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28 Oct 2002 : Column 582W—continued
Royal Botanic Gardens
Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Quinquennial Review of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has been completed. [77859]
Mr. Morley: The review team completed Stage II of their Quinquennial Review of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew earlier this year.
I am placing in the Library of the House a copy of the review team's Stage II report together with the Government's response to both Stages of the Review. The response has been agreed jointly with the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
28 Oct 2002 : Column 583W
Rural Expenditure
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 21 October, reference 75837, on the Rural White Paper, if she will list the funding schemes administered by the (a) regional development agencies and (b) Countryside Agency on behalf of her Department; and if she will list the amount spent through each scheme. [77066]
Alun Michael: Following the commencement of the Regional Development Agencies single budget arrangements in April of this year they no longer run specific funding schemes on behalf of Departments.
The Countryside Agency's main economic and community funding schemes, available for application by individuals or organisations, are as follows (with estimated programme spend this year):
| Funding scheme | # million |
|---|---|
| Market Towns | 2.49 |
| Vital Villages | |
| Parish Plans | 1.35 |
| Community Service Grants | 4.82 |
| Parish Transport Grants | 4.24 |
| Rural Transport Fund | 10.11 |
| Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund | 4.8 |
| Local Heritage Initiative | 1.68 |
| Support for Rights of Way | 1.35 |
| Doorstep Greens | 1.24 |
| Millennium Greens | 0.44 |
| Walking the Way to Health | 1.42 |
World Summit on Sustainable Development
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the outcome of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development with particular regard to (a) the multinational targets agreed during the Summit and (b) the targets the European Union sought to negotiate at Johannesburg and to which the EU remains committed. [76249]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 22 October 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 17 October, Official Report, column 898W. In addition, the UK and EU pushed unsuccessfully for a numerical target in relation to natural resource loss.
TRANSPORT
10-year Plan
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much private investment has been (a) spent and (b) allocated for road building (i) under the 10 year plan to date, (ii) projected by 2004–05 and (iii) projected for the period of the 10 year plan (A) at today's prices and (B) at outturn cost. [76479]
Mr. Jamieson: Tables a) and b) show the levels of private sector investment in strategic and local roads that were assumed in the XTen Year Plan". The local roads figures include investment in maintenance and street lighting, as well as road construction.
28 Oct 2002 : Column 584W
| To end 2002—03 | To end 2004—05 | To end 2010—11 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trunk roads | 391 | 760 | 2,349 |
| Local roads | 160 | 492 | 2,133 |
| Total | 551 | 1,252 | 4,482 |
| To end 2002–03 | To end 2004–05 | To end 2010–11 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trunk roads | 396 | 788 | 2,638 |
| Local roads | 162 | 515 | 2,449 |
| Total | 558 | 1,03 | 5,087 |
To date, we estimate that the private sector has invested #320 million in the construction of trunk roads. This figure excludes the A13 DBFO contract, which was included in the XTen Year Plan" trunk road forecasts. The A13 was formerly a trunk road but was later transferred to Transport for London. There will be an estimated #150 million of private investment on the A13 to the end of December 2004. Since local highways authorities are responsible for procuring local roads, my Department does not hold information on private sector spending on these roads.
Air Transport (Consultation Document)
Mr. Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) the location of meetings he has organised during the consultation on The Future Development of Air Transport in the UK and (b) his criteria in choosing locations for the consultation. [76642]
Mr. Jamieson [holding answer 24 October 2002]: During the consultation, the Department is conducting a programme of public exhibitions to provide information to people who would be affected by the major airport development options. The table lists the dates and locations of the public exhibitions.
| Airport | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Stansted | 30–31 August | Stansted |
| Cliffe (l) | 5 and 7 September | Chatham and Basildon |
| Gatwick | 14 September | Gatwick |
| Heathrow | 20–21 September | Heathrow |
| Luton | 27–28 September | Harpenden |
| Alconbury | 3 October | Huntingdon |
| Cliffe (2) | 4/5 October | Cliffe and Hoo St Werburgh |
| Glasgow | 8 October | Glasgow |
| Edinburgh | 9 October | Edinburgh |
| Manchester (1) | 14 October | Knutsford |
| East Midlands | 21 October | East Midlands |
| New Midlands Airport | 30 October | Church Lawford |
| Birmingham | 4 November | Birmingham |
| Newcastle | 8 November | Gosforth Park |
| Manchester (2) | 15 November | Cheadle |
The main criteria applied in identifying suitable venues are proximity to the airport option and affected areas, venue capacity, accessibility, and availability.
28 Oct 2002 : Column 585W
Bus and Coach Casualties
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the change in the number of injuries and fatalities in bus and coach transport between 1997 and 2001. [76950]
Mr. Jamieson: The table shows the numbers of casualties by severity for bus or coach drivers and passengers between 1997 and 2001.
Although total bus and coach occupant casualties in 2001 were 5 per cent. higher than in 1997, the number killed and seriously injured fell by 6 per cent. There has been little change in fatalities within the total.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drivers | |||||
| Killed | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| KSI(6) | 75 | 69 | 67 | 51 | 64 |
| All severities | 833 | 907 | 908 | 1,024 | 992 |
| Passengers(7) | |||||
| Killed | 12 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 10 |
| KSI | 526 | 562 | 544 | 527 | 498 |
| All severities | 8,606 | 8,932 | 9,344 | 9,064 | 8,892 |
| All occupants(7) | |||||
| Killed | 14 | 18 | 11 | 15 | 14 |
| KSI | 601 | 631 | 611 | 578 | 562 |
| All severities | 9,439 | 9,839 | 10,252 | 10,088 | 9,884 |
(6) Killed or seriously injured
(7) Includes boarding and alighting
Competition Act
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the nature and investigation of each complaint that has been made against a railway business under the terms of the Competition Act 1998. [76400]
Mr. Jamieson: Complaints concerning services relating to railways are a matter for the Rail Regulator exercising concurrent jurisdiction with the Director General of Fair Trading. Section 55 and schedule 11 of the Competition Act 1998 imposes a general restriction on disclosure of information. No information relating to the affairs of an individual, or any particular business or undertaking, can be disclosed during the individual's lifetime or while the business is carried on unless consent is obtained.
Concessionary Travel
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce concessionary travel fares for people in rural areas attending training courses; and if he will make a statement. [77047]
Mr. Jamieson: Concessionary travel, as it currently stands, contributes to social inclusion by making transport more affordable to older and disabled people, who are often on lower incomes. However, others who may be socially excluded might also benefit from cheaper bus fares, but cannot do so under the current arrangements. We are therefore considering, in the context of our review on bus subsidies, whether local authorities should have greater discretion to extend lower fares to other groups such as those who are
28 Oct 2002 : Column 586W
seeking employment, or for people in full-time adult education. The review will report to Transport and Treasury Ministers in February 2003.
Consultancies
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list external (a) public relations/communications companies, (b) advertising and marketing companies, (c) management consultancies, (d) accountancy companies, (e) banking firms, (f) individual consultants and (g) other specialist consultancies used by his Department since June 2001; what actions those consultancies/companies have performed within his Department; and what costs have been incurred through use of these consultancies/companies. [74681]
Mr. Spellar: The Department was formed on 29 May 2002 and the information requested since that date is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Expenditure on external consultants by the former DTLR is given in an answer by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Dr. Whitehead) on 15 April 2002, Official Report, column 736W.
Expenditure on external consultants who dealt with press or public relations by the former DTLR is provided in an answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. Leslie) on 19 June 2002, Official Report, column 412W.
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