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions between 10 September and 10 October 2001.

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Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the press notices issued by his predecessors on each day between 10 September and 10 October 2000 on subjects which are the responsibility of his Department. [8951]

Dr. Whitehead: I have arranged for a list to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Thirty two press releases on subjects for which DTLR is currently responsible were issued by Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions between 10 September and 10 October 2000.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions to list the press releases authorised by each Minister in his Department. [9141]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 19 October 2001]: I have arranged for a list to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Fifty nine press releases were issued by Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions since 11 September 2001.

Railways (Capital Projects)

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the capital projects which will be inherited from Railtrack plc by its successor company, stating when each will be completed. [8953]

Jo Moore

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he authorised the publication of the DTLR press release on (a) councillor allowances and (b) councillor pensions and the regional planning internal advice guidance for the south-west on 12 September; and what conversations he had with his special adviser, Jo Moore, concerning the publication of those press notices. [9192]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 22 October 2001]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 October 2001, Official Report, column 98W, and to the answer I have given today.

Air Services

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will ensure that if any UK carrier in receipt of state aid following 11 September has withdrawn services to a UK regional airport from either Heathrow or Gatwick, the slots used for such services will be given to an operator that is prepared to operate the route; and if he will make a statement. [9354]

Mr. Spellar: No UK airline has received direct Government subsidies. Short-term assistance was provided to UK airlines only when the insurance market

24 Oct 2001 : Column: 226W

summarily limited third party war risks insurance. Without the temporary Government cover all airlines would have effectively been grounded. Slot allocation is the responsibility of an independent co-ordinator, Airport Co-ordination Ltd. (ACL) and is subject to EU Regulation 95/93.

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will meet the cost of security charges at UK airports; if the Government will continue to provide UK airlines with war risk insurance cover beyond the original 30 day period; and if he will make a statement. [9347]

Mr. Spellar: The question of meeting the cost of security charges is under consideration. The Government will provide UK airlines with war risk insurance cover for a further 30 day period and will review the position towards the end of that period. This was announced in a press release by HM Treasury on 22 October.

Planning Guidance

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) when the Government office for the south-west completed the final draft of the final Regional Planning Guidance for the south-west; [9139]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 19 October 2001]: I agreed the final text of the Regional Planning Guidance for the south-west on 1 August and at the same time agreed the proposed publication date of 5 September. As a result of production delays in the Stationery Office it became clear before the end of August that printed copies would not be ready in time. As a consequence it was agreed at that point to delay publication until 12 September. Copies were finally received in the Government office for the south-west on 10 September; these were posted to all participants in the Public Examination and other key regional stakeholders on the morning of 11 September in advance of the formal publication on the next day.

Transport Assistance and Subsidies

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in each year since 1995 what the total value of Government assistance and subsidy was for (a) London Underground running costs, (b) London Underground capital costs, (c) London Transport, (d) each of the rail operators and (e) Railtrack; and if he will make a statement. [6950]

Mr. Jamieson: With regard to (a), (b) and (c), I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the then Under- Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Keith Hill), to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 8 May 2001, Official Report, column 24W.

With regard to (d), I refer my hon. Friend to pages 102–103 of the Strategic Rail Authority Report 2000–01.

With regard to (e), I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 9 October 2001, Official Report, column 1315W.

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Departmental Staff

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will estimate total staff costs for his Department and its agencies by nation and region of the UK; and if he will make a statement. [6799]

Dr. Whitehead: I should like to refer to the existing publication "Civil Service Statistics 2000", published on 31 August 2001, specifically to Table G (page 46). This gives an overall figure of staff, by salary band as at 1 April 2000, for the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR(C)) and its agencies before the machinery of Government changes. A copy of this already resides in the House of Commons Library. I am unable to give a more detailed breakdown by region as the information is not held in this form. Following the machinery of Government changes we are budgeting for approximately £336.2m expenditure on staff costs for the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR(C)) and its Agencies.

Area Cost Adjustment

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans his Department has for changing the area cost adjustment formula for local authorities. [8164]

Dr. Whitehead: We are looking at a range of options for the area cost adjustment as part of our current review of the grant distribution formulae. We are actively involving local government in this process. We have not yet reached conclusions on the best way forward, and the Government will consult widely before taking final decisions. Any change to the area cost adjustment would be implemented in the 2003–04 local government finance settlement.

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