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28 Nov 2005 : Column 140W—continued
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of private cars in London registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority in (a) 1999–2000 and (b) 2004–05. [31882]
Dr. Ladyman:
At the end of December 1999 there were 2,162,000 cars owned privately in the Greater London area. At the end of December 2004 the figure had risen to 2,365,000.
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Emergency Procedures (Test Exercises)
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library the results which do not relate to terrorist attacks of bi-national exercises to test emergency procedures held on (a) 15 April 2004 at Folkestone Fire Station (UK COMEX), (b) 30 June 2004 on the French side of service tunnel (VALEX) and (c) 19 September 2004 (UK led annual exercise BINAT 15). [30445]
Derek Twigg: The reports of these exercises do not distinguish the results in this way. The exercises test the emergency services' response to particular sets of circumstances regardless of whether those circumstances are assumed to have resulted from an accident or terrorist attack. The reports are matters for the UK and French emergency services and Eurotunnel rather than the Department.
Fuel Sales
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) petrol stations and (b) other outlets sell (i) diesel and (ii) petrol that has a renewable content in each region. [32301]
Dr. Ladyman: We are aware of around 100 outlets selling biodiesel, usually in a blend of 5 per cent. with fossil diesel. These are listed by region on the Energy Savings Trust's website at http://www.est.org.uk/fleet.
Following the introduction of a 20p per litre fuel duty derogation in January, on average around 7 million litres of bioethanol is being sold in the UK each month. It is blended at up to 5 per cent. with fossil petrol in line with fuel quality standards. We understand that this fuel is being sold at 100 or so outlets in the South East of England, but retailers are generally not distinguishing the fuel as renewable and we therefore do not have precise information on the number of outlets selling it.
Light Rail and Trams
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the light rail and tram schemes approved by his Department since 1998; and what conditions were attached to each; [25617]
(2) what agreement he has entered into in respect of light rail schemes in relation to contingency funding for cost overruns for each scheme since 1998; and if he will place copies of such agreements in the Library. [25643]
Derek Twigg: Since 1998, the Department has approved the following schemes:
Manchester Metrolink renewals and capacity enhancements
Conditional approval was granted in 2005. The approval letter was issued on 28 July 2005 with the following conditions:
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Government funding was capped at £58 million (in cash terms). Any inflationary risks as a result of delay to the scheme would be for GMPTE to meet.
Government funding was conditional upon the whole scheme being delivered as set out in the proposals sent to the Department by GMPTE.
If at any time prior to full approval the promoters found that the agreed funding would not be sufficient to carry out the work set out in their proposal, they must, at that point, let the Department know and discuss with the Department the implications.
If the promoters found that the funding profile set out in the letter was no longer workable, they must let the Department know at that point and discuss with the Department the implications.
Full approval would not be given until final prices had been fixed and process and risk allocations were known. A request for full approval would need to include:
The total costs, including that required from Government (which the Department expected to be no more than £58 million), and
Provisional approval was granted in 2002. The approval letter was issued on 19 December 2002 with the following conditions:
Were the public sector costs to increase above the current estimate of £225 million, the entirety of the excess would have to be met through local sources.
DfT would need to obtain assurances at the appropriate time from Section 151 officers of the authorities contributing towards the costs that they had considered the impact of potential cost overruns on the future finance of the authority and, as a matter of judgment, were satisfied that it would be affordable, bearing in mind that the Government contribution would be capped.
Full approval was granted in 2001. The approval letter was issued on 28 March 2001 with the following conditions:
The final amount of public sector support would only be known once the tendering process had been completed. Once tenders had been received, the promoters would need to agree with the Department and Treasury the amount of public sector funding required. If the public sector funding requirement was more than the cap of £355 million (in present value terms), the promoters, the Department and Treasury would need to consider the available options, including whether the project should proceed as currently planned.
Full approval was granted in 2001. The approval letter was issued on 28 March 2001 with the following conditions:
The final amount of public sector support would only be known once the tendering process had been completed. Once tenders had been received, the promoters would need to agree with the Department and Treasury the amount of public sector funding required. If the public sector funding requirement was more than the cap of £170 million (in present value terms), the promoters, the Department and Treasury would need to consider the available options, including whether the project should proceed as currently planned.
Provisional approval was granted in 2000. The approval letter was issued on 12 December 2000 with the following conditions:
Final approval would depend on whether an updated economic appraisal confirmed that the scheme represented good value for money and on satisfactory funding arrangements being agreed.
Manchester Metrolink extensions
Full approval was granted in 2000. The approval letter was issued on 19 July 2000 with the following conditions:
Local contribution would be increased to meet any increase in the public sector funding requirement resulting from higher capital costs or a lower concession value at the end of the tendering process compared to the assumptions set out in the approval letter, or from lower than assumed developer contribution.
In cases where the public sector funding requirement was increased by more than 10 per cent., GMPTE, the Department and the Treasury would need to consider the available options, including whether the project should proceed as currently planned.
Once it became apparent that the tender bids would come in significantly above the previously anticipated funding requirement, the Department agreed that the public sector contribution would be increased to £520 million (in cash terms). This followed confirmation from the section 151 officers of each district council that, as a matter of professional judgment, they were satisfied that the contributions that would fall to be made by their authorities were affordable. They had borne in mind that the Government's contribution was capped at £520 million (in cash terms). A letter was sent to the promoters on 20 December 2002 with the following conditions:
Government would not be prepared to make any additional contribution towards the cost of the scheme.
Tyne and Wear Metro Sunderland extension
Full approval was granted in 1999. The funding allocation was set out in the Tyne and Wear settlement letter on 16 December 1999. No separate approval letter was issued.
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Full approval was granted in December 1998. The approval letter was issued on 5 January 1999. It confirmed that the project would be issued with PFI Credits of £167 million following contract signature if the project went forward as planned. In August 1999, the Department agreed an increase in public sector funding of £10 million. This was provided on the basis that:
If the negotiations failed to reach financial close by the end of August, the Council or Arrow would have to bear any resulting costs or interest increases themselves.
As this was a PFI funded scheme, the Department would need to be satisfied that the necessary value for money criteria had been met and that the risk transfer was acceptable.
No further agreements were made in regards to contingency for cost over runs.
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