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Farm Vehicles
Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if farm vehicles exempt from vehicle excise licences will be required to display a number plate; and if he will make a statement. [151158]
Mr. Hill: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the pre-Budget statement his intention to exempt tractors and certain other agricultural vehicles from the payment of vehicle excise duty, subject to consultation. There is already a wide range of vehicles exempted from the payment of vehicle excise duty, including vehicles operated by the emergency services and those constructed before 1 January 1973. Generally, the requirement to display a licence, (including, in
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the case of exempt vehicles, a "nil licence") and the requirement to display number plates are quite separate and there are no plans to alter these arrangements.
Flood Prevention
Paddy Ashdown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the total expenditure of his Department on flood prevention work was (a) through local authority finance, (b) through all forms of central Government finance for (i) 2000-01, (ii) 2001-02, (iii) 2002-03 and (iv) 2003-04; and if he will make a statement. [150418]
Ms Armstrong: The funding allocated by the Flood Defence and Coast Protection SSA blocks for 2000-01 and 2001-02 is set out in the table. Decisions about the level of the Flood Defence and Coast Protection SSA blocks for subsequent years have not yet been taken; therefore no figures can be provided for 2002-03 or 2003-04.
| Year | Flood defence SSA | Coast protection SSA |
|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | 246.825 | 10.275 |
| 2001-02 | 257.700 | 10.700 |
| 2002-03 | n/a | n/a |
| 2003-04 | n/a | n/a |
DETR does not provide any other funding for flood prevention work. All other central Government support for flood prevention work is provided by MAFF as set out in an answer to PQ 150419 given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food today, Official Report, column 602W.
Highways Agency
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the Highways Agency Business Plan will be published; and what targets he has set for the Highways Agency for 2001-02. [151738]
Mr. Hill: Key targets set for the Highways Agency are included in the Agency's Business Plan which will be published tomorrow. A copy will be placed in the Library.
- to maintain the network so that the proportion requiring maintenance within the next year is held between 7 and 8 per cent.;
to upgrade, and have operational with agents, the Highways Agency Pavement Management System;
to put in place a computer based road structures asset management system (Structures Management Information System);
to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on motorways and trunk roads by 416 to 4,575 (compared with the 1994-98 average of 4,991);
to reduce the slight casualty rate to 21.59 slight casualties per hundred million-vehicle km (compared with the 1994-98 average of 22.14);
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to complete at least 10 early action schemes aimed at improving safety;
- to complete at least 11 early action schemes aimed at tackling congestion;
Install at least 68 motorway Close Circuit TV cameras;
to achieve an average annual target of 90 per cent. across the six environment programme sub-indicators;
to install automatic hold up warning systems on at least 128km of motorway length; and
to achieve at least 13 of the 15 Targeted Programme of Improvements scheme milestones listed in the Business Plan;
to put the Agency's property to economic use ensuring that the percentage of vacant residential properties at the end of the year does not exceed 15 per cent. of the residential portfolio, and the percentage of vacant habitable properties empty for more than six months at the end of the year does not exceed 3 per cent. of the residential portfolio.
National Bus Company (Pensions)
Ms Rosie Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress being made in the legal proceedings initiated by the National Bus Company pension trustees to determine eligibility of the different categories of beneficiary for a share of the settlement sum paid over by the Government in July 1999. [151739]
Mr. Hill: As I reported to the House in replying to the Adjournment debate held on 25 January, these proceedings were commenced in October 2000. I understand that a case conference was held on 9 February. As a result, the parties concerned are required to participate in discussions during March with a view to agreeing a settlement of the outstanding issues and to report back to the court. I urge all those involved to do their utmost to reach agreement within that time scale.
I also understand that, if--as I hope very much will not be the case--agreement is not reached and a full trial is necessary, a timetable has been set for this to commence in the autumn and to last around five weeks. It would obviously involve significant legal costs which could amount to several million pounds and this, combined with the further potential delay, underlines the need for every effort to be made to reach an early agreement in the forthcoming discussions.
Bus Subsidies
Mr. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 15 February 2001, Official Report, column 220W, if he will make a statement on the results of the latest round of the rural bus challenge competition, and on the allocations to local authorities. [151774]
Mr. Hill: Following careful consideration of the 137 bids submitted by local authorities to the Rural Bus Challenge 2000, on 19 February we announced approval for the 51 projects as listed. Funding for the successful bids will total up to £21.2 million.
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That announcement also detailed increased Local Authority Rural Bus Subsidy Grant allocations for 2001-02, totalling £41.5 million and indicative allocations
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totalling £47.5 million for 2002-03 and £48.5 million for 2003-04. The full list is as follows:
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| Authority | Project name | Award total (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Bedfordshire | The Potton Area 'Countryside Link' Project | 555,575 |
| Cambridgeshire | Cambridgeshire Rural Links | 260,000 |
| City of York | Enhanced Connexions | 235,858 |
| Cornwall | The DIRECT Project | 845,000 |
| Cumbria (North West Partnership) | Clubcard--Smartcard Vision | Up to 800,000 |
| Derbyshire | Southern Derbyshire Rural Access Initiative (continuation) | 600,000 |
| Devon | Life in the Bus Lane--North Devon (Buses are Cool) | 300,000 |
| Dorset | Blackmore Vale Accessible Community Transport Scheme | 462,000 |
| East Riding | Howdenshire Community Transport Partnership | 400,000 |
| East Sussex | Moving Forward--Community Buses for Rural Transport Partnership | 773,820 |
| Essex | Dengie Plus: Building on Success | 1,113,805 |
| Greater Manchester | Expansion of Rural Shared Taxi | 288,000 |
| Hampshire | Testbed | 990,165 |
| Herefordshire | Transport Co-ordination Project | 129,452 |
| Hertfordshire | HAD--"Out of Hours Transport Services" | 209,781 |
| Kent | Deal Area Responsive Transport (DART) | 453,000 |
| Lancashire | Carnforth Connect | 660,500 |
| Leicestershire and Rutland | Leicestershire and Rutland Cross County | 1,619,000 |
| Lincolnshire | Tardis | 547,000 |
| Milton Keynes | Nippa Service | 160,154 |
| Norfolk | North Walsham "Bitternlink" | 276,528 |
| Leisure and Learning Links | 250,825 | |
| North Lincolnshire | A1077 Villages, Bus Service Route 350 | 114,313 |
| North Yorkshire | Travelinks | 602,000 |
| South Selby Taxibus | 267,000 | |
| Stationlink and Sherburn area village bus | 253,000 | |
| Northamptonshire | Corby Rural Dial-a-Ride | 50,900 |
| Northumberland | Phone and Go | 731,700 |
| Nottinghamshire | Renew Retford--NEWark | 492,000 |
| Plymouth | Enhanced Rural Service Access and Quality | 214,800 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | Improving Access Arrangements to Housing in Skelton | 20,000 |
| Shropshire | Rural Real-Time bus passenger information project | 282,697 |
| Somerset | South Somerset | 182,344 |
| South Gloucestershire | Rural Community Transport | 348,000 |
| South Yorkshire | Bradfield and Worrall | 611,714 |
| Clayton-with-Frickley Taxibus | 62,705 | |
| Staffordshire | Moorlands Traveller East Project | 118,000 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | Thorpe Thewles-Stillington Taxi | 12,000 |
| Suffolk | Bike and Bus Butty | 275,424 |
| Surrey | Waverley Transport Solutions | 404,025 |
| Telford and Wrekin | Wrekin Connect--The Lawley Express Partnership | 184,000 |
| Thurrock | The Rural Bus Club | 288,270 |
| Torbay | Continued Development of the 'Hospital Hopper' Project | 81,800 |
| Tyne and Wear | Regional Communication Infrastructure/TransStop | 560,150 |
| Warwickshire | Stratford on Avon Accessible Community Buses | 159,792 |
| West Berkshire | Demand responsive services--Extension to Taxibus Service | 101,500 |
| West Midlands | The Heart of England Project | 417,000 |
| West Sussex | One Step Beyond | 313,388 |
| West Yorkshire | The Hebden Bridger | 917,320 |
| Wiltshire | Bradenstoke and Bradford on Avon A2B | 213,076 |
| Worcestershire | Worcester Easylink | 994,000 |
| Up to 21,203,381 |
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