---

West Coast Main Line

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what representations have been received from the Scottish Executive regarding the upgrade of the West Coast Main Line. [54822]

Mr. Jamieson: My Department is in contact with the Scottish Executive on a wide range of issues, including the upgrade of the West Coast Main Line.

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what his latest estimate is of the cost of upgrading the West Coast Main Line (a) North and (b) South of the Scotland/ England border. [54824]

Mr. Jamieson: The precise outputs of the West Coast upgrade are currently under review by the Strategic Rail Authority and the key stakeholders. Until the outputs are agreed, estimated costs of the upgrade will not be known.

Rail Freight Operators

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what protection exists, and whether it is his policy that protection should exist, to protect rail freight operators against increases in track access charges by the rail regulator. [54282]

Mr. Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 2 May 2002, Official Report, column 901W.

Deep Sea Ports

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidelines he issues to ensure that planning gain for transport is balanced between rail and road modes when considering the development of deep sea ports. [54604]

Mr. Byers: I refer the hon. Member to the Government's policy paper on ports, "Modern Ports", published in November 2000, a copy of which is in the Libraries of the House.

Bus Services

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many

8 May 2002 : Column 217W

complaints were registered with each passenger transport authority against bus operators, broken down by name of operator, in each of the last three years. [54265]

Ms Keeble: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Individual passenger transport authorities may, however, be able to provide information about complaints they have received.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the total bus subsidies paid in each of the past four years were in (a) urban and (b) rural areas. [54814]

Ms Keeble: Data are not collected in the precise form requested. The table summarises the available data on public financial support for local bus services in England.

£ million

	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01
	Concessionary fares reimbursement by local authorities
London and metropolitan areas	286	289	289	301
Rest of England	104	103	102	113
	Local authority service subsidies(13)
London and metropolitan areas	99	121	119	209
Rest of England	86	110	127	135
	Fuel duty rebate from central Government
London	30	37	46	47
Rest of England	157	185	231	254

⁽¹³⁾ This comprises Revenue Support Grant funding for local authorities, funding from London Transport/Transport for London and expenditure under the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant scheme.

Note:

Data on expenditure on fuel duty rebate to bus services in metropolitan areas are not kept separately.

School Transport (Safety)

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reason the law compelling children on school coaches to wear seat belts does not apply to children on double decker buses when those buses are being used for school transport; and if he will make a statement. [53828]

Mr. Jamieson: The design of many of these bus types makes it technically difficult for them to be fitted with adequate seat belts. Also, the types of passenger journeys on these vehicles are such that the need for belts and the likelihood of their being used are less than on faster long-distance journeys. We would expect the service provider to take into account the type of vehicle and provision of seat belts when specifying the vehicle for the service.

Bus Security

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) if he will introduce regulations to require bus operators to install and keep in good order bus radio/alarm systems; [54874]

(2) if he will take steps to ensure bus companies provide improved security for bus workers against assault by passengers and other drivers. [54875]

8 May 2002 : Column 218W

Ms Keeble: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Baillieston (Mr. Wray) on 1 May 2002, Official Report, column 815W.

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will convene a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee to ensure a co-ordinated approach with the devolved Administrations to prevent assaults on bus workers. [54873]

Ms Keeble: The Government are committed to raising awareness and addressing the issue of assaults on bus staff through research and good practice guidance for public transport operators and encouraging transport policing initiatives. I can assure my hon. Friend that my Department and the devolved Administrations discuss issues relating to the bus industry, including staff safety and security, when appropriate.

MI (Services)

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reason he is allowing the rebuilding of the motorway services at junction 15A of the M1 motorway on a site which would not permit motorway widening without its subsequent demolition. [54826]

Mr. Jamieson: We have no present plans to widen the M1 at this point. In any case, while the proposed alterations to the service area do involve the replacement of some existing buildings with new ones, we are satisfied that the changes are likely if anything to make future widening proposals more, rather than less, straightforward to implement.

M27

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) when the roadworks on Junctions 2 to 4 on the M27 will be completed; [54845]

(2) if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in completing the roadworks on Junctions 2 to 4 on the M27. [54846]

Mr. Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Tim Matthews to Sandra Gidley, dated 8 May 2002:

I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson, to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about roadworks on the M27 between Junctions 2 and 4.

Weather permitting, the works will be completed by the end of June. The delay has been due, in part, to technical difficulties encountered during construction. Drainage through the environmentally sensitive River Test Valley proved more difficult than originally anticipated and to make up the time, the contractor has increased his resources and changed his working methods.

MOX Fuel Shipment

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will place in the Library a copy of the approval documents he

8 May 2002 : Column 219W

has issued to British Nuclear Fuels for the transport package which will be used to transport the faulty MOX fuel it supplied to Japan back to Sellafield. [53137]

Mr. Jamieson: I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Libraries of the House of that part of the approval document certifying approval of design and shipment.

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if the approval process for the transport package which will be used to transport the faulty MOX fuel from Japan to Sellafield has taken into account whether the package is filled with argon gas or water; and if he will make a statement. [53138]

Mr. Jamieson: The approval process has taken into account all material within the package.

Dangerous Driving

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will implement the recommendations contained in the report, Dangerous Driving and the Law; and if he will make a statement. [54872]

Mr. Jamieson: The report raises a number of important points about the operation of the law on dangerous driving. We are considering these with other government departments with a view to reaching conclusions on the report's recommendations as soon as possible.

---