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Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the urban regeneration implications (a) around St. Pancras Station, (b) for London and (c) for the United Kingdom as a whole, of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. [15737]
Mr. Jamieson: My Department assessed the urban regeneration implications of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 1998 to inform the appraisal of the value for money of the restructured financing deal with London and Continental Railways announced in June 1998. The assessment considered the impact of the link on commercial property development, house building and job creation in the main areas affected by the link, that is, around St. Pancras, Stratford, and Ebbsfleet stations and the Royal Docks. Impacts in the rest of the United Kingdom were not assessed. The assessment of the gross direct regeneration implications associated with the link is shown. The cost of creating a similar number of additional jobs through other regeneration programmes was estimated to be £1,000 million (at 1998 prices).
5 Dec 2001 : Column: 381W
The estimated impact of the link on development values was around £650 million (net present value at 1997–98 prices). The table shows the results of the assessment by area.
| Without CTRL | With CTRL | Uplift due to CTRL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Pancras/King's Cross | 175 | 385 | 210 |
| Stratford | 50 | 255 | 205 |
| Ebbsfleet | 35 | 255 | 220 |
| Royal Docks | 10 | 20 | 10 |
| Total all areas | 270 | 915 | 645 |
Passenger Vehicle Safety
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what powers a local authority has to terminate a contract with a bus operator for transporting pupils from home to school if the service is deemed to be unsafe. [17876]
Ms Keeble: The Government attach the greatest importance to the safety of all bus passengers, including children, and try to ensure that the highest possible safety standards are maintained. There are various controls on bus operators aimed at ensuring that all their operations are safe. The powers to terminate a contract if a service is found to be unsafe will be determined by the terms and conditions contained in the contract with the bus operator.
Road Accidents (Somerset)
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to reduce road traffic accidents in Somerset. [17929]
Mr. Jamieson: Local transport authorities have a statutory duty to produce a local transport plan (LTP). They are required to set out five-year integrated transport plans which cover all forms of transport and include a set of locally devised aims and objectives, a long-term strategy to meet them, a costed implementation programme and a set of targets and performance indicators to measure progress. They also provide annual progress reports. The first full LTPs were produced in July 2000 and cover the period from April 2001 to March 2006. Capital resources for local transport improvements are provided through the annual local transport capital settlement; we will announce shortly the allocations for 2002–03 which will include provision for road safety improvements.
Road safety is an important component of the local transport plan (LTP) process and we will expect to see all transport authorities to be making progress in this area.
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Somerset's first LTP annual progress report reports progress in several inter-related strategies, eg. a 14 per cent. reduction in killed and serious injury (KSI) accidents on the county's roads in 2000 over 1999 and a 50 per cent. reduction (50) in child KSI accidents over the same period. The county has introduced 90 local safety schemes on its roads in the last five years, such as speed management and improving facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, and in 2000–01 nine primary, six middle/secondary schools and one FE college have committed to the Safe Routes to School initiative.
Millennium Dome
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what calculation he has made of the amount of lost interest per day arising from the lack of proceeds from the sale of the Dome site; [19849]
- (2) if it is his policy to obtain the best possible value from the north Greenwich peninsular site; if he will publish the conditions of sale of the Dome site; and what discussions he is engaged in with potential bidders for the (a) site and (b) structure of the Dome. [19851]
Ms Keeble: The process being followed is driven by the need to secure long-term regeneration of the peninsula and the wider area.
Evaluation of proposals for the future use of the Dome and any associated land includes a thorough assessment of value for money. Any sale of the Dome will also be required to provide a worthwhile and sustainable future for the Dome; and we will want to be assured that any proposal can be successfully delivered.
On-going market testing is exploring all avenues, and on the basis of professional advice we are in discussion with a small number of serious contenders. To reveal details of the discussions would not be conducive to a successful conclusion and would be against the public interest.
Renewco
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 26 November 2001, Official Report, column 607W, on Renewco, for what reason this information is commercially sensitive. [19717]
Mr. Jamieson: The information is covered by the exemption from disclosure under the code of Practice on Access to government Information because it relates to confidential communications between the Department and the Strategic Rail Authority about matters including commercially sensitive issues relating to the financial position of Railtrack.
5 Dec 2001 : Column: 383W
White Papers
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the date of publication of the (a) Regions White Paper and (b) the Local Government White Paper. [19888]
Dr. Whitehead: As the Deputy Prime Minister announced to Parliament on 2 July, the Government's White Paper on regional governance in England will be published when it is ready.
The local government White Paper will be published shortly.
Railtrack
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) how many staff the administrator of Railtrack employs; [19428]
- (2) what are the day rates of the administrator of Railtrack; and what different levels of staff has it been using. [19430]
Mr. Spellar: This is a matter for the administrator who was appointed by the High Court.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many speed restrictions are in force on the Railtrack network. [19959]
Mr. Spellar: I understand from Railtrack that as at 26 November there were 659 temporary speed restrictions in force.
West Coast Main Line
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish the terms of the Hartwell agreement in relation to the west coast main line project; whether members of his Department were involved in that agreement; and what financial guarantees his Department gave to the companies involved with that agreement. [20088]
Mr. Jamieson: The Hartwell agreement was the result of negotiations between Railtrack and Virgin Trains. Neither the Government nor the Strategic Rail Authority were involved in the negotiations or party to them.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when Part 1 of the passenger upgrade agreement for the west coast main line was to be completed; and what plans the Government have for completing Part 2; what stage the Government's discussions with the SRA have reached regarding engineering access from the Virgin cross country franchise to the west coast main line; and whether completion of Part 2 is dependent on price. [20089]
Mr. Jamieson: Finalisation of phase 1 is likely to be in May 2003. Options for completing phase 2 are still under discussion with the Strategic Rail Authority, Railtrack, Virgin, other users and stakeholders. Value for money is one of the considerations in these discussions.
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