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Subsidence (London)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent assessment he has made of the threat to buildings and subterranean structures in London posed by sinking ground levels. [43811]
Ms Keeble: The intensity of subsidence reported in the press is very minor and is unlikely to cause damage. It is several orders of magnitude less than that experienced in the coalfields and damage is much more likely to occur from shrinking and swelling of clay subsoils in London than from subsidence at the level reported.
Subsidence from tunnelling operations is well known and it is taken into account in the design of tunnelling operations. Where necessary, such operations include mitigation measures to reduce the effects of subsidence to below the level likely to cause damage. The levels
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reported from the Jubilee Line extension are consistent with those recorded by monitoring subsidence during and after construction.
Right to Buy
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will place in the Library copies of the responses to the Housing Green Paper "Quality and Choice: A Decent Home For All" that made reference to the right to buy. [44452]
Ms Keeble: Details of responses to the Housing Green Paper are set out in "Quality and Choice: A decent home for all. Summary of Responses". This is already available in the Library or can be freely downloaded from the DTLR website at the following address: http:// www.housing.dtlr.gov.uk/information/consult/responses/ summary/pdf/greenpap.pdf.
168 responses made reference to the right to buy. Arrangements are being made for copies of these responses to be collated and placed in the Library, except where the authors requested that their comments should not be released.
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many former local authority properties sold to tenants under the right to buy scheme have subsequently been bought back by those local authorities in each Government Office region (a) in each year since 1980 and (b) in each quarter since April 1999. [44454]
Ms Keeble: Information reported to the Department on the repurchase of ex-council properties is presented as follows. Information prior to 1995–96 was not collected centrally.
| 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government office region | — | — | — | — |
| North East | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North West | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| East Midlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Midlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| East | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| London | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| South East | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South West | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| England | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 1998–99 | April to June 1999 | July to September 1999 | October to December 1999 | January to March 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government office region | — | — | — | — | — |
| North East | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| North West | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 26 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 4 |
| East Midlands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Midlands | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| East | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| London | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| South East | 15 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 2 |
| South West | 14 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| England | 100 | 23 | 10 | 32 | 36 |
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Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Local Authorities (Capital Finance) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 (S.I. No. 501) in encouraging local authorities to buy back properties previously sold to tenants under the right to buy scheme. [44455]
Ms Keeble: The incentive is voluntary, and involves agreement being reached between landlords and owners/ leaseholders. We are monitoring the use made by local authorities of the incentive offered by these regulations. Our figures indicate that last year (2000–01) local authorities in England bought back just over 200 properties.
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what information his Department has collated on the number of ex-local authority properties in London in which the leaseholder is a tenant who originally purchased the lease under the right to buy scheme. [44453]
Ms Keeble: The Department does not collect this information on its regular statistical returns. However, results derived from the 2000–01 Survey of English Housing indicate that some 62,000 householders in flats in London had purchased their present property since 1981 under the right to buy scheme from the local authority.
A303
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the timetable is for the laying of orders, planning procedures and construction in respect of the A303 (T) relating to (a) Winterbourne Stoke Bypass, (b) the Amesbury to Berwick Down improvement scheme, (c) the Countess Roundabout flyover and Stonehenge Visitors Centre access and (d) the Folly Bottom interchange. [44429]
Mr. Jamieson: The Highways Agency is planning to publish draft orders for the A303 Stonehenge Improvement in December 2002. This scheme, formerly known as the Amesbury to Berwick Down Improvement, incorporates a bypass of Winterbourne Stoke and a flyover at Countess Roundabout. Subject to the making of statutory orders, it is intended that construction will start in the spring of 2005.
The agency proposes to publish the made orders for the Folly Bottom interchange in April 2002. Preliminary works are expected to start in June 2002 and the main works in September 2002.
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The Stonehenge Visitors Centre is the responsibility of English Heritage who will in due course be discussing access arrangements with the Highways Agency.
M42
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when the concrete sections of the M42 will be covered with low noise road surfacing. [44076]
Mr. Jamieson: I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Mr. Tim Matthews to Mr. Brian Jenkins, dated 20 March 2002:
- The Transport Minister, David Jamieson has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about resurfacing the concrete sections of the M42 with low noise material.
- There are three remaining lengths of concrete surfacing on the M42: junctions 2 to 3A, junctions 9 to 10 and junctions 3A to 4.
- The Government's Ten Year Plan for Transport said that all concrete roads would be resurfaced with quieter surfacing materials by 2010 and in line with that we aim to resurface the road between Junctions 2 and 3A early in 2003 and between 9 and 10 in 2004/05.
- Resurfacing the road between junctions 3A and 4 will be done after we have introduced the Active Traffic Management Project in 2004. I am afraid I cannot give you a precise date.
- If you would like any further information, the Agency's Route Manager for the M42, David Nock, would be pleased to help. He can be contacted at the Agency's office at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham, B15 1BL or by telephone on 0121 678 8362.
Buses
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) what regulations there are on the installation of (a) radio, (b) alarm and (c) CCTV systems into buses; [43963]
- (2) what steps is he taking to prevent assaults against bus crews on public services; and if he will make a statement; [43960]
(3) what guidance is given to bus operators on offering employees professional counselling after they have suffered work-related violence; [43957]
(4) what requirements are placed on bus operators to keep in good order bus radio and alarm systems; [43962]
(5) what guidance he has issued on risk assessments to be carried out by bus operators on the risk of violence to bus crews. [43955]
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Ms Keeble: The Secretary of State will shortly issue guidance to bus operators and other interested parties on reducing crime against passengers and crew, on buses and at stops and interchanges. This will update existing guidance on protecting bus crews and guidelines to operators on personal security on public transport. The new guidance will include advice on the installation, maintenance and repair of on-board equipment, which could help prevent crime. Professional counselling of employees is a matter for the operating companies.
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