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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 12 November 1991
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Sir Allan Green
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Attorney-General what financial arrangements were made with the previous Director of Public Prosecutions as to compensation for his years of service.
The Attorney-General : The previous Director of Public Prosecutions has a pension entitlement, not payable until August 1997. He will receive now an ex-gratia payment of three months salary.
McKenzies Friend
Mr. Nellist : To ask the Attorney-General what was the cost to public funds of the Treasury Solicitor contesting the case in the Appeal Court in July on McKenzie's friend, what fees were paid to the barrister who acted as amicus curiae ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : Treasury counsel was instructed by the Treasury Solicitor to appear as an amicus curiae in the case of R v. Leicester City Justices ex parte Barrow at the request of the Court of Appeal. Counsel did not appear in order to "contest" the appeal, but in order to assist the court on matters of law. The cost to public funds of such assistance to the Court of Appeal was £2,412.45. The amount of the fee paid to counsel is a matter of professional confidence between solicitor and counsel.
TRANSPORT
Stoke-Derby Link Road
Mrs. Currie : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he can report progress on the Stoke-Derby link road and the Derby southern spur.
Mr. Chope : Good progress is being made and the link road between Stoke and Derby is on target for completion in 1996.
I hope to be able to announce a decision on the route of the Derby southern bypass and spur by Christmas and to publish the remaining statutory orders for side road alterations and the compulsory purchase of the necessary land in the spring of 1992.
Tyre Tread Depths
155. Mr. Mills : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will publish in full the new requirements on tyre tread depth regulations ;
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(2) if he will publish the date of making and the date of implementation of the new construction and use regulations concerning tyre tread depths ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Chope : From 1 January 1992 the grooves of the tread pattern of every tyre fitted to the wheels of cars, light vans and their trailers must be of a depth of at least 1.6mm throughout a continuous band situated in the central three-quarters of the breadth of tread and round the entire circumference of the tyre. They will replace the current standard of 1mm of tread across three quarters of the tread pattern and visible tread in the remaining quarter. Vehicles first used before 3 January 1933 are exempt from these new requirements, because in many cases they have resilient, rather than pneumatic, tyres. The new standards on tyre tread depths of cars, light vans and their trailers are covered by the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment No. 4) Regulations 1990 (SI 1990 No. 1981) which were made on 28 September 1990.
Ipswich--Cambridge Rail Service
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report a list of the public service grants he has made to British Rail for the purpose of keeping open rail services between Ispwich and Cambridge over each of the past five years ; whether those train services are meeting the performance targets and obligations laid down by his Department ; if he will list those targets and obligations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : Public service obligation (PSO) grant is a block grant paid towards the cost of maintaining all supported services. In 1990- 91 British Rail received £699.9 million in PSO grant. The quality of service standards applicable to services of this type are that 90 per cent. of trains should arrive within five minutes of the scheduled time and no more than 1 per cent. of trains should be cancelled. Performance against these standards is not monitored by the Department on a line by line basis. However, for the Anglia sub-sector, of which the Ipswich-Cambridge route is part, 86.9 per cent. of trains arrived within five minutes of their scheduled time and 2 per cent. of trains were cancelled in the year to September 1991.
A45, Bury St. Edmunds
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what portions of the A45 at Risby near Bury St. Edmunds are or have been closed over the past four weeks ; and if he will publish a list of previous closures of this trunk road within five miles to the east and west of Bury St. Edmunds in each of the past five years, indicating in each case for how long portions of this highway were closed and how much public money was spent in each case, and in total for repairs or other purposes.
Mr. Chope : The westbound carriageway at Risby is currently being reconstructed and resurfaced.
Previous closures are attached. These do not include emergency works, routine maintenance or works for public utilities.
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Year |Location |Scheme |Cost |Duration |Traffic management
|£ 000s
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |Rougham-Moreton Hall |Carriageway maintenance and widening|1,200 |12 weeks |Contraflow and lane closures
1987-88 |Risby westbound on slip road |Repairs/resurfacing |40 |2 weeks |Lane closures
1988-89 |Beyton-Bury bypass |Carriageway maintenance and overlay |1,000 |22 weeks |Contraflow and lane closures
1988-89 |Risby-Westley |Safety fence works |100 |19 weeks |Lane closures
1989-90 |Risby westbound carriageway |Resurfacing |75 |2 weeks |Lane closure
1989-90 |Risby-Rougham |Surface dressing |50 |2 days |Lane closure
1990-91 |Bury St. Edmunds |Reconstruction-overlay |4,000 |20 weeks |Contraflow
1990-91 |Various sites |Surface dressing |50 |2-3 days |Lane closures
1990-91 |Risby-Kentford |Safety fencing |130 |6 weeks |Lane closures
1990-91 |Rougham |Closure of gap |50 |3 weeks |Lane closures
1990-91 |Various sites |French drain renewal |70 |4 weeks |Lane closures
Car Pooling
159. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has carried out into congestion reduction from incentives for car pooling ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : An extensive programme of research was conducted following the Transport Act 1978 which liberalised the rules governing car sharing. It was apparent from this work and subsequent initiatives that it is particularly difficult to organise formal car pooling schemes and that when successful they can have the effect of reducing public transport patronage. We continue to keep the matter under review.
Shipping (Toxic Substances)
170. Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government are taking to secure changes to United Nations shipping regulations in respect of classification of the toxicity of transported substances according to the results of LD50 tests.
Mr. McLoughlin : The United Kingdom Government have been actively involved in discussion within OECD of an alternative to the LD50 methodology. If an alternative is agreed, the appropriate United Nations Committee on the Transport of Dangerous Goods will consider the effect on transport regulations generally.
Lighthouses
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what borrowing limits apply to each general lighthouse authority ; (2) for each of the last five years, what is the amount of money allocated from the reserves of the General Lighthouse Fund to supplement light due costs ;
(3) if he will give the current level of liquid reserves available to the General Lighthouse Fund ; and what is his current estimate of the level expected in March 1992.
Mr. McLoughlin : Under section 662A of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (as inserted by the Merchant Shipping Act 1988) the borrowing limit applying to the General Lighthouse Fund is £100 million. This is not disaggregated to each general lighthouse authority. In the last five years the GLF reserves have met the following shortfalls of the income required to meet total operating costs plus depreciation :
Year |£ million ------------------------------------ 1986-87 |3.2 1987-88 |1.9 1988-89 |5.9 1989-90 |8.9 1990-91 |<1>11.8 <1> Provisional.
The liquid reserves stood at £22.1 million at the end of October and are expected to be around or below £20 million by March 1992.
A4
Sir Barney Hayhoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies or plans are in hand for alterations at the junctions on the A4 road between Brentford and Hammersmith.
Mr. Chope : The report of the M4-A4 corridor study by Howard Humphreys and Partners was published on 3 October. It recommends a new link between the M4 and the A4 to relieve congestion on the elevated dual two- lane section of the motorway between junctions 1 and 2 and also recommends various improvements to A4 junctions. The report is now the subject of consultation. The improvement of the A4 junction with the A316 at Hogarth roundabout has been investigated by Sir William Halcrow and Partners Limited, as has the A4 junction with the A406/A205 at Chiswick roundabout. These reports are being considered. Frank Graham Consulting Engineers Ltd, the Department's agent for this part of the A4, is investigating right-of- way priorities at Hogarth round-about and the provision of signals at Chiswick roundabout to cater for traffic from the Chiswick Park development in Chiswick High road. Their work is still at an early stage.
Dock Workers
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many hours dock workers have worked per week on average in each of the last five years in each of the major ports.
Mr. McLoughlin : Weekly average hours worked within the dock labour scheme as a whole were published in the annual reports of the National Dock Labour Board and were as follows (including overtime but excluding "under- employed" hours) :
1986 |1987|1988 -------------------- 39.5 |41.0|42.0
I have no information on ports outside the scheme, or for the period from 1989 when it was abolished.
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Ports (Operational Leases)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to give effect to section 17 of the Ports Act ; and what particular regard his plans have for operational leases.
Mr. McLoughlin : It is intended that the affirmative order provided for in section 17(8) of the Act shall be laid before Parliament shortly. At the present time, the draft proposals for the provisions of the order, including provisions for leases of operational land, are the subject of consultation with the trust ports. It is too early therefore to say what the precise nature of those provisions will be.
Rural Bus Routes
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the total number of rural bus service routes in 1980 and the total number in 1990 in the United Kingdom.
Mr. McLoughlin : Between 1982 (the earliest year for which statistics are available) and 1990-91, vehicle mileage in the English shire counties increased by 19 per cent. But no breakdown between rural and urban mileage is available within this total ; nor is information available on numbers of routes.
Rail Electrification
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the proportion of (a) Wales's and (b) Britain's railway network which is electrified ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : There are no electrified lines in Wales ; as at 31 March 1991, 30 per cent. of British Rail's network was electrified or in the process of being electrified as a result of projects approved or under construction.
RNIB Needs Survey
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to the report "Blind and Partially Sighted Adults in Britain--The RNIB Needs Survey" ; what action he will be taking in relation to its findings ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Department of Transport has not yet received a copy of the report. We have asked the RNIB to send us one urgently so that we can consider it fully.
Nuclear Transport Routes
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he possesses in regard to the reasons for the diversion of the Pacific Teal away from its planned route from Japan to Barrow in Furness via the Panama canal during its voyage in December 1989 to February 1990 ; and what was the effect on the safe operation of the ship.
Mr. McLoughlin : The ships of Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited are capable of taking any of a number of different non-stop routes from Japan to Europe and have done so on a number of occasions. In this instance, because of uncertainties relating to transit of the Panama canal at that time, the decision was taken to use another route.
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Departmental Restructuring
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the recent restructuring of his Department and its implications for shipping and ports policy ; if he will give details of the establishment in his Department as it relates to shipping and ports related posts ; and if he will indicate which posts are currently unfilled or vacant.
Mr. McLoughlin : Some changes were made with effect from 2 September to the responsibilities of a number of directorates in the Department, but these had no implications for shipping and ports policy. There are some 1,020 shipping and ports related posts in the Department including 483 coastguard grades. As at 8 November there were five administrative vacancies, 13 specialist vacancies and 29 vacancies in coastguard grades.
Trust Ports
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the liquid assets currently held by each trust port on 31 July 1991.
Mr. McLoughlin : Port authorities produce annual accounts, but I have no information on their mid-year financial positions.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he plans to ensure that the objectives set out in the transfer schemes for trust ports are made binding on the successful bidder ; and what safeguards exist to ensure that memoranda and articles agreed by him in respect of the new company will not be changed following the completion of the sale to the successful bidder.
Mr. McLoughlin : The purpose of a transfer scheme is to effect the transfer of a trust port's existing undertaking to a successor company with a view to the subsequent disposal of that company's securities : such schemes do not contain operational objectives for the successor company. However, in cases where a port is to be sold to a single buyer, objectives of sale are agreed between the authority concerned and the Government. Prospective purchasers will then be required to demonstrate to the authority in the bidding process how they intend to meet those objectives, and this information will be taken into account by an authority in their assessment of competing bids.
Such objectives cannot by their nature be legally binding. In determining the company's business objectives, and in deciding whether to make alterations to its memorandum and articles however, the new owner of the port will need to take account of the plans on which his bid has been based, and the statutory powers and duties of the company. The relevant provisions of the Companies Act 1985 relating to alterations to the memorandum and articles will of course apply in the same way as they do to any other company.
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how amendments made by him to the proposed transfer schemes of trust ports are to be incorporated into competing bids.
Mr. McLoughlin : Before finalising their bids, prospective purchasers of a trust port will have the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the provisions of any order made
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under section 9 of the Ports Act 1991, confirming that port's transfer scheme with or without modifications. They will therefore be able to determine their final bid in the light of any modification which may have been made.Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of those trust ports which have to date submitted proposals to privatise under the provisions of the Ports Act 1991 ; and if he will give in respect of each the timetable for (a) the deadline by which representations have to be received, (b) the completion date of the transfer of the trust port to the newly established company, and for (c) the date when it is expected to name the successful bidder.
Mr. McLoughlin : To date, four ports have formally submitted schemes of transfer : Tees and Hartlepool port authority, Medway ports authority, the Port of London authority for the port of Tilbury, and Clyde ports authority. The deadline for the end of the representations period in each case is as follows : for Tees, 24 September ; for Medway, 2 October ; for Clyde, 13 December. There is under the Act no representations period for the Port of Tilbury. The dates for completion of the transfer schemes and the naming of the successful bidder in each case are not yet known. The former will depend on the extent and nature of the modifications to any particular scheme that appears necessary in the light of representations and other factors and after consulting the relevant authority. The latter will depend on the date on which each authority recommends a bidder and the timing of the decision on whether to accept that recommendation.
Driving Licences
Sir Eldon Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the name of the marketing company that advised DVLC (Swansea) on its use of the drivers' licence computer base for the purpose of test- marketing the potential for commercial firms to advertise their services to applicants for driving licences.
Mr. Chope : The company advising the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on the market research necessary to establish the potential of its database and dispatch equipment is Marketing Triangle Ltd.
Promotional Leaflets
Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the driver and vehicle licensing centre intends to continue to send out promotional leaflets for the British School of Motoring with provisional driving licences.
Mr. Chope : The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency concluded the test mailing on 4 October. No new mailing will take place until the results of the market research have been fully evaluated. In deciding future policy in this area, account will be taken of representations received.
Docklands Light Railway
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the management of the Docklands light railway ; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr. Rifkind : We intend that there should be new management arrangements for the DLR. The railway has
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a vital role in the regeneration of Docklands, and there is a strong case for uniting it with the London Docklands development corporation, whose prime objective that regeneration is. Subject to the outcome of any necessary consultations, I therefore intend asking the chairman of London Regional Transport to transfer responsibility for the DLR to the LDDC. The effective date of the transfer will be announced when the necessary procedures and detailed arrangements are completed.Civil Aviation Authority
Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what objectives he has set for the new chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority.
Mr. Rifkind : I sent the following letter recently to Mr. Christopher Chataway :
This letter sets out the objectives which the Government wishes you to pursue as Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority in fulfilment of the statutory functions of the Board. In the case of conflict between these objectives and the Authority's statutory duties, the statutory duties must prevail.
General Objectives
Safety. Your overriding objective must be to ensure that the CAA continues to promote, in an efficient and cost-effective way, high standards of safety in all aspects of civil aviation. I have made it clear that safety is the responsibility of the CAA and it is not my intention to interfere in the discharge of its duties.
Regulation. Subject to your responsibility for safety, and to other explicit statutory requirements, the Authority should impose as few burdens as possible on those whose activities it regulates. The United Kingdom civil aviation industry had to bear the full costs of regulation and the Authority must therefore continually strive to ensure that regulation is no greater than necessary.
I would expect your charges in relation to the services of the Economic Regulation and Safety Regulation Groups to cover their costs and to provide the required rate of return on investment without rising faster than the rate of inflation, taking one year with another, unless there were very good reasons for them to do so, and in all events to be as low as is compatible with the proper discharge of their responsibilities.
Costs and Quality of Service. The Authority should keep its costs under constant review and, where appropriate, should devise formal cost reduction programmes. Quality of service should also be carefully monitored. In the light of these considerations and or your overriding safety objective, in the course of your first year of appointment you should review all performance targets and indicators (including the development of appropriate unit cost indicators) for the Authority, and put to me proposals for the future, with a view to our agreeing them in time for inclusion of the targets in the 1992 Corporate Plan. You should continue to keep under review your arrangements for consulting users about the Authority's charges and I would be glad if you would cover this point in particular in your first annual report to me.
The Environment. While I have primary responsibility for regulating environmental disturbance attributable to civil aviation, in planning and providing its air traffic control services, the Authority should assess the possible effects of any changes on the environment, including the effects of noise. The Department should be notified in any cases where the Authority considers that adverse effects are likely to be significant. The Authority should also maintain its capacity to provide expert technical advice on environmental problems.
External Relations. The Authority must continue to seek to maintain good communications with Parliament, industry and the public so that each properly understands the CAA's various roles. It will be your continuing responsibility to deal, in correspondence and otherwise, with the concerns of Members of both Houses of Parliament as they affect the Authority's activities.
The Authority is both a regulator of the industry and a monopoly supplier of many air traffic control services, and you should ensure that the industry is kept in close touch with your plans, and has full opportunities to tell you of their
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views. The Safety Regulation Group Finance Advisory Committee is an example of a valuable consultation mechanism, and you should ensure that it is continued effectively.Public Sector Financial Disciplines. The Authority should continue to stay within its External Financing Limit each year and the associated investment approvals limits. It should also continue to provide the Government with regular, timely flows of information so that the Authority's performance can be monitored both generally and more specifically against agreed strategies and targets and the External Financing Limit.
Over the three year period ending in 1991-92, the Authority has been working to a target annual average rate of return on average capital employed of 8 per cent. on a current cost basis ; this target has applied to all the Authority's activities, except UK airspace air traffic services and Highland and Islands Airports Ltd. You should plan on the basis that this target will be maintained for the next three-year period, beginning in 1992-93, but it will be subject to review in the autumn of this year.
Corporate Planning. The Authority should prepare Corporate Plans reflecting the objectives in this letter (and the outcome of the previous annual Investment and Financing Review), including the External Financing Limit. Each year's plan should be submitted to me no later than April each year.
Organisation. You should ensure that an appropriate structure and management systems are in place to provide a cost-effective and commercial approach within the Authority, with effective control of both capital and current expenditure, so that the Authority can take a corporate view of its priorities, set targets for parts of the business and ensure that they are achieved.
The recent Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on National Air Traffic Services (NATS) made a number of recommendations, almost all of which were accepted by the Authority. These recommendations should be implemented in a timely fashion. I attach particular importance to those recommendations concerning manpower planning, for which appropriate systems need to be developed without delay. Objectives for Economic Regulation
Within the relevant statutory requirements, and working with the Department in the international arena, the Authority should act to ensure that as far as possible, the United Kingdom travelling public is served by a healthy competitive multi-airline industry. Further steps towards liberalisation and the creation of a single market within the European Community will bring important changes in the next few years (on matters such as route licensing, the approval of fares, and probably the allocation of airport slots). The Authority should continue to be ready to advise the Government on necessary changes to policy and to legislation, and to revise its Statement of Policies on air transport licensing appropriately in response to changes in both.
It is important that the Economic Regulation Group's costs remain under effective control, so that increases in charges are kept to a minimum.
Objectives for National Air Traffic Services
The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) is run jointly between the Authority and the Ministry of Defence with staff provided by each. You should be aware of the Ministerial Directions to NATS which I shall soon be revising with the Secretary of State for Defence. The Directions will continue to require NATS to provide airspace capacity, on a cost effective and timely basis, to meet the needs of airspace users both civil and military but, recognising the increasing demand from aircraft operations, they will invite you--in consultation as necessary with the Secretary of State for Defence--to advise me on appropriate action in the event of demand for airspace exceeding capacity.
To this end it is essential that NATS' capital programme is implemented in a thorough and effective way, with due attention paid to project appraisal and to the delivery of projects (notably the New En-Route Centre and the Central Control Function) punctually and to budget. This will be a key responsibility for the new Chief Executive of NATS. The Authority have already made significant changes in NATS'
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project management arrangements, but it is important that these are maintained and followed through, and that the possible need for further changes is kept always in mind.I also attach great importance to effective international working on air traffic control (ATC) matters ; I look to the Authority for full support in helping to implement the plan endorsed by the European Civil Aviation Conference Ministers for harmonising and progressively integrating their ATC systems. Together with the Chief Executive of NATS, I should like you in due course to consider with your Board whether the new NATS organisational structure is proving to be appropriate to the ever- increasing international dimension of ATC work.
There have been long-running negotiations with BAA on the provision of aerodrome navigation services. I hope it will be possible to bring these to a conclusion soon, to put this important relationship on a firm footing.
Objectives for Safety Regulation
The Authority has its own safety responsibilities, but it is important that recommendations by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) which are accepted should be followed up with all due promptness. I should like you to continue to send me a report annually on the way in which this is being done.
My predecessor was concerned at last year's increases in the charges made by the Authority's Safety Regulation Group. Since then a review of the Group's operation has been conducted and
recommendations have been made. I would be grateful for a report by the end of the financial year as to what has been done in the light of the consultants' report.
The Group's future staffing levels and the level of charges to industry should reflect improvements in efficiency and working practices without of course compromising the effectiveness of the Group's safety functions. Progress on achieving this should be included in your annual reports on the achievement of your objectives.
The Safety Regulation Group is already playing a prominent role in international organisations such as the European Joint Aviation Authorities and should continue to do so. However, I would ask you to ensure that, as the role of such bodies grows, there should be as little duplication as possible between their work and that of the Group.
Objectives for Scottish Aerodromes
The primary objective for the Authority's Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd. (HIAL) subsidiary should be to seek to break even on its non-oil related operations after grant, consistent with ensuring that the aerodromes continue to meet the social needs of the communities which they serve. I would also be glad if you would examine the scope for unit cost indicators for HIAL.
General
The CAA is established as a nationalised industry separate from Government, and as such it should be free to pursue objectives and responsibilities, within the Corporate Plan accepted by the Government and the Internal Financing Review provision agreed for the next three years. You and your Board are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Authority and can expect to carry this out without interference from Government. At the same time, I am accountable to Parliament for the overall performance of the Authority and I have specific functions in relation to a variety of matters affecting the Authority. It is therefore important that I and my officials have access to the information that bears on my responsibilities, and you should ensure that there continues to be close relationship between my Department and the Authority on all matters of mutual concern.
I expect from time to time to review these objectives with you. I attach importance to receiving regular reports at the end of each financial year on your progress in implementing these objectives.
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Vehicle Registration Numbers
Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a progress report on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's scheme to sell attractive registration numbers.
Mr. Chope : This highly successful and innovative scheme has proved to be very popular with the British motoring public. Since sales began in December 1989 over 100,000 numbers have been sold providing total receipts of over £55 million. Particular interest has been shown in the latest range of numbers to be made available taken from the A' prefix series which went on sale from 19 August this year. So far over 33,000 have been sold and they allow motorists who have vehicles registered on or after 1 August 1983 to obtain personalised numbers at a reasonable price. Numbers taken from the current issue J' prefix series are also available specifically for new car buyers. I have placed copies of the latest sales information leaflets in the Library.
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