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17 Apr 2007 : Column 622W—continued
Railways
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many railway lines selective door opening is running. [128096]
Mr. Tom Harris: All modern rolling stock produced in the last 10 years, including Pendolino, Voyager, Meridian, Adelante, Electrostar, Turbostar, and Desiro trains, has a facility for selective control of door opening. Nationally this represents over 1/3 of the UK rolling stock fleet.
The Train Operating Companies use this facility wherever short platforms make it necessary on the lines over which these trains operate, and I have deposited a current list of these lines in the House Library.
Railways: Bicycles
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to support proposed European legislation that would require facilities for bicycles on all European trains. [131195]
Mr. Tom Harris: The UK supports the Common Position reached by the Council and Commission on the International Rail Passengers’ Rights and Obligations proposal. This does not mandate facilities for bicycles on all European trains, recognising the limitations of space on some services, particularly during peak hours.
Railways: Freight
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek to meet the Secretary of State for Communities, Local Government and the Regions to discuss the planning regime in respect of Railfreight Interchanges following introduction of the Government’s proposed Planning-Gain Supplement (Preparations) Bill. [130797]
Mr. Tom Harris: I have no plans to seek a meeting with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities, Local Government and the Regions on this issue. However, officials from both Departments will shortly be meeting with representatives of the Railfreight Interchange Investment Group to discuss issues relating to the planning regime in respect of railfreight interchanges, including the potential introduction of a Planning Gain Supplement.
Railways: Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) percentage and (b) actual change he expects there to be in numbers of seats on (i) peak and (ii) off-peak services from Milton Keynes Central from January 2009. [132325]
Mr. Tom Harris: Once the examination of bids for the new west midlands franchise has been completed and new timetables for the Virgin West Coast trains (incorporating additional stops) have been further refined it will be possible to provide a full response. I anticipate that train operators will be able to provide accurate details later in the year.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) fast, (b) semi-fast and (c) slow trains he expects to be available per hour from Milton Keynes during (i) peak and (ii) off peak times when the platform upgrade at Milton Keynes station is completed. [132328]
Mr. Tom Harris: The basic pattern of services will consist of three fast Virgin West Coast trains an hour northbound from Milton Keynes Central and two fast services an hour southbound. The exact pattern of services on the semi-fast and slow services will remain broadly unchanged but is dependent upon the bids submitted for the new west midlands franchise. I expect the operator of this franchise and Virgin West Coast trains to provide full details later this year to passengers and stakeholders.
Railways: West Midlands
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans the new west midlands rail franchise operator to be announced. [132326]
Mr. Tom Harris: The new west midlands rail franchise operator is expected to be announced during summer 2007.
Rolling Stock
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what value of (a) rail vehicles and (b) carriages are expected to be delivered in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008 and (iii) the Control Period 4 (2009-14), broken down by (A) (1) manufacturer and (2) franchise on which they are expected to operate and (B) (x) orders already in place and (y) future planned orders. [131793]
Mr. Tom Harris: It is too early to comment on the deployment, value and orders of the additional rolling stock.
The deployment of new rolling stock will be agreed with the industry following the publication of the High Level Output Specification and the long-term rail strategy this summer.
The rail industry will respond to the HLOS in October 2007 with proposals for delivering the sought extra capacity.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail vehicles and carriages (a) on order and (b) expected up to 2014 will be (i) replacement vehicles for existing rolling stock and (ii) additional rolling stock which will add to the total potential loading capacity of the rail network. [131794]
Mr. Tom Harris: It is too early to predict how many of the existing fleet of approximately 11,400 rail carriages will be replaced by 2014. I can, however, re-iterate the Government intention to commit to contracting with train operators for 1,000 additional carriages by 2014. This will form part of the capacity sought in the rail High Level Output Specification to be published in July and will be in addition to any carriage replacements.
Speed Limits: Cameras
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many speed cameras there were in each police authority area in 1997. [131795]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department does not hold this information, but does have the information for the areas covered by the Safety Camera Partnerships. The following table shows the number of fixed and mobile camera sites that are recorded as having been established in 1997.
| Number | |
The National Safety Camera Programme ceased on the 31 March and the response represents data held as at that date. Future operation and deployment of safety cameras will be under the control of local partnerships, which will be better able to supply up-to- date information.
Walking: Pupils
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to extend Walking to School initiatives. [131566]
Gillian Merron: The Government are funding over 3,000 schools to increase walking to school: 1,903 schools to set up and sustain a walking bus and 1,328 to set up and sustain an alternative walking initiative, following my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport’s announcement of 22 November 2006. More than one in six primary schools in England chose to apply and were eligible for the grant. The House and schools were informed of the allocations for 2007-08 on 26 March.
The successful schools will be eligible for further grants in 2008-09 and 2009-10 if they deliver the modal shift from car to walking that their head teachers promised and they have a reasonable expectation that this will continue.
Wolverton Station: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what date the grant of £400,000 for the upgrade of Wolverton station must be spent. [132323]
Mr. Tom Harris: The grant, provided through the Community Infrastructure Fund, must be used by 31 March 2008.
Treasury
Crossrail Line: Finance
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he expects to take a decision on the funding of Crossrail as part of the 2007 comprehensive spending review. [125761]
Ed Balls: Crossrail funding and financing issues will be considered further in the context of Sir Michael Lyons' recommendations and wider spending pressures and priorities. However, the affordability challenge represented by the scheme remains significant.
Departments: Secondment
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer from which NHS trusts his Department received secondees in each of the last five years. [131341]
Mr. Timms: The Sunderland teaching primary care trust seconded an employee to the Treasury during 2006. No other NHS trusts have seconded an employee to the Treasury in the last five years.
EC Budget
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which EU budget items allow spending on information campaigns targeted at journalists. [130652]
Ed Balls: The information published by the Commission does not detail for all EC budget lines whether these include spending on information campaigns targeted at journalists.
Chapter 16 02 of the 2007 EC budget entitled ‘Communication and Media’ does allow spending on communication with the media. This chapter is made up of budget lines 16 02 02 (Multimedia Actions), 16 02 03 (Information for the Media) and 16 02 04 (Operation of Radio and Television Studios and Audiovisual Equipment).
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent by the EU on special annual events (budget item 15 06 06) in each of the last five years; what the money was spent on; and if he will make a statement. [130654]
Ed Balls: The information published by the European Commission on budget line 15 06 06 details the outturn on special annual events in 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002. In 2005 the outturn of payment appropriations was €2,900,000, in 2004 it was €1,725,000 and in 2003 €3,729,325.18. There was a nil outturn for payment appropriations under this line in 2002. Outturn figures are not yet available for this line for 2006, but commitment appropriations were set at €5,500,00 and payment appropriations at €5,000,000.
These appropriations were designed to support special annual events. These have included, inter alia: the European Year of Mobility for Workers; the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome; the European Union campaign for democracy; the 15th Mediterranean Games and the 25th Anniversary of the Solidarity movement in Poland.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent by the EU on European Political Foundations (budget item 15 06 07); what the money was spent on; and if he will make a statement. [130655]
Ed Balls:
This budget line is new in the 2007 EC Budget. Commitment and payment appropriations were set at €1,000,000. These appropriations are planned to cover the cost of activities carried out by European political foundations such as: observing, analysing and contributing to the debate on European public policy issues; European seminars, conferences
and studies on these issues among stakeholders; and creating a European framework to facilitate collaboration between political foundations and academics.
EuroGlobe Programme
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) objectives and (b) costs are of the EuroGlobe programme. [130640]
Ed Balls: EuroGlobe is an initiative of the European Parliament. This pilot project aims to provide a European public space fostering debate about: Europe and European culture; and political participation and learning. Both commitment and payment appropriations for the EuroGlobe project were set at €1,500,000 in the 2007 EC budget.
European Communities Interinstitutional Centre
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) assets and (b) costs to the taxpayer are of the European Communities Interinstitutional Centre at Overijse; how many people use it; what facilities it has; and if he will make a statement. [130669]
Ed Balls: The European Communities Interinstitutional Centre at Overijse does not have a budget line in the 2007 EC Budget and its exact cost is therefore not detailed in the 2007 EC Budget document. The budget of the centre is met by the Commission's general administration budget. The Government do not hold details of the centre's assets, the number of the people who use the centre, or information on the centre's facilities.
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