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Court Service Annual Report
Baroness Wilkins asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they intend to publish the Court Service annual report for 2000–01.[HL1749]
The Lord Chancellor: The Court Service annual report for 2000–01 has been published today and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Manchester to London: Non-regulated Train Fares
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
- By what amount the various categories of unregulated train fares have increased between Manchester and London since the railway was privatised, comparing them with the retail prices index. [HL1405]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (Lord Falconer of Thoroton): Fares regulation in franchise agreements is based on the prices of British Rail fares in the summer of 1995, the year when the first franchises were let. The table below shows the price of non-regulated fares
between Manchester and London in 1995 against present prices. Virgin Trains which operates services from Manchester to London, did not begin running the franchise until March 1997. Accumulative RPI since June 1995 is 20.2 per cent.| Fare | June 1995 | June 2001 | % Increase |
| First Class Open (Single) | £67.00 | £126.00 | 88% |
| First Class Open (Return) | £134.00 | £252.00 | 88% |
| Standard Open (Single) | £50.00 | £92.50 | 85% |
| Standard Open (Return) | £96.00 | £164.00 | 71% |
| Super Saver (Single)* | £32.00 | £46.00 | 44% |
| Super Saver (Return)* | £33.00 | £47.00 | 42% |
*routeing has changed from Xany reasonable" to Xvia Chesterfield". A number of other non-regulated fares have been introduced in the intervening period, the cheapest of which allows return travel for £20. Regulated fares have been pegged to RP1-1 per cent since January 1999.
London Underground Performance Regime
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Given the past experience of railways in Britain, what is their estimate of the number of people required for, and the cost of, the operation of the performance regime proposed for London Underground.[HL1462]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: It is for London Underground to determine the appropriate number of staff to operate the performance regime for the Tube modernisation contracts and to set the relevant budgets.
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether there will have to be a real performance improvement on London Underground before the three infracos make any money from the performance regimes being considered for the system; and[HL1463]
Whether profits of the three infracos proposed for London Underground will be dependent upon improved performance on the Underground.[HL1464]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The performance regime for the Government's Tube modernisation plans has been carefully designed to ensure that the private sector infrastructure companies are incentivised to deliver significant improvements in performance. Bidders for the Tube modernisation contracts have responded to this by targeting real and sustained improvements, with plans to invest at least £13 billion in the Tube over the first 15 years. If the private sector
infrastructure companies fail to meet the levels of performance they are targeting, this will have a direct impact on the payments they receive from London Underground. Shareholders will receive the financial return they expect only if we receive the performance improvements we expect.Best Value Inspection Service
Lord Dixon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many staff are employed at the Best Value Inspection Service audit commission nationally and in its office in the northern region based at Killingbeck, Leeds.[HL1497]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Best Value Inspection Service employs 493 staff nationally; 104 of these staff are based in the northern region.
Lord Dixon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the total cost of the Best Value Inspection Service audit commission nationally and in its northern region office based at Killingbeck, Leeds.[HL1498]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Best Value Inspection Service costs for November 2001 to October 2002 are estimated at £44 million; of this £7.8 million is the estimated cost for the northern region during this period.
Building Regulations: Uncontrolled Fires
Lord Howie of Troon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the Building Regulations for England and Wales offer adequate protection from the structural collapse of buildings caused by uncontrolled fires.[HL1559]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Building Regulations require that a building shall be designed and constructed so that in the event of fire its stability will be maintained for a reasonable period.
Lord Howie of Troon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the Building Regulations for England and Wales fully comply with all parts of Essential Requirement 2 (Safety in Case of Fire) contained in Annex 1 to the Construction Products Directive (Council Directive 89/106/EEC).[HL1560]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Building Regulations take into account all aspects of Essential Requirement 2, except that they do not address the issue of smoke generation from products used within buildings. This is because fire safety is achieved through other means such as the installation of fire resisting construction to protect escape routes from smoke and fire. The Construction Products Directive does not require individual member states to regulate for all of the aspects contained within the essential requirements.
Lord Howie of Troon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What steps they are taking to assess the results of the concrete frame fire test conducted by the Building Research Establishment on 26 September at Cardington; and whether they will ensure that these results are made public.[HL1561]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: This particular fire test was privately funded and was not commissioned by the Government. Although my department has been interested to see the results of the test and will consider the implications, as it was not involved in the project we cannot insist on involvement with the assessment of results or that the results be made public.
Farm (Safety) Awareness Days
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How much the Health and Safety Executive farm awareness days will cost per attendee; and who will pay for each attendance at such an event.[HL1564]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Health and Safety Executive's farm (safety) awareness days are planned to be attended by 300 to 400 farmers. Actual attendance varies but is normally between these figures. The cost of running each event is about £8,500. The cost per attendee, therefore, varies from approximately £21 to £28.
The cost of these events is largely met by the Health and Safety Executive but each includes a £500 sponsorship contribution from the insurance company, National Farmers Union Mutual.
It is intended that these events will continue into 2002–03.
Recyclable Waste
Lord Glentoran asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the United Kingdom will face fines from 2010 onwards if it fails to comply with the European Union laws regarding the recycling of household waste; and whether they will introduce measures to increase the collection of recyclable waste on the doorstep.[HL1556]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): The EC Landfill Directive requires the United Kingdom, by 2010, to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill to 75 per cent of the total amount of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995, and then to 50 per cent by 2013 and 35 per cent by 2020. Failure to meet the target will place the UK in breach of the directive. However, any sanctions to be taken in the case of a failure to meet the target would be a matter for the European Commission.
Waste Strategy 2000 sets out targets for doubling the recycling and composting of household waste in three years and nearly tripling it in five years in order to ensure that Landfill Directive targets are met. We have underpinned these targets by setting statutory performance standards for each local authority to achieve by 2003–04 and 2005–06.
Kerbside collection of recyclables can be a very effective means of increasing recycling rates but it is for individual waste collection authorities to determine how best to meet their statutory recycling targets.
Open Access for the Countryside
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 22 May 2000 (WA 44), what methodologies they have put in place to measure the effect of open access on the environment and on those who earn their living from the land.[HL1565]
Lord Whitty: The Countryside Agency has recently advertised in the European Journal for expressions of interest in a contract to monitor the benefits and impacts of access on the way people use the countryside for recreation, rural economies (and the activities that contribute to them) and the environment.
In addition, English Nature (EN) set up a workshop earlier this year in which leading authorities on access-related disturbance have identified core priorities for further research and monitoring. The Access Scientific Research and Monitoring Group, comprising representatives from EN, the agency, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Countryside Council for Wales, the Game Conservancy Trust and others, are co-ordinating research and monitoring priorities identified in the workshop. The group has already commissioned work on impacts on woodlarks and nightjars and on rare reptiles and is now considering project proposals for impacts on a wide range of other species associated with access land.
The department and other bodies with functions under Part I of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 will have regard to the findings of these studies in implementing the provisions of the Act.
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