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Column 81
Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 19 July 1994
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Official Files
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department by what authority Her Majesty's Government can change the status of an official file once it has been opened for inspection at the Public Record Office, subsequently withdraw it and seek its retention.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Public Records Act 1958, as amended in 1967, makes no provision for any change in the acess status of a public record which has become legally available for public inspection in the Public Record Office under the provisions of that Act.
TRANSPORT
Severn Bridge
Mr. Marland : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received the results of the survey that he commissioned into the extent to which heavy vehicles are diverting through Gloucester to avoid paying tolls to cross the Severn bridge ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : I have now received the report and am publishing a summary of the findings today. It shows that although on average some 2,700 more vehicles than might be expected--allowing for traffic growth--travel west through Gloucestershire each day, only 1,500 of these can be positively identified as avoiding the bridge tolls. As the extra traffic is fairly evenly spread over the M50 and the three other main diversion routes and also evenly spread over 24 hours, it amounts to no more than one extra vehicle every seven or eight minutes on each route.
Nevertheless, I shall now be inviting representatives of Gloucester and Gwent county councils to meet me to discuss the findings.
Seat Belts
Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to encourage the fitting of seat belts on minibuses and coaches.
Mr. MacGregor : The Government have now completed their analysis of the case for compulsory fitment of seat belts on minibuses and coaches and are today publishing the report of their review. A copy is being placed in the Library of the House. This demonstrates the strength of the case for compulsory fitment as a standard for all European manufacturers.
I am formally requesting the European Commission to set the shortest possible timetable to require seat belts on all new minibuses and coaches. This reinforces my call for action at the Transport Council in Luxembourg in June.
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I have also decided to seek the Commission's agreement for the United Kingdom Government to act ahead of the European Union to ensure that all minibuses and coaches are fitted with belts when specifically used for the transport of children. We will consult widely on how best to implement such a provision in practice ; once we have the Commission's agreement.I shall also be amending the Public Service Vehicle (Carrying Capacity) Regulations to ensure that, where belts are fitted, three children can no longer share a double seat.
Meanwhile, we will be encouraging manufacturers and operators to fit belts in response to customer demand. Virtually all new minibuses now coming off the production lines have seat belts fitted. For existing vehicles, the Department of Transport has set standards on the retro-fitting of belts and has urged operators to take action wherever possible, and this they are now doing. There has been support from the insurance industry for the Department's action.
Highways Agency
Mr. Sykes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has yet received proposals for organisational change from the Highways Agency.
Mr. Key : I am pleased to announce that wide-ranging proposals for restructuring the agency to achieve greater efficiency have been published today by Lawrie Haynes, the chief executive. I have arranged for copies of a leaflet explaining the proposals to be placed in the Library of the House.
London Transport
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to appoint a successor to Sir Wilfrid Newton as chairman of London Transport.
Mr. MacGregor : I have today appointed Mr. Peter Ford as chairman of London Transport for a five-year period from 15 September 1994, following the retirement of Sir Wilfrid Newton.
Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Ms Hodge : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from members of the public about the impact of the channel tunnel rail link on the people of Barking.
Mr. Freeman : Since the January announcement of the final route of the rail link, my right hon. Friend and I have received some nine letters from members of the public affected by the surface route through Barking.
Ms Hodge : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice he has received on (a) the feasibility and (b) the additional cost of routeing the channel tunnel rail link under Barking reach.
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend and I have not received detailed advice on the feasibility or additional cost of routeing the rail link under Barking reach. Union Railways's general view is that such a tunnel would affect the major east Thames corridor development site there, passing beneath or near the Ford plant, the new Barking power station and the A13 extension. It might also require a new route to be devised for the rail link all the way to
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Stratford, affecting many more properties than the current alignment, which closely follows the existing railway corridor.Ms Hodge : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains currently use the track proposed to be used for the channel tunnel rail link through Barking between the hours of (a) 8 am to noon, (b) noon to 4 pm, (c) 4 pm to 8 pm and (d) 8 pm to midnight ; and what he expects the figures will be after the rail link is in operation.
Mr. Freeman : The number of trains currently using the existing railway corridor between Barking and Purfleet is as follows :
|Passenger|Other |Total
---------------------------------------------------------
(a) 8 am to noon |20 |6 |26
(b) noon to 4 pm |17 |4 |21
(c) 4 pm to 8 pm |25 |3 |28
(d) 8 pm to
midnight |14 |9 |23
The number of trains likely to be using the railway corridor in the future, including after the rail link opens, will be a commercial matter for the railway operators involved.
Ms Hodge : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many properties there are in the Barking constituency where the boundary of the property is directly adjacent to the rail track boundaries for the proposed channel tunnel rail link.
Mr. Freeman : Union Railways calculates that, on the south side of the route of the rail link as it runs through Barking on the surface, some 185 residential properties would be directly adjacent to the rail link track. On the north side of the route, some 136 residential properties would be directly adjacent to Railtrack track.
Ms Hodge : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the smallest distance between the rear of any domestic house in the Barking constituency and the rail track for the proposed channel tunnel rail link.
Mr. Freeman : Union Railways calculates that, on the south side of the route of the rail link as it runs through Barking on the surface, the shortest distance between the rear of a house and the rail link track would be about 6.5 m. In general the shortest distance is between 7 and 8 m.
On the north side of the route, houses would be closer to Railtrack's track than to that of the rail link. The shortest distance between the rear of a house and the Railtrack track would be 2.5 m--though, again, this is exceptional. In general the shortest distance is about 10 m.
Driving Tests
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 30 June, Official Report, column 702, if he will list all the driving test centres that were identified by the Driving Standards Agency regional staff against the criteria marked A to D.
Staff Appraisal
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 20 June, Official Report, column 47, if he will make a statement on the
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reasons for the percentage of male and female typists receiving box 1 and box 2 markings ; and if he will make a statement on the accuracy of the present reporting system.Mr. Norris : Male and female typists are awarded appraisal markings by their line managers based on their judgment of their work performance. All reporting officers are required to certify that they have worked through the Department's material on staff reporting which gives detailed guidance on reporting standards.
Romney House Records Service
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which edition of the Official Journal of the European Communities contained the advertisement for the Romney House records service market test ; and if it asked contractors to submit bids for call-off contracts.
Mr. Norris : The Department placed a notice in the Official Journal dated 17 September 1993. The notice invited expressions of interest from firms to provide a range of record services. The notice did not set out terms of contract or invite bids. An invitation to tender for a call-off contract is to be issued shortly.
Road Accidents (Pedestrians)
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) children and (b) adults have been (i) killed and (ii) seriously or (iii) slightly injured on or near pedestrian crossings in (i) the Metropolitan police area of London and (ii) England and Wales in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
Mr. Key : The information requested is shown in the table.
Child and adult casualties, by severity on or near
pedestrian crossings
in England and Wales: 1991-93
Casualties
|On Crossing|<3>Within |<4>Within
|Zig-Zag |50 metres
------------------------------------------------------------
1991
Child<1>
Fatal |7 |1 |7
Serious |236 |36 |241
Slight |967 |119 |797
Adult<2>
Fatal |118 |19 |86
Serious |758 |129 |669
Slight |2,141 |212 |1,862
1992
Child<1>
Fatal |11 |3 |8
Serious |272 |32 |240
Slight |978 |117 |798
Adult<2>
Fatal |82 |11 |95
Serious |744 |112 |677
Slight |2,047 |232 |1,814
1993
Child<1>
Fatal |7 |1 |6
Serious |217 |31 |197
Slight |902 |109 |734
Adult<2>
Fatal |84 |13 |67
Serious |687 |99 |612
Slight |2,003 |206 |1,716
<1>Aged 0-15.
<2>Aged 16+.
<3>Casualties approaching and exiting crossing within
zig-zag lines.
<4>Casualties elsewhere within 50 metres of crossing.
Charter Payments
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been paid out by way of charter payments to those travelling on each of the regions' railway networks in each of the last two years.
Mr. Freeman : Charter payments disaggregated by region are not available. Charter payments by each of the three rail businesses for the periods requested are as follows :
|1992-93 |1993-94
|£ |£
------------------------------------------------------
Season ticket discounts
InterCity |34,000 |241,000
Network SouthEast |53,000 |2,063,000
Regional Railways |0 |134,000
|------- |-------
Total |87,000 |2,438,000
Compensation
InterCity |1,387,000|N/a
Network SouthEast |283,000 |N/a
Regional Railways |175,000 |N/a
|------- |-------
Total |1,845,000|2,300,000
TOTAL |1,900,000|4,700,000
Note: A breakdown for 1993-94 compensation payments
by the three rail
businesses is not yet available.
Health Screening
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration his Department is giving to cutting its health screening programme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris : The Department is reviewing the effort currently deployed on health screening as part of its efficiency gains programme.
Civil Service Lifeboat Appeal
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future commitment of his Department to the civil service lifeboat appeal.
Mr. Norris : The Department is reviewing the effort currently deployed on administrative support for the civil service lifeboat fund appeal in the Department as part of the efficiency gains programme.
Railway Bridges
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) bridges and (b) culverts British Rail (i) repaired and (ii) replaced in 1992-93 and 1993-94 ; and how many Railtrack will repair or replace in 1994 -95.
Mr. Freeman : This information is not available centrally. It would therefore involve a disproportionate cost to provide an answer to this question.
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Rail Strike
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much fare income had been lost by British Rail as a result of the signal staff strike on 15 July 1994 ; and how much compensation was owed to British Rail by Railtrack at this date.
Mr. Freeman : British Rail estimates that it loses of the order of £9 million per day in revenue for each one-day strike. Questions of compensation as a result of strike action are a matter for BR and Railtrack.
Railway Investment
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much British Rail invested in (a) rolling stock, (b) track and signalling, maintenance and repair and (c) track and signalling renewal and new-build schemes in 1992-93 and 1993-94.
Mr. Freeman : The information is as follows :