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Road Accidents
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many deaths and serious injuries there were in road accidents in each constituency in Great Britain in 1999. [161021]
Mr. Hill: The information is not available in the form requested. Data for metropolitan areas and unitary authorities and counties are given in the table.
(1) Excludes UA
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Medium-density Fibreboard
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research has been carried out by the Health and Safety Executive into the long-term health effects and hazards presented by medium-density fibreboard; and if he will make a statement. [161051]
Mr. Meacher: In 1997 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) undertook a review of all available scientific evidence about the possible ill-health effects arising from exposure to medium-density fibreboard (MDF) dust.
HSE's review and research concluded that the health hazards associated with exposures arising from working with MDF are similar to those associated with working with natural wood (e.g. softwood and hardwood).
Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 1999, there are duties on employers to control exposures to substances which may be hazardous to health. Under these regulations formaldehyde, hardwood dusts and softwood dusts (the usual constituent parts of MDF) are subject to maximum exposure limits (MELs). These are limits on the airborne concentrations of substances in the workplace, measured over specific reference time periods. There is a duty to control exposure to substances with a MEL to a level as low as is reasonably practicable, and in any case below the value of the MEL. This duty does not stop once the MEL level has been achieved but continues until all that is reasonably practicable has been done.
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what information the Health and Safety Executive has collated from (a) European Union countries and (b) North America on (i) the rules governing the use of medium-density fibreboard and (ii) research undertaken into respiratory and other hazards presented by its use; and if he will make a statement. [161052]
Mr. Meacher: In many European Union (EU) countries and the USA, the rules applying to use of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) at work are similar in principle to those applied in Great Britain. Adequate control of exposure through inhalation of dust or fume is assessed by compliance with occupational exposure limits for wood dust and formaldehyde. There is some variation in the scope of the limits (i.e. which types of wood are covered), the numerical values, and the detailed nature of the duties on employers associated with inhalation control.
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The Health and Safety Executive is not aware of any research in EU or North American countries into the health hazards presented by use of MDF.
Local Government Ombudsman
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to improve (a) the response time of and (b) the public's access to the local government ombudsman. [161026]
Ms Beverley Hughes: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 6 March 2001, Official Report, column 153W.
Planning Controls
Mr. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions to what extent his Department has been able to make progress with its proposals to remove Crown exemption from statutory planning controls, currently contained in DETR circular 18/84, as envisaged in a letter from his Department to the Chairman of the Westminster Society of 4 May 2000, which envisaged action as soon as a suitable legislative opportunity arose. [161107]
Mr. Raynsford: The Government remain committed to the removal of Crown exemption from planning controls as soon as a suitable opportunity arises to amend the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. In the meantime the non-statutory procedures for the consideration of objections to development proposed by the Crown, set out in DOE Circular 18-84, continue to apply.
Sellafield
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will extend the consultation period for the reassessment of the BNFL economic case for the Sellafield MOX plant beyond 7 June; [161118]
- (2) if he will set out the criteria used to select Arthur D. Little Ltd. as the consultant for the evaluation of the most recent BNFL economic case for operating its Sellafield MOX plant; which other consultants were considered; from which departmental budget the consultants will be paid; and what (a) BNFL and (b) other documentation relevant to the assessment and held by official bodies he has made available to the consultants. [161122]
Mr. Meacher: I will write to my hon. Friend.
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions external radioactivity has been measured as above permissible limits on flasks and rail transporter wagons carrying spent nuclear fuel to Sellafield since April 1998; and what measures are in place to minimise the sweating of radioactivity from nuclear transport flasks. [161121]
Mr. Hill: I will write to my hon. Friend.
Motorway Verges
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much has
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been spent by his Department on landscaping, horticulture and tree planting on motorway verges in each of the last four years. [159201]
Mr. Prescott: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Tim Matthews, to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Richard Thorndike to Mr. Archie Norman, dated 11 May 2001:
- The Secretary of State for the Environment Transport and the Regions has asked the Chief Executive, Tim Matthews to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about spending on landscaping, horticulture and tree planting on motorway verges. I am replying in the absence of Tim Matthews.
- Responsibility for landscaping, horticulture and tree planting on the motorway and trunk road network in England rests with the Highways Agency. Because of the way our records are kept, we cannot readily separate spending on the motorway network from spending on the trunk road network.
- The table below therefore shows total spend recorded on all landscaping, horticulture and tree planting across the network. This includes significant expenditure associated with the environmental treatment of major new schemes, expenditure on the maintenance of existing landscaping and on schemes aimed at supporting the UK's biodiversity strategy, which aims to protect and encourage the diversity of plants and animals. This is in line with the Government policy to reduce the environmental impact of roads, which was one of the major aims of the 1998 Roads Review "A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England".
- The A34 Newbury Bypass was completed in 1998/99, with its substantial environmental treatment contributing to the overall spend in that year.
| Year | Spend |
|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 7.4 |
| 1998-99 | 35.5 |
| 1999-2000 | 29.3 |
| 2000-01 | 21.4 |
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