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London Underground
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will immediately place in the Library of the House the final version of the letters of comfort underwriting 95 per cent of the third party debt for London Underground, drafts of which were placed in the Library on 20 March; and[HL4237]
Whether they will immediately place in the Library of the House the final version of any letters of comfort, whether or not in respect of third party debt, which have been issued in connection with the share purchase agreements signed on 8 May between London Underground and Tube Lines Ltd and the Metronet consortium.[HL4240]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (Lord Falconer of Thoroton): No comfort letters have yet been issued in respect of the Tube modernisation contracts. As my right honourable friend the Secretary of State's Minute to Parliament on 20 March explained, they will be issued shortly before the Tube modernisation transactions are completed.
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How much money will be borrowed under the cover of the letters of comfort underwriting 95 per cent of the third party debt for London Underground; for how long a term; and at what rate of interest; and[HL4238]
How much higher a rate of interest would, in their estimation, be necessary had the letters of comfort underwriting 95 per cent of the third party debt for London Underground not been issued.[HL4239]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The proposed comfort letters clarify the Secretary of State's role in relation to the Greater London Authority and Transport for London. They do not create binding obligations and do not underwrite 95 per cent of the third party debt for London Underground. The amount of finance each of the bidders is expected to raise was stated in the draft comfort letters that were reported to Parliament on 20 March. Shareholders themselves are expected to provide some £500 million of this total.
The proposed comfort letters were discussed and agreed with bidders as part of the wider negotiations on the Tube modernisation plans. It is not possible to estimate the effect one single element of these negotiations, such as the comfort letters, might have on the rate of interest paid on third party debt; nor is it possible at this stage to state the detailed terms of the third party finance being raised for the Tube modernisation plans. These will be finalised as part of the process to financial close on the transactions.
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 8 May (WA 184), why they stated that they had placed in the Library of House a copy of an updated Ernst & Young "value for money" review of the public/private partnership proposals for London Underground, when the Library had still not received this document by 4 pm on Thursday 9 May.[HL4274]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: A copy of the updated Ernst & Young value for money review of the London Underground PPP was delivered to the Library of the House on 8 May. At the request of the Library, a further copy of the document was sent to the Library by facsimile on 9 May. I understand that the noble Lord now has a copy of it. jenny
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
- In relation to the share purchase agreements signed on 8 May between London Underground and Tube Lines Ltd and the Metronet consortium, what is the difference between "commercial closure" of the agreements and "financial closure" which has not yet taken place. [HL4275]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: Commercial closure on the Tube modernisation contracts was reached on 8 May 2002. It marked the point at which London
Underground Limited signed agreed contract terms with the bidders. They have signed on the basis that a number of "conditions precedent" must be fulfilled before the agreed contracts can come into effect. The conditions precedent relate to issues such as the financing of the modernisation contracts and regulatory consents, including acceptance of the safety case. Financial close will not take place until these conditions precedent have been fulfilled.
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
- In relation to the share purchase agreements signed on 8 May between London Underground and Tube Lines Ltd and the Metronet consortium, what would be the cancellation costs to the taxpayer if it does not ultimately prove possible to secure "financial closure" of these agreements. [HL4276]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: In the event of financial close not being reached because of the bidder's failure to maintain a value for money bid, no compensation is payable.
However, London Underground has agreed to compensate bidders if the competition should be terminated for reasons other than bidders failing to maintain value for money bids. On the two deep Tube competitions, the preferred bidder would receive up to £12 million in respect of the period up to 7 February 2002, with up to £7 million available for the reserve bidder. On the sub-surface line competition, where three bidders were short-listed, they will receive up to £7 million each for costs incurred during this period. In such circumstances, London Underground has also agreed to compensate bidders for 90 per cent of eligible costs incurred after 7 February 2002.
Medical Toxicology Unit
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 7 March (WA 37), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of each of the annual returns made by the Medical Toxicology Unit under the Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital Trust's conflict of interest policy since the date of the first of such returns, together with a copy of the trust's guidelines on partnership arrangements for the financial years 1999–2001.[HL3731]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): There are no specific annual returns made by the Medical Toxicology Unit under the Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital Trust's conflict of interest policy. However the Medical Toxicology Unit has completed a register of interests in accordance with trust policy. The trust has recently updated the register and the only disclosures relate to educational commitments.
The trust does not have any specific partnership arrangement guidelines. All financial transactions are carried out in accordance with standing financial instructions. The relevant officer within delegated authority limits would sign commercial contracts on behalf of the trust, not an individual. Specific queries regarding these arrangements should be addressed to Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust.
NHS Hearing Aids
Baroness Howe of Idlicote asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many people with a hearing loss have a National Health Service-supplied analogue hearing aid.[HL3746]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The information requested is not available centrally. The Department of Health is working in partnership with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People to modernise hearing aid services. The modernisation project includes the provision of leading-edge digital hearing aids as part of a service designed around the needs of people with hearing impairment. Over £30 million has been made available to support the modernisation project. In addition to the existing 20 sites, at least another 30 sites will join the modernisation project this year.
Teenage Pregnancy Strategy
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they intend to revisit their teenage family planning strategy in the light of research conducted by David Paton of the University of Nottingham Business School from which he concludes that there is no evidence linking greater access to family planning with a reduction in under-age conceptions or abortions[HL3809]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: International research and more recent statistics contradict the claims made in this paper. A comprehensive review of international research shows that the provision of specialist youth contraceptive services increases the use of contraception without increasing sexual activity.
Research also shows that the most effective strategy for decreasing teenage conception rates is a multifaceted approach of which access to youth specific contraceptive services is a key factor. Our Teenage Pregnancy Strategy encompasses this approach, including helping young people to resist peer pressure to have early sex, improving sex and relationship education and acces to effective services, and involving parents and the wider community.
Early signs of the strategy's impact are encouraging with figures for 2000 showing a 6.2 per cent reduction from 1998 in both under-18 and under-16 conception rates.
Department of Health: Written Answers
Lord Clement-Jones asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What has been the average time taken by the Department of Health in replying to Questions for Written Answer tabled by Lords in the past two years; and in how many cases it has taken more than six weeks to reply.[HL3847]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The average time taken to answer Written Questions tabled by noble Lords in the past two years is 11.5 days. It is not possible to provide accurate data on those questions not answered within six weeks.
jenny
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