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Transport Modes
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the modal share of transport is by numbers of trips made. [60454]
Mr. Jamieson: The percentage of transport trips by mode for those living in Great Britain, from the National Travel Survey for the period 1998–2000 (the most recent data) is as follows:
| Main Mode | Trips per person per year | Percentage share |
|---|---|---|
| Walk | 271 | 26 |
| Bicycle | 16 | 2 |
| Car driver | 411 | 40 |
| Car passenger | 228 | 22 |
| Motorcycle | 3 | — |
| Other private | 8 | 1 |
| Bus in London | 13 | 1 |
| Other local bus | 45 | 4 |
| Non-local bus | 2 | — |
| LT underground | 7 | 1 |
| Surface rail | 12 | 1 |
| Taxi/minicab | 12 | 1 |
| Other public | 2 | — |
| All modes | 1,030 | 100 |
Fires at Sea
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many fires have occurred on vessels within 12 miles of the Scottish coastline in the last three years; and how many such incidents involved requests for assistance from coastal fire brigades. [60820]
Mr. Jamieson: There have been 29 occasions reported in the last three years of fires occurring on commercially operated vessels within 12 miles of the Scottish
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coastline. Of these 29, 12 involved requests for assistance from coastal fire brigades. Statistics are not recorded for other types of vessels.
Dartford Thames Crossing
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what his policy is on ending toll collections at the Dartford Thames Crossing; and to what timetable. [61099]
Mr. Jamieson: The powers that permit tolling at the Dartford Crossing, contained in the Dartford Thurrock Crossing Act 1988, expire on 31 March 2003. However, it was announced on 4 April 2002 that we have decided to introduce a road user charging scheme at the Crossing using powers contained in the Transport Act 2000. The Act requires that the net revenues from the charging scheme be spent on transport projects. It is expected that the charging scheme will commence on 1 April 2003.
National Air Traffic Service
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the insurance industry concerning the availability of insurance cover for the National Air Traffic Service. [61105]
Mr. Jamieson: There have been no recent discussions relating to insurance cover for National Air Traffic Services.
Galileo Project
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much the Government will spend on the Galileo Project in each of the next three years. [58242]
Mr. Jamieson: The Galileo satellite navigation programme is funded and managed jointly by the European Community and the European Space Agency (ESA), and the UK is supporting the programme through its contributions to these organisations. The development and validation phase (2002–05), approved in March by the EU Transport Council, is estimated to cost Euro 1.1 billion. Negotiations within ESA over Member States' contributions to its Euro 550 million share of this have yet to be concluded.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Staff Training
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Department has spent on staff training and development in each of the last five years. [61056]
Clare Short: In the last five years my Department's spending on staff training and development has been as follows.
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| # | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 2,466,066 |
| 2000–01 | 2,041,755 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,304,265 |
| 1998–99 | 833,976 |
| 1997–98 | 1,032,585 |
In addition, coaching and on the job training are regular features of the line management role but are not included in the overall financial cost for training and development.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Bali Summit
Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the outcome of the Fourth Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Bali; and if she will make a statement. [61924]
Mrs. Beckett: The Fourth Preparatory Committee meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development gives us a basis for the final run up to Johannesburg. Progress was made on a Programme of Action, which includes the importance of sanitation in eradicating poverty and meeting the Millennium Development Goal on safe drinking water. Broad agreement was also reached on key issues such as the urgent need to restore fish stocks and address illegal fishing, and on the important role non-governmental actors can play in achieving sustainable development. The meeting also recognised the need for a strong focus on Africa.
Other difficult issues remain outstanding, such as how the Summit can address trade and finance issues to complement the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Development Agenda. There are also specific targets on sanitation, biodiversity loss and energy, which have yet to be agreed. The UK will continue to work constructively with partners to ensure a successful outcome for Johannesburg, including concrete actions and coherent work programmes on energy, water and sustainable patterns of consumption and production.
Mr. Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) special advisers in her Department are travelling to Bali at public cost. [57838]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 20 May 2002]: There were 12 officials, one Minister and one special adviser travelling to the fourth preparatory meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Bali from DEFRA.
Rural Affairs
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings of the Forum for Rural Children and Young People have taken place; and what recommendations she has received from the Forum. [61128]
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Alun Michael: The Forum for Rural Children and Young People meets quarterly and is supported by DEFRA via a grant from the Countryside Agency. The group is represented on the Rural Affairs Forum for England which I chair.
The co-ordinator for the Forum for Rural Children and Young People—Andrew Brown—was appointed in September 2000. The Forum's Advisory Group includes representatives from most of the major voluntary sector bodies working with children and young people and observers from key Government departments, has held quarterly meetings since then. The Countryside Agency receives quarterly reports from the Forum and approves the Forum's annual report and work plan.
The Forum is working closely with a number of key Government departments on issues involving children and young people. This includes XConnexions", the Children's Unit, and the Department of Health as well as DEFRA. Other work includes a XGuide to the Rural White Paper", and the production of a video, Experts in Their Fields, in which children and young people speak about their experiences of living in the countryside. Recently, the Forum has contributed to the cross-cutting review on Children at Risk. We have also established strong links between the Forum for Rural Children and Young People and the Rural Affairs Forum for England that I chair.
I shall be meeting members of the Forum on Tuesday, 18 June.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place the minutes of the Rural Affairs Forum meetings since January in the Library. [61134]
Alun Michael: The Rural Affairs Forum has met twice, on 9 January and 10 April. Copies of the minutes of these are available on DEFRA's website (http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/rafe/ index.htm), where we will post future minutes and meeting papers. Copies of the minutes of the first two meetings have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the (a) first year and (b) average annual running costs of the proposals for the England Rural Development Programme advocated by the Policy Commission on the future of farming and food. [61562]
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Alun Michael: The Commission made a wide range of recommendations relating to the England Rural Development Programme. These referred to the agri-environment schemes, to the Vocational Training Scheme, to the Processing and Marketing Grant, to Hill Farm Allowance, and to the Rural Enterprise Scheme. The commission also advocates a shift in the overall balance of Common Agricultural Policy support between production subsidies and rural development measures. The recommendations would involve a range of different timescales for implementation, and the administrative costs involved in each would depend on a number of further decisions on the manner of implementation. For that reason it is not possible at this stage to give an assessment of the costs of the Policy Commission recommendations as a whole. We will publish our response to the recommendations in the Autumn.
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