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3 Nov 2003 : Column 397W—continued
Telephone Exchanges
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which body owns telephone exchanges in Great Britain. [135327]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 30 October 2003]; With the exception of Kingston upon Hull, local telephone exchanges in the UK are owned by BT. In the Kingston upon Hull area, they are owned by Kingston Communications.
Cable Companies also have facilities in areas where they have a network presence.
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether a regulatory assessment has been made of the costs of upgrading telephone exchanges to broadband exchanges; and if she will make a statement; [135328]
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- (2) which body is responsible for ensuring that companies other than British Telecom are not asked to pay an uncompetitive price for upgrading telephone exchanges to make them broadband enabled; [135329]
Mr. Timms [holding answers 30 October 2003]: Telephone exchanges can be upgraded for broadband by their owners, or by other telecommunications providers by means of local loop unbundling. In pursuit of its broadband target, the Government is keen to see as many exchanges as possible upgraded for broadband. Nonetheless, decisions on upgrading are a commercial matter for the companies concerned.
WALES
Bechtel
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the contracts for consultancy and work carried out by Bechtel in each year since 1997, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [133580]
Mr. Touhig [holding answer 22 October 2003]: The Wales Office was established in 1999. Bechtel have not been contracted to carry out any consultancy work for the Wales Office since then.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact of increases in stamp duty land tax on economic regeneration policies in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [135613]
Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
The Government has introduced disadvantaged areas relief which provides an exemption from stamp duty land tax for transactions in non-residential land in Enterprise Areas. There are 363 wards in Wales which qualify for this relief, representing the bottom 42 per cent. of areas in the national index of deprivation. The measure provides a major boost to businesses investing in commercial premises in Wales.
TRANSPORT
Air Travel
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the results of the SPASM computer model run on the assumptions that air travel would by 2030 pay the same rates of tax as those currently applicable to car travel. [135183]
Dr. Howells: The modelling shows that, with aviation fuel taxed at the same rate as motor vehicle fuel and with VAT imposed on all flights departing from UK airports, the number of passengers using UK airports would rise from 180 million in 2000 to around 315 million in 2030. This assumes that the increase in tax causes the same percentage decrease in demand for air travel.
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Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the responses from the public to the consultation on the Future of Air Transport in the United Kingdom will be made available for public inspection. [135192]
Dr. Howells: We have received over 400,000 responses to the consultation. These are being analysed, and an index and retrieval system is being developed. We shall make the responses available before the end of this year, except where consultees have explicitly requested confidentiality.
Responses from some key stakeholders are already in the public domain, and can be viewed on the relevant web sites.
Gatwick Airport
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 11 September 2003, Official Report, column 372W, on runway capacity, what the net economic benefit would be from building a new wide spaced runway at Gatwick, counting only benefits to UK residents. [135219]
Dr. Howells: The net economic benefits, to UK residents only, of building a new wide spaced runway at Gatwick, over and above the benefits from maximum use of existing capacity at south east airports, is approximately £2 billion, assuming all costs and benefits are discounted at 3.5 per cent. from 2000 to 2060. This estimate also takes into account a three year delay in benefits and includes a 44 per cent. increase in costs to reflect the risk in estimating costs for engineering works.
Highways Agency
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what costs the Highways Agency has borne in dealing with illegal occupations of its land at Foston, Derbyshire in the last 12 months. [134709]
Mr. Jamieson: I have asked the Acting Chief Executive of the Highway's Agency, Mr. Stephen Hickey, to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Stephen Hickey to Mr. Mark Todd, dated 3 November 2003:
- The Transport Minister, David Jamieson, has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking what costs have been incurred in dealing with illegal occupation of land at Foston, Derbyshire, in the last 12 months.
- The total cost is not yet known as the Agency have not yet had the site cleared and have not received all invoices for the legal costs.
- To date they have incurred Solicitors fees of £3559. This figure will rise as they had to apply to Derbyshire County Court for a Writ of Restitution to enforce the earlier eviction notice.
- The total cost of securing the site with concrete blocks is £1,800, the blocks will remain following the site clearance until the land is tenanted.
- We are working closely with the Environment Agency to ensure that the land is thoroughly cleared of any debris. It is estimated that the clearance of the land will cost approx £24,000.
Piracy
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British registered ships have been
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the subject of attack by pirates in each half year for the last five years; in which areas of the world these attacks have taken place; what the cost in (a) human, (b) freight and (c) shipping terms has been; and what steps he is taking to deal with the problem. [134964]
Mr. Jamieson: The number of British registered ships that have been the subject of attack by pirates since 1998, and the areas of the world where these attacks have taken place, are as follows:
| January to June | July to December | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | ||
| Americas | 3 | — |
| Indian Sub-Continent | 1 | — |
| South East Asia | — | 2 |
| 1999 | ||
| South East Asia | — | 1 |
| South America | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 | ||
| Africa | 1 | — |
| Americas | — | 2 |
| Far East | — | 1 |
| South East Asia | 1 | 2 |
| 2001 | ||
| Indian Sub-Continent | 1 | — |
| South East Asia | 1 | 2 |
| 2002 | ||
| Africa | 3 | 1 |
| Americas | 1 | 3 |
| Far East | 2 | — |
| Indian Sub-Continent | 1 | 1 |
| South East Asia | 3 | 2 |
| 2003 | ||
| Africa | 2 | — |
| Americas | 2 | — |
| Far East | 1 | — |
| South East Asia | 4 | — |
Note:
These figures are for the British Fleet, and include the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and Dependent Territories combined fleets.
There have been no reported instances of any seafarers being killed on a British ship during the period, and no British ships have been stolen. Ship equipment, stores, personal effects and cash have been stolen during attacks but an exact inventory is not held centrally.
Concerted action by the international community is the key to addressing the problem. The UK has participated in several counter piracy seminars in "hotspot" areas, has prepared and issued Codes of Practice for the investigation of piracy incidents and the registration of "phantom" (stolen) ships, and raised the matter at international events, including the United Nations General Assembly.
The UK Government meet the maritime industry on a regular basis to discuss how best the UK can continue to help tackle the problem of piracy. In November 2002 revised counter piracy advice was re-issued to all UK seafarers, and we have also issued advice on measures and equipment to assist ship operators.
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The new IMO requirements for ships to have internationally agreed security measures in place by July 2004 will also help to protect them from piracy attacks.
Road Safety (Child Pedestrians)
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many child pedestrians were injured on roads, broken down by local highway authority, in each of the last three years. [134754]
Mr. Jamieson: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
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