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Nurse Specialists
Lord Faulkner of Worcester asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Warner: Information is not collected centrally on the number of nurses specialising in lung or breast cancer. As at March 2004, there were 396,369 qualified nurses employed in the National Health Service, an increase of 77,500 since September 1997.
Strategic Rail Authority: Access Charge Review
Lord Faulkner of Worcester asked Her Majesty's Government:
What directions the Secretary of State for Transport gave to the Strategic Rail Authority to use its powers under Section 206 of the Transport Act 2000 to formulate a strategy for the Rail Regulator to ensure that the outcome of the access charges regime in 2003 was affordable within the context of the 10-year plan. [HL4031]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Secretary of State's Directions and Guidance to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) of 11 April 2002, as subsequently amended, include directions on the steps the SRA should take with regard to its strategies in the context of any access charge review.
Roads: Expenditure
Lord Lea of Crondall asked Her Majesty's Government:
In the light of the Department for Transport White Paper, The Future of Transport, of July 2004, what are the projected capital expenditure targets for roads for the next 10 years superseding those set out in the 10-year plan for transport published in July 2000. [HL4038]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The department does not set targets for expenditure. Decisions relating to the allocation of the 2004 Spending Review settlement between different modes will be taken in due course.
Container Ports
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they plan to publish a national ports strategy following rejection of the proposal for a new port complex at Dibden Bay. [HL4071]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Following the Government's decision on the Dibden Bay proposal in April, three further proposals for major container port development remain to be determined by the Secretary of State for Transport; these decisions will be made within the Government's national policy framework already in place for ports, as set out in Modern Ports: A UK Policy in 2000. Once those decisions have been taken, expected by autumn 2005, the Government will review their policy framework for the sustainable development of ports as indicated in The Future of Transport published in July.
Bus Lanes
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 6 October 2003 (WA 6) and the Lord MacDonald of Tradeston on 20 June 2002 (WA 105), when they will issue the necessary orders for the camera enforcement of bus lanes outside London [HL4072]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Following completion of the passage of the Traffic Management Act 2004, we have now resumed work on the regulations with the aim of making them as soon as possible.
Motorway Restaurants
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which body is responsible for ensuring that healthy food options are available at all times in Moto motorway restaurants on the M4. [HL4126]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The range of food options offered at motorway service area restaurants, including those on the M4 run by Moto, are a matter for the individual operators who are likely to be responsive to public demand.
Transport Direct
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are (a) the current budget; and (b) the emerging costs of Transport Direct; and when they expect that the system will be available for public use. [HL4113]
Lord Davies of Oldham: £51 million capital funding has been allocated to the Transport Direct programme:
Development of the portal—£27 million. This comprises: contract costs—£17 million; hardware—£0.5 million; data—£4.5 million; project costs— £5 million.
The remainder will be spent on future enhancements to the portal, including delivery through other media; development of the JourneyWeb protocol (that allows different systems to communicate with each other); development of internationally recognised technical standards; further development of real-time information; publicity and marketing.
The £51 million capital funding was allocated to Transport Direct in the Spending Review 2002 covering the period April 2003 to March 2006. Capital prior to this was in the region of £2.5 million and revenue costs were approximately £1 million.
The Transport Direct site was first made available to the public, as a trial version, on 12 July 2004. Currently, further testing is being undertaken and initial user feedback is being gauged. The official launch of the first full version of the Transport Direct site is expected to take place within the next few months.
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 22 July (WA 77) which stated that the Transport Direct website went live on 12 July—(a) why there is no link between this site and the Department for Transport's website; and (b) where on the Transport Direct website the various categories of information described by the Minister can be found. [HL4114]
(a) In order to allow further testing to take place and also to gauge initial user feedback, Transport Direct is currently running a trial version of the website. As a result, publicity, including links from other sites, is being limited until the first full version is officially launched. This official launch is expected to take place within the next few months.
(b) The functions available on the Transport Direct website are divided into three principal categories: "Journey Planner", "Mapping" and "Live Travel", all of which are very easy to access from the site's homepage.
The "Live Travel" category gives information on real-time information for all rail stations in Great Britain, live travel news that shows incidents that occur and a service that notifies users of disruptions to their journey. The "Journey Planner" category allows the user to plan their journey. Every answer shown for car journey searches will take into account historical congestion data for the given route.
14 Sept 2004 : Column WA187
Air Navigation Services: Common Charging Scheme
Lord Rotherwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make available the results of the consultation by Eurocontrol on the "Draft SES Implementing Rule on a Common Charging Scheme for Air Navigation Services." [HL4150]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The European Commission has mandated Eurocontrol to draft an Implementing Rule on a Common Charging Scheme for Air Navigation Services. Eurocontrol is required to consult with all stakeholders in developing the implementing rule and present its final draft together with the results of the consultation exercise to the European Commission. This is a European Commission process and not a UK Government initiative. However, we are encouraging the European Commission to make available the results of the consultation to all stakeholders.
A31: Underpass at Hickley's Corner, Farnham
Lord Lea of Crondall asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the emphasis given to reducing congestion and accidents and in improving the overall quality of life, set out in the Transport Objectives and Performance Targets (in the July White Paper, The Future of Transport) will affect the assessment of schemes which already emphasise these criteria, such as Surrey County Council's proposal for an underpass at Hickley's Corner in
- Farnham on the A31, which is part of the nation's primary route network. [HL4156]
Lord Davies of Oldham: All local transport schemes, including roads, proposed for government funding are subject to comprehensive appraisal on criteria which reflect the need to reduce congestion and accidents and to improve the overall quality of life.
We will be considering the A31 Hickley's Corner underpass scheme carefully alongside other bids for major scheme funding submitted as part of the 2004 Local Transport Plan (LTP) process. We expect to announce our decisions on bids in the LTP settlement later this year.
Postal Votes in Scottish Constituencies: 2001 General Election
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many electors, representing what percentage of the electorate, were registered to vote by post for elections to the United Kingdom Parliament in each constituency in Scotland at the latest date for which figures are available. [HL3961]
Lord Evans of Temple Guiting: The independent Electoral Commission's report Postal votes, proxy votes and spoilt ballot papers at the 2001 general election provides the information sought for each constituency in Scotland at the 2001 general election, and is the most recent information that is available for elections to the United Kingdom Parliament. The report can be obtained from the Electoral Commission and a copy is in the Library of each House.
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