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21 Oct 2004 : Column 871W—continued

South West Trains

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what representations he has received concerning the proposed changes to the South West Trains timetables from 12 December; [190481]

(2) what amendments the Strategic Rail Authority has granted to the South West Trains Public Service Requirement to allow them to operate a new timetable from 12 December; [190490]
 
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(3) how many departures from the terms of the South West Trains (SWT) Public Service Requirement will take place when the proposed new SWT timetable commences on 12 December; [190491]

(4) what consultation South West Trains has undertaken with (a) the Strategic Rail Authority and (b) his Department concerning the proposed departures from the Public Service Requirement; [190492]

(5) what his policy is on allowing train operating companies to (a) depart from obligations contained within the Passenger Service Requirement (PSR), (b) depart from the PSR obligation without prior approval from the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) and (c) depart from the PSR obligations prior to the SRA being able to undertake a full stakeholder and public consultation process; and if he will make a statement; [190493]

(6) what discussions he (a) has recently had and (b) intends to have with the Strategic Rail Authority about future compliance by South West Trains with its public service requirement; [190509]

(7) what powers the Strategic Rail Authority has to issue a derogation to extend maximum journey times specified within a public service requirement without consultation with (a) stakeholders and (b) the general public; [190510]

(8) what plans the Strategic Rail Authority has to (a) consult (i) stakeholders and (ii) the general public about amendments or derogations to the South West Trains' public service requirement and (b) publish proposed changes to South West Trains' public service requirement; [190511]

(9) which bodies the Strategic Rail Authority recently consulted about the changes required to public service requirements (PSR) in order to allow the proposed new South West Trains timetable to conform to the terms of the PSR. [190512]

Mr. McNulty: The Secretary of State has no contractual relationship with Train Operating Companies (TOCs). The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has responsibility for managing franchise agreements with TOCs under Directions and Guidance from the Secretary of State, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.

TOCs cannot depart from the Passenger Service Requirement (PSR) without SRA approval. The SRA has powers to grant derogations from PSRs. It is not specifically obliged to consult on these but is expected generally to consult to an appropriate level those affected by the exercise of its functions and normally does so.
 
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The SRA requires TOCs to demonstrate that they have consulted those affected by proposed timetable changes. South West Trains (SWT) has consulted widely with local authorities and rail user groups about the proposed timetable as well as consulting the SRA about associated proposed departures from the PSR. It has not been necessary for SWT to consult the Department.

The Secretary of State has general discussions periodically with the SRA about a range of issues. The Secretary of State has received no representations about the proposed changes to the SWT timetables from 12 December 2004. The SRA has consulted affected local authorities and Rail Passenger Committees which represent passengers about proposed PSR changes. The consultees are listed in the table.

The SRA is considering a request from SWT, to grant temporary derogations to allow implementation of the 12 December 2004 timetable. A summary of these requests for derogations was sent to the affected MPs, including the hon. Member, in a letter from the SRA dated 17 September 2004. A copy of the summary has been placed in the Library of the House.
Bodies consulted by the SRA

Councils
Arun district councilHampshire county council
Basingstoke and Deane borough councilPlymouth city council
Bath and North East Somerset councilPoole borough council
Bournemouth borough councilPortsmouth city council
Bracknell Forest councilPurbeck district council
Brighton and Hove city councilReading borough council
Bristol city councilRoyal borough of Kingston upon Thames
Chichester district councilRunnymede borough council
Christchurch borough councilSalisbury district council
Devon county councilSomerset county council
Dorset county councilSouth Hams district council
East Devon district councilSouth Somerset district council
East Dorset district councilSouthampton city council
East Hampshire district councilSpelthorne district council
Eastleigh borough councilSurrey county council
Elmbridge borough councilSurrey Valley district council
Epsom and Ewell borough councilTeignbridge district council
Exeter city councilTest Valley borough council
Fareham borough councilThe Royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Gosport borough councilTorbay borough council
Hart district councilWandsworth council
Hampshire county councilWaverley borough council
Havant borough councilWest Dorset district council
London borough of HounslowWest Sussex county council
London borough of LambethWeymouth and Portland council
London borough of MertonWiltshire county council
London borough of RichmondWinchester city council
London Borough of SuttonWoking borough council
Mole Valley district councilWokingham district council
New Forest district councilWorthing borough council
North Dorset district council

 
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Other bodies

Transport Services

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list grants his Department has made for transport services in Southend in each of the last three years. [192278]

Charlotte Atkins: Grant has been paid by the Department to Southend-on-Sea borough council for half the costs of its major transport scheme included in its Local Transport Plan. The figures are as follows:
Financial yearAmount (£000)
2001–02250
2002–031000
2003–042000

In addition, the Department has given support to borrowing for the balance of these costs and for integrated transport schemes and block maintenance of highways in Southend-on-Sea. The total figures for these are:
Financial yearAmount (£000)
2001–024608
2002–034742
2003–044680

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Government grant the City of York has received for transport schemes in each year since the unitary authority was established. [192410]

Charlotte Atkins: The table as follows shows the total amount of Government grant City of York council has received for all transport related issues in each year since the formation of the unitary authority in April 1996.
£ million

Transport Policies and
Programme/Local Transport
Plan Capital Funding
GrantNon-grantRural Bus Subsidy grantRural Bus ChallengeCountryside AgencyStrategic Rail Authority
1996–971.2842.0560000
1997–980.7061.5060000
1998–990.1680.9590.0730.18000
1999–20000.3381.6450.073000
2000–0102.2620.0730.23600
2001–0205.9950.093000
2002–0306.1550.10700.0070
2003–0407.8810.10900.0440
2004–0506.3020.12300.0411.600
Total2.49634.7610.6510.4160.0921.600



Notes:
1. The Transport Policies and Programme/Local Transport Capital funding to local authorities covers all aspects of transport (e.g. maintenance, road safety and public transport). Historically this funding has been allocated partly in the form of grant (Transport Supplementary Grant or TSG) and partly by means of borrowing approval (Supplementary Credit Approvals or SCA and Annual Capital Guideline or ACG). Since the introduction of the Prudential system of finance in the 2004–05 financial year, borrowing approval is now in the form of Supported Capital Expenditure (SCE).
It is for the local authority to set priorities and allocate funds accordingly for transport
from its Single Capital Pot budget.
2. In addition, the local authority receives Revenue Support Grant (RSG) from the Government each year. This is a block allocation for all council services, which includes support for transport schemes; however, it is not possible to identify specific allocations for transport schemes from within the RSG allocation.



 
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