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ILO Convention

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the UK's compliance with its obligations under the International Labour Organisation Convention 147. [60168]

Mr. Jamieson: The UK ratified ILO Convention Number 147 in 1980. The UK Government ratifies international conventions only when it is satisfied that measures are in place to ensure compliance. The Government has also ratified the Protocol of 1996 to that Convention, which extends the list of other conventions with which signatory states must comply.

Correspondence

Sir Brian Mawhinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the right hon. Member for

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North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a substantive reply to his letter of 28 March on behalf of his constituent Mr. J. Germany. [59718]

Mr. Darling: I apologise for the delay in providing a substantive reply to the right hon. Member of North-West Cambridgeshire's letter of 28 March on behalf of your constituent Mr. J. Germany. My predecessor explained in his reply of 10 April 2002 that Mr. Germany raised some complex issues and that it would take some time to explore these and respond in some detail. However, a full response will be sent today.

Private Finance Initiative

Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many non-PFI capital projects fall under the responsibility of his Department and related NDPBs; and what the capital value and nature is of each project. [59814]

Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

In respect of DTLR the information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many PFI capital projects fall under the responsibility of his Department and related NDPBs; what the capital value and nature is of each project; and what stage they are at in the PFI procurement process. [59834]

Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested in respect of the former DTLR is set out in the table.

PFI Project	Capital value (£ million)	Nature of project	Stage in PFI procurement process
Highways Agency—A69	9	Road	Operational
Highways Agency—A1(M)	128	Road	Operational
Highways Agency—A417/419	49	Road	Operational
Highways Agency—A50	21	Road	Operational
Highways Agency—A30/35	75	Road	Operational
Highways Agency—M40	65	Road	Operational
Highways Agency—A19	29	Road	Operational
Highways Agency—M1-A1 Link Road	214	Road	Operational
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre	3	Catering	Operational
Highways Agency—Traffic Control Centre	85	IT	Contract awarded and under construction
Vehicle Inspectorate—MOT Computerisation	31.4	IT	Contract awarded and under construction
Health and Safety Laboratory—Estate Rationalisation	63	Laboratory	Contract awarded and under construction
Highways Agency—A1(M) Dishforth to Darrington	(10)240	Road	In procurement (best and final offer stage)
Health and Safety Executive—Merseyside Accommodation	(11)50	Office accommodation	In procurement (awaiting responses to invitation to negotiate)
Highways Agency—A249 Stockbury to Sheerness	(10)75	Road and bridge	In procurement (pre-qualification stage)
Highways Agency/Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber/Traffic Area Network—Leeds Accommodation	(10)30	Office accommodation	In procurement (expression of interest stage)
Maritime and Coastguard Agency—helicopter harmonisation (with Ministry of Defence)(12)	Not known	Search and rescue helicopters	Pre-procurement (harmonisation options under consideration)

⁽¹⁰⁾ This is an estimated figure for the construction cost.

⁽¹¹⁾ This is an estimated figure for the capital cost.

⁽¹²⁾ PFI is one of the options under consideration.

Committee Mandates

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the mandate of the EC-Bulgaria Joint Transport Committee is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [58413]

Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

This Committee is established under the provisions of Article 13 of the Agreement of 26 July 2000 between the European Community and the Republic of Bulgaria establishing certain conditions for the carriage of goods

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by road and the promotion of combined transport. The remit of the Committee is to ensure the proper implementation of the Agreement. The Committee would be made up of representatives appointed by the Community and Bulgaria. But I am not aware that it has met since the conclusion of the Agreement or that there are any plans for it to meet in the immediate future.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the mandate of the Committee on the movement of air or sea passengers' baggage (principles) is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [56791]

Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

I have not been able to identify this committee from the information in the hon. Member's question.

Network Rail

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guarantees concerning (a) the state of the track and signals and (b) future safety are being sought by the consortium, Network Rail. [58016]

Mr. Spellar: I have been asked to reply.

Network Rail has sought no such guarantees.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if it is his policy to modify the provisions of the Railways Act 1993 in relation to Railway Administration. [59333]

Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

There are no current plans to do so.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the requirement in the Commercial Loan Agreement for the Railtrack administrator to repay commercial loans in September. [59358]

Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

Under Clause 11.1.1 of the Commercial Loan Agreement, repayment is due on the earlier of, the date notified to the agent as being the date expected to fall seven days before a transfer scheme is made or if no transfer scheme is made, an Alternative Railway Transfer, or discharge of the Railway Administration Order, or 23 September 2002 or the date which is the next business day following any date to which the availability period is extended. The availability period is defined as the period from (and including) financial close to (and including) 20 September 2002 or such later date as may be determined pursuant to Clause 5.5 of the Commercial Loan Agreement.

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John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the number of trained staff in Scotland on the implementation of the Strategic Rail Authority's plan in Scotland. [58095]

Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

The Strategic Rail Authority has recognised the need for improvements in training within the industry and is taking the lead on the development of a National Rail Academy, to promote the development of the key skills and competencies needed to run a railway on a safe and effective basis. The SRA has provided £500,000 for development work.

Rail Service (Edinburgh)

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he expects passenger rail services to begin between Edinburgh Waverley and the proposed Edinburgh Park station. [59201]

Mr. Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.

I am not aware that a date has been set. I understand that a formal bid will be put forward to the Strategic Rail Authority for Rail Passenger Partnership funding, the initial proposal having pre-qualified. The Strategic Rail Authority will assess the bid on value for money terms in line with their published planning criteria. The outcome of that process will determine how and when the scheme progresses.

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