---

19 Nov 2002 : Column 77W—continued

Rail Services (North-West)

29. Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the quality and coverage of rail services in the North West. [81351]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority reports on the quality and coverage of rail services in its annual report, XOn Track" and XNational Rail Trends".

19 Nov 2002 : Column 78W

M10

30. Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to upgrade the M10 to provide a full motorway link to the A1(M). [81352]

Mr. Jamieson: The M10 motorway falls within the study area of the London to South Midlands Multi-Modal Study. This study is currently under way and is looking at long-term solutions to meet the passenger and freight transport needs within the area, including the existing difficulty of east-west travel. It is expected the study will report to regional planning bodies at the turn of this year. I would not want to prejudge the study recommendations at this stage.

10-year Plan

31. Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings he has had with passengers' interest groups about the 10-year Plan. [81353]

33. Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings he has had with passengers' interest groups about the 10-year Plan. [81355]

Mr. Jamieson: Ministers in this Department have regular meetings with a wide range of interest groups, many of whom represent passengers.

Traffic Reduction

32. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his plans for traffic reduction. [81354]

Mr. Jamieson: A core aim of the Government's 10-year Plan for transport is to tackle the adverse effects of traffic, in particular congestion and pollution. There is no specific objective for reducing traffic, although we believe that, by 2010, the plan will have led to lower traffic growth than would otherwise have been the case.

Stagecoach

34. Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the standard of bus services provided by Stagecoach. [81356]

Mr. Jamieson: Local authorities have the primary role in assessing whether bus service needs in their area are being met adequately by current provision. I understand there were some problems with Stagecoach services in the east Derbyshire area, but that these have now improved considerably.

Airport Expansion

35. Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning airport expansion in the south-east. [81357]

Mr. Jamieson: We have received and continue to receive a huge number of responses and inquiries concerning the airports consultation. Ministers and officials have met a wide range of organisations including planning bodies, environmental groups and the aviation industry. A number of public exhibitions on the options have also been held.

19 Nov 2002 : Column 79W

Air Shows

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many accidents there have been at air shows in each of the last 10 years; and how many (a) fatalities and (b) injuries resulted from these; [80790]

(2) how many public air shows have been held in each of the last 10 years; and how many of these involved (a) vintage aircraft (b) former military planes. [80789]

Mr. Jamieson: The following table provides details of civilian air displays performed for the public since 1992. There were no injuries to members of th public over this period. All of the displays listed involved both vintage and ex-military aircraft.

Year	Air displays	Accidents	Fatalities to crew	Serious injuries	Minor injuries
1992	462	1	1	0	0
1993	438	0	0	0	0
1994	438	1	0	0	1
1995	370	2	1	0	0
1996	256	4	4	0	0
1997	338	2	0	0	0
1998	311	2	1	0	0
1999	294	1	0	0	0
2000	245	1	1	0	0
2001	165	2	3	0	0
2002	196	0	0	0	1
Total		16	11	0	2

Angina

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the review team of the DVLA will report on the outcome of its inquiry into the confusion caused by the wording of Question 2 on the H1 medical questionnaire about angina; and if he will make a statement. [80761]

Mr. Jamieson: The agency has completed its review of the wording of the angina question. It has been decided to make a change to the wording of the question and this will be introduced as soon as possible. In the meantime, applicants who declare that they suffer from angina provoked by driving are being contacted to confirm that they have answered the question appropriately before any licensing decision is taken.

Congestion Charging

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many car parking spaces are available to (a) employees of his Department and (b) visitors to his Department within the proposed Central London Road User Charging Zone. [81858]

Mr. Jamieson: Within the proposed central London charging zone there are:

(a) 19 car parking spaces available to employees of the Department, and

(b) 17 car parking spaces available to visitors to the Department.

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the policy is of his Department in relation to the reimbursement of Central London road user charges incurred by its employees. [81838]

19 Nov 2002 : Column 80W

Mr. Jamieson: It is general departmental travel planning policy that staff should not use cars to commute to and from work. However, staff on official business who are required to drive their own vehicles, or hire vehicles, within the charging zone will be reimbursed.

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated cost is to his Department of the Central London Road User Charging Scheme for (a) 17 February 2003 to 31 March 2003, and (b) 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004. [81877]

Mr. Jamieson: Any additional costs to my Department as a result of the congestion charging scheme will be just one element within wider costs which have to be met from budgets for official travelling and other costs.

Tonnage Tax

Mr. Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the UK-based shipping companies which have increased the number of UK ratings in their employment since the introduction of the tonnage tax. [80893]

Mr. Jamieson: This information is commercially confidential and is exempt from disclosure under Section 13 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Arson (Buckinghamshire)

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many incidents of arson there were in (a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire in each year since January 1997. [81178]

Mr. Leslie: In 2000, the Fire Service in Buckinghamshire attended 1,263 fires where malicious or deliberate ignition was proved or suspected (these include fires which were recorded by the brigade as 'doubtful'. This compares to 1,138 such fires in 1999, 967 in 1998 and 926 in 1997. Incident data are not available below brigade area level. 2000 is the latest year for which data are available.

Bed and Breakfast Accommodation

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) central and (b) departmental administrative expenditure went on organising bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless households in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by local authority. [80544]

Mrs. Roche: Comprehensive information on local authorities' expenditure in relation to expenditure on bed and breakfast accommodation, including central and departmental allocations of associated administrative and welfare costs, is published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) in XHomelessness Statistics—Actuals". Copies of the latest report, for 2000–01, and those for earlier years are available in the House Library.

19 Nov 2002 : Column 81W

Congestion Charging

Mr. Chope: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many car parking spaces are available to (a) employees of his Department and (b) visitors to his Department within the proposed central London road user charging zone. [81859]

Mr. Leslie: Within the proposed central London charging zone there are:

(a) 41 car parking spaces available to employees of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and

(b) 14 car parking spaces available to visitors to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Mr. Chope: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the policy is of his Department in relation to the reimbursement of central London road user charges incurred by its employees. [81839]

Mr. Leslie: It is general departmental travel planning policy that staff should not use cars to commute to and from work. However, staff on official business who are required to drive their own vehicles, or hire vehicles, within the charging zone will be reimbursed.

---