§ Mr. Thorntonasked the Minister of Transport what has been the expenditure on roads at constant prices in each of the last six years in (a) England and Wales, (b) metropolitan areas in England and (c) Merseyside.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe information is as follows:
cost ceilings as from this year for each new town. The manpower figures as at 1 April 1981 assumed in calculating these ceilings are set out below:
Aycliffe and Perterlee 235 Basildon 700 Bracknell 141 Central Lancs 515 Milton Keynes 1,355 Northampton 283 Peterborough 762 Redditch 425 Runcorn 560 Skelmersdale 515 Telford 987 Warrington 640 Washington 474 Commission for the New Towns 344
§ Mr. John Evansasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the redundancy entitlement and period of notice of members of the staff of Runcorn development corporation; and what is the estimated cost of redundancies of Runcorn district council staff following any merger with Warrington new town development corporation.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergThe redundancy entitlements of new town development corporation staff are set out in letters issued by my Department on 29 March 1976 and 25 January 1979. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library of the House of Commons. I understand that there is an agreement that corporation staff who would have reached the age of 45 years by the expiry of the period of notice should be given not less than 12 months notice of redundancy, and that staff under 45 should get similar notice when practical.
465WIt is too soon to make any estimate of the costs of any redundancies which may arise as a result of the proposal to merge Runcorn development corporation with Warrington development corporation.
§ Mr. John Evansasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what reductions he has made in the administrative cost ceiling for each of the new town development corporations in Great Britain for 1980–81 and 1981–82.
§ Mr. StanleyMy right hon. Friend is responsible for the English new towns only. We introduced administration cost ceilings for the first time for the year 1980–81, and so no direct comparison with previous years can be made: we have not yet fixed the ceilings for 1981–82.
§ Mr. John Evansasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will instruct the boards of Warrington and Runcorn new town development corporations to hold discussions with the appropriate trades unions regarding the proposed merger of the two corporations prior to their amalgamation.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergBoth development corporations have been asked to inform the staff associations concerned of the proposed transfer of functions. It is for the corporations to consider how best to ensure that the interests of their staff are taken into account.