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Merseyside Rail Franchise
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the Strategic Rail Authority will announce (a) the rail franchises for the north-west region of England and (b) its decision on whether Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive will let the Merseyside rail franchise alone or jointly with the Strategic Rail Authority. [10812]
Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority has reviewed its franchise replacement programme in light of the statement made by the Secretary of State on 16 July and will announce its plans for further replacement or extension of franchises when these are agreed with Ministers in due course.
Petrol Storage
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what conditions are attached to the licences for underground storage tanks to prevent and detect leakages; and how the proposed removal of licences will change this. [10524]
Dr. Whitehead: Licences for underground petrol tanks have conditions attached which are intended to prevent and detect leaks. The conditions are based on guidance issued by HSE and the Local Authorities Co-ordinating body on Food and Trading Standards (LACOTS).
HSC are to consult early next year on a proposal to remove licensing at all workplaces except retail petrol filling stations. All workplaces storing petrol, whether licensed or not, will be subject to the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) which will come into force in the summer of next year.
DSEAR places comprehensive duties on employers to eliminate or reduce fire and explosion risks from dangerous substances including petrol. DSEAR will require measures to reduce risk of releases and the escape of petrol.
Because of the close involvement of the public at retail petrol filling stations it is proposed to develop additional controls to supplement DSEAR, as a replacement for the current licensing regime. Until these are developed and consultation has taken place with stakeholders, licensing will remain in force at retail petrol filling stations.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proposals he is implementing to encourage petrol retailers to report leakages. [10564]
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Dr. Whitehead: Repair of leakages is already one of the standard licence conditions imposed by Petroleum Licensing Authorities. Control of leakages will also be subject to the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (DSEAR) which will come into force in the summer of next year. HSE will be publicising the new regulations and associated guidance.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many breaches of licensing conditions of underground storage tanks have (a) been reported and (b) resulted in prosecution in each of the past five years. [10568]
Dr. Whitehead: HSE does not collect statistics on breaches of licence conditions and prosecutions by Petroleum Licensing Authorities (PLAs). The information would be disproportionately expensive to obtain retrospectively.
New reporting arrangements are being developed in conjunction with PLAs so that this information can be obtained in the future.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if his Department will carry out a full condition audit of all underground storage tanks in the United Kingdom. [10569]
Dr. Whitehead: Neither HSE nor the Environment Agency has any plans to commission a full condition audit of all underground storage tanks. Safety and environmental legislation provide adequate safeguards to prevent and control leaks from underground storage tanks. The powers are available to conduct investigations where necessary.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he plans to incorporate the recommendations of the Institute of Petroleum and the Association for Petrol and Explosive Administrators into its new Code of Practice relating to petrol retailers. [10567]
Dr. Whitehead: The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has recently completed a public consultation on a groundwater protection code of practice for petrol stations and underground storage tanks for hydrocarbons. All responses to the consultation will be taken into account when finalising the code.
HSE are carrying out a major review of petrol legislation with a view to modernising it. The review is being carried out in three phases which will look at:
- Phase 1: workplace storage of petrol except for retail petrol filling stations.
Phase 2: retail petrol filling stations.
Phase 3: non-workplace storage of petrol (mainly domestic premises).
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the report into modernising petrol legislation will be published. [10522]
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Dr. Whitehead: Although the licensing system under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 (PCA) has worked well for many years, it is now outdated and does not easily sit alongside the modern risk-based approach to health and safety. HSE are therefore carrying out a major review of the legislation with a view to modernising it. The review is being carried out in three phases which will look at:
- Phase 1: workplace storage of petrol except for retail petrol filling stations.
Phase 2: retail petrol filling stations.
Phase 3: non-workplace storage of petrol (mainly domestic premises).
Firefighters
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will make a statement on firefighter numbers in South Yorkshire; [10386]
- (2) what the average number of firefighters is per 10,000 population in (a) South Yorkshire, (b) the Metropolitan fire authorities and (c) England. [10384]
Dr. Whitehead: Based on annual returns to HM Fire Service Inspectorate, actual firefighter numbers for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Services as at 31 March 2001 were as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Whole time | 920 |
| Retained(1) | 38.83 |
(1) Expressed as 24-hour units of cover
Statutory responsibility for the provision of an efficient fire service, including maintenance of a firefighter establishment sufficient to meet national standards of fire cover, rests locally with the fire authority, in this case the South Yorkshire Fire and Civil Defence Authority.
According to the latest available information the number of firefighters, including retained firefighters in terms of units of 24 hour cover, per 10,000 population at 31 March 2001 was:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| South Yorkshire | 7.4 |
| Metropolitan fire authorities | 8.1 |
| England | 8.4 |
Note:
Firefighters numbers are provisional derived from annual returns to HM Fire Service Inspectorate. Population figures are taken from the 2000 mid-year estimates prepared by the Office for National Statistics
Council Tax Exemptions (Students)
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how local authorities are compensated for properties exempted from
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council tax on the grounds that they consist of student households; and what his estimate is of (a) the numbers of such properties and (b) the council tax revenue lost in 2000–01 for each local authority in England. [10940]
Dr. Whitehead: Local authorities receive an additional amount of revenue support grant to compensate them for properties exempted from the council tax because they consist of student households. Such properties are exempt from council tax because, unlike other people on low incomes, full-time students are not normally entitled to council tax benefit.
We do not have information for 2000–01 on the number of such properties for each local authority in England. We are, however, collecting it for the current year. We estimate that around 120,000 properties in England qualify for the exemption in 2001–02, and that the council tax income forgone as a result is about £90 million.
London Underground (Line Closures)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many line closures there were of more than one day on each of the lines of the London Underground network since 1 January. [10945]
London Underground have not closed any whole line on the underground network for a day or more in the period since 1 January 2001.
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