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Rail Industry
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which representatives of financial institutions he has met to discuss the future of the rail industry since June. [16171]
Mr. Jamieson: The Government have had regular meetings with their financial advisers. In addition, the Government have had meetings with bondholders, institutional shareholders and with credit rating agencies.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on what occasions since 1997 the Government have refused a request to use section 54 of the Railways Act 1993. [16176]
Mr. Jamieson: No such request has been refused since 1997.
Bus Services
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he has received a letter from Mark Fowler, Managing Director of Nottingham City Transport, of 8 November; and if he will make a statement on how competition legislation affects the ability to cross-subsidise bus services. [16953]
Ms Keeble: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport has received a letter dated 8 November from the Managing Director of Nottingham City Transport.
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The requirements of competition legislation in relation to the cross-subsidy of bus services is a matter for the Director General of Fair Trading.
Planning (Buckingham)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations he has received in 2001 on bypasses from residents of Buckingham constituency. [16904]
Mr. Jamieson: In 2001, my Department has received representations from Buckingham residents on the A41 Aston Clinton bypass, the A418 Stoke Hammond and Western Linslade bypass and the A418 Wing bypass.
Data Protection
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many names and addresses of vehicle owners/keepers have been disclosed to third parties by virtue of that party showing reasonable cause for the disclosure over the last three years, broken down into terms of categories of reasonable cause; if the DVLA alerts third parties to the offence under section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998; if he has undertaken data matching exercises to identify those who might be using the third party facility as a means of tracing individuals who do not want to be traced; and if he will make a statement. [17168]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of "reasonable cause" requests for information processed against the DVLA vehicle register during the last three years are:
| Number of requests | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 830,970 |
| 1999–2000 | 883,522 |
| 2000–01 | 955,484 |
Specific categories of reasonable cause are not recorded and it is not possible to break down the statistics in this
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way. Most of the inquiries are made by insurance companies and finance houses in relation to insurance claims and vehicle-related loan arrangements. The information is released, often via electronic links, under strictly defined terms and conditions, which specify the security and confidentiality of the information handled and subject to periodic audit. Information is released to around 2,500 private individuals each year. Applicants must give a full written explanation for their inquiry, and they are warned directly of the consequences under the Data Protection Act of unlawfully procuring information. The agency has not identified a need to carry out any formal matching exercises to identify inappropriate inquiries, but it does work closely with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner to facilitate the prosecution of the handful of offences that come to light each year.
Corsham Station
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the new station of Corsham will open; and what delay there has been in its opening. [17045]
Mr. Jamieson: The station is now expected to become operational at the start of the summer 2003 timetable. There have been delays amounting to approximately one year caused by a variety of issues which have now been resolved.
Light Rail and Tram Schemes
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the (a) light rail and (b) tram schemes which are planned and which could be open by 2010. [17131]
Ms Keeble: It is for local authorities to develop proposals for light rail or tram schemes in the context of their local transport plans. The following schemes are already under construction or have received full approval:
| Scheme | Timetable |
|---|---|
| Sunderland Extension to Tyne and Wear Metro | Under construction, due to open March 2002 |
| Nottingham Express Transit | Under construction, due to open in 2003 |
| Three extensions to Manchester Metrolink(1) | Approved, construction should begin in 2003 |
| Leeds Supertram (Three lines) | Approved, construction should begin in 2003 |
| South Hampshire Rapid Transit | Approved, construction should begin in 2003 |
(1) Oldham-Rochdale, Airport and Ashton-under-Lyne
In addition, we have given provisional approval to two extensions to the Midland Metro system in Birmingham. The promoters are now seeking the necessary powers under the Transport and Works Act 1992 (TWA). The Docklands Light Rail extension to City airport has also received provisional approval, subject to TWA powers being granted.
At present, we are considering proposals for the Bristol and South Gloucestershire light rapid transit scheme; a further extension to the Manchester Metrolink to Stockport; the Merseytram project and an upgrade of the Blackpool tramway. Transport for London is consulting on options for intermediate-mode transport for four corridors: East London transit, Uxbridge road, Cross River transit, and Greenwich waterfront.
We are aware of a significant number of schemes that may in future be proposed by authorities, including extensions to existing systems. The investment plans set out in the 10-year plan for transport contain provision for up to 25 new light rail lines in major cities and conurbations in England outside London.
Regional Assembly (South-west)
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many written representations he has received from electors in the east Devon constituency expressing support for an elected regional assembly in the south-west of England in the last 12 months. [17271]
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Dr. Whitehead: The Department has received no representations on regional government from electors in the east Devon constituency.
Public Service Agreements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress towards the public service agreement target for reducing the incidence of fire-related deaths in the home. [16921]
Dr. Whitehead: The Department's public service agreement target looks for an average 20 per cent. reduction in the number of deaths from the base-line figure of 379 (the average over the years April 1994 to March 1999) for the period April 1999 to March 2004—giving a target of 303 (averaged over the five years).
Our statistics show an encouraging trend in the overall reduction of accidental deaths in the home. We achieved our first milestone (1999–2000); the latest set of figures indicate that the Department is not far short of achieving the second milestone (2000–01) where we would hope to record no more than 327 deaths nationally (ie England and Wales). The latest figures for the calendar year 2000 indicate that about 326 died in accidental dwelling fires, in this period. This latest figure also compares with 315 deaths recorded in the previous year (1999).
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress towards the public service agreement target for implementing fire cover standards. [16919]
Dr. Whitehead: The task group on the fire cover review expects to deliver its final report to the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council in March 2002.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reason the public service agreement target for reducing the incidence of fire-related deaths in the home in 2000–01 was higher than the outturn in 1999–2000. [16920]
Dr. Whitehead: The public service agreement target for accidental dwelling fire deaths measures reductions over five years. Because the number of fire deaths per year are subject to variations, it is necessary to take an average over five years to provide a more realistic measure of Government's ability to reduce preventable fire deaths.
The milestones were set in such a way so as to aim for a uniform reduction each year until the target is reached in year five.
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