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20 Apr 2009 : Column 386W—continued
Heathrow Airport: Public Consultation
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2009, Official Report, column 805W, on Heathrow Airport: public consultation, if he will place in the Library a copy of the supplementary analysis of the responses from stakeholders. [269004]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The supplementary analysis was undertaken solely for the purposes of presenting internal advice. The full report of consultation responses by Ipsos/MORI/Detica has been published, and individual responses have been available for inspection since the Heathrow decisions were announced.
Helicopters: Royal Family
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to discourage the use of helicopters for short journeys by members of the Royal Family. [269047]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Short single journeys by helicopter are discouraged by the Royal Household and do not normally take place at a distance of 50 miles or less. However, use of the helicopter on official visits where several short journeys may take place, permits the maximum number of engagements to take place in a day. This makes best use of the Principal's time and minimises the disruption to the public when car journeys and a police escort may be used as an alternative.
High Speed Trains
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the availability of funding for a high-speed rail line. [268998]
Paul Clark: High Speed Two has been formed to help develop the case for high-speed services between London and Scotland, and will report by the end of the year. The report will include advice to the Government on financing and construction proposals.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the cost per mile of construction of a new high-speed rail line. [268999]
Paul Clark: Precise costs vary depending on a number of factors including the route, whether construction is on a disused railway alignment or built on green fields and the need for major works such as tunnelling. Costs of operation and maintenance must also be considered. Average costs do not therefore tell the whole story, but recent work for the Department for Transport suggested a new double track high-speed rail line might cost £12 to £16 million per route-kilometre.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the letter which he placed in the Library from the Permanent Secretary of his Department to a director of High Speed Two Limited of 14 January 2009, whether High Speed Two Limited provides monthly written reports to his Department. [269005]
Paul Clark: High Speed Two provides regular reports to the Department for Transport, and Sir David Rowlands meets regularly with the Minister of State, to report the progress being made.
High Speed Two also publishes a regular newsletter to update and engage with stakeholders.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what recent estimate he has made of the number of dwellings that would need to be demolished to permit the High Speed Two project to be implemented; and if he will make a statement; [269106]
(2) whether he plans to consult (a) Buckinghamshire County Council, (b) Aylesbury Vale District Council, (c) Wycombe District Council, (d) Chiltern District Council and (e) South Banks District Council on the High Speed Two proposal; and if he will make a statement; [269107]
(3) whether he plans to consult (a) the Chilterns Conservation Board and (b) the National Trust on the High Speed Two proposal; and if he will make a statement; [269108]
(4) what recent assessment he has made of the effect on land owned by the National Trust of the High Speed Two proposal; and if he will make a statement. [269110]
Paul Clark: High Speed Two has been formed to develop the case for high-speed services between London and Scotland. As a first stage, High Speed Two will report by the end of the year with a proposed route from London to the West Midlands, setting out any necessary options with appropriate environmental, social and economic assessments. This will form a sound basis for a public consultation on the proposal, including options for a London to west midlands route during the course of 2010, should the Government decide to proceed.
High Speed Two is engaging with stakeholders during the course of this work, and I would encourage any interested parties to contact Sir David Rowlands and his team directly.
High Speed Trains: South East
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to require the management of High Speed Two Ltd to develop the proposal in ways which maintain the standard of passenger rail service provided by Chiltern Railways to residents in Buckinghamshire; and if he will make a statement. [269109]
Paul Clark:
High Speed Two will be seeking to maximise benefits that can be delivered by both the new line and the existing network. This will include consideration of routing and service options for the new line, whether intermediate stations on the new line would be beneficial, and how capacity on the existing network released by a
new line to the west midlands may best be used for local, regional and freight services.
Highways Agency
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures govern responses by the Highways Agency to letters and emails from members of the public; what proportion of such letters and emails were responded to within the last 12 months; how long it took to make each such response; and if he will make a statement. [268397]
Paul Clark [holding answer 2 April 2009]: The Highways Agency has a target to respond to at least 90 per cent. of customer correspondence within 15 working days. During the past 12 months, the Highways Agency received 11,791 items of correspondence and responded to 11,352 (96.3 per cent.) within 15 working days.
Due to the large quantity of correspondence from members of the public, it is not possible to provide the details of how long it took to make each response in the timescales given.
Light Dues: Northern Ireland
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what date he expects the Republic of Ireland to meet the cost of its light dues. [269786]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The UK and Irish Governments are engaged in constructive dialogue to agree long-term funding arrangements for the provision of aids to navigation in the Republic of Ireland.
To this end, I am meeting the Irish Transport Minister in Dublin in the near future. The time scale for reaching and implementing a lasting agreement will be among the matters we expect to discuss.
Lorries: Driver Information Systems
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with manufacturers of vehicle satellite navigation equipment on identification of routes inappropriate for heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles. [268715]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Department for Transport officials have been reviewing a number of issues related to route guidance systems. In March 2009 officials attended a meeting involving local authorities, digital map providers and freight haulage interests on how best to address the lorry routeing issue.
M25: Repairs and Maintenance
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's timetable is for work to widen stretches of the M25. [268991]
Paul Clark:
The widening of the M25 between Junctions 16 to 23, and Junctions 27 to 30, is included in the scope of the M25 Design, Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contract, currently in the final stages of procurement. Subject to satisfactory completion of statutory processes
and completion of the ongoing competition to secure finance for the project, the widening works are planned to take place as follows:
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Two further sections of the M25 are being considered by the Highways Agency as part of the Managed Motorways programme, where hard shoulder running is envisaged rather than widening.
The earliest dates for construction of these two sections are:
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Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of passenger cars with a valid vehicle excise duty disc at the latest date for which figures are available. [269355]
Jim Fitzpatrick: In 2007 there were 28,227,576 cars with a valid vehicle excise licence.
Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the cost involved in the manufacturing of cars with daytime running lights. [269354]
Jim Fitzpatrick: In 2006 the Department for Transport commissioned TRL to review the studies on daytime running lights that were carried out on behalf of the European Commission. The cost to install dedicated daytime running lamps was estimated to be 25 euros per car.
Motor Vehicles: Registration
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many V5 vehicle registration forms have been (a) misplaced by and (b) stolen from (i) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, (ii) its printers and (iii) its distribution network in the last 12 months.. [269087]
Jim Fitzpatrick: No such certificates have been misplaced or stolen in the last 12 months.
Motor Vehicles: Testing
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2009, Official Report, column 806W, on motor vehicles: testing, what checkpoint sites are used by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. [269002]
Jim Fitzpatrick:
As previously mentioned in my answer of 13 March 2009, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) uses over 1,000 checkpoint sites. Some
of these sites are temporary and some are permanent. A list of the permanent sites has been placed in the Libraries of the House. VOSA wishes to withhold the list of temporary sites as this information would affect the level of enforcement of non-compliant operators if it became available.
Navigation
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department has allocated to the development of navigational aids and infrastructure in the maritime sector in the last 10 years. [269787]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The costs incurred by the General Lighthouse Authorities in developing aids to navigation are generally recovered in full from users of such aids through the system of light dues.
The Department for Transport has contributed £187,500 in each of the last three years towards the costs of the General Lighthouse Authorities’ eLoran project, in recognition of its potential contribution to an international agreement. eLoran is a land-based, high-powered precise terrestrial radio navigation system for all mariners that is fully independent of global navigation satellite systems such as GPS and delivers complementary levels of performance.
The funding has enabled further research into the potential for e-navigation, which if successful, would allow a significant reduction in the provision and associated costs of traditional aids to navigation.
Parking: Fees and Charges
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2009, Official Report, column 300W, on parking: fees and charges, what comments were received from other Departments on the proposals for regulations for workplace policy levy schemes. [268993]
Paul Clark: The proposals for regulations were discussed in the usual way by Cabinet. Information relating to Cabinet Committees, including Cabinet Committee papers, are generally not disclosed, as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Railways
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what rules and regulations would apply to a Translohr guided rail system established in England. [263699]
Paul Clark [holding answer 16 March 2009]: It is not possible to provide definitive guidance on the rules and regulations applicable to the Translohr guided rail system. However, if such a system was allowed to run on a highway in England it could be considered as vehicular traffic and, therefore, in such a case, all relevant rules and regulations for road vehicles would apply accordingly.
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to bring forward capital expenditure on rail infrastructure projects. [268670]
Paul Clark: Capital expenditure on rail infrastructure projects is primarily the responsibility of Network Rail which is funded in accordance with the Office of Rail Regulation's determination of its income requirement. This income requirement is derived from the outputs set out in the High Level Output Specification set out by the Government in their White Paper—Delivering a Sustainable Railway.
We are also bringing forward around £300 million for an additional 202 train carriages to relieve overcrowding, pursuant to the previously announced High Level Output Specification. The trains are due to enter service by 2012 subject to negotiations with train operators.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of railway journeys were undertaken in first class in each of the last 10 years. [269739]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not hold this information. However, this information should be available from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). My hon. Friend should contact ATOC at the following address for a response to his question.
Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC)
3rd Floor
40 Bernard Street
London
WC1N 1BY
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of railway carriages were built and furbished as (a) first class and (b) second class in each of the last 10 years. [269740]
Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested. It may be available from the rolling stock leasing companies, individual train operators or the Association of Train Operating Companies.
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