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Strategic Rail Plan

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether the SRA Strategic Plan will deliver additional capacity at a faster rate than projected passenger growth. [32934]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 4 February 2002]: The Strategic Rail Authority's Strategic Plan sets out policies and major investment projects needed to address the projected growth in both passengers and freight.

Shoreham Port Authority

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions on what date he reappointed board members to Shoreham Port Authority and if he will name those appointed; what the reasons were for not reappointing previous board members to Shoreham Port Authority; what plans he has for further appointments to Shoreham Port Authority; and when they will be announced. [33124]

Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 4 February 2002]: Seven members of the Shoreham Port Authority have been re-appointed to the board with effect from 1 January 2002. These are Brian Wheeler, Peter Minchin, Brian Blundell, Rod Danes, Pat Hawkes, Bob Carden and Neil Parkin.

Two existing members were not re-appointed. One of these members had recently retired and the nominating body has declined to nominate a new representative. The second member was not considered for re-appointment due to their length of service.

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Both of these vacancies have been advertised and will be filled by an open and accountable appointments procedure involving the Department, Shoreham Port Authority and an independent assessor. The results of this open competition will be announced in due course.

Housing Development

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will list the planning applications for housing development in England involving greenfield sites which have been referred to him as departure applications since 1 January 2001 and provide details of the number of houses and area of land involved in each case; [33423]

(2) if he will list planning applications for housing development in England on greenfield sites (a) which he has called in and (b) for which he has issued a holding direction since 1 January 2001, indicating the location, number of houses and area of land involved; [33421]

(3) if he will list planning applications notified to him under the Town and Country Planning (Residential Development on Greenfield Land) (England) Directive 2000 since 1 January 2001, indicating the location, number of houses and area of land involved in each case. [33422]

Ms Keeble [holding answer 5 February 2002]: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House. The list of planning applications is based on information supplied to the Department by local authorities. Assumptions have had to be made about particular applications in order to present the information in the form sought. The information provided should not be taken as the definitive view of the Secretary of State for the purposes of decision-making.

Train Drivers

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 28 January 2002, Official Report, column 54W, on train drivers, if he will state the locations at which information on train driver numbers is held; and if he will list the steps which the Strategic Rail Authority (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to encourage train operating companies to recruit sufficient drivers. [33964]

Mr. Spellar: The most comprehensive information on driver numbers is held by the Association of Train Operating Companies. Where train operators have experienced difficulty in maintaining sufficient driver numbers and service has deteriorated, the Strategic Rail Authority has taken enforcement action, as they did with South West Trains in 1997 and with Arriva Trains Northern at the end of last year. As part of the two-year extension recently agreed on GNER the company has committed to a programme of driver recruitment to help overcome the current shortage within the industry. The Strategic Rail Authority will be able to secure further provisions as other franchises are extended or replaced.

London Underground

Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will

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list the meetings that each of his ministerial team and himself had in (a) December 2001 and (b) January 2002 with representatives of London Underground. [34103]

Mr. Spellar: My right hon. Friend and ministerial colleagues meet London Underground on both a regular and ad hoc basis, to discuss a variety of relevant matters.

Railtrack

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much money the Government have (a) lent and (b) made available to Railtrack in administration since 5 October 2001; and how much more money is available for Railtrack in administration to draw down by the end of March (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003. [33998]

Mr. Spellar: To date, £1.495 billion has been drawn down from the commercial loan of £2.1 billion that the Government made available at the commencement of the administration. No formal request has been received from the administrator for additional funds.

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the monthly investment spend is by Railtrack in administration; and what the monthly rate is of pre-tax loss after interest and depreciation. [33999]

Mr. Spellar: This is a matter for the administrator.

Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much profit Railtrack declared shortly after being put into administration. [34429]

Mr. Spellar: Railtrack Group plc's interim report and accounts for the six months to 30 September 2001 reported an accounting pre-tax profit of £292 million. Nevertheless, it is entirely possible for a company to make a profit and yet be unable to pay its debts. The evidence presented to, and accepted by, the High Court on 7 October showed that Railtrack plc was, or was likely to soon be, unable to pay its debts. It was open to Railtrack to oppose administration. They chose not to do so.

Mortgages (Public Sector Workers)

Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the rents to mortgages schemes for public sector workers living in London; and if he will make a statement. [34442]

Ms Keeble: "Rent to Mortgage" is one of a number of Government low-cost home ownership schemes available to a range of people, including public sector workers.

"Rent to Mortgage" allows qualifying tenants to purchase a share of their home, at a discount, with mortgage payments similar to the rent they are currently paying. The landlord retains a share in the property, but the purchaser can pay this off at a later date. Further information is contained in our free booklet "Your right to buy your home", which is available from local authorities or from my Department.

Our Starter Home initiative is helping around 4,600 key public sector workers, such as teachers, health workers and police, into home ownership in London. Most of these schemes involve equity loans or shared ownership.

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Key workers can also benefit from the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme. This provides homes for rent, and for low cost home ownership through schemes such as Homebuy and shared ownership, and through Do-It-Yourself shared ownership schemes which are supported by some local authorities.

Road Traffic

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which local authorities have set targets for the overall level of road traffic in their area as part of their full local transport plans, giving the targets set in each case for traffic reduction, in each year since the Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997 came into force. [34547]

Ms Keeble: As part of their full local transport plans submitted in July 2000, local traffic authorities in England (outside London) submitted road traffic reduction reports as required by the Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997. Copies of the reports have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. A number of authorities, shown in italics in a table which has been placed in the Libraries of the House, submitted plans containing targets for the overall level of road traffic for their area. Others set targets for part of their area or for some types of traffic. Authorities are not required to establish targets under the Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997 on an annual basis.

National Concessionary Coach Scheme

Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will outline the mechanism by which the national concessionary coach scheme will work. [34556]

Ms Keeble: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 4 February 2002, Official Report, column 735W.

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