HC Deb 20 December 1990 vol 183 cc284-5W
Mrs. Margaret Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the allowable cost per sensitive lorry mile as used for determination of eligibility for grant under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 for each year of operation; and whether he will take steps to widen the definition of sensitive lorry mile, and introduce a sliding scale of allowable cost giving a high level of potential grant towards urban single carriageways tapering to a lower level for uncongested rural motorways.

Mr. Freeman

The prevailing cost ceiling per sensitive lorry mile for grants under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 is as follows:

Year SLM ceiling (cash) pence
1975–81 25
1981–82 30
1982–84 45
1984–85 47
1986–89 28
1990 34

The ceiling was reduced at the end of 1985 to accord with the implied weighting attributable to environmental factors in new road assessment.

The definition of a sensitive lorry mile, and the monetary valuation ascribed to each SLM, are issues being addressed by a current internal Department review of freight facilities grants.

Mrs. Margaret Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what process of monitoring and checking exists for ensuring that sums paid out in grant under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 are actually expended for the purposes for which they were made; and if he will review the adequacy of such processes.

Mr. Freeman

Instalments of grant are paid against claims certified by independent auditors. A proportion of grant is retained until Departmental officials have visited the site to verify that grant-aided facilities are in place. The traffic actually carried by grant-aided facilities is monitored annually throughout the period (usually 10 years) over which the application for grant was assessed. The adequacy of these grant mechanisms is being considered as part of the current review of freight facilities grants.

Mrs. Margaret Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each year since inception, the total sums paid out in grants made under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974; and if he will place in the Library details of each recipient of such grant, the amount or amounts involved, those which are no longer in use, and those which following the cessation of the British Rail speedlink service will no longer be used.

Mr. Freeman

Since 1975, grants under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 have been awarded as follows:

Year £ million (cash)
1975 0.5
1976 2.3
1977 4.0
1978 9.0
1979 4.7
1980 7.6
1981 4.3
1982 3.4
1983 6.0
1984 7.5
1985 9.0
1986 2.7
1987 2.6
1988 0.7
1989 4.1
1990 0.8

The figures are rounded and comprise grants awarded in England, Scotland and Wales. Grants in Scotland and Wales are administered by the Scottish Development Department and Welsh Office respectively. Information in the form requested concerning recipients of grant and the amounts involved is being compiled. It will be placed in the Library shortly. Information concerning the continued use of grant-aided facilities is commercially sensitive.

Mrs. Margaret Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the average time taken to process applications for grant under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 between submission of grant application until final approval for each of the last 15 years; and whether he will review the procedures governing such applications.

Mr. Freeman

The Department does not record the information requested and it could not be produced except at disproportionate cost. The procedures for processing grant applications are being considered as part of the current review of freight facilities grants.