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12 Feb 2003 : Column 732W—continued

Local Transport Plan (Leeds)

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the local transport plan budget was for Leeds in (a) 2001–02, (b) 2002–03 and (c) 2003–04; what the spending was in 2001–02; whether full spending is likely to be reached in 2002–03; and what action was taken over under-spending. [96966]

12 Feb 2003 : Column 733W

Mr. Jamieson: The Local Transport Plan capital allocations for Leeds City Council were as follows:

	£ million
(a) 2001–02	19.62
(b) 2002–03	26.645
(c) 2003–04	25.823

These figures comprise funding for Integrated Transport, Maintenance and Major Schemes.

Spending in 2001–02 was £20.898 million.

The projected outturn figure for 2002–03 is £23.0 million, which represents an underspend of £3.645 million. Some £1.900 million of this relates to the East Leeds Link Road where the start of construction has been delayed due to prolonged negotiations surrounding developers/landowner contributions. However, this funding can be rolled forward into 2003–04 and will be spent then. The remaining £1.745 million underspend relates to Integrated Transport and Maintenance. This cannot be rolled forward into 2003–04 but it is intended that Single Capital Pot flexibilities will be used so that the resource can be made available for transport in future years.

The Local Transport Capital Settlement letter of 10 December 2002 made clear to local authorities that those failing to deliver would have their indicative allocations reduced in order to free up fimds for better performing authorities.

London Underground PPP

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will publish further letters from his Department on the treatment of revenue shortfalls in the first phase of public-private partnership for the London Underground; [96574]

(2) what terms of the agreement have been reached between Transport for London, the Mayor of London's transport agency and his Department's officials on the proposed public-private partnership for the London Underground; [96573]

(3) what recent discussions have taken place between (a) his officials, (b) Transport for London, (c) the Mayor of London's transport agency and (d) Department of Transport officials to finalise arrangements for the proposed public-private partnership for the London Underground; and if he will make a statement on the implications for public finances of the agreement. [96572]

Mr. Jamieson: The exchange of letters between My right hon.Friend the Secretary of State and the Mayor, and between officials of the Department and Transport for London, was placed in the Libraries of the House on Tuesday 4 February.

The level of grant provision for London Underground remains as determined in the 2002 Spending Review. The Government has, however, reiterated its earlier commitments to review grant levels during future Spending Reviews, and in the event of major unforeseen circumstances.

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Rail Freight

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the existing rail freight links between the North of England and the Continent. [97272]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority's strategic plan, published on 30 January, explains its priorities including those for freight. The Government published a report on its targets and progress in meeting them in relation to the 10-year plan on 17 December 2002. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Rail Services

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what services (a) in the north west and (b) in the UK as a whole will be cut under proposals announced by the Strategic Rail Authority. [92575]

Mr. Jamieson: I understand from the Strategic Rail Authority that in the UK as a whole 104 services per day will be withdrawn, out of a total of about 17,000 per day. 44 of these operate in the north west; 12 are Virgin Crosscountry services between Birmingham and Blackpool and 32 are Central Trains services between Manchester airport and Crewe. Services on a number of other routes will be reduced. Virgin Crosscountry routes affected are between Birmingham and Cardiff, Poole, Swansea and Swindon, and the non-CrossCountry routes where services will be reduced are Oxford to Bristol, Southampton to Bournemouth, and Derby to Birmingham.

Road Tax

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles qualified for 25-year road tax exemption discs in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001. [97074]

Mr. Jamieson: The 25 Year Exempt taxation class was replaced by the Historic Vehicle taxation class in March 1998. This class applies to vehicles constructed before 1 January 1973. The number of vehicles licensed under the Historic Vehicle class for the years in question is shown in the following table.

Year	Number of licensed vehicles (Exempt Historic vehicle class)
1999	353,543
2000	339,996
2001	328,072

Road Traffic Accidents

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents have been recorded on the A14 between Stowmarket and Bury St. Edmunds in (a) 2000–01 (b) 2001–02 and (c) 2002– February 2003. [97393]

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Mr. Jamieson: The following table shows the recorded number of accidents along the A14 between Stowmarket and Bury St. Edmunds, in 2000 and in 2001. Figures for 2002 are not yet available.

Year	Total
2000	37
2001	34

Unlicensed Vehicles

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been prosecuted in the London Borough of Harrow for having an unlicensed vehicle in each of the last five years. [96798]

Mr. Jamieson: Specific figures are not available for the London Borough of Harrow but the number of cases successfully prosecuted by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's local office at Stanmore (which includes that Harrow area) were as follows (records were kept centrally before 2000–01):

Year	Prosecutions
2000–01	16,423
2001–02	17,325
2002–03(1)	16.297

⁽¹⁾ January

Many other unlicensed vehicle cases were settled out of court by payment of a penalty. Figures are only available for the whole of the London district:

Year
2000–01	39,932
2001–02	42,190
2002–03(2)	32,442

⁽²⁾ Denotes nine months to January only.

DEFENCE

Al Yamamah Deal

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the report on the Al Yamamah deal with Saudi Arabia will be published. [96172]

Mr. Ingram: I assume the question refers to the 1992 National Audit Office report about the Al Yamamah programme. The report refers to confidential arrangements between the Governments of the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia on a programme which is of great significance for British jobs and exports. The report has not been published because publication would breach that pledge of confidentiality; the report has therefore been withheld under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Airborne Stand-off Radar Programme

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the airborne stand-off radar programme to be completed. [95420]

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Mr. Ingram: The acquisition phase of the ASTOR programme is due to complete in 2008, when the fifth ASTOR system enters service. The contract with Raytheon Systems Ltd also provides for contractor logistic support until 2015. On current plans ASTOR will remain in service until 2035.

Anti-tank Weapon

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he expects the new anti-tank weapon to enter service on time and within the Ministry of Defence's proposed budget. [95414]

Mr. Ingram: Yes. The light forces anti-tank guided weapon system is expected to enter service in 2006 within its approved cost and timescale.

Armed Forces (Statistics)

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people there were in the UK (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) Air Force in each year from 1996–97 to 2003–04 (planned). [97346]

Dr. Moonie: I refer the hon. Member to table 2.8 of the United Kingdom Defence Statistics 2002, which provides historic information up to April 2002.

Each Service sets manpower requirements at the level required to deliver the capabilities needed to meet their endorsed requirements. The requirements, and the performance in meeting them, are reported by the Defence Analytical Services Agency, both annually in United Kingdom Defence Statistics and quarterly under National Statistics arrangements. Copies of these can be found in the Library of the House.

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