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To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the trustees of the British Museum concerning legal action taken by the museum in relation to the provision of French stone for building work on the South Portico.

Asked by

Peter Ainsworth (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

24 November 2000

Reference

357 c339W; 140179

House

House of Commons

Deposited Paper DEP 01/288

Deposited by

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Consultation papers; Deposited papers

Date

9 November 2000

Reference

DEP 01/288

House

House of Commons

Deposited Paper HINF 2000/1780

Deposited by

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Deposited papers

Date

7 November 2000

Reference

HINF 2000/1780

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

Statement on the safety of concrete flues in dwellings. - Includes ref to report of risk analysis, and necessary to improve the Building Regulations approved guidance at www.construction.detr.gov.uk/br/br06.htm.

Asked by

Geraldine Smith (Labour)

Answering body

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

31 October 2000

For answer on

1 November 2000

Answered on

1 November 2000

Miss Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a further statement on the safety of concrete flues in dwellings. [136427] Ms Beverley Hughes: Last year the Government were made aware of concerns about the safety of certain flue liners which are intended for use in chimneys serving appliances burning solid fuel. The Minister for Housing and Planning made an announcement about this on 24 February 1999. To resolve these concerns my Department commissioned a risk analysis, and has considered with experts what may need to be done about existing houses and what amendments might be necessary to improve the Building Regulations approved guidance. This report was published today, and can be viewed on the DETR Website at www.construction.detr.gov.uk/br/br06.htm The Department's risk analyst contractor CRE Group Ltd. has been unable to show conclusively that the concerns over additional danger are well founded. As well as this, neither my Department nor the two principal housing warranty providers are aware of any fatal or other accidents that have arisen as a result of the failure of the sorts of concrete flue liners whose safety has been questioned. On the evidence that the experts have produced it therefore seems reasonable to believe that householders are unlikely to be exposed to additional dangers if they apply common sense in following combustion appliance manufacturers' advice on routine maintenance and chimney sweeping. There remain some doubts however about the durability of poorer quality, cheaper varieties of concrete flue liners, and owners of dwellings built since about 1990 with concrete flue liners may be faced with the need for repairs or replacements sooner than they might have expected. This should not be a risk to safety unless householders fail to carry out the proper maintenance and sweeping previously mentioned. Whilst not finding clear evidence of additional risks, CRE Group Ltd, has made a number of useful recommendations regarding the safety of flues in general. They include improvement of the performance standards given in the Building Regulations, improving the competence of those engaged in building, maintaining and sweeping chimneys, remaining alert to the possibility of clusters of flue failures, and reminding those householders who burn solid fuel as their main heating source that proper appliance maintenance and chimney sweeping are essential. Most of the recommendations are accepted in principle, and my Department will be working with the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, the DTI, and with the fuel suppliers, chimney component manufacturers and chimney engineers and sweeps to implement them as soon as practical by: incorporating new guidance into the Building Regulations. A new edition of the relevant Building Regulations Approved Document should be published next year and I am pleased to see that some manufacturers of concrete flue blocks have already adopted the new overall performance standards that we intend to propose in the Approved Document. continuing to promote both the Quality Mark and the proposals to recognise Competent Persons in the Building Regulations as ways of encouraging builders, oil and solid fuel heating engineers, chimney engineers and sweeps to improve the competence of their people. Changes in the guidance mentioned above will also encourage greater competence in ensuring the safe accommodation of combustion installations. collaborating with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Home Office to ensure that local authorities and fire brigades are fully briefed on the hazards associated with combustion installations in buildings, the risks of householders' exposure to them, and what they can do to remind householders about how to protect themselves. A new tool kit for this purpose was launched on 12 October by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs. working with appropriate trade associations to ensure appliance manufacturers and solid fuel suppliers and their retail outlets provide satisfactory safe operating and maintenance advice to their customers. working with appropriate trade associations to ensure that chimney engineers and sweeps are aware of the possible additional risks associated with concrete chimney liners, and to watch out for the possibility that individual failures may be an indication that other flues in the neighbourhood may be at risk. I have asked to be kept informed about such clusters. most importantly, working with the above organisations and others to make sure that our leaflet on the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from solid fuel and oil heating appliances is made available to the sectors of the community that earlier research has shown to be most at risk. The leaflet advises on the dangers that can arise in normal use of solid fuel and oil heating appliances and prudent maintenance and sweeping measures that prevent them from occurring.

Date

1 November 2000

Reference

355 c460-1W; 136427

House

House of Commons

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will make a statement on his Department's policy towards traffic noise.

Asked by

David Drew (Labour; Co-operative Party)

Answering body

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

30 October 2000

Reference

355 c304-5W;355 c305-6W; 135147

House

House of Commons

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what measures his Department has taken to assist the introduction of barriers to reduce traffic noise; what actions his Department has taken to introduce noise attenuation methods where traffic is concerned. - Includes ref to 340 c428W.

Asked by

David Drew (Labour; Co-operative Party)

Answering body

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

24 October 2000

For answer on

30 October 2000

Answered on

30 October 2000

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what measures his Department has taken to assist the introduction of barriers to reduce traffic noise; [135148] (2) what actions his Department has taken to introduce noise attenuation methods where traffic is concerned. [135146] Mr. Hill: One of the main methods of mitigating and attenuating traffic noise is to reduce the noise emitted by new vehicles. The Department has a continuing involvement in negotiating EU directives in this area. These measures have already delivered a substantial reduction in noise levels from new vehicles. A large lorry today makes no more noise than a car of the early 1970s and three modern cars now make less noise than one 1970s model. These measures will bring improvements as the vehicle fleet is renewed. Negotiations on further noise reduction are likely to focus on heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses. In addition the Department has recently been involved in negotiating an EU directive to limit tyre noise, the dominant source of noise from traffic at speeds above 40 miles per hour. This directive is expected to be adopted shortly. £5 million a year ring-fenced budget is being spent to mitigate and attenuate noise, primarily using barriers, at locations on the national network where detailed studies have confirmed the severity of the problem and shown that barriers are the most effective solution in the short term. As indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend on 6 December 1999, Official Report, column 427W, studies have been commissioned at a large number of locations. The Highways Agency will be dealing with nearly all of these locations over the next few years. In a number of cases where the road has been reassessed for resurfacing, the use of quieter materials has affected the priority for other measures.

Date

30 October 2000

Reference

355 c303-4W;355 c305W; 135148;135146

House

House of Commons

Dept for Culture Media and Sport

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he had with (a) the Head of English Heritage and (b) others about the stone used on the south portico of the British Museum.

Asked by

Ian Bruce (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

26 October 2000

Reference

355 c178-9W; 134608

House

House of Commons

Deposited Paper Dep 00/1426

Deposited by

Department of Trade and Industry

Type

Consultation papers; Deposited papers

Date

4 October 2000

Reference

Dep 00/1426

House

House of Commons

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will require house builders to certify the source of the timber used in the construction of their houses; if he will introduce regulations requiring house builders to use wood from sustainable sources, certified by the...

Asked by

Lord Deben (Conservative)

Answering body

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

24 July 2000

Reference

354 c386W; 131696;131695

House

House of Commons

Deposited Paper Dep 00/1032

Deposited by

Department of Trade and Industry

Type

Deposited papers

Date

22 June 2000

Reference

Dep 00/1032

House

House of Commons

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions;Highways Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, how many miles of porous asphalt have been laid on motorways in each year since 1995. - Including table and text of letter from Peter Nutt of Highways Agency.

Asked by

Gordon Prentice (Labour)

Answering body

Highways Agency

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

5 April 2000

For answer on

14 April 2000

Answered on

14 April 2000

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many miles of porous asphalt have been laid on motorways in each year since 1995. [118535] Mr. Hill: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Peter Nutt, to write to my hon. Friend. Letter from Peter Nutt to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 14 April 2000: You recently asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many miles of porous asphalt have been laid on motorways in each year since 1995. Detailed records are not held centrally by the Highways Agency but we estimate the lengths of porous asphalt laid during these years to have been as follows: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year Lengths of porous asphalt laid 1995 1.0 mile, M25 (one carriageway) 1995 0.5 miles, M1 (both carriageways) 1996 1.5 miles, M25 (one carriageway) 1997 2.3 miles, M25 (both plus carriageways), plus 1.5 miles (one carriageway) 1998 7.5 miles, M40 (both carriageways) 1999 0.2 miles, M1 (one carriageway) _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Porous asphalt was introduced by the Highways Agency for use on trunk roads in 1993. At that time it was the only option available for providing a quieter road surface but was not suitable for use in all situations. Further development resulted in alternatives including proprietary quiet, thin surfacings, and in 1998, `whisper' concrete. These two materials offer many of the advantages of porous asphalt with few of its drawbacks, not least its high cost. This has meant that porous asphalt has been little used. The new quiet surfacings are now being used widely by the Highways Agency both for surfacing new roads and for maintaining existing roads. Their performance is very effective and in use they can often be mistaken for porous asphalt being quiet, and reducing spray in wet weather. If it would be helpful, John Williams our road surfacings specialist, would be pleased to discuss both porous asphalt and other road surfacings in current use with you. His telephone number is 020 7921 4635.

Date

14 April 2000

Reference

348 c285-6W; 118535

House

House of Commons

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions;Highways Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what estimates he has made of the cost of resurfacing the M25 in porous asphalt between junctions 8 and 9. - Inc figures and text of letter from Mr Peter Nutt of the Highways Agency. (Holding answer...

Asked by

Crispin Blunt (Conservative)

Answering body

Highways Agency

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

29 February 2000

For answer on

7 March 2000

Answered on

7 March 2000

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimates he has made of the cost of resurfacing the M25 in porous asphalt between junctions 8 and 9. [112542] Mr. Hill: [holding answer 2 March 2000]: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, Mr. Peter Nutt, to write to the hon. Member. Letter from Mr. Peter Nutt, to Mr. Crispin Blunt, dated 7 March 2000]: The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has asked me to reply to your question about the estimated cost of resurfacing the M25 between junctions 8 and 9 in porous asphalt, a distance of approximately 11km. When I wrote to you on 28 February in response to your question about resurfacing the M25 between junctions 8 and 10 in porous asphalt our Agents initial estimate was given as £14m. That estimate was based on the assumption that no other work beyond a simple overlay of porous asphalt would be necessary. I regret that this assumption has proved incorrect in the light of further work. A more detailed survey and analysis has ow been completed and has identified the need for additional works if an overlay is to be successfully applied. The existing concrete carriageway, consisting of a series of individual concrete slabs, would need additional work to stabilise it so that small movements in the joints between the slabs did not cause the overlay immediately above the joints to crack. Once cracks form in porous asphalt, the road surface disintegrates very quickly. The overlay would also have to be thicker for the same reason. The extra thickness of the overlay would also make it necessary to raise long lengths of safety fencing to maintain its effectiveness. All this would increase the time taken to complete the work and the costs of the associated traffic management. Based upon this more detailed work, our estimate for the cost of resurfacing the M25 between junctions 8 and 9 with porous asphalt is around £18 million, with our estimate for applying it between junctions 8 and 10 now being £34 million. I am sorry for supplying information previously which was so misleading. Should you require further information, please contact the Highways Agency's Area 3 Team Leader, John Rylett, in our Dorking office on 01306 878251.

Date

7 March 2000

Reference

112542; 345 c597-8W

House

House of Commons

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions;Highways Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, if he will estimate the cost of resurfacing the M25 between junctions 8 and 10 in porous asphalt. - Including figure and text of letter from Peter Nutt of Highways Agency.

Asked by

Crispin Blunt (Conservative)

Answering body

Highways Agency

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

28 February 2000

Reference

345 c9W; 111815

House

House of Commons

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions;Highways Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, what road noise reduction surfaces his Department has recently approved for use. - Inc text of letter from Jon Seddon of the Highways Agency.

Asked by

Mark Oaten (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Highways Agency

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

10 February 2000

Reference

344 c235W; 109378

House

House of Commons

Dept of the Environment Transport and the Regions

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, for the latest 12 months for which figures are available how many miles of resurfaced highway contained reprocessed waste tyres; and if he will make a statement. - Includes no figures.

Asked by

Gordon Prentice (Labour)

Answering body

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

9 February 2000

Reference

344 c154W; 108983

House

House of Commons

VAT ON ENERGY SAVING MATERIALS

That this House notes the continued discrepancy between rates of VAT charged on energy conservation (17.5 per cent.) and on energy consumption (5 per cent.); believes that the Government's limited reduction on VAT on energy-saving materials purchased under certain promotional schemes, while welcome, does not address this wider distortion; notes...

Primary sponsor

Lord Stunell (Liberal Democrat)

Type

Early day motions

Date

2 February 2000

Reference

343

House

House of Commons

Whitty, Lord

Whether they intend to introduce regulations to limit the generation of toxic smoke from ignited construction products by including them in Approved Document B of the Building Regulations. [HL 474].

Asked by

Lord Howie of Troon (Labour)

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

11 January 2000

Reference

HL 474; 608 c112WA

House

House of Lords

Deposited Paper HINF 99/2176

Deposited by

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Deposited papers

Date

11 January 2000

Reference

HINF 99/2176

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