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Dangerous Dogs: Northern Ireland Legislation
The Viscount of Falkland asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they intend to extend the Dangerous Dogs Amendment Act 1997 to cover Northern Ireland.
Lord Dubs: The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland intends to amend the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 and the Dangerous Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 to bring Northern Ireland legislation into line with the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 as amended by the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997.
Parades Commission
Lord Stallard asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Who are the members of the Parades Commission, when each member was appointed, and what were the criteria and qualifications required for membership.
Lord Dubs: The members of the Parades Commission are Alistair Graham (Chairman), Frank Guckian, David Hewitt, the Reverend Roy Magee, and Berna McIvor. Their appointment was announced on 26 March. In line with the recommendations contained in the North Report, the members of the commission reflect a broad mix of background, skills and experience which they have brought to bear in addressing the parades issue.
Garden Extension: Permitted Development Proposal
Lord Mason of Barnsley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What plans they have to introduce a new permitted development right for householders to extend their gardens.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Baroness Hayman): A consultation paper
was issued last November on a proposal that householders should in future be able to extend their gardens onto adjacent land without needing to submit a planning application. The Department of the Environment received 425 replies, copies of which have now been placed in the department's library. Three hundred and sixty-one expressed opposition and only 34 offered support. Many objections concentrated on the damaging impact that such a proposal could have on the open countryside with the creeping suburbanisation of specially protected areas such as the National Parks and the Green Belt. Concern was also expressed about the resulting lack of control over the erection of ancillary buildings and the absence of any size limit on the land which could be added to a garden.The Government's view is that the impact of a proposed garden extension is best considered, as at present, through the normal planning process and my honourable friends the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales have therefore decided to withdraw this proposal.
Salisbury Bypass
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they will announce their decision on the Salisbury bypass.
Baroness Hayman: The Salisbury bypass will be considered within the strategic roads review announced by my right honourable friend the Minister for Transport today. It is part of an accelerated review the results of which we propose to announce in July.
Vehicle Doorlock Security
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What progress is being made to include doorlock security in European vehicle standards.
Baroness Hayman: The Commission were expected to produce a report accompanied, if appropriate, by proposals on door and luggage compartment locks by December 1996.
As yet, no such report has been received and the Government are developing their own ideas, based on current best practice, which they hope to put to the Commission later this year.
Driving Test Retakes
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have any intention of reviewing the decision to allow drivers who fail a driving test to
- resit the test without any minimum intervening period of time.
Baroness Hayman: The Driving Standards Agency issued a public consultation paper on 16 June about proposed changes to driving test arrangements. One of the proposals is to reintroduce a statutory waiting period between tests for unsuccessful candidates. I will arrange for copies to be deposited in the House Libraries.
Roads Programme Review
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When an announcement will be made on their review of the roads programme.
Baroness Hayman: My right honourable friend the Minister for Transport has today launched the Roads Review. The objective of the review will be to determine the role which roads should play in an integrated transport policy and to establish a forward investment programme for the trunk road network in England.
The review will be broadly based. Unlike reviews carried out by the previous government, it will not merely consider what road schemes should be added to or deleted from the trunk roads programme. It will look afresh at the environmental impact of roads and take into account parallel work on developing an integrated transport policy for the UK which my right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced recently, including, in particular, work on issues such as whether steps should be taken to manage demand for travel by road, and if so, what means should be used; and, the extent to which we should encourage the use of other modes of transport. It will also consider the role which new technology and improved information systems can play; and the impact which investment in roads could have on regional development. The Roads Review, work on an integrated transport policy and the comprehensive spending review will be very closely co-ordinated.
We intend to consult widely during the course of the review. During the next few weeks my department will be consulting key representative bodies both about the range of issues which need to be covered and how we might involve them effectively in the review. We then intend to launch a public consultation in July, inviting responses by the end of October. We would particularly value contributions from the Regional Planning Conferences, local authorities and other regional bodies. We shall consider in due course what arrangements will be appropriate for continuing regional consultations on trunk road planning beyond the review, taking account of the comments received in response to the previous government's proposal to bring trunk roads within the regional planning guidance system.
We hope to announce the conclusions of the review next spring. In the interim, the Highways Agency will continue to take forward maintenance work, small safety schemes, and two re-signing projects in line with existing plans. Schemes on which construction is
already well advanced will continue, but preparatory work on new major schemes will be put on hold at the end of the current stage, except in the relatively few cases in which some procedural step needs to be taken to ensure that work done to date is not lost should we ultimately decide that the scheme should be taken forward. Work on developer funded schemes will also continue as these schemes either have been or will be scrutinised thoroughly in the appropriate planning processes and they are generally small improvements which do not have any wider strategic significance.There are also 12 cases on which urgent decisions are pending. We therefore propose to carry out an accelerated review of these cases against the criteria of accessibility, safety, economy and environmental impact and announce our decisions on them in July. It may be that in some of these cases we decide in July that a decision cannot be taken in advance of the main review. In the majority of cases we will take a decision either to take the scheme forward or to abandon it. The cases in question are:
- Birmingham Northern Relief Road (BNRR)
- M.25 Junctions 12-15
- M.66 Denton-Middleton Contract 3
- A.2/M.2 Cobham J4 widening
- Salisbury Bypass/Wessex Link DBFO
- A.564 Derby Southern Bypass Contract B
- Weald and Downland DBFO
- Cumbria Bradford DBFO
- South Midlands Network DBFO
- A.40 West London Approach DBFO
- A.13 Thames Gateway DBFO
- M.62E/M.606 Link Roads.
Planning Applications: Timescale
Lord Skelmersdale asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was (a) the shortest and (b) the longest time taken from initiation to result of a planning application in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Baroness Hayman: Information on the time between receipt and determination for individual planning applications is not collected centrally, except, in England, for applications relating to mineral extraction and waste disposal. These account for fewer than 1 per cent. of all planning applications and will therefore be unrepresentative of the remainder.
London Underground: Contract Awards
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will list the enquiries issued by London Underground for goods and services which were published in the European Journal during the last year, and the successful tenderer for each enquiry.
Baroness Hayman: The information is set out in the table below.
| Date of award notice | Reference | Description | Successful tenderer |
| 6 April 1996 | 95/S156-83368/EN | Supply, install and maintain Computer Software system | Comshare Ltd. |
| 18 May 1996 | 95/S111-57775/EN | Supply, installation, training, management and maintenance of EPOS terminals | International Computers Ltd. |
| 24 May 1996 | 94/S188-67924/EN | Supply of fabricated rail chairs | Balfour Beatty Railway Engineering Ltd. |
| 24 May 1996 | 94/S188-67924/EN | Supply of tunnel segments | Ferry-Capitain |
| 13 June 1996 | 95/S73-35353/EN | Supply and installation of fibre optic equipment | Nokia Telecommunications |
| 9 July 1996 | 94/S251-94578/EN | Replacement of conductor rail-works | John Mowlem plc. |
| 19 July 1996 | 95/S156-83231/EN | Supply, delivery and collection of video tapes for security purposes | Securicor Omega Office Services Ltd. |
| 24 August 1996 | 95/S238-129064/EN | Signal and track maintenance | SWIM Co. Ltd. |
| 29 August 1996 | 94/S166-59452/EN | Supply rubber/metal bonded components | Dunlop Ltd. and GMT Rubber Metal Technic Ltd. |
| 30 August 1996 | 95/S153-81186/EN | Supply of brake blocks | BBA Friction Ltd. and Ferodo Ltd. |
| 30 August 1996 | 92/S243-49842/EN | Supply of carbon brushes | Electrical Carbon Ltd. and Morganite Electrical Carbon Ltd. |
| 5 September 1996 | 95/S105-55048/EN | Service exchange of train-borne fire extinguishers | The Pyrene Company |
| 5 October 1996 | 96/S44-22487/EN | Security guarding | Command Security Services Ltd. |
| 5 October 1996 | 95/S67-31730/EN | Design and construction of embankment stabilisation | Keller Colcrete |
| 5 October 1996 | 95/S67-31730/EN | Design and construction of embankment stabilisation | Keller Colcrete |
| 15 October 1996 | 94/S233-84908/EN | Cleaning of train fleet and depot | ISS London Ltd. |
| 15 October 1996 | 95/S67-31723/EN | Facilities maintenance, including station cleaning, building maintenance and electrical maintenance | Swirl Service Group Ltd. |
| 25 October 1996 | 96/S134-78876/EN | Operation, management and development of an existing centralised engineering library and information | Instant Library Ltd. |
| 30 October 1996 | 96/S15-6303/EN | Supply of electricity for traction current supply | Eastern Group |
| 30 October 1996 | 96/S15-6303/EN | Supply of electricity for various sites | Seeboard plc |
| 13 November 1996 | 96/S100-58572/EN | Highway and infrastructure works associated with North Greenwich Interchange | Edmund Nuttall Ltd. |
| 22 November 1996 | 96/S15-6303/EN | Supply of electricity | Southern Electric plc. |
| 21 November 1996 | 96/S123-74546/EN | Supply of magnetic and non-magnetic tickets | Name/s of suppliers not published |
| 22 November 1996 | 94/S233-84908/EN | Maintenance and cleaning of station premises | Mersey Transport Ltd. |
| 26 November 1996 | 95/S67-31730/EN | Cutting stablisation works and track drainage | Dean and Dyball Construction Ltd. |
| 16 January 1997 | 95/S219-118245/EN | Repair, maintenance and renewal of Jubilee/East London Line buildings and structures | Wiggins Gee Construction Ltd. |
| 15 January 1997 | 95/S219-118245/EN | Repair, maintenance and renewal of District Line buildings and structures | Wiggins Gee Construction Ltd. |
| 17 January 1997 | 95/S67-31730/EN | Design and construction of cutting stablisation works | Alfred McAlpine Construction Ltd. |
| 30 January 1997 | 95/S139-72881/EN | Repair and replacement of station and depot signage | Fernco Design Ltd. Lighting Maintenance |
| 5 February 1997 | 96/S44-22210/EN | Supply of rail grinding machine | Loram Rail Ltd. |
| 28 February 1997 | 95/S124-63756/EN | Traction motor overhaul services | REW (Acton) Ltd. |
| 28 March 1997 | 95/S44-22643/EN | Design and construction of cutting and embankment stabilisation works | Kvaerner Cementation Foundations |
In addition, London Underground advertised 45 Calls for Competition during 1996-97, which resulted in the
Source:
London Underground Limited.
Date of Call for Competition Reference Date of Award Description Successful tenderer
13 January 1996 96/59-3410/EN 19 April 1997 Maintenance of rolling stock Internal contractor
6 April 1996 96/S69-38270/EN 18 March 1997 Signalling supervisory interface SERCK Controls Ltd.
17 August 1996 96/S158-95205/EN 10 April 1997 Maintenance of locks and ironmongery Young & Young Locksmiths Ltd.
19 October 1996 96/S204-122484/EN 15 May 1997 Supply of management software Electronic Data Services Ltd.
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