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Council Properties

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many council properties have been sold under the right-to-buy provisions in each London borough in each of the last 10 years. [43946]

Ms Keeble: The information requested is included in the summary table referred to in my answer of 7 March 2002 to my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney), Official Report, column 554W, which is available in the Libraries of the House.

Flight Paths (Walthamstow)

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what changes in flight paths into Heathrow have taken place within the last year that have affected flight paths above Walthamstow; and whether they are permanent. [42945]

Mr. Jamieson: The Civil Aviation Authority has advised that apart from a short period following the terrorist attacks in New York on 11 September 2001 when there may have been a slight increase in the proportion of flights which overflew Walthamstow, there have been no changes to the flight paths into Heathrow in the past year.

Regulatory Impact Unit

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many Members his Department employs in its Regulatory Impact Unit; and if he will make a statement. [42933]

Dr. Whitehead: DTLR's new Regulatory Impact Unit was established in October 2001 and consists of four officials, two full time and two on a job-share basis.

This is more staff than in previous years and the unit is now a dedicated resource that covers better/regulation/ regulatory reform issues only.

Correspondence

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Warrington, North, dated 21 November 2001. [43131]

Ms Keeble: I have written to my hon. Friend today and I apologise for the delay in replying.

A36

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Salisbury of 25 February 2001, Official Report, column 817W, for what reasons de-trunking negotiations on the A36(T) have been put on hold until early 2003. [43304]

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Mr. Jamieson: The Secretary of State confirmed in February 2002 that following placement of an objection to de-trunking of the A46/A36 by the South West Regional Assembly a further study into the management of the route and the traffic problems related to the route in Bath would be commissioned shortly. Formal appointment of a consultant to undertake the work is progressing with interviews of those firms shortlisted taking place soon. Not until this study had been completed, December 2002 in the current programme, would Bath and North East Somerset Council agree to continue with de-trunking negotiations.

There are four other local authorities involved in taking over sections of the route on satisfactory completion of de-trunking negotiations. No serious obstacles to completing negotiations successfully with these remaining four authorities have been identified. Although this might suggest that a piecemeal de-trunking of the route is possible this would not be in the public interest nor would this course of action answer the Regional Assembly's objection.

Freight Industry (Illegal Migrants)

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact on the freight industry of the actions of people attempting to enter the United Kingdom illegally; and if he will make a statement. [43033]

Mr. Jamieson: The Government recognise that the current disruption to channel tunnel rail freight services caused by would-be illegal immigrants attempting to board these trains on the continent is causing severe hardship to many businesses in this country which depend on these services. We are pressing the French Government at the highest levels to ensure that sufficient police resources are applied to address the problem so that normal freight services can resume as soon as possible.

There is no evidence to date that the actions of people attempting to enter the United Kingdom illegally have had any significant impact on UK road freight operations.

Electronic Voting

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 27 February 2002, Official Report, column 1371W, on electronic voting, whether he undertook an assessment of the relative ability of different age groups to access electronic voting before introducing the pilot schemes. [43352]

Dr. Whitehead: The Electoral Commission's evaluation of the electronic voting pilots will include an assessment of the impact of electronic voting on different age groups within the electorate. The traditional voting arrangements will remain available on 2 May for all voters in the areas where electronic voting is being trialed.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many planning applications for developments in areas of outstanding natural beauty have been called in since 1997; and how many of those were approved. [43390]

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Ms Keeble: We estimate that about 30 planning applications for developments in areas of outstanding natural beauty have been called in since 1997 and that, of those, around one-fifth have been approved.

Harbour Boards (Isle of Wight)

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions by what means nominations were sought for places on harbour boards on the Isle of Wight; how many appointments he has made to such bodies since 1997; who the appointees were; and what were their terms of office. [43353]

Ms Keeble: The Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions is not aware of any "labour boards" on the Isle of Wight. There are a number of bodies responsible for local economic and work force development activities on the Isle of Wight, but none has national appointment processes, all being locally developed in response to the local need.

London Underground

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he plans to sign documents for the public private partnership with London Underground. [41292]

Mr. Jamieson: If a final decision is taken to proceed, PPP contracts for the modernisation of London Underground will be signed by London Underground, not the Secretary of State.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what assessment he has made of changes to the contracts to operate train lines under the proposed PPP scheme since 7 February; [42813]

(2) who is responsible for determining (a) whether there have been material changes in the contracts to operate train lines under the proposed PPP scheme since 7 February and (b) whether material changes to the contracts to operate trains under the proposed PPP scheme for the London Underground require a re-evaluation of the value for money survey carried out by (i) London Underground and (ii) Ernst and Young; [42815]

(3) under what circumstances changes to the contract to operate trains under the proposed PPP scheme for the London Underground will require a re-evaluation of the value for money survey carried out by (a) London Underground and (b) Ernst and Young. [42814]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 12 March 2002]: The proposed PPP contracts are for the modernisation of the Underground's infrastructure. London Underground will continue to operate the entire tube network, including trains.

London Underground is responsible for the contracts. London Underground has confirmed that it intends to take a final decision, including in relation to value for money, following completion of consultation with the Mayor and Transport for London.

I and my officials have been kept informed throughout development of the contracts. In taking any decisions that fall to me in my capacity as Secretary of State I will take into account all the relevant factors. I will, in particular,

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consider whether any changes to the contracts will affect my three key principles: that there is no privatisation, that safety is not compromised and that the contracts offer value for money.

10-Year Plan

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what his estimate is of the required investment in the railway network for (a) safety and (b) repairs over the life of the Government's 10-year plan. [41304]

Mr. Spellar: All of the rail investment contained in the 10-year plan and SRA strategic plan contributes in some way to achieving our objectives of a better, safer and more reliable railway. It is not possible to provide a specific estimate for these categories.

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