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Ashford International Station
Lord Swinfen asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Why passengers travelling by train from Europe to Kent are not allowed to disembark at Ashford International Station; and what arrangements are being made to enable passengers to disembark there.[HL3144]
Lord Whitty: Passengers travelling on Eurostar trains from continental Europe are permitted to disembark at Ashford International Station so long as it is a normal station stop for the train.
Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Strategy
Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they will announce the decision on the outcome of consultation on HM Coastguard's five-year strategy in the context of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency merger.[HL3266]
Lord Whitty: Following extensive consultation which included staff, trades unions and Members of the House, and in the light of the new Maritime and Coastguard Agency created on 1 April, we have decided that the five-year coastguard strategy will be taken forward as proposed, though with some changes in timing.
The five-year strategy involves a major investment of £5-£10 million in new digital technology to re-equip and improve the operation of a major rescue service. The new equipment will provide an integrated communications system, replacing outdated equipment which is approaching life-expiry. Associated with the new investment is a programme to close selected coastguard co-ordination centres which will effectively be replaced by the greater capability of the new equipment. The timing of these closures has also been revised following the consultation process. The centres at Oban and Pentland were proposed for closure by the end of 1999, and this has been revised to Autumn 2000; for Tyne Tees and Liverpool the proposed closure date by the end of 2000 has been revised to Autumn 2001; while the co-location of Portland and Lee on Solent, formerly proposed for the end of 2002, has been revised to Autumn 2003.
The new equipment will provide more effective backup to the frontline coastguard, whose local knowledge will be supported by modern technology. In view of interest in the relationship between the new technology and the station closures, we will keep the re-equipment programme under close monitoring to ensure high standards of service are maintained.
We have arranged for copies of the Operational Research Unit's analysis of responses to the consultation document to be placed in the Library of each House.
We have also agreed proposals for management changes within the Maritime and Coastguard Agency which will yield further progress in the closer integration of its two predecessor agencies, to the benefit of all the new agency's customers.
Trunk Roads: Investment
Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What provision they intend to make for investment in trunk roads in England.[HL3265]
Lord Whitty: We have today announced our new priorities for trunk road investment. Planned provision for the Highways Agency's programmes for the next three financial years is as follows:
| 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | |
| Trunk road maintenance | 651 | 740 | 794 | 780 |
| Making better use of trunk road network | 139 | 139 | 193 | 220 |
| Existing road schemes | 445 | 350 | 259 | 137 |
| New schemes in Targeted Programme of Improvements | 0 | 0 | 51 | 234 |
| Private Finance | 114 | 177 | 238 | 208 |
| Total | 1,349 | 1,406 | 1,535 | 1,579 |
The Highways Agency will work up more detailed plans for delivering this programme which will be published as a part of its normal planning cycle.
NHS Trusts: Debt Structure
Baroness Uddin asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have any plans to change the debt structure of NHS trusts.[HL3263]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Hayman): The New NHS White Paper made clear the Government's intention to abolish the internal market in the National Health Service and amend the NHS trust financial regime to make it more transparent and more suitable for a public service based partnership. As part of our programme to achieve this aim, we are changing the debt structure of NHS trusts. We have already taken steps to stop issuing long term interest-bearing loans to NHS trusts to finance their capital expenditure. Instead we are issuing Public Dividend Capital (PDC). The NHS Executive will now be making arrangements to replace existing interest-bearing debt with PDC without the application of premia or discounts because the Exchquer funds NHS trusts' normal debt servicing costs. This will supersede the present, market driven financial structure, reduce bureaucracy and provide a simpler, clearer and more understandable arrangement, in tune with NHS trusts' status as part of the public sector.
"Investing in Dentistry" Initiative
Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the total amount of funds allocated to "Investing in Dentistry" so far, and which health authority areas have applied for funding in 1997-98 and 1998-99 to date; and [HL3149]
Which applications for funding under "Investing in Dentistry" have been successful; and how much has been allocated to each.[HL3150]
Baroness Hayman: Since the "Investing in Dentistry" initiative was announced in September 1997, 159 requests have been approved for grants totalling £4,195,107. The following tables give details of the health authorities who submitted "Investing in Dentistry" funding requests to my right honourable
friend the Secretary of State for Health in 1997-98 and 1998-99, those whose requests were successful, the amount awarded and location of the scheme.
- Investing in Dentistry requests received by Health Authority
Avon
Barnsley
Barnet
Bedfordshire
Berkshire
Bexley & Greenwich
Birmingham
Bradford
Bury & Rochdale
Calderdale & Kirklees
Cambridge & Huntingdon
City & East London
Coventry
Cornwall
County Durham
Doncaster
Dorset
Dudley
Ealing Hammersmith & Hounslow
East Kent
East Norfolk
East Riding
East Lancashire
- Enfield & Haringey
Gloucestershire
Herefordshire
Isle of Wight
Kensington
Lambeth Southwark & Lewisham
Leeds
Leicester
Lincolnshire
Merton Sutton & Wandsworth
Morecambe Bay
North & Mid Hampshire
North West Lancashire
Newcastle & North Tyneside
Norfolk
North & East Devon
North Essex
North Cumbria
North Cheshire
North Derbyshire
North Staffordshire
North Yorkshire
Northamptonshire
Nottingham
- Oxfordshire
Portsmouth & South East Hampshire
Redbridge & Waltham Forest
Rotherham
Salford & Trafford
Sandwell
Shropshire
Somerset
South Lancashire
South Saffordshire
South & West Devon
South Cheshire
South Essex
South Humber
South Derbyshire
Southampton & South West Hampshire
St. Helens & Knowsley
Suffolk
Sunderland
Tees
Walsall
Warwickshire
West Kent
West Hertfordshire
West Sussex
West Surrey
Wigan & Bolton
Wiltshire
Wirral
Wolverhampton
Worcestershire
| Health Authority | Town | Amount in £ |
| Avon | Bishopsworth | 30,000 |
| Avon | Chew Magna | 11,000 |
| Avon | Bedminster | 20,000 |
| Avon | Stockwood | 20,000 |
| Bedfordshire | Kempston | 15,000 |
| Bedfordshire | Bedford | 15,000 |
| Berkshire | Woodley | 20,000 |
| Berkshire | West Reading | 15,000 |
| Berkshire | Sunninghill | 10,000 |
| Berkshire | East Reading | 30,000 |
| Berkshire | Bracknell | 10,000 |
| Birmingham | Nechells | 57,000 |
| Cambridge & Huntingdon | Cambridge | 25,000 |
| Cambridge & Huntingdon | Godmanchester | 10,423 |
| Cornwall & Isles of Scilly | Camborne | 27,000 |
| County Durham | Darlington | 2,790 |
| County Durham | Spennymoor | 25,000 |
| County Durham | Darlington | 82,200 |
| Dorset | Sherborne | 19,500 |
| Dorset | Weymouth | 10,000 |
| East Riding | Hull | 20,000 |
| East Riding | Hull | 30,000 |
| East Riding | Hull | 20,000 |
| East Riding | Driffield | 24,200 |
| East Norfolk | Wymondham | 50,000 |
| East Norfolk | Watton | 26,000 |
| East Norfolk | Attleborough | 20,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Dursley | 10,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Lydney | 15,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Cheltenham | 12,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Cheltenham | 31,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Cheltenham | 35,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Gloucester | 13,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Cheltenham | 25,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Cheltenham | 15,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Newent | 1,000 |
| Gloucestershire | Gloucester | 15,000 |
| Isle of Wight | Sandown | 50,000 |
| Isle of Wight | Newport | 35,000 |
| Leicestershire | Shepshed | 15,000 |
| Lincolnshire | Louth | 30,000 |
| Morecambe Bay | Barrow | 40,000 |
| Morecambe Bay | Barrow | 21,000 |
| Morecambe Bay | Morecambe Bay | 14,000 |
| Morecambe Bay | Kirkby Lonsdale | 35,000 |
| Morecambe Bay | Lancaster | 12,000 |
| Morecambe Bay | Ulverston | 15,000 |
| North Derbyshire | Matlock | 60,400 |
| North Staffordshire | Kidsgrove | 16,000 |
| North Staffordshire | Tunstall | 16,800 |
| North Staffordshire | Leek & Cheadle | 40,000 |
| North Staffordshire | Kidsgrove | 48,000 |
| North Staffordshire | Sneyd Green | 16,000 |
| North Staffordshire | Newcastle | 32,000 |
| North & East Devon | Exeter | 9,500 |
| North & East Devon | Torrington | 16,000 |
| North & East Devon | Bideford | 55,000 |
| North & East Devon | Cullompton | 24,750 |
| Newcastle & North Tyneside | North Tyneside | 47,000 |
| Nottingham | Eastwood | 16,300 |
| Nottingham | Hyson Green | 19,405 |
| North Essex | Saffron Walden | 18,400 |
| North & Mid Hampshire | Andover | 11,050 |
| North & Mid Hampshire | Andover | 38,600 |
| North & Mid Hampshire | Andover | 9,000 |
| North & Mid Hampshire | Oldham | 7009 |
| North & Mid Hampshire | Whitchurch | 10,000 |
| North Cumbria | Whitehaven | 50,000 |
| North Cumbria | Cleaton Moor | 50,000 |
| North Cumbria | Whitehaven | 50,000 |
| North Cheshire | Warrington | 50,000 |
| North Yorkshire | Easingwold | 25,000 |
| North Essex | Saffron Walden | 19,000 |
| Northamptonshire | Kettering | 10,000 |
| Northamptonshire | Kettering | 10,000 |
| Northamptonshire | Thrapston | 15,000 |
| North West Lancashire | Central Blackpool | 25,409 |
| North West Lancashire | Thornton | 32,176 |
| North West Lancashire | Marton, Blackpool | 30,287 |
| North West Lancashire | Kirkham | 40,000 |
| Oxfordshire | Blackbird | 12,000 |
| Oxfordshire | Wallingford | 25,000 |
| Oxfordshire | Headington | 75,000 |
| Portsmouth & South East Hampshire | North Porthmouth | 6,000 |
| Portsmouth & South East Hampshire | Havant | 15,000 |
| Portsmouth & South East Hampshire | Hayling Island | 20,000 |
| Portsmouth & South East Hampshire | Fareham | 2,500 |
| Portsmouth & South East Hampshire | Leigh Park | 2,500 |
| Rotherham | Masbrough | 24,000 |
| Rotherham | Eastwood | 24,760 |
| Rotherham | Masbrough | 12,000 |
| Rotherham | Brinsworth | 12,600 |
| Rotherham | Dinnington | 15,000 |
| South Staffordshire | Stafford | 25,000 |
| South Staffordshire | Litchfield | 30,000 |
| Salford & Talford | Trafford | 18,259 |
| Salford & Talford | Trafford | 4,000 |
| Shropshire | Donnington, Telford | 3,250 |
| Shropshire | Bridgnorth | 24,000 |
| Shropshire | Dawley, Telford | 40,000 |
| Shropshire | Stirchley, Telford | 11,500 |
| Shropshire | Shrewsbury | 45,000 |
| Shropshire | Cleobury Mortimer | 42,000 |
| Somerset | Bridgewater | 13,265 |
| Somerset | Somerton | 32,693 |
| Somerset | Yeovil | 26,000 |
| Somerset | Langport | 20,000 |
| South Cheshire | Crewe | 40,000 |
| South Cheshire | Chester | 25,000 |
| South Essex | Chelmsford | 40,000 |
| South Lancashire | Skelmersdale | 23,341 |
| South & West Devon | Tavistock | 30,000 |
| South & West Devon | Newton Abbot | 40,000 |
| South & West Devon | Newton Abbot | 22,000 |
| South & West Devon | Torquay | 8,150 |
| South & West Devon | Brixham | 25,000 |
| Southampton & South West Hampshire | Eastleigh | 9,654 |
| Southampton & South West Hampshire | Southampton Central | 23,500 |
| Southampton & South West Hampshire | North Baddesley | 38,000 |
| Southampton & South West Hampshire | Southampton West | 40,260 |
| Southampton & South West Hampshire | Romsey | 25,000 |
| Southampton & South West Hampshire | Hythe | 50,000 |
| Southampton & South West Hampshire | Southampton East | 59,769 |
| Southampton & South West Hampshire | Southampton Central | 30,000 |
| Southern Derbyshire | Derby | 12,000 |
| St. Helens & Knowsley | Huyton (Stockbridge Village) | 20,000 |
| St. Helens & Knowsley | Haydock | 35,000 |
| St. Helens & Knowsley | Rainford | 25,000 |
| Suffolk | Stowmarket | 7,500 |
| Suffolk | Stowmarket | 25,000 |
| Suffolk | Eye | 15,000 |
| Suffolk | Sudbury | 30,000 |
| Suffolk | Sudbury | 11,500 |
| Suffolk | Woodbridge | 20,000 |
| West Hertfordshire | Watford | 40,000 |
| West Kent | Tonbridge | 43,070 |
| West Kent | Medway | 37,125 |
| West Surrey | Egham | 40,000 |
| West Surrey | Chobham | 40,000 |
| West Surrey | Chertsey | 59,360 |
| West Surrey | Farnham | 28,725 |
| West Sussex | Crawley | 5,000 |
| West Sussex | Worthing | 10,000 |
| West Sussex | Bognor Regis | 8,500 |
| West Sussex | Midhurst | 17,116 |
| West Sussex | Bognor Regis | 50,000 |
| Wiltshire | Swindon | 36,011 |
| Wiltshire | Swindon | 40,000 |
| Wiltshire | Swindon | 80,000 |
| Wiltshire | Salisbury | 35,000 |
| Wiltshire | Trowbridge | 40,000 |
| Wiltshire | Swindon | 50,000 |
| Wiltshire | Swindon | 50,000 |
| Wiltshire | Salisbury | 15,000 |
| Wiltshire | Salisbury | 15,000 |
| Wiltshire | Salisbury | 15,000 |
| Wiltshire | Warminster | 50,000 |
| Wiltshire | Salisbury | 40,000 |
| Wiltshire | Salisbury | 36,000 |
| Total | £4,195.107.00 |
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