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13 Mar 2003 : Column 356W—continued
TRANSPORT
Beddingham Level Crossing
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the decision-making process and timescale involved in the proposal to install a double barrier at the level crossing at Beddingham on the A27; what weight is being given to the views of the (a) local county and district councils and (b) the constituency hon. Member; what assessment is being made of the traffic conjunction implications of the proposal; whether the proposal is being considered in conjunction with the separate proposal to construct a flyover over this crossing; and if he will make a statement. [102819]
Mr. Jamieson: An application for an Order has been made under the Level Crossing Act 1983 for a full barrier crossing at Beddingham. In accordance with the legislation the draft Order has been sent to all affected local authorities, including the highways authority. The Secretary of State for Transport will consider all representations made against this draft Order—including the impact on road traffic—before making a decision on the way forward. The consultation period
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closes on 1 April but the likely timeframe for decisions will be dependent on the level and content of the representations received. Careful consideration will be needed before any final decision on the way forward is made. Decisions related to the long-term future of the crossing will be taken within the context of decisions on the south coast multi-modal study. There is in any case a need to consider the short-term safety issues at Beddingham, which is the purpose of the consultation relating to the draft Order.
London Transport Schemes
Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department and its predecessors spent on transport in London in each of the last five years; and what plans he has to finance new London transport schemes in 2003 to 2008. [100895]
Mr. Jamieson: The figures show the Treasury's analysis of public expenditure on Road and Transport in London taken from the annual Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA).
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,394 |
| 1998–99 | 1,436 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,366 |
| 2000–01 | 1,396 |
From 2001/02 onwards, the Government's spending on transport in London, and its plans for the future are laid out in Table A1.1 of Annexe 1 to "Delivering Better Transport: Progress Report", published in December 2002. These are shown as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1,597 |
| 2002–03 | 2,189 |
| 2003–04 | 2,716 |
| 2004–05 | 2,579 |
| 2005–06 | 2,504 |
| 2006–07 | 2,616 |
| 2007–08 | 2,690 |
Decisions on individual schemes in London are a matter for the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). London will also benefit from improvements to the National Rail network.
Ministerial Speeches
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rules govern the placing of (a) speeches and (b) notes for speeches by Ministers of his Department (i) on his Department's website and (ii) in the Library. [102193]
Mr. Spellar: Ministers address a very wide range of audiences in the course of business.
Key speeches, such as mark a significant development in, or are significant new statements of policy, are placed on the departmental website. Copies of such speeches will be placed in the Library of the House on request.
Notes for speeches are not placed on the website or in the Library.
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Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 290W, on ministerial speeches, if he will place a copy of the notes from which he spoke in the Library. [102340]
Mr. Spellar: I have not kept a copy.
Motorways
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his estimate is of the annual maintenance costs of English motorways in each year from 1985–86 to 2005–06 (planned); if he will provide such estimates, broken down for each such motorway; and if he will make a statement. [101533]
Mr. Jamieson: Separate totals for maintenance for years 1985–86 to 1990–91 are not available because accounts for those years were not published at that level of detail. Maintenance costs for 1991–92 onwards are available, but the costs are not split between motorways and other trunk roads, or by individual motorway. Listed in the table is the overall maintenance expenditure by the Highways Agency and its predecessor for each year since 1991–92.
| Financial year | Total cash maintenance expenditure |
|---|---|
| 1991–92 | 482 |
| 1992–93 | 539 |
| 1993–94 | 584 |
| 1994–95 | 595 |
| 1995–96 | 615 |
| 1996–97 | 550 |
| 1997–98 | 582 |
| 1998–99 | 641 |
| 1999–2000 | 726 |
| 2000–01 | 736 |
| 2001–02 | 711 |
| 2002–03 | (1)740 |
| 2003–04 | (2)748 |
| 2004–05 | (2)822 |
| 2005–06 | (2)824 |
(1) Budget.
(2) Planned.
Railways
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many train carriages have been ordered in the last four years; how many carriages are expected to be ordered before 2010; and if he will make a statement. [100296]
Mr. Jamieson: Since 1999, 2,832 vehicles have been ordered. Over 1,500 have already entered passenger service and the rest are expected to do so by 2005. Future orders are primarily a matter for train operating and rolling stock leasing companies. However, the Strategic Rail Authority's rolling stock strategy, now being developed, aims to assess future rolling stock needs and co-ordinate the ordering process.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made by his Department in the last year of the security arrangements at railway stations; and which have been assessed, listed by station operator. [102198]
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Mr. Jamieson: The Department for Transport's security inspectors regularly monitor the security arrangements at railway stations to ensure that the requisite standards are being met.
For obvious reasons, it will not be appropriate to detail the assessments carried out at particular stations.
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he plans to take to improve perceptions of safety among users of railway transport. [102228]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department is currently looking at good practice to improve personal security on trains. Part of this work includes considering the perceptions of passengers.
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what assessment he has made of the performance of Silverlink train services from Hatch End and Headstone Lane stations into Euston (a) before 1997 and (b) since 1997; and if he will make a statement; [102285]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the performance of the Chiltern Line services from Sudbury Hill and Northolt Park into central London since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [102286]
Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority publish performance statistics for all train operating companies in their quarterly National Rail Trends publication and their six-monthly "On Track" publication. The figures for each operator are not broken down to route level, but reflect the performance of their services in aggregate. The latest edition of "National Rail Trends" was published on Wednesday 12 March and copies are available in the Libraries of the House.
Road Safety
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on accepting road safety research conducted overseas as being valid for the United Kingdom; and whether this policy is applied in other parts of his Department. [102217]
Mr. Jamieson: The road safety research programme takes account of research conducted overseas through literature reviews and collaborative projects under the EU Framework programme. Our vehicle standards research feeds into international collaborative agreements where the combined research effort of all participants is used. Every attempt is made not to duplicate research unnecessarily, but the validity of results from research in other countries needs to be assessed to ensure that they are relevant in British road conditions and under our legal and regulatory system. A similar approach is taken in other parts of the Department.
London Underground
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Metronet contract will be signed; and when the Mayor of London will take over responsibility for the London Underground. [102392]
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Mr. Jamieson: London Underground Ltd. has agreed final commercial terms with Metronet for the remaining two public-private partnership transactions, and expects final completion of the transactions to take place this spring.
The Government intend to transfer London Underground Ltd. to Transport for London as soon as possible after completion of those transactions.
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