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21 Feb 2005 : Column 207W—continued
EU Committees
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Consultative European Energy and Transport Forum met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement; [214306]
(2) how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the EEC-Slovenia Joint Transport Committee met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [214307]
Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the series of Command Papers on prospects for the EU—Cm6174 laid in April 2004, Cm6310 laid in September 2004 and Cm6450 laid in February 2005, which cover the periods of the above presidencies and are available on the FCO website at: www.fco.gov.uk/commandpapers.
Free Public Transport
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of providing free public transport (a) in each local transport authority area and (b) in England for (i)disabled people, (ii) all people aged over 60 years and (iii) all people under 19 in full-time education (A) in rural areas and (B) elsewhere. [217360]
Charlotte Atkins: Local authorities in England currently spend around £500 million per year on concessionary fares schemes.
It is estimated that an extension of current concessionary fares schemes to provide free local public transport for people over 60 and disabled people within their local authority area would cost an additional £200 million per year (approximately £18 million for disabled people and £182 million for the over 60s). This includes local bus journeys and, where the local authority chooses to fund wider concessions, journeys on trains, underground, light rail and ferries within the local areas. The additional cost would rise to around £250 million per year (£25 million for disabled people and £225 million for the over 60s) if all local journeys on the national rail system were included.
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An England-wide scheme allowing free travel for all older and disabled people on all bus journeys would cost around £260 million per year more than the current system (approximately £24 million for disabled people and £236 million for the over 60s). The additional cost would rise to £500 million per year if all national rail journeys were included (£50 million for disabled people and £450 million for the over 60s). Breakdown by cost for each local authority or for rural and other areas is not available.
To provide free local bus travel for all under 19-year-olds would require additional funding of £520 million per year. Extending this to an England-wide scheme allowing free bus travel would cost around £580 million per year. Costs have not been estimated for free travel restricted to those in full-time education; however it is estimated that a free travel scheme applying to educational trips only would cost an additional £290 million per year. No estimates have been made to include journeys on all forms of public transport. Breakdown by area is not available.
Hengistbury Head
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency make their watch section at Hengistbury Head available to members of National Coastwatch. [217290]
Mr. Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's facility at Hengistbury Head is an unmanned remote radio site housing radiocommunications equipment. Access for the National Coastwatch Institution has been carefully considered and cannot be granted because of the need to protect the security and integrity of the existing and future radiocommunications equipment, and the health safety and cost implications of partitioning the site. In addition the underlying terms of the property lease do not allow sub-letting to third parties.
Home Zones
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Home Zones there are in England; and how many of them were established with the aid of funding from his Department. [216758]
Charlotte Atkins: Between 2001–02 and 2003–04 local transport authorities have reported to the Department that they introduced 65 home zones in England (outside London), as part of their transport capital programmes, which are supported financially by the Department.
The Department is supporting 59 homes zones through a specific grant, 19 having been completed by December 2004 with site works under way for 40 more. Other home zones are supported through the funding provided to local authorities in the general local transport capital settlement.
Mobile Phones
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 3 February 2005, to the hon. Member for North Devon (Nick Harvey), Official Report, column 1034W, on mobile phones, if he will make a statement on the latest survey. [216482]
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Mr. Jamieson: Details of the results of the latest survey in September 2004 are available on-line at www.trl.co.uk/abstracts/LF2094.pdf The next survey will be carried out in April 2005 and the results will be published in due course.
Network Rail
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 10 February 2005, Official Report, columns 93–96WS on rail spending, what the cumulative level of borrowing for Network Rail was at 31 March 2004; and what the projected cumulative level of borrowing is for (a) 31 March 2005 and (b) 31 March 2009. [217333]
Mr. McNulty: Network Rail's debt as of 31 March 2004 was £12.9 billionl.
Network Rail's debt at 31 March 2005 is currently forecast to be approximately £16 billion 2 .
Network Rail's debt at 31 March 2009 is currently forecast to be approximately £19.9 billionn 3 .
Network Rail's actual borrowing requirements are subject to continual review. They are determined by the company, based upon its revenues and expenditure requirements, within the context of the Regulatory Settlement. The company will update its projections in its 2005 Business Plan to be published on 31 March 2005.
1 Network Rail Annual Report and Accounts 2003–04 2 Latest forecast from Network Rail provided to the Office of Rail Regulation and Strategic Rail Authority. 3 Estimated debt at 31 March 2005, plus new borrowing requirements identified in the statement issued by the Secretary of State for Transport on 10 February 2005.
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the projected level of new borrowing by Network Rail is in each of the next four years. [217402]
Mr. McNulty: I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to my written ministerial statement on Thursday 10 February 2005, which contains the required information.
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Network Rail is free to negotiate contracts exclusively for the installation of ATMs for which there is a charge in stations. [217404]
Mr. McNulty: The negotiation of contracts for the installation of automatic till machines (ATMs) is a commercial matter for Network Rail, the train operating companies who lease all but 17 of the stations on the national rail network and the companies wishing to install the machines at the stations.
Northern Way
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the recommendation of the Select Committee on the Office of the Deputy min Minister in its fourth report of session 2004–05, that the 10 year plan should be looked at again to ensure adequate support to the Northern Way; and if he will make a statement. [216096]
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Charlotte Atkins: The Department is already providing significant levels of funding for transport schemes across the three Northern Way regions. We are now consulting on proposals for regional funding allocations announced in the 2004 Future of Transport White Paper. These will provide an important opportunity for regions to influence the Government's spending decisions, to ensure that transport is fully integrated into long-term planning for sustainable economic growth. The Northern Way have identified a wide range of infrastructure improvements to support growth. The challenge now is to develop an evidence based approach which will help to identify strategic priorities within available resources. Department for Transport officials will continue to engage with the Northern Way as they take this analysis forward.
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