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24 Mar 2005 : Column 938W—continued
CABINET OFFICE
Surplus Assets Sales
Mr. Evans: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the value of sales of surplus assets from his Office was in each year since 2000–01. [220969]
Mr. Miliband: The value of sales of surplus assets in my Department for each year since 2000–01 is set out in the table.
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 4,856 |
| 2002–03 | 176 |
| 2001–02 | 529 |
| 2000–01 | 153 |
The higher level of sales for 2003–04 is the result of the disposal of land and buildings.
This information is contained within notes of the Resource Accounts available in the Library (Note 10: 2001–02, 12: 2002–03, 13: 2003–04).
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
General Election
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will invite international observers to assess whether the forthcoming general election is fair. [223786]
Mr. Leslie: As a participating member of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, we would normally invite its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to send election observers to any elections held in the UK. I fully expect us to repeat our previous practice of doing so once the date for the next general election is announced.
Human Rights Act (Gibraltar)
Mr. Key: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether his Department treats the Human Rights Act 1998 as applying to (a) residents of Gibraltar and (b) locally employed Ministry of Defence employees in Gibraltar. [223348]
Mr. Lammy:
No.
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PRIME MINISTER
Peerages
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Prime Minister what the principal address at the time of elevation was of each peer created since 1 September 2004, broken down by (a) nation within the UK and (b) region of England for peers resident in England at the time of elevation. [223782]
The Prime Minister: Three people have been elevated to the peerage since 1 September 2004. The place of residence at the time of their elevation is shown in the following table.
| Residence at time of elevation | Number |
|---|---|
| England | |
| Yorkshire | 1 |
| London | 2 |
Transcript
Andrew Selous: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 9 March 2005, Official Report, column 1509, to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard), if he will place a copy of the transcript to which he refers in the Library. [223806]
The Prime Minister: No transcript was made by my office.
As I made clear in my answers to the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) on 9 March 2005, Official Report, column 1509, the Government acted on the advice of the Police and the Security Agencies to bring forward new Counter Terrorism legislation. These new powers will be used against those people engaged in or plotting terrorist acts. The powers would not be used against protestors, unless they were engaged in terrorist activities.
TRANSPORT
Blind Junctions
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the impact of installing convex mirrors at blind junctions on the level of road accidents; and if he will make a statement. [223854]
Mr. Jamieson: The Department has made no overall assessment of the impact convex mirrors have had on road accidents. The Department's view is that the use of traffic mirrors presents more disadvantages than benefits and their use on public roads should be considered only in exceptional circumstances if no better solution is available.
Car Clubs
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding has been provided for car clubs in each financial year since 1997–98; what the projected funding to 2006–07 is; and if he will make a statement. [223920]
24 Mar 2005 : Column 940W
Charlotte Atkins: In 1999, the Department contributed setting up costs of £150,000 to establish the Edinburgh City Car Club.
The Department has also been supporting the CarPlus car club advisory service with the following annual grants:
| Annual grant | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 37,000 |
| 2000 | 38,000 |
| 2001 | 103,000 |
| 2002 | 53,000 |
| 2003 | 60,000 |
| 2004 | 60,000 |
CarPlus have requested further funding for 2005–06. This is currently under consideration.
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his letter of 22 December 2004 to the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford in respect of residents living near the channel tunnel rail link, when he will provide a full reply to the issues raised. [223819]
Mr. McNulty: Department for Transport officials are working with the Department's advisers and Union Railways on possible options for a compensation model for residents concerned about the noise and vibration impacts arising from the operation of the channel tunnel rail link at the North Downs tunnel. However, this is a complex matter which needs to be given careful consideration. I hope to write to the hon. Gentleman soon setting out our proposals to resolve this issue.
Concessionary Travel
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional resources he plans to make available to (a) Wychavon district council and (b) Worcester city council to fund the concessionary bus fare scheme for pensioners and the disabled announced in the Budget. [223746]
Charlotte Atkins: £350 million will be provided to English local authorities to cover the additional costs of free fares on local bus services. This sum will be added to the annual local government finance settlement. The amount each authority will receive will be determined as part of this settlement.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether the concessionary travel announced in the Budget statement will be paid to local authorities through the revenue support grant; [223910]
(2) whether the concessionary travel funding announced in the Budget statement (a) will be paid directly to local authorities and (b) will be based upon the costs of individual schemes within each authority; [223911]
(3) how local authorities deemed to be floor authorities for the purpose of receiving revenue support grant will be treated in respect of the grant for concessionary travel announced in the Budget
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statement; whether the floor will be applied to the grant to these authorities; and whether they will be expected to absorb the full costs of concessionary travel. [223912]
Charlotte Atkins: The additional funding for local authorities to implement the move to free concessionary fares for older and disabled people on off-peak local bus services will be paid to local authorities through the revenue support grant. It will be distributed according to the overall revenue support grant settlement formula.
No decisions have yet been taken on possible floor schemes for 2006–07 onwards.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pensioners in Chorley he expects will benefit from free bus transport. [223789]
Charlotte Atkins: From April 2006, the Government are extending the existing statutory minimum requirement for concessionary fares so that people aged 60 and over and disabled people in England will be guaranteed free off-peak travel on their local bus services, with no charge for the pass.
In Chorley, all residents over 60 will benefit from free local bus travel. According to the 2001 census, there were then 16,813 pensioners (men aged 65 and over and women aged 60 and over) and 19,421 people over 60 in Chorley.
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