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Rail Services, Hassocks

12. Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress in his negotiations with the train operating companies on railway services to Hassocks, West Sussex. [55538]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority is currently negotiating the new South Central franchise agreement and hopes to reach a conclusion to these negotiations by September 2002.

Local Government Finance

13. Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what weighting factors will be given to poverty and health factors in the new local government financing system. [55539]

Mr. Raynsford: We are working to develop options for a fairer and more intelligible grant distribution system. We will consult on options over the summer and will consider the detailed responses when we come to take decisions.

21. Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress is being made towards replacing the Standard Spending Assessment. [55550]

Dr. Whitehead: We are working to develop options for a fairer and more intelligible grant distribution system. We will consult on options over the summer and will consider the responses when we come to take decisions.

37. Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he last met representatives of the F40 group of authorities to discuss the grant distribution system for 2003–04. [55566]

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Dr. Whitehead: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met representatives of the F40 group of authorities on Tuesday 14 May 2002 to discuss this issue.

Uniform Business Rate

14. Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to reform the uniform business rate. [55540]

Dr. Whitehead: Our proposals for business rates in England are set out in the Local Government White Paper "Strong Local Leadership Quality Public Services", published on 11 December. It includes among other proposals our new schemes for rate relief for small businesses and Business Improvement Districts.

Regional Planning Authorities

16. Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to extend the role of regional planning authorities. [55542]

Ms Keeble: We propose to strengthen regional planning by replacing Regional Planning Guidance with Regional Spatial Strategies. These would have statutory status and focus on strategic issues. These will be more fully integrated with other regional strategies and have an important sub-regional dimension.

Downing Street Transport Seminar

17. Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions to what extent the seminar in No. 10 Downing Street chaired by Ms C. Booth QC in February has assisted in the formulation of transport policy; and if he will make a statement. [55543]

Mr. Spellar: The Downing Street lectures are not policy-making seminars, and Mrs. Blair does not chair them. I attended the lecture given by Jeremy Acklam (Smart Economy, Smart Transport) and welcomed his thoughts on the potential gains from better transport information and technology.

For general information on the lectures, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 15 May 2002, Official Report, column 712–15W.

Regional Airports (Rail Links)

18. Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to improve rail links to regional airports. [55546]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) is working with a number of airport operators, and in the case of Glasgow and Edinburgh airports alongside the Scottish Executive, in the development of proposals to improve rail links to regional airports.

Regional Assemblies

19.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the financing of regional assemblies. [55548]

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Dr. Whitehead: Our policy on the financing of regional assemblies was set out in chapter 5 of our White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice", which was published on Thursday 9 May 2002.

24. Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the introduction of regional assemblies. [55553]

28. Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on regional assemblies. [55557]

Dr. Whitehead: The Government's policy on establishing elected assemblies in the English regions was set out in the White Paper "Your Region, Your Choice" (Cm 5511), which was published on 9 May.

33. Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what his policy is on the role of regional assemblies in respect of development policies. [55562]

Dr. Whitehead: Our policy is set out in Chapters 2 and 4 of the White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice", which was published on 9 May.

27. Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimates he has made of the cost of introducing regional government in England; and if he will make a statement. [55556]

Dr. Whitehead: The cost of establishing elected regional assemblies was discussed in paragraphs 5.12 to 5.16 of our White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice, published on 9 May.

Light Railway Systems

20. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to fund the installation of tram and light railway systems in smaller towns. [55549]

Ms Keeble: As I explained to the hon. Member at our meeting on 1 May, our ten-year plan reflects our commitment to light rail in major cities. Whether light rail offers the most appropriate and cost-effective response to transport needs in other circumstances is a matter, in the first instance, for the local authorities concerned to consider in formulating and reviewing their local transport plans. Thereafter, any light rail scheme or other major transport project would need to undergo rigorous appraisal and examination under any relevant statutory procedures before funding approval could be considered.

Regeneration

22. Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what steps he is taking to regenerate areas of deprivation. [55551]

Ms Keeble: We are continuing to tackle deprivation. The National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal has gathered widespread acceptance from all key stakeholders. Even though the strategy is a long-term initiative, we are already beginning to see early wins for

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our poorest communities through programmes such as Neighbourhood Wardens, Street Wardens and the New Deal for Communities.

Aviation Industry

23. Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on projected growth in passenger and flight numbers in the aviation industry over the next 10 years. [55552]

Mr. Jamieson: The Department's latest air traffic forecasts for the UK published in 2000 show the total passenger demand at UK airports increasing by 6 per cent. a year from 160 million passengers in 1998 to 276 million in 2010. The Department does not make forecasts of the number of flights.

Planning Reform

26. Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he intends to introduce legislation to reform the planning process. [55555]

Ms Keeble: Following consideration of the responses to the Green Paper consultation we would hope to press ahead as soon as possible with those reforms requiring legislation, subject to parliamentary time being available.

Children's Play Facilities

29. Ms Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proposals he has for improving children's play facilities in towns and cities. [55558]

Ms Keeble: The Urban Green Spaces Taskforce, which was set up in January 2001 to provide advice on policies for improving urban parks, play areas and green spaces, published its final report: Green Spaces, Better Places on Tuesday 7 May 2002. We will respond to the conclusions and recommendations of this report in a policy statement later this summer.

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