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London Underground

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of the central line closure on (a) businesses in London,

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(b) shops and stores in London and (c) galleries and theatres in London; and if he will make a statement. [103987]

Mr. Jamieson: My right hon. Friend and I are very much aware from the representations that have been made to us of the problems which customers and businesses are suffering as a consequence of the central line closure. We share their concerns about the considerable time it has taken to restore services and we recognise the great patience that those affected have already shown. Every effort must be made to minimise the continuing impact on Londoners. It is essential that, following the successful resumption of train services on the eastern part of the line on 14 March and, I am pleased to report, between Haling Broadway and Marble Arch on 24 March, the service is restored to other destinations. We will be keeping up the pressure for London Underground to deliver these improvements to the service at the earliest possible date.

Network Rail (Development Rights)

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local authorities have challenged Network Rail's assumption that they have permitted development rights to erect their 20 metre high masts on Railtrack land; and whether local authorities have been successful in insisting that planning permission must be sought. [104538]

Mr. Jamieson: As a railway undertaker, Network Rail has permitted development rights for the erection of such telecommunication masts on its operational land, required in connection with the movement of traffic by rail. If, however, the local planning authority believes that such development should not take place without specific planning permisison, it is open to the authority to apply to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister for approval of a Direction under Article 4 of the General Permitted Development Order.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister advises that it knows of no applications for Directions under Article 4 of the General Permitted Development Order in relation to Network Rail's telecommunications masts.

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether planning permission is required for the erection of 20 metre high telecom masts on Railtrack and Network Rail land. [104768]

Mr. Jamieson: As a railway undertaker, Network Rail has permitted development rights for the erection of such telecommunication masts on its operational land, required in connection with the movement of traffic by rail. If, however, the local planning authority believes that such development should not take place without specific planning permission, it is open to the authority to apply to my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister for approval of a Direction under Article 4 of the General Permitted Development Order.

Rail Funding

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the

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Strategic Rail Authority on future funding of Rail Passenger Partnership schemes; and if he will make a statement. [104495]

Mr. Jamieson: My right hon. Friend has frequent discussions with the SRA on a range of issues, including the funding of the Rail Passenger Partnership Scheme.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the Strategic Rail Authority Performance Fund schemes (a) which have commenced, (b) where feasibility studies (i) have been completed and (ii) are continuing, (c) which have been placed on hold and (d) have been cancelled, indicating in each case funding from the Strategic Rail Authority (A) awarded, (B) approved and (C) projected in 2003–04. [104500]

Mr. Jamieson: The Strategic Rail Authority has approved support from the Rail Performance Fund for 12 projects. Contracts are in place for six. The SRA investment is expected to be around £10 million. Grants are expected to total £7.5 million in 2002–03 and £2.1 million in 2003–04. In addition to the approved grants, 11 further formal bids are on hold. If these were approved the investment would total around £27 million.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the (a) amount and (b) source of funding (i) paid, (ii) contracted and (iii) agreed to be paid by non Strategic Rail Authority sources to supplement output statement (A) track and signalling, and (B) station schemes which have been (1) approved, (2) deferred and (3) cancelled; [104498]

(2) what discussions he has had with the Strategic Rail Authority on the past and future undertaking of incremental output statement (a) track and signalling and (b) station schemes; and if he will make a statement. [104499]

Mr. Jamieson: Ministers and their officials are in regular contact with the Strategic Rail Authority. The Authority is currently considering which schemes to take forward under the IOS programme and how these might be funded.

Rail Travel

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 13 March 2003, Official Report, column 259W, on railways, when he plans to publish the conclusion of his Department's investigations into personal security on trains. [104667]

Mr. Jamieson: The Department's current on-train security project is seeking to identify good practice and evaluate methods of engaging with the rail industry to encourage them to implement good practice.

The results of this project will be considered by the Department later this year and will be published in due course.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 4 February 2003, Official Report, column 141W, on the Rail Passengers' Council, if he will set a time limit for the Strategic Rail Authority to supply the information sought. [104410]

Mr. Jamieson: I understand that the Authority has now written to the hon. Member.

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Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those (a) councils and (b) rail passenger groups from which he has received representations since the publication of the Strategic Rail Authority Strategic Plan 2003; and what the nature of each representation was. [104497]

Mr. Jamieson: Since the publication of the SRA's 2003 strategic plan, the Department has received representations from a number of bodies, including Passenger Transport Authorities, local councils and rail passenger consumer bodies. They have commented on a wide range of topics in the strategic plan, including timetable changes, franchising policy, major projects, service quality, reliability, safety and funding priorities for the railway industry over the plan period.

Roads (Noise Reduction)

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Highways Agency has to replace concrete surfaces with noise-reducing surfaces on motorways, with particular reference to the M6 motorway between junctions 12 and 13. [104895]

Mr. Jamieson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Tim Matthews to Mr. Kidney, dated 28 March 2003:

I have been asked by the Transport Minister, David Jamieson, to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the use of noise-reducing surfacing on motorways and, in particular, the M6 motorway between junctions 12 and 13.

The Government's Ten Year Plan for Transport, announced in July 2000, gave an undertaking that by 2010 60% of the motorway and other trunk road network, including all concrete roads, would have lower noise surfaces.

When the Secretary of State announced his response to the Midlands and North West Multi-Modal Study last December, he also asked the Highways Agency to carry out further work on implementation and timing to enable a scheme to be brought forward for the widening of the M6 between junctions 11a and 19. While this may influence the timing of any resurfacing, the intention is that the concrete carriageway section between junctions 12 and 13 will be replaced with a lower noise surface.

I hope this is helpful. If you would like further information, the Highways Agency's Project Sponsor dealing with M6 widening is Nick Curwen. He can be contacted at our offices at Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BL, or by telephone on 0121 678 8232.

Silverlink Services

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 13 March 2003, Official Report, column 359W, if he will publish an assessment of the performance of (a) Silverlink services from Hatch End and Headstone Lane into Euston and (b) the Chiltern Line service from Sudbury Hill and Northolt Park into central London in (i) 1996 and (ii) 1997; and what investment has been made into stations at A) Hatch End, (B) Headstone Lane, (C) Northolt Park and (D) Sudbury Hill since 1996. [104998]

Mr. Jamieson: As stated in my answer of 13 March, the rail performance figures for each operator published in National Rail Trends and On Track are not broken down to route level, but reflect the performance of their services in aggregate.

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Information on amounts invested at individual stations is not held centrally.

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