| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Departmental Staff
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whom he has recruited to replace Jo Moore. [41677]
Mr. Byers: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 12 March 2002, Official Report, column 908W.
Jo Moore
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether he consulted the Prime Minister on the future of Jo Moore after 11 September. [41283]
Mr. Byers [holding answer 7 March 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Mid- Worcestershire (Mr. Luff) on 17 October 2001, Official Report, column 1165.
Heathrow
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what projection he has made of the number of flights at Heathrow Airport in each of the next five years. [41888]
Mr. Jamieson: The Secretary of State has imposed a condition on the planning consent for Heathrow Terminal 5, requiring that from the date the Core Terminal
14 Mar 2002 : Column 1200W
Building opens for public use, the number of occasions on which aircraft may take-off or land at Heathrow shall not exceed 480,000 during any period of one year.
Airports
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of airport capacity in the south-east of England over the medium and longer terms. [41945]
Mr. Jamieson: The South East and East of England Regional Air Services Study (SERAS) has evaluated a wide range of airport development options, providing different levels of capacity. A full public consultation on the short-listed options is scheduled for spring 2002. Decisions made following the consultation will feed into an aviation White Paper which we plan to publish later this year.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the sites that are being considered for new airports within the south-east of England. [41963]
Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on 12 March 2002, Official Report, column 922W.
Shoreham Harbour
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what information he has collated on the breakdown of harbour traffic throughput in Shoreham in the last year. [42325]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 11 March 2002]: In 2000, the latest year for which information is available, 1.8 million tonnes of traffic passed through the port of Shoreham. Of this, approximately 1.0 million tonnes were imports, 150 thousand tonnes exports and 0.6 million tonnes domestic traffic.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what information he has received from Shoreham Port Authority about their (a) debt levels and (b) bulk cargo levels for export and import. [42314]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 11 March 2002]: Information on debt levels at ports is not collected by my Department. In 2000, the latest year for which information is available, 0.7 million tonnes of bulk cargo were imported and 0.1 million tonnes of bulk cargo were exported.
Disabled Facilities Grants
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) how much money has been allocated to disabled facilities grants in this financial year; [42544]
- (2) how many disabled facilities grants have been processed for children in the last 12 months; [42542]
(3) how many disabled facilities grants have been processed for (a) adults and (b) children in the last two years. [42543]
14 Mar 2002 : Column 1201W
Ms Keeble: The Government have allocated £87 million towards the expenditure by local authorities in England on Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) for 2001–02. This meets 60 per cent. of the total cost of such grants, the remaining 40 per cent. being met from elsewhere in local authorities' budgets. The latest estimate on the number of DFGs made in England is 28,097 for 2001–02. The Government do not collect data separately on the number of grants paid to adults or children.
14 Mar 2002 : Column 1202W
Fire Service
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the recipients of money within the Fire Service under the private finance initiative, stating in each case (a) the amount awarded and (b) the purpose of the award. [42924]
Dr. Whitehead: PFI credits have been allocated to the following fire service schemes:
| Scheme | Allocation (£ million) | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Avon/Somerset/Gloucestershire | 16.900 | Joint training centre |
| Cornwall | 12,257 | Estate management and replacement of fire stations |
| Greater Manchester | 4.790 | Fire station/divisional headquarters |
| London | 45.000 | Management and maintenance of vehicles and operational equipment |
| North Yorkshire | 6.360 | Fire station/training centre |
Revenue support based on the level of PFI credits is paid once the scheme has come into operation.
£560,000 in total was paid in grant in 1997–98 to meet the development costs for fire service pathfinder schemes, including the ones listed in the table.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 27 February 2002, Official Report, column 1370W, on fire authority funding, if he will list the recipients of the extra £53 million announced for emergency planning, stating in each case (a) the name of the fire authority, (b) the amount awarded and (c) the intended use of the money in each case. [42943]
Dr. Whitehead: The additional resources will be used to procure new equipment, including decontamination facilities and personal protective equipment for firefighters, and to meet training and other revenue costs. Decisions on the deployment of the equipment and allocation of the funding will be taken in the course of procurement. The equipment will include:
- Large volume decontamination shelters and showers
Water management equipment
Ancillary equipment eg to provide power, heat and light
Radiation survey meters
Personal dosimeters
Protective clothing
Masks and filters for respiratory protection
Transport facilities
Communications and IT support.
Dr. Whitehead: At 31 March 2001 there were 49,685 uniformed staff and 6,703 non-uniformed staff employed in the fire services of England and Wales. There were 1,866 women employed in the uniformed sector and 4,032 women employed in the non-uniformed sector. There were 613 minority ethnic uniformed staff and 293 minority ethnic non-uniformed staff.
All fire services in England and Wales are required to provide annually to Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate statistical information about personnel employed, analysed by gender and ethnic origin. Data on the composition of the work force broken down by age are not held centrally.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what extra training has been provided for fire fighters since 11 September 2001, broken down by each fire authority. [42926]
Dr. Whitehead: Fire service personnel already receive training for dealing with terrorist and major incidents. Since 11 September fire authorities have been issued with guidance on mass decontamination methods. Additional funding is being provided and fire authorities are being encouraged to undertake training with other services and agencies. Details of specific training carried out by each fire authority are not held centrally.
Housing Association Properties
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many housing association properties have been sold under the Right to Acquire provisions in each London borough in each year since the provisions came into force. [42968]
Ms Keeble: The Right to Acquire came into force on 1 April 1997. It gives eligible tenants of registered social landlords the right to purchase their rented home with the benefit of a discount. There have been 53 completed Right to Acquire sales in total from 1 April 1997 to the end of February 2002. 12 of these were in London boroughs, as follows:
| Completions | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | |
| Redbridge | 1 |
| 2000–01 | |
| Bexley | 2 |
| Croydon | 1 |
| Haringey | 1 |
| Newham | 1 |
| Waltham Forest | 1 |
| 2001–02(4) | |
| Bexley | 1 |
| Ealing | 1 |
| Newham | 2 |
| Sutton | 1 |
(4) 11 months only
14 Mar 2002 : Column 1203W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |