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TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND

THE REGIONS

Local Government

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list additional statutory obligations placed upon local authorities by the Government in each of the past five years. [40215]

Dr. Whitehead: The information for all Departments is not held centrally. The main new duties placed on local authorities by my Department in the last five years include:

Local Government Act 1999

Duty of best value to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which they exercise their functions, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

Greater London Authority Act 1999

Duty on London borough councils and the common council of the City of London to have regard to the Mayor's transport strategy, municipal waste management strategy and London air quality strategy; and to consult the Mayor on their unitary development plan to ensure it is in general conformity with the Mayor's spatial development strategy.

Local Government Act 2000

Duty to consult, draw up proposals and implement new executive arrangements.

Duty to hold a referendum on a directly elected mayor if their proposals involve a form of executive which includes a directly elected mayor, where a valid petition is submitted or the Secretary of State directs the authority.

Duty to appoint an overview and scrutiny committee.

Duty to prepare a community strategy.

Duty to adopt a code of conduct within six months of the new model code coming into force.

Duty to establish a standards committee.

Duty to set up an independent remuneration panel to advise on their allowance scheme.

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Transport Act 2000

Duty to prepare and keep under review a local transport plan, which includes a bus strategy, for their area.

Duty to offer disabled residents and elderly people of state pension age a free pass entitling them to half fares on local bus services.

Representation of the People Act 2001 and Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

Various duties, or changes to duties, in relation to local, parliamentary, and European parliamentary elections, including the registration of electors and the conduct of elections in their areas.

Homelessness Act 2002

Stronger duties to accommodate and assist homeless people.

Duty on housing authorities to adopt a homelessness strategy every five years based on a homelessness review, and a duty on social services to co-operate in this on request.

Duty on housing departments to co-operate with social services when dealing with homeless families with children.

Spring Supply Estimates

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on item (a) lxxxvi and (b) lxxxv on page 9 of the Spring Supply Estimates. [40234]

Dr. Whitehead: Item (a) lxxxvi on page 9 of the Spring Supply Estimates provided for payments to and receipts from Railtrack plc (in administration) in accordance with the Loan Agreement and indemnities given under section 63 of the Railways Act 1993. Item (b) lxxxv on the same page of the Spring Supply Estimates relates to the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) transitional rebate scheme, which covered the period 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2001.

Press and Public Relations Staff

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people were employed in a press or public relations function in his Department and its predecessor on 1 January in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001 and (f) 2002. [39946]

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many staff in his Department's press office have received (a) termination and (b) redundancy payments in each of the last four years. [41082]

Dr. Whitehead: I refer the hon. Members to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 19 March 2002, Official Report, column 220W.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what involvement Ian Jones had in drafting the Department's press release of 15 February entitled Stephen Byers' statement on the resignations of Martin Sixsmith and Jo Moore. [41996]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 11 March 2002]: Under Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information it is not the practice to disclose details of internal discussions and advice.

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Leak Inquiries

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many leak inquiries have been held in his Department and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and how many led to action against a member of staff. [41993]

Mr. Byers [holding answer 11 March 2002]: Four inquiries were undertaken in my Department and its predecessor in 1997–98, two in 1998–99, one in 1999–2000, three in 2000–01. None of these inquiries led to action against a member of staff. Two inquiries have been carried out this financial year. No action has been taken against any member of staff as a result of the first inquiry. Consideration is being given to whether action against any member of staff is appropriate as a result of the second inquiry.

Railways

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the total public and private investment, not including public resource expenditure, allocated for the railways to be spent over the period 2001 to 2011, at today's prices as at (a) 1 April 2001, (b) 2 April 2001, (c) 13 January 2002, (d) 14 January 2002, (e) 29 January 2002 and (f) the latest available date. [45706]

Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the updated version of table A3 from the Ten-Year Plan for Transport, copies of which were placed in the Libraries of the House on 25 February.

Total capital investment in rail over the ten years to 31 March 2011 is estimated to be £52.9 billion (£18.6 billion public plus £34.3 billion private). This figure has increased from £49 billion in the original Ten-Year Plan to reflect the public sector funding increases since then. These figures are in cash prices, standard HM Treasury deflators should be used to translate into current prices.

Rail funding over the period also includes £14.9 billion of public resource funding, of which £3 billion is estimated to be used as direct revenue support for the private investment. This £3 billion should be deducted when calculating the total level of public and private funding for rail to avoid double counting.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2002, Official Report, column 21W, how many meetings he has had with the Rail Regulator since 11 December 2001. [46119]

Mr. Byers: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State (Mr. Jamieson), to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on Tuesday 11 December 2001, Official Report, column 789W.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the route specific capacity utilisation strategies being developed by the SRA. [45462]

Mr. Byers: The SRA is currently developing one route specific capacity utilisation strategy in relation to the West Coast Main Line.

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Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent representations he has received from (a) the Strategic Rail Authority, (b) the Association of Train Operating Companies, (c) train operating companies, (d) the Rail Passenger Committee and (e) other passenger representatives regarding (i) rail fares and fare regulation and (ii) network railcards. [45415]

Mr. Jamieson: The Association of Train Operating Companies informed Ministers and local MPs of their proposals for the network railcard. No other recent representations have been received on these subjects from industry organisations or passenger representatives.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2002, Official Report, column 373W, on railway policy, what the changes in demand were to which his Department responded; and who within his Department was responsible for (a) assessing these changes and (b) reallocation of resources. [45495]

Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to my answers of 6 March 2002, Official Report, column 373W and 18 March 2002, Official Report, column 22W.

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